When my jeans started to get a little snug, I turned a blind eye and blamed the shrinking phenomenon on my washing machine. When the beginnings of a teeny bulge started form- what bulge? It's just this awkward fitting shirt. It's the hamburger I ate last night. Its the four cups of water I just downed. That's just one week's worth of poo build up (gross, I know). See, I can still fit into my tight running shorts...[proceed to waddle around the gym baring a belly "muffin top" and holding my breath so that the tight elastic bands don't cut off any more of my circulation].
This past week I've had to abandon my delusions and I'm actually beginning to accept the fact that I'm becoming a little rounder. It's pretty noticable when I'm wearing a tight shirt or a tank top (it doesnt look like a baby belly yet, it looks more like a couple pounds of fat got together and decided to have a party on my stomach) but when I wear a sweater, coat or dress, you still would have no idea I was pregnant at all.
I don't know if I'm following any norms regarding my weight gain. Every woman's body is different so I have no idea how to compare with the experiences of other pregnant people. At 18 weeks, I've almost gained 5 pounds. And I guess from here on out I'm supposed to gain one pound a week. Omg, is that physically possible?!
A big change I've noticed latelty is in my appetite. From two to three months pregnant I was ALWAYS hungry. Every smell made me want to eat. Oatmeal scents wafted through the air and a minute later, I would be cramming oatmeal down my throat. My crazed appetite would get a whiff of car exhaust and somehow make a connection to mustard pretzels and then I NEEDED some right NOW! My stomach was an unsatiable beast. It wanted tacos one minute and cucumbers the next. I typically ate three meals before 1pm.
Now, I'm back to my normal appetite. Is the beast on hiatus or is he lurking somewhere waiting to strike at the most unexpected time?
I can't decide if I want to continue to document my growing belly by taking weekly photos- like some women do, or if I want to feed my denial and break all the mirrors in my house over the next 22 weeks. What I do know is that I'm gonna need some stretchy pants really soon.
I know I'm going to regret this, but here it is- the non-flattering, bad postured, kitty PJ, obligatory 18 week belly photo... (is it just me or am I carrying pretty high?)
4 comments:
I found it was best to just relinquish all control over the weight gain. The weeks I made an effort to eat healthy I gained the most. The weeks I ate whatever I wanted I didn't gain anything. I just let go.
I ended up gaining more than the recommended range (42 lbs.), but then I lost it all pretty quickly and with very little effort. I think your body just does what it needs to do. Eat when you want to, try to make good choices most of the time, enjoy your desserts, and look forward to holding the baby. And have lots of friends around you to tell you that you look great, that helps a lot too :)
I gained basically nothing my first two trimesters and then had uncontrollable weight gain the third trimester . . . so 35 lbs. total. Anyway, I think doctors put too much stress on managing the weight . . . you really don't have that much control over the weight gain. At least, that's what I found to be true - eating tons of crap my first two trimesters got me nowhere, and then eating no carbs and only cottage cheese and fruit my last trimester gained me 30 lbs. I know it's hard, but try not to worry about it . . . you WILL lose it. If you breastfeed, you won't even have to put any effort into losing it.
I actually lost 10 pounds in the first trimester. I wasn't back up to even until almost the third trimester...and then I exploded! It was pretty insane. I was definitely showing, so apparently my weight just "moved"...but I actually had a doctor tell me it would be a good idea to eat ice cream every night so I'd put some weight on!
(too bad I haven't lost it all yet, and my son is almost ten months old! that's what happens when breastfeeding fails, and then you need emergency surgery six months after delivery...)
You look terrific! At 18 weeks, people were telling me that I looked like I was having twins.
I am tempted to tell you not to worry about the weight gain, but I gained 80lbs and only lost 40 of them. So worry about it a little bit.
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