Week 15: The Week When Baby is Pear Sized

15 Weeks Pregnant!  Since I was born on September 15th, I have always liked the number 15, so I thought I would have an extra lucky week.  In some aspects, this was true. My SO started two weeks of vacation off from work, I have been able to cook more without feeling sick and I felt changes in my tummy.

Appearance/Feeling “Blah”

My “bloat belly” turned into more of a baby bump than ever before.  On the other hand, Acid Reflux (hence the need for TUMS) has started and it is not enjoyable.  It keeps me up many nights and sleep disruption is not what I would like while being sick.

Yup, that’s right- a cold has shown up out of nowhere.  One second I was fine, and the next, I couldn’t swallow a bite of food without my throat hurting.   Pair this with the oh-so-attractive pregnancy acne, not having water in our apartment (due to road construction down our street) and what’s the result?  One tired mess of a Mommy-to-be.  I understand all of this is part of pregnancy, so I am not complaining. Having it all happen at once was just a shock to my system.

To try to get rid of my cold…

…I made Garlic Bread that I dipped in Pesto alongside a Hot Honey-Lemon Water drink.   Everything tasted amazing but I could barely even taste the garlic, which was really strong to everyone else.  For dinner I made something with a bit of heat in it to help “sweat it out”- One Pot Potato & Chicken Casserole.  It wasn’t too spicy and it tasted good, but I still woke up feeling sick.

I understand that my immune system isn’t strong while being pregnant but I have been eating so well, that I thought I could avoid being sick.  My Mom made me feel better by saying that I would be in a much worse state if I had not been taking care of myself.  She is right and I would not want to even imagine how THAT would feel.

Other than that, things have been pretty uneventful.  The RLP (Round Ligament Pain) has decreased a bit for now, but I don’t expect that to last long.  It really just comes and goes.

Dizzy spells still occur but not as often and my nightmares have turned into shorter dreams.  I currently weigh 111.6 lbs  (only up .6 since last week but I had been at 114 lb before falling sick).

Cravings & Emotions

My biggest cravings lately would be cheese and anything with garlic.  I’ve been having so much of it, that it may pass soon.  I try to have balanced meals and my desserts consist of fruit smoothies- with the occasional chocolate chip cookies.

While hormones are still making me extra emotional, (Everybody Loves Raymond just made me cry), it is also making my skin break out.  I didn’t have perfect skin before and would have breakouts around my time of the month. But now?  It’s at random times, which I find quite annoying.  When you’re already feeling a bit crummy for so many other reasons, it would be nice to not have to worry about this too.  Oh well!

Trisomy 21 Tests

I went back to the hospital to do the second (and last- yippee!) round of Trisomy 21 blood tests on Thursday.  While I wanted to go earlier in the week, being sick put a hold on things.  Thankfully, I waited for when my throat wasn’t torturing me.  As soon as I walked in, I saw a swarm of people.  It was so busy!

There is something about that “hospital smell”.  Sure, I can handle it for a little while.  And maybe, it’s my pregnancy nose making things harder… but mixed with the different perfumes and smells coming from the several other people waiting?  It made me sick to my stomach.

After I was registered, we went to the cafeteria to get a snack of grapes, cheese & water which helped my nausea.  Behind the cash, was this sign:

It was like a message to me, saying “You’re visiting the hospital for a couple of hours.  You are not admitted here for an indefinite amount of time or visiting a loved one.  You are healthy, your baby is healthy; you are incredibly lucky.”

During the last 30 minutes of waiting…

a really sweet, elderly francophone woman sat next to me.  I had been waiting for 2 hours and my number was 225.  When the lady asked me questions about how the whole process worked, I discovered her number was 310.  I felt horrible because I knew she had at least an hour of waiting ahead of her.

She asked where she needed to go, where the washrooms were etc and I did my best to help.  If I hadn’t already been there for two hours and did not have to worry about paying an arm and a leg for parking, I would have wanted to wait with her until she was done.

She was overheating, so I helped her take her sweater off and when my number was called, I told her good luck & to have a great day.  She looked so appreciative and it was a really sweet moment.  I just wish she had someone with her to help her through the rest of her time there.  I won’t forget about her even though we were talking for just a few brief moments.  It’s funny how a complete stranger can leave such an impact on you.

Spring! The Weather is Changing, (Just like my belly)

The weather in Montreal is FINALLY turning into warmer Spring weather which means hello Vitamin D and fewer layers (Goodbye Winter Coat!!!  Thank Goodness).  We enjoyed our weekend by spending a lot of time in the sun (sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen!) and the baby had its first ice cream cone of the Summer.  It was a great weekend.

A couple of highlights were when:

1) my SO hugged me and said “Oh wow… your stomach is so hard- I really feel it now.  There’s a baby in there.” and

2) My stepson stood next to me while we were shopping and I heard him gasp and say “Look!” I didn’t see anything interesting around us but when I turned to ask him what I was supposed to be looking at, he was pointing at my stomach.  I said, “It’s getting bigger huh?” “YEAH!!!” he said, with a huge smile on his face.  It was great.

I might try posting photos of the outfits I wear during the hotter months to accommodate this growing baby bump. Perhaps, with details of which Maternity store each article was purchased from if applicable.  Maybe I’ll even start HAVING a sense of fashion now that I’m pregnant- we’ll see.

Click here to see the first Maternity Outfit of the Day!

Until next time, thank you so much for reading and for leaving comments!  I love reading them all and I really appreciate them.  See you in Week 16!