16 Weeks Pregnant

16 weeks fell on New Year's Eve, so Happy New Year! It's the baby's birth year now--June 2015 seemed much further away when it was 2014, but now, it's 5 only more months!

We've been having a lovely Christmas with my family in the States. The flight was alright--not really any more uncomfortable than transatlantic flights usually are. My flight socks were brilliant and I walked & stretched as much as possible. It's been so fun to be with my family during the pregnancy. We've been buying maternity clothes (Minnesota has no sales tax on clothing!) and lots of cute things for Baby Bettie.

I've still been feeling great--not too tired or sore anymore and I just feel much more like myself. Going into the second trimester is like recovering from the flu or a stomach bug. It's such a relief to feel better! I'm not 100% back to normal, of course--I still definitely feel pregnant and slightly awkward, and am starting to show, but it's so nice not to have to take naps anymore. My holiday weight gain has been much better than previous years. A trip to the States usually means putting on 8-10 lbs for me, but this year I've only put on 5 lbs! I've been trying to be somewhat careful while still enjoying myself--getting a tall holiday drink instead of a grande at Starbucks, having a burger without fries, snacking on fruit, drinking unsweetened iced tea and water instead of sugary soft drinks, rationing out and sharing the chocolate from my Christmas stocking, etc. As much as I aim to eat healthily for Baby Bettie, I need to get my fix of the American foods and drinks that I miss all year! Besides, my mom ate Taco Tico's taco burgers when she was expecting me, and it didn't do me any harm!

In order to do a research trip over the next couple of weeks, I stayed on in the States and poor Richard had to fly back alone over his birthday. It's the first time we haven't been together on one of our birthdays, so I felt terrible about the timing. It's important to get my publication finished as soon as possible, though, (especially with our new deadline of the baby's arrival) and I'm just so glad we were able to sort something out to make the trip feasible. Next year, I'll make it up to Richard with an awesome birthday celebration with Baby Bettie!