22 weeks

Wow - sorry for being slack in the updates. I guess there really hasn't been much to report on. Things are still progressing quite normally for the second trimester. I have the achy back (mainly if I'm on my feet or walking too long) and I think BBM goes through random growth spurts b/c the mega hunger and debilitating sleepiness isn't really that consistent. Around 20 weeks, I started to feel him moving, and now I feel him at least 5 times a day (it's not uncommon this early to go without any movement for days, though). The feeling is not really that comfortable - it feels like my stomach is dropping, similar to the feeling you get on a rollercoaster. At first, I really didn't like being in public when it happened b/c it was a weird feeling and it usually makes me feel like I have to go to the bathroom. I've gotten used to the feeling now, but it's still uncomfortable at times. I'm just happy that I can feel him swimming around - makes me know that he's still there and growing. :)

On Tuesday, I had my monthly appointment (this time was with a midwife instead of a dr). Apparently, I'm gaining too much weight (even though I do some form of exercise 3-5 times a week and pre-pregnancy I didn't work out at all). I'm not sure what's going on with the weight numbers but here's what the midwife said: Pre-pregnancy they have me down as weighing 174. I'm not sure where they got that number since I had never seen them before I got pregnant. I don't remember them taking that weight so maybe they just asked me what I weighted and I told them what my home scale said.

The first time I was weighted at the dr office I weighted 182 (even though the home scale still said in the 170's). So, I've just been going by 182 as my base number. Yesterday, I weighed 192. I was happy at first, thinking I've only gained 10 pounds in 22 weeks, but when I talked to the midwife she said that they actually consider me as gaining 18 pounds! Shocked Since I'm overweight to begin with, I should have only gained 15-20 pounds total - not in the first half of the pregnancy!

I measured my thigh recently to see if I've gained any fat and my thigh is the same size (maybe a tiny bit smaller) than before I got pregnant. So, in my mind, I'm going to start counting from 182 instead of 174. ;)

However, I gained 5 pounds last month and I really should only be gaining 3-4 per month. So, it looks like I need to be a little better about trying to do at least a little bit of exercise each day (even if it's just walking for 30 minutes around the neighborhood) and I need to be better about what I eat. I've been slacking on allowing myself caffeine (it's so hard to completely give up the sweet tea when we go out to eat!). I think that things would be better if we didn't go out to eat so often since we have no idea what the meals are made with, but neither of us are big on cooking so it's hard to not go out to eat at least 4-5 times a week (mostly on the weekends). I'm not a big snacker when I get home (at work I snack a lot but it's just various fruits) so that's thankfully not an issue. Oh, and she said that I also need to get more iron so I'll be adding spinach to my lunch salads that I have every day at work.

I'm trying not to obsess about the weight gain b/c I know that I'm going to gain weight and that if I keep exercising, it'll be easier to take off after the baby's born (especially if I'm able to breastfeed), but I've been having issues (back, legs, etc) that I'm sure would be better if I didn't gain too much weight too quickly.

My next appt is the ookie gestational diabetes test. I really hope I pass the 1 hour test b/c I have a serious phobia of needles and the thought of having to get poked 3-4 times for the 3 hour test squiks me out!