thoughts on pregnancy weight gain

musings from the almost-halfway point
[alternate title: our baby loves cheese]

i’m just going to come out and say it: it’s weird gaining weight on purpose.

on careful review, i have concluded that some bloggers were nearly bumpless at this point. well, not me.
seriously! it’s a different world. i’m not saying i haven’t accidentally put on a few pounds before [due to holidays, vacations, crazy call schedules, etc] — but normally this is followed by a natural urge to swing the other direction before things get too dramatic [or even noticeable to others, really]. generally, there’s no mention of a ‘diet’ per se, but in those cases my thoughts and actions are admittedly along those lines: an inclination towards healthier ‘cleaner’ eating, maybe fewer snacks, more workouts.

and then the TTC issues happened, and despite never being underweight nor eating-disordered, my mindset had to change. but now i can see that those 7-8 lbs are nothing compared with the changes in pregnancy. i’m at 19 weeks and my body is barely recognizable to me anymore [at least from the now-nonexistent waist up!]. sometimes i catch myself thinking . . . well, diet-y thoughts, and then i remember: IT’S SUPPOSED TO BE THIS WAY!

i’m a nerd and like tracking these sorts of things [well – things in general!], so i have been capturing my uphill adventure on the scale on excel, checking in weekly when i remember. i am definitely in uncharted waters [though honestly, i STARTED OUT in uncharted waters prior to becoming pregnant] so each number up is admittedly sort of a shock. but i’m getting used to it. and i think this graph looks pretty appropriate:

from ~8 weeks to ~19 weeks
and the dreaded babycenter app even agrees:

trying not to think of the LONG way i have to go!
and the honest truth? i haven’t been ‘trying’ to do anything with my eating habits. in fact, the opposite is true: i would say i’ve been eating as intuitively as i ever have in my adult life. some days, i’m hungry and need snacks between my snacks; others much less so. just based on what i want, i’m mostly picking things with some nutritional value, but my body is definitely a HUGE fan of dairy in all forms right now.

from last night’s dinner . . .

to my favorite dessert.

pumpkin loyo i can’t quit you
really, for the most part, i think my diet is very similar to pre-pregnancy! i have definitely enjoyed my share of brownies/meals out/etc lately, but in truth i have always done that anyway.

the only difference i can think of [other than the whole no alcohol/no sushi type stuff] is that i’m careful to always have a snack available if need be, because when a hunger attack hits, it’s twice as powerful as it was pre-gestation. sadly, i’m also less patient in waiting for josh to come home to eat dinner, though this may have more to do with his crazy hours lately [his arrival home = my bedtime!!] than anything on my end.

so there you have it: thoughts on pregnancy weight gain at the halfway point. i am going to continue eating cheese when i want it, because i have learned to trust my body’s new intuition. and i will wear my hard-earned rapidly-growing bump with pride.

link luv
♥ i am DROOLING over this clean and modern planner from typotheque. by january, i’ll be just 6 months in to my journal J so i’ll have to hold off, but someone should buy this beautiful volume! and tell me all about it!

♥ what you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while, from the happiness project. i wholeheartedly agree — which is why i pay so much attention to my daily routines/patterns.

♥ attention local groupon-ers! $37 massage in downtown durham? YES PLEASE. [they accept the coupon for prenatal — i checked!]

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11.7.11

workout: 35 min prenatal DVD [weights/light cardio]

espanol: check. it’s getting harder! argh.

endo: instead of textbook reading, i worked on prepping for a presentation [a journal club on thursday].

pager: i’m happy to say that overall yesterday was not so bad, and i think i weathered the pager quite well!