20 weeks

12 pounds

I have to be honest - I've gained some weight. I'm guessing about 12 pounds. At 20 weeks maybe it should be little less, but I'm taking care of myself. I eat right (most of the time) and I'm staying pretty active. I drink tons of water and take prenatal vitamins and fish oil every night.

I find this whole pregnancy weight gain thing pretty fascinating. I spent most of my life cursing the scale if the numbers on it start going up and patting myself on the back if they start going down. Now that I'm pregnant, my relationship with the scale has completely changed. I see the numbers getting higher and higher and I think...okay...that is...fine. I haven't totally accepted this shift and I don't know if I ever will, but it's gotten better. I feel a whole lot less guilty about my indulgences. This past weekend I happily devoured my lunch of a crepe with strawberries, bananas and Nutella. It was divine. The next day I wasn't embarrassed about ordering dessert after breakfast. How am I supposed to leave Auntie Em's without eating a mini red velvet cupcake? As my brother-in-law would say: I mean come on. That's not to say that I don't look in the mirror sometimes and get frustrated with my growing waistline. It's big and it's going to get bigger. Okay...that is...fine.

So, I'm trying to embrace this short chapter in my life and enjoy it for what it is. Sunny is healthy and getting bigger everyday and that's a good thing. She also clearly wants the occasional delicious treat and who am I to deny her?

Rhinitis of Pregnancy

Sounds scary, doesn't it? It's not. It's just a fancy name for the hardcore sniffles some lucky women get when their pregnant. I am one such lucky woman. Supposedly, higher amounts of estrogen during pregnancy can contribute to swelling in the mucous membranes lining the nose, which causes my body to make more mucus. It gets even better - the amount of blood in my body is increasing and my blood vessels are expanding, which has lead to swollen nasal membranes as well. The bottom line is that I am constantly blowing my nose and it's not pretty. It's bloody.

Since I can't take medications, I decided to try out an alternative solution to relieving my congestion. Last night I attempted to use a netipot. I did it on one nostril and it was okay. I choked a little, but I've choked worse. The other nostril wasn't as cooperative. I thought it went okay, but after I was finished I leaned over to put lotion on my legs and water started coming out of my nose. Like, a lot of water. Like, so much that as I was bent over in disbelief, Chico stood under me in awe as the mystery fluid rained down onto the bathroom mat. Needless to say, my sinuses are still bothering me today. I'm sure it doesn't help that it's 90 in Los Angeles and AFI has no air conditioning. I'm in for a long, hot summer.

Half way

It seems so long ago. My period was late, but it didn't really occur to me that I might be pregnant - I just assumed my cycle was off. I had to go to the mall to buy stockings for the AFI Awards that were next morning. There's a Target there, so I stopped by and picked up a test. By that time I was five days late. I went home, took the test, saw the two lines right away and went into complete shock. Brandon was excited. I didn't know what to think. I didn't have time to think, though - I had a red carpet to work the next morning! Talk about a distraction. It's hard to think about anything when George Clooney walks by (though, I must say, he didn't look terribly awesome). When the day was over I felt much calmer and, although still a bit overwhelmed, I was happy. Now it's 18 weeks later, I am 20 weeks pregnant and I couldn't be more excited. I'm also anxious, but it's my nature and it's warranted. I am bringing a new life into this world that Brandon and I are responsible for. Is there a more important, more challenging and more rewarding job than that?

By the way, I saw George again on the red carpet at the Leatherheads premiere and he looked much more handsome and dreamy.

Tight squeeze

My pants don't fit anymore. This morning I tried on a pair that I swear fit last week, but today they looked painted on. Not a good look for a pregnant lady. So, I found a skirt I bought at H&M last year that I've never worn before and it was perfect! It's a made of soft cotton and features a lovely elastic waistband. Sexy. I've worn leggings the past two days and I was super comfortable in those, too. Looks like I'll be going clothes shopping this weekend. I may treat myself to a pair of fancy maternity jeans, but I will definitely be buying more leggings and flowy tops. And underpants.

All good news

We had a great appointment with the OB today. The doctor did another ultrasound and apparently I haven't felt any movement because my placenta is in front of the baby. Darned placenta! The baby looks good, though, and from the looks of it she's a girl! We've seen no evidence of boy parts so far, but we have yet another appointment with yet another doctor the first week in May who should be able to tell us for sure. They'll also be able to do lots of fancy stuff like look at her organs.

I've decided to be pretty candid in this blog, so I'll say it - I've had some issues with my bowels the last few weeks and it suuuucks. The doctor tells me that there is less room in my belly now so things are crammed in, which is making it harder for my bowels to do their job. I've been told to drink at least 64 ounces of water a day, have 4 Tablespoons of flax a day AND eat prunes. I had some interesting results today. I think I'll hold back on the prunes a bit.

19 weeks and finally blogging...

Today I am officially 19 weeks pregnant - we're almost half way! My official due date is September 15. It looks like Sunny will be a Virgo, which some people seem kind of concerned about. I don't really know why. I'm pretty sure she'll be perfect. We have our next OB appointment on Tuesday where we hope to get a better look at Sunny's...parts. So far, all of the doctors have guessed that she's a girl, but I wasn't that far along during those ultrasounds so I wouldn't be terribly surprised to find out that she's a he. I am so excited to know for sure.

So far things have been going really well. The morning sickness and fatigue are gone and now sometimes I'm surprised when I look down - ah, yes. There's a baby in there. I get the occasional headache and heartburn, but I figure it comes with the territory. I haven't had any weird cravings in a long time. Not since I was nauseous and drank pickle juice poured on a dinner plate. I do loves me some fruit.

Brandon and I went on a hike in Griffith Park with our friends Molly and Owen this afternoon. It was a beautiful day and long walk. I came home and crashed...and then ate all of the strawberries and an orange we bought at the farmer's market this morning. We bought some great veggies and herbs to make dinner tonight, but I'm just too exhausted to cook. Tomorrow maybe. I can't believe it's Sunday night. Blech.