17 Weeks: Someone is actually IN there!

Starting this week with a disclaimer: I feel kind of vain posting weekly updates, but I know our parents and grandparents appreciate them! And I know I will love looking back at this time, so please bear with me. Pregnancy is fascinating to me. After spending the last year and a half working directly with women in pre-natal and post-partum states, it's completely bizarre to see some of the same changes occurring in me at long last. It's quite surreal and quite humbling!

As for my thoughts on reaching 17 weeks: the first ten weeks of pregnancy seemed to feel like forever... forever 'til I could announce the news, forever to see an ultrasound, forever to hear a heartbeat, forever to be legitimately pregnant (whatever that means). I'm not sure if it's the holidays or the burgeoning belly, but the last 4 weeks have gone by much faster than the first 4 weeks. Before we know it, we'll be halfway to meeting this little jumping bean. So exciting! And terrifying.

The absolute best part of pregnancy thus far happened this week (well, technically, it started last week). I jokingly told the baby all I wanted for Christmas was to feel it move. I fully expected it to be too soon, and sure enough Christmas day felt the same as every other day. But we drove home that evening and as we pulled into our apartment complex, I unfolded after a three hour car ride and felt a completely bizarre flip in my lower abdomen. It was subtle, but quite different from the normal GI grumbles I'm used to. It really felt like a little person turning from one side to the other to get comfortable!

It took a few more days for me to believe that was really the baby moving and not Christmas dinner digesting, but sure enough I've felt the same sensation 1-2 times a day since then. (On the 26th I remember feeling feeling the baby move in the car on my way home from work... I wish I'd written all the other early times down since I've forgotten specifics already! I do notably remember feeling it move while eating Fuzzy's Tacos in Dallas on the 29th, which was awesome!)

me, Ross, and Emily in Dallas

Also, my belly isn't really clearly identifiable as a pregnant one yet, but by the end of the day, my belly button is definitely threatening to become more 'outie' than 'innie.' I had an umbilical hernia as a toddler, so I'm a little nervous that this is happening so early in pregnancy. My OB says there's nothing to do about it at this point, though.

Symptoms: I'm still much more tired than normal, and still breaking out more than I did immediately post-accutane, but overall I feel like myself most days and tend to forget something's drastically different now!

Cravings: Last week and this week I've been a big fan of grapefruit. Really just craving clean, healthy food overall after all the indulgences and stomachaches of the last month. Also craving exercise again. The bad thing about all the travel we've been doing is that I'm totally out of routine! Finally, can I just say thank you to this baby? Thank you for craving savory foods and diminishing my raging sweet tooth! I'm not turning down sweets by any means, but it's really really nice to not feel an insatiable 'need' for them.

Also, this AMAZING vegan 'cheese' tray that Ross got to-go from Cafe Gratitude for New Year's Day.

  
Aversions: I won't be wanting any more greasy roadtrip foods for a long time...


P.S. This is an awesome read in light of my body insecurities lately.