Week #17 Pregnancy Update

Woah. Time is just flying by! I had wanted to post weekly pregnancy updates as well as start writing more foodie posts and posting recipes again...but, obviously that hasn't been happening! Here I am 17 weeks pregnant...three weeks after the last time I posted. I am sitting here drinking rose verbena kombucha and listening to Christmas music on Pandora. It's drizzling rain outside and I'm baking chocolate spice muffins. Our Christmas tree is beautiful and glittery and I'm just about as content and cozy as can be :) 

Here's another little pregnancy survey to get you updated on how my pregnancy is going :)

How far along: 17 weeks

Baby's size: Sweet potato! (About 5.5 in and 5 oz)

Total weight gain: I think around 10 pounds

Stretch marks? Man, I already have some stretch marks from growing too fast when I was younger! I don't have any new ones from pregnancy yet though. If I do get them, they probably won't show up until later, right? I am using my Belly Butter from my dear friend, Tessa, so hopefully I won't get any stretch marks at all :) 

Sleep: Sleep is ok. But, my back has been starting to hurt a lot so sometimes it's hard to get comfortable. And I have to get up and pee a lot! 

Best moment this week: We had an appointment with our midwife and got to listen to the baby's heartbeat! It was magical. Our heartbeats were totally in sync. Mine was deep and slow and the baby's heartbeat was fast and fluttery like a little hummingbird. It was 148 beats per minute. Woody said it sounded like a boy's heartbeat! But, I heard that if it's over 140 beats per minute that means it's usually a girl ;) 

Miss anything? Nope, not really! I guess I could say I miss beer and wine just a *teeny* bit. Whenever Woody is drinking a beer or a glass of wine, I always ask to smell it ;) But, I never take a sip. I'm afraid that if I take a sip I'll want to drink it all! 

Movement: I read that around this time is when I'll be able to start feeling little "flutters" of the baby's movement but, so far I haven't felt anything. Plus, it could just be really hard to tell because they say it often times just feels like gas! It can also be described as "popcorn popping." Well, I can't say I've ever had the sensation of popcorn popping inside me before. So, if I feel anything like that, I'll know for sure it's the baby! 

Food cravings: Yes yes yes. Lots of cravings. All the time. Food has become an even more beautiful experience since I became pregnant. It tastes better than ever before! And what's even more amazing is that for some reason I have been able to eat foods that I was previously allergic/sensitive to (without having any negative reactions.) Being able to eat gluten again has been like reuniting with an old friend ;) A really yummy old friend. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Yes! This was really weird. One morning recently I made some hot lemon water and added a pinch of sea salt. Immediately after drinking it, I felt sick to my stomach and threw up. I don't know why my body totally rejected the lemon water, but apparently it really didn't want it. When I was nauseous all throughout my first trimester, I never once had to throw up. But now a little lemon water makes me sick? What's up with that? 

Gender: It will remain a mystery until the baby is born ;) But until then, it's fun to guess. My guess is girl :) 

Labor signs: Nope. Too early for that.

Symptoms: Growing belly, food cravings, round ligament pain, backache, peeing a lot...but it's not so bad! :) 

Belly button in or out: In

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy :) But, I have random little meltdowns. I feel very emotional and passionate these days so little things can push me over the edge. 

Looking forward to: Hmmm...let's see :) Christmas (and Woody's birthday, which happens to be the same day!) my belly continuing to grow, a potential trip to Hawaii coming up...there are lots of things to look forward to. But, it also feels really good to be present in the moment :)

You can see that my belly is starting to round out a little bit now :) But I still feel like I look more chubby than pregnant! It probably doesn't help that I haven't been working out or being very active lately. A few days a week I may go for a little walk, do some yoga or pop in a little workout DVD but, I have been pretty inconsistent and lazy. And it's starting to show! I'm losing my muscle tone and definition. I know I could be doing more to be active but it has felt SO good to just be super mellow and chill lately. I am trying to just honor where I'm at and accept my body as it goes through it's changes. Creating life is a beautiful thing. I can worry about getting my muscles back later! 

I have been making and eating lots of beautiful food lately but I never seem to take pictures of anything anymore! I want to change that because I really want to start doing more foodie posts again :) I do have one thing I can share with you that I made the other day! 

I made Nutella Cinnamon Rolls with Vanilla Glaze. I followed Averie's recipe except I used refrigerated crescent rolls from Whole Foods which I imagine are a *little* healthier than Pilsbury. And instead of using Nutella, I used a chocolate hazelnut butter from Whole Foods. Aside from those "healthier" substitutions, these rolls are NOT to be considered healthy. They are not vegan or gluten free or sugar free. But, they are DELICIOUS ;) And good for your soul. Since I've been pregnant I have been allowing myself to eat so many treats....and it feels SO good :) 

To balance out the sweet, I do have a picture of a healthy salad I ate recently ;)

Spinach, veggie burger (broken up into pieces) and clementine pieces topped with cottage cheese and a balsamic dressing. 

Even though I have been eating a lot of treats. And bread. And cheese... I have really been trying to balance it out with healthy nutritious meals. I definitely try to get my daily dose of greens and veggies! But, I'm also not trippin' about it either. 

Well, this was fun! I hope you had fun reading ;) Lots of love! Have a beautiful day and a blessed Holiday!