adventures in growing a human/17 weeks

in february of 2011, i babysat for sarah's 7 month old baby. clearly i was very inexperienced but i think i faked it pretty well (note: we both survived). since then i have babysat again approximately zero more times. but i have a puppy, so that counts for something i think.

i (vaguely) remember when my twin brothers were born and being a huge help to my mom with them. i was six years old. my "help" probably included looking at them and making funny faces to try to keep them from crying while my mom did what grown ups do when they need time to themselves away from their newborns (wine, lots of wine)... can i borrow someones 6 year old next summer? i also remember my grandmothers being scared to death that i was going to drop of of them on their head as i carried them around like they were rag dolls (they were 4 pounds... i think i could successfully carry them both around, singing songs, probably on my roller skates...)

they too survived.

so im ready to try this whole thing myself, dont ya think?
(insert a lot of laughing here.... and some tears... holy crap im kinda scared)

so far this whole pregnancy thing has been a piece of cake (knock on wood).... (mmmm cake....). minus a few (20ish) emotional breakdowns over nothing  and some massive mood swings, i really feel great. sign me up for this a few more times (does anyone want a few more kids?) ive been jealous of others getting baby bumps earlier than me, and then this morning i got upset that a pair of my jeans wouldnt button. go figure. and yesterday i took my 17 week pics, thought i looked huge, changed my clothes and cried all the way to work. (pass me some more oreos...)

growing a human is truly bizarre though. have i followed every piece of advice out there that you are/are not supposed to do while pregnant? ha. right. i had a ham and cheese sandwich once. coffee? a must (but i havent overdone it by any means). ive cleaned the cat litter box when ty forgets. i ran two marathons within two weeks (some docs say thats ok, mine might as well have hid under the desk clutching her security blanket scared out of her mind she hates it so much). theres just so much to remember and i find myself googling everything (i cant eat raw fish but i can have shrimp cocktail? why confuse me?!) and i drank enough in the first 5 weeks i didnt know i was pregnant... im shocked the little one doesnt have 6 toes on one foot.

i have, however, done a few things that i know is good for the baby... i hate oranges but will eat a clementine or two at least once a day (i still refuse to drink orange juice though, gross). lots of green veggies, salad, apples, and carrots. i drink a lot of milk and water. i cant get enough cherrios/whole grains. and you already know ive continued to exercise... so overall, im not doing that bad. things could be a lot worse...

i own a few books about what to expect when youre expecting and the like, which look like they havent really been touched (which is slightly accurate...). and of course everyone has some piece of info to share (some good, some not so good... im pretty sure im not looking foward to the last few weeks of pregnancy, from what ive heard).

i think ill start a little "things i knew/things i didnt know/things i need to learn" section here every now and then. these lists are sure to grow over the next few months. and i apologize in advance for the potential graphic detail, but its my blog. ill do what i want. and to my one male reader, enjoy :) (although im confident youve heard all of this before)

things i already knew about being pregnant 

(but most of which still seems pretty weird)

-cravings- although i havent really had any of the "its 3am omg if i dont have the most weirdest combo of foods RIGHT NOW im gonna die" cravings, ive wanted jalapenos on almost everything, couldnt eat enough broccoli in the first few weeks, and couldnt leave the grocery store last week without getting oreos and coffee ice cream.

-weight gain- obviously this is inevitable with pregnancy, but its weird and after spending many years running and exercising and eating whatever i wanted and staying right at/around 125, its weird to see the scale over 130 again... and continuing to go up.

-stretch mark potential- im doing my best to counteract this potential... my skin is so dry all the time anyway, but im paying a lot more attention to my stomach and all other areas where sneaky stretch marks may decide to rear their ugly head as i grow.

-new bras- yes, im finally getting what ive wanted since i was 13 and everyone around me was getting (and i wasnt). and i love it. and soon ill get to go on a shopping spree! (still not going to buy nursing bras... how unattractive).

-people like to touch bellies- but im really not even showing... how about you wait a few more weeks, thanks.

-you should do kegal exercises a few times a day- i usually remember approximately 3 minutes before falling asleep, do it like once and say screw it.

things i didnt know about being pregnant 
(did you?!)

-the "transvaginal/internal" ultrasound- this had to be the #1 thing i definitely did NOT know about. (of course after it happened i ran right to my "what to expect" book and there it was... maybe i should really read this book). anyway, when ty and i went for our first ultrasound (think "excited first time parents!!") and im thinking "this will be great, i hope that gel they put on your stomach isnt too cold! cant wait to see our little wonder projected on the big screen..." yeah that didnt happen. the tech had me strip from waist down, cover myself with a white paper sheet, handed me the biggest stick/wand thing ive ever seen (over the weeks of me telling this story its become about the size of a giraffes leg) and says "here, ill let you insert this yourself". what? say that again? yup. pretty awesome. (^#$@%$^!@(%$)

-my boobs itch. wth? this is so strange.

-emotional sitting on the floor sobbing uncontrollably drooling breakdowns- oh yes. worse than any pms youve ever had.

-eventually youre body gets so messed up in all sorts of ways that when i sneeze i might pee myself- huh?! im sorry, this has to be the most f'ed up thing ive heard. and more than one person has told me this. totally looking forward to that.

things i still need to learn

-how to take care of a newborn- um...yup.


so pretty much im just hoping sarah will send me an email every day about what to do with my newborn like she did when i babysat... or im screwed.


how far along? 17 weeks, 1 day
total weight gain: 9 pounds
babys size/development this week: baby is the size of a turnip this week (bigger than an avacado, which was last week. im not sure what a turnip looks like actually). babys skeleton is changing from soft cartilage to bone. baby weighs about 6 oz and is 5 inches long. 
maternity clothes: one of my pairs of jeans was put into the back of the closet until next year, i bought a new top i love, and im still lounging in my yoga pants as much as i can. unlike meredith, ill go out in public wearing sweatpants or yoga pants... no shame. and live in westbrook. if you lived here, you would understand.
stretch marks? no but ive become obsessive about lotion.
sleep: ugh... not great. ive started sleeping with a body pillow... apparently its not good to sleep on my back? and stomach is fully uncomfortable, and left side is supposedly better for your blood pressure and circulation than right side... who makes this shit up?! needless to say, sleep is not awesome right now, and its sure to get less awesome in the weeks to come.
miss anything? good sleep and ibuprofen still. everythings sore.
movement? not really but maybe? im not sure but i should start feeling something soon
food cravings? last week was coffee ice cream and oreos. that has seemed to pass now.
anything making you queasy or sick? negative.
best moment of the week: last night when i got home from work ty had cleaned the house, remembered to turn on all the xmas lights, and we watched a few christmas shows on tv. it was nice to have this kinda night with him 
name ideas: we have ours picked out... what do you want us to name him/her? (ill be sure to take all ideas into consideration)
nursery decor: havent done anything new since last week, but i think i found a rocker that i like and im starting to look at some of the bedding. right now im big on monkeys and owls.
symptoms: nah. although im getting much more short of breath with just walking up one flight of stairs... i can run 10 miles but cant walk up a flight of stairs? go figure.
miles run this week: 13 (one of which was an awesome 10 miler)
wedding rings on or off? on
mood: pretty good overall, minus the breakdown yesterday am before work 
looking forward to: xmas shopping/run with sarah this weekend!