Second Trimester Update: Weeks 14-18

I work at the store tonight from 3 pm to 11:30 because we're getting crazy with some inventory madness. I have no idea what it will entail, but I'm very excited. Er, maybe I'm just excited for it to be over, because getting home at midnight sounds pretty horrible!

But anyway, I thought I'd provide a pregnancy update. I'm not doing the weekly thing, but a lot changes over the course of a month or so, and since my last update was in early December, I figured I can keep track of the major changes here.  

First up, the belly progress:

And the belly from the front:

I'm trying to stay consistent with my outfit, although I now realize that tank top isn't going to fit for much longer!

I get a lot of mixed reactions to my belly, depending on the person and the clothes I'm wearing. Most people claim I don't "look pregnant" yet or say I don't have a bump. But a select few say that my belly is obvious, which I appreciate. I'm loving the growing belly, so I guess it doesn't matter what other people see (or apparently don't see).

Food, Cravings, and Aversions
I've been struggling to get enough vegetables on a daily basis. It seems I'm only willing to eat them in a sandwich or at a restaurant. Given that we haven't been eating out much (yay!), I'm making a much more solid effort this week to increase my greens.

Veggie kebabs are on the menu this week.

I still don't have crazy cravings, but I've been all about cereal lately. I can go through a box in two days (!), and I am trying to prevent myself from buying more than a box at a time.

And no aversions! I just generally don't want to eat large quantities of meat on its own.

As for my appetite, I'm hungry all the time, but I get full super fast, so I've learned to eat small meals and lots of snacks. I'm also doing better on drinking more water! Aaaand I go to the bathroom every five minutes.

Workouts
Mostly, I'm just trying to stay active. Unfortunately, my lower back has been killing me, so running
feels rough. Walking feels fantastic, though, so that's happening a LOT. Luckily Terry and I have always been walking buddies, so we have awesome routes mapped out around our neighborhood.

I'm also still keeping up my strength training. The doctor wants me to limit my weights to 5 or 10 pounds, but I have plenty of exercises that challenge me at that level. I'm also avoiding abs in general, and I'm skipping anything that requires lying on my belly or back.

And I'm dabbling in some prenatal yoga, but I still haven't found anything I like. To be fair, I haven't yet purchased anything (I want to make sure I'll like it first), but all the videos I've tried are a lot more focused on breathing, relaxing, and stretching. While I certainly appreciate the importance of those exercises during pregnancy and labor, I still want a challenge! So I'm finding ways to modify my regular yoga routines to work for the next few months.

And I'm trying out some recommended prenatal exercises, like pelvic tilts (hopefully those will help my lower back, too) and cat/cow stretches. Plus TONS of stretching to try to alleviate the hip discomfort.

General Comfort
I mentioned the back pain, which is pretty constant this week, but I have a few other issues:

• Hip tightness
• Round ligament pain all the time--when I stand, sit too quickly, bend forward, roll over, or run downhill
• Breast pain in cold temperatures--basically I experience extreme pain if I get even a little bit too cold, so I've learned to bundle up! (apparently this is relatively common)

I'm also wearing maternity clothes almost exclusively. I think I've found a few cute outfits that work for me, and I'm grateful to my mom and a few Christmas gifts for rounding out my wardrobe. Maternity clothes are SO comfortable, and I'm already plotting how I can justify wearing them beyond pregnancy. Thoughts?

Emotional Temperature

Generally, I'm doing pretty well. I have experienced a few bouts of anxiety and some moments of apprehension about the future (where are we going to live? when are we going to move?), but I'm mostly happy and relaxed. Terry definitely helps me relax, talk through any stress, and focus on what's important.

Prenatal Reading

I bought Terry a few going-to-be-a-dad books for Christmas, and my brother and Ashley bought him one, too. We're also reading Bringing Up Bebe by Pamela Druckerman, and we love it. I'm reading What to Expect When You're Expecting, and Ashley bought me The Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy and Happiest Baby on the Block, my next two books! And, somewhat unrelated to pregnancy, I'm reading Jessica Alba's The Honest Life. I can't say enough about how much I love her philosophy on life and how much I'm learning from her book! She also co-created The Honest Company, and I definitely plan to try a few of her products.

Baby Prep
We're five months away! So that means getting serious about planning for this little one. Here's what we're up to:

• Figuring out what we need and registering for it
• Reading (see above)
• Narrowing down our name choices (we aren't finding out the gender before the birth, so we're going to head to the hospital with two boy options and two girl options and decide when we meet him or her!)
• Hopefully figuring out where we'll be living when baby arrives soon so we can move before my due date (wishful thinking?)
• Making lists, as always. I love lists.

Honestly, I'm loving this whole pregnancy thing. I haven't felt the baby kick yet, but everyone says it only gets better when that happens. Right now I'm enjoying time with Terry (unfortunately, he leaves again soon for one last business trip) and focusing on staying healthy!