15 weeks, 0 days - Belly pic!

Bump? I believe so. I haven't seen anything when looking in the mirror lately, but when I took this picture, I was a little stunned to see what appears to be a bump. Maybe it's a food bump, but I am inclined to think otherwise. When I compare it to the 6 week starting photo, it's distinctively "bumpier." Again, it's small enough that it could be from bloating or a big lunch, but I think the days of wondering where this bump is could be numbered. :D

14 weeks, 4 days - "Feelable" Uterus

My "What to Expect" book told me that I should be able to feel my uterus now. I can. It's really weird. When I push on my abdomen, right below my belly button, it's normal, soft and squishy... unless I flex my muscles, of course, then it's a virtual rock because, of course, I'm totally ripped. :) If I move down a few inches, though, it gets firm again. Not hard like flexed muscles or a bone or anything, but firm as if there's something under there. So neat. :) Still not showing or anything yet, but it feels so cool to know what that 'firmness' is that I can't stop pressing on it. I have to think that Blob may not be too crazy about being smooshed on a regular basis, but I can't help myself.

So yes, while I still don't look or feel pregnant, there's a little bit of an inkling that maybe there is something growing in there. :D Hooray!

14 weeks, 1 day - First vs Second Babies

So, I had an interesting experience yesterday. As you may or may not know, there's another girl (Mika) on our project who is pregnant. She is due one week before me, so it's been kind of neat to listen to her progression (though nobody knew about mine so I was listening secretly). This is a girl who is about 5'5" or 5'6" and probably weighed somewhere between 115 and 120 when she got pregnant. She runs marathons and does triathlons. She did a 50k before she found out that she was pregnant. She is, by any definition of the word, extremely fit. She works remotely from North Carolina and was in the office for the first time since getting pregnant. And she is showing. Big time. Like big, big time.

I kept looking at her then looking back down at myself and shaking my head. Could a week REALLY make that much of a difference? Really? Everything I've read has said that you show later with your first baby than you will with your later ones, but man, it was so bizarre to see it in real life. She is so fit that I'd just assumed her tummy muscles must have gone back to normal and that it would be like her first baby all over again. Especially since it's been 7 years since her first one.

Anyway, it was really pretty neat to see the difference that having been pregnant once before makes. Everything I've read said that I should start noticing something in the next month to 6 weeks, so that'll be fun. I hope I'm as cute as Mika when I finally do start to show. She is ADORABLE.

13 weeks, 4 days - Presents!

So, thus far, we have acquired quite a little pile of gifts. I'm surprised and delighted about it, especially since so few people know. Last night, my friend, Sheri, came over and gave me a cute bag of "Congratulations on being out of the first trimester" gifts. So cute. So, here's what we've got so far:

- 2 red and white striped newborn onesies (from the onesies pops Nana Deb & Papa Fred gave for pregnancy #1)
- 2 blue and white striped newborn onesies (from the onesies pops Nana Deb & Papa Fred gave for pregnancy #1)
- white Be-Band (from Aunt Stevie and Uncle Stevie for pregnancy #1)
- burnt Orange reading wrap for nursing and keeping big, fat bellies warm (from Aunt Stevie and Uncle Stevie for the Blob)
- yellow and white hat, bib, newborn jammie set with chics (from Shirley for the Blob)
- yellow hooded towel with a chic head hood (from Shirley for the Blob)
- "unisex" headbands with bows (in green, white and yellow. hahahahaha, oh Shirley. From Shirley for the Blob)
- _How Much Do I Love You?_ book and stuffed animal (Nana Deb & Papa Fred for the Blob)
- _Big Book of Baby_ book full of nursery rhymes, games, fairy tales and poems (Nana Deb & Papa Fred for the Blob)
- Belly Bliss tea (from Uncle Andrew and Aunt Allie for the Blob)

Pretty good haul considering the word hasn't even been spread yet. I can't believe we're almost out of the first trimester! Hooray!!

13 weeks, 2 days - Nauseous again? What the what?

After my multi-day spaghetti smorgasboard, I decided to cut back and bit and try to eat a bit healthier yesterday. What a terrible mistake. It just ended up that I was starving all day long. Which led to me eating 1/2 a box of Cinnamon Puffins (essentially, the gluten free variety of Cinnamon Toast Crunch) in bed after Jeremy and I got back from a movie. Whoops. As such, I was planning to try again and stick to a fruit and vegetable diet at least until dinner today but I woke up nauseous. What? That's right. I woke up nauseous. That hasn't happened for weeks. "What the heck, Blob? Are you crabby at the prospect of fruit so you want to teach me an early morning lesson?" I'm getting the impression that Blob has been thoroughly enjoying the crap I have been shoving down his/her throat, to include the following: cold cuts, Cheetos, Funyuns, ice cream, cupcakes, Laffy Taffy, Everlasting Gobstoppers, Nerds (I got a big bag of Wonka candy), chocolate, sausage, ungodly amounts of Indian food, cheese, bacon, and sour balls. I try to go back to fruit and vegetables for one day and Blob throws a fit. Hmm... seems like he/she hasn't gotten the memo on Matt's whole philosophy of "Virgin Dove" eatery.

13 weeks, 0 days - Last Week of First Trimester!

Hooray for the last week of the first trimester! I'm hoping that I can look forward to being less tired next week, though I don't really expect the clock to turn midnight and all of a sudden I'll feel different. I don't actually even know if I'm any more tired now than I was before I got pregnant, since I'm really always so tired. I'm still hoping, though. Other than that, nothing really to report. I'm feeling fine, no belly bump, as far as I know, weight is holding steady... though admittedly, I did not weigh myself this morning because I ate way too much of my mom's spaghetti last night. Note to self: do not wait THAT long for something you really want because you'll just end up gorging yourself. Oh Amanda, why did you eat so much spaghetti? Ugh... because it was so delicious, that's why!

Anyway, as of next week at this time, you'll finally be allowed to tell people. I know that's what my mom is waiting for.

12 weeks, 6 days - Mom's spaghetti

If you remember the mushroom post, you'll know how I'm feeling about my mom's spaghetti right now. Holy moses. It's about all I can think about. And it's not spaghetti that I want; it's Debbie Pieper's spaghetti. I've wanted it for days now but today, it's the only thing I can focus on. It appears as if a trip to the grocery store is in my future. Mmm...