I feel like I haven't updated everyone in awhile on how my actual pregnancy is going. I will be 18 weeks on Thursday (that feels like a big one to me) and I am finally starting to feel better! I mean, I still get sick when I wake up, when I'm hungry, or when I'm too tired. But do you know what's different about that? Those are all things I can control! If I'm too hungry, I eat; if I'm tired, I sleep. It feels great to have a way to control this. Before, it was completely out of my control and the sickness was beating me. Now I'm winning! Oh, and I haven't thrown up in...two weeks? Maybe three? Just the fact that I don't know the exact amount of days since I last puked is miraculous.
Oh and I have more energy now! I mean, I still crash at around 10:00 at night, but I am able to get things done and I feel more cheerful (most of the time). In fact, I am catching up at work and I don't think I will be behind for the month of May. Hooray for me! As for my moods, I have noticed a lot more "mood swings" now. As in, feeling really sad or anxious or just depressed or...who knows what. Sometimes it comes for a real reason, as in thinking about Indy or stressing over What-Ifs, but mostly it comes out of nowhere, as in...just driving around and feeling mopey for no reason at all. Oh well. Again, it's manageable.
And the best thing?? I'm finally showing! Well, at least for me. I know that most people who don't know me probably still can't tell, but people who do know me have started to notice. Last week FOUR people asked me if I was pregnant. I told my husband how happy I was about this and he said "Well, I'm not surprised." When I asked him what he meant, he proceeded to explain to me that I am the type of person that needs to see proof of my pain. As in, if I stub my toe, I want to see blood to prove how much it hurts. At first I tried to deny it, but I actually think he might be right. Oh well, I guess I'll have to walk around holding my stomach so people know how pregnant I am.
I think I started showing while my mom was here visiting (perfect timing) at 16 weeks and I swear it happened overnight. When my mom showed up on Friday, she was disappointed that she couldn't really tell, but by Sunday she kept exclaiming about how pregnant I looked. I'm so glad that she was here to see it.
Oh and another fun and exciting thing? Maternity clothes!! My mom brought me some as a surprise and I ordered a bunch online (FYI Motherhood Maternity is great, Gap - not so much) so I went from having none at all to suddenly having a new wardrobe. I have read about how amazing maternity clothes were and I was sure people were exaggerating. I mean, how great can huge, stretchy, tent-like clothing really be? But oh my god you guys, I am totally sold. First of all, I'm convinced there is really no reason for any clothing to have snaps or zippers. Stretchy waistbands are great. I also think that maternity clothes make you look more pregnant. My regular clothes were too tight and just cut in in all the right places and made me look like a puffy muffin. But, maternity clothes embrace your pregnancy. They hug your love handles, gently hold your brand new ass, and, most importantly, they give love and attention to your belly.
I am going to post a random array of pictures so you can see what I mean (and also see my little bump!). Please forgive the randomness of the photos. I'll never be able to have a fashion-blog here. I tried to enlist my husband, but he's not very patient and is always running off, so...this is what you get.
First of all, this is a perfect example of don't-blame-the-photography. I literally took it in the bathroom at work. But I was SO excited that day because three people in a row asked if I was pregnant. So I took the picture to document the moment. The shirt I'm wearing is not Maternity, but is a shirt I bought at BCBG when I found out I was pregnant. The leggings are maternity leggings my mom bought me. I know you might think you can just wear regular leggings and I am going to try as long as possible, but these are different. They are wider at top, thinner at bottom, and have a great built-in elastic shelf for your belly.
Here're two shots of the same dress. I ordered it online at Motherhood Maternity and I love it. It's really comfortable while still making me feel feminine and pretty. I can wear it on the weekends or maybe even to work with a cute white blazer. Oh, and you can see my bump! Right....?
Another Motherhood Maternity dress. My mom picked it out, but funnily enough, I already had it on my wish list. I love stripes and I love this dress. It doesn't show my bump yet (unless I'm holding it just so), but it has a LOT of room to grow into.
This is not a great photo (my aunt took it in her hotel room), but I'm posting it in honor of my new maternity jeans. They are hot. Again, Motherhood Maternity, and they are "early pregnancy" jeans. They don't have a band around the waist, but have elastic on the sides, kind of over the pockets that have a LOT of give. The elastic is cute and built into the style of the pants. Oh, and they make my ass look good. This shirt is not maternity and I probably won't fit into it much longer, but it makes my boobs look good when I go out for dinner ;)
And this is just a dress I bought for Mexico next week. I'm getting in the mood!!!
Oh, and one more funny update on the theme of how-my-body-looks-this-week. Do you remember my crazy landlord? Well, she stopped by this weekend and I needed to talk to her about the broken latch on our gate. I was terrified to confront her because I was sure she would refuse to pay for it or blame it on me or try to blame me for her romantic problems or some craziness. But I did it, and all went fine. In the meantime, while I was talking, she starting looking at my body and staring at me and then said, in her Russian accent, "But you are growing so BIG! Your stomach is grooowing and your hips and your butt are getting bigger! Why are you getting so fat??" I thought, wow, ok, so she must know I'm pregnant...and I said, "Well, because I am pregnant." She shrieked and hugged me and said, "What?!?! You are pregnant?!? Congratulations!! That is wonderful!!." But then she stopped and looked me up and down again and raised her hands about two feet apart and said, "But why are your hips and butt getting so wide and fat???"
Wow, I can't help myself from saying this, but I just noticed how disgustingly dimpled my upper arms look. Apparently that comes from not exercising and eating only carbs for four months. Surprised my landlord didn't comment on that too. "But why are your arms so saggy??"
ReplyDeleteHow exciting. I specially love the striped dress and your oufit with the maternity jeans, super cute.
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to read that you are feeling better and that when you feel sick you have some control over it.
And you are going to Mexico again? So jealous. This baby will love Mexico for sure (I am not kidding, I wish I could find it where I read it, but if the mom goes to a place that somehow has an impact on her, it can create "memories" on the baby, maybe not a memory per se, but the kid will remember the "feeling" of being in that place. Because I can't find the source I am not sure how scientific that is, but I love the idea).
Where are you going this time? To "your" special place or somewhere new?
You must love stripes as much as I do! You picked out both striped outfits.
DeleteYes...we're going back to our "special place." I wanted to go to Oaxaca, but my husband convinced me we should just go back to Zihua to relax because I may not feel up to exploring a new town. Not to mention, this time of year it will be really hot and it will be good to just lay on the beach and relax instead of wandering around and exploring. Plus, Zihua is where the baby implanted so it seems the perfect place for a honeymoon!
I LOVE what you said about the baby loving Mexico because of the "feeling." I hope that is true. I feel like I could live in Mexico someday and want my kids to feel the same :)
Zihuatanejo is beautiful, we used to go for family holidays, so it brings back memories. Aside from Puerto Escondido and Huatulco I don't really know Oaxaca and I am dying to visit: beautiful ruins, chocolate factories, and lots of culture (and yes also the beach).
DeleteI do love stripes, there was a time I would only wear striped t-shirts or dresses, I was known for it. Over time it evolved, now I wear lots of color and I have a thing for patterns (flowers, birds...)
Enjoy your holiday, it sounds like bliss!
Yes, Oaxaca has always been on my list. I looked at combining Puerto Escondido or Huatulco with the city of Oaxaca for this trip, but in the long run I think comfort and familiarity will be good for this trip.
DeleteSo glad things are improving nausea-wise! Yay! I think I started getting more mood swings around that time, too. You look SO good! What a cute bump you have! Love your clothes!! Maternity clothes really are the best! :-)
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DeleteThank you! Glad you agree about the maternity clothes. Also, good to hear I'm not alone in the mood swings.
DeleteYou look fantastic!!!! Love, love the dresses ☺
ReplyDeleteThank you!!
DeleteI love the dresses! I have the blue tie-die one too! I had to have it hemmed because it was too long on me. But it's so comfy :) Yay for maternity clothes!
ReplyDeleteFunny that we have the same dress...but not that surprising, there aren't many to choose from! It just means we have great taste ;)
DeleteYay congrats on feeling better and finally showing! You look great!
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, I am going to say that I've had pretty bad luck with Motherhood Maternity (except for jeans and leggings), and got all my tops at Gap because they are the only ones that carry my size. I think it's just a matter of different body types.
Hmm that's interesting because really all I've bought so far are pants, leggings and dresses. I also got a lot of "work pants" from Motherhood that I liked. I returned the black work pants I got from Gap AND the dress I bought. But I haven't tried tops from either place, so that's good advice to hear. Also, you're totally right about different body types.
DeleteOK, you look adorable. I was just telling my husband that I look way more pregnant when I wear maternity clothes than the normal clothes I still fit into. They definitely accentuate the belly. It's fun when people start to notice. I now have strangers commenting and it was weird at first. I kept thinking "how do you know I'm pregnant?' because I thought I was the only one who noticed my belly is bigger. I'm not sure why I don't think anyone else can see it.
ReplyDeleteI feel like we are having such similar pregnancies(except for the part where I have twins). It makes me feel better there is someone else out there at almost 18 weeks who still isn't quite 100% over the nausea. Don't get me wrong, it's soooooo much better than it was, but I didn't have that magical switch go off when I hit the 2nd trimester so I still struggle a bit. It's worse at night so it might be exhaustion contributing to it. Yay for us feeling better!!!
Ha...yes, except for the twin thing, everything you said sounds exactly like me. I always ask people (out loud), "How did you know??" And they say something awkward like, "Well you used to be so skinny, now....you're not." Ha.
DeleteAt least you have an excuse for no magical-2nd-trimester-switch (twins!), but yeah...I totally get it. It's nice to know someone else is suffering too.
Love the striped dress! Soon enough I guess I may just have to check out this maternity wear you speak of... ha.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm at just 10 1/2 weeks and the mood swings are already in full force! So glad you're nausea is dissipating and hopefully, the vomiting is now just a distant memory...
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DeleteI think right around 15 weeks is when I realized my normal pants just made me look like I was trying to squish a lot of muffin top into clothes that were 3 sizes too small. I mean, they still buttoned so it was ok, right? No. Not ok. Then I bought maternity clothes and voila! No longer fat, just pregnant!
DeleteSo funny, I look EXACTLY the same as you, bump-wise -- it definitely looks more pronounced when you kind of push in the top of your tummy with your hand, too, which is what I keep doing while staring in the mirror. Do you find you look a lot more preggo at the end of the day? In the morning, my bump is still fairly flat, but by the time I've eaten dinner, it's like I'm suddenly about to give birth!
ReplyDeleteYes, definitely! I feel so much bigger at night and so much more Pregnant. As in, it seems hard to get up off the bed, and I waddle around holding my belly like I'm 40 weeks pregnant. I pee every 30 seconds and wonder if it is all in my imagination. Ha. I think it's just me, my body, and my baby being tired. (scientific explanation!)
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