Training day 7, Baby stuff, and a SECRET!

Today was training day 7. We worked on chest and abs. We used 2 different machines this time, plus the roman chair. Chris showed me the difference between working just a small set of the abdominals, and working all of it. Today I felt a little low on energy so I only did 20 mins of cardio.

On to the subject of baby stuff... Erin's sister loaned me the most informative book ever for new parents. It's called Baby Bargains. It cuts through all the crap that the baby stores want you to buy and tells you the good and bad about all aspects of buying for baby. It has reviews on strollers, monitors, breast pumps, car seats, you name it... and it also very clearly tells you how much of everything you will need. So no guessing. It also tells you what is a waste of money. Like Diaper Stackers and Changing Tables! what the hell is wrong with the floor? Or the bathroom counter? or the couch? people who buy these expensive changing tables are just idiots.

Did you know that in the first 6 weeks of life, a baby will go through 600 nappies??? (that's diapers to you yankies). I could only wish for a digestive system that's that ative these days!

The secret... well obviously I'm not going to spill the beans!! what kind of friend would I be if I blogged it to the world? It's going in the vault along with many other dirty little secrets I've collected over the years. Only the very privileged know these secrets. You know who you are ;-) Some day, I may write my memoires and confess all, and possibly implicate some guilty people, but I promise I'll wait until those it could hurt are long dead before I do - unless you do something that negates your vault priviledges, but so far very few people have managed that ;-)

Training day 6, house hunting, and FETAL MOVEMENT!

Thursday was training session #6. We did legs, ass, and abs. I'm convinced that my training is saving me from becoming a complete whale. On Saturday, before I headed to the gym I had Brian take a picture of me. We took the same picture in the same outfit at 11 weeks. On Saturday I was 17 weeks (and a few days) and the pictures are nearly identical. There's a bit more boob in the later one, and a tiny, tiny difference in the stomach. I fully believe that if it weren't for the gym I'd never be able to fit into my Lucky Jeans. So a big fat thank you to my trainer, Chris, and also to Barbie, who does her best to show up to the gym and support me, even though she absolutely hates to go :-)
And just so nobody is concerned, despite my size not increasing dramatically, I am gaining the required amount of weight to maintain a healthy pregnancy. The scale is creeping up slowly at the recommended pace, and no, I am not dieting. I'm eating 300 calories a day more than I used to, and that comes in the form of fruit, dairy, and CHOCOLATE!

On Friday evening, Brian and I went and drove some of the neighbourhoods we are considering moving to. We found quite a few that we liked and one that we absolutely fell in love with, but might be outside of our price range. Barbie is helping us sell our current house and buy a new one. We spent a long time this weekend cleaning out the closet in the master, the garage, and organizing the pantry so it looks bigger :-) I am donating 4 trash bags full of clothes and shoes to Goodwill. I can't believe how good it feels to purge all that baggage!

On Sunday morning, as I was laying on the couch watching the learning channel, as is my Sunday morning ritual, Nikki was laying on my stomach, and purring her little kitty head off, when I felt a weird feeling in my stomach. I thought it was gas. It felt kind of a cross between hunger and gas. Kind of like tiny bubbles, but it was persistent, not like gas. I realized that it was the kid moving around. After I recognized it, then it became more obvious and last night he must have been doing a happy dance in there while I was trying to sleep. I told him out loud to keep still but the kid doesn't listen to his mother. It was only when one of the cats laid on my stomach and purred that he stopped. I wonder if the kid can feel the vibrations or hear the purring?

Training day 5 and cravings

Tuesday was training day 5. We worked on back and abs. This time we focused on all the back exercises first, then abs, rather than having the ab workouts dispursed in with the others. I am finding the ab work out in the Roman Chair to be more challenging every time. It's not because I'm doing more, I think it might be because I'm gaining weight and my body isn't used to the excess yet. I imagine it's only going to get harder. I get to my 4th set and can barely hang on any more.

I've been doing pretty well with my diet. I've been trying to eat as much fruit as possible every day, even though I don't really like fruit. Brian mentioned to me today that he's suprised by my lack of cravings. I guess you hear stories of men being sent out to the store at all hours of the morning for weird food combinations, or getting up in the night to go make some weird sandwich for their pregnant wife. I haven't experienced any really strong cravings at all. I get a taste for something and that's what I'll choose to eat, but I could easily be talked out of it. Maybe the really strong cravings come later on. I have developed an aversion to most meat, though, and I used to LOVE lemon pepper and dill on my food and now it smells like ass to me.

Perhaps my cravings are in denial because what I truly crave is sushi and tequila, both of which are off limits. I had sushi for lunch with Jack yesterday, and of course I only chose vegetable and cooked varieties, but I really wanted a Spicy Susan or a spicy tuna hand roll. Jack is super supportive, too. I know he wants a Spicy Susan but he doesn't get one because it would torture me :-)

Training day 4 and painting

Saturday morning I got up early and went to the grocery store to buy ingredients for my Chicken Enchilada soup that I was preparing for a party over at Erin's later. Started prepping my soup, then as it simmered, headed to the gym for my 4th training session with Chris.
Chris was having a bad day but I cheered him up a bit by letting him complain to me. It always helps if you can vent to someone and they just listen, I find. He seemed in better spirits when I left. The workout was gruelling, as always. We did chest and abs and then of course finished with cardio. I find it hard to do the free weights because I don't yet have the balance and coordination required, but I am improving over last time.
After the gym I showered and headed over to Erin's with my soup. The party was fun. Everyone had made their favourite soup and we all tasted each others recipes. After the party Brian and I headed to the mall and I attempted to find some trousers that fit. Unfortunately, everything came up too high in the waist to accommodate my growing belly in the first store, and I resigned myself to having to go to the maternity store. When we got there, though, I just couldn't do it. I tried on 3 pairs of trousers and one pair of jeans. The jeans were ok, but I just couldn't do it. I'm not ready yet. All the other pants were too big. I'm in that awkward phase between fat and pregnant that all women dread. Brian was awesome, though. He kept giving me hugs and reassurance when he saw my facial expressions, and we headed out of the mall empty-handed.

Today, Sunday, we got up semi early for a sunday and ran some errands, then Brian spent most of the day weeding our front lawn by hand to remove the clover, and I painted our hideous blue guest bathroom back to off-white at the insistance of our realtor (Barbie) who said it devalues our house. It is now back to its original vanilla colour. This is probably a good time to mention that we're planning to sell our house in the very near future. We haven't started looking for houses yet because we want to get this one on the market first, so we've been spending some time organizing the closets, donating clothes and all the things that we don't use anymore like old computers and hardware, etc. Hopefully it will sell fast and we'll find our dream house for a bargain price by mid June. If not, we plan to take the house off the market and stay for another year. It's not a good idea to move when you have a newborn, so we're hoping to do it before the baby arrives.

Happy 29th birthday to me!

Ok, so it's not really my 29th, but that's what I'm claiming because I can still get away with it and that's all you need to know! My birthday was awesome. I got up and went to the gym in the morning to get a good start on the day, then chatted with mum on the web cam while I drank my tea and ate my bagel (which is a birthday treat for me, as usually I have yogurt and fruit), then I headed in to work where my very thoughtful friend, Dana gave me yummy chocilates and a happy birthday baloon, and a card from my whole team. At lunch I went with Danna and Dana to get pedicures.
When I arrived home there was a big basket on my doorstep with a ballon and all kids of fruit and cookies and chocolate from my parents. I spent another 45 minutes on the web cam to my mum and dad, who was now home from work. Then Brian came home and I opened my birthday presents from him, his brother, and his parents. All gifts were awesome. Then we headed out for dinner with 22 of our dearest friends to Kobe Steakhouse. I haven't had a steak in about 5 months, so this was a real treat for me. We had so much fun. I can't imagine the day turning out any more perfect.

So thank you to all my family and friends who made my whole day so special. Everyone should be as lucky as me!

Pregnoid training day 3

I had to skip my Tuesday training session due to inclement weather and someone scheduling a 4 hour meeting during that time! 4 hours??? what the hell do we have to talk about for 4 whole hours?

Today I did my skipped work out, and rescheduled today's work out for Saturday morning. Today's work out was awesome. We did legs and abs. We added a little more weight to the leg press and did 2 sets of 20 instead of 2 sets of 12. Then we did quds and hamstrings, and some lunges with 2 10lb weights, and then the roman chair for 2 sets of 20 reps straigt up, and 2 sets of 20 side to side, followed by the crunch machine, where I did 2 sets of 20 and held for 10 seconds half way through. Then Chris instructed 20 mins of cardio, but I did 30 so I could have a chocolate grahm cracker cookie at lunch :-)

Today was one of those work outs where you still feel it hours afterwards, mostly in my lungs. It almost feels like it used to when I'd do a good long run. I like it.

In pregnancy news, the acne seems to be under control now. I have been using a combination of Proactive Solution, and Arbonne's RE9 line. My skin seems to be getting back to normal. I'm also happy to report that I can still fit into my lucky jeans. I attribute this to my workout routine. Without it, I would be a total whale by now. No question. So anybody who thinks you can eat whatever you want and don't have to work out becuase you're pregnant... take note. You can't, and you shouldn't.

My hair is doing something funky now. I have aquired a cowlick on the front left. Today, Chris couldn't stop staring at it during our work out... until I told him that it was one of my horns trying to show itself ;-) I'll take a picture of my baby gut soon so you can all see it for yourself.

And in family news, the web cam I got my parents for xmas is awesome! I love that I can now see them whenever I want. It feels like they're not so far away. It's nice to know they're just a click away now. I also found Tiff on Skype, and my uncles Derek, Norman and Terry. How cool is that? I had a chat with uncle Derek on Tuesday. I haven't spoken to him since new years about 4 years ago!

Lower Back Pain!

We're in week 16 and my back is killing me! You're not supposed to use heat pads during pregnancy, and I'm not sure why, but I also can't take any OTC meds to relieve the pain, so I've been using the heat pad on low in an effort to loosen up the muscles a little.
In other news, Brian and I can't agree on a name for the kid. I might have to resort to duct-taping him to a chair and torturing him until he agrees to the name I want. Then again, he might like that.

Oh, and it's snowing! YAY! Too bad it won't be enough to make a snowman.

Pregnoid training day 2 and belly explosion!

Yesterday I met Chris at the gym. He was feeling crappy because of allergies. I was feeling probably the best I've felt since becoming pregnant. It's amazing how your mood alters once you stop being nauseaus all the time. We started off with an easy cardio warm up for 10 minutes, then did back and abs. Apparently I am very strong for a girl :-) Already after only one work out with Chris, I noticed that despite the bulging belly, I do have a line of definition down my upper abs. After my work out, I told Chris that after the baby is born I expect him to get me a six pack and two tickets to the gun show (gesturing to my huge biceps).
Barbie joined me for the latter part of my workout where I did 30 minutes on the cross trainer with her. A true friend is one who will come to the gym to support your fitness goals, even though she hates working out :-)

My stomach seems to have taken on a life of its own this week. Last week it wasn't that noticable. I kind of looked like I had over indulged in holiday goodies, but not really a pregnant stomach. Today, though, it's protruding out to the front and there's no mistaking what it is. I'm kind of glad to have reached this phase because being as vain as I am, it's mortifying that people might look at me and think I'm just gaining weight for no reason. At least now people will know I'm pregnant.

I've been working my arse off to make sure I don't gain too much weight, although I'm supposed to have only gained 5lbs by now according to sources on the Web, and I have gained 10. ACK! Given the amount of working out I've done lately, though, I'm going to claim that at least 2lbs of that is muscle gain - and nobody had better tell me otherwise or I'll burst into an hormonal fit of tears and you'll feel really bad!

It seems that the growth spurt has not limited itself to my belly. Just when you think your jugs couldn't get any bigger, they do. So I'm going to claim at least another 1lb of this weight is boobs. So there, That's 3lbs accounted for out of the extra 5 I've put on. The rest is most certainly green tea ice cream, sugar cookies, and chocolate.

Pregnoid training day 1

Yesterday was my first day to train with my personal trainer, Chris. I absolutely believe in the benefits of exercising while pregnant:
Reduces backaches, constipation, bloating, and swelling
Increases energy and stamina
Lifts your spirits and balances your mood
Improves posture
Helps build better muscle tone and strength
Promotes better sleep
Gves you a sense of control and self-confidence
Provides you with time for yourself to do something for yourself
Increases blood and oxygen flow to the placenta

In addition to keeping you fit and healthy now, regular activity during pregnancy also helps improve your ability to cope with the rigors of labor. And after baby is born, it is easier for you to get back in shape if you've been staying fit all along.

Source: American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists

At my gym there are currently three other pregnant women who are in training. My first session with Chris was awesome. We worked on chest and abs. Chris showed me a whole new set of exercises I wouldn't have even thought of and pushed me outside of my comfort zone with regard to while machines and exercises I was familiar with. Taking my doctor's advice into consideration, we came up with a safe way to work out my abs. Today I am moderately sore in my chest and abs, but it's the good kind of sore. The kind that lets you know you really did something good for yourself.

Today I went to the gym and just did a set of abs and my usual 35 minutes of cardio. My next appointment is tomorrow, where I hope we will focus on ass, legs and abs.

More realities of pregnancy

As I stated, my previous post was just the tip of the iceberg. Aside from the little bundle of joy at the end of all this, there are many other little gifts of nature that you can look forward to. Of course all women are different, so perhaps others will not experience all of these unpleasant things, but it seems that mother nature threw her entire bag of goodies at me.

Acne...
I have never in my life had more than 2 active zits at any given time. Not even during puberty. During pregnancy, and from very early on, I have been plagued with zits. Forehead, nose, chin, upper lip. The T-zone. At one point I had 11 active zits on my forehead. I got so desperate I bought Proactive, which has helped somewhat, but here's the catch... no pregnancy testing has been done with Proactive, and your doctor will tell you something vague like "if you think the benefits outweigh the risk, then use it". Well, sorry kid, but I will not be a pizza face for you!

Backne...
Hormone induced zits do not discriminate. They don't care that you can't reach your back to put zit cream on there. In fact, that's perhaps why they live there. They know you can't get them! My once beautiful smooth back now has a nice collection of back zits.

Hair growth...
With raging hormones comes a growth spurt in hair. The hair on your head will grow faster, and fall out less. Your hair will become thicker and fuller. This is a good thing for me because I have fine hair. However, it does not limit iteself to your head. Hair will grow where you never had hair before. Mustache, stomach, NIPPLES! WTF?

Pregnancy glow...
In my experience, this is a complete myth. Maybe I just don't see it because I'm too busy focusing on the zits and hair. Nobody has told me I'm glowing. Sure, I've got increased blood volume, which supposedly should cause me to have a rosey glow, but I'm just not seeing it. You're supposed to get better looking during pregnancy, because the increased blood volume plumps the skin and reduces wrinkles, etc. Of course, you're too busy staring in dismay at the cheese forming on your upper thighs to notice.

Cravings and aversions...
My cravings haven't been that strong. I fimd that I'm highly suggestible. When the restaurant or food advertisements come on around dinner time, I'm very driven by those images. Pregnancy literature and anecdotal evidence suggest that during pregnancy you gain an aversion to things that are bad for you, and crave the things that are good for you. If that's true, then why am I craving Tequila shots and I have an aversion to chicken? I also crave sushi, medium rare steak, and sweets.

Sleeping...
I have Restless Leg Syndrome. It's an hereditary condition that causes your legs to get a weird fidgety sensation that causes you to move to relieve it. Sometimes the movements are involunary. During pregnancy, this is amplified many times, and guess what? all of the drugs that relieve RLS are not safe for pregnant women! On top of that, during the second trimester, you should not sleep on your back because it cuts off circulation to your heart and to the placenta. You can't sleep on your stomach because it becomes uncomfortable, so you're left with left side or right side. I really believe that the problems you encounter sleeping while pregnant are preparing you for the sleepless nights and 4am feedings that you'll be a slave to when the kid is born.

I have to pee!...
We're told that the single most important thing you can do for yourself and your baby is to hydrate. Recommendations range from 64 to 80 ounces of water a day. Drinking water helps flush toxins from your body, and deliver much needed nutrients to the baby. In addition it helps stop stretch marks from forming (though if you're genetically predisposed to stretch marks, this won't do anything for you). What 80 ounces of water also does is make you pee every ten minutes, including in the night. I wake up in agony around 3am and 6am every morning because my bladder is full to the point of bursting. Again, I believe this is designed to prepare you for the frequent feedings when the baby is here.

Why am I here?...
The old wives tale that the baby sucks the intelligence right out of you is true. My ability to focus is severely deminished. I find myself being distracted very easily, and I can't count the number of times I've walked up the stairs with a purpose, got there and forgot why I went. It's not limited to the house, either. I went to the mall a couple of weeks ago with a purpose, got there, forgot why I was there, got pissed at myself and left. And of course, there's the hormonal outbursts. When emotion is high, intellegence and rationality are always low.

Clumsiness...
This one baffles me. I first noticed it while cooking. I have always considered myself to be a very competent knife handler, but recently I can't count on one hand the number of times I've almost chopped my finger off while preparing dinner. I drop things, knock things over, and trip over my own feet. I thought this would show iteself later in pregnancy when my center of gravity shifts due to the giant belly, but no, it happened even before I started showing. Coordination seems to be a little off.

Sense of smell...
It's a well documented fact that pregnant women have a sense of smell that would rival a hound. I was very surprised by how quickly this kicked in. We were on our honeymoon in Bali when mine did. I could smell someone smoking from the other side of the hotel! Of course, Brian and I didn't put two and two together until we got home and took the test and found out we were pregnant. Then the lightbulb came on! A delightful side effect of this symptom is that when your husband farts, you are the first to smell it, and it lasts twice as long, and it's ten times as bad as it usually is. Lovely!

Everyone who's ever been pregnant has advice for you...
This one is particularly annoying to me. I appreciate that these people are offering their 2 cents with the best intentions. They'll tell you how their whole pregnancy went, and how they felt, and how you should be feeling. They'll draw comparisons and sympathize with you. Why I find this annoying is beyond me. I know I should be grateful that these women are sharing their experiences with me, and are trying to impart their wisdom on me to help me feel better, and to let me know that I'm not alone, but I just find myself thinking "Lady, are you in here? No! so how can you possibly know what's going on in here?". I'm going to blame my intolerance of this on hormones.

Gas...
Everyone who knows me knows that my gas is legendary. And during pregnancy most women are afflicted with an excess of gas. I remember one of my very modest friends who never farted, leaning over to grab a gift at her baby shower, and let out a loud fart. I laughed my ass off... My gas seems to have subsided. At least from the rear end. Now I'm afflicted with man-burps. After every meal I can let out the loudest most manly belch you've ever heard. If you heard it, you'd look around for a 300lb man.

It's ok... she's pregnant...
One benefit of pregnancy is that you can get away with almost anything. If I belch out loud in the office, my office mate excuses me with "it's ok, you're pregnant". If I burst into tears for no reason, it's ok! I'm pregnant. If I get irate over seemingly insignificant things, it's OK! I'm pregnant! If I am at dinner with friends, I can say "Hey... are you gonna eat that?" and reach over to get it because it's OK! I'm pregnant! Finally, one benefit of being pregnant that I can get behind!

The reality of pregnancy (long)

Ok, since I've been in the closet for so long, I've been unable to share the joys and woes of pregnancy, but today marks day 1 of Amanda Tells All. If you find this TMI (Too much information) then don't read it.

The first 3 months were hell. Anybody who tells you that they loved being pregnant is just a sicko. In my experience, pregnancy is unpleasant. Here's what I've experienced so far.


Morning Sickness...
Why they call it "morning sickness" is beyond me. I was nauseous morning, noon, and night! Not the kind of nauseous that produces vomit, either, just the kind that makes you feel shitty. The ONLY time I didn't feel nauseous was when I was eating or sleeping.

Constipation...
Let's talk about poop for a moment. Or lack thereof. I was so constipated one night that I woke up with the most godawful cramps imaginable and thought I was going to die. I spent an hour on the toilet trying to push out a very dense and compancted poo that felt like I was passing an acme brick. Poor Brian had to run out in the night to get me something to make me feel better, but of course, nothing did. Since that incident I've been eating lots of fruit, taking my DanActive every day, and an Activia yogurt for regularity. It's helped, but not as much as I'd hoped.

Porn star nipples...
I don't even recognize my own boobs. They are HUGE and hurt like hell, and my girlish pink nipples have been replaced by these hot pink giant ones! WTF??? I read that the colour never goes back to the way it was before, though the size will go back to normal.

Being inhabited...
The feeling that your body is not your own anymore is quite common, I hear. The little parasite is taking everything you have. You're tired and lethargic all the time in the first trimester, at least I was. I found myself passing out at 7:30 in the evening in front of the TV. My sweet husband just quietly went about his business while I crashed on the couch. The cats must have sensed my tiny passenger because they became very clingy and always wanted to lay on my tummy. As pregnancy progresses, the feeling of being inhabited doesn't get any better. You eventually come to the realization that even when the little critter is out, he's gonna be sucking on you for many months afterwards. Your body will not be your own for a long, long time.

Dr. Visits...
I really think that the seemingly endless appointments with various doctors is just a way to smack the modesty out of you. Yea sure, I'm guilty of mooning large crowds and you might be thinking "Amanda? modest?" but let me assure you that I don't like people nosing around in my business down there and I'm mortified at the mere thought of the annual visit to the gyno. During pregnancy, you get violated many times with vrious instruments to check on the baby. Get used to it. By the time the baby's born you'll be ready to invite the whole world to come watch and video tape as you pop out a bloody, screaming, purple, cone headed, tiny Winston Churchill look-alike from your va-jay-jay.

Genetic testing...
This is an unpleasant but necessary evil when you are considered to be a "high risk" pregnancy. Brian and I opted for the CVS, which is done at 11 weeks. It detects Downs Syndrom and other genetic defects, such as Fragile-x, etc. The procedure requires a full bladder for the ultrasound, and a very large needle inserted right through your stomach into the placenta. I had to pee so bad that the doctor felt sorry for me and let me go to the bathroom, but only to release a little. Imagine having to pee so bad you could just pee on yourself, and then having to quit mid-stream. Not an easy task! During this ultrasound, the kid looked like Charlie Brown - a giant head and little body. When I saw the size of the head in relation to the body, I panicked! "Jeezus! it's got a giant head". The doctor assured me that it was disporportionate at this point and I had nothing to worry about. About 10 days after the giant needle takes a sample, you get results. Fortunately ours was negative, which is good, but we found out it's a boy, which is the exact opposite of what I wanted. Brian's over the moon, though.


Baby got back...
During pregnancy, you release a hormone that causes you to retain fat. This fat does not discriminate. It doesn't care that you're hoping for no bodily changes other than the cute pregnancy bump. No. This fat attaches itself to your ass, thighs and love handles. Your regular jeans may still fit, but you look like someone shoehorned your ass into them. Trust me, just go out and buy fat jeans early on to save yourself the crying in front of the mirror episodes every time you attempt to dress.

Showing...
When you first start to show, your friends will want to pet your belly and tell you it's cute. You, on the other hand might feel violated that everyone is touching you in a place they never touched you before, and you'll try to wear your normal clothes and will find that you just don't look good in them. It's not really that you don't look good, it's just that you don't look like you're used to, but this won't matter. You're gonna feel like a whale, and you're going to cry about it, so just go out and buy bigger clothes as soon as this happens and save yourself some heart ache. Not a whole wardrobe, just a few pieces to get you through the awkward phase before you need maternity clothes.

Mood swings...
I'm normally a very stable person. I'm not prone to mood swings and I don't get PMS, at least not the kind that can be percieved by others. I had my first hormonal outburst a week or so ago over cheese. Yes, cheese. I cried, stormed out of the house, went shopping for fat clothes, and when I got home had one more cry about elephants, then I was fine. Cheese and elephants. Two things I'm usually indifferent about, although I do like cheese a lot.

Registering...
This is quite possibly the worst experience of all. Brian and I headed to Babies R Us and picked up "the gun". About 45 minutes in and we had only one item on our registry. It was frustrating, overwhelming, and it completely freaked me out to the point that I've been having anxiety attacks ever since. We got about 1/3 of the way down the massive checklist of things we'd need, and my stomach was in knots. We had to leave. I have't been back since, and since then, we've added things from the Web with recommendations from friends. If I never have to go back to that place I will be happy.

Coming out of the closet...
There's always those trusted friends and close family that you tell before you get results back. We opted only to tell those who we trusted, and would feel comfortable around if we had to abort due to genetic defects, or if there was a miscarriage. We swore those friends to secrecy. Others guessed. Some were totally clueless. Kitty, for example, guessed when she observed me drinking Shirly Temples at happy hour. Jay, on the other hand, saw my Shirley Temples, saw me down three of them, assumed they were Cosmopolitans, and teased me about being a lush. Hehehe.

Things I want but can't have...
Tequila. God I want tequila so bad. I want a shot, not a margarita. I want a shot of tequila with salt and lime, and by god, somebody better deliver that to me as soon as the peanut is out!
Sushi. I miss my spicy susan and spicy tuna hand roll. Sure I can have the cooked sushi, and it does pacify me a little, but I really want regular sushi.
Medum rare steak. Apparently you can get parasites from under cooked meat. Parasites normally wouldn't bother an adult, but during pregnancy you're 10 times more likely to get sick, and it could harm the baby. I hate my steaks done medium or above, so since the only way I can eat them is well done, there's no point.
Blue cheese. Who knew that blue cheese was off limits? I love blue cheese.
Ceasar salad. This was a surprise to me. I'm still not sure why I can't have ceasar salad, but it's on the list of things I can't have.
Deli meat. Apparently, deli meat, like the kind you get at subway or any sandwich shop, is off limits because it harbours harmful bacteria that ordinarily wouldn't bother you, but again, being pregnant makes you 10 times more likely to get sick.
Salad bars and buffets. Again. Bacteria.

I've completely disregarded the salad bar rule because I crave salads. I think the benefits of me eating salad outweighs the risks. So don't give me any lectures.

Body image...
This is an important and seldom mentioned reality of being pregnant. Your body image will make you feel like a whale. You don't look like one. you look like a cute pregnant lady on the verge of showing. If you let your body image rule you, you'll eventually start to resent the tiny passenger in your belly. I'm speaking from experience here. I'm pissed off that I'm gonna get fat, and I'm blaming the kid. Do something about this before it goes too far. Which leads me to my next point.

Exercise...
I'm a runner. Except that since becoming pregnant it's been damn near impossible to run. I have ran several times. My boobs hurt so bad that it's almost unbearable. And as you start to gain a few pounds, you also notice it's harder to run. Not only that, but your joints beging to loosen because of pregnancy hormones, which makes you less stable. Being pregnant does not mean you need to, or should give up working out. Quite the contrary. You're not disabled. You're not sick. You need to stay in shape using alternate methods, otherwise you'll increase your risk of a c-section, prolong your labour, and lose your stamina so you will have a harder time during pregnancy, deliver, and recovery. So get off your fat pregnant ass and work out. I've hired a personal trainer. It's important to me that I get back to normal as soon as possible post partum, and there's no better time to get started than right now.

Time for daddy to "Man up!"...
This one is specifically for Brian. And he's been doing a stellar job of manning up to the task. Don't expect your man to just know what he's supposed to do. You need to tell him. No hints, either. Just flat out have the discussion. I needed Brian to show me that he's going to improve in certain areas to help ease my mind that I won't be burdened with two kids when the baby arrives. Picking up after himself, being more proactive about the cat box, dishes, house maintenance, trash, and laundry are all things that help put my mind at ease and show me that I have a partner in all this, and won't be the one doing all the work. I told him, and he's doing it. End of story. You're dealing with enough during pregnancy, the last thing you need is to be nagging your man, too.

That was a lot of info, and I've only shown you the tip of the iceberg here. But I hope that this piece of honest information will help prepare others for the things that most people don't tell you about being pregnant. And if nothing else, it helped me organize my thoughts and feelings as I wrote it.

Coming out!

I'm coming out of the closet today. All of our close friends and family have already been notified, so this is the last step in coming out of denial. Our lives are about to change completely. No longer will we be able to go out whenever we want, get up whenever we want, or take mini vacations on a whim. Our friends will think twice before inviting us over, they'll also think twice before coming to our house. Yes, we are going to become parents. To a baby boy, to be precise, who will enter the world outside of his mother on or around July 4th, 2007.

Happy Hogmanany, Y'all!

New Year's eve was a total blast. Brian and I, and a group of our bestest friends and family headed down to Donn's Depot where we received stellar service, were thoroughly entertained, and were surrounded by many of the people we love. Those of you that couldn't make it (you know who you are), we REALLY missed you!
New Year's Day was spent recouperating and relaxing. I made breakfast tacos for all of our guests, and Jen and Ethan came over. The rest of the day was spent shopping, eating, and veging in front of the telly with my extremely hot hubby :-)

This year's gonna rock!

Congratulations are in order to Renee and Sonny! I'm so happy for you both!