March, 2012 Archives

18 weeks

March 26th, 2012

I’ve never been in a bluebonnet field. They were taller than I thought they would be. Just as pretty though. And we hit the sunset just right.

17 weeks

March 22nd, 2012

The babies are the size of sweet potatoes this week. Sweet potatoes are huge! One day last week Darek looked at me and said, “wow. You’re really pregnant.” Yep.

Music: “Sifters” by Andrew Bird

eating for 3

March 14th, 2012

Every day I have my own personal food challenge. My doctor told me to aim to eat 3,500 calories per day. Which might not be too hard if I could eat an entire pizza and a whole pint of Ben & Jerry’s every day, but most of those calories are supposed to be healthy ones. And the protein goal is 175-219 grams per day. So I basically just eat all day. I know everyone reading this is thinking, “oh boo hoo, I wish I could eat 3500 calories every day,” but really, it’s not quite as fun as it sounds. It’s a lot harder with no appetite and 2 babies taking up a lot of space. I haven’t really been hungry in about 3 months. I also can’t eat a lot of food at once without feeling sick.

The doctor did say that it’s ok if I don’t quite reach the goal, but it’s a goal that I should aim for. A related goal is to gain 25 pounds by the time I reach 20 weeks, with a grand total of 40-56 pounds by the end.

So far I’ve gained about 13 pounds, so I have 3 weeks to gain 7 more. And then I’m supposed to have gained 38 pounds by 28 weeks.

According to my book (recommended by my doctor, though I’d already been given it before ever meeting him) the amount of weight I gain before 28 weeks has much more influence on the babies’ growth rates than any gained after 28. So it’s important to gain weight now. I didn’t gain much in the first trimester, partly because I felt so bad most of the time, so now I’m trying to catch up.

I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining, because I’ll do whatever it takes to keep these babies healthy, but this has definitely been a challenge.

I’ve grown a lot in the past week. I feel like I’ve gone from “bump” to “full-on pregnant” in appearance. I can’t stop starting at my stomach, because I still can’t believe it. I’m starting to get used to bumping into the counter when I use the sink, although I do wonder how the heck I’m going to brush my teeth when I’m 8 months pregnant. I guess sideways somehow.

I also keep wondering when I won’t be able to see my feet anymore.

16 weeks

March 13th, 2012

I first typed that as “61 weeks” on accident. Not quite.