12 week bump update

When I was pregnant with James Michael, I had always intended on doing weekly pregnancy updates because I really enjoy reading those of other mamas-to-be. But somehow I only managed to do sporadic updates. I can’t promise I’ll stick to weekly updates this go round, especially with a one year old underfoot, but maybe having a basic template will help.

PREGNANCY WEEK: 12

GENDER: Unknown. I have this strange feeling it’s a girl because the baby’s heart rate has been 168 or 169 during my first two visits, whereas, James Michael’s always hovered in the mid 140s to low 150s. But then I read the heartbeat thing is all a myth, so only time will tell!

WEIGHT GAIN: 1 pound at 11-week appointment. I’ll probably only report weight gain following my doctor’s appointments, so that I don’t obsess over stepping on the scale at home. With James Michael, I gained about 27 or 28 pounds, but we’ll see with baby #2. I work out less, but also rest less.

CRAVINGS: Mexican, mexican, mexican. And the homemade tacos I whipped up last week didn’t do the trick. After three weeks of this craving, it was finally fulfilled last night. Cheese dip and chicken nachos. Perfection.

I still like sweets as much as before, and I always keep a little stash of dark chocolate in the house. But what’s weird is I don’t want dark chocolate. Baked goods (like JM’s gluten-free chocolate cake), totally–just not chocolate in candy form. Weird, I know. Usually, I don’t discriminate.

WORKOUTS: I knew going into this pregnancy that I wouldn’t be able to work out as much as I did last time (4 to 5 days a week), and that’s ok. If I work out three times a week, I consider it a great week. Because James Michael goes to bed by 7pm, I can only work out on the afternoons of the two days a week I work from home since I don’t have to worry about the commute. And then there’s about a 50/50 chance of me squeezing in a CrossFit workout Saturday morning—it all depends on when he goes down for his morning nap or if I’m in town.

When the weather cooperates, we do go on walks on weekday evenings and on the weekends, but I don’t consider them workouts, more like fresh air.

The workouts I’ve done in the past two weeks have really left me exhausted. I think my body is just in overdrive.

MATERNITY CLOTHES: None yet. I think that last go round, I started using the belly band around 15 weeks. This time I’m expecting to use it sooner, based on the fact that everyone says you show much earlier. On that note, goodbye flat stomach. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not huge yet, but between week 11 and 12, the abs just couldn’t hold it in any longer.

My pants are fitting snugger, but I do have a few pairs of work pants that are much looser on me that I must have bought when I was pregnant last time, so I’ll switch to wearing those soon, then the unavoidable belly band, which is such a simple but invaluable creation.

SYMPTOMS: From week 10.5 to week 12, I think bebe has gone through a major growth spurt. I’ve been starving constantly, and my stomach feels like it’s going to eat itself. Despite eating  6 to 7 oz steaks three nights a week thanks to my husband (who says I now have two mouths to feed!), I still wake up in the middle of the night starving. (Side note: thanks to all those steaks, my iron levels are off the chart for a pregnant woman. No chance of anemia here!)

Besides hunger, there’s the textbook fatigue. At this point it’s so hard to know if it’s from this pregnancy or carryover from James Michael. At any rate, it’s not debilitating like it was with my first pregnancy. Now, I’m used to being sleep deprived.