Week 24: I Can Lose Weight When Pregnant? Damn You, Jenny Craig.

(written by Kate)

Couple of things.

If anyone can get me a Salty Pimp cone
from this place I will love you forever.

1. V-DAY!  Saturday marked the beginning of Week 24 which is considered Viability Day.  Or V-Day (totally different meaning than it used to hold for me).  This means, should the baby be born after this point, her likelihood of living outside of the womb so young increases significantly- of course with a lot of medical assistance.  Obviously we hope she stays in there for many more weeks, but it's a freakin' milestone so we're gonna celebrate it.  Probably with McDonald's soft serve.

Sooooo I can't consider mac & cheese
a vegetable?

2. Weight and Pregnancy.  So, typically, women get totally excited about being pregnant as they can "eat whatever they want" and not care.  As a heavier person this is not the case for me. Now or ever.  In my life.  Ever.  When I first met my OBGYN she challenged me to only gain a pound a month (most women with average BMI are allowed 25-40 pounds for the whole 9 months).




Now since becoming pregnant we haven't changed a whole lot about what we eat- honestly we ate pretty healthy before.  It was mostly cutting out alcohol (*sniff*), deli meats (I pine for you turkey club sandwich) and drinking a lot more water (you taste like nothing- you're just wet).



Despite the fact that I get off the couch about as gracefully as a jet landing on a tarmac covered in petroleum jelly and feel like I should travel by mode of Oompa Loompas rolling me, I've lost 16 pounds since getting pregnant.  WHAT.  THE.  HELL.  I've struggled with weight my entire life doing fad diets, Weight Watchers at the age of 12 and even surgery.  I procreate and I lose weight?!  I even put my gym membership on hold and changed to walking a couple times a week instead...so this is hard to believe! Not that I'm complaining.


3. Cravings. I don't have any weird cravings, but I am definitely more into sweets.  Specifically ice cream.  Mint chocolate chip. I'm trying every flavor out there so if you have a fav holler at me.

When Meg Brings Home a Toblerone

4. Maternity Clothes.  The struggle is real.  I am trying not to spend a lot of money on clothes I can only wear for a few months, but just because I'm losing weight doesn't mean my pre-pregnancy clothes are fitting me.

Let's remember that I've got a big ole bump growing on the front of me- and by the laws of physics: shit don't fit. #science  So putting on a pre-preggers shirt ends up being a battle of tummy exposure over indecent exposure.

5. Baby Talk.  I'm gonna apologize to all of our non-pregnant & childless friends.  Despite our best efforts, we can't help but talk about baby stuff. Chico or Gracco? Not since McDonald's fries v. Wendy's fries has there been a greater debate...  Also pregnancy side effects... nursery decor...the outrageous cost of daycare. We try really hard, but these things will always come up.  We have very awesome friends that politely listen and we totally understand if you're actually replaying the last episode of "House of Cards"  in your mind while smiling and nodding at us.

When you see another pregnant woman,
you have a secret 'hello'.

I am very happy that there is a small posse of pregnant women at my company so we can be baby crazy together.  There are two ladies that just had their babies and three who are due only a couple weeks before me.  And my boss just told me his wife is pregnant due five weeks after me- good luck everyone when we all peace out on maternity leave!


Next up: Nursery "before" shots and "after" plan. (for real this time, I know we promised it last week, but...)

Week 23- "Maybe she'll look like you!"

(words by Meg. Gifs by Kate)

Yesterday we had our 3rd try at the anatomy scan ultrasound which is usually completed at week 18. Baby Girl was still not psyched about flipping over for the tech, but she finally did and we got nice clear pictures of her perfect heart! Phew. We also had the tech confirm that it's a girl because I had a friend tell me her ultrasound tech was WRONG! Surprise!

We are pretty sure this little lady is going to be a piece of work. So far she's refused twice (almost three times!) to comply with the ultrasound tech's wishes and she regularly keeps Kate awake in the middle of the night by kicking endlessly. I can hear my father's voice now: "just wait until you have a child to drive you crazy like you drove me crazy!" Dad, I think you will not have to wait very much longer.

We also had a check-in after the ultrasound with our NP Judy who is just the absolute best person ever. She gives hugs! I love it. And thank goodness for her because our doctor is leaving the practice in August and the other doctor at the practice is leaving in October so...Judy will be our only constant through this pregnancy. Anyway, everything looks good, but for a variety of reasons we will now be having monthly ultrasounds to check the baby's growth and bi-weekly check-ins through 32 weeks, at which point we'll have weekly check-ins. Scheduling all of those appointments was not for the faint of heart! What was most surprising was how soon we will be at 32 weeks! Yikes. (I'll just leave it at that.)

Pregnancy Movin' Right Along

Now for a Friday laugh...I was having a conversation about the ultrasound with a very lovely co-worker of mine, who surely meant well, but....

Co-worker: So did you find out if it's a girl or a boy?

Meg: It's a girl!
Co-worker: Ohhh I hope she's blonde! Blonde babies are so cute. (she leans closer to look at my eyes) Is your wife blonde? And are her eyes blue too?

Meg: No, Kate has brown hair and brown eyes.

Co-worker: Well then it's a toss up! She could be blonde like you or have brown hair like Kate!

Hmm. I'm thinking she might need a lesson about how babies are made. (Also possibly a lesson about hair dye because...(shhh, don't tell anyone)...I'm not really this blonde.)

Next up: The nursery "before" pictures and a plan.

Weeks 21 & 22: Over the hump (bump?)

(words by Meg. gifs by Kate)

Well folks, we're more than halfway there (assuming baby Curtis takes after her non-bio mom and arrives on time or a little early- Kate was over a week late...). We're over the hump! The first couple of months went by super slowly, but the last few have flown by.

We don't really have too much to report, which I suppose is good news. Here are some quick updates:

1. We've now had two 18 week ultrasounds (one at 19 weeks, one at 21 weeks) and baby girl is still enjoying her comfy position facing backwards which makes it impossible for the ultrasound tech to get all the measurements she needs. The tech was able to get all but two views last time, and everything looks good.We go in for ultrasound #3 next week, so hopefully she'll cooperate this time. Not that we're complaining about getting to see our baby every two weeks...

When you first feel the baby kick

2. Kate has been feeling the baby move for several weeks now, but I finally got to feel a tiny little movement the other day- very exciting! It was just the tiniest little swell, which from the inside apparently feels like a kick. I guess a one pound human's kick is not going to feel like much through amniotic fluid and all that other stuff (*science!*).






3. Kate has "popped" and is pretty pregnant looking. Even though Kate has been losing weight (for real),she's having a hard time fitting into a lot of her per-pregnancy clothes (mostly the shirts don't come down far enough). 




And she's having a hard time sleeping at night because...well...she's pregnant! No position seems comfortable.

4. We got a TON of hand-me-down baby clothes from friends and family over the last couple of weeks, which I've organized with military precision, of course. This little girl has more clothes than I do, and they're much cuter. I'm partial to these ridiculous legging with built-in tutu:

And just in case you were afraid our little one would have cold feet....

And we all know the feeling of walking into a store and seeing a cute baby outfit and realizing it's almost the same cost as one month of cable.

We're very grateful for all of the hand-me-down clothes and gear, but we're especially excited to see baby girl Curtis wear some of the same outfits we loved when her older cousins Reese and Kalli wore them! Oh, the photo ops.






5. I (Meg) have become obsessed with the nursery. I guess it's my way of being involved with the pregnancy...but I also just love to organize. Thinking about how to best fit a million onesies into our small dresser and where to store the diaper supplies in a closet that is barely deep enough to hold regular hangs is actually fun for me. I know, it's a sickness. It's just starting to come together, but we have purchased a rug, curtains and a ridiculously cute lamp. We'll do a whole post on the nursery at some point.





6. Last, but certainly not least, we have two wonderful groups of friends and family throwing us baby showers in September (thanks, guys!!) so we finally finalized the registry. It's kind of a relief to stop worrying about which car seat or high chair or stroller is just right. We must have changed our minds about what we wanted at least 3 times. Everyone we talk to about baby gear offers very thorough information...that almost
always directly conflicts with what the last person told us! Now that it's out there and public, we're done! Is it what it is, and I'm sure it will be great.