Weekly Pregnancy Post

This week felt different than the others. I can't really put my finger on exactly what makes me say that - I think it's a combination of a few things. My pregnancy symptoms (I hate using the word symptom, it makes me sound sick!) are changing daily now, I'm officially nesting, and I'm already have separation anxiety from our little one (I'll explain more later). Of course, the hormones of pregnancy aren't helping with that last one. Needless to say, I am starting to feel pregnant in that "I'm so excited for the baby to come" kind of way. While I was certainly excited the past 14 weeks, there was still a lot of anxiety and fears mixed in. I know those may resurface but we've been reassured that things are progressing nicely. Now my biggest fear is the actual labor part, but we'll save that for another day :)

How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Pregnancy Symptoms: The nausea is really just about gone now (hallelujah!!)...it comes around when I'm really starving, usually first thing in the morning. The headaches linger but since the weather got cooler for the past week, I've noticed they've decreased in intensity. Perhaps my allergies are resurfacing a little and that could be a cause. I've got that good ole' fashioned pregnancy stuffed nose which can make it hard to breathe, especially when I'm trying to sleep. And speaking of sleep, I'm actually starting to get some (another hallelujah!!). Since the frequent trips to the bathroom have decreased, I get some more snooze time in and it's fabulous! I guess my biggest complaint (and basically only) at this point is fatigue and exhaustion. Oh, and those hormones I mentioned earlier - but I'll get into that later.

Food Cravings: I'm sad to report that the cheese cravings have passed. I think I overstayed my welcome in the cheese department. In fact, I'm developing an aversion to cheese. Thankfully, milk is still high on the list. I'm having more sporadic, one-at-time type cravings. This week it's been McDonald's Chocolate Shakes (no whip please), plain long john donuts with white frosting (did I mentioned I've always hated donuts??), and red grapes (I'm usually a green grape kind of girl). At least one of those three has some nutritional value :)

What I Miss: I can't say I miss much of anything from pre-pregnancy life this week. I've got my energy back and I'm sleeping more...life is good!

Maternity Clothes: I'm down to my last pair of shorts that still button. Still living in athletic clothes whenever possible. Everyone says I should get a Belly Band but I'm just not sure I'd feel comfortable wearing my pants unbuttoned. Why not just wear maternity pants? I've started looking but until I go back to work in two weeks and need to actually care what I look like each day, I'll stick with gym shorts and tanks.

Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Continuing to feel the baby move. I haven't felt the baby move as much as I did the first time, or for as long, but there are daily movements now. They feel more like little bubbles, sometimes like tiny butterflies. I notice the baby moving when I'm lying down watching TV or reading and especially when I'm drinking my morning breakfast drink.

Worst Pregnancy Moment of the Week: This week deserves a worst pregnancy moment because let's be honest, pregnancy isn't all glamour. The worst moment of this week, and maybe even the entire pregnancy (past and future) was looking at our first childcare option. I'll write a whole post dedicated to this one when I've really gathered all my thoughts on it - but for now, I'll tell you that I never expected to feel as sad, guilty, and down-right miserable as I did this week. It was a great facility - a small Christian center with amazing caregivers. I know our child would be well cared for and loved there. But the moment I left, I was in tears. The ball like a baby, shake you to your core kind of tears. I cried all morning. Thankfully, I have a mom whose been through this and who assured me this is perfectly normal and a husband who just gets it - understands how deep a mother's love can be. I can't imagine how much I'll love our baby once he/she is born because in that moment, leaving the center, I loved our baby so much I couldn't stand to ever leave it.

Just five weeks left until we find out whether baby is a boy or girl. I mentioned earlier I was nesting... and boy am I nesting! With all this free time on my hands, I've cleaned and organized the entire house. We have room for diapers and baby gear in the closets. I started clearing out the baby's room, picked out the paint color, and pretty much mentally designed the nursery. I look forward to finding out baby's gender so I go move forward with the decorating process. Oh how I'm so happy when I'm nesting :)