Top 5 Things I Couldn't Live Without During 1st & 2nd Trimesters

Well, hot diggity folks!  I am 27 weeks pregnant today, which is nary but one week away from the big Third Trimester!  I noticed that my tone has become whiny and negative of late, so I thought I would write a positive post this time around.  You see, contrary to popular belief, I DO love being pregnant!  I love feeling all of baby's kicks, jabs and hiccups (muffled, thanks to my anterior placenta) and I even love my big, burgeoning belly.  While it sometimes gets in the way of things, it makes me feel feminine and womanly and, well, like a mom already.  :)

I thought I would share with you a list of my favorite pregnancy things so far.  These are just a few items that I consider critical to my wellbeing while being knocked up.  So without firther ado...

5)  V-8 Fusion Juice.  Let's face it, there are just some days I don't feel very salad-y (sorry, baby!).  V-8 fusion is the Cliffs Notes of nutrition.  It contains a full serving of fruit AS WELL AS a full serving of veggies in one measly 8 ounce glass.  It's tasty and nutritious without having to force down a boring salad and an apple down your throat.  Genius!

4)  Snoogle.  Not to be confused with the wildly popular "Snuggie", the Snoogle is a large (OK, ginormous) C-shaped body pillow manufactured by Leachco and marketed toward pregnant women.  Why only pregnant women, however, is beyond me.  Leachco could mass-market this thing a la Sunggie and make fortunes, I tell you.  I myself plan to use the Snoogle well after baby is born and into my golden years.  The pillow itself is pure delicious comfort and I honestly don't know how I slept without one before I got pregnant.  A keeper!

3)  Sports Bra.  Pregnancy has brought out the best in me.  Quite literally.  My freakin' nipples have been standing at attention since I was 6 weeks pregnant.  Additionally, they are sore and heavy and generally feel very yucky.  Yes, they are metamorphosing into udders, but can a girl get SOME comfort during a generally uncomforatble time?  Enter the sports bra.  Not only do they pop those incorrigible nips back into place, they support my girls without the invasiveness of an underwire.  Can I get an amen?!

2)  Doritos' "Last Call Jalapeno Popper" Chips.  On the days I don't feel particularly salad-y (see #5), I am most certainly feeling junk-foody, and there is no guiltier a pleasure than these chips, folks!  If you haven't already tried them, give them a whirl.  Of course, they don't necessarily do wonders to a pregnant woman's gastrointestinal tract.  But that is a small price to pay for the spicy, creamy blend of deliciousness that is the Jalapeno Popper chip.  If you are a college student, pothead, or pregnant person, I guarantee you will find no better chip on God's green Earth.  And that's the truth. 

1)  Bella Band.  Before I was able to properly wear maternity clothes, I longed to wear them.  Yet now that I am able to wear them, I despise them.  Particularly, maternity pants.  Uglier than granny panties, these hideous articles of clothing were clearly designed by a blind heterosexual male.  The Bella Band, however, allows one to avoid having to wear these fashion travesties and wear her pre-pregnancy jeans for as long as that Lycra sleeve will stretch.  I think I will shed a few tears the day my Bella Band just won't cut the mustard anymore, but until then, I've gotten more than my $26 worth out of this miraculous piece of fabric.

Insomnia...seriously!?!?!

Once upon a time, during my sophomore year in college, there was a fire in my dorm.  It was 4 A.M. and it was a big to-do.  There were about 4 Hartford Fire Dept. trucks, 3 ambulances and 4 patrol cars with their wailing sirens and lights right outside my window, while firemen ran around the hallways searching for stragglers.  Not to mention the canned P.A. system announcing in shrill tones, over and over again, "This is NOT a fire drill!  Please evacuate!"  Nevertheless, where was I?  In my bed, sound asleep.  That's right.  I had slept through the entire thing.  In fact, I hadn't known about the entire episode until a friend told me at breakfast that next morning.

I mention this story because it highlights what a sound sleeper I once was.  I say "once" and "was" because I no longer "am" and "now".  Now, the slightest fart (mine or Mike's) will send me off to insomnia-ville for a good hour or two.  And if neither of us has had a particularly gassy dinner, my bladder will surely wake me up - as if on cue - every 2 to 3 hours.  Finally, even IF bladder and bowels cooperate with me, there's Junior, practicing tai chi in my abdomen - also as if on cue - between 2-3 AM and 6-7 AM.  As you can imagine, I have had very little beauty sleep lately.  Coupled with the fact that caffeine is off-limits for the preggers, one can only imagine what a joy and pleasure I must be these days.

Yeah, I know this is Mother Nature's way of preparing the sound sleepers of the world to become vigilant moms, but can I please have a couple more weeks of uninterrupted sleep?  Sleep is my only livelihood, and I am fully aware of the fact that I won't get any come July 3, but for now, I'd like my old sleep schedule back: 10 delicious hours of deep, REM sleep.  One mean-hearted "friend" of mine told me I won't get that for at LEAST another 18 years.  *Sigh*

Sad Post - Do NOT read if you're pregnant!

I went to lunch today with a friend and she told me the most devastating, heart breaking story: her sister-in-law recently suffered a (3rd trimester) stillbirth.  It was her first child.  It would have been a baby girl.

I didn't press my friend for details because I'm already a worrier and don't need MORE to worry about, but my heart just aches for her and her family.

I didn't know her personally so I am not sure why this affected me so much.  I just know that, after today, I will no longer complain about my baby's kicks to the cervix, groin and bladder.  I won't stress about the costs of setting up a nursery, life insurance, college tuition and other costs of raising a child.  I will no longer fear stretch marks, labor pains, breastfeeding or sleep deprivation.  While my miscarriage is not a distant memory, I did find myself starting to take this pregnancy for granted.  I started feeling "entitled" to this beautiful child; that this child is/was "mine".  

Sometimes, however, God has other plans.  Babies are not "ours" for the having, they are blessings from Him and can be taken by Him at any time for reasons unclear.  I honestly don't know what I would do/how I would react if I were in my friend's sister-in-law's shoes, but I certainly do hope that she finds some peace and light during what must be very dark days.  I hope you will pray with me for her, and for all the mothers in the world who are grieving the deaths of their babies and children.  It's devastatingly unfair, but I pray that they will find the strength to overcome it, learn from it, and perhaps even blossom after some time has healed their wounds.

6 months!

Oh boy, I know I have a lot of 'splainin' to do.  Long story short, I've been busy.  Yes, too busy even for you, my favorite little cyber-stalkers.  :)  Busy with what, you might ask?  Work, life, marriage and the increasingly frightening prospect that Mike and I are actually, really, truly going to be "parents" soon.  How soon, you ask?  17 weeks soon!  Indeed, today I am 23 weeks - or technically 6 months - pregnant.  

That's right - I've been harboring a fetus in my uterus for half a year!  That's roughly 180 days of no smokin', boozin', caffeinin', soft cheesin', deli meatin', big fish eatin' etc, etc.  While I'd like to attribute my teetotaling on my Christ-like willpower, it's really only because Junior beats the crap out of me every time I so much as THINK about eating an Italian sub and washing it all down with a chocolate martini.

So what have you missed?  Really, not all that much.  I do sport an impressive little bump now, or so I've been told.  And, about 4 weeks ago, we found out Junior's sex (no, we're not sharing!).  We got a couple more ultrasounds, yadda yadda yadda and now I'm 6 months!  I know it's utterly cliche, but it really IS going by SO fast.  But I wouldn't have it any other way, because I honestly CANNOT WAIT until McBaby arrives.  I'll update you all more later, but for now, I'll leave you with my 22 week belly shot (front) 

 

and side:

Keep your Shamu jokes to yourself, thanks!  :)

LOLfetus part trois