20 Reasons I'm Not Liking Being Pregnant

Yesterday, I got my first dumb comment.  "Wow, you are unusually big for only 4 months!" 

I grimaced at her. "I hear it's rude to tell a pregnant girl how fat she is."

Scrutiny is the reason I haven't yet posted baby bump shots, my weight gain, or anything else about noticeable physical changes.  But today I remembered why I'm doing this blog thing -- most of the reasons are for me -- so I'll never forget the troubling and wonderful details of my pregnancy. 

Here's to all the future "you're so big" rudeness of the next 5 months of my life!! 

My favorite first baby bump shot.  It looks like I'm so pleased with what I'm seeing.  And I'm not.  But I am pleased with what it means.

And now... 

20 Reasons I'm not Liking Being Pregnant

1. Strangers making comments about how big I am.
2. When I sneeze, my belly hurts.  I used to love to sneeze.
3. I'm getting pale.  And I can't fix it. 
4. I’m getting fatter.  (See evidence above)
5. The paleness makes the fat more noticeable.
6. My boobs are too big.  I put on a maternity shirt I bought a few weeks ago.  The buttons at the top barely button now because of my boobs.  
7. The lady at the maternity store told me to buy new underwear in my pre-pregnancy size.  They didn’t fit.  I guess that means my butt is getting bigger too.  Later I went to buy the next size up.  They were too big.
8. I’ve started to exercise, which I’m actually very proud of, but I can’t seem to get my schedule under control.  Sometimes I’m up very early & working all dressed up, and I’m too exhausted once I get done.  So I take a nap then stay up too late.  I think that was 2 in 1.
9. Speaking of work, I need new shirts that fit, but I don’t want to buy them because of what if #4 gets even worse?
10. Also for work I have to wear these boots with heels.  I never liked heels before, but now it’s so much more painful.  Plus I heard that pregnant girls shouldn’t wear heels.  
11. I’ve heard a lot of other things about what pregnant girls shouldn’t wear, eat, drink, put on their skin, put in their hair, etc.  I feel like I need to change everything.
12. I want to have home-cooked food, and I’m okay with cooking it.  I just don’t want to go to the store to get the ingredients.
13. I can't breathe after climbing the three flights of stairs to my apartment, ESPECIALLY carrying groceries.
14. I can’t take naps on Hattie (the couch) anymore because she makes every part of my body ache. 
15. Sometimes (like last night) every part of me aches no matter where I sleep.
16. I’ve got pimples.
17. I definitely have baby brain, pregnant brain, mommy brain, whichever is the proper term.  It’s most noticeable when I’m on the computer.  I usually have around 10 tabs open, researching 10 different things at one time.  Now I can’t even remember why I opened a new tab.
18. I feel sorry for my boyfriend when I get really emotional.  I don't want to be that way.
19. I don't like when I can't do everything by myself.  But I'm having to learn to ask for & accept help.
20. And you know this one --  I have to pee way too much.  On the trip to be considerate to the family members, I didn’t drink anything a few hours before we left.  But I was soooo thirsty!!!  How do you travel long distances with a pregnant girl?

I think that's all.  For now. 

Now I would like to hear about your least favorite parts about being pregnant!  Post a comment & tell me about it! 

Physical Again

I feel like I'm betraying you (and me) when I don't have a picture to post.  I just love pictures so much, & it is so fun to look at them as supplements to reading.  Sorry.

Just wanted to do a quick follow up on the exercising I just began last Friday. 

I couldn't move the next day.  Mostly I was sore in my butt & between my legs.  It was VERY difficult sitting down & getting up from sitting down.   I guess that's good because those are the muscles I'll be using in labor...  Right?  Okay I was a little wrong.  I had to look it up; you also use your back & arms.   There were back & arm exercises in the video; I just didn't feel them the next day because I forgot to buy the resistance band. 

Sunday, I still couldn't move properly, but I decided that I was just being a wimp.  So I worked out again.  Not as difficult this time. 

And then I can't really remember if I did anything yesterday.  I remember trying to research free prenatal workout videos on the web & couldn't find any.  I used to be able to find regular workouts at Exercise TV's website, but nada for pregnant girls.  Or maybe that was Sunday...  Pregnant Brain? 

I definitely did a workout today.  And my fear of quickly tiring of the same video is already coming true.  I'm starting to remember what they're going to say next, regardless of how cute they are. 

Now I will need to mix it up with some more videos.  I got a few recommendations from friends & family members via Facebook.  If you have any I would love for you to comment here! 

Let's Get Physical

I worked out today!!!!!  I slept beautifully, woke up, read some emails, and I worked out! 

Perhaps I should tell you why this is such a milestone for me. 

Exercising and I have never really gotten along. 

My dad was an athlete as a young man - runner, Marines.  My older sister became an athlete.  Well, if you call running marathons athletic. The remaining 4 Kipapa children - pretty much nothing. 

This is what we liked to do instead.  I'm in the purple & pink.  I also had a very keen fashion sense growing up.

I played soccer for a year.  Then I got a job, and I had to quit soccer.  In college I took dance classes.  Loved those & I was the thinnest I've ever been.  After that, though, I have only made a few attempts to regularly exercise.  Mainly to lose weight but also to live a healthy lifestyle.  All attempts were failures...  Until about 4 months ago. 

I realized after studying my mind & body very closely, that I would only do well with personal training or group-oriented activity because of the pressure of working out with someone/lots of people.  Basically, I don't have sufficient motivation to get through it by myself.  Since I couldn't afford personal training (yet), I opted for group classes.  I joined a gym and began exercising almost every day!  I had my eating (& drinking) under control.  I was cooking healthy food, counting calories.

And then I discovered I was pregnant. 

I had to quit my gym because it was an athletic gym, and all of the classes I loved were too hard core for pregnancy.  I could walk on their treadmills, but I could also do that at my free apartment gym. 

I never did.  Anything.

After I regained some of my energy recently at my departure from the first trimester, and after my sister & my midwife & everyone on the internet told me I should start exercising...  I decided I should probably start.  Because it could reduce the chance of complications, it will help me feel better & look better, it will improve the speed of losing weight after birth, and it will help me with delivery.  Click here to read about it.  

So I ordered this Summer Saunders video, based on a recommendation from The Gaga Report. 

It's 50 minutes long, but it's great.  Summer is really cute.  She talks through the whole thing as she advises the pregos to do the same to make sure you're not working too hard.  And she's pregnant, which is so refreshing in a way.  It makes me think, "If she can do it, so can I."  I've seen a few workout videos where the hosts aren't pregnant, and maybe it shouldn't, but it just makes me mad & wonder if it's safe for pregnant girls to do all that stuff. 

I'm also very particular about the hosts in general.  If they are too mean, too monotone, too self-righteous, if they're voices are too deep, too high pitch, too soft, or not soothing enough, I won't be able to stand watching them.  Summer is not any of these; she is perfectly pleasant. 

Now here's the thing, I hate monotony which is why videos have never worked for me in the past.  I hate to watch or do the same thing over & over again.  So even though this video has a different workout for each trimester, I might have to rotate it with something new to keep from going crazy. 

This means I need to discover some more wonderful prenatal workout videos.  Please tell me about your favorites!  

Working out is one of many things that I failed to do properly in the past.  But I believe that since I have another life to worry about, I will begin to succeed in those things that affect that little life. 

And that's why today, I was so excited about working out. 

And why now I'm excited about going to sleep.