13 weeks

Well, another week down. I am now officially in the 2nd trimester which is marked by the start of the 13th week of pregnancy. I'll take it! 

Thirteen weeks.

Above: the dreaded belly shot at 13 weeks (on the top). The prior week (12 weeks) is on the bottom for sake of comparison. Looks about the same to me, but who knows. 

How I'm feeling?

Still much better now that I'm out of the first trimester hell. My boobs have decided they want to hurt a little bit again (really, are you kidding me? COME ON), I've been peeing 2-3 times a night still (annoying), but really I don't have much to complain about. I've been really tired off and on even though I am getting plenty of sleep so it's possible the baby is going through a growth spurt this week. I only had one hormonal melt down this week which is definite progress. Essentially I feel like my old self again minus little hints of being pregnant here and there. Nothing like the constant reminders that you have in the first trimester.

How I'm changing?

My pants still don't fit (guess I should get used to his, huh?) In fact, I went through a massive closet overhaul last weekend to weed out clothes that I probably will not fit into until next year at this time. The pants above (top photo) were just barely manageable without a bella band. I squeezed into them but by the end of the day I was MISERABLE. I don't imagine I will wear them again until post-pregnancy. 

What I'm eating?

Anything and everything although I decided this week that I'm pretty grossed out by salmon. We tried to make it for Valentine's day and I ate it but I was totally grossed out. I'm not sure what that's about. I'm also strangely grossed out by raw vegetables which is SO weird given that salads and raw veggies were pretty much my staple for, I don't know, YEARS? I can only eat cooked vegetables so I'm sauteing vegetables pretty much every night to eat in some form to get the nutrients and then I'll take leftovers for lunch. The thought of a salad makes me want to puke which strikes me as absolutely hilarious since I've lived on salads for years and they were always my favorite things to eat/order, etc. I'm hoping my love for them returns eventually. I'm still also grossed out by eggs so every day for breakfast I'm eating toast with a banana and peanut butter. It's pretty tasty. Also: la croix water is AMAZING. It's basically just carbonated water but it tastes so good. 

Weight I'm gaining? 

I was 121.3 pounds on Friday. I will weigh myself weekly just to see where I'm at. This is about .5 pounds higher than last week (last week I was 120.8). I think that's about normal and probably no real change week over week since water weight can contribute greatly to small fluctuations. I started this whole thing off at around 115 pounds in the November time period (I'd gained 5 pounds through diet and lifting weights since the wedding in August. It needed to happen). 

How I'm sleeping? 

Pretty good, other than the whole getting up to pee thing. I don't think that's going to get much better, either. I think it's your body's way of training you for a newborn (maybe I just made that up but it makes sense).

What's the baby doing?

-The baby is about the size of a peach, about 3 inches long and weighs an ounce

-The baby's body is starting to catch up to its massive head which makes up just a third of his/her body size now (up until this week, the head has been proportionally larger than the rest of its body)

-The motor skills are starting to work and the baby is able to move and flex the arms and legs

-Fingerprints have started to form and veins/organs are visible through its skin

-If it's a girl she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries (I still think ours is a boy)

What we are doing to prepare for the baby?

Well, we bought a new car (click here if you missed that post).  Other than that, we really haven't done much. We don't know the sex and are still undecided if we are going to find out the sex so we haven't started in on a nursery or buying anything yet. Plus, I am absolutely clueless about what I even NEED to do so perhaps that should be my first step. 

We are currently trying to decide on a couple of trips pre-baby. We are going back to Kansas City in late May or early June for one last pre-baby trip there and then we are trying to decide what is feasible for a trip away (a babymoon of sorts) around my birthday. It IS my 30th birthday and we had previously had grand plans of a big party involving wine tasting with a bunch of friends to celebrate. Well, those plans have to be changed a bit so it seems like a good opportunity to go away somewhere on a last pre-baby trip and to celebrate a new decade. I want to go somewhere warm so we are thinking either California or Hawaii. I'm just not sure how much I'd be able to DO in Hawaii which might drive me nuts. I'm still undecided. Or southern California for it's proximity and (hopefully) warm weather. April down there can be hit or miss. I think Phoenix would be too hot for me at the end of April. Too bad, as I love Phoenix and that would be fun too. We shall see! Part of it depends on how much we owe in taxes this year (stupid IRS...)

Random thoughts on pregnancy (pregnancy brain?)

I sort of freaked out this week about the whole labor thing. The more I am pregnant the more real it feel and I'm just not sure how something that is 7 or 8 (or god forbid, MORE) pounds is going to come out of me. I mean, granted it happens but this week it hit me like a ton of bricks that something is actually IN me and has to come OUT. I know this seems ridiculous but I also think it's something that all pregnant women experience- the reality of giving birth, especially for first time moms. I think it's hard to get your head around since everything is so new and unfamiliar and while there is comfort in the fact that you are not alone and bazillions of women have done it before you, there is still some shock in the HOLY HELL. HOW is this going to WORK? (And in 6 months, I'm sure my daily mantra will be GET THE HELL OUT OF ME). Again, coming back to the adage: pregnancy is weird.