16 Weeks Bumpdate: Week of the Avocado

16 Weeks Bumpdate: Week of the Avocado

It’s funny.  I absolutely love avocados and while doing groceries the day before my 16th week started, my SO asked if I wanted to get some.  For some silly, silly reason, I kept saying no.  Of course, this week the baby ends up being the size of an avocado.  The instant I found out this information, all I wanted was avocado.

I had a great end to week 15, by spending more time in the sun at the park with my SO and Stepson.  We also enjoyed a meal at Brit & Chips and finished the night off with the first movie in the Alien series.  Jesse hasn’t seen the Alien movies yet.  I know, how is this possible?  We enjoyed it while munching on homemade delicious nachos.  Yes, with tomatoes, the love for them has not passed.

I started this week off…

…by still having the cough and congestion from last week.  Needless to say, I was tired of being sick and I was ready to start feeling better.  Thankfully, it seemed like things were looking up starting on Tuesday.  We went out and got ingredients to make cheeseburgers at home.  Avocados were put as one of the toppings alongside tomatoes) and they hit the spot.

Tuesday night, I sat on my couch and just held my stomach.  I am doing this more and more often.  I wonder how the baby is doing and when I will start feeling him/her move around, hoping everything is okay and that he/she is happy.  It might sound silly, but I already miss being pregnant.  Even though, I know I have a long time to go.  I am not big yet or dealing with the issues having a big belly brings.  I do know that no matter what the future of this pregnancy brings, I will miss the feeling I have during these months.   get emotional just thinking about it.

While I was feeling better on Tuesday,

I had a bit of leftover “sick feelings” but also felt like I was in a huge dizzy spell all day.  It is hard to explain but it was not a comfortable feeling.  I can also tell that my body needs a lot of calcium right now.  I am trying to have as much milk and “calcium-providing food” as possible.  Does that help my throat?  No.  Oh well!  Milk tastes amazing right now and I will enjoy my lack of lactose intolerance while it lasts.  If my Baby is telling my body it needs calcium, it is going to get it.

I know you usually hear that you get most of your energy back during your second trimester but I’m still waiting for this to happen.  Sure, I have bursts of energy here and there but I am still ALWAYS tired.

Wednesday was an “I need to sleep all day” kind of day.

I usually get about 9 hours of sleep per night.  Tuesday night, I did get that amount but by around 2 pm I was exhausted.  I had fallen asleep on the couch and then moved into the bedroom and slept until 6:50 pm.  I woke up still feeling tired.  My SO said I was being really quiet all day and I told him it was just because I’m so tired.

I think part of it is also that I don’t want to seem like a “moody, pregnant lady who gets irritable easily”.  I never want to use the pregnancy as an excuse to act irrationally.  Of course, these are legitimate things to do while pregnant. Hormones DO make you act unusual but I really don’t want to snap at something small then feel terrible over it later on; hence the quietness.

On Friday evening, I napped for 5 hours.  When I woke up, my stomach looked bigger than it had when I had started my nap, with a bit more of a round shape to it.  Maybe I’m so tired because of all the growth happening, but it is crazy!

Since I had such a long nap during the afternoon…

I had a bit of energy later on.  I allowed myself to have a tiny bit of Coca-Cola since it was the only sugar I had all day.  I also don’t drink anything caffeinated otherwise.  My SO wanted to have a nap so we lay down on the couch and I watched a movie while he snoozed.  As I was laying there on my back, I felt something that resembled a few popcorn kernels popping in my lower belly.  I thought “There is no way THAT is the baby.”

Since this is my first pregnancy, I expected to only feel the baby flutters closer to 20 weeks.  Everything I read says it is possible as of 15 weeks but for first-time Moms to expect it later on.  However, I also read that if you have a smaller build, it is possible to feel the baby sooner.

Every pregnancy is different.

As soon as I felt the tiny bubbly feeling, I froze.  I stayed very still and wanted to see if I felt it again.  About 30 seconds later, there the flutters were again and I teared up.  I know what an upset/digesting tummy feels like- this was NOT that.  I have never felt this before.  If you are experiencing similar feelings during early pregnancy and people criticize you, saying it is impossible for you to feel it- trust your feelings.  YOU are the only one feeling them and as I said, everyone is different.

Perhaps the sugar from the Coke gave the baby a bit more of a “push”.  Since I was laying on my back, staying quite still, it was a rare occurrence for me to feel it- but trust me, there is nothing like it.  I can’t wait for later on when the baby is stronger and bigger so I will feel the movements more often; it’s such a magical feeling.  (Remind me that I said this when I am close to my due date and s/he is kicking my ribs).

I woke up on Thursday morning wanting healthy everything.

I had oatmeal for breakfast with a delicious smoothie full of fruits, calcium, and Vitamins C + D.  I had a salad for lunch and I had a 40-minute walk outside.  I have not been able to be as active as I would like to be since I had been so tired.  I pushed myself to have a shower, feel refreshed and go for a walk.  I was hot hot hot by the time I got home.  I had walked 10 minutes to a nearby park, sat down to drink half of my water bottle, continued to walk a bit further, and then turned around.  It was the first “longer” walk I had taken since becoming pregnant without my SO with me.

While I love getting time to be by myself and the baby, it felt a bit strange.  I was definitely getting looks from people as if they couldn’t tell if I was bloated from lunch, or if I was pregnant so they would just stare.  Once they noticed I could see them staring, they would give me an awkward smile.  I look forward to looking a bit more pregnant so it is obvious and people won’t have to wonder anymore.

My friend mentioned that once I’m at that stage though, people will want to touch the belly.

I’ve seen complete strangers touch people’s bellies and I find that to be completely rude.  To assume you can just invade my personal space to touch my stomach?  No, thank you.  Does anyone have any stories about this that they would like to share?  How do you feel/deal with the attention your pregnant belly gets?  Please comment below!

I’m not sure if it was from the walk or all of the good food, but once I got home, I felt the baby bubbling away more than the night before.  I told my Mom and best friend that it felt like it was imitating John Travolta’s dance moves in Saturday Night Fever.

It’s unbelievable.

We had a great time with my Stepson on Friday and he gave us a drawing he did at school right before going to be with his Mom.  It is the first drawing he has done that has included the Baby.  He used a Blue/Purple for its body and Pink for the hair.  Maybe he did that since he doesn’t know if it’s a boy or a girl- maybe the pink hair is his sort of prediction, even though he wants a brother- we’ll see (T-Minus 16 days!)

Another highlight of the week was when he hugged me goodbye and said “Bye Jo!  I can’t wait for you to be my Step Mom.” I almost started to cry.  It’s hard being in a Step Mom role for numerous reasons, but that made all of the “tough times” worth it.  Isn’t that what parenting is?  Sure, things will get hard but even the smallest of things will constantly remind you of how worth it everything is.

Alright, I am sure these posts get to be quite long for you readers, so I will end things here, but I will see you at the end of Week 17!!