As if life between the two of us was not hectic enough, we've decided to add one more! Blessed by this miracle of life, we could not be happier to share the joy and craziness of our pregnancy with the ones we love. If nothing else, at least it's comic relief.
I have been thinking and (trying) to keep my diet where it was before I got pregnant and well... not so much. Apparently our unborn fetus savors the more savory, comforting things in life, such as cheese, bison burgers, chips, potatoes, french fries. You name it.
I was such a lover and connoisseur of vegetables, fruits, plant proteins, etc. and now all of that has gone to shit. This baby is already it's father. I am blaming him, since he is the one who had always eaten ice cream bite for bite with potato chips.
Tonight, I am tricking baby.
Yes, these "burgers" are filled with cheese...
But I am swapping the ever powerful, all mighty grain Quinoa in and leaving the beef out.
Ahh.. So good.
But, with my luck, all of the quinoa burger leftovers will look terrible to me tomorrow.
So... it happened this week. You know, the moment women talk about when they can no longer see their toes? Well, I have heard people talk about the moment there belly was out to stay and my friends, this was the week. I surprised Matt and all of my Go Radio family this Tuesday in Atlanta (see thepouloslife.blogspot.com to read more) and the guys thought I was faking the bump! They could not believe it; Steve asked how far I was arching my back to make my stomach stick out? If that gives you any sort of idea how round and out there it is. The whole experience was really awesome because it happened at just the right time. I woke up on Tuesday morning, hopped in the car with my friend Haven, and drove to Atlanta. By the time I got there, belly was so poked out and so firm, Matt could not wrap his head around how big I had actually gotten. And I will note: Matt left Tallahassee on September 17th and I have not seen him since. Imagine his surprise when I showed up at his show, two months later, completely pregnant. It was a great moment; the moment a soon-to-be dad got to put his hands on his wife's big belly. He even looked at me, in admiration, and said "babe, you look like a mom" (I took it as a good thing).
Also, did I ever mention I have the best friends and family? Well, I do. This week, I received several little packages in the mail. First, my mother and father-in-law sent me a little care package of an interactive teether/rattle and a gorgeous shirt that will fit over my ever growing belly. I love how thoughtful they are, always sending me tidbits to hold me over until this baby arrives.
Then, my sister and soulmate of a best friend, Christina, sent me a box of pregnancy books, accompanied by a giant bag of my favorite little treats... Gummi Bears.
AND THEN! Matt (the best husband ever) surprised me with a life saving thing the pregnant world likes to call a "Snoogle." What is a snoogle you may wonder? Well, rest assured, a snoogle is the best body pillow ever made. It is perfectly created to sculpt and contort to every sleeping/lounging/sitting position you can imagine. I had mentioned to him that I was not getting great sleep and he researched this life saver and sent one to me while he was away on tour!
Okay, let me tell you something else you might not know about me. I love cats... so much, and yes, we have a cat. But our cat is not just a cat. She is my friend, my baby, my child, my daughter, my sleeping buddy, etc. You see where this is going. Her name is Nola and I have had her since I was a sophomore in college. Nola has human like characteristics and is a very important member of this family. When Matt and I first started dating, he probably thought I was kidding about how much I loved this cat. We call Nola "Moms."
Kind of knowing how much I love Moms,
guess who had already adopted the snoogle as her sleeping space?
Overheard in your birth club
"I'm pregnant with my first, and I'm scared to death. I keep thinking, 'What if I don't know what to do, will I ruin my child?' I can honestly say I love him/her already!" – Justine
Is a little over four inches long and weighs a little over 2.5 ounces. The chocolate bunny that I swiped from my toddler’s Easter basket weighed 3.5 ounces. But considering I shared it with my fetus, I am a good mom AND a responsible eater.
Has fingernails and toenails, all of which will be flesh-tearing talons by the time the baby is born. For serious, pack a teensy nail file in your hospital bag if you’d rather your baby’s first pictures NOT include giant face scratches.
Is covered with fine, downy hair called lanugo. THIS will mostly fall out by birth, so rest assured you will not deliver a giant razor-taloned gorilla baby, or something.
You:
Are leaving the more miserable symptoms behind in the dust, more or less. My gag reflex and appetite remained extremely sensitive until about week 16 last time, and the same held true this time around.
Can feel your rock-hard uterus about three inches below your belly button (especially when you lie on your back). As your baby grows your uterus will continue to inch upwards out of your pelvis. Translation: YOU WON’T HAVE TO PEE SO DAMN MUCH.
May be having very vivid but bizarre dreams. Some will be obviously pregnancy-related (the usual ones involve breastfeeding something other than a human baby or putting an animal or your baby in the oven or microwave to “cook” awhile longer), and others will be just plain weird or upsetting, like your childhood nightmares. They should be interpreted as nothing more than dreams stemming from nerves, hormones and your constant thoughts about the future. (In other words, you aren’t really going to give birth to a turtle with a full set of human teeth.)
Other than the surprises in the mail, and the countdown until Matt gets home, I am still running and operating as normal as ever. The mid day nap is absolutely necessary, but beyond shoe tying discomfort and an occasional nap... I feel great. This post is coming a little late, as I was pretty busy this week, so 17 weeks is going to sneak up soon!
My energy if finally coming back and I feel like the more pregnant I get, the better my running is. I am so excited for the holiday season! Matt gets home in 9 days and we get to spend months arguing over baby names and ridiculous onesies! I can't wait until we get to grow in the pregnancy together, plus he'll enjoy watching me through all of my weird food cravings.
Okay baby, what are you?
"Mini Me" or "Mini Him?"
How far along?: 16 Weeks; 6 Days
Total weight gain/loss: +6 Lbs. Maternity clothes?: Pants are the same! I have been collecting a lot of oversized sweaters and beliting them.
Alright... Update on "Sweet P's" process (I am calling it that from now on).
Week 15
Your Baby:
Is as big as a…wait for it…beefsteak tomato! Doesn’t that sound deliciously substantial? Am resisting urge to go pinch some produce as I type this.
Has started “breathing” amniotic fluid in through its nose and respiratory tract, giving those lungs some very early practice for the real thing. (Late in the third trimester, you can actually watch the fetal breathing on an ultrasound, and lo, it is very cool.)
Can sense light and pressure from outside of the womb, so if you want to get a jump start on annoying the crap out of your kid, shine a flashlight on your stomach or chase it around with the doppler wand every night. Or gently caress your belly while singing lullabies in a variety of foreign language and mediating on the Zen-ness of it all. You know, whatever your personal parenting style goes for.
You:
May be experiencing some of the weirder symptoms of pregnancy, many of which can start early in the second trimester. Including! For example!
Sinus congestion! Runny nose! Stuffed-up nose! So much freaking mucus, and not in the places where you would ASSUME mucus would be involved. It’s called rhinitis of pregnancy and once again, they just blame it on “hormones.” Get yourself a humidifier or vaporizer, inhale steam in a fogged-up bathroom or try those saline nasal drops. Ask your doctor before taking any decongestant or medicated nasal spray.
Bleeding gums! A side effect of all that extra blood you’ve got coursing through your system. (Nosebleeds are common too.)
Skin pigmentation! The linea nigra, or that darkish line that runs down the center of your belly, sometimes shows up as soon as you start showing, sometimes much later. Moles, freckles and birthmarks can spread and/or darken. You might notice some melasma, or “mask of pregnancy” across your face, particularly if you spend a lot of time in the sun or have a naturally olive or darker complexion. A lot — but not all — of these changes will fade after you give birth. When in doubt, slather up on the sunscreen to increase your odds that they’ll be temporary.
Forgetfulness! Pregnancy brain! Gestational amnesia! Whatever you want to call it, you probably know what I’m talking about. In the past week alone, I’ve 1) run a load of laundry without any detergent, 2) made coffee without a filter, 3) tossed a Ziploc of frozen chicken to defrost in the sink but forgot to actually seal the bag, and 4) stared at my husband for three full minutes while trying to remember his name.
*************************
How far along?: 15 Weeks; 3 Days
Total weight gain/loss: +6 Lbs.
Maternity clothes?: Still wearing the leggings. Also, Wearing my normal jeans with a hairband looped through the button hole.
Stretch marks?: No
Sleep: Better. But the rumors about not having to pee as much are untrue.
Best moment this week: Hearing Sweet P's heartbeat!
Miss Anything?: Matt and Red Wine.
Movement: I don't really know; people say it feels like gas bubbles... so... who knows?
Food cravings: Italian! Pizza! Chips! (aka everything too salty and bad for you) I could
really go for some "Sugu" right now!
(Matt's family's term for spaghetti with meat sauce/sausage/meatballs)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope :)
Have you started to show yet: Yes.
Gender: 3 MORE WEEKS UNTIL WE FIND OUT!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out?: In
Wedding rings on or off?: On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy but tired. Irritablesometimes (ahem).
I wish I could tell you there has been some major changes from last week to now, I can't (my midwife tells me this is a good thing). I do not feel more pregnant, actually some mornings I feel less. There are days I have to unbutton my jeans and days I can still snug in to my favorite pair of skinnys.
And even today, I was running 6:30/mile on my run.
Still, I am waiting patiently to feel some sort of movement, closing my eyes and laying very still in the quietness of our bedroom at night. I am waiting for the day when I can call our sweet little nut "he" or "she."
Calendar of Events:
10/31 Appointment with Midwife
11/3 Mother in Town
11/4 Erika in Town
11/5 Garage Sale
11/11 LUCERO in Tallahassee
11/22 Go Radio HOME!!!!!!!!!!
11/23 PEANUT'S GENDER REVEALED!!
This week, I put all of my summer/you won't be wearing this any time soon (cropped tops/high wasted shorts) away and pulled out the winter clothes. I also cleaned a shelf in my wardrobe to make space for baby's things. And, I may or may not have moved some furniture around to make room for a crib/bassinet (when the time comes).
My appointment on Monday went really well. They did the usual check up stuff. Asked if I was feeling sick or if my feet were swelling and told me to drink water when I ate Lo mein. Our midwife told me I was boring on paper (also a good thing) and then let me listen to Sweet P's heartbeat via handheld doppler radar!
So there it is. Same body, growing baby inside... which I still can not wrap my head around! In five months, we are going to be parents. That is INSANE. I can't wait for the adventure. I was thinking about some more of my childhood memories, and one comes to mind. When thinking about how you are going to raise your child everything begins to surface: morals, principles, manners, modesty, beliefs, etc.
Then there are thoughts like "what kind of music am I going to show my children?" One of my favorite memories from when I was young is of my dad and I, driving in his car, listening to Billy Joel's cassette "Storm Front." It was my favorite. I was amazed that he knew every word to
I used to play this song over and over and over again.
More vividly, I would hang out with my dad and his friend, Greg, while they worked out in our garage gym... blaring that song.
I will cherish that time, that memory and that song forever.
I can't wait to make memories like this with our little one.
This is a good look.
Well. That is all I have for inspired words tonight.
I will post my "15 Week Update" tomorrow, as I had no motivation to get out of my pajamas all day.
Think that's bad? You should see what I've got going on with my hair.
(Listen, I am allowed to have lazy days.
Everyone keeps telling me to rest now,
before the baby comes, because life never slows down.)
Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will 
