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 14: Daycare is Like the NFL Draft

For the first 12 weeks of Kate's pregnancy, I was sort of pretending she wasn't pregnant. That might sound weird, but I am the type of person who would prefer to assume the worst is going to happen and be happily surprised when it doesn't. Kate and I agreed not to buy any baby related items until after 12 weeks, and I think we actually succeeded. I didn't let myself think about the fun stuff- nursery decorations, adorable onesies, etc or the not-so-fun stuff- daycare, never sleeping again, etc. I really didn't think about any of it. Well, that all changed after our 12 week ultrasound. Seeing our baby, who now looks more like a human than a blob, made it all feel very real. VERY, very real.

I am trying not to panic about all of the things we need to figure out between now and November, but it's challenging. The first thing I'm tackling is daycare. Who knew you had to secure a spot in daycare practically before your child is even conceived?

And man is it expensive! The daycare center in Davis Square is $2,100 a month! $2,100!! Wow. We obviously won't be sending Kiddo Curtis there. We have a couple of options lined up thanks to our lovely friends who suggested the places they send their kids. And Grandpa Curtis (it's so weird to call my dad that, I am definitely picturing MY grandfather who, at 87, is in no shape to babysit) agreed to schlep to Boston at least once a week, so that covers one day. We are eternally grateful. In a perfect world we'll be able to arrange our work schedules so that one of us is home 1 day a week, thus needing daycare only 3 days a week. Phew. There are many other life-changing decisions to be made in the near future, and we'll update you as they become finalized.

In terms of buying baby supplies, we haven't done much. Kate is stocking up on maternity clothes (bathing suits- what a pain) and a pillow that will prevent her from flipping over onto her back. She also bought one adorable gender neutral onesie to celebrate passing the 12 week mark and I happened to stumble upon a free nursery glider that was too good to pass up, but otherwise we haven't done much. We know it's still early and we're hopeful that some hand-me-down items might find their way to us. Plus, we don't have anywhere to put the stuff right now, since our guest room (soon to be nursery) is booked with guests (Hi Aaron! Hi Swin!) for a week in June.

When you buy your kid an expensive
toy...

As our friends and family have started suggesting baby items to us, we have been adding them to an amazon.com registry so we don't forget.  So I'm opening it up to you, our dear readers. What products didyou buy and never use? What are the things you couldn't live without? We can use all the advice we can get, so lay it on!

Week 13: Whip Out the Spandex

Well, here we are at week 13.



Kiddo is forming finger prints on his/her fingers, the head is about half of the total length of the kid- size of a peach!- and vocal cords are forming, which we surely will regret when he/she hits about 13 years old.

Some news!  We got the results back from the Early Risk Assessment and our nugget has a 1 in 10,000 chance of developing Downs or other major chromosomal problems.  High fives all around.

We have some check-ups between now and then, but we all know we're counting down until June 19th. Then we can find out the sex and buy all the things.

Ok, so let's remember this is not only a blog for updates on me (#ego) and Meg, but also to drop pregnancy knowledge bombs.  So, in the 13th week there are a couple things you will experience as you start your Second Trimester. #whaddup!

Your nausea will likely subside.  This will be replaced by gastro-intestinal miladies that mimic rush hour on the Mass Pike, after a Red Sox v. Yankees game, with the green line not even functioning at it's normal speed of smell, during a blizzard and then going back in time to when the Big Dig was happening. Here's my advice, friends: pray to whatever deity you believe in and consume all the fiber.  That's all I've got.

When you see a TGIF's commercial
and they show mozzarella sticks.

Your cravings will get stronger.  As your appetite returns (dammit, that was the best diet ever- next to mono. But for reals, I lost 9 pounds in the first trimester) you will want things more than Leo DiCaprio wants an Oscar.  And you'll try, as a rational adult, to make yourself eat super healthy because you are growing a child.  But you know what?  Dairy Queen beats guilt EVERY TIME.  So, yeah, eat that salad (for health and to aid the aforementioned tummy traffic jam), but chase that sucker with a Dilly Bar.  Your thighs will grow with or without it.  I haven't experienced any weird cravings (ie. things I hated before pregnancy, pickles, etc), mine exist solely in the dairy category which is milk which is healthy.  [Meg would like to interject that Kate has indeed been craving-and eating-more hamburgers than ever before.]

What Kate imagines a baby kicking
feels like.

You will start to expand.  And I'm not just talking about gas although you will start burping like a trucker... is that a thing?  You will also start to feel things stretching and growing- no kicking yet, that's around 18-20 weeks.

You will also have some pains every once in a while.  Of course they are typically around the uterus area ... let's remember team, there's a freakin' life form growing in there.  At 13 weeks, the uterus is slightly bigger than a grapefruit so some things have to move and shift to accommodate for the freeloader. Unless it is severe pain with blood, it's pretty much the norm.  Take your finger off the panic button.

Finally, as you grow your pants will start to feel like you just ate a big Thanksgiving dinner.  Now I know most pregnant women aren't my size, but for you fellow plus-sized preggos, Meg did a little research for us on maternity clothes that don't look like they were based on a dare.  Destination Maternity (check out this cute bathing suit that's not in a freakin' floral print!), Target, Kohls  (cute summer work pants that aren't pleated!) & JC Penney's (jeans that aren't stone washed!). That's basically all the options she found, so if you know of others- please leave suggestions in the comments!