Week 16 Check-In

Haha...I'm a little late with this. :P

How far along?: 16 weeks 3 days

Total weight gain/loss: I haven't been weighing myself. I'm trying not to get too obsessive about this. I probably won't update this until after I have my next OB/GYN visit on May 24th.

Pregnancy symptoms: I had some pretty bothersome lower back pain last week. Headaches (migraines and/or sinus-related?) and nasal congestion/allergies have been common during my pregnancy. The nasal congestion, which I pretty much have every day, was particularly bad today. Oh, and this one's kind of gross, but I've been perspiring a lot, i.e., I've been having some body odor issues. :P

Maternity clothes: I've worn one of my maternity shirts to dinner and to work. I also bought the Target BeBand this past weekend, which I'm loving!

Stretch Marks: None that are due to pregnancy weight gain.

Sleep: Sleeping has been okay lately, although I honestly never quite feel well-rested.

Best moment this week: I finally told my supervisors (yes, I have two of them) about my pregnancy. I was waiting for the right moment to let them know and I'm glad it's public knowledge now.

Movement: I've been feeling very faint twinges/spasms lately, but I'm not sure it's the baby moving....

Food cravings: Nothing in particular. I've still got a sweet tooth, though, which I'm trying to keep in check!

Food aversions: From last week: Most of my food aversions are gone. There are still some foods that I just don't feel like eating. Before I got pregnant, I used to make a yummy veggie soup that I loved. These days, I can't stand the thought of it. Some oily/fried foods still turn me off, which is a good thing. Still applies this week.

Gender: We'll find out if Baby T is a boy or girl on May 24th! Majority of people are thinking Boy! Of course, we just want a healthy baby, but trying to guess the gender is fun, too. According to the Chinese gender chart, it's a boy (I was 29 years old at the time of conception, which occurred during the month of February).

Labor signs: N/A

Belly button in or out: Still very much in. :P

What I miss: Still missing non-decaf coffee. I walked into Starbuck's over the weekend and there were so many things I couldn't have!

What I am looking forward to: I'm looking forward to our BIG ultrasound in exactly 1 week.

Milestones: Can't think of anything at the moment.

Bump Pics!

I haven't been diligent with taking bump pics. I really didn't think there was much to show. I think I "popped" (meaning my uterus started to bulge and felt firm) around Week 10 so I decided to take a photo. I took another one at 14 weeks and then another one today (16w3d).

Not much to see here!

I have a little bit more of a belly here, but you can't really tell because I don't have my hand on my belly like in the Week 10 photo

Now this kind of looks like an actual bump. I think the Target BeBand I'm wearing helps a bit with that. It felt so awkward posing for this photo! :P

Weekly Check-In!

Here's a typical weekly check-in one can easily find on the internet. I know it's been WAY too long since my last post, but I'll go more into that after I get this one posted. I meant to do this every week, but...oh well. :P

How far along?: 15 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 3 pounds as of 14 weeks 3 days (May 3rd)

Pregnancy symptoms: I've been feeling quite tired lately, which is a typical 1st tri symptom that I never got. Go figure. I also have some discomfort if I twist, turn or bend a certain way. I think it's just my uterus and supporting muscles stretching.

Maternity clothes: I haven't worn any yet, but my MIL bought me 2 shirts and a co-worker is going to give me some of her clothes. I'm thinking I'll need to look into maternity jeans soon! Part of me feels a little silly thinking about maternity clothes since I don't have a distinct bump just yet. I kind of just look like I took one too many trips to the buffet line. :P

Stretch Marks: None that are due to pregnancy weight gain.

Sleep: I had insomnia and vivid/bad dreams during the first tri. I'm sleeping better these days, especially since I've been so tired lately.

Best moment this week: Brian and I both heard Baby's heartbeat on Monday, May 3rd. What an amazing moment. :)

Movement: None yet! Maybe in the next couple of weeks?

Food cravings: I don't think this qualifies as a craving, but I've been eating a lot of ice cream lately. :P

Food aversions: Most of my food aversions are gone. There are still some foods that I just don't feel like eating. Before I got pregnant, I used to make a yummy veggie soup that I loved. These days, I can't stand the thought of it. Some oily/fried foods still turn me off, which is a good thing.

Gender: We'll find out if Baby T is a boy or girl on May 24th! Right now, Brian, my mom, my grandpa and our OB/GYN all think it's a boy. I also have a feeling we're having a boy. We shall see!

Labor signs: N/A

Belly button in or out: Still very much in. :P

What I miss: Strangely enough, I wasn't a very big fish-eater before becoming pregnant. Now that I am pregnant and should stay away from it, I want to eat it! I also miss having my morning coffee. I've been trying out Starbucks instant decaf this past week. It's really quite good!

What I am looking forward to: Aside from the obvious (meeting our baby!), I'm looking forward to our BIG ultrasound in a couple of weeks and also feeling Baby move.

Milestones: I'm so happy to be past the first tri!

We're Pregnant?!?

We were on our 2nd cycle TTC (trying to conceive) when we got our BFP. Being the engineer that I am, I decided to take a structured approach to maximize our chances. Without going into the gory details, I picked up a copy of Taking Charge of Your Fertility and signed up for a Fertility Friend account.


Throw the lucky OPKs (ovulation predictor kits) and HPTs my good friend Tara sent me into the mix and here we are!

Positive OPK on CD20

Positive HPT on Feb 15, 2010 | CD30 | 10DPO

Positive HPT on Feb 16, 2010 | CD31 | 11DPO

Positive HPT on Feb 17, 2010 | CD32 | 12DPO

Here's a recap of how we found out we're pregnant:

Monday, 15 Feb: At 10DPO, I POAS very late at night and got a VERY faint BFP! I wasn't expecting to see a BFP and had to convince myself that what I saw was indeed a 2nd line! A line is a line no matter how faint it is.

Tuesday, 16 Feb: I POAS using FMU (first morning urine) and got another VERY faint BFP, but it was a little darker than the previous night. OMG! This would be the first day I went back to work, after being out sick the entire previous week with a nasty cold. On my way to work, I was rear-ended at a complete stop in traffic on the freeway. The driver who hit me fled the scene. I didn't feel any pain at the time so I didn't go the ER or anything. My baby bro lives right up the hill from where I got hit so he came down to be with me while I waited for the police to show up. I filed a police report, went on to work and got my car repaired that afternoon (my baby bro works at a VW dealership and got me a good deal on the repairs--no structural damage). As I waited for my car, I started feeling pain in my left hip and leg. My brother drove me to my doctor's office. I mentioned the two possible BFPs to my doctor and he ordered a pregnancy blood test for me that same afternoon and also scheduled me for physical therapy. He suspects I have a pinched nerve.

Wednesday, 17 Feb: I called my doctor's office as soon as they opened and got BFP confirmation! OMG!!! I also called my OB/GYN because a copy of my results were sent to them and also just to let them know I had been in a car accident the day before. They told me to come in the following morning!

Thursday, 18 Feb: I went in to see my OB/GYN and she told me my EDD is 10/24/10 based on the first day of my LMP. She also wants me to come back in the following week for an ultrasound. I know it sounds a bit early...I'll be just shy of 6 weeks, but she just wants to make sure everything is okay in there. :) I'm not really sure what we'll be able to see, though, especially because I know I ovulated on CD20 or 21...not the "average" CD14.

Expecting Baby T!

Hello Family & Friends! We'll try to be more diligent with updating this blog than we were with our previous blog.

We're a little late getting this blog started up, but we'll be updating you on past events along the way. Basically, we got our first HPT (home pregnancy test) BFP (big fat positive) unexpectedly late at night on Monday, February 15, 2010. Nicole decided to POAS (pee on a stick) on a whim. We're now anxiously awaiting Baby T's arrival on October 29, 2010...or 10.29.10!!!

WW Staples and a little (not so impressive) trick!

When I first started WW, I was absolutely clueless about what I could and could not eat. It turns out that I can eat whatever the heck I want...as long as I stay within my daily points allowance. Great. It's overwhelming at first and requires a lot of trial and error, but I thought I'd share some of the foods that have helped me out during this WW journey.

I find that I constantly turn to my Oroweat Sandwich Thins, which are only 1 point for the top and bottom! I toast it and spread a wedge of Laughing Cow Lite Original Swiss (1 point) on it for a 2 point breakfast. If you top that with less than 1 cup of blueberries, it's even yummier and still only 2 points. Or, sometimes I'll just toast it and dunk it in my coffee. I even use these sandwich thins to make breakfast sandwiches abd turkey breast sandwiches for lunch. Other people have told me that they work well for sloppy joe's and even a mini pizza crust! Just add your toppings and pop in the oven (or toaster oven). I buy the Sandwich Thins, Laughing Cow and frozen organic blueberries at Costco.

I also buy Yoplait Light Yogurt from Costco. It includes Strawberry, Blueberry and Harvest Peach flavors. Yes, it contains aspartame. If you're violently against it, don't buy it and keep reading. :)

Either the Weight Watchers or Healthy Choice brand fudge bars are a 1 point frozen treat for those chocolate cravings.

Now, on to that little trick I mentioned. I decided to take some of the Healthy Choice fudge bars to leave in our community freezer at work. Something is terribly wrong with our A/C at the office and it gets ridiculously cold. One day, I had the idea to stick one of the fudge bars into a nice hot cup of coffee. It obviously melted, but the resulting concoction tasted just like a mocha latte...completely with a frothy head! Since black coffee is 0 points, the whole thing is only 1 point!

Another staple I keep in my refrigerator is Kirkland "Real Egg" brand egg substitute I buy at Costco. I actually prefer the taste of the Kirkland brand to the "Egg Beaters" brand. I normally have 1/2 cup for only 1 point, whereas a whole egg is 2 points. I have this for breakfast on the weekend and normally have them one night during the week when Brian's working late and I'm only making dinner for myself.

Yet another thing I love is Orville Redenbacher's SmartPop 94% Fat Free Butter Popcorn. The single serve bags are only 1 point each. The larger bags are 3 points for the entire bag. Brian and I normally split the larger bag and I'll have the single serve bags at work.

Another frozen treat I've discovered is Breyers Double Churn ice cream! I remember trying this out about 5 years ago when the Atkin's Diet was all the rage and it tasted pretty nasty, IMO. But, I thought I'd give it another shot and am glad I did! I picked up Breyers Vanilla No Sugar Added Double Churn ice cream. You get 1/2 cup for just 1 point, or 1 whole cup for 3 points. Top that of with 1/2 cup blueberries (0 points) and you've got yourself a yummy, guilt-free dessert! I think I'll pick up the Fat Free (versus No Sugar Added) variety next time, just to see if there is a taste difference.

Okay, this is getting pretty long. I will try to post something new at least once per week, depending on what I'm eating at the time. Stay tuned....

Bleh

I maintained this week. I am happy I didn't gain (yeah, yeah, yeah), but I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed I didn't lose. I was hoping to be down 1 more pound this week for a total of 15, but that didn't happen. And I should not have expected it to happen. I was really, really, bad. I need to hide all that toffee and white chocolate! So, I need to accept it and move on because I start a new week tomorrow!

My Sweet Friends!

Here's what I got in the mail last week from my fellow Nestie (End-of-Summer Nestie Swap!), Marci, all the way from Colorado! I've been so blessed to form friendships with an amazing group of women. :)


Benny really loved the white chocolate!

10% Down, 10% to Go!

I officially reached my 10% goal last week Wendesday!!! Yay!!!

After nearly a week of basking in the glory of being 14 pounds down, and indulging in some yummy confections received from a sweet friend in Colorado, it's time to get serious again. I've been a "tracker slacker" since Las Vegas. I did better at biting-and-writing over the weekend, but need to start making a conscious effort to stick to my 18 points! I'm feeling the effects of all that white chocolate almond toffee!

I would ultimately like to lose another 10%, but that goal is just too far out (and intimidating!) for me at this point. So, I've scaled it back to another 5% (6 pounds), which would put me at 20 pounds total. That's a freakin' scary number to me. I had a chat with my co-worker about my WW progress. One thing led to another and he guessed that my current weight was 118 pounds (18 pounds under the mark (at the time), buddy). Hmm, granted, he's a guy, but people normally are surprised when I tell them how much I really do weigh. I guess it's because I'm short? Or I really am big-boned?! I have no idea.

I see every bulge and roll. They are definitely shrinking, but I have a ways to go. :) I know losing the weight will get harder and harder. I just need to take it one day at a time and try not to beat myself up for my toffee-laden weekend. :P

Progress

I started WW on June 18, 2009, just over three months ago! It's gone by quickly. Here is a photo comparison of my progress. The photo on the left was taken on May 9, 2009 at a Nestie GTG. I was a little heavier by June 18th, but it's a pretty good representation. The photo on the right was taken on September 12, 2009 at my SIL's wedding.

Edit: Some of my fellow WW-ers have requested I bring in these comparison photos to our next meeting. I've printed one out to post, eye-level, on my 'fridge, and another one to keep in my planner. I'm hoping it will be a motivational, daily reminder of how far I've come.