15 Weeks

*Is it just me, or is my belly looking kind of pointy here?

How far along: 15 weeks
Weight gain: I have an appointment on Friday morning, so I will know officially how much I have gained then.  I would guess I'm still up 2 pounds or so.
How big is baby: The baby is the size of an apple, and about 4.5 to 5 inches long.
Maternity clothes: I'm still in mostly non-maternity clothes.  In my previous post, I talked about the awesome finds I found at Forever 21 last week.  Also, my mom and I are going to be doing some maternity clothes shopping this weekend to pick up some items that are likely to come in handy in the next few weeks!
Stretch marks: No
Sleep: Awesome
Best moment this week: I had a great week.  I think my favorite moments were teaching yoga on Saturday morning and then attending an amazing, 2.5 hour yoga class with one of my favorite teachers, Catherine Munro.  I did my first inversion (going upside down into a headstand) since becoming pregnant.  She shed some light on how I can safely continue to practice yoga while pregnant, and made me realize that I actually do not have too change much at all. 
Movement: No
Food Cravings: I'm really into the various salads from the QFC deli this week: Perfect Protein Salad, Fava & Garbanzo Bean Salad, Pesto Pasta and Pea Salad, etc.
Labor Signs: No
Belly button in or out: In
What I miss: Nothing at the moment.  Life is good! 

Pregnancy Fashion

When I first realized I would be in my 3rd trimester during the "hot" Seattle summer months, I have to admit - I was less than thrilled.  First, I immediately "called it" that Greg would have to give in and buy an air conditioning unit for our bedroom.  Then, I started to think about the fact that I would have to enjoy virgin cocktails on our beautiful summer days.  Thumbs down.  My world was ending.  In addition to this, I assumed finding something comfortable to wear that would keep me looking somewhat pulled-together, (and not a swollen/sweaty mess) would be a bit of a challenge.

HOWEVER - my friend Rachel introduced me to the Dear Baby Blog - written by a gal my age, living in North Carolina.  She is currently pregnant with her second baby and has the most adorable fashion sense.  She posts her daily work attire on her blog and I have shamelessly decided to copy her style.

I made a trip to Forever 21 over the weekend, (or as my hilarious coworker Linda calls it, "Forever 42"), and scored a few cheap items that I plan to incorporate into my spring/summer wardrobe!  The items consisted mostly of long skirts (no more than $10 each) that I can wear up and over my growing bump and cheap colorful tank tops (for $3 a piece).

Below is a preview - (ignore my less than excited face - clearly I do not posses the ability to pose in a mirror, take my own picture and smile at the same time). 

I have a ways to go to perfect my new "pregnancy" look, but at least I have something to look forward to in the warmer months ;)

Brunch!

Last weekend, a few of the Chi-O gals got together at Azul's to catch up over brunch!  The food was delicious and it was fun to hear about what everyone has been up to lately!  Hope to do it again soon, ladies!

(I'm stealing these pictures from Becca's blog - thanks Becca)! 

Brenna, Becca and Amanda

Me, Becca and Brenna

Maureen, Maeve, Rachel and Me

Cute Baby Maeve - 2 months old now!

14 Weeks!

How far along: 14 weeks
Weight gain: According to my home scale, I'm up 2 lbs.
How big is baby: The baby is the size of a lemon, about 4 inches long.
Maternity clothes: I do have a couple maternity shirts that I'm incorporating into my rotation, but they are not a necessity quite yet...and the BellaBand is helpful for some of my tighter, less forgiving, pants.  As you can see from the picture above, I definitely am showing now (seemingly overnight!) but most of my clothes hide it!
Stretch marks: No
Sleep: Still great
Best moment this week: I was able to spend time with so many of my fantastic friends this week, which was awesome.  I also made time for yoga 5 out of 7 days - feeling good!
Movement: No
Food Cravings: Coffee is starting to sound good again, so I have been enjoying (mostly) decaf in the mornings lately.  I do allow some caffeine here and there, but only if I am really needing it.
Labor Signs: No
Belly button in or out: In
What I miss: Wine, beer, mimosas, margaritas, pear martinis....you get the idea.  I also miss shopping for clothes.  Nordstroms at the Alderwood Mall just did a big remodel and they now carry a lot more clothes - all of them adorable.  Instead of buying clothes that won't fit me in a few months, I bought a lip gloss and got a haircut/color.  :)

Friday Night In

On Friday after work, Greg and I had plans to just sit at home and watch some March Madness.  I signed on to my gmail account, to see that Rachel was still hard at work at Tippr, so we decided to see if Rachel and Peter had plans to watch the UW game.  Less than an hour later, there is Peter at the door - arms full of pizza and beer :) 

Rachel and Peter live about a block away from us, so it's always nice that we can make these impromptu plans and have them work out so well.  We had a great time watching the Huskies win with you two!  XOXO.

I Heart Food.

Something interesting happened this week.  The stars (and my social calendar) aligned, and I had the pleasure of having one amazing dinner after another, every single night this week!  While I try to make plans to go out or make a nice dinner at least a couple evenings out of the week, it seems that lately my energy to do either has been lacking.  I will end up with a frozen pizza, a randomly tossed together salad, a PB&J, or a box of macaroni and cheese and just call it a day.

I had to share my fantastic week o' dinners, as I'm pretty sure this will not quite be happening on the regular post-baby. 

Monday, 3/14: Around lunch time, I had the glorious idea (yes, I'm taking credit for it) to have breakfast for dinner!  I realize this is not totally a unique idea for some, but it's not something that Greg and I have done in our 6+ years together, so I'm feeling pretty excited about it.  Greg (as the main chef in our household) made us scrambled eggs, chicken sausage, hash browns and biscuits - and as we were eating, we kept exclaiming, "this is soooooo good".  We agreed that this is something we will be incorporating into our regular rotation!

Tuesday, 3/15: Met up with my dear friend Mark (one of my yoga buddies) for a meal at the Bonefish Grill.  We laughed as we were ordering, because it was clear that I was probably hungrier than I have been in the past when we have eaten together.  "Do you want to add a salad" - "yes".  "Shall I bring bread" - "YES".  I had tilapia, broccoli and a chickpea salad for my main meal.  I absolutely love this restaurant.  While the food was great, the company was even better!  All throughout our yoga training last year, Mark and I (with our friends Susan and Michelle) spent 200 hours together in addition to our carpooling every morning and evening before class.  I sure miss all of that quality time with them.  Mark is about to embark on a Ashtanga Yoga journey across the US for at least the next six months, (jealous) so we got to catch up and discuss his upcoming travels!

Wednesday, 3/16: After work, I drove up to my friend Stephanie's house where I was treated to another home cooked meal!  She made shrimp, crab and mushroom fettuccine, a garden salad and bread sticks.  It was so delicious!  Steph and I have been friends since middle school and I absolutely cherish our time spent together.  We hung out all evening, talking about pregnancy, raising kids, work, working out, family, etc.  There is nothing like a girls' night in!  Thanks again, Steph!

Thursday, 3/17:  Ah, St. Patty's Day.  You know, the day designed for drinking beer?  Greg was happy to have a designated driver for the evening, (and for many more evenings to come it seems).  Last year we went to our friends Dan, Jeannette and Laryd's for my first ever experience with Corned Beef and Cabbage - and after that, we knew we wanted to get ourselves on the invite list for every future St. Patty's Day dinner!  Jeannette is an AMAZING cook.  Greg and I always gobble up everything she makes when we are treated to dinner at their house.  Greg even ate cabbage!  We had a fun time - them drinking "Black and Tans" - and enjoying a great meal with even greater friends :)

Friday, 3/18 - tonight: To round out the week of great meals - the All American Breakfast (for dinner), Seafood, Italian-Seafood, and Irish Fare, Greg and I are going to grab some Mexican food tonight!  Our local spot, El Parasio has some halibut chipotle tacos that are to die for.  We get them every time. 

It's a really good thing that I have stepped up my yoga practice this week, and that I have both yoga and zumba lined up for the weekend. :)

Oh, and PS - I have brunch plans tomorrow - holla!

What Has Been Keeping Me (Semi)-Sane - YOGA.

Oh yoga.  How I love thee.  For anyone who knows me, you know that yoga is my favorite hobby and quite a passion of mine.  Up until about a month ago, I had been teaching 2 classes a week at Hot Yoga of Mill Creek, a studio I have been teaching at for about two and a half years. 

Unfortunately, due to the utter exhaustion I was feeling during my first trimester, (and continue to experience at a lesser degree now), plus the way the heat in the studio was making me feel (dizzy/nauseous), I just had to take myself off the schedule for awhile until it made sense to go back.  Working full time was just about all I wanted to commit myself to at the time. 

Being away from my students and that environment was more difficult for me to adjust to than I had originally thought!  While I appreciated the extra downtime and sleep it allowed, something very important in my life was missing!  A few weeks ago, I started teaching again at Bindi Yoga, a studio that my great friends Susan and Michelle opened up.  I am only teaching one class a week (Saturdays at 10 am - come see me!) and the class is in a studio with much less heat - and let me tell you , it feels GREAT to be back!

Although I am only 13.5 weeks into my pregnancy, I can already tell the benefits I am and will receive from yoga will be huge.  When I take the time to do my own practice - whether asana (physical postures) or just sitting to meditate for a few minutes - the difference in my mood and how I feel physically is drastically different!  Additionally, I have not yet experienced ANY of the aches and pains that some of my friends have told me they experienced in the first/second trimester.  Perhaps I'm lucky - but I honestly think that my history of yoga before and during pregnancy is playing a huge role in how I'm feeling.

So if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, or if you are not interested in pregnancy whatsoever - I encourage all of you to try to make some amount of time for some deep breaths and some downward dogs.

Namaste!