18 weeks

4 1/2 months in and I'm starting to feel that back pain - just like my pregnancy email updates tell me. And the baby is the size of a large mango and about 1/2 pound. Oh and speaking of weight, I am finally catching up on the weight I lost in the first trimester so I'm almost the same weight as when I started. Looks like about a week and a half before we find out the gender of this baby!

The 8 best-ofs of Pregnancy

1. An explanation for the bloated tummy. In fact, the only time when it is appropriate to "show off" a pooch.

2. Excellent skin with absolutely no product. I actually can attest to this because I ran out of good skin cleanser ages ago and have resorted to using a bar of soap. You got it: rinse, lather, lather some more (bars of soap don't lather easily), apply, rinse.

3. People will offer you their seat just by virtue of having something growing inside of you (the fact that it's about 3.5 ounces (or 100 grams for non-americans) is inconsequential).

4. You can eat as much as you want. Ok, so you can't eat whatever you want but at least you don't get looks when you get up for a second helping of acceptable food (i.e., alcohol-caffeine-raw-unpasteurized free food).

5. You don't feel guilty about not seeing a gym in ages. Kind of relates to point #4 but is so pleasurable that it warrants its own point.

6. You can take naps in the middle of the day. This is more limited when you're at work but one of my co-workers actually suggested that I shut my door and put my head on my desk when necessary. I haven't had to do this yet but I try to take full advantage on the weekends.

7. It gives you something to talk about other than the weather. It's amazing how many people feel like they can relate to you once they know you're pregnant. Especially when they find out it's your first. This brings on all kinds of conversation in situations where you have to make conversation and there's been clear blue skies for weeks.

8. It gives you extra motivation to finish up all those house projects. I know this doesn't really sounds like a "best" thing about pregnancy, I mean who likes house projects (other than a certain DIY person I know), but it's something I really like to have done but find so hard to motivate myself to do (it does however, compete with number 6). Nothing like a ticking clock to set this in motion.

Crib

We got the baby crib this weekend! Our first real purchase. And we were lucky to get the floor model so it is already assembled and right next to our bed. It's a convertible crib so it will turn into a toddler bed and eventually a full size bed. I'm currently looking around online to see about getting the dresser (it has the changing table on top) and nightstand. We got it in the mocha finish so it's quite dark but not as dark as our bedroom furniture.

16 week photo

Ok so it may not look like much of a bump to you, but I'm telling you, from my angle it is huge. Especially when I'm sitting down.

one large navel orange

Has it really been two weeks since my last confession? Well...no wonder my readers were wondering if I fell off the face of the earth (yes, I never know anyone actually reads these until they start wondering where the new ones are. Except for Cyndi, because she's the only one that writes comments on here). Well not a lot has happened really. Well that's not true, a lot happened yesterday but up until that point it was mostly the rocky road to recovery for me. But I'm happy to say that most days I get through without so much as a cough (well, maybe a cough or two, especially when everyone else is quiet). But ok, back to what happened yesterday.

The whole night before I had barely slept. I kept waking up and coughing (ok so it's not totally gone) and turning and just felt generally uncomfortable. The past few days I had been feeling a lot of stomach pain (which apparently is normal) and some nights made it hard to sleep. That was one of those nights. When I got up in the morning I had not much time to get myself up and ready and on the road by 730am so I could make it to the free breakfast (I will only get up that early for free food) that was going on at a conference put on by some people at work. So I still wasn't feeling great but off I went. I started noticing as I scurried my way to the hotel the conference was at that I really wasn't feeling well, and by the time I was seated my stomach was really putting a lot of pressure on my pants. That's when I looked down and realized I was fully busting out of my pants. So, very discretly, I try to undo the top button on my pants during the key note speakers presentation. Unfortunately I had one button and two clasps on the flap part so it was a bit tricky. As was trying to tuck it back into my pants so that you couldn't see it flapping around under my shirt. Unfortunately I still had to sit through 3 hours of mornings sessions, so by the time lunch came I was ready to bolt. Luckily I had sweat pants in my car (I don't normally have sweat pants in my car, some of us were getting together after work and I planned on spending the night at a friends house, but it was such a blessing that I really recommend that everyone should keep sweat pants in their car. A whole outfit change really, you never know what can happen. And the day you suddenly grow out of your clothes you will thank me). I mean people warned me that one day I would wake up and not being able to fit into anything but I didn't think that it would happen while I was wearing my clothes. So then after all of my complaining to everyone around me I finally showed them the evidence - my bare flesh busting out over my already unbuttoned pants - and they finally believed me and I got my first "you look pregnant". Granted anyone seen in this pathetic state would probably get a "you look pregnant" or worse. But let me tell you, my sweat pants never looked so good (disclaimer for Cyndi. My sweat pants resembled nothing like the photo you sent me of that pregnant girl a couple months ago. Mine are classy sweat pants. From lulu. Ok maybe not classy so much as pricey). So I still haven't gotten the look or the question from strangers yet, but for those that know me, my stomach has definitely popped. Ironically my DH still hasn't seen it (racing weekend) but considering I have a large navel orange in there it's about time. Weight gain is still the same (as in no gain, but no more loss either), and even better, I can wear pants that only fit me two sizes ago with my bella band. I'm sure this will all catch up with me, but for now, 4 months is looking pretty good.

why are we whispering?

I am feeling much better but woke up this morning without a voice. Unfortunately I had to lead a discussion group this morning at a high school to teens and by the end of it everyone was whispering (people like to match in volume apparently). I'm just hoping my research assistants will be able to hear us on the recording. I ended up going to Urgent care on Wednesday after talking to my doctor just to make sure it wasn't strep (apparently it's not good for babies) and it wasn't. So that part is good. Now is just the waiting period to get over it. I took some halls on my way home today but then was paranoid it was killing the baby....so now I have to google that and see if it's safe. One of my updates from my pregnancy tracker sites told me I need to start eating "healthy" which means no processed foods or things with extra sugar in them (like spagetti sauce). WTF? Seriously. What am I supposed to eat? They also say eating raw vegetables and fruit can poison the baby with this life threatening bacteria. So apparently I need to visit my local nursing home and get some tips from the chef.

I experienced my first earthquake! And so did my baby :) I was sitting working at the computer (now in my living room since the office is now the babies room) and I started feeling really dizzy. Like the feeling you get when you're out at sea on a small boat or when you're about to pass out. At first I thought it was morning sickness hitting me again but then I looked at the table next to me and noticed the vase on it was moving. Then I looked up at the chandeliers and they started to move too. And then it was really swinging and the pool had big waves sloshing back and forth from one side to the other. My DH made us stand under the doorway (I would have had no clue it was an earthquake. I always thought an earthquake was more like a vibration or rumbling like you were going to go through the floor. But all of my information about earthquakes comes from watching episodes of full house). The earthquake happened in Mexico (6.9) but we felt the effects! Ok I know earthquakes are not good things but still, it was kind of exciting (just like I kind of want to experience a tornado...without the whole going to Oz part of it).

I had my first real baby dream last night. I dreamt that I wasn't gaining enough weight and I could see the entire outline of the baby in my belly and he (yes, it was a boy) was lying only on my right side so I was all lop-sided looking. So I decided that I would take him out of my belly to see what he looks like and then put him right back in so he could keep growing. And somehow I could do this quite painlessly without any blood. So in case you are all on the edge of your seats, I'm having a boy with lots of curly brown hair. Eye color is still up in the air. In my dream one eye was blue and the other was brown. So I put him back in my stomach so he could keep growing until his eye color would match.

I heart soup

I have been miserable since Saturday. I don't think it can be entirely pregnancy related but it's hard to say. Some of the symptoms are very similar to the common cold (stuffy nose, tiredness, achy-ness) but I also have a painful sore throat (which I don't think is pregnancy related) and some serious nausea. The worst of it was driving home late Monday night after teaching. I actually threw up on myself in the car...about a mile from my house. At least I had only been eating soup and drinking water because I had been feeling so sick so it wasn't as much of a disaster as it could have been. But it isn't helping my weight gain. At this point I should be gaining .5-1 pound a week. I weighed myself again this morning and I'm down yet another pound. Why is it when I want to lose weight it's the hardest thing in the world and now that I'm actually supposed to gain weight it's impossible.

Since I've been sick I took the day off yesterday and caught up on MTVs 16 and Pregnant. I don't know why I love that show. Maybe it makes me feel better than if these 16 year old girls can manage it somehow I will be able to too? I announced to my class Monday night that I was pregnant and it was actually kind of fun. They were really excited and one of my older/male students (he is actually a grandfather) told me afterwards that I'll be a really good mom. It kind of took me aback but it was actually really nice to hear. I don't think anyone has really said that to me (I mostly get the, "I thought you didn't want kids! Was this planned???") and I didn't realize how much I was worried about my parenting skills.

It will be a bit of a struggle today to teach my class. I feel like this cold is getting worse if that's even possible. Likely it's because I can't breathe at night so I'm not getting enough sleep, and I can't eat because of the nausea so I'm not getting much energy there either. I just need to get through this afternoon...without throwing up on myself :)