April 27, 2023

Pregnancy Update // 17 Weeks

Praise God, the lovely days are back!!! Compared to the previous week, this one has been much better! Really it all comes down to my mental state, which is quite improved and has stayed consistent for a full week now.

Mornings are still my best time. I wake up with decent energy and hopeful expectation, usually with excitement for the day and at least a vague plan of action. Despite those plans, there have been days I wake up with one particular plan and it’s quickly scrapped and replaced with whims of the moment, but I don’t hate it. It is pretty typical for me to begin to fade and lose my energy after lunch or at least by mid-afternoon. I still take a lot of naps and suffer from nausea and exhaustion at night. But I experience those moments while boasting a more stable mental state and for that I am so grateful!!!

Some of the things that have filled my days this week:

I enjoyed a walk with the family to Angel Falls where I sighed over the blooming redbud trees, plucked some wild flowers, foraged some wild garlic, and investigated the best patches of blackberry bushes (tucking the info away for my summer foraging sessions). I wish I had brought my big camera on the adventure but I did snap some images with my phone and shared them to my Instagram story, which had been very sorely neglected
I deep cleaned and organized my pantry, which I’ve been needing to do for a very long time.
I had my 16 week Dr. appointment since my last update and got to see baby once again on the sono.
I’ve been hyper-focusing on food things and settled on some items I plan to make and bring to various functions at church next week. They’re having their annual Missions Awareness Week and I’ll be bringing dishes to several events. In addition to those, I have been making more meals at home again.
I organized our Christmas lights
Accomplished various work-related projects

So overall it has been a productive and enjoyable week. Best of all, I look ahead with more excitement these days and as I face life, I can recognize the richness of the experience and the sweetness of random moments.

Fun/Cheesy Update Survey

Baby’s Size | Pomegranate (MY KIND OF FRUITS LATELY!!!)

Sleep | Pretty good. I’ve had a couple nights where I’ve woken up early for some reason and couldn’t fall back asleep. One night because of a giant hail storm, followed by Remi in my bed kicking the back of my head with her feet lol. I’ve had 2 exciting dreams about food, enjoyed some great naps, and have had 1 or 2 decent nights of sleep. I really haven’t been experiencing anything too annoying in regard to sleep so that’s great!

Clothes | Things are really looking up in this category! I received the rest of the things I ordered from Shein and I’m so excited about them! I also dug up my old “pregnancy” tub from the basement and found 2 shirts and 3 shorts I forgot I saved! A friend also gave me a few items, which I haven’t tried on yet, but I’m excited to have more options. I still hope to invest in some good tank tops for the hot days, another t-shirt or two, and some more dresses/skirts. Oh, and something I need pretty desperately is a good pair of shoes that will work well through the summer. All my shoes are hurting my feet and I have painful bruises on my heels now.

Cravings | Nothing super strong, but I have had a more positive relationship with food this week! I’ve mentioned the dreams about food and the hyper-focusing on recipes/meals. The most consistently satisfying thing I’ve consumed this week has been an iced, triple-shot, decaf shaken espresso with heavy cream and toasted vanilla syrup from Starbucks! Yeah. All that. But it’s been so good. I’ve had 4 this week. I’ll drink half one day and finish it the next, then find myself buying another the next day. I don’t know what it is, but each time I take a sip I feel like it’s just what I need.
Other standouts: sandwiches, a heart of palm salad that I finally made and enjoyed today, occasionally kettle corn, salads, and I’ve been so grateful for trident cinnamon gum after my meals to keep the weird phlegm and aftertastes at bay.

Food Aversions | I bought Chick-fil-A the other day and could barely force it down!!! Most sugary things still don’t sound good. There are still some moments at night where literally nothing sounds good.

Symptoms | Morning sickness has improved somewhat, so I’m primarily dealing with the nausea at night along with some reflux. My feet and hips hurt pretty bad all the time, probably more since I’ve had more energy and have been more active. I had a headache the other day but sort of blamed it on the weather. Easily out of breath. Waking up hot in the middle of the night.

Doctor’s Appointment | My 16 week appointment went well. We did another sono to check on the ovarian cyst we’ve been watching and praise God it’s GONE!!! I had 2 originally, one was around 3cm and the other was over 7cm. Now there is only one 3 cm cyst and the Dr. isn’t concerned with anything under 4. Definitely a blessing.

I got to see baby again and he stretched in the cutest way! I’ll share a photo (although I’m nervous to share them now because I once had somebody steal a sono image from my blog and use it to try to trick her boyfriend/family into thinking she was pregnant…… so yeah… please don’t steal my baby’s picture. Thanks)

My next appointment is at 20 weeks and since I’m geriatric 🤦‍♀️, they’ll be doing a level 2 ultrasound and it’s going to requite appointments on 2 separate days.

Weight | I asked my Dr. about the weight gain at my appointment and she wasn’t concerned, which did make me feel somewhat better. I had already gained almost 10 lbs by my first appointment, which was at 8 weeks. So by their record I had only gained 13 which averaged to around 1 pound per week. In reality it was a bit more than that if I were to divide it by month, but I’m glad it relieved a bit of the pressure and panic I was feeling. I do feel like I’ve had a better grasp on my diet and appetite this week now that my hormones and things seems to be more balanced. I’ve still gained another 1+ lbs according to my scale, but I am telling myself that I’ll deal with being giant as long as I can stay “happy” like I’ve been.
Current weight: 194
Total Gained: 25

Movement | You know I think I FINALLY felt something just now while writing the beginning of this post!!! I’ve been getting a little sad that I haven’t felt any popcorn flutters yet (I am pretty sure had I felt them by this point in most of my previous pregnancies). A couple times I thought I felt something but they seemed too high up to be the real deal. Whatever I felt just a few minutes ago seemed pretty legit! It makes me smile.

Gender | I went through some of Remi’s old clothes and divided them up to pass on to my sister-in-laws and realized I have a lot of boy clothes! I’ll need to go through them, too, and see what is worth keeping.

Best moment of the week | Our walk to the falls maybe? You know when you step outside from indoors or the car the the weather is amazing and the breeze is full of life? I’ve had some of those awesome moments, too. They can be underrated.

What I miss | Being able to participate in extreme sports. You know… because there are so many opportunities for paragliding.

What I’m looking forward to | A upcoming girls trip in the works, my sis-in-law Laci’s baby shower, Missons Awareness Week, Steven and Finn’s birthdays, going plant shopping and planting my garden.