Today Merfbaby is 15 weeks old and the size of an apple :)
Can I say that I don’t like that all these pregnancy sites use fruits and veggies to give you an idea of how big your baby is? Is it the size of a small apple, a medium apple or a big apple? Wouldn’t it just be easier is they said baby is the size of a deck of cards, a soda can or a stapler? See? Much more clear!
Merfbaby is rockin’ and rollin’ around in there, looking like a legit tiny human…but I can’t feel a thing yet! I know everyone talks about how they can’t wait to feel the baby, and then in a few weeks they complain that all the baby does is sucker punch their bladder. Expect those comments ;)
How I’m Feeling: The second trimester is SO much better. I (knock on wood) don’t have morning sickness hardly at all anymore and I feel like I can actually accomplish things again! I notice that I’m much more tired at the end of the day when I get home from work, but I get little bursts of energy so I can get things done. Over the weekend I had a lot of little things to do and I find that I need to listen to my body when I’m worn down so I can sit for a few minutes and take a break.
Belly/Weight: I didn’t show any weight gain at my last appointment a few weeks ago. The doctor said that’s normal, it just means I’ll gain more weight in the coming months. We don’t have a scale at home and I rarely weigh myself at the gym. I’ve come to be more of a “how my pants are fitting” weight person than a numbers person. I find that my weight is constantly up and down a few pounds over the month so I don’t worry about it too much. Obviously weight gain is much more important during pregnancy so I’m aiming for the healthy weight gain of 25 – 30 pounds. If I’m a little over that, no biggie. My belly is starting to pooch. You can tell big time after I’ve eaten a meal. I still feel like I’m in that “if you didn’t know I was preggers you would just think I’ve gained weight” zone.
Life Changes: Most of my jeans are still fitting, and the belly bands are my new favorite thing. They cover the tops of my snug jeans so I can leave them unbuttoned. A few of my t-shirts are too snug and start the ride up so I’m wearing the bands to help keep the shirts longer. I LOVE to wear yoga pants when I’m home and on the weekends. That’s like the standard Mommy Uniform, yea? Merfman got me an awesome pair of Lululemon crop pants for my birthday that I know are going to get a ton of use ;) Hormones are in full effect…as evident in the Burrito Crisis of 2013. For the past few weeks I’ve had a really stuffy nose, and I thought it was just allergies…oh, and I’ve had some epic nose bleeds (TMI, gross). But, apparently that’s normal? According to Baby Center:
“If your nose is stuffed up, for instance, you can probably chalk it up to the combined effect of hormonal changes and increased blood flow to your mucous membranes. This condition is so common, there’s even a name for it: “rhinitis of pregnancy.” Some pregnant women also suffer nosebleeds as a result of increased blood volume and blood vessel expansion in the nose.”
Movement: Nothing yet, but I’m hoping to feel something in the next few weeks. From what I’ve read first time Mom’s don’t recognize the flutters as early as women that have already been pregnant. So I’m sure I’ll probably just count it as hanger or gas at first? Fun!
Sleep: I’ve always LOVED sleep. But now more than ever. We’ve been going to bed really early (8:30/9:00) since Merfman is back into production on his MTV show…and that means 2:30am wake ups for him! I always have one potty break in the middle of the night. I’ve masted it to the point that I can walk around the dogs, get to the bathroom, do my thing and make it back to bed without ever having to turn on a light. I wake up again when Merfman gets ready for work and we have a short conversation before he leaves. Sometime’s it’s REALLY short, and I just grunt as him when he kisses me goodbye. Most of the time my standard is…”Have a good day, drive safe, I love you.” I need to invest in some more pillows, since side sleeping is starting to become uncomfortable on my hips. I normally wake up a few times in the middle of the night to roll from one side to the other.
Cravings: Still Orange Juice and Lemonade. Also, I’m really loving berries. It’s totally not berry season here, but our store has strawberries and blueberries and I can’t get enough! We made steak for dinner on Saturday for my Mother in Law’s birthday, and my vegetarian self thought it smelled REALLY good. Huh?! I’ve never been a big red meat fan.
Exercise: I did a 1,000 yards at the gym pool on Sunday. I have plans for another swim and a yoga class over the weekend. I was planning to do another swim this morning, but Merfman’s call was later so I opted to sleep in and do my swim over the weekend when he’s working. Since I swam for years and years it’s hard to “take it easy” and just get in some moderate exercise for my three 30 min weekly sessions. I’m not nearly in the shape I was when I was swimming twice a day, but I still get competitive when I see someone in the lane next to me. I would always make it a point to beat them stroke for stroke, now I’m chanting…”remember, you’re pregnant” over and over when I stroke ;)
Favorite Pregnancy Moment this week: For my birthday my Mom gave me a baby blanket she made. For those of you that heard the Christmas Morning story of Momma-son’s reaction to becoming a Grandma…yes, it’s THAT blanket :) We also made plans to visit a baby consignment shop here in Burbank in the next few weeks.
On My Mind: Saturday was my birthday, I turned 27. I realized that this is the year I become a Mom. Ah! I’ll be a few months younger than Momma-son when she had me. Which reminds me… happy BIRTHday to Momma-son. She endured 36 hours of labor to bring me into this world :) I’ve been reading “Baby Wise” and thinking a lot about type of Mom I want to be. There are SO many different type of Parenting styles you can go with…Attachment Parenting, Hyper Scheduled, Parent Directed…I know there isn’t a RIGHT and WRONG way, just the way that works for you and your family. It’s just crazy to think about how much responsibly you have as a parent. You’re thinking, well…Duh, Daniella. I’m talking about making sure the baby is getting enough to eat when feeding those first few weeks, getting them on a sleep schedule so they sleep better and then eat better. Merfman and I have also talked about a few possible names for Merfbaby. We may find out the gender in a few weeks, and I can’t wait when people ask me “what we’re having” to say….”well, we’re pretty sure it’s a human…but it may be a puppy.” ;)
The Merfett 