Week 15

-Total pregnancy weight gain: 1 lb. According to our scale at home, 2 lbs. But according to the nurse yesterday, 1 lb.

-Clothes: I had to wear my belly band with my suit pants at a work event in Austin on Tuesday but my pants still zip. Other than that, everything seems to fit but it just looks a little odd (hello, muffin top!) I'm not comfortable enough to wear anything kind of tight because I'm inbetween looking pudgy and pregnant! And oh, I have had to put the heels away because of the sciatic nerve pain.

-Food aversions: Really, I'm just having a hard time planning what to eat next. It was great to be at a work conference for 2.5 days because I didn't have to make any decisions! Dinner has been very "spur of the moment" these days. But, I guess I haven't had any real "aversions" this week.

-Food cravings: Snacks have been good to me--I love popchips and I am loving all kinds of protein bars (luna, powerbar harvest, and kashi are my favorite). I did have a day last week where I bulldozed through multiple bags of baby carrots in one sitting...and still wanted more! I'm still loving water and vitamin waters but I have noticed that I really want my drinks ICE COLD. Usually, I'm a room temperature water drinker.

-Gender hunch: This week, I'd have to say I'm thinking baby E is a girl. Again, no real reason but I guess that's why it's called a hunch!

-Workouts: I'm still feeling really good when I work out, even with the sciatic pain. Sometimes, it actually feels better when I'm moving around. I've been running and I did some weights and rode a stationery bike while I was away, but no yoga this week yet and I'm craving it!

-Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty well but I'm using the boppy every night and that just takes some getting used to. I read that I should sleep on the opposite side of what is hurting from the sciatica but our nurse reinforced trying to sleep on the left side for baby. Work in progress...I miss sleeping on my back!

-General Feelings: The sciatic nerve pain has been a bummer but it's manageable. I've had a few nights where I'm DOG tired by 9pm and I'm grateful for Aaron making me go to bed. I'm overall pretty excited about everything as these weeks tick along. We got to go to the Dr. yesterday and hear baby E's heartbeat which is one of the sweetest sounds ever. Baby E is ticking away at 150 bpm (normal range is 110-160) and everything is still looking good in every other department. The doctor only mentioned in our time together that the next time she sees us, I'll need to have gained some weight. I never thought I'd have that problem but everyone gains differently and my appetite has been pretty normal.  Our next appointment is in 4 weeks, March 28th, and that's when we could find out the gender. You know, if we were going to do that...Last but definitely not least, I *think* I may have felt the baby move sometime last night. I woke up with a bit of a stomachache and while I was trying to fall back asleep, I noticed a little bit of a flutter. It didn't last long and it didn't happen again from what I could tell but I'm almost certain it was the baby. I was so confused by people's description of the "flutter" and I was worried I wouldn't be able to identify it but it definitely feels different than a cramp, gas, or a hunger pain. I'm really looking forward to feeling more of that!

Here's the star of the show, Baby E, an apple this week:

That was right before a run on Wednesday morning.  Not the best top for optimum bump viewing.  So, I had Aaron take this one on my way to work this morning.

There are some shadows going on but they work to the bump's benefit, haha.  I think we're getting closer to a real bump...maybe next week?? Gotta stay tuned!