Mother Stuff...and a belly shot!

Sorry for the relative lack of posts lately; this past week marked my final days of work in the coding lab, so I tried to make the lab be a special priority and as a result, almost everything else fell by the wayside. My heart felt wistful as I packed up my work binder and closed the lab door for the last time on this past Friday evening. Coding has become one of my all-time favorite employments up to this point, and probably only a few other jobs could top it for the enjoyment factor it produced--missionary work, marriage, and I would guess motherhood would all exceed it of course. But still, as far as student employment goes, it was the best!

Motherhood feels more real to me as my belly swells and gets more round. Still no feeling of movement from the Little Tam (my book estimates the movement feelings will come in a few more weeks?) but I do feel more pregnant every time I look in the mirror. I finally decided to get a couple pairs of maternity pants this week, as the rubberband trick--while technically still "working"--was getting inconvenient.

So, thanks to cousin Gena for a generous Target giftcard, and thanks to Deseret Industries for being such a bargain!

Here are the maternity jeans I got from DI ($6.00). They seem brand new, and fit great around the waist (ahh, the wonders of elastic) but are a little baggy around the thighs. That's a strange feeling for me--usually I fill out my jeans no problem! Does maternity clothing just fit weird? Anyway, I'm sure my rear will grow into them soon enough. Let's just hope by then the elastic waist still feels comfy on my bigger belly.

The photo above was taken at Jerry's company party yesterday afternoon. The company gave out free t-shirts, and we even snagged a free baby tee for Little Tam. So cute...!

And here I am tonight wearing the comfy new maternity pants from Target (on clearance for $10). Reviews of this item from other customers state that many women can wear these pants the entire pregnancy, because of the foldy style waist. So I'm excited, because I love them! Once again though, a little baggy in the thigh/rear end area. What is going on?

So this is my 16 week belly. Is it big? Small? Normal? And what kind of pose is a woman supposed to do for belly shots? Jerry told me to hold my shirt tighter to accentuate my round shape, but then my arms fold themselves into a chicken wing pose...so I guess for future shots I will don a top that is more form fitting to begin with, so my arms can relax.

I haven't been very diligent about documenting "week by week" growth, but to this day, I still have not gained a single pound! In fact, I am even a couple pounds less than my pre-pregnancy weight. Should I be worried? I have a doctor's appointment this week, so maybe I'll ask. I eat constantly. Not low-fat, either. We drink whole milk, and I even searched out whole-milk yogurt I've been enjoying. I believe whole foods are healthier, dairy included. So I eat whole grains, whole fruits as much as possible (even the skins on kiwis, for instance), an egg or two per day with yolks included of course, etc. I also eat plenty of Chinese noodles and such. I like being pregnant in the spring/summer when there are lots of yummy fresh foods available.

Speaking of yummy foods, we have been eating smoothies galore lately. With the remaining Target card money from Gena, Jerry and I bought a blender. Somehow we have survived nearly two years without one, and I'm not sure why we put off buying it for so long. Wonderful. Feel free to share any good smoothie recipes. There is a spinach one floating around out there I've been wanting to try. Turns the drink green like the color of Shrek, and apparently tastes great.