My name is Blakely, and I’m a junk-food addict…

I’ll start out by saying that I know that I’ve made some ‘less-than-stellar’ nutritional choices over the last few weeks.  But, if I’m hungry and the only thing that sounds even relatively edible to me (also see: doesn’t make me want to immediately throw-up) happens to be a cheap Totino’s pizza or a double decker taco from Taco Bell, then I’m going to eat a cheap Totino’s pizza or a double decker taco.  Unfortunately for my wonderful husband, my food cravings/aversions end up deciding most of our meals for us, and while pizza or mexican for 90% of our meals is fine by me, he’s not so pleased…

As I’m entering my 13th week (both sites I look at agree that BabyMort is about the size of a peach this week!!) I think some of my nausea/morning sickness problems are going away.  But since I’m still not feeling 100%, I’ve promised my husband that he won’t have to eat more than 1 meal a day that’s pizza or mexican.  That’s not to say that I won’t though 😀

When I’m not feeling sick, I do try to fit in my fruits and veggies for the day and I make sure to take my vitamin every day, so I don’t feel like I’m doing too bad.  Although that may just be me in total denial!!

Enough about me…

So I’ve been experiencing many of the normal symptoms that go along with pregnancy and I’m dealing with them as best I can.  But what about BabyMort??  What is he/she up to these days??  Well, BabyMort has doubled in size in the last few weeks – boy am I glad babies don’t grow that fast once they’re out!!  I’ll provide you with a few pieces of produce to approximate how big BabyMort is…

BabyMort’s size according to www.thebump.com: A Plum

BabyMort’s size according to www.babycenter.com: A Lime

So we’re up to the size of a plum or the size of a lime.  Not too shabby.  Most of the vital systems have formed, so now BabyMort can focus on getting bigger!!  Reflexes are becoming more common and soon our baby’s little fingers and toes will be curling and his/her mouth will make sucking movements.  Aaron likes to (gently) poke my stomach, because he read that it will make BabyMort squirm.  The digestive tract is already ‘practicing’ contracting movements to aid in digestion 28 weeks from now.

A Brilliant Idea!!

WARNING: The following post contains references to vomiting*.  If you don’t want to read about it, STOP NOW!!

One of the lovely things many women get to deal with during pregnancy is “morning sickness,” defined as : nausea occurring in the early part of the day, especially, as a characteristic symptom in the first months of pregnancy.  I think I’ve learned to deal with this pretty well at this point, eating frequent, small meals and trying to maintain a fairly constant blood sugar level.  However, every now and then, it just comes out of nowhere and, in general, I’d say I’m much more sensitive to getting sick*.  For example, brushing my teeth and coughing are two things that frighten me these days, because both have made me hurl*.  So I try to be ultra-aware of these things and how my body is feeling/reacting to situations to keep myself from spewing* and am always aware of the closest bathroom or waste receptacle in case of emergency.

So, where is the previously referred to “brilliant idea?”  Be patient, I’m getting there.  This past Saturday we drove out to visit some friends and my dad and Roarke for the day.  And to be honest, a 2 hour car ride seemed a little daunting.  What if I suddenly needed food??  Well, we packed some snacks.  But, what if I suddenly felt like I was going to regurgitate*?  I didn’t want Aaron to have to get off on the shoulder and then do my business with cars zooming by.  And even worse, what if this happened on our ~10 hour car ride out to Ohio next week?!?  I’ll admit I’m a worrier, but that’s not going to change, so I needed to figure out how to make myself feel better about these possible situations.  Luckily, just in the nick of time, I received a brilliant idea from a friend – even if she was just sharing her unfortunate experience.

…drumroll please…

Keep a stash of Ziploc bags handy!!  That way, if you do retch*, you have a handly little container that can easily be sealed until proper disposal is available!!  I’m so relieved!!  Now all I have to do is decide what snacks to pack for 5 days away from home with 20 hours in the car and figure out if I’ll still fit into my clothes in a week and a half…

*I felt like using different words for “vomit” each time I referenced it, so I used the handy thesaurus.  I thought if I was writing a whole post about it, I could at least try to keep it interesting instead of just disgusting.  I’m not sure if I was successful in the ‘not just disgusting part,’ but it refreshed my vocabulary for a term I’m sure I’ll use a lot with a baby/kids in the future.

Enough said…

tired [tahy^uhrd]  
–adjective

1.	exhausted, as by exertion; fatigued or sleepy: a tired runner.

Through the eyes of a 7 year-old

I have a great little brother, Roarke, who is 7 years old.  He lives about 2 hours away and we only get to see eachother every couple months.  He and his mom just moved so that they’re about a block away from my dad, so he’s been getting to spend more time with him, and as a result, I’ve spent a lot more time talking to him on the phone.  Between our phone conversations and seeing eachother every now and then, he makes me laugh a lot.  Since my sister-in-law got pregnant, there have been some great baby-related ‘Roarke-isms’ that I don’t want to forget!!

• Justin and Becky called Roarke to tell him they were pregnant when they were about 9 weeks along.  His mom was in the background feeding him questions, so he asked, “How far along are you?”  When they told him they were 9 weeks along, he responded, “Well why didn’t’ you tell me 9 weeks ago?!?”
• Then he started suggesting names for them.  His favorite show is Ben 10: Alien Force on Cartoon Network.  So Roarke suggested to Justin and Becky that they name their baby “Ben” if it’s a boy and “Gwen” if it’s a girl, because that’s like Ben only for a girl.  They said they hadn’t decided on any names, but Roarke was pretty insistent.
• Roarke and my dad came to visit when I was about 6 weeks pregnant, so we told them in person.  Roarke’s response was, “but you’re not even fat!!”  Becky was starting to show, and the typical image of a pregnant woman is when she’s big towards the end, so I can see where that was coming from.  I didn’t fit into his schema for someone who’s pregnant – or “fat” as the case may be 😀
• I called my dad one day when he and Roarke were hanging out.  I had just started experiencing morning sickness, so when my dad asked how I was feeling, I told him this.  Roarke heard tid-bits of the conversation and then asked my dad what that was.  My dad very nicely explained to him that sometimes when a woman is pregnant, she gets an upset stomach.  After that, Roarke and I talked for a minute, then he hung up with me and immediately called Becky to see if she had a stomachache.
• After we heard the heartbeat, I called my dad to let him know.  Roarke was just coming in the door, so I got a chance to talk to him as well.  He asked something along the lines of ‘why did you call’ or ‘what have you been doing’ so I told him that we’d heard the baby’s heartbeat and I wanted to tell dad about it.  He responded, with a tone implying that I was crazy, with, “You heard the baby’s heartbeat…huh…”  I quickly changed the subject, because I didn’t think I’d convince him!!

I still have a hard time believing that Roarke is as old as he is.  I was there when he was born and was one of the first to hold him, feed him, change him, etc…  It was amazing.  I imagine that it will be even more special with our baby next summer.  And I can’t wait to see how Uncle Roarke handles having baby nieces and/or nephews around next year!!

Way to grow, BabyMort!!

Depending on what you read (in my case, www.babycenter.com and www.thebump.com), BabyMort is the size of a fig or the size of a key lime this week.  It’s diaphragm is forming, so there might be some hicupping occurring.  And best of all, BabyMort’s little heart is beating strong at about 160 beats per minute.  We got to hear it today at our appointment!!  *sigh*  Absolutely fantastic!!

“What would you like for breakfast??”

This isn’t a funny question, right??  Unless of course your husband follows it up with, “A smokie sandwich or a poop-tart??”  Ok, then it sounds disgusting, right??  But he was really being quite nice and sympathetic to my current bloated and constipated state.  When he went grocery shopping yesterday, he bought Fiber One Toaster Pastries for me.  So, it’s a brand of toaster pastries, or “Pop Tarts” as they’re commonly known, that are meant to get things moving.  Hence the lovely name my husband gave them.

Fiber One Toaster Pastry, Chocolate, 11-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 12)

I don’t know if they worked, but they made me smile 😀

Exercise – or lack thereof…

I’ve been feeling guilty, because we’ve only been to the gym 2 or 3 times in the last 6 weeks or so since we found out I was pregnant.  And all 2 or 3 times occurred within the first couple weeks before I started feeling tired and then nauseous.  I’ve read the literature that says exercising can actually help you feel like you have more energy and can help with morning sickness, constipation and bloating.  But translating what I’ve read to real motivation just hasn’t happened.

So my plan: We have another doctor’s appointment on Tuesday.  I’ll check with my doctor then to double check the do’s and dont’s.  There are a couple classes I like that are offered at our gym, but I know there’s a few things I can’t do in those classes, so I’ll find out if he has suggestions for modifications.  I’ve always been more excited/motivated to go to a class then just working out on my own.  In addition, theoretically, the nausea and fatigue, to some extent, should go away within a couple weeks, so that should make it easier to get going.

Hopefully things work out the way they do in my head.  If I’m still being lazy in a few weeks, I’m counting on all of you to get me going!!

Bella Bands

Have I mentioned that I’ve been bloated??  It’s a generally uncomfortable feeling that I could do without, but the real issue has been my clothes!!  As I’ve mentioned before, something that fits in the AM might not fit later on in the day.  And it’s now getting to the point where a lot of things don’t even fit in the AM.  If I can get something buttoned, the tightness tends to aggrivate any symptoms of nausea that I may be experiencing.  However, I don’t think I need to switch to maternity apparel yet – #1, I don’t have a large budget for maternity clothes, so I’d prefer to wait as long as possible to keep the variety in my wardrobe;  #2, I don’t have a large budget for maternity clothes, so I don’t really want to spend a lot of it on winter pieces;  #3, I’d just look silly, because I don’t really look pregnant yet.  So, in come Bella Bands:

Ingrid & Isabel Women’s Maternity Everyday BellaBand

I ordered 2 of these last week – one in black and one in white with lace on the bottom.  They are fantastic!!  The whole idea is what you can continue to wear your normal pants, but can leave them unbuttoned (and possibly unzipped depending on the pants), because the Bella Band covers up your unbuttoned-ness and holds everything in place.  As you get bigger and switch to maternity pants, reviews say that you can continue to wear them if the panel is a little baggy to help smooth things out.

They were a little pricey – at least for someone as bargain driven as I am – but I think it was well worth the money, because instead of only getting 1-2 pairs of pants for the money, I can wear them with all of my pants, both work and casual.

10 down, 30 to go!!

According to BabyCenter, BabyMort has officially entered the fetal period!!  BabyMort is about the size of a kumquat (see picture below), fingernails and toenails are starting to develop and limbs can bend.

I really enjoy reading the little updates on what’s new with BabyMort this week.  At this stage in the game, it’s really nice to get a little extra motivation/reminder of why I’m feeling so crappy.  I’ve been struggling a lot with constant nausea, constipation, fatigue and trouble sleeping – not a good combination!!  In the 11 hours I spent in bed last night (I ended up going in to work late this morning, because I just felt too bad for a Monday morning) I had to get up 5 different times to use the restroom.  Come on!!

However…then today I read that BabyMort has peach fuzz growing on its tiny little body, and fingernails and has its little arms crossed over its body, meeting at its heart.  That’s just the little boost I need to say, “So what if I’ve become a human peeing machine?!?  And so what if half the foods I used to love sound repulsive to me and my sense of smell is so heightened that I can’t escape our gassy dogs?!?  We’re lucky enough to get an amazing little baby out of all this.  I can deal – especially since I’m 25% of the way through the pregnancy!!”