Week 17

Hi! So apparently you are the size of a pomegranate today and you are building baby fat and teeth and your heart is beating at around 150 beats per minute! Our next doctor's appointment is next Tuesday, they are going to take some blood for additional tests and best part - we get to hear your heartbeat on the Doppler!

So I've definitely felt a lot of anxiety this week, and reading up on late term miscarriages is not the smartest thing for me to do, but of course I'm doing it! A friend who is five weeks more pregnant than me suggested I get the book "Expecting Better" which is written by an economist and less fear-based than all those other books that dictate what you can't do - literally, that's all I think about, what I can't do, what I can't eat, etc. That arrives in the mail today so I'm glad about that. I'm also going back to meditation to calm the nerves as well.

The gym has been great. I didn't work out really at all last week when I was in NJ visiting Nanni and Nanna, though I tried to use this prenatal pregnancy workout app which was just ridiculous, I tell you. Plus my cold got worse when I was in NJ so I just relaxed...a lot. So being back at it in the gym has been really awesome. And...on Tuesday we had a New Year's workout that involved some running and I was super nervous to do (before I was pregnant with you I fell while running so that was traumatizing and I told myself never to run while you were in my belly) but it felt super amazing to run! I was super duper slow, but I think I'm going to add a run/walk into my routine during the week.

Yesterday was clean and jerks at the gym. I've been getting nervous before those workouts, but what helps is following all these badass women on Insta who are continuing to lift heavy weights and perform these exercises and that I've been working out consistently throughout my pregnancy and have never (knock on wood) felt bad while doing so. Yesterday was the same, though toward the end of my sets, I felt a ton of round ligament pain (this strange pain that happens on the sides of the abdomen as the result of my growing uterus) but nothing at all debilitating. I do wonder what's going on with you in there while I'm doing all the exercise, but I trust you are doing great!

One new thing I ordered is this belly wrap thingie. It's super expensive everywhere (about $70), but I found it brand new on eBay for $49! I will be using it when the belly gets bigger while walking and working out, for added support.

That's all for now, here is to week 18!