May 23

May 23 Pregnancy Update: 18 Weeks

So as promised, I have got round to writing the next pregnancy update. I'm giving myself a high five for the win for getting this done. Have fun reading - and if you have no interest in all things babies and pregnancy I give you permission to skip these! :-)

The Bump:

I've finally reached 18 weeks! YAYAY!! When I was lying on the couch thinking I was dying from morning sickness at eight weeks the thought of reaching 18 weeks seemed like a lifetime away but we made it finally. I have to say I am tracking a little bit bigger than the other two pregnancies. I put it down to having done it twice before and my body has stopped fighting it and thought "heck let's just put it all out there now". Ha, So I popped a lot earlier than the other two. In some respects, that's great because people aren't confused whether you've eaten one too many burgers or you are actually pregnant but in other ways it's not so great. Like my clothes not fitting so soon in the pregnancy. I normally can get to at least 20 weeks in my regular pants before some measures have to be taken to loosen them with rubber bands looped around the top button (that's my secret trick).

I felt the first little proper kicks and jabs last night from bub and I had been anticipating this for a couple of weeks now. I was getting a bit anxious around the 16-week mark because I hadn't felt any flutters or movement. Thankfully I had an ObGyn appointment that week and everything was fine with the baby I just had to be a little bit more patient.

Feeling:

I most certainly have hit the second trimester as my energy levels have increased exponentially compared to the first trimester. I don't even want to ponder the first trimester it was just three months of feeling gross. I am still getting some bouts of morning sickness and am still on a low dose of anti-nausea medication but I hope to wean myself off this over the coming weeks.

With the increase in energy, I have managed to start doing some light exercise 2-3 times a week. It is usually is a 30-45 minute walk or little bike rides with the family which we did for my birthday back in early May and

again on Mother's Day.

I have a lot more energy in this pregnancy than I did with the first two which is a huge blessing because I need it to run after two other monkeys. I am hoping a have a couple more months of energy left in me before the third-trimester exhaustion hits. I have so much to do before this baby arrives and I can't afford to be unorganised before my energy runs out.

Doing:

All the nesting! I'm getting in early with the nesting bug and have started doing some serious cleanouts and organisation in the house. I have huge plans that I want to complete before this baby arrives which include: emptying out the third bedroom, which is my current photography studio :-( . Turning it into Little Miss's bedroom, doing up the new nursery, trying to find some storage solutions to store all my food photography props and bits and pieces in since we don't have an extra bedroom now to do this (argh). Organise the toy room and sort a proper storage solution for all the kids books & toys, clean out the linen closet and declutter! That's the main list of things to do at the moment but I am sure I will add to it all.

I've been starting back doing a bit of freelance work over the past month in small doses and it is good to feel normal enough again to be able to do this. I get enjoyment out of being able to do small jobs and gives me some satisfaction in doing something other than running after kids all day. My long term plan is to hopefully one day do this full time when the kids are in school if I can drum up enough work. It's a dream of mine that I'm working towards and hopefully, I can make it a full-time career one day!!

Wearing:

I have struggled with my wardrobe this time around. While I still have all my pregnancy clothes from the first two pregnancies, I am just feeling dissatisfied with the options at my disposal at the moment. I am sick of wearing maternity jeans already and it's not even winter time yet. Mind you I am a cheapskate and hate to buy too much new stuff that's maternity related since I now this will be my last pregnancy. So I will grin and bear the limited clothes option that I have and try and be creative with my outfits.

What I have currently been wearing a lot of are the new Kmart maternity jeans. They are great. I never invested in a proper pair of maternity jeans for my other two pregnancies and for $20 I couldn't pass these Kmart ones. They are super comfy and I for a cheap pair of maternity jeans they do pretty well. I am in loved with baggy sweaters and t-shirts as well as they cover the bump nicely and are super comfortable. In reality, though I live in daggy grey track pants and a ten-year-old pink sweater for most of the week if I don't have to go out.

Eating:

All the chocolate. Well trying not to is the key answer here. The chocolate cravings always hit me about this time of the pregnancy and don't let up for many many months. I made the most decadent

Mocha Self Saucing Pudding

and popped it up on the blog last week. Now I have had to battle the will not to make one of these every day. They are just way too delicious for their own good.

Cravings aside I have tried to get back into a bit of a healthier diet now that I am feeling better. Toast, hot chips and burgers just don't cut it on a day to day basis and I know I need something more than carbs and fat to keep me going. I have been trying to get back into

drinking a green smoothie

every couple of days to inject some more fruit and veg into my diet and making big green salads for lunches every other day. Do I always want to eat this? Most definitely not but I know it will be good for me in the long run. Most days I'd be happy with vegemite on toast.

Bump Appointments:

So the big gender scan is booked in for next week and I am pretty excited. We are opting to find out the sex of the baby and do a reveal party next weekend in front of the whole family. I just hope baby cooperates and lets us see the goods so the party can go ahead otherwise we will just have to wait until we can find out again. I had another Ob-Gyn appointment at 16 weeks and everything was tracking well which is always a relief. I always hold my breath at each appointment in the early stages in case something is wrong.

Gender:

Not sure yet but we find out next week!!!