15 Weeks

For weeks when I get ready in the mornings I have been saying, "I don't know how many more days I will fit into these pants."  Chris typically asks with a smile, "days or hours?"   I know he is only kidding, but yesterday it was literally hours.  I went to work feeling comfortableish in my pants and by lunch had placed a desperate order for some maternity pants and put a ponytail holder in my button hook to give a little extra breathing room.  Lets just say that I didn't hesitate to expedite the shipping on my new pants and took to wearing a comfortable knit dress today.

I thought that my first outsider could tell that I was pregnant last week because when I ordered my sandwich from the nice lady at the deli downstairs at work, she smiled and winked at me and said "extra pickle?"  I definitely took her up on the extra pickle and was pleased that someone could tell I was pregnant and not just packing on the pounds. I later found out that my friend had let her know the news just before I came in to order my sandwich.  In any event, the belly is growing quickly and I am sure it is a matter of hours, not days, before I really start showing to the outside world. 

I had another Dr. appointment last week and things were looking good.   The baby's heart rate was 147, which according to the wives tale would mean we are having a girl.  We will find out at week 20 on March 15th.  I cannot wait! As far as pregnancy symptoms go, I am still a little tired and feel like a dumbed down version of myself, but other than that things have been pretty darn easy for me thus far.  If I had to say I have a craving, it is citrus all the way.  I love orange juice, strawberries, lemonade, and kiwis.  According to wives tales, this is also a sign that we are having a girl.  I don't believe any of the wives tales stuff, but it is still fun to read about.

My Dr. also threw me a curve ball by explaining that studies say you should target weight gain between 25-30 pounds.  This seemed like a reasonable although unlikely target for me.   He however went on to say that those studies are global and account for malnourished women and since I am not malnourished and am of a small stature, I should really be aiming for a 15-20 pound weight gain.  That seemed a bit unreasonable and an impossible target.  So I laughed, kind of impolitely told him that was not going to happen and then went on my way being sure to grab some Valentine's candy on my way out the door. 

Speaking of Valentine's day, our cup runneth over with love this year.  We spent a quiet little evening at home with our traditional Cheesecake Factory take out for dinner and talked about how much we love this little baby already.