Friday, December 31, 2010

Resolutions old and new.

I stumbled upon my resolutions for 2010 and seeing as 2010 is coming to a close, I thought it might be nice to see how I did... yah, I kind of failed at most of them.

1. My workout -for awhile I was doing really well... but then, well I kind of fell of the wagon (so to speak) and then I got pregnant. I know that being pregnant doesn't mean you can't work out, but my first trimester was real rough and I just wasn't able to. I am back on it and will continue to throughout the rest of my pregnancy and 2011.

2. Weight loss -well, I didn't lose the last 15 lbs I was hoping to. I got pretty close though -and then I got pregnant! haha, so I don't think this is a complete failure, but sort of.

3. Volunteering -yah, that just didn't happen, but don't think I didn't feel bad about it a lot.

4. Limit tv watching -um... hm... nope, not at all.

5. Home more organized -well that sort of happened. Now if only I could get my husband on board!


So my resolutions for 2010 didn't work out so well, but that won't stop me from making more resolutions for 2011! Let's see:

1. Working out -this is definitely one I plan on sticking with as it will also help me with #2. I also plan on running at least 1 half marathon this year, maybe two.

2. Lose weight -I'll need to shed the baby weight. Granted I haven't had the baby yet, so I'm not sure how much I'll need to lose, but my plan is to shed the weight and get down to fighting weight. I'll have to remember to do a mid-year progress report on the resolutions and can update everything accordingly. And considering the amount of weight I've gained so far, this could be a doozy.

3. Hobby -I'd like to pick up a hobby. I haven't quite figured out what it is yet, but maybe some sort of "crafting"?

4. Organize my house -now that I'm going to have another person living in my house I need to be as organized as possible and keep it as neat and decluttered.

So far that's all I've got. I know 2011 is going to bring about a lot of changes so I don't want to make too many resolutions, but this is a good starting point. What are your resolutions? (maybe I'll "borrow" a couple!).

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Money spent

Guess what I spent my Christmas money on? Shoes! My favorite -of course it wasn't either of the things I mentioned before (Hunter boots or the Tory Burch flats), but a new pair of boots. Aren't they purdy? Husband's going to laugh at me. haha
But in my defense, I decided that I'm going to try to find the flats on sale and I needed a new pair of boots that had a sensible heel and that I could wear with brown and black. Clearly these fit the bill -hopefully they're comfortable!
(plus, I might have some more money to spend in a few months when my bonus comes... so everyone wins!).

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Week 23/24

Hey guess what time it is -weekly pregnancy update! I didn't do one last week because it was Christmas and, well, I was just lazy. I kind of wish I took a picture though, but ce la vie.

Weight: Are you shocked? I'm up some more! haha, it's actually kind of frightening, but I am up A LOT. I'm trying to blame it on the regular holiday food binge that everyone (pregnant or not) succumbs to, but let's be honest, the number on the scale is not pretty. I'm up overall around 22/23 lbs... so definitely gaining too quickly and I'm hoping to scale it back a bit. Hopefully once I stop my thrice daily desserts this should even out a bit (*fingers crossed*). I've also come to the sad realization that my belly is not all baby. When I stand or lie down it looks just pregnancy related, but when sitting I'm noticing that some of the overhang is pinchable and it is really just a layer of fat -a glorified spare tire *sigh*. I've also realized that most of the weight from this pregnancy is settling between my armpits and ankles... as in I am getting big all over. My bewbs have grown (again -I'm already out of the new bras I bought a few months ago) and my legs, although never slender, are now just downright thick -they more resemble tree trunks than anything you'd see gracing a cover of a magazine (other than maybe the worst beach bods edition).

Maternity clothes: No change, still in maternity pants as my legs are also growing along with my belly, but I can get away with pants w/ elastic waists and longer regular tops. Most maternity tops are still too big on me.

Stretch marks: Nope (thank goodness!)

Baby Movements: Yes, still moving (yea!). Although I'm only feeling him really low. I don't know if it's due to how the baby's lying or my placenta or the extra layer of fat I have, but it's kind of odd since I expected him to have moved up a bit. I'll have to ask my doctor about it next week.

Cravings/Aversions: I'm eating a lot of sweets, but I don't know if that's an actual pregnancy craving or just due to me eating a lot of sugar (and sugar begets sugar -I really need to scale back pronto). No aversions either, as evidenced by the wide array of food being shoveled into my mouth on a daily basis.
What do you miss: I wish my stomach didn't always feel so full and stretched out. I know part of it is because I've been overeating and part of it is because I'm gaining weight too quickly, but it's a little uncomfortable. I wish I was sleeping better. I'm not waking up, but I know that I'm tossing and turning a lot more now.
Other: The strangest things give me heartburn -like water and oatmeal and my back/sciatica are (literally) a pain, but the past few weeks of pregnancy have been going really well for me and I'm just really trying to enjoy this pregnancy. I can't believe it's almost 2011 and in a few short months we'll be meeting the new addition to the family! Of course, the gratuitous belly shot -you can tell it's definitely grown since the last picture 2 weeks ago.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Christmas follow up

So I received some money for Christmas and am having a hard time figuring out what to spend it on. I know I don't need to spend it all now, but I like to spend Christmas money on things -since it is a present.

I splurged and bought myself a really nice flat iron. I currently have a cheap $20 conair flat iron that doesn't really do a whole lot and mostly just makes my hair warm. It is actually the bane of my existence. So on the recommendation of my sister-in-law I splurged on a Sedu flatiron -I'm hoping it's all I dream of and more, especially since I currently despise how my hair looks when I don't bother to blow dry it straight, which is currently 95 -99% of the time! Definitely more than my old $20 iron and definitely a bit of a splurge, but if it makes me like my hair 95-99% of the time, then it will be worth every penny. And I was able to use some Christmas money, so it was like someone else bought it for me!

But what else should I do with my money? I want a new pair of wellies as my current pair are pretty uncomfortable to walk in. I know Hunter boots are the creme de la creme, but I have a hard time shelling out $150 for rubber boots. Should I just bite the bullet and do it since I know they'll last? Or should I be a little bit more reasonable and get something else? In the same line, I've been debating the whole Tory Burch Reva flat thing. For a long time I despised them w/ the enormous buckle/logo-but there is a cute pair that caught my eye that has a black logo so it's a little bit more subtle.
Do you agree? Less obnoxious, right? But are they really that comfortable? Are they worth it? I figure once I get really pregnant (and fat) I won't be able to wear my heels out at night and these are dressy enough, but do I really need them? Or should I look for a cheaper alternative?

Help -I've never had a problem spending money shopping... but I need some ideas, what should I do with my Christmas money?!?

Christmas!

Ok, so it's not actually Christmas (it's a few days after), but it's still the "holiday season"! We had a lovely Christmas break -we took a week off from work and traveled to Boston and Montreal to see family and a few friends. It was much too short, but even a small break from work is nice.

We got totally spoiled (per usual), had a great Christmas and even escaped Boston before the big snowstorm hit. Hope you all had a great Christmas and now I need to go figure out what to buy with my Christmas money!

Monday, December 13, 2010

Week 21/22

Weight: I'm up another few pounds... I'm pushing +18/19 lbs, which means I'm gaining too quickly. I'm definitely overindulging in sweets/junk "because I can", but that also means I'm gaining a lot of extra weight. I figure I'm going to give myself until the new year and then cut back on the junk. I'll have an indulgent Christmas/NYE and then start eating like a regular person. I definitely don't need to be eating extra snacks and multiple servings of dessert every day.
Maternity clothes: I am getting bigger, but still in regular tops. Def. maternity pants and I'm starting to wear some maternity dresses, but I think they make me look bigger as they're probably made to accentuate the bump. It's kind of nice being able to stretch my wardrobe a bit, but it does make getting dressed in the morning a little bit harder.
Stretch marks: None
Baby Movement: Yup, definitely moving. Starting to get more regular and stronger, but haven't been able to see it yet from the outside -I think that's going to freaky!
Cravings/Aversions: None
What do you miss: Being able to open up my closet and throw anything on. Now I have to make sure I have layers on that are long enough for some of my sweaters and I have a limited number of pants I can wear.
Other: We got a carriage this past week (thanks mom and dad!) and are slowly starting to prepare for the baby. We still have a lot to do, but I figure after the new year would be a good time to start on that. For now we're just going to enjoy the holidays and the time we are going to be able to spend at home with our families.
This past week we had our level 2 ultrasound to check out baby G's organ development, spine and 2 vessel umbilical cord. Everything looks good for now and at this point they'll just monitor him to make sure he's growing correctly. My placenta is still low, but 95% of the time it moves before it's time for baby G to evacuate. So at this point there's nothing to do and I'll have another u/s around 28 weeks at my January appointment. I definitely grew this week and the belly is getting quite big.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Week 20/21 -halfway there!

Wow, this was a big week. I'm officially halfway done (assuming I go at 40 weeks), but it could be earlier, which is kind of scary! So this was the week of the big anatomy scan and it revealed the little peanut to be a BOY! Sorry mom, you're going to have to return the pink ruffly outfits you've bought, but there are some cute boy clothes out there and when they're toddlers you get to dress them like little adults, which I think is adorable. Even though we've seen the goods (so to speak), I thought it would be fun to see what all the old wives tales said about the sex of the baby.


Carrying high or low: I'm not super big, but I think it's kind of low, so that means boy.
Heartbeat: The heartbeat at all the appointments has been over 140, so that means girl. (Coincidentally, at the anatomy scan, the heartbeat was 138, so that would have been boy).
Sweet vs Salty cravings: I've always been more salty/sour over sweet and pregnancy hasn't changed that (in fact at the beginning sweets made me sick), so that means boy.
Chinese birth chart: That says boy.
Even vs Odd: According to Mayan legend depending whether on the age of the mother at conception and the year are even or odd can tell you the sex. I was an odd age and an even year, so that means boy.
Ring test: We could never really get this to work, but generally it was in some sort of circle, so that would mean boy.

Huh, now that I look at all this, I guess we shouldn't have been so surprised it was a boy! Oddly enough almost everyone who ventured to guess what I was having said girl... but maybe the old wives tales aren't so old fashioned.


Now for the regular weekly update:
How much weight have you gained: I am now up officially 15 lbs. For 20/21 weeks that's not bad, but I'm a little afraid of what the next 20 weeks will bring...
Maternity clothing: I am in maternity pants full time (minus my sweatpants, pajamas and anything I owned pre-pregnancy that had an elastic waistband). I'm still swinging regular tops (which is why I say I'm carrying low), but those are starting to get shorter and shorter so I'm assuming that I may not need them for width, but I will start needing them for height. As you can see from my picture below, that is a regular non-maternity tank top that is starting to creep up (although wearing low slung pajama bottoms probably isn't the best indication of how long it is).
Stretch marks: None yet, and I really hope I don't get them. Not to be vain as I never had a great looking stomach to begin with (more because of the excess flab than anything else), but I don't think I fully comprehended what stretch marks were and now that I've seen pictures, they are kind of gross. I know now that I said this I'm destined to get lots of deep purple ugly ones, but I'm really hoping that passes me by.
Baby movement: Yes, we have definitely felt the baby move. I have an anterior placenta so the doctor thought it might be a bit longer before I felt anything and definitely didn't expect Huge to be able to feel it yet, but we both have and it's pretty cool. They're not super strong yet and still more like flutters, but strong enough to feel from the outside and day by day they seem to be getting more frequent and defined.
Cravings/Aversions: Nothing
What do you miss: This weekend we had friends in town visiting and we went to some great beer bars. I had a sip or two to taste some of the beers, but I kind of missed that. It was the first time though and it wasn't that big of a deal, but I forgot how tasty some beers are.
Other: I've been having sciatic pain (or at least I think that's what it is) and it literally is a pain. It sometimes feels like Baby G is on my (last) nerve (haha) and it's super uncomfortable. I'm a little afraid of what the future holds b/c I'm definitely not that big and have a whole lot more growing to do!


Also, we had our anatomy scan on Friday as mentioned and although it put our minds at ease about a lot things it also brought up some other concerns. It seems that I have partial placenta previa -where the placenta partially is blocking the cervix. At this point it's early and there's still time for the placenta to move, but it could be an issue later when it comes to delivery if it hasn't. And then there's the issue of SUA (single umbilical artery) -the umbilical cord has one artery and one vein instead of the usual two arteries and one vein. This could pose a problem with organ development and then later with the baby's growth. My doctor doesn't think there's a problem, but they have to check everything and will keep an eye on how things progress. I joked that it might work to my advantage and give me a regular sized baby instead of the giant one I was destined to have! To be honest I'm trying not to be too concerned, but it's still kind of worrisome. I would have preferred a total "everything is fine" kind of appointment. Oh well. I have another more detailed ultrasound scheduled for Thursday and we'll get to see the little peanut then. Until then here is my ever expanding belly!