17 weeks!

This past week has been a bit of a rollercoaster for me! I'm still enjoying my surplus energy, and I've slept through the night a couple of times. I also started going to the gym in addition to walking and it's been nice to switch things up a bit. I also got a prenatal yoga video from my midwife, which makes things alot easier because I have someone to follow, and because there are 3 women doing the poses according to which trimester they're in. That way there's no worries about whether you're doing too much or could be doing more. I read this past week that women who did yoga during pregnancy had an easier birthing experience than those who spent an equal amount of time walking every day, so I'm definitely going to keep it up!

Now for the not-so-wonderful aspects of the past week - morning sickness is beginning to get on my nerves. I appreciate that I only vomit once a day (usually) in the morning, then go on with business as usual. However, the past few mornings I haven't wanted to get out of bed because I know that as soon as I get upright I'm going to vomit. As Miguel would say, I am an excellent avoider. Therefore, instead of getting up, I will lay in bed watching TV and feeling extremely nauseous in order to put off the inevitable barfing sessions. I've tried many things to settle my stomach, from crackers to fig newtons, but it all comes up anyways. I am determined not to take any kind of medication though, so I will stick it out to the bitter end. And for those of you who don't know why I don't want to take medication for nausea even though it's 100% safe for the baby, it's because I don't like taking medicine. I believe that pretty much any symptom we experience can be cured through proper diet and exercise. I don't care if you think I'm a granola-head.

Round ligament pain is also kicking my butt these days. It is in no way an exaggeration when people say it can feel like appendicitis on both sides of your abdomen. It HURTS. My midwife explained that because your ligaments (which are usually about 4 inches long-ish) are growing to support a uterus that grows to 500x it's normal size, it only makes sense that they're going to hurt. To prove my 'there-are-natural-remedies-for-every-ailment' theory, I've been taking lukewarm baths and drinking smoothies with flaxseed oil in them to alleviate the pain. So far so good. I've also been replacing some of my daily calcium intake from milk (which doesn't help the inflammation) to walnuts. Had I realized I could do that in the first place I would have because I am very skeptical about milk and think it's weird that we drink it. (Have you ever seen a cow drinking human breastmilk? No. My point exactly.) Anyways, the pain has lessened exponentially. Victory.

Now for 'restless leg syndrome'. It doesn't sound too bad, but when you're trying to sleep it is unbelievably annoying! So I waddled down to the health food store to get some Passion Flower tea, which is supposed to help, and while it does help a lot, it is really, reeeeallly gross. Anthony smelled it a couple of nights ago and made a face. I told him to drink some. No dice. Even with honey it's nasty. This is an example of when the natural remedy is kind of a pain in the ass. Ah well.

I struggle on a daily basis with the "would a mom do this" question. I've told Jim to keep a close eye on me in this area, because I find myself making decisions on what to do, wear, listen to, watch, etc. based on whether I think it's suitable for a mother. Now admittedly, there are obvious things I shouldn't do. Tanning (in a bed or airbrush-style) seems wildly retarded to me now. Not only is it a waste of my time and money, but it's incredibly shallow and dangerous. I don't want to leave my child motherless because I needed to have a 'nice healthy glow' and got skin cancer. For those of you who tan - good for you. I'm not judging. I'm just saying it's one of those habits I'm kicking, especially because it flies in the face of my wholesome living philosophy. I'm sure I'll get a nice tan this summer the right way, from spending time outside. Another thing I won't do is go hang out in a bar. It just feels wrong. Not only that, but watching friends drink beer and shoot pool is depressing. I hate pool, so my nice big glass of orange juice doesn't make it fun the way a martini can. What I'm getting at is that while there are things I won't do anymore (or some just while I'm pregnant) there is no need for me to lose myself and my individuality because it doesn't fit with the traditional 'mom' image. I have to remind myself of that daily. Otherwise, it's a slippery slope to the minivan-driving, sweater-set wearing, Kenny-G loving life. And while that makes some people happy (and again, not judging) it is really not me. I want to be the same fun, silly and spontaneous person I've always been...but maybe just a little less unpredictable.

Our anatomy ultrasound is quickly approaching on the calendar, and I am very excited. Not only because that means Jim will be here soon (9 days, but who's counting?) but also that we can finally call our baby by a name (once we pick one) and buy gender-specific clothes, and get even more excited - although I don't know how much more excited I can possibly get! The ultrasound is on the 20th at 2:00 and afterwards we will be having dinner with some of my close friends and sharing the big news! I really hope the baby spreads 'em so we can see the goods, otherwise I will be seriously bummed.

Speaking of which, I am getting mighty tired of people telling me things I don't need to hear. For example, I don't want to know that you didn't find out the sex of your baby until lyour 34th week because they couldn't get a good enough look. I also don't want to know that you were in labour for a week. I don't want to hear that you had stretch marks like a zebra or that you know that what I'm currently experiencing "must be awful, but you should hear what my friend Louanne had to go through!" I appreciate that many women have been pregnant before me, and many more will be pregnant after me. I appreciate that my pregnancy thus far has been blessedly complication-free. I appreciate that I am incredibly lucky to be pregnant at all! However, saving your horror stories until after I give birth would be great. Right now, when I say how enormous I feel, I need to hear something along the lines of "Yeah, that must be hard." or "I know how you feel. I felt like a whale." or "Kim, you are incandescently beautiful, and an extra 30 pounds is just 30 more pounds of beautiful." What I don't need to hear is "HA! This is nothing...it's just the beginning sucker!"

On that note, I would like to say that I am very grateful for all the support you've showered on me. I am so thankful for the advice I've been given (when solicited) and the encouragement and well-wishes. It makes me so happy to know that so many people are reading this blog and sharing a little piece of this experience with me. You are the ones who get to tell the baby "I knew you when you were still in the womb. You really kicked your mom's butt!" I love you all, and I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoy writing it!

Now it's feeding time - a pregnancy ritual that makes me truly happy.

:)