NaBloPoMo Day 5: 22 Weeks, 4 Days

This post is about pregnancy. If you're not in a good place, please feel free to pass. Take care of you!

There's not much exciting going on over here these days. I know that I am very lucky to be able to say that. Pregnancy continues to be easy for me.

The belly is growing and is starting to itch. Lotion is becoming my best friend! The linea nigra has begun to show. Happy to say that there are no stretch marks yet. I'm SUPER over the little hairs growing on my chin. Although the same hormones causing those hairs have made my nails long and gorgeous, so it's a trade off. I haven't managed to make it in for a haircut yet and am thinking about taking advantage of all these extra hormones and growing it out for a while. We'll just have to see if I have that kind of willpower! 

Aaron gets very active at night, especially when we settle into bed for an episode of Archer. Heh. He also complains a lot when I try to bend over or sit cross-legged. Or sit in a chair. Or try to lean over to get a closer look at the computer screen. So, basically, he's active all the time. His heart has been beating for four months and he already has opinions. Think he just might be my kid?

We are continuing to walk 2 miles every weekday morning. My belly gets sore during our walk with all the jostling around, which is has stretched us from 35 minutes to 40 minutes. The cooler weather has been nice for our walks but I'm dreading the actual cold. R keeps talking about how we're going to be walking in snow. Umm, no.

I spent the past two weeks being *crazy* tired, asleep by 9:30 PM and laying down for a rest before picking up Little K from school, but that seems to be passing with the time change. Staying asleep at night is getting a little harder for me. And R seems to think I've started snoring. He's obviously delusional.

My headaches have mostly subsided with the Magnesium and CoQ10 supplements but still manage to pop up when I've had too much pressure on my head. Like when I lay down for a rest on the couch or sleep in on Saturdays. Grr.

Since everything else is quiet, I thought I'd give an update on the pregnancy diet and weight gain. I'm pretty happy to say that, at 22.5 weeks pregnant, I've gained 12 pounds total. Although that's pretty darn close to the 20 pounds total the first midwife recommended, I'm not stressing about that anymore. I'm working hard on making sure I'm consuming the nutrients I need and, if I want an indulgence, I give in with a little serving of whatever. I'm walking daily, fitting in a lot of fresh veggies and fruit, and feeling good overall.

I've been getting hungry every two hours or so, which is pretty normal. I've based my current intake on this eating plan by What to Expect When You're Expecting. A typical day looks like this:

7:30 AM: Banana and 8 oz no sugar added calcium-fortified orange juice
(8:00 AM Walk)
9:30 AM: 1/2C Oatmeal made with 1C Skim Milk and 1T Brown Sugar, 1 oz Almonds, 12 oz water
12:00 PM: 2 eggs, 3 clementines, Cucumber or Cauliflower with 1T Yogurt Ranch Dressing, 12 oz water
(3:00 PM School Pick Up)
3:30 PM: Apple, Light String Cheese, 12 oz water before dinner

5:30 PM: Dinner! Lean protein with some kind of veggie and a whole grain starch, 12 oz water
7:00 PM: Something sweet with Little K, more water
9:00 PM: Bowl of Special K with Skim Milk, if I need it. And a glass of water on my nightstand.

I know I could, and probably should, push for more protein. And I can easily see that this is a pretty sugar-heavy diet, even though a lot of that is coming from fruit. But it's working for me. Each mini-meal leaves me feeling full and satisfied, even if only for an hour or two. I feel good about the amount of fresh fruit/veggies I'm consuming, that every grain is a whole grain, and I'm putting real thought into our dinners.

I'm also taking the following supplements/vitamins each night:

• Prenatal Vitamin with DHA
• Magnesium
• CoQ10
• Vitamin D, 3200

In other pregnancy news, a fellow blogger has agreed to sell me their HypnoBabies materials at less than half price. Thank you, Lord! I love seeing God's provision!

The Bump is reporting that Aaron weighs about 1 pound and should be between 10.5-11.8 inches in length. Big boy!