15 Week Update

Now that you all know the big news, I have to share a bit more! So I'm borrowing from my friend Rachel and her great outline for such updates.

How far along:
15 weeks

Total weight gain:
I've roller-coastered a bit. I was really careful when I first found out and changed what I ate, drank, what medicines I took, etc. so that helped. When I got the flu in December, I really started going up/down more and I immediately lost 10 pounds in a few days. Then I gained some back over the holidays, but lost 6 more pounds when I hit my nasty cold/cough stage and still haven't fully gotten my regular appetite back (though I'm not nauseous). Overall, I'm 7 pounds lighter than I was when I first got pregnant... but I don't look it. I'm at the awkward stage where you just look like you've eaten too many donuts and people start to stare at your stomach strangely, but you haven't poked out enough for it to be significant. I don't really care, I love that baby is growing and poking out enough to make my clothes uncomfortable! Just don't expect pictures on here until it's more noticeable. :) Yes, I'm taking pics anyway for myself and my own memories, just not for the public.

Best moments this month:
Tim putting his hand over baby as we go to bed and praying over me and baby. Best feeling ever. I am absolutely cherishing these moments every night!! So thankful for my husband and his leadership!

Food cravings over the past 9 weeks:
Cool Ranch Doritos. Tostitos whole grain tortilla chips with mild chunky salsa (and then hello mega-heartburn). Sparkling white grape juice. Milkshakes. Chocolate. Club crackers. Reese's Pieces. Popcorn. Sprite. Panera's mac & cheese. The first month all I ever wanted was Wendy's crispy chicken sandwiches. Lately I've really been wanting Root Beer and Coke again (I completely cut caffeine in the first trimester except for the occasional hot chocolate which is pretty small anyway - and I mostly cut soda except for caffeine free sometimes). Trying hard to stay away from soda and caffeine in general, but Sprite was my friend when I had the flu and I've been stuck on it since then! Gah! My Starbucks drink is super hard to resist (Grande Peppermint Hot Chocolate, nonfat with whip... mmmmmmmm). With my cough though I had to resist hard breads, crackers, or anything too scratchy as it just made me cough more. Have I ever told you how much I love bread?

Food aversions:
Having strange food aversions - not in a nauseating way but just a "wow, can't smell that or eat that, ewww get it away!" Sadly the past week or two that's been to vegetables. I'm still forcing myself because baby needs those nutrients, but it's been hard lately. My favorite place, Panda Express, has been a little bit of an aversion though I've tried hard to make it work. So sad. I love raw cauliflower but a recent not-so-fun experience with it made me realize that eating it raw for the time-being is going to have to cease (I'll still steam it and have it in those micro-steam packs, etc).

Gender:
We will find out in about 5 weeks at my 20 week ultrasound. Yes, we want to know. Yes, we'll tell people. But we aren't telling names until baby is born. Yes, we basically have the names picked out. 12.5 years people. We've had time. Tim's wavering a bit on the boy middle name but that's narrowed down to 2 so we're good. You'll be happy to know that I vetoed Tim's vote for naming a boy Nike. He wanted to be able to tell the poor kid when he needed to do something: "Nike, just do it!" Yes, vetoed. You're welcome.

Changes I've noticed that I can talk about publicly:
I pulled a muscle in both of my sides with all that crazy non-stop coughing (1 in my right rib cage area and 1 in my left lower back/side) so sleeping has been excruciating and nearly impossible. I don't remember the last time I slept well... plus I'm up 2-5 times a night to go to the bathroom anyway. Baby pouch starting to show. Can't sleep on my tummy anymore (hence some struggles with sleeping as this is my very fav position!). Feeling baby flutter - wowsers that's an experience and I'm loving!! But mannnn it's kinda weird when it first starts happening, lol! Hair growth - girls you know how it is - my eyebrows, upper lip, and chin suddenly have more hair than I know what to do with. It's so gross. Waxing is hard to keep up with at this stage so I've decided not to care, it's just too much of a pain. I look like I was raised in the jungle... almost.

What I miss:
Normal sleep. Feeling decent (stupid 4 week cold!). Having even an ounce of energy (want to fall over practically every day - having chronic fatigue & pain on top of pregnancy is a real treat). I'm jealous of people with Fibromyalgia who say that it goes into remission for them during pregnancy. Humph. No such luck here. Still thankful for no morning sickness though!!

What I'm looking forward to:
Meeting baby. Raising baby. Holding baby. Cherishing baby. Learning what true exhaustion means, lol. :) Having an impact on the life of a child. Relating with my mom friends. Sharing baby with family and close friends. Seeing how much he/she is loved. Watching he/she get spoiled. Having our house and hearts full. Training this child up in the Lord. Watching my mom, dad, and brother especially as they grow to love baby and share together in this joy! But seriously - I can't wait to see my husband holding and loving on baby!!!! He's going to be SUCH a great DAD!!! That tickles me to no end. Wow. All that stuff I dreamt of for so long finally coming true! I am still so amazed.

Milestones:
Seeing baby on an ultrasound a few times already (they kept a close eye on things over the past several weeks with being so sick, esp after my fever spiked to 101.4 when this whole thing started 4 weeks ago). The most recent one was incredible - baby was facing us and the doctor pushed the screen right up toward my face (more so than any other time) and showed me how baby was moving like crazy esp his/her arms flailing about!! Seriously so awesome. Went maternity clothes shopping on Saturday. It was exhausting but wonderful too - and I'm so glad Tim went with me! (He's been such a BIG help with everything lately!!) I still can't believe I was doing it. Me. Not with or for another friend. For ME! Eek! Feeling incredibly overwhelmed lately and trying hard not to let things pile up and get to me. That's super tricky because I can get panicked and anxious pretty easily. I spent my lunch hour yesterday just sitting and eating at a favorite local restaurant and making a to-do list so that everything is finally out of my head and down on paper! I feel a bit more sane now. So thankful to have safely passed the first trimester!! I'm so thankful that it hasn't been worse and that I didn't have it too badly.

What I'm learning:
That motherhood really is a sacrifice from day one. That my lack of sleep and exhaustion now is simply preparing me for after the baby is born. That even after getting pregnant, the questions don't stop, they only increase. Also I immediately downloaded 3 pregnancy apps to my iPhone that first week, so every day I'm learning the size of baby, how he/she is growing, what I need to remember, items to add to the to-do list, etc. This has been utterly amazing. Baby is about the size of a pear or an apple this week (nearly 4 inches from crown to rump)! So cool.

Lots to be thankful for!!

Belly pics to come when I am actually really showing beyond just looking like I ate too much! ;)