Hey! Guess what? I am 23 weeks, and finally to the "beer belly" stage. Give it another 3 weeks or so and I may actually look pregnant... by my 3rd trimester (27 weeks). Let's just say I am definitely over the whole awkward stage, where my jeans all fit but my shirts are struggling and I just look like I ate too many donuts when I wear maternity shirts. I am grateful though because I should make it till the end of the semester (two weeks) without having to buy maternity work clothes. Let's be honest, I did not want to have to drop $60 on a pair of maternity dress pants that I would wear for 3 weeks.
Cravings/Aversions: I am still going through the liquid sweetness phase. I look forward to my strawberry post-workout protein smoothies on the days I lift. But really, I get overly excited about it driving home from the gym- it's kind of sad. We went to Costco a few weeks ago and bought a few ginormous bags of frozen fruit and we are almost out! The other day I saw a picture of my nephew drinking a Slurpee and I almost started to weep because I wanted one so badly. Robert just kind of looked at me and laughed, and I realized how truly pathetic I am as a pregnant woman. Goodness.
Books: I finished up The Happiest Baby on the Block and didn't love it, despite all of the rave reviews people gave me. There were definitely things I liked about the book, but I feel like I could sum those up with the "5 S's". (Swaddle, side position, sushing,swinging, and sucking). I didn't really care for the rest of the book. I am now reading the handbook for our birthing class, because we don't read the whole thing for class and I find it absolutely fascinating. It's Prepared Childbirth- The Family Way.
Exercise: My exercise routine has stayed the same. Actually, I take that back. Instead of my normal 35 minute, 5 mile run followed by about 35-40 minutes of weight lifting, it has now turned into a 2.5 mile run, bathroom stop, 2.5 miles, bathroom stop, 15 minutes of lifting, bathroom break, and if I am lucky I can usually hold it until after the last 25 minutes of lifting. Running outside will be near impossible in the next few weeks. But, I still feel great! I honestly think keeping up with workout has been the most beneficial thing for me. I am not really anymore tired than usual, and it's one of the few things that has been keeping up my self confidence lately as I go through the wonderful beer belly and clothes not fitting stage :)
Concerns/Excitement: Robert finally felt this little guy kick! He is always the most active at night when I am getting ready for bed and on Sunday it felt like he was practicing kick boxing so I was hoping Robert would finally be able to feel him, and he did. It was a really neat experience- Robert was pretty excited.
Baby: Baby boy is still unnamed. We know his middle name will be Wixom and his last name will be Davis. At least we have 2 of the names picked! We are trying to narrow it down to two names and then name him after he is born and we actually see him. He is the size of a spaghetti squash and weighs just over a pound. Baby now has the ability to hear my voice and sense light.
