Monday ramblings

A fresh new week before me once again . . . this Monday is a usual Monday. Gym class, meal planning, grocery shopping, and time at the Pregnancy Center. I think I am becoming more and more a creature of habit and routine. I never used to be this way because working night shift, my schedule and waking hours were never consistent, therefore neither was my time off. Now that I work all day shifts and have a relatively set schedule, I have come to like the predictability and routines of my week.

The only problem I've noticed with this is that somehow in the process I have become much more of a planner and a lot less spontaneous. Maybe that's all a part of getting older or becoming a mother, I'm not really sure. Either way, I prefer the way things are now to the way they were then, that's for sure.

I will be a happy, healthy 19 weeks (almost starting month 6) tomorrow! I cannot believe we are almost halfway to our due date. Time has gone by quickly and I'm so grateful that this has been a dream pregnancy so far. I have officially gained my first 2 pounds, which from what I hear is something to be very proud of at this point. I won't get over-excited about that though, because June is a long way away and there is a lot of growth yet to happen. It's absolutely amazing.

At the gym on Thursday a girl in the class commented on my "baby belly". It was the first time a total stranger acknowledged it as such, so I must officially look pregnant to people who don't know for sure, at least in gym clothes.

Now I'm going to complain a little. I must be carrying this baby high because despite this bump, I can still wear all my pre-pregnancy pants. I haven't even had to officially use the rubber band like I anticipated. I'm sure I'll regret saying this, but I'm ready to be out of this in-between size. My regular stuff is getting snug, but the few maternity things I own are still HUGE! The most frustrating part (I think mostly girls read this blog anyway). . . . is the top portion of me. They have swollen to a new, not-so-pretty size. Shirts that would fit my belly just fine, don't fit up top. My bras now have lumps that come out in different directions and I can't find a reasonably priced bra to tuck them into that is still small enough in circumference. It makes me feel disgusting. I think the worst part is knowing it's only going to get worse when breastfeeding begins. Small bottom, huge top . . . makes is hard to feel very cute when I'm getting dressed to go out somewhere. Part of me embraces this changing body because I have the God given honor of growing a baby! In fact, I'd say I embrace and love it 90% of the time. It's the 10% of the time spent getting dressed that I feel unattractive. Fortunately I've been blessed with a supportive husband who knows what to say, but sometimes more importantly, what not so say. I have forewarned him that I would appreciate certain words be absent from his vocabulary for the next . . . forever. Fat, huge, wide, whoa, how much?, etc . . . . you get the idea. Hopefully he remembers.

On a much more fun baby note, we went looking at cribs after church on Sunday. We have an idea of the set we want to get, but we will look around a little more to be sure. Anytime I get to go in the baby store this feeling comes over me and I feel like I could stay there all day and touch all of the soft things, pretend and play, dream, imagine, test and compare. Matt is usually ready to go long before that though and I understand, I go a little crazy in Lowes and Best Buy myself.