Seven months down and pregnancy has both surpassed, and not lived up to, my expectations. My cliche philosophy at the onset of this adventure was to "expect the worst and hope for the best." We've all heard the horror stories...swollen noses, 3 months hovering over the porcelain throne, sciatic pain. For others, those 9+ months seem to pass glamorously...thick hair, maternal "glow," little basketball belly. It most ways this has been much "easier" than expected but here a few things that have taken me by surprise.-I'm asked about cravings regularly. I've had none. I envisioned waking from a sound sleep a sudden, raging urge for fried calamari or pickles. Not so much. In the first trimester I had a slight aversion to burgers, and intermittently I've eaten large quantities of olives, mixed berry yogurt, Parmesan cheese, potato chips, and spinach. But I don't think that had much to do with the pregnancy.
-Where is my luxurious, thickened, flowing hair? I thought after a few months of prenatal vitamins and hormone fluctuations, I'd just wake up with Jen's hair, run my fingers through it and bounce at the door.
-As I reluctantly make the change to elastic waistbands, I am forced to acknowledge how ignorant it was to think I'd wear my old wardrobe, adjust slightly, right up until the delivery. I imagined buttoning my jeans below the bump, wearing longer t-shirts, and leaving my cardigans unbuttoned. Ha, ha, HA! I can pull the jeans up but they are no where near buttoning. -I can already see Bun moving. My stomach rolls to the left, then jabs to the right. It's fun to watch her get comfortable in there or maybe she's knitting. I've been reminding her to enjoy the space while she has it; it's going to get a lot tighter for both of us.
-Last Thursday I came home from work with swollen ankles. My blood pressure is consistently, pre-pregnancy and during, 110/70. I thought that eliminated any need to worry about ankle swelling. If they're already showing early signs, what in the world will they look like in 3 months!? I don't have a "put your feet up for a few minutes" kind of job. (BTW-I googled images and they were just too gross to post.)
Indigestion, leg cramps, swollen gums, bladder infections, and sleeplessness are a few bullets I've dodged so far. Needless to say, we are very excited for April! We can't wait to meet this little person and I'm looking forward to being able to bend in the middle again.
12 comments:
You look great Erica!
I was kind of hoping to have crazy cravings too, but I was like you.
We are so excited to see the wee one!
yayy! you make a very cute pregnant lady! hope all three of you are doing well!
You look adorable!
Well aren't you just about the cutest pregnant lady I've ever seen. Glad it's going well.
Can't wait to see the mix of you two in her beautiful face.
You just look beautiful, but you always have. So fun to hear of all your pregnancy adventures--more to come I'm sure.
I love the prego pic! You are BEAUTIFUL and still just as BEAUTIFUL pregnant. Sure love ya!
I'm starting to wonder if those "cravings" are really just our excuse to eat whatever we want. Certainly true with me since I'm no longer pregnant but my very strong cravings for baked goods is still with me.
You look gorgeous by the way! Pregnancy suits you.
You do look great my dear! And your mantra- expect the worst and hope for the best - is a good one to go through life with. (It's what made me really enjoy living in Utah).
you are such a cute pregnant lady! I'm glad you haven't had it too rough though... i can't believe you can see your belly moving.. that just is so surreal for me to imagine! CONGRATS guys- we're excited for you ;)
Your belly is so tiny and cute, you petite thing you. I would agree that for the most part pregnancy hasn't been as bad I expected. The first trimester was kinda yucky being so exhausted and having an aversion to pretty much all food. But since then it's been great! I feel totally fine. I hope it continues to stay good...for both of us!
I hate to be the barer of bad news, but your ankles could look like this in a few months:
http://braddyandwifey.blogspot.com/2009/09/pregnancy.html
I don't think the picture quite does it justice, but it's miserable! And I had the same low blood pressure as you.
Oh the joys of pregnancy... Good luck!
What a cute post! you are adorable (as usual)! Makes me "miss your guts". ;)
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