“Peanut”

I’ll admit that I’ve always been pretty terrified of being pregnant.  I’d never felt a maternal clock ticking, so I was always very apprehensive about it.  It was never something that I looked forward to & I used to think women who “loved” being pregnant were a little bit crazy.

The latter hasn’t changed – I still don’t understand women who “love” being pregnant & I’ll be really surprised if I ever “miss” being pregnant.  I miss being able to move around & do the things that I used to do (like climb a hill without getting winded).  But I’ve been blessed to have had a very easy & healthy pregnancy so far.  We conceived very easily & have left every single doctor’s appointment with good news.  I had a bit of nausea for a few weeks in the beginning, followed by a couple weeks of extreme fatigue, but I was able to do a ~30 mile bike ride for MS in New Bern, NC, when I was 13 weeks.  The second trimester & the first part of the third trimester I felt great.  I started prenatal yoga classes around 24 weeks & they were tremendously helpful in keeping my body feeling pretty good.  My biggest woe has been heartburn, but I’ve got that mostly under control thanks to Pepcid.  And in the final weeks, I’m tired, but that’s pretty normal as well.  The good news is that there’s never been a concern about my health or the health of the baby and that’s been a huge blessing.  For better or for worse, the baby has been extremely active & has been kicking me incessantly since about 18 weeks – my ribs may never be the same!  We’re hoping that the delivery comes soon & that it is as smooth as the pregnancy has been.

We affectionately named the baby “Peanut” early on – I think because in one of the pregnancy updates he was the size of a peanut.  We’re notoriously indecisive and haven’t decided 100% on a name (this time, I’ll admit that I’m the one who’s still on the fence).  We’re close, but I think the final decision will be made at the hospital after we meet the little guy.

People have asked what my cravings are….  The biggest thing is that I LOVE milk now – I rarely drank it before, but now we’re going through 2-3 gallons in a week.  Other cravings – sweets & breakfast foods.  Luckily my metabolism has been very good throughout the pregnancy so I’ve been able to give in to most of the cravings (in moderation of course).  My latest craving has been the “tortilla sandwich” – something that they made in the cafe at work in NM.  It’s basically just eggs, bacon, green chile, and cheese inside of a folded tortilla.  It’s one of the few things that doesn’t give me heartburn & it fills me up, so they’ve really been hitting the spot lately.  Food aversions – PICKLES.  The smell of a dill pickle is just AWFUL.  Also, tuna.  Chris made himself a tunafish sandwich & I had to leave the apartment.

Here are a few pictures from the journey….  We’re looking forward to meeting him – hopefully very soon!

8/5/10 – 8 week ultrasound (the head is on the left)

9/7/10 – 13 week Ultrasound

9/11/10 – At the MS ride in New Bern, NC – 13 weeks

10/26/10- Baby at 20 weeks

11/3/10 – On our “Babymoon” cruise – 21 weeks

1/16/11 – 32 weeks

2/22/11 – 4D ultrasound at 37 weeks

3/2/11 – 38 weeks (sorry for the bad pictures – I tried taking them myself!)