Week 8, Day 6

Before I start giving regular updates I thought I'd fill you in on common pregnancy symptoms and how I compare.

 Delay of Menstruation - Occurs during entire pregnancy.
- This one's kind of a no-brainer. Yes I'm having this symptom, although some people also have light spotting, which fortunately I haven't.
 Nausea and Vomitting - Appears 2 to 8 weeks after conception.
- This is the one I was afraid of, but fortunately seems to have passed me by. I'm one of the lucky few that may not have any morning sickness. Morning sickness affects 50-80% of pregnant women. It usually disappears after the first trimester, so even if I get it later, I'll probably only suffer for a couple of weeks.
 Tender or Swollen Breasts - Appears 1 to 2 weeks after conception.
- This is definitely one of mine. It started with just nipple tenderness and then graduated to breast tenderness. I've also been growing in that area.
 Feeling Exhausted or Sleepy - Appears 1 to 6 weeks after conception.
- This is probably the most pronounced (except maybe the breast changes) symptom I have. I've been super tired and just wiped out. I've been skipping the gym and going to bed early, things I rarely did before.
 Backaches - During entire pregnancy
- I haven't had this one yet, but I'm guessing as I gain more weight that could change.
 Frequent Headaches - Sometimes during entire pregnancy.
- I've had a couple of headaches, but nothing I would call frequent. I'm so glad I had my sinus surgery first, because my migraines have decreased in frequency. I've only had one since recovering from my surgery, so that's a success. The other headaches I've had have been relatively minor and have responded to Tylenol. Good thing because my Imitrex is not approved for pregnancy.
 Food Cravings or Aversions - During entire pregnancy.
- I haven't really had any cravings…at least nothing weird. I do seem to always want sandwiches for lunch. Like Einstein's Bagel sandwiches, or Subway or anything else. Not burgers, but lunchmeat. I do have a real life food aversion. I can no longer eat chicken. Actually, the only time I've had any nausea was when I smell, look at, or think about eating chicken. The KFC commercial really disturbs me.
 Darkening of Areola - 1 to 14 weeks after conception, then throughout pregnancy.
- Haven't really noticed this, but it may be a subtle change.
 Fetal Movements - 16-22 weeks after conception.
- Still too early for this, but I'm looking forward to it!
 Frequent Urination - 6 to 8 weeks after conception
- This one should be kicking in soon. Haven't really noticed it yet, but I spend a lot of time in the bathroom already, since I tend to drink a lot of water.

So, that's the symptom list. Another frequently asked question is about diet and exercise. I'm a little sad to say that this has changed radically for me. As most people know I had been following the Body For Life (BFL) diet and exercise plan for the past 6 months or so. On the plan I lost 9 pounds and 2 clothing sizes. I was eating 6 small healthy meals daily and doing some time of exercise (either cardio or weight-lifting) 6 days a week. Well, the first thing that started to slip was the exercise. I'm blaming it on first-trimester fatigue, but I have been majorly neglecting the gym. I need to limit/modify my cardio anyway, so I don't get my heartrate up too high, but I can barely force myself to stand and make dinner out of work, so a run on the treadmill is the last thing on my mind. I did have the trainer at the gym set up a pregnancy friendly lifting workout for me though, so whenever I get a little energy back I plan to lift and do a little cardio on Monday, Thursday, and Saturdays. I'm also going to try to keep going to the step aerobics class on Tuesday's cause it's so much fun.

As far as the diet goes, I'm still eating several times a day, just not the same foods. Eric won't let me drink my protein shakes until I see the doctor and she ok's it, so that changed 2 of my meals. Instead of an apple and shake on the way to work, I eat an apple and a granola bar. My afternoon snack changed from an orange and a shake, to a bag of low-fat popcorn. Our lunches and dinners have changed a bit too, since I won't make chicken now, we're eating a lot more beef and eating a lot more of the old, easy standby recipes that aren't BFL authorized like spaghetti and beef stroganoff. I am trying to reach for healthier snacks. After dinner when I should have cottage cheese and yogurt, I don't, but I do try to reach for apples or grapes, rather than loading the freezer with ice cream. While I'm a little sad that I haven't done better, it's really hard to stay motivated to eat right, when the result is weight gain and a big belly rather than weight loss and 6-pack abs. I've kind of decided to enjoy it now, and afterwards, when I need to lose the weight and get bikini ready again, BFL will once again be my friend.