November and its happenings

November was quite eventful.

- First, and probably most importantly, I wrote a 50k word novel in 30 days, one of the most intense "assignments" I've ever done. I've got to give a shout-out to my writing buddy, Jeanna. She was my slave-master cheerleader, and made sure I always got back on track after any slacking (which was quite frequent). This doesn't mean my novel is "publisher-ready," by any means, but it's a ginormous start. And that's a lot more than I ever thought I would be able to say. 

- My mom came for 10 days to spend Thanksgiving with us. We did lots of fun stuff, like maternity clothes shopping, volunteering at the Goodwill serving Thanksgiving dinners, having our own Thanksgiving dinner, with my bestie Heather coming up from DC. We went down to Mount Vernon and learned all about our first president (we even saw his dentures! Not made of wood, by the way).

- I'm even more pregnant! Go figure! But, I'm feeling loads better. I have almost forgotten that I once was nauseous everyday for 10 weeks in a row. Almost. My appetite is back, and in full force.

(Taken two weeks ago)

- I bought my first BellaBand. And it works! About two weeks after getting pregnant, I tucked my skinny jeans in a hiding spot under the bed (yes they were that skinny and yes I was already that bloated), but today I pulled them back out and dragged that BellaBand right on over them. Bam!

-I've realized being pregnant, and people knowing you are (whether from you telling them or from them seeing a bump) is such an odd thing. There are some days I just want to claim it as my excuse for everything - and I mean everything. Farting, burping, eating brownies for breakfast two days in a row, getting tired quickly, getting cranky quickly, the list goes on. I just eat it up some days! I even love referring to myself in third person, as "Mama", 

or sometimes even....

 Big Mama. 

As in, 

"Mama's coming through!" 

or

"Big Mama's gettin' huuuuunnngry!"

I love it.

And then, there are other days, when I'm just like - I'm pregnant. I'm not paralyzed from the neck down. I can get my own things, no I don't need you to give up your seat for me, I'm perfectly fine standing or even sitting on the floor. I'm sure I will be grateful for other people's kindness when I am huge-r than I am now, but I still feel very capable. (Though I have noticed a much more difficult time bending over while sitting down. That one I may need help with already).

- How big I am really depends on the time of day. When I wake up in the morning, after all my food is digested, I really don't look all that pregs. But by the end of the day, after I've eaten all day long and there just isn't that much room left for that and the baby, then I'm as round as a watermelon. The photo below was taken around 4pm, before dinner. So a nice in-between shot.

How far along? 17 weeks 6 days

Total weight gain/loss: 8 pounds

Maternity clothes? Somewhere awkwardly in-between. When I try to wear my normal jeans, I'm suffocating myself and have to unbutton them halfway through a meal (I did this once in the car and forgot about it upon leaving the car, until I had already shown off my undies to some people on the street. Lovely. But when I try to wear my maternity pants they are sliding down my legs all day long. So  I usually just wear my stretchy pants. In my room. Just for fun.

Stretch marks? No, but I'm sure they're coming

Sleep: Getting better. Bought some additional pillows, including a giant body pillow. This pillow situation has also been a cause for concern - not only does it put unneccessary distance between Adam and I, but it is also oh-so-difficult to switch sides every couple of hours, whilst dragging another human-being-shaped object, tucked between my legs, along with me (the pillow, not Adam).
Also, last night I was just way too excited to sleep well. So many things are happening! My little best sister friend is visiting me in 10 days, I find out the gender in 13 days, I know I'm supposed to be feeling the baby move soon, then my dad comes out, then it's Christmas! I just tossed and turned all night!

Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat again, this time with Mom in tow and her phone's video camera running. 

Miss Anything? Um, this is probably terrible....taking medication for headaches? Does that count? I want to go ice skating, but I'm too clumsy for that to be a safe sport for me to be doing right now.

Movement: Yes, I know there is lots going on in there but I haven't felt it myself yet. 

Food cravings: I'm pretty much back to my normal eating habits these days. Though I do crave more healthy foods than junk food.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Smells - everything is just heightened.

Have you started to show yet:  Yes. I'm noticing more and more people's eyes wondering towards my abdomen area, sometimes congratulating me and sometimes just being awkward.

Gender: 75% of the time its a boy, 25% its a girl. And will continue to be that way until December 20th.

Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? My belly button used to be ridiculously deep. To the point where Adam was a little bit impressed with it, and I could never see the end of it. The pit of my belly button never saw the light of day! But! Last night, in bed, I saw the bottom of my belly button. And my belly button is about half as deep now. It looks like a normal person's bb. It's way shallow now. So crazy.

Wedding rings on or off? On. This morning my fingers were a bit sausage-y, but I think that's from the salty Thai food I ate last night, not from my pregnancy.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy

Looking forward to: Feeling the baby move. Finding out the gender.