Week 17 – baby bubbles?

Yesterday we hit week 17 and, according to my collection of pregnancy apps, the baby is the size of a pomegranate, a turnip or a playstation controller.  No prizes for guessing which comparison hubby prefers!

This week I have found my emotions up and down. Maybe it’s life or maybe it’s hormones (or a bit of both), but there have been tears.  Many tears.  I’m hoping for a more cheerful week ahead.

On to the core details….

Weight gain: From last week to this week I’ve seen a gain of 0.4kg, which is less than 1 pound for those of you who prefer empirical measurements. This still feels like a lot, although overall I’ve gained around 4kg (less than 9 pounds) so far. I’ve checked and that is within the normal range for my height/BMI, but it still feels like too much for me. I am quite tall though which is working in my favour somewhat, though for how much longer I am not sure.  The funniest thing about weight gain this week is that hubby confessed to me a few days ago that he has gained 2kg! Now this is quite remarkable because he is very fit, works out around 4-5 times a week and doesn’t really gain weight.  Seems like he may have been doing some support eating alongside me! He even said the other day he’s been craving potatoes (like me)?!!! I’ve heard rumours of the partners taking on some of the symptoms of their pregnant partners, but I didn’t actually expect it to happen!

Symptoms: I had a pretty epic blood nose one morning before work this week.  I’ve no idea what triggered it (maybe blowing my nose, but I’ve blown my nose approximately 1 million times over the past few months and nothing unusual has happened before), but the main issue was that because I take blood thinning meds the bleeding was very difficult to stop. I had everything going – ice packs and all – and it still took 30 minutes to ease off! That aside, I think I am doing really well overall so far.  I’ve not noticed any big aches or pains or anything and I continue to do most everyday things as usual.

Eating: Yes!!  To summarise, let’s just say I had a dream the other night about chocolate eclairs! I’ve really noticed my hunger levels have gone up this week and so food has been a big priority. After a couple of days where too much stuff from the naughty list found its way into my mouth, I am now trying to focus on filing up on more nutritious food.  No chocolate eclairs!

Sleep: Sigh… I’m still struggling with that but I definitely sleep better after some exercise, even if it’s light.  This is a reminder that I need to push myself to do exercise even on those days when I don’t want to.

Movement: I think I might have noticed some flutters earlier in the week and also this morning while I was laying in bed, but I can’t be sure as they might just have been gas. I like to think these feelings were the baby but I’ve really got no idea.

Emotions: Definitely a bit down this week. As I’ve mentioned previously, it’s been tough to process the fact that my husband has not really seemed at all into me since the pregnancy started.  He’s very cuddly and helpful, but no matter what he or anyone else might say to try and justify it, I am still hurting from the rejection. Please may this phase pass soon and before I get so huge that cuddling is my only option.

Missing: My husband treating me as his lover.

Purchases: I’ve bought 2 baby books (I decided to skip on pregnancy books as the apps seem to cover most things) but I’ve not even opened the front page of either of them yet! I chose “Your Baby & Child” by Penelope Leach, and The Baby Book by Dr William Sears and Martha Sears. We have bought absolutely nothing for the baby yet though!

Looking forward to: Cheering up.

Best moment of the week: I told our cleaner at work that I’m pregnant and she was the most excited person so far by a mile! She and I don’t speak each other’s languages very well but I’ve managed to communicate with her in the past about my fertility struggles and even my miscarriage (thank you Google translate!). She was so delighted that I’m pregnant that she practically shouted in English “YES!!” while vigorously doing a fist pump. She rarely speaks English. She then went on and kissed me a thousand times and was the first person (husband excluded) to touch my bump. It was a beautiful moment and it filled me with joy.

Clothes: Definitely in maternity clothing territory now. My bump is getting harder to disguise so I’ve mainly given up. I’m not out and proud yet but it won’t be much longer, whether I want to be or not.

Exercise: This week I’ve done 2 walks of about an hour each, and two sessions of yoga, which is not too bad considering my very low energy levels. I’m hoping to make it on another hike on Sunday which should push me!

The bump update: It’s here!  Definitely poking its way out of my clothes and making it hard for me to get dressed in the morning. This week was the first time I thought maybe I need some maternity tops so that things don’t seem a bit short all the time on me. (No kitty this week. She was in the room with me at the time of taking the pic but was not cooperating!)