10

1. Doug actually officially found out that I was pregnant first. I was nervous about taking a test and he encouraged me to do so (I was only barely a day late). I told him I would if he waited for the results with me. So I took the test and then let him back in the bathroom. I started searching for something under the sink and Doug asks, "So how will we know--oh". Haha I knew right away that it said positive and sure enough, I looked up and the test said "PREGNANT." It gave results right away! And we didn't have to decipher lines or plus signs. 

2. We thought for sure that we were having a girl. Ever since we were dating and discussing future children, we had always said that we wanted a boy first so that he can be that awesome, amazing older brother. But my intuition told me that I was having a girl. Also, the only gender myth that has any scientific credibility to it is that if the heartbeat is higher than 140, then it's a girl. It only applies after 9 weeks because that's when the gonads will develop for males and females and differentiate. When we had our ultrasound at 11 weeks the heartbeat was at 175. When we heard the heartbeat again at my doctor's office around 16 weeks the heartbeat was still at 175. So that was evidence that it was a girl. But lo and behold, it's a boy! His heartbeat is usually at 154, so it's still higher than 140. But Doug and I both have fast heartbeats so maybe that has something to do with it?

3. I have had a pretty easy pregnancy so far. I am sooo grateful for that. The first trimester I was a little nauseous, but I never threw up (although I tried to self medicate a lot with ginger ale and gingersnaps. There are still stuff that reminds me of the first trimester that will make me feel a little sick. Like the smell of the fabric softener that I was using then. Or gingersnaps, since I ate quite a few. Or Avicii's "Wake me up," since I was listening to it a lot when I was running. But I have no complaints. This just means that the next pregnancy will most likely kick my butt. Or he will be a difficult baby. I'd love if my body just enjoys being pregnant though :)

4. Baby boy moves the most when Doug and I are laying on the couch cuddling at the end of the day. We'll be watching a show and Doug's hand will be on my stomach, and baby is just having a dance party. My sister was out for the weekend and I kept trying to let her feel him move and kick, but he didn't want to cooperate. He only would sporadically and then become shy once someone else tried to feel. But he responds immediately to Doug's touch. 

5. I still don't like coffee :( I only have tried decaf since being pregnant, but the taste just isn't satisfying like it used to be. I was bummed I missed out on pumpkin spice lattes, peppermint mochas, and gingerbread lattes during the holidays. Also my favorite creamer, salted caramel mocha, was only a holiday edition, but I didn't even want it. Although they started carrying it year round, so yay! I'll still try a cup of decaf on cold mornings when I just want a hot drink. But meh. 

6. Pregnancy brain is such a crack up. It's so weird to be so scatterbrained. Doug says its weird for him too since I'm usually really on top of things. I think my worst pregnancy brain moment was when I picked up Doug's toothbrush and started brushing my teeth with it before realizing that it was not mine. Ew. 

7. They say that cats become more clingy to pregnant women, and it's been true when it comes to Luna. She's always been a cuddler and she's always spent the night next to us, but lately she's been ridiculous. When I'm on the couch reading or playing Candy Crush, she climbs right in my lap and just purrs and purrs. She's hugged my stomach and he'll kick at her and she'll purr back. I woke up on my back in the middle of the night the other night and she was laying across my stomach. We're hoping that she is ok with baby boy once he gets here.

8. We are at a loss for a name. We have been through books and have scoured the internet, but there hasn't been a name that really sticks out for us. There are a few that we like, but I'd like there to be a name where we go, "That's it!" We want it to be not that common, but not so rare that he will constantly have to repeat and correct people (no matter what the spelling he's always going to have to spell it because other people use weird spellings). I also want to meet him before solidifying the name. Which is why we're not really telling people our names yet, so that they don't get attached to one and then we change our minds. Plus we don't want everyone's opinion that could really ruin a name for us. 

9. Baby Boy has such a sweet tooth. I haven't had weird cravings. The only aversions I had was coffee. During the first trimester I didn't like yogurt anymore, but that has since changed and I eat it every day. During the end of the first trimester I wanted enchiladas for like a week. I made a enchilada casserole and that really satisfied me. But ever since then he really wants sweets. For a while he wanted chocolate milk every night before bed. So I'd make a glass of Ovaltine (which at least has vitamins and minerals in it). Then it was ice cream. Any. Kind. Now it's Strawberry Poptarts that he wantd. Toasted. I tried to be better about it by getting Trader Joe's organic version, but as per my earlier post, that didn't cut it. Plus, there's more fat in Trader Joe's and at least Kellogg's added vitamins and minerals to theirs (this does not make it a health snack though!). Throughout it all he's always wanted anything chocolate. 

10. Google has been such a good friend through all of this. I have my books too, but whenever something pops up, I can find the answer so quick. I don't know how people did it back in the day (you know, like 15 years ago when there wasn't such a large database of information haha). I'd like to think that doctors get a bit of a break now with small questions, but I have a feeling that isn't the case. People probably still bug them about things that they can easily look up themselves (but if someone doesn't trust the internet or is still unsure, then by all means, ask your trusted doctor!)

Why I am a calorie monitor

For the past year or so I've tried to make healthier eating choices. Yes, I still love my Double Stuf Oreos and Half Baked Ice Cream, but in general I'll choose healthier options. 

Since getting pregnant I've been trying to eat really good to give baby and me the best start to life. You're only supposed to gain 25-35 pounds during pregnancy, and most of that is due to actual pregnancy stuff: baby's weight, amniotic fluid, placenta, and all of the extra blood your body made (an extra 50%!). Out of all the weight gain, only about 7 pounds should be in fat. When you gain more than that it can lead to baby getting bigger than he should and labor complications for both momma and baby. Not to mention it's easier to lose this weight after birth which helps with energy levels and postpartum depression. So why not actually aim for this?

In doing a lot of research on the subject on how to best feed my body during pregnancy it was pretty straight forward: lots of protein and calcium with fruits and veggies. That's pretty much how simple it is. Cut out processed foods and sugars and you're pretty much golden. 

The saying "eating for two" is not accurate either. In your second trimester you only need 300 extra calories a day. That's a bowl of cereal. Or two handfuls of trail mix. I feel like the stereotype of women binge eating and using pregnancy as an excuse has set a bad example for women.

So I've been using an app to track what I'm eating. Normally this app is used for losing weight, but  you can also set your calorie goal for gaining weight. So I have it set to gain half a pound a week. And it tells me how much I should be eating. I say "should" because I'm NOT limiting myself. I've never deprived myself if I feel hungry. But I'll often choose the options that are going to benefit me. Bananas with peanut butter, nuts, cereal, etc. instead of grabbing for the Oreos. My app also allows me to see the nutritional percentages of vitamins and minerals that I'm getting so that I can balance it out if I need to. I'll grab a glass of milk if I need more calcium, or a food with iron in it if that is low.

And this is why I'm a calorie monitor. I use the word "monitor" because I feel like it's different than a calorie "counter." I track what I eat so that I know what's going into my body. A lot of times we simply guess what we're putting into our bodies, and we often guess very low. Yesterday I was at Vons and a box of baked blueberry muffins looked sooo good. I would have guessed that one muffin would be 250 calories. I scanned the barcode with my app and they turned out to be 460 calories each! That's an expensive snack! And one that wouldn't be filling. But I'm "monitoring" in that if I'm still hungry at the end of the day and I'm at my calorie limit, I'll eat something anyway. I'm hungry for a reason. Baby might be growing a lot that day. Or I was more physically active than I realized that day. I'm just being aware of what is going on with my body,  not strict or limiting (besides portion control, which is how I am able to still enjoy my snacks). 

Take the photos above. A tunafish sandwich and a salad. Which would you guess had more calories? Well, the salad actually has about 120 more calories than the sandwich. And no, it's not just the dressing (the dressing only has 57 calories). Both of these options are healthy choices. With the sandwich you have a lot of lean protein and whole grains. With the salad...this is my favorite salad that I've been eating for almost a month straight. It's got kale, spinach, red quinoa, black beans, avocado, corn, beets, green bell pepper, cheddar cheese, and a barbecue ranch dressing (literally barbecue sauce and fat free ranch dressing). So yummy. Sure, it's a salad, but it's a full meal. It is about an average amount of calories for a meal (445), but these are GOOD calories. These are calories full of vitamins and minerals and energy. They aren't empty. If you ate 6 Double Stuf Oreos it would be the same as this salad, and there is NO nutrition in those!

And I honestly feel so good eating healthy. And I feel good about what I'm giving baby boy to eat. I am gaining pregnancy weight and I'll have my days where it makes me anxious, but I just have to remind myself that my body knows what it's doing, that it has been prepared for this, and that weight gain it completely and totally HEALTHY. And this makes me happy and excited to meet my sweet baby boy!

Lessons

Today I learned that these 

are better than these. 

It was a hard lesson to learn.