Pumpkin: Weeks 6 & 7

October 20th through November 2nd

I'm pleased to introduce to you, our little lentil-sized Pumpkin. Really, you can mostly just make out the yolk sac, but there he or she is, nonetheless! We didn't hear a heartbeat, but the doctors could see it flickering.

How I Look
Pretty much the same. I look normal in the morning and bloated in the evening. My pants are tight after eating and uncomfortable by the end of the day. I'm also still experiencing growth and tenderness with the girls. I had to start wearing my sports bra around because we do so much walking and it was killing me! Despite my increasing size up top, I think I lost some weight during week seven, from all the walking we did around Rome.

How I Feel
I'm still feeling pretty good overall. Week six was a haul with lots of obligations and preparations for our big trip which started Friday of that week. Flying was difficult, even with compression stockings I was still pretty swollen and had to get up and walk around a lot, and of course, visit the bathroom more often. I didn't experience any nausea these weeks.
The most noticeable change has been the extremes of what I typically feel. If I'm usually tired at around eleven, I'm exhausted at eleven (but not necessarily before). If I'm usually full after eating, I'm stuffed after eating the same amount of food. I'm also usually a little sleepy after eating but now I'm prying my eyelids open after a meal. If a smell is generally unpleasant to me, now it is the most disgusting thing I've ever smelled. If I see something that sounds good to eat, I usually want it but can talk myself in or out of eating it based on logic, now I just desperately crave it until I have it. Of course, I'm still experiencing the other symptoms of constant gas and bloating. It isn't pretty.. but it is what it is. Both of those symptoms are 50% better when I work out every day, at least for 30 minutes.

What I feel
I feel some pains now and then, especially when I over do it with walking and carrying a heavy backpack/camera around a foreign city. Specifically, lower back pain and what I think is called round ligament pain, sharp pains in the very low pelvic region. Other than those occasional pains, I could wake up and forget that I'm even pregnant.

What We're Doing
I met with my gynecologist on Thursday of week six, just before we left, so that we could hopefully get a sneak peak at Pumpkin - which we did :) (our midwife doesn't do ultrasounds until 20 weeks and we didn't want to wait that long). It was great to see little P and to have that confirmation that things are going well. Otherwise, I'm just plugging away at daily walking (not a problem on vacation) and taking those prenatal vitamins and fish oil. While traveling, Blake has been fantastic about helping me remember to take them. I'm glad that I have them too, because I'm not always able to find well balanced meals on vacation.

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