Ups and Downs of the Great Baby Body Makeover...

Enough of the worry and on to more fun things...
So, I've now hit the beginning of my 6th month and my body is definitely starting to show the affects. I've been really good about eating healthy and working out, but alas the last two weeks have gone totally downhill. While at the beginning of my pregnancy, the thought of chocolate made me want to hurl, I am now craving it like a drug! Oh, and not just chocolate, but pretty much anything sweet. So much for getting through the holidays without any desserts. I'm pretty sure I made up for it in the last couple of weeks. I even had to resort to drowning almost an entire batch of brownies I made over the weekend when my mom was here. And even after the water hit them, I was still thinking that they might not be that bad all soaking wet. This has definitely gotten out of control. I also threw away 3 boxes of Russel Stover Chocolates, a box of assorted truffles (since the economy's down, this is what I got from the majority of my students) and the last of my Christmas Crunch. Sad, but triumphant at the same time. It was a necessary act considering that my hips are already bigger... by an inch to be exact. I measured. *sheepish grin follows* I know, I know, isn't that a little much? But I know my body and I know what I need to keep my body in check, so measuring for me is the way to go. Besides my belly and the ridiculous hips, nothing else has changed...at least not so far. Can I say, though, that I really didn't expect my hips to get much bigger. How big do they need to be for crying out loud? They were huge to begin with!
Anyway, to battle the engorgement of other unnecessary body parts, I'm still weight lifting, running, spinning and I just joined a yoga pregnancy class at the gym. This idea makes me giggle. I've never done yoga before and the mental picture in my head just includes a bunch of awkward big-bellied women doing even more awkward poses like "downward facing dog." I'm sure I won't be graceful by any means, but I'm still excited. I feel so much better about myself and my body after working out and I'm hoping yoga will just add to that.
Now ironically enough, with the mini-trauma that comes with the state of my body, it's somehow balanced by this strange new confidence that comes with the roundness of my belly. Example: And I know you may not think this is a big deal, but it is HUGE for me! Even though I'm a member of the gym, I always do my weight lifting at home. Reason? A lot of very cute, very young, very ripped college guys. Dumb, I know. But they're so in shape and so...intimidating! The idea of mingling in the weight lifting area with these guys and possibly sharing a bench with one (you know, I'll do my sets while you rest and then we'll switch) is just TRAUMATIZING! But, for some reason last week, I just felt this surge of "I'm preggers and I'm awesome" and before I knew it, I pulled down my 'getting too small' workout tee, marched up to the weight shelf, grabbed my 20 pounders and started my weight lifting routine right in the middle of about 15 college guys. I NEVER would have done that before! I wasn't even phased when one of my senior students walked by to grab his weights and gave me the 'barely there nod.' True, I looked ridiculous doing my plie squats, sweating like a beast with my big stomach peeking out of my tee, but I felt like a rock star. And surprisingly enough, I didn't get a single finger point or hear any outbursts of laughter like I had completely envisioned in my head. And I'm proud to say that I've done my weights there every workout since. :0)

So, for the most part, I really do feel pretty good and actually consider myself to be 'kind of' cute as a preggers gal. I do realize that I'm still in the honeymoon stage and that once the third trimester hits, I'll most likely feel more comfortable referring to myself with words like monstrous and heifer, but hey, for now I'm just enjoying feeling pretty darn good.

A few other really annoying things about pregnancy:

~ my itchy stomach. (It honestly feels like someone rubbed poison ivy all over and then let loose an army of fire ants. Seriously, it's really bad!)

~ terrible acne. (I used to love the fact that I could go places without makeup, but now...that's just a scary thought)

~ uncomfortable sleeping positions. (I'm more of a tummy and back sleeper; two major no-no's.)

~ feeling like I have to pee and then having nothing come out. (The bladder really needs to be moved to a different place in our anatomy)

A few really awesome things about pregnancy that totally offset the annoying ones:

~ My hair is super shiny. (I've actually gotten several compliments)

~ My nails are much stronger. (I don't even have to wear nail polish anymore)

~ Hearing the lady that checks me in at the gym call me a "hot mama."

~ there are a few more, but the one that trumps everything is feeling the baby move. It is by far the coolest thing. It's like my own personal little secret and I absolutely love it.

So anyway, just wanted to write a little about my pregnancy, more for my memory than anything else. So far it's been an adventure and a roller coaster of emotions, especially in the last week, but all in all, an awesome experience. Now, labor on the other hand... we'll just get to that later. Oh, and just as an FYI, at the last ultrasound they measured this lil' guy as being in the 87th percentile. Translation = big baby, which = HUGE belly, which = (at least in my mind) excruciating labor! I'm envisioning horror stories already...