Most Common Pregnancy Questions

Hello WIAW! I've actually been excited about our food this week, including Terry's chili and our lettuce wrap tacos. We've been really good about eating at home lately, and thanks to some planning we already have meals lined up through the weekend! Our plans include:

• Thursday: Fish and Veggie Packets (inspired by Fitnessista)
• Friday: Pepperjack & Cheddar Fondue (our Valentine's tradition)
• Saturday: Out to dinner 
• Sunday: Grilled Veggie Kebabs with pita and goat cheese

And here's what I munched on today:

Breakfast: A pancake and an egg topped with maple syrup, plus tea

I've come to the realization that my tea tastes different when I drink it out of our to-go mugs. And not in a good way. I really think the pregnancy must be to blame, because it all started about five months ago. The problem is that I rarely make enough time to drink my tea at home out of a ceramic mug. So now I have a choice: Skip the tea, get up early enough to drink from a mug at home, or suffer with the taste. This, my friends, is a true first world problem.

Morning Snack: Half my peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Second Morning Snack (what?): A very sad, almost-bad pear (or about 3/4 of it, before it got too mushy

Lunch: The other half of that peanut butter and jelly sandwich

Afternoon Snack: Peanut butter chocolate chip Lara bar

Second Afternoon Snack (yes, that's a thing, too): Baby carrots and a slice of Havarti cheese (post-grocery shopping, pre-picking up Terry from work)

Pre-Dinner Snack (I can't explain this one): Bowl of cereal (a combo of two Cascadian Farms cereals)

Dinner: Roasted veggies with marinara, goat cheese, and pasta

I came upon this website showing produce in season in Southern California by the month, and it inspired tonight's meal. I bought asparagus, kale, spinach, and broccoli for our meal, roasted 'em up, and served with marinara and goat cheese and whole wheat pasta. So simple--and nice to know we ate seasonally!

Dessert: Two brownies and a glass of milk

For the brownies, I used Smitten Kitchen's One-Bowl Brownies recipe, but I reduced the sugar to 150 g (about 3/4 cup) and reduced the butter to 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons). The original recipe just came out a little too buttery and sweet for me the first time I tried it.

Not a bad day, especially dinner.

Most Common Pregnancy Questions
My pregnancy update this time around will be a little different. I have a few extra details and bump pictures at the bottom, but I thought I'd share the most common questions I've received throughout the last several months. The last few weeks I've finally been unmistakably showing that I'm pregnant, so I get even more questions now--from strangers, too!

How are you feeling? This question is by far the most common one, and I almost always say, "Great! I get a little tired sometimes, but overall great." I think that's the safe way to answer, for the sake of the asker. Here's what I would really say, depending on the day:

• I'm exhausted. 
• I have a ton of energy!
• I feel frustrated that I can't do all the things I used to be able to do (like bend down to tie my shoes or stand up quickly or roll onto my stomach).
• I feel uncomfortable almost all the time.
• I just love feeling the baby kick! The rest doesn't matter!
• I feel hungry.
• Really, really hungry. 
• (Yes, I know I just ate.)
• I feel so happy and excited.
• I feel stressed and anxious.
• My back hurts.
• I wish I could have a drink.
• I feel very, very lucky. :-)

How many months along are you? It's strange, but I actually don't usually know the answer to this question for two reasons: 1) Doctors, books, and other pregnant people count their progress by weeks, not months. I can tell you exactly how many weeks (and days) I am at any moment, but months requires some math, because 2) When I try to figure out how many months I am, I come up with different answers. Do I count assuming each month is four weeks? Do I count backward from when I'm due? Do I go by the date from which the pregnancy began? See how confusing it is?

So, to answer this question, I usually say the number of weeks and then give my estimation of months. For example, right now I'm at 24 weeks, so some might call that six months (if you count four weeks in a month), but I still have almost four months to go, which adds up to a ten-month pregnancy. Which is why most books I read try to clarify that you're technically pregnant for nine months, but really it's almost ten.

Do you have any cravings? This one is so sad, because I have no fun response! I wish I had something weird, but I've only really "craved" cereal, and I try to resist buying that too often. I notice myself eating a lot of carbs and protein: pita, pancakes, bread, cheese, all varieties of meat (but I'm not excited about meat by itself--it has to be part of something else, like chili), milk, and pretty much any sweets. For the first few months I wanted tons of guacamole and hummus, but that's changed now, too. I also told myself going into this thing that I'll try to ignore any seriously unhealthy cravings, so that has been helpful. At one point I thought a Sourdough Jack from Jack in the Box sounded amazing, which is completely uncharacteristic of me, but thankfully I came to my senses on that one.

Is it a boy or girl? Everyone is curious--except Terry and me! We are still thrilled with our decision to wait until the baby is born to learn if we have a little mister or a little miss, but I love hearing everyone's guesses for us. So far, it seems most people are thinking it's a boy, but Terry and I have no idea and absolutely no preference. My friend Jenn was convinced at first that we were going to find out and just not tell anyone, but I'm certain we would let it slip if we did that. So the world will have to wait! And luckily, we've found some incredibly adorable unisex clothing options that I probably wouldn't have registered for if we knew the gender!

Zutano Short-Sleeve Wrap

Little Me Duck Layette

Gerber 2-Pack Sleep and Play Animals

Zutano Candy-Stripe Bootie

Do you have names picked out? Kind of. We have narrowed down our names a bit, and we're in agreement about the short list, but we haven't selected THE boy name or THE girl name. We are hoping to narrow down our choices to two boy names (including a middle name for each) and two girl names before we get to the hospital. Then we'll make our final decision once we get to see our little one. We also aren't going to tell anyone the "finalist" names ahead of time. Since we won't know for sure which one we're using, we don't want to welcome anyone's opinions that might sway us one way or the other.

Your bump is tiny! This one isn't a question, I realize, but it's a common comment I hear. I never truly know how to respond. First of all, no two women look exactly the same during pregnancy (just like no two women look exactly the same before pregnancy--except twins, I guess), so how can they decide whose bump looks "big" vs. "small"? I also always feel a little self-conscious when I hear someone say my bump is small, because I can't help thinking that maybe they think I'm doing something wrong. Ultimately, I try to just politely steer the conversation away from the size of my bump and remind myself that my doctor is very happy with my progress and weight gain. Given that our doctor told us that the baby is ahead of schedule in terms of weight gain and overall size (including the head...yikes), I'm not worried.

It doesn't feel tiny to me.

When are you due? I know I have a due date (June 5), but at our most recent ultrasound the doctor's measurements determined that the baby is ahead of schedule, as I mentioned. So she informally announced that the measurements indicate that the baby's due date could be May 30. So...is that now my due date? Or am I still June 5? Or should I just not even try to guess because the baby will come when it's good and ready? All I know is that we are almost certain to have a little Gemini, and the rest will remain a mystery!

The Bump:

Baby's Progress:

• Baby is about the size of a grapefruit and weighs over 1.5 pounds. 
• Baby's lungs are developed enough that he or she could survive if born now (crazy!). 
• Baby is moving around a lot! I feel lots of kicks and hiccups, but there aren't any regular patterns yet. Apparently Weeks 24-28 are most active in terms of somersaults, because baby has enough room to flip around. After that, he or she will be too big and his or her movements will be more predictable (that's when baby might start reacting to different foods and/or be more active during regular parts of the day). 

An Update on Me:

Aside from what I addressed in the questions above, here's what I've noticed:

• I think I'm sleeping pretty well. I expected to get up 25 times a night to go to the bathroom, but I almost never do. During the day, it's a different story, but I'm thankful for restful nights. I sleep with a pillow between my knees (to take pressure off my hips) and a pillow wedged behind my back (to prevent me from rolling over onto my back).
• Despite those solid nights of sleep, I'm exhausted a lot of the time. Mid-afternoon I feel like I could take a nap, around 7 I seriously consider just skipping dinner and go to sleep, and by 9 pm I'm usually asleep on the couch.
• I feel best on days I exercise. Long walks, short jogs (usually with walking intervals), and light strength training are my usual rotation now. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to jog, but it's already pretty slow going.
• My very favorite moments of my entire pregnancy have been curling up on the couch with Terry's hand on my belly to feel kicks. He's gotten to feel them a lot, and watching his face light up makes me just sublimely happy.

Off to rest and enjoy those brownies! Hope you had a great Wednesday!