"What To Expect When You're Expecting" Didn't Tell Me About This

Here's a pregnancy symptom I totally wasn't expecting: dry eyes. And I'm kind of really bummed about it.

I have pretty bad eyesight. I have been wearing some form of corrective lenses since I was in Kindergarten. I was SO HAPPY when I finally got contacts in.....9th grade? I was one step closer to not looking like a typical nerd: short, skinny, glasses, braces, and acne.

I've been wearing contacts without trouble pretty much all day every day for years and years. And then suddenly, a few weeks ago, my eyes decided that they weren't so happy with the contacts. I thought maybe it was just a temporary thing, so I tried to wear my glasses for a few days, and give my eyes a rest.

It didn't work. After more than a week of strictly wearing my glasses, I put in my contacts this morning, and not even four hours later, my eyes are starting to get red and slightly irritated. I HATE wearing my glasses. I can't see quite as well with glasses as I do with contacts, they slide down my face all the time, which means I can't go to the gym for a workout.

So it looks like today will be another non-gym day for me. I'm going to go straight home and take care of my poor eyes. I figured that with a little planning, I can still go to the gym. I will have to bring my contact stuff with me when I plan on working out. I'll wear my glasses all day, and then put in my contacts right before the workout, and take them out right after.

So it's not like I'm totally doomed. There are easy solutions to my problem. I just really really really really don't like wearing glasses!

Mostly Baby Update, and a Few Pictures

Well, I've edited my pictures, and hopefully this week I'll find some time to put them up. Prepare to be inundated. I realized that I didn't take that many pictures during our trip, but I also have some from a few weeks back that I took for the purpose of sharing them here. You can look forward to a few videos as well.

I realized that even though I gave a pregnancy update not too long ago, I haven't actually done a baby update. At 17 weeks, our baby is about the size of my open hand (around 5 inches). He/She can suck and swallow now, can hear my voice, and can hear other noises on the outside too! But only if they are loud noises. So unless Art wants to shout at my belly (which I would prefer he didn't do), baby can't hear his/her daddy yet. The eyelids are still sealed shut, but the eyes are working, and can perceive light (except I'm always wearing several layers, so baby is still seeing mostly darkness).

Baby is also moving around now, kicking and punching and rolling, but I still can't feel it yet. I keep wondering if those little gurgles in my belly are from my food or from our little one. But I'm trying not to get too worked up, because I just don't know for sure. I can't wait for the moment when I know it's the baby!

What To Expect says that I'll start experiencing back pain, and I see that I'm right on schedule, except it's not my back. It's my hips. My hips are so sore! My body is obviously trying to make more room, and boy, can I feel it! Especially at night, when I'm trying to sleep on one side or the other.

Thank God for Facebook! I updated my status, asking any and all mothers if they had some advice for me, and someone suggested putting a pillow at my back or tummy, so that I'm sleeping at an angle. Not directly on my back or stomach, but also not directly on my hips. The advice was perfect, and I slept so much better.

I'm also thanking God that I haven't experienced any heartburn yet. I was told that I would not get through my pregnancy without having some, but so far, so good. I'm glad, because I don't want to be popping Tums left and right. You gotta be careful with antacids, because the stomach is supposed to be acidic. If you try to make it more basic, the stomach corrects it by producing more acid, which will make you pop another Tums, and thus begins a vicious cycle.

I think I'm going to start researching more natural ways of combating heartburn, so I can be prepared if and when that starts to happen, and I don't have to get stuck in that cycle.

In other news, I found a dress! Specifically, a fancy dress that I can wear at Art's work Christmas banquet. I went the banquet last year, wearing dress pants and a nice top, but I still felt so under-dressed, because so many ladies were wearing beautiful long dresses! I was determined to do the same this year. Now that I'm pregnant, my choices are much more limited, so I started my search early.

While we were in Manitoba, my mom took me to a store that is only found in Canada (which is really too bad, because their clothes are divine!), and I tried on a bunch of dresses, and I found the perfect one. It's halter (so I don't have to worry about having the straps adjusted to fit my tiny shoulders), and has a high waist and flowing material, so it will accommodate my belly quite nicely. And it's red. I am so excited! I get to buy shoes, and get my hair done....as Art likes to say, I am going to be one hot momma!

I tried on and purchased one size up, to make sure that it would fit in a couple of months. I have no idea how big I will be in two months, but I know I'll be bigger than I am now, so I wanted to play it safe. It isn't floor length as I was hoping, but it goes below my knees, and it's still gorgeous. It really is perfect. And quite expensive. So my mom paid for most of it and told me that would be my Christmas present. I chipped in for the rest.

[Side note: Art was with us on that particular shopping trip, and I thought he would be bored, but instead, he tried to find jewellery and a handbag that would match! He's such a sweetheart, and he actually has really good taste. He picked out this coat while we were in Manitoba, which I ended up buying as well, because it was such a good price.

This will be my new winter coat, as soon as I move the buttons and belt loops.]

And speaking of my husband being such a sweetheart: yesterday was such a gorgeous day that he dragged the rocking chair outside onto our deck so I could knit in the warm sunshine!

And just what was I knitting? A little cozy for the handle of our new cast iron pan! I need more iron in my diet, and cooking with cast iron is a great way to cook, so we bought one! From the little experience that we had with cast iron while house sitting, we know that the handle gets really hot.

So I quickly whipped up a solution, while rocking in our rocking chair in the warm sunshine on a Sunday afternoon. It was perfect. I can see myself doing plenty of that in the springtime, when the weather is warm again, but instead of knitting needles, I'll be holding our sweet little baby.

I'm so curious to know what our baby will look like! I've seen a few kids who have one parent who is half Filipino and one parent who is white, and they are cute! It's a great mix. But what will ours look like? I think it will be interesting, especially to see them beside their blond, fair-skinned cousins.

I'm also curious as to the gender of our baby. Not curious enough to find out before I give birth. I'm mostly wondering if I'm experiencing instincts about the gender or not. I've had two people guess the gender so far, and they guessed the same thing (but didn't know it). So now I can't tell if I'm having true instincts, or if I'm being influenced by their guesses. And no, I'm not going to tell you what they guessed. I don't want to influence your guesses either!

My first (and hopefully only) ultrasound is coming up in a few weeks. I didn't realize how normal it is these days to have a very early ultrasound done to determine the due date. But I missed my opportunity for that because I didn't have a midwife until I was past 10 weeks. Fetal development is pretty much the same for every woman for the first 8-9 weeks, but after that, each baby grows at their own pace, so an accurate due date is no longer determinable.

I wanted as few ultrasounds as possible anyway (because they're expensive), so I'll just be getting the standard 20 week ultrasound, to check the size and weight of the fetus, and see if there are any problems thus far (like, do they have all their limbs, how is the heartbeat, that type of thing). If everything looks healthy now, and if I don't develop any complications later on, I won't need another one.

Wow, I didn't realize I was so chatty today! Probably because I haven't done a whole lot of actual talking today. Well, dinner is ready, and hopefully Art will be home soon, because I think it's going to be delicious. I tried two new recipes. *fingers crossed*

**Update on dinner** The sweet potatoes were to die for! Here is the recipe I used. Do it.

The steak was okay. Hint: know your cuts of meat! I should have tenderized this one more than I did. Also, I dipped my steak in Worcestershire sauce because the flavor wasn't strong enough for my liking. Here is the recipe.

Oh Look! Free Time!

I have the afternoon off from work today! It's mandatory. For the whole company.

They're messing with our database, which means it won't be available for use. Normally they wait until the weekend to do these things so it doesn't interfere with our work. But this is a really big thing that requires a lot more time, so they started early.

If we can't use the database, we cannot work. So we were all told a few weeks ago that today would be a half day. And I gotta be honest: I kind of have mixed feelings about it.

The down side: my week was already short because we only got back from Manitoba very late on Tuesday. Normally I wouldn't mind going home early, but this week I definitely didn't need it. Also, my next paycheck is already going to a lot smaller, because of our vacation. I could have used the extra hours this afternoon.

The up side: there still isn't a whole lot of work to do. The amount of work coming in definitely increased while I was away, but for the most part, we still have several hours each day where we just have nothing to do. So it's nice not to have to sit around and try to find ways to pass the time.

So now I get an afternoon at home, I've got the whole place to myself, and if I manage to find some motivation, maybe I'll get some unpacking, cleaning, and organizing done! I also hope to take some pictures, and maybe have a chance to upload them and edit them.

Happy Friday everyone!