Bigger Belly...

Last week, I started wearing maternity clothes. The pants were a lot more comfortable than trying to fit into my old regular jeans. But then I had to get longer shirts to cover up the fabric panel on the maternity pants. And my belly isn't quite big enough to hold up the pants, so I have to use my belly band to hold up the maternity pants.
The day I started wearing maternity clothes to work, 3 people asked if I was pregnant. Which I'm convinced just goes to show that maternity clothes make you look pregnant! :)

Here's a good picture of me and Lisa (which doesn't happen too often!) And congrats to Lisa for surviving the marathon last weekend!

On Steve and Mara Thomas's birthday weekend, we went to Cincinnati to visit the Thomas family. Much fun was had by all, especially during Mara's first kite flying experience.

Is that you?

Steve felt the baby move for the first time last night. He kept asking "is that you?" (meaning, was that me breathing or my heartbeat, etc.) He thought that the random nudges were pretty cool.

Also, for those of you keeping track, I've gained 7 pounds up until this point.

Getting closer...

I had my monthly OB visit this morning. The baby has a very strong heartbeat of about 150-160 beats per minute. And it's about 11 inches long now! Over the past month, I've definitely been able to feel the baby move around more. That's about all I have to report, although I might start wearing my maternity pants this week - I'm reaching the limit on my last pair of normal jeans! :)

Like mother, like daughter

Steve and I went to a CPR class last night at the Wellness Center for my delivery hospital. It was one of their recommended classes, and we're both glad that we took it. I haven't been certified since I was in middle school, and the approach has changed since then. It was a lot of hard work! Just performing the recommended 5 cycles of CPR only takes 2 minutes. At the end all of us pregnant women were getting pretty winded. (There were 5 or 6 preggos in the class of 23.)

Which brings me to my main point. My mom only gained 17 pounds total when she was pregnant with me, and wore maternity clothes not because she had to, but darn it, she was pregnant, and she would wear maternity clothes! I was getting a case of belly envy last night at the class. I will be 22 weeks pregnant tomorrow, and I can still fit into one of my regular pairs of jeans, although those are the only regular pants that I fit into. A lady I was talking to had a belly twice as big as mine, and she was only 19 weeks! (Steve and I had guessed about 30 weeks) I guess I should be grateful, since I have a lot less to carry around, and I'm sure I feel better because of it. And I still have 18+ weeks to grow a big preggo belly. I am looking forward to getting out of the fat stage though, and looking like I'm pregnant. Since it's winter, most days I don't even look fat, since I am wearing a heavy weight shirt, so I look normal! I know most pregnant women would be envious of my small belly, but I guess you always want what you can't have. Right now, I will count my blessings for my small belly and the lack of pregnany problems due to the small belly.

And I had my first uninvited belly pat last night at the class! The 19 week lady and I were comparing bellies, and a nurse came by (who was helping with the CPR class) and gave my belly a pat. I had a walk-by patting! I didn't even have time to give my planned response of a reciprocal belly pat- oh well, maybe next time.

We're halfway done!

Today is officially the start of the second half of my pregnancy. Time seems to pass quickly, since we count by weeks, but it seems like there is still a long way to go. And there is still so much to do before the baby arrives - clean out the apartment to make room for the baby stuff, turn the big 3-0, launch that pesky Hubble hardware, and figure out if/when we want to look for new jobs and move. Whew! The next few months will definitely be busy.

This weekend we're going to see Lisa, her husband, and her 2 kids in Cincinnati. I can't believe that we've stayed in touch so long, since we met in 4th grade! I figure that this may be the last time that we go and visit them for a while. Steve is such a sport to share his birthday weekend with a 4 year old! :) Mara's birthday is today, Steve's is tomorrow, and our friend Meghan is in State College celebrating her 30th on Saturday. That's quite a birthday weekend!