If you didn't get a chance to read my first post on things I never knew about pregnancy, click here. If you did, I hope you were entertained! Without further ado, on to more things I've been learning...
Odd way of measurement
You may have noticed a few sarcastic Facebook status updates about the size of my baby or heard me talk about it. Lots of baby sites (babycenter.com, thebump.com, etc.) send you email updates each week telling you helpful and unhelpful information alike about where you are in your pregnancy. They generally start with telling you how much your baby weighs or how long it is, and they do so by giving you a fruit or vegetable to compare it to. For example, I'm 18 weeks, and my baby is as long as a bell pepper. Because that's informative. Ever think of having a whole bell pepper in your stomach? Me neither.
One day I posted something on Facebook about how I was a lime a week or two before but had moved on to a lemon and how that just seemed odd. Aren't those fruits really really similar? My friend Josh commented saying how funny it would be if we measured all things like that. Like going into the hardware store and asking for a shelf that is 10 apples long by 4 oranges wide or something.
While I realize the point is to help you connect with this thing growing inside of you, I can't help but laugh at the various emails. One week it was an apple--weight-wise at 2.5 ounces. Andrew was like, hmm...that must be a pretty small apple. That's no Granny Smith or anything. In the beginning I had a kumquat...never actually seen one of these in person so that was entertaining.
You also have to read what the comparison is for--either length or weight. Just because the baby is as long as a head of kale, doesn't mean it's as wide. Or if it weighs as much as a cantaloupe, that doesn't mean the baby is melon-shaped. I'm sure you're smart enough to know that, but when they send you a picture of a hot pepper, it's hard not to get fixated on that image.
One day I posted something on Facebook about how I was a lime a week or two before but had moved on to a lemon and how that just seemed odd. Aren't those fruits really really similar? My friend Josh commented saying how funny it would be if we measured all things like that. Like going into the hardware store and asking for a shelf that is 10 apples long by 4 oranges wide or something.
While I realize the point is to help you connect with this thing growing inside of you, I can't help but laugh at the various emails. One week it was an apple--weight-wise at 2.5 ounces. Andrew was like, hmm...that must be a pretty small apple. That's no Granny Smith or anything. In the beginning I had a kumquat...never actually seen one of these in person so that was entertaining.
You also have to read what the comparison is for--either length or weight. Just because the baby is as long as a head of kale, doesn't mean it's as wide. Or if it weighs as much as a cantaloupe, that doesn't mean the baby is melon-shaped. I'm sure you're smart enough to know that, but when they send you a picture of a hot pepper, it's hard not to get fixated on that image.
Hunger pains
I knew abut the nausea going into pregnancy, even that "morning sickness" is a misnomer, but I never knew about the excessive hunger. During my first trimester I was nauseated all day and also starving--at the exact same time! Eating was such a joy then!
Since about week 14 or 15 I've been feeling much better and no longer loathe all but five or so foods. But I still get really really hungry. Wicked hungry if you're from New England. It's sort of hard to satisfy that hunger because I run out of things to eat! I only want so many apples or bowls of cereal in a day, and eating extra helpings at dinner doesn't mean I won't be starving an hour later. I was hoping to learn this would get better, but in my week 18 email there was a note about how right now my appetite should be increasing...maybe they just didn't know how much it increased from the get go?? Doubtful.
Since about week 14 or 15 I've been feeling much better and no longer loathe all but five or so foods. But I still get really really hungry. Wicked hungry if you're from New England. It's sort of hard to satisfy that hunger because I run out of things to eat! I only want so many apples or bowls of cereal in a day, and eating extra helpings at dinner doesn't mean I won't be starving an hour later. I was hoping to learn this would get better, but in my week 18 email there was a note about how right now my appetite should be increasing...maybe they just didn't know how much it increased from the get go?? Doubtful.
Here today, gone tomorrow
Finally, I'll share with you the case of the disappearing baby bump. I alluded to it in my first post on things I've learned, but I said way too much about other things before I got to it. Like I said before, I'm not really showing yet. It's weird. I wake up in the morning, and there's not much to see. I go to bed at night, and wow, there's a baby in there! Wake up the next morning, and it's gone again. Andrew and I laugh about it, but I'm now at the point where I'd like a little consistency!
Some days I need to wear my bella band thing that allows me to wear my own jeans unbuttoned. Some days I don't. Or there are times when I don't need it in the morning, but you better you believe I need it at night. I'm really thankful I haven't had to buy maternity clothes yet (the list of must-haves to survive pregnancy on babycenter.com included several outfits that cost $300 and up...because I plan to buy my maternity clothes at Nordstrom), but since I keep expanding and...un-expanding...what happens if I wake up tomorrow and find the only clothes that will fit are my flannel pajama pants? Now that's gonna be a fun trip to Target.
Some days I need to wear my bella band thing that allows me to wear my own jeans unbuttoned. Some days I don't. Or there are times when I don't need it in the morning, but you better you believe I need it at night. I'm really thankful I haven't had to buy maternity clothes yet (the list of must-haves to survive pregnancy on babycenter.com included several outfits that cost $300 and up...because I plan to buy my maternity clothes at Nordstrom), but since I keep expanding and...un-expanding...what happens if I wake up tomorrow and find the only clothes that will fit are my flannel pajama pants? Now that's gonna be a fun trip to Target.
No comments:
Post a Comment