There's no doubt about it, I'm "showing." I suppose it's hard not to when the scale shows you've gained 10 pounds. This number brings up a bit of concern for me, first of all, this is the first time I have ever seen this number on scale before secondly, if you are at normal weight to start with you are supposed to gain a TOTAL of 25-35 pounds. At the rate I'm going it's going to be on the upper end of the spectrum. At my last appointment, my doctor was going over my stats, and said "Well, it doesn't look like you've been having much trouble eating." HA! Have I ever? No, but when I was in my first trimester I was eating A TON of quick carbs, like breads and my beloved goldfish. So I wanted to examine the causes here.
I am not one of those people who needs a ton of motivation to exercise and lift or have I ever been, so in terms of the new "healthier" me you're supposed to be when you're pregnant, that didn't really happen (besides no alcohol or caffeine). I actually feel as if my activity levels have dropped, and initially during the first trimester I was truly turned off my my highly vegetable based vegetarian diet. Hence a shift in my eating habits. Now that I am at 15 weeks here, my eating patterns have almost fully returned. I am also still lifting 3 times per week for ~1.5 hours and 2 times per week for ~.5 hours with "cardio" tallying a solid 40 minutes 5-6 times per week. Here is where my life has shifted a bit. No more super high intensity biking weekends that have 2 hour rides built into each day, and truly no more high intensity runs (I finally know what jogging looks like) or road bike rides. My bike commuting, which totaled 1.5 hours of solid ride time 3 times per week is also out. With the rain, the cold, the lack of daylight, and reports of muggings in Sacramento growing exponentially, Gus and I would rather keep me and our growing baby safe. So here I am with a decreased calorie expenditure, and I'm most likely eating more (or even the same as I was before) and I'm gaining fast. I can't say the holidays helped either. Not that I binged on treats, but I don't remember passing on any either.
So there you have it, 10 pounds at week 15. Every blog out there I read, women are freaking out about their weight gain being more than normal... I understand! Every scientific piece of literature you pick up tells you how much weight you "should" gain. It's nice to read that lots of women gain much more than what the experts say and stay healthy and have healthy babies too. Also in almost every post you read, all of the women lost the weight very quickly with the help of breastfeeding (which I want to do for at least a year). So more good news! Not that I plan to stop weighing myself, but I do plan on changing my perspective about the gain. Whatever the number is, I plan on being more accepting of it and not immediately step off saying, "Oh, shit!"
Now that I'm showing more, Gus has taken to talking to my belly. Very close to it. "Hello little, baby. I hope you know how much we love you in there. You will love having two dogs as you are growing up. We will do so many fun things with you." I'm not saying I cry when I hear him say these things, but it makes me so happy knowing what a great partner and parent he will be. This brings me to another sweet thing we did. Bought 3 pieces of maternity wear. We don't spend money really except for the essentials: gas, food, dog food, etc. So going to a store to buy clothes was definitely a shift. I ended up buying a maternity shirt, a maternity/nursing bra, and a maternity supportive tank. I guess I didn't do the math in my head before hand, because when I was given the total cost I asked the checker to repeat herself. Gus reminded me that these are things I need to be comfortable for the next however long, and I didn't feel so bad about it!
I also went to Human Resources to discuss plans for leave this week. The ongoing dilemma in my head (go back to work at the end of paid leave or take unpaid leave). As of now I am going to take whatever paid maternity I am given, and then begin working away at my vacation and sick day reserves. Working half-days every other day, and taking the other off. Gus lucky can shift his schedule a bit so he will watch baby for the half-days and then I'll come home and he'll go to work through August. Then he will take his paternity leave starting in September. The baby will only be 3.5 months by then... how do you give up being with your child at that age!? I suppose we'll figure these things out with more clarity as we get closer.
I painted an oil painting that was pregnancy inspired:
Here's a picture of me today (15 weeks: Baby Bump):
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