Pregnancy Confessions

I'm really enjoying this President's Day holiday. I went for an early morning walk alone around Greenlake and then hit the gym for a strength training session. Since then, I've been sitting by the fire and working a bit and reading a bit and doing fun chores that I never have time for like writing Thank You notes.

Because pregnancy is on my mind 99% of the time these days now that I'm 6 1/2 months along, I thought that I would share some little tidbits about my experience thus far:

(1) I can barely see my toes when I stand up and look straight down. (The big striped object in the photo is my belly.)

(2) I eat two breakfasts. Every single day. I eat oatmeal or granola or cereal with fruit around 6:30 a.m. with Nate before work. By 9:30 or 10:00 a.m., I need a full second breakfast -- usually something with protein. I have never experienced anything like this hunger. For the past two or three weeks, I am ravenously hungry mid-morning and mid-afternoon. I've been known to lick the last of the hummus out of the container. (In public.)

(3) I break a few pregnancy rules. Since the beginning of the second trimester, I've been allowing myself one caffeinated beverage per day. For a week or two, I had a daily bottle of iced oolong tea. Lately, I've been having a short, single shot latte every morning. I feel a little guilty, but I teach an 8:30 a.m. course and there is no way I could do that without caffeine.

(4) I've been coloring my hair since the beginning of the second trimester. This actually makes me pretty uncomfortable because I fully intended on letting my hair go for the duration of the these nine (ten, who are we kidding?) months. However, I'm a bit more vain than I expected. My hair has been going prematurely grey since I was 16 years old and I'm simply not ready to own that truth.

(5) Childbirth freaks me out. Nate and I have been taking all kinds of pregnancy and baby-related classes and workshops and I feel no more prepared to birth or parent this child. Because of this, I'm ordering the "Hypnobabies" self-study program. Hypnosis freaks me out, but not as much as childbirth...

I have a bunch of pregnancy and baby-related info and advice to share, but I'll save that for another post. Now, I'm off to resume listening to my new audiobook and pick up where I left off on knitting the baby blanket.

From Cowl to Owl

I finally finished knitting this bumpy cowl last weekend while on a flight to Alaska (for work). I started this project over Christmas break and then I didn't make much time for it over the past month. It was a very easy knitting project (cast on 80 stitches and then repeat the pattern of knitting 2 rows and knit 1/ purl 1 for two rows), but I struggled with finding the time to complete the project. My job has been exceptionally busy and I've been focusing almost all of my non-work energy on prepping for the baby.

Whenever I pick up my knitting after an extended break, I always wonder why I stopped because the activity is so relaxing for me. Keeping in line with my priorities these days, I've decided to make my next knitting project something baby-related. I'm debating between either making our little girl a baby blanket or tackling this beautiful beast. (We've decided to go with an owl theme for the nursery, and I just think that this homemade stuffed animal is super adorable.)

I've finally crossed the six-month mark with the pregnancy, and I'm feeling quite peaceful about the whole process. I can feel the baby kick every day now and I'm grateful for these (mostly) gentle reminders of her presence. I'll post another belly photo soon!

22 Weeks

Hello out there, world. It is nice to finally be open to you again. Lately, I have been holding everything close. I'm sure that a lot of that has to do with pregnancy. It is such an intensely personal experience. Filled with so many different kinds of emotions. I've been riding a cycle of fear, massive joy, excitement, anxiety, and more fear. And now, hopefully, some peace of mind and faith that I will be strong and balanced in the face of so many changes. I'm overjoyed about the baby, but I've been increasingly terrified about losing myself (my career, my body, my creativity) to the process of motherhood.

Overall, pregnancy itself is treating me well. I'm now in my 23rd week of this grand adventure. The nausea that plagued me for four months is becoming a distant memory. I have more energy. I've gotten used to sleeping on my side (I was a tummy sleeper). My emotions, as I alluded to above, however, have been making frequent stops at Crazy Town. (I think that I burst into tears no fewer than a dozen times this week. Yikes.) I'm praying that there is some sort of hormonal reason for all of this drama. Luckily, I have a patient husband, good friends, and two sweet pups to bring me back to reality.

Here is a peek at my halfway (20-week) belly. It has actually popped out quite a bit since this photo was taken, so we'll have to take another photo this weekend. I'm trying my best to adjust to the changes in my body. After a 4-month hiatus, I've decided to rejoin my gym. I've been going for frequent walks and to prenatal yoga classes, but I think that I've lost a lot of muscle tone since September. Exercising was such a big part of my life prior to pregnancy, so I'm hoping that my time at the gym will help to rebalance my emotions and remind me of my capacity for strength and health.

I'm also planning to regain some of my creative footing this weekend. I'm just finishing up a knitting project that I started over Christmas, so I'll share that with you soon. Almost all of my creative energy has been going into the nursery these days, but it's been a fun process (and it's almost finished).

Sending love and wishes for a beautiful weekend. xoxo