Before getting pregnant, I always wondered what it felt like to be pregnant. Sure, I could imagine the nausea and swollen feet, but I was always most curious about what a pregnant belly felt like. Well I'm here to tell you that it feels...normal! I feel like my regular self. It's hard to explain, but it doesn't feel like I have a round stomach. I can move and shake almost as good as I could pre-pregnancy, except now it's just sometimes harder to bend over. I was totally surprised to find out that it's not as night and day as I had imagined. It's also interesting that when I wake up in the morning my belly is so much smaller than when I go to bed at night. It's huge at night! I guess it's all full of water and food by the end of the day. Arthur says my stomach feels hard and round like a basketball. And considering my uterus is now the size of a soccer ball, that's pretty accurate!
Can you believe that LB grew 4 oz this week? That seems crazy to me. She is also now the size of a cantaloupe or ear of corn. Even nuttier! I'm told she's going to start fattening up soon, which just makes my heart skip a beat. Chubby baby legs in t-minus 16 weeks! I've noticed her kicks getting much stronger this week specifically. Papa K was feeling them the other day and agreed that they definitely feel like limbs flailing around versus little squirms. I'm also started to feel multiple limbs at once. Movements often feel she is doing jumping jacks.
This week has been mostly low-key, which is exactly as I had hoped. We lead a pretty busy life, which has been a challenge to balance through the ebbs and flows of pregnancy. My primary goal going into the third trimester in a few weeks(?!) is to pair down as much as we possibly can and prioritize cooking, exercising, reading and resting. Typically, our commitment to our community (fellowship/friends) takes over our calendar weeks and months in advance, but this just can't be the case as my body begins to slow down.
I've definitely made some strides in the right direction over the past couple weeks. We started our CSA (community supported agriculture) box this week. Look at this pile of juicy organic cherries—as good as gold in my book!
This is our second summer participating in a CSA and I couldn't be more thrilled. Having a box of prepaid produce each week is just the kick in the pants I need to get my booty cooking. Surprisingly, cooking has been the last thing I've wanted to do all throughout pregnancy. It used to be what I would come home and do to relax. I think it's because I still have such a huge aversion to garlic and onions, which are the base for almost everything delicious. Or maybe it's just that I would much rather lay down and get off my tailbone and feet when I get home. Either way, I need to be eating healthy, balanced meals and I'm certain our CSA couldn't have started at a better time.
I've also made it to yoga two weeks in a row and definitely don't plan on stopping until this baby is out. There was a woman at 38 weeks pregnant in today's class, which was so inspiring. I have been experiencing a bit of vertigo ever since last week's class though. I mentioned it to the instructor who gave me tips on how to cope and not exacerbate it during class, and also suggested I take 1–2 Emergen-c packets a day to help replenish my electrolytes. She said she had a woman once stop doing yoga because it aggravated her vertigo, but I'm really hoping my body will adjust. I've always had an incredibly sensitive equilibrium and easily get motion sick, so it makes sense.
Look—we also got a carseat! This was a generous gift from my mother-in-law for our little lady. We opted for the ever-popular Chicco Keyfit 30 carseat in the color, Limonata. I was so set on getting this color since it was the most vibrant and least drab out of all the options, but it was sold out EVERYWHERE. We eventually found one on eBay and had it shipped over from New York. It seems like we got the only one available on the internet. It’s a lovely color in person, and we are excited to try it out—16 weeks and counting. We plan to go to Children’s in a few weeks and get our installation checked out. For now it’s just sitting in the nursery. We thought it was funny that “they” recommend going to a fire station to get your installation checked. Arthur used to be a firefighter and has no training on proper carseat installation...
In other exciting news, we chose a doula. She’s a gem, and makes me even more excited for labor and birth. Her name is Matilda White of Let It Be Birth. How cute is her name?! Even better—she’s Swedish with an adorable accent. She has asked that I keep her up to date with my prenatal appointments and let her know if anything emotional or medical comes up. She is even willing to go with me to an appointment or two if I want her to. Maybe I will look through our Centering curriculum and invite her to a session that would be useful for her to be there. I think the doulas like to do this so they can meet your midwife or OB. Although in our case, we have a group of five rotating midwives, so we won’t know who will be on call when I go into labor. Anyways, I’m really looking forward to our first prenatal appointment together in a few weeks. She said she has a worksheet for me to go through that will help me write my birth plan, and that she will help me with that process.
Overall this was a good week, despite my swollen feet and back aches. We even had a chance to attend two weddings this past weekend. Can you say party animal? ;) I just barely fit into two separate dresses. I’m planning to get a new dress for the other two weddings we are invited to this summer since I’m not sure those dresses are going to work for much longer.
Need to catch up?
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