baby bump: week 14
Like I said last week, pregnancy is now a major part of my life and affects pretty much everything I do on a daily basis, which in turn impacts some of the content on the blog. Plus, I do have family + friends who I don’t get to talk to very often that I know would like to hear some updates on how I am doing. So, hopefully you guys don’t mind me sharing more about my pregnancy and possibly more about my life on a day-to-day basis.
As of Sunday, I am 14 weeks along in my pregnancy – WOO! – which means I am officially in my second trimester! I felt like I was counting down the days to get to this point since I know my miscarriage risk drops significantly. The first trimester is scary and I was filled with a lot of anxiety. Since I really didn’t have many pregnancy symptoms and didn’t really feel like I was pregnant, I worried daily that something was wrong, that I lost the baby and didn’t know about it, etc. I thought about it constantly and then worried I was stressing myself out too much, just making matters worse. It was a vicious cycle. So, I am overjoyed to be this far along and everything seems to be going perfectly!
But, even though the first trimester went very smoothly, many things did change with the way I was able to eat during that time. I had cravings for things I haven’t eaten in years, but also turn-offs of things that I ate on a daily basis. Burgers and fries are a big thing I am still craving, along with pretty much any carb I can get my hands on. I actually went out of my way one afternoon to go get a salt bagel because the craving was so strong. I typically don’t like potato chips, but found myself searching the shelves every week for a new bag – my favorite being anything dill pickle flavored. And yes, I am definitely craving pickles! (There will be an attempt at dill pickle ice cream… this is just your warning in advance!)
However, the spinach salads and Green Monster smoothies I had been eating almost on a daily basis were a huge turn-off. Just looking at spinach made me want to gag. I still can’t even think about a salad with spinach. Blech. Other lettuces (romaine, iceberg – which I haven’t eaten in years) are fine, but absolutely no olive oil + vinegar dressing, which is the only dressing I had in my house (homemade of course) for over a year. So, instead of those daily salads, I turned to veggie sandwiches and soups to at least get some vegetables in my diet.
It was much more difficult than I expected to maintain my healthy diet since the majority of things I ate on a daily basis were “off limits”. But, I try to listen to those cravings as a sign that my body knows what it needs. I believe my cravings for salt means I’m not getting enough. I also have low blood pressure and have found that the added salt in my diet has helped combat some dizziness I have had in the past. As for the carbs, my body (and baby) need fuel, and carbs are definitely the way to go! And who can turn down a good slice of toast with butter…. Mmmm.
Lately, it has been much easier to get back to normal eating (besides the spinach thing). And with my eating habits returning to normal, I have also noticed a little bump beginning to appear. It’s pretty tiny still, but it’s much more noticeable now! (I think it’s HUGE, but Matt assures me it is still tiny.) I haven’t gained much weight the past 14 weeks and I have decided to keep track of my weight purely because I love tracking things and I think it will be interesting to see how I progress. And, surprisingly to me, I haven’t freaked out about the weight gain at all. I get more nervous if I randomly lose weight! I really just want to have a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby!
So, with that, I am going to leave you with my first baby bump pictures!
I told you it’s tiny but I’m already in love with it! Can’t wait til it’s a big ol’ basketball!