My Pregnancy Journal

Went to a pool party today and had a blast. I wore my blue 1 piece bathing suit, which probably "hid" my belly a bit more. Any regular person could not tell that I'm pregnant, but I know because my belly isn't as flat as it used to be! To any passerby that really looks, it just might look like I'm slightly bloated. It was great getting compliments about my recent weight loss and how great I looked. Hey, nobody has to know that there are 2.5 pounds of baby lurking around yet!

We played water volleyball and I was a bit nervous about overexerting myself. I basically did not move around too much and stayed in the water as much as possible to keep myself nice and bouyant. It would have been suspicious if I did not play, so I did. I needed to work off the desserts that I ate anyway!!!!
If it was real volleyball on the ground, I definitely would not have played. But, since the water provided a less shocking atmosphere, I decided to go for it!

Other than sometimes getting bloated, and tender boobs, (I know TMI!!!!), pregnancy has treated me well. I sometimes worry that it's not "real". Thank goodness that I have not suffered from morning sickness. I don't know if I could have handled that one. I am seriously averse to vomiting. I'd rather see the dentist or something!

The hilarious thing was that one of our friends at the party is 6 months pregnant. Of course, folks looked at me and asked, "So when are you going to have babies?" It killed me. If they only knew..... I just smiled and said, "Well, I'll just leave it to the Lord...." I'm just holding out til I get to my 2nd trimester and Labor Day Weekend. Only 13 more days til I tell the family!

I'm happy to report that my weight was relatively unchanged from last week. I was starting to get nervous because I was gaining 1.5 lbs each week for the last 3 weeks. After the 1st trimester, I'd like to gain about a pound a week, but not beforehand! So far, it looks like I'm right on schedule after my 4 lb loss earlier in the pregnancy.

Unbelievable!!!!!! DH and I went to satisfy my pizza craving yesterday, only to find that Guiseppe's is CLOSED!!! What a heartbreaker! We were both crushed. I definitely had pizza on the brain and Domino's or Pizza Hut was not going to do. So, we went to the Piazza Italia. This is a fairly new casual Italian restaurant in town. The food is excellent, but it's more of a restaurant and not a pizza shop.

We shared a nice 14" pizza pie with a beautiful hand-tossed crust. (I took some home of course, can't eat a whole pie!) Although it was not truly authentic, it was close enough, considering that there are limited choices for real New York style pizza in Maryland.

Gonna have to limit my pizza intake during the pregnancy though. My stomach was working way too hard trying to digest all that cheesy goodness! At least I satisfied the craving for a while.

Also, on Friday (same day as Dr. app't), I could have sworn that I saw 3 gray hairs near my left temple.
These grays have been incognito since, so I'm not counting them! Maybe it was my imagination, or the sun playing tricks on me. Yeah, yeah, that's it....

Boy do I feel silly!!!! My "stretch marks" appear to have vanished. The only thing I can figure is that my pants were pressing against my skin, leaving those "marks". I'm relieved. Demi Moore, eat your heart out!!! Ha, ha, ha, ha...

I went to my first Dr. app't on Friday, 8/8/03. Doc tells me that I'm only 7 weeks along (8 as of this writing). Now, I'm confused. I definitely had nausea for 2 weeks starting on 6/18/03, but Doc says I must have conceived on around 6/24/03..... hmmmmm.... well, the sonogram doesn't lie, I guess. My estimated due date (EDD) is 3/19/03 and not February as I had anticipated. It's all still very strange. The neat thing is that I got to see baby for the first time and saw baby's heartbeat on the monitor. What an amazing thing!

I told the gang at WW before my Dr. app't and they were all very excited for me. Apparently, although I'm not allowed to weigh in anymore, I can still attend the meetings. Cool! I'm going to try and keep going, so I can make sure that I am eating the right things. I must say that since I'm allowed more calories due to baby, I'm tempted to eat more junk!

I have cravings for chocolate and desserts, but I think that is just rebellion on my part.
I've also been having cravings for some good New York style pizza, the kind that you get at a family owned pizza place on a typical New Jersey corner.
Lotsa cheese and sauce and a crust that just droops when you pick it up....... oh yeah....

Since we're not in NJ, the best we have around here is Guisseppe's in the Glen Burnie mall. They've got good calzones too. I can just taste the goodness! I'll have to throw in some extra veggies for a more balanced meal....

Praise God I am not having any major symptoms, except fatigue and forgetfulness. I know I probably need more than 8 hours of sleep, and when I don't get it, I'm grouchy! Other than that, I sometimes forget I'm pregnant! My little belly is only really noticeable to me and DH. Sometimes it seems to stick out more, and other days, it's like there's nothing there! I've got to be careful to not rub my belly too much in public. Only 19 days before Labor Day Weekend (when I tell my family)!

I can't believe it. I noticed them for the first time today...... stretch marks!!!!!
I was hoping that somehow, I would avoid them, but after 11 weeks, there they are. I've perused the 'net and basically, they are permanent. Unless, of course, I opt for laser surgery.

Yes, I have about 5-6 red striations on my belly. I'm saddened by this. I guess it marks the end of youth, in a way. I'm trying not to be too vain about it. After all, hopefully, after baby, I'll lose weight and have a flat stomach once again. I'll still have the stretch marks, but at least they won't be as prominent. Then again, I can think of them as my "stripes" earned after combat.

My dreams of being like Demi Moore with her flawless belly are over. Sniff, sniff.... Oh well, no one except DH is really going to see my belly anyway. And besides, they probably touched 'ol Demi up with makeup! I will get over this, but for now, I'm in mourning.

Hello there,
I am pleased to say that I am intimately showing. That means that the outside world can't figure out yet that I'm expecting, but DH and I can. My tummy felt really swollen today and I thought I was going to burst out of my pants. (It was gas!!!!!! Acckk! Horrors!) Still, I'll take that over talking to Ralph on the big white phone any day!

DH was sooo sweet last night. I was laying down and generally feeling yucky. (I feel great in the mornings and throughout the day, but then the bloaties hit me at night). DH started to massage my feet. It didn't make the queasies go away, but it was so nice focusing on the foot massage instead of my belly. He finished with one foot, then proceeded on to the next foot. It was like he instinctively knew what I needed. What an awesome hubby!

DH wants to find out the sex of the baby. Although I've always wanted to be surprised, he has explained that he needs to know so that he can start identifying with the baby. It's really not about finances or getting the right color things, but so he can just prepare himself for who is to come. I'll have to oblige him on that one. For a guy that absolutely did not want kids, he's handling things really well.

Well, I'm going to bed early tonight. I have not been getting the sleep I need and have been so crazy and forgetful (moreso than usual!!!)
It's still an amazing thing to realize that a human being is growing inside of me.
Only 24 more days before I tell the family.....

I am a woman obsessed.... During my morning commute on the trains, I check out other pregnant women. There have always been a few riding the rails, but now I monitor them closely. Are they in pain? Do they waddle? Are their ankles swollen? Are they excessively fat?

I marvel at some of the women. In crowded circumstances and in their 3rd trimester, they just cruise along like nothing. Others show telltale signs of struggle with a slower walk or a slight limp. I wonder how it will be for me. Will I be a trooper or will I have a commuter meltdown? Will I end up having to drive into work? Will I get pushed or poked in the stomach as people shove themselves on the Metro? So far, I've been OK, but then again, I haven't even had my first Dr. visit yet.

I will officially proclaim that I do have a belly. It's not much and most folks can't notice it, but it is not the flat Pilates stomach that I had a few months ago. I write this because I don't want to wake up later and say, "Whoa, when did this huge belly get here?"

I'm still attending my WW meetings BI (baby incognito). I feel almost guilty because you are not supposed to participate in WW while you are pregnant. (You are supposed to gain, not lose weight!) I'm happy to report that I have gained 1.6 lbs for 2 weeks in a row. I'm now back to my pre-pregnancy weight since I lost 4 lbs! This is really why I am still going. I love my meetings, and I want to gain weight in a controlled fashion. I'm also tracking my food intake so that I continue to eat healthy. I'm going to keep going to meetings until I get to 131 lbs. Then, I'll tell the girls the good news!!! (Otherwise, I'd have to start paying for meetings!)

I told my hairdresser the news yesterday. Of course, she had inquired about babies.... we've had this conversation almost everytime she cuts my hair. It was wierd. I didn't want to tell her before my family, but I couldn't not tell her either....

I've decided that I will never ask a person if they are planning on having kids. It's too personal a question. Frankly, it's nobody's business, unless the person talks about it first. It would always bother me when people would try to "convince" me that I needed to have kids. I didn't need convincing, but my DH didn't want kids. I had resolved only 2 months ago that I would answer with, "No, WE are not planning to have kids." instead of telling them that I wanted kids but DH didn't. That was my mistake. It got to be a pain rehashing the story and having everyone convince me how wonderful kids are. (Trust me, I know already....)

OK, enough of my rant. But please, a word of advice: don't ask people if they are planning on having kids. It is a nosy, rude question, especially when their answer isn't what you want to hear. Also, some people are trying and it is a painful subject for them. Others have miscarried and that's a whole other foot in the mouth. Sorry, somebody had to tell you....