3/3

I think today (27 weeks) marks the beginning of my third trimester. In the past few weeks my stomach has grown from ambiguously pregnant to clearly pregnant. Last week on vacation I wore a bikini and wasn't self-conscious about it, but I was only around family. Stephen kept saying with astonishment "Your stomach is getting bigger every day!" My belly button, formerly an "innie," has flattened out and is flush with the rest of my stomach. I'll try to remember to get Matt to take a picture tonight.

Claire is a crazy active girl. Half the time I feel like a cyclone is blowing through my stomach (and often it looks like Mexican jumping beans are residing in there), but I love it. It's nice to know she's alive and well. Lately whenever we're watching TV and I'm bored, I just hike up my shirt, stare at my stomach and voila: instant entertainment.

Last night was a Subway/Chinese night and when I asked for extra pickles the woman nodded knowingly and said, "Because of the baby!" I laughed and told her my extra-pickles fetish is nothing new.

Tomorrow is my monthly doctor's appointment and it's the one where I'll be tested for gestational diabetes. I know it's highly unlikely that I'll test positive, but on the other hand, I eat sugar and drink Coke all day long, so why should I feel confident? Especially since both Melissa and Carrie had it. Well, what will be will be, I guess. Wish me luck.

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.

For Kate

I haven't posted in awhile but I have a good excuse -- nothing seems to be going on pregnancy-wise! Which isn't really true, the baby has grown from a plum to a peach to a lemon since the last time I wrote, and formed teeth, approached normal proportions (its head is only a third of the size of its body now), and started sucking its thumb and breathing amniotic fluid. Amazing!

I feel and look as utterly unpregnant as ever. You know those birth-control pills that let you have only four periods a year? I always thought those were a terrible idea because if you did accidentally get pregnant, you might not know for a couple of months. When you're doing your best to not be pregnant a monthly period is wonderfully reassuring.

Now that I'm three and a half months pregnant I feel more strongly than ever that I could never be comfortable with that particular pill. I am (was) religious about taking birth control exactly as prescribed, at exactly the same time every day, etc., and therefore I always had perfect confidence that I was protected. And while I could recognize certain pregnancy symptoms (tiredness, sensitivity to smells) once I knew I was pregnant, they surely wouldn't have been strong enough to make me suspect pregnancy if I were trying to avoid it. Can you imagine blithely carrying on with your life, only to discover one day that you were a third of the way through a pregnancy? No thank you.

For a few days about a week ago I had a string of mild to terrible headaches and I was worried they were related to the pregnancy, coming as the did around the beginning of the second trimester. Thankfully, they have been gone for four straight days now and I think they must have had another cause: either not eating enough, not drinking enough water, getting too much sleep over the holidays, or being off my regular workout routine (only working out about three times over two weeks).

I had welcomed Cokes back into my life around Christmas but I don't think the added caffeine was directly contributing to the headaches -- but I do think that every bottle of Coke I drank probably represented a bottle of water I didn't drink. And that probably left me a little dehydrated, which is bad news for headaches. This week I've gone back to water, juice and tea, plus am back to my regular sleep and workout routines and am trying to eat more every day, and it seems to be working.

That's all I've got for now. We go back to the doctor on Tuesday, I think just to hear the heartbeat again, so maybe I'll have more to report then, if not before.

Milestones

The baby's reportedly growing by leaps and bounds these days, but there's no outward evidence, which is why I haven't blogged lately. Week 12 (plum) starts tomorrow so that's a good milestone -- the end of the first trimester. I think. I've heard conflicting things about that -- some say the first trimester is 14 weeks long. Whatever, it doesn't really matter.

The other baby news from this week is that I've started to notice the tiniest of baby bumps. No one else would be able to tell it's there -- even Matt can't see it when I try to show him -- but I can. No matter how I suck in, there's a bump below my belly button that won't go away.

I know it's just bloating, and my pants still fit perfectly fine, but I decided to be proactive and order a set of three belly bands (not the brand-name Bella Bands) off of eBay. These allow you to keep wearing your regular pants, just unzipped and unbuttoned. I don't know how long they'll work, but Amanda's almost three months ahead of me and they're still doing the trick for her.

In the past couple of weeks I've gotten less strict about caffeine and in fact have begun having sweet tea with lunch almost every day. Just today I had my first cherry Coke, but only because I think I'm permanently sick of Sprite, and that was the only caffeine-free option (except for water, but I'd paid for the combo). Although tea has its share of sugar and caffeine, it feels a lot healthier than soda, and I don't feel guilty having a glass or two once a day.

Oh, this was cool too -- a girl at CrossFit who I barely even know gave me a like-new infant car seat/carrier yesterday. It's gender-neutral and looks like it's never been used. I thought that was so nice!

What not to eat

I've known some friends and acquaintances to go seemingly overboard in their caution while pregnant. Most doctors will tell you that most everything's fine in moderation, but some people aren't willing to do ANYTHING that could possibly harm the baby. I know of people who have switched face washes to avoid salicylic acid, who have replaced all of their cleaning products with more natural ones, who have refused to drink tap water, who won't eat a Caesar salad, etc.

I'm certainly not judging anyone for taking the conservative approach and it's true you can find articles online making a case for cutting out salicylic acid, cleaning chemicals, tap water and anything made with raw or undercooked egg. Plus a whole lot more.

Personally, I'm comfortable avoiding the major risks and approaching everything else with moderation.

I'm strictly cutting out alcohol for the entire pregnancy, and most caffeine at least for the first trimester (I've had a glass of sweet tea here and there). Most studies agree that some caffeine is safe and too much caffeine can increase the risk of miscarriage. It's actually easier for me to go cold-turkey on caffeine than to drink just a little. ("Abstinence is as easy to me as temperance would be difficult," Samuel Johnson said.) And there are plenty of good options when I just need the buzz of carbonation -- root beer, ginger ale, decaf Coke, etc.

Other foods you're supposed to limit or avoid are hot dogs, pepperoni and bacon, none of which I'm being strict about. I haven't had a hot dog so far but if I crave one I will. You're supposed to be vigilant about cleaning fruits before you eat them and I'm going to try to get better about that. I have cut out turkey sandwiches (they're OK if the turkey's heated, but I don't like it heated) and luckily I don't like sushi and I also won't eat soft cheeses.