Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Pregnant Leslie!

Being pregnant has definitely had its ups and downs. I would say the first trimester was pretty awful. I had nausea every night and I absolutely hated eating. In fact, just the thought of food made me gag. I was also one of those rare people that suffered from frequent headaches. I've always been prone to headaches and being pregnant just escalated them. To say the least, it was not fun, especially because I didn't want to take anything for them. Doctors told me tylenol was safe, but I still stayed away. I didn't want to take any risks of hurting my little babe. Not being able to see the baby grow was also one of the difficult parts. Prenatal appointments were few and far between, so I was always wondering if everything was okay and if our baby still had a heartbeat. 

Then the blissful second trimester came. I've always heard second trimester was the best, and I fully believe it now. Seriously, I felt wonderful. Headaches and nausea disappeared, and I only suffered from minor back pain. Being back in Bellingham also helped as we had the awesome boardwalk right below our place to utilize for daily walks. I was frequently going to Bellingham Athletic Club and taking advantage of all the group classes they offered, including Zumba! Since, I had to quit my job when we moved to Bellingham, I had lots of time to get stuff done that I hadn't had time for previously.  There was always something to do, and my second trimester provided me with the energy and good health to do so. Second trimester was also fun because that is when I started showing and feeling the baby move for the first time. We also had the exciting 20 week ultrasound where we found out it was a Boy! Bryan didn't want to admit how much he really wanted a boy until we received the news…then that's all he talked about for the next several days. I, too, could not have been more excited since I've always wanted to have a boy for my first. We started attending baby classes and decorating our little babes room. Those activities made it seem so much real. Overall, it was an exciting trimester and much more pleasant than the first. 

So far, third trimester has also been pretty fun minus the back aches and leg pains. As of writing this, I am 35 weeks and feeling huge. Bryan has been my rock and I could not have asked for a better partner to go through this with. I feel so lucky to have him. He gives me frequent long massages, and is always asking me how I'm doing and if there is anything he can to do help. We finished decorating our baby boy's room and feel much more prepared and ready now that we've had two baby showers. I seriously, don't know what we would have done without the support of family and friends! 

My sister-in-law, Jenn, wrote a survey about her pregnancy each month, and I loved reading about all her changes while we were traveling abroad. I thought I'd do it just once and summarize the entire pregnancy…

How far along?
35 weeks, 4 days!

Total weight gain/loss:
So far I've gained a total of 27 pounds. Holy cow!

Maternity clothes? 
Overall, maternity clothes have been the best. I kind of want to wear them forever and always. I started wearing them pretty early on since I'm all about comfort and my jeans had no longer fit that description.

Stretch marks?
Luckily, I have no stretch marks on my belly. I have several on my upper thighs, but they're not so visible that I'm crying about it. :) I have a little over 4 weeks left to go, so hopefully it stays this way.

Sleep:
It depends on the night. Overall, sleep has been pretty good, but sometimes I'm just too uncomfortable and/or have horrible back pain for that to be true. Lately, sleep has not been so good as I have had so much on my mind. The good news is I haven't had to pee as much as I thought. I get up about once or twice a night, which is pretty standard for me anyway.

Best moment this week:
I'm going to change that to best moment during pregnancy: Feeling and seeing the baby move is easily my favorite part of being pregnant. Also, I love when my husband gets to feel and see him move as well. The first time he felt our little guy move was one of my favorite moments simply because it became that much real for him.

Miss anything?:
Oh yes! I miss being able to breath easily, eating and drinking what I want, high impact workouts, and just the overall feeling of comfort. All the little aches and pains are getting pretty annoying but it's all worth it! :)

Movement:
 I certainly hope so now that I'm this far along. :) He's quite the mover and shaker and pretty much hiccups everyday. He hiccups so much I had to ask my doctor to make sure that was okay. We recently found out he is head down, so that made me very happy. Go little guy!

Food cravings:
l haven't craved anything really specific and weird, but I definitely love my fruit, carbs, and cereal. If I could eat cereal for every meal, I would. Overall, I've tried to eat pretty healthy and haven't indulged too much in sweets and chips, but every once in a while I lose myself in those foods.

Anything making you queasy or sick:
In my first my trimester I hated eating dinner. I could really only handle cold foods like cereal, yogurt, and fruit. The thought of eating hot and spicy foods made me gag. Second trimester I loved food and continue to love it in my third trimester!

Labor Signs:
Not yet, and I haven't been able to feel any Braxton-Hicks contractions either, but my doctor recently told them many women don't notice them with first pregnancy. I could be having them and am just completely ignorant…I don't know.

Belly Button in or out?
This question makes me giggle because Bryan really wanted me to get an outie. So far, it's definitely in and, at this point, it will probably stay that way. Yay!

Wedding rings on or off?
I haven't had a lot of swelling overall. The only time I swell is when I'm on a fast pace walk and if I've been on my feet all day. However, I recently noticed a couple of my rings no longer fit. My fingers don't look swollen, so I'm not sure what's going on there. Have they just gotten bigger? That can't be good. Lol.

Happy or Moody most of the time:
I have felt happy and excited overall. I feel like I've been in a pretty good mood my entire pregnancy, but I'm sure I've had bad days. I'll have to ask Bryan. :)

Looking forward to:
Meeting our little babe for the first time. I've been dreaming about that moment for a long time and can't wait until the day is here! I just hope he's healthy!

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I took belly bump photos when I remembered, and that was usually when I was at home by myself. Sorry for all the following selfies but it sure was fun watching the bump grow.


15 Weeks!


16 weeks. It's funny I thought I looked big here!

18 Weeks!
19 Weeks!

19 week old baby! :)
Admiring my little babe at 19 weeks!

20 Weeks!
21 Weeks!


23 Weeks!
24 Weeks!
26 Weeks!

27 Weeks!


30 Weeks!
31 weeks!

33 Weeks!
34 weeks!



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