Howeberry

From adulthood to parenthood, or something like that…

Cravings & Clothes

According to the doctors and my BabyBump Android App, today puts me at exactly 9 weeks. Start of month 3.

Fun part is, for about the last week or week and a half I’ve felt completely normal. Mood swings have dissipated. Cravings are just fun to entertain. Intellectually I know we should start eating out less, save money, blah, blah, blah, but I know eating out will become a treat after baby arrives, so why not amuse ourselves while we can and eat out when the mood (or craving) strikes.

I’ve decided that it is probably a bad idea for a pregnant woman to go grocery shopping alone. Mid-last week I went to the store for lunch meat, bread, coffee – basic lunch and breakfast supplies that we needed. And somehow Goldfish ended up in the basket. I don’t buy treats like cheese crackers! At least in my sleepy-after-work grocery-shopping daze I was able to select the healthier “whole grain” bag. Not sure if i was craving the cheese, the salt, or the puffed cracker, but they totally hit the spot!

My doctor recommended an increase of 300 calories a day, so I don’t mind entertaining snack cravings. So far, this has been a very guilt-free pregnancy.

A personal annoyance at this early stage is clothing. Tummy really hasn’t started expanding yet, so the idea of maternity clothes is kind of silly. I’ve already bought new bras, which helped with the starting-to-feel-normal thing. Work and play shirts fit fine, as do my work pants. Problem is my jeans. The pairs of jeans I love have an annoying tendency of going threadbare on the inner thigh. This may have to do with the material, the particular brand, my healthy “farm stock” thighs that rub when I walk, etc. My last pair of comfy jeans started showing signs of wear yesterday. In the winter I can layer another pair of pants underneath, but it’s almost too warm to do that now. And because I’m cheap and know I’m growing, I’m not interested in buying new jeans when I’ll need to buy maternity pants in another 2 months or so.

Here’s a message to girl friends who may be reading and may be trying to lose weight (you know, cause that’s what women are always trying to do, right?):  If you do lose that weight and plan to become pregnant ..EVER.. keep your pre-weight loss clothes and bras. It’ll save you money later and if you like the clothes, why not keep them for when your body needs to fatten up to support a growing little one?

I’ve read that total pregnancy weight gain will be about 30 pounds.

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HoweBerry

I discovered I was pregnant at week 5, but week 7 is where we shall start.

According to What to Expect when You’re Expecting, at week seven our little bundle of cells (that is busy growing into what will eventually be a baby) is about the size of a blueberry. So, we shall call our itty-bitty little baby-to-be our “howeberry.”

I can’t take all the credit. My sister was the one who came up with the adorable nickname.

So just how big of a blueberry are we talking here?

Monday was our first ultrasound, and to be honest, baby looks like, well, a pickle. At 7 weeks 3 days, baby was 1.28 centimeters long.

The first thing the nurse technician pointed out on the ultrasound screen was baby’s heart beat. This was impressive and just about took my breath away. (There really is something alive and growing in me, causing all these hormonal reactions!) Heart beat was a strong 158 beats per minute. Beats. Per. Minute! Damn, that’s fast! Both the nurse and doctor said everything looked healthy and normal. Right on target.

Here’s the first picture of our tiny howeberry:

The little ball above the pickle-shape is the yoke sack. This provides nutrients to baby until the placenta is formed. The howeberry is just the pickle-shape. (See what I see?) Learn something new every day!

So there we are.

And how am I, the mama-to-be, doing? Great! No morning sickness. Occasional mood swings (but what else is new?). Mostly been craving meat and cheese. No complaints there. I haven’t gained much weight, maybe a pound or two. The hubby has commented that my fatty girl-parts (breasts, hips) have gotten wider. Guess they’re busy preparing for baby growth.

I started taking prenatal yoga classes this week. Class is small, there were only 2 other pregnant girls – one is 2 weeks ahead of me. The teacher is hoping for one or two more to join. It’s very gentle, focused on increasing strength to help with current conditions & those to come, and increasing lung capacity for the later months and birth. It’s meditative. It’s a comfortable place to talk about being pregnant with other girls experiencing the same thing. It’s also allowed me to preview things to come. The instructor is a caring middle-aged Indian woman, who trained in India (this is no American gym-style yoga). She’s extremely accommodating and encouraging. I’m a little sad that the next class is more than a week away.

Next doctor’s appointment is at the end of the month. This is when we’ll review all the tests, which should be informative. Stay tuned!

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