Hi friends! I haven’t done a pregnancy update post since I shared our big news and did a 1st trimester recap/Q&A post (and shared whether the baby is male or female!) a few weeks ago, so I thought it was time for another update! I’ll probably share one every other week moving forward.
I’ll probably stick with the same format/prompts, so if you have anything you’d like me to add to these posts just let me know – except for weight, that is! I’m choosing not to share how much weight I’m gaining/have gained total because I don’t want to trigger any comparison – as a dietitian with my AnneTheRD practice I work often with clients who find weight-related numbers to be very complicated, so I’ve decided this isn’t something I want to share here out of respect for anyone who might find that information stressful for any reason. Everyone is different and so are their bodies – I may gain more or less than those of you who are also pregnant, and that’s okay.
Alright – let’s do this!
16 Week Pregnancy Update
Baby Size: An avocado! Cool – getting bigger! It’s so strange to imagine an avocado-sized baby inside my body right now. I’m loving the Sprout Pregnancy+ app by the way – no annoying preachy stuff or hokey articles, just helpful info and cool science-y updates each week on how the baby is developing! (It’s not a free app but was only a few bucks – totally worth it.)
Symptoms: I’m feeling much better on the nausea front, but I still have days where I feel better than others. Same with tiredness – much better than the 1st trimester but there are still days where I feel more tired than others. Definitely on the upswing vs. a month ago, though, when I could hardly make it through the day without a nap!
Currently Missing: Prosecco, non-cooked sushi (so pumped I discovered that eel rolls are cooked, though!), super runny egg yolks, and long run dates.
Sleep: Ehhh… sleep hasn’t been great for the past couple months – mostly because I have to get up to go to the bathroom once or twice a night now. I feel like I’m more restless in general while sleeping, too, which I’m sure will only get worse!
Cravings and favorite foods: Give me all the carbs! Pasta, rice, crackers (bonus points if cheesy), etc. I’m also still really loving dairy – yogurt, drinkable yogurt, cottage cheese, chocolate milk, regular cheese, etc. – and fruit, the juicier, the better! Tomato-based stuff (pasta sauce, ketchup, chili, etc.) and eggs are also still a safe bet. Earlier this week I was having a rough day food-wise and then got a bit too hungry because Matt and I were at a puppy training class until around 8:30, and I literally ended up eating ravioli for dinner, cold, straight out of the can. Matt was totally grossed out. Lol! At least it was organic ravioli. 😉
Food aversions: Still having a bit of a hard time with heavier meats (pork, beef when not in burger form, etc.) and anything super flavored/spiced or fancy. And dinner is always harder than breakfast/lunch. Keeping it simple is key right now! I’m not really nauseous anymore, but most food still doesn’t seem super appealing, especially later in the day, although some nights are better than others. Hoping this continues to improve!
Exercise: The running has gotten way dialed down… I’m running maybe twice a week max for no more than 3 or 4 miles, and doing a jog/walk approach especially on hilly routes. I had a fun jog/walk this morning with my girl Sokphal – so nice to still get out there with her! It was beautiful out, too!
I have felt a bit better with running the past week or two (maybe it’s the magical 2nd trimester energy return?), which is awesome… we’ll see how it continues to go!
For the most part walking, hiking and strength/boot camp classes are still feeling best right now though. Plus yoga! I’m still doing normal/power yoga for now, but will probably switch to prenatal yoga in a month or two – whenever I feel like it makes sense! For now I’m still just very lightly modifying – no deep twists, not staying on my back or stomach for too long, etc. – and keeping the intensity and heart rate lower than normal. But otherwise keeping up my normal routine of workouts 5 to 6 days a week, just minus the running mileage!
Exercise really helps with my mood (and ability to eat more interesting foods – I’m always able to eat more normal stuff after a workout – and more likely to actually enjoy the food, too) – plus, it’s usually my social time, so I definitely want to keep it up! Chelsea and I hit up a boot camp yesterday morning (at Bodymass Gym via ClassPass) – so fun to see her and chat as always, especially because her wedding is this Saturday!! So exciting! She had just gotten a spray tan the night before if you’re wondering why she’s extra tan. 😉
That was an strength awesome move, btw, if you want something new to try when doing a partner workout! The person down on one knee is working to keep the band stable and right in front of them (vs. letting it go sideways towards the person pulling it). Harder than it looks!
Mood: Pretty stable and regular now that we’ve settled back into more of a routine – early last week I was a little all over the place emotionally because of a combination of things all at once, though.
Last Tuesday (the day right after Memorial Day, aka my first day back at work after Iceland) I was working from home and we had just gotten our puppy back the day before so I busy juggling her, some contractors we had at our place (building a fence for the pup!), and trying to catch up on a week and a half of work and client calls. I was also overtired (jetlag from Iceland + new puppy) which meant I was nauseous which meant I got too hungry because no food sounded good, and I was home all day by myself which I already know doesn’t do me any favors (extrovert!). All that plus pregnancy hormones… yeah, by the time Matt got home I was basically a complete hot mess and started sobbing about how guilty I felt that Zara was in the basement hiding all day thinking we didn’t love her anymore, and how I was lonely because I’d been home alone, and how I was overwhelmed because I didn’t get all my work done because I was taking care of the puppy and dealing with house stuff… etc etc etc. Basically a total pregnancy meltdown. I knew that I was being totally irrational and yet everything just felt so real and sad in that moment!
Matt was really sweet and gave me a hug and was basically like, “Ooooookay. Everything is going to be fine. I’m going to go take Ashe for a nice long walk, and let’s set you up on the couch to watch your favorite Netflix show with some dinner. And we’re going to figure out a dog walker or dog daycare for a couple times a week so you can still work downtown when you want/need to so you don’t feel trapped at home all the time.” Just what I needed and I felt much more myself after a good night’s rest that night. By the way – if you feel like your guy is totally clueless about how to respond when you are upset, I highly recommend reading the book “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus.” Matt and I read it together a few years ago and it’s a bit hokey and repetitive but completely dead on. It really helped us to understand each other and how to respond when either one of us is upset; we used to make a lot of the classic mistakes and make the situation worse because then the other person felt misunderstood and annoyed on top of being upset. Obviously no relationship is perfect but that book helped us a lot so I figure it’s worth mentioning!
Maternity clothes: I have some hand me down maternity clothes from my friends Jenny and Kathleen that I’ve started wearing, and I picked up some maternity shorts and a pair of work pants from Old Navy recently, too. I also bought some looser and longer non-maternity shirts for this in between time. I’m going to buy some new summer dresses soon, too – I have a few that still fit right now but most are too tight or totally unflattering. And as I mentioned yesterday, it’s time for some new workout tights soon – they still fit but the tops of most of mine are compression/tight, which doesn’t feel super fab right now. Workout shorts are still fine, though, for now!
I also rented a dress yesterday to wear to Chelsea’s wedding! Kathleen and I hit up Rent the Runway – I love that they have an actual store in Georgetown (normally everything is done online) – usually I don’t mind the online thing but right now I have no idea what sizes or styles will fit/look good, so trying things on in person was super helpful! They don’t have maternity dresses, but I figured at this point just getting a larger size would work fine, and I was right. I ended up renting this fun Badgley Mishka dress for the weekend. (That’s my “I think we have a winner!” face because I was texting my mom various options while we shopped for her feedback!)
It’s really comfortable and not too tight in the waist, which will be helpful because the bump tends to expand a lot as the day/evening goes on and dinner happens, etc! 🙂 Btw if you want to try Rent the Runway, here’s my affiliate link for $30 off your first dress rental. You just pay a rental fee, wear the dress, and then send it back after! Perfect for special occasion events like weddings where you don’t necessarily need to keep the dress – or for pregnancy when you’re at a random in between size!
Reading: I just finished reading “Expecting Better: Why Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong – and What You Really Need to Know” at the recommendation of my friend Steph, and it was excellent. Hands down my favorite pregnancy book so far. The author is an economist who clearly and in a readable and easily digestible way breaks down all the research around pregnancy hot topics, lays out the evidence, and then leaves you to make your own informed decisions. It’s really well written and so helpful – no more need to Google all those random pregnancy-related questions/fears!
Buying: Nothing baby-related yet besides some larger clothes for me! 🙂 Holding off on this stuff until we get back from our annual family beach trip in late July – after that we’ll switch into gear and start slowly getting the baby’s room ready, registering, etc.
And now, time to get back to work! Matt is working from home with me today because we have our 16 week follow up appointment with the doctor in a bit. Hoping everything goes well!
See you guys back here on Monday with a weekend/wedding recap! 🙂
