18 Week Bump Update!
How far along? 18 weeks - the baby is the size of a sweet potato and I am officially entering month 5 of pregnancy! I’m almost halfway there – it’s crazy! I had a doctor's appointment this week to get some blood tests that will show us if there is any cause for concern with the baby so hopefully those come back with nothing to report. My next doctor's appointment is June 18 the week after the ultrasound.
Total weight gain: I’m still at 157, it has fluctuated by a couple pounds here and there but pretty much the same, and the doctor didn’t say anything when she weighed me at my appointment this week. Apparently, average weight gain by the end of the second trimester is 20 pounds total and I’ve got 9 weeks left and 10 pounds to go. I know I kinda focus on the weight a lot, but really I'm not that concerned as long as I'm feeling good and have good stamina and am eating well and stuff.
Exercise: Exercise has been a little spotty this week. I was really tired on the weekend and just did not feel up to it, and normally, as long as I have the perfect exercise I’m good. I usually have an idea of what type of video I’m looking to do on youtube and can find one fairly quickly but it was just no go, finally on Tuesday I was like I need to get moving and do SOMETHING! I watched this video by Samatha’sGreenLife about her pregnancy workout routine and she was talking about how one day she does cardio, then pilates, and then yoga and then switches. And thought that it sounded like a really good idea, I’ve mostly been focusing on strength and toning but I know yoga is good for you during pregnancy and I wanted to do it but I just hadn’t yet. So that night I did yoga and I think it got me back on track a little. Then Wednesday morning woke up early and did a prenatal barre workout, Thursday I did a ButtLift Bootcamp cardio video and then a PopSugar Prenatal Workout – both 10 minutes cause I got out of work early to go the doctor and then I ended up doing a yoga video before bed too. Which was so nice!
Maternity clothes: Yeah, I love my new stretchy tights I got from the maternity store – I wear them a lot and my new maternity dress.
Stretch marks? Nothing so far, but I’m still fairly tiny.
Sleep: Not great this week.
Best moment this week: We went on a date night yesterday, which was really nice and the first time since I've been pregnant pretty much, aside from our anniversary where we stayed in the hotel and went out for dinner and stuff. But for the longest time I was feeling so crappy and all food was revolting and sitting up in a chair for any amount of time was torture so it's nice to do that again.
Miss anything? Sleeping on my stomach? Well, I still kinda do but I try to sleep on my side as well and I can’t sleep on my stomach as well as I used to, always gotta have that leg out to prop me up a little bit.
Movement: Nothing, although I guess any time now I could start to feel something, but the doctor told me probably at about 20 weeks.
Food cravings: If anything I’ve got a bit of a sweet tooth, nothing crazy but I feel like that’s what I want sometimes – especially after dinner. Ice cream, caramel popcorn, cupcakes, cookies... but I haven't been pigging out on it or anything. Don't want to get gestational diabetes - gotta keep the blood sugar in check.
Food aversions: Nothing I can really think of.
Gender: No idea, but my doctor told me girls are more fun! Lol. Amanda told me – get ready to find out it’s a boy.
Labour signs: Nope!
Symptoms: I was feeling a little crampy and bloated the other day and around my lower abdomen I feel a little not really pain or cramping but just…. maybe I'm just feeling the baby getting in the way and taking up space.
I was looking at the possible symptoms they start to warn you about because now that I'm starting to get a little bigger and further along, more of these things that really affect you physically are more possible, so I'm starting to pay more attention. Things like varicose veins (I have been trying really hard not to cross my legs), hemorrhoids (!yuck!), heartburn, swelling and fluid retention, leg cramps. For the first time I actually read through all this stuff, like ok, what can I do about this, how can I reduce or stop it from happening. Maybe I’ll be eating my words on this later – let’s hope not, but the recommendations are all the same, and not a big deal either. Don’t sit or stand for too long, make sure you keep the blood moving, put your feet up when you can, exercise, sleep on your side, eat a healthy diet. I feel like I don’t have that much risk of this stuff if I keep doing what I’m doing, and then maybe just start laying with my feet up once or twice a day.
Belly button in or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? On! Although Mark's is off, he wanted to put it on for the first time in a long time yesterday and I guess now that he's back to working with tools his fingers have gotten a little more solid and it was really tight.
Happy or moody most of the time: I’d say happy, especially this week – Mark started his new job and he is so, so, so happy and has so much more energy and I just love seeing him like this instead of all stressed and tired like when he was acting foreman. So it makes me really happy :)
Looking forward to: Ultrasound!! Two more weeks! And feeling the baby move for the first time.
