Eleven Weeks

These posts focus specifically on this pregnancy. If you’re not in a good place, please feel free to pass. Take care of you!

I’m happy to say that we were able to schedule my first appointment at the birth center, which I attended this morning.

First, the good stuff: 

• After much searching, we were able to locate Smudge’s heartbeat! It seems that I have an anterior placenta, which makes hearing or feeling the baby rather muffled. But I was thrilled to hear it, however quietly.

• I was complemented on my pelvis. Wah-huh? Seems that it is shaped well and should be able to handle vaginal delivery just fine. Which, yay, but I kinda knew that already what with the birth of Little K and all.

• I picked up a kid size doll Ergo for Little K that matches my big one. Squee!

 Second, the fine stuff:

• The midwife confirmed that, while my cervix was “hiding” from her, it looks good.

• I was able to ask a few questions and I certainly didn’t feel rushed during the appointment.

Third, the not-good stuff:

• I had a very painful blood draw. Boo!

• I have gained a lot of weight already – half of what they want me to gain total. I just… ugh. And, unfortunately, this information was at the beginning of the appointment and kinda cast a pall over the whole thing.

I was just stunned. I knew I had gained already but wasn’t prepared for that number. The midwife and I talked about my eating and exercise habits and she confirmed that they aren’t completely out of balance. She did ask me to keep a food diary between now and my next appointment for her review.

She also recommended that, if possible, I increase my exercise. R and I already take a leisurely 2.5 mile walk each evening, which takes us about 45 minutes. She suggested that we increase our pace and try to fit in one other activity per day. I will be switching back and forth between an additional morning walk and light weight lifting. She did suggest perhaps an aerobic prenatal video but I am terrible at actually following through with that kind of exercise.

I’ve prepared an eating plan to handle my appetite. The hope is to commit to the following:

• Breakfast: Fage Greek Yogurt
• AM Snack: Banana
• Lunch: 1/2 PBJ on Whole Grain Bread, Light String Cheese, Apple or Grapes
• PM Snack: 3/4C Whole Grain Cereal, 1/2C Skim Milk
• Dinner: Large Salad with Grilled Chicken
• Dessert: Low Sugar/Low Fat Homemade Popsicle

EDITED TO ADD

So, I just ran the nutritional information for the above eating plan and here are the totals:

• Calories: 1123
• Fat: 21.3
• Net Carbs: 142
• Fiber: 25.4
• Protein: 75

The weird thing is that this isn't that different from what I've been doing. Granted, we've been eating out a lot over the past two weeks and I'm sure that has contributed greatly to my weight gain. But still! I'm not consuming that many calories and certainly not the 1500 they recommend for pregnant women. What. The. HECK??

I’m hoping not to gain any more weight for the next eight weeks, certainly not during the next four weeks. If I can stay the same between now and 20 weeks, I will have plenty of room to grow during the last ten weeks.

SO, yeah. That’s the idea. Any feedback is welcome!