What a Peach!

I'm about a week late on this update. Better late than never, right?!

Overall, not much has changed from last week. Except, perhaps, that I'm eating more than ever! Feeding this baby is like having an extra part time job! I still go through occasional phases of picky eating, but overall it hasn't been too bad. Mostly it is the hunger that is all consuming. I have been eating two dinners every night and two breakfasts every morning. Lunch is mostly made up of heavy snacking, plus some sort of entree. I know I'm only eating for two, but sometimes if feels like there must be more than one in there!

My co-workers at my summer job have enjoyed watching some of my bizarre eating habits. The favorite was the time I ate the potato and onion pierogis I had packed for my lunch entree at 7:45 in the morning. In my defense, they were still warm from having cooked them that morning! How could I resist?!

Other than the extreme hunger, I have felt pretty good. I still have the occasional problem with dizziness, but that is always less of a problem when I drink enough water. Exhaustion and nausea have been minimal, (although today I did take an impromptu ten minute nap on my couch at work!). Overall, I am extremely grateful for having such an easy pregnancy. If pregnancy is this easy, labor should be a breeze! ;)

Be Band Review

I didn't buy the name brand Bella Band, but instead purchased a Be Band. The Be Band is made by Bella Band but is about half the price! Sold! I purchased one in white and one in black and have already gotten good use out of both colors. The white one is more versatile but the black one is great for when I perform as I often need to be in all black.

Overall, I love this idea and I love the product. The Be Band has allowed me to wear my own pants, shorts and skirts far longer than I would have been able to otherwise. I like to wear the Be Band folded over on itself as you can see in the above picture. The material is a bit thinner than the Bella Band, but when it is folded over, it is the perfect thickness to cover all the material I'm hiding underneath. I have tried wearing it up over my belly, but it is just too warm. (It has been in the 90's here lately! Far too warm to have an extra layer of polyester next to my skin!) I have not had a single problem with my pants falling down, but I have had a few people point out that my zipper is down. Oops! Overall, however, those instances have been quite few.

My biggest complaint is that, by the end of the day, it gets pretty uncomfortable to have that tight band around my belly. Honestly, it is uncomfortable to have just about anything around my belly by the end of the day, but the Be Band feels particularly binding. I still wear it during the day because I haven't stocked up on enough maternity pants yet, but I try to avoid it if I have a long day ahead. It is perfect for wearing out to dinner or out to a gig or event that isn't going to take all day.

Overall, I think this product is ingenious. I am so grateful to have the option to wear my favorite pants and skirts long after the zippers and buttons no longer function. The $30 I spent on my two Be Bands was money well spent. My Be Bands have helped me feel cute even when I feel absolutely huge! That is a feat in itself!

Plum Baby

I can't believe that our baby is already the size of a plum! In honor of our plum baby, my co-worker brought me a plum (two plums actually). How cute is that?!

Overall, things are still going pretty smoothly. I'm getting bigger and bigger by the day! I'll need to post another belly pic soon because I've certainly grown since the last one I posted. I've been having food issues this week, but nothing major. Mostly, I'm getting even hungrier than usual. Perhaps it is because I've started my summer job and no longer have my fridge and pantry at my disposal all day or maybe I've just entered another stage of pregnancy hunger. Whatever it is, I haven't quite figured out how to deal with it!

I take great care in the mornings to pack a large nutritious meal in my lunch bag/cooler and I get through most of it by the end of my work day (around 3:30). Yet, I leave absolutely starving! Most days this week I've hit a restaurant on my way home (we didn't do great grocery shopping this week). Today I couldn't find a single thing that sounded appealing to eat. I went to Whole Foods (strike one) then to Baja Fresh (strike two) and eventually settled on a pasta place. It didn't sound good either, but I had to eat something! I have a marathon recording session from 7-11:00pm tonight, so I'll have to find more food before I leave for that. I feel like all I ever do these days is think about food and eating!

Other than the food issue, things are going really well. I feel good and healthy and haven't had any bad dizzy spells this week. Hurray!

Beef

I have never been a big meat eater. It has just always freaked me out just a bit. My breakfasts and lunches tend to be entirely vegetarian and most of our dinners are vegetarian as well. My baby, however, is a meat eater.

At the beginning of my pregnancy I was slightly repulsed by the fact that the only thing that sounded palatable was an Arby's roast beef sandwich. I was grateful when that passed (so was Jason!) but today my beef craving came back with a vengeance. After a nice and healthy, vegetarian lunch I was hit by a big bad bacon hamburger craving. (What I really wanted was a bacon cheeseburger, but my lactose intolerance would not have allowed for that.) Not one to deny my child of his/her needs, I happily indulged my craving at Z Burger here in DC:



It was spectacular. I savored every bite.

Here's hoping my darling child won't need another one tomorrow as well! I'd love to be able to wear my skinny jeans again at some point in the future!

Our Little Lime

Our little one is getting big! Can you believe he/she was a raspberry only a few weeks ago? I sure can't!

Overall things are going surprisingly well. Everyone keeps asking me about morning sickness, and I am so happy to report that I really haven't had any! I still get dizzy in stores and feel a bit like death for a while after, but I've still never had the urge to vomit (knock on wood).
Aside from a two week Arby's craving (I must have needed iron!) I really haven't had many cravings. Many foods sound incredibly unappealing and a lot of them happen to be good for me. Not good.

Jason has been cooked me some incredibly beautiful and healthy meals this week and I just couldn't get myself to eat much of them. As a result I dropped almost three pounds. Oops. After weighing myself I went straight to the grocery store and bought anything that sounded good. Here is what I had in my shopping cart: cereal, peaches, nectarines, bananas, bunny grahams, pasta and sauce in a can (organic, but still gross, I know!). I also got a box of organic mac and cheese that I just may make for dinner tonight. I've also had a very social couple of days and have been out to eat twice in the last two days, so that will help me pack some pounds too! This isn't to say that I need to gain weight, I just want to make sure I'm not losing any more.

This post is making me hungry . . . gotta go!

The Bump!

I intended on taking pics of myself with a bare belly every week to document the slow growth of the baby bump, but travels to California and Washington state put an end to that. Oh well. Instead, here is a picture of me (fully clothed) showing off my baby bump. Overall, it makes me very happy to have something to show for the pregnancy so early on. However, I am still a bit frightened about how big I'm actually going to get! I got pretty freaked out last night thinking about it. Jason and I were each lying on one end of the couch and realized that by the end of the summer I wouldn't be able to see his head over my belly if I were to sit like that. The funny thing is that it made me cry! I'm blaming the hormones. ;)

I'll end with a pic of the bump taken by my nephew Jacob. (Keep in mind this was also after dinner!)

Prune Baby

Our baby is now officially within it's tenth week of life! Baby and I are both doing really well. The dizziness and nausea is generally prevented with lots and lots of water and there has been no cramping or bleeding to speak of! I still get really dizzy if I spend too much time in a grocery store or other big stores. I'm not sure why, but I think it has something to do with seeing things close and at a distance at the same time. It may also have to do with all the turning around to look at different things.

I am currently in Mount Vernon, WA visiting my family and am going shopping with my mom and sister today. Hopefully the dizziness stays at a minimum! My sister-in-law, Tara gave me some motion sickness wrist bands that I think I'll wear. I hope they work!