Hormones

I don't feel hormonal, but something's off because I have cried over some crazy things lately. Such as a TV remote that wouldn't work for me and then immediately worked for Matt. And a Sports Guy column about a dog that died. And Kay Yow's death (very sad, but it's not like I knew her personally). And the taste of Coke (happy tears). Matt could give you more examples.

It's like irrational PMS tears except that in this case I know as I'm crying that I'm reacting disproportionately, and usually that makes me laugh through the tears. Whereas with PMS outbreaks it was usually the next day before I realized how unreasonable I was being.

In other news, my bump is starting to show (I've been saying that for weeks, but finally other people are acknowledging it). I even got my first belly pat last week, courtesy of Lauren R. My clothes still fit fine and I haven't gained any weight -- yet -- but I looked back at Amanda's pictures and she started to pop between 16 and 20 weeks so I bet I'll be the same.

I hesitate to talk about "cravings" while pregnant because I don't think I've been craving anything more now than I did before I was pregnant. I mean, hearing me say "We need to make a chocolate cake RIGHT NOW" is not something Matt experienced for the first time in the past 17 weeks.

But in the past month or so especially there have been certain foods that sound good to me all the time: grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cheese toast, Kraft macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and crackers, pizza, oatmeal, Chick-fil-A, cereal, yogurt, grapefruit juice and FRUIT. All fruit, but especially strawberries, white grapes, blueberries and oranges ... I cannot get enough.

All of those foods, with the exception of pizza, are pretty bland. Heavily seasoned foods, even those that I love -- chili, steaks, lasagna, Japanese food -- are totally unappealing to me right now. This seems like something that would have hit in the first trimester; I don't know what's causing it. It's not that foods with strong flavors make me feel queasy, not at all; they just, as I said, don't sound good.

Matt thought I was crazy until Carrie told him she went through a pregnancy phase of wanting nothing but grilled cheese and PB&J sandwiches. I suppose it will pass. I'm fine with it, but it does make me completely unmotivated to cook, so I feel bad for Matt.