I've decided....

...that this whole flipping-back-and-forth-all-night-long-instead-of-sleeping thing is God's way of preparing you for the upcoming sleepless nights.

This Whole Weight Gaining Thing

I'm sure this is similar for all women, but I'm starting to hate gaining all this weight! For someone who lost over 40 pounds, to then gain a lot of it back is really annoying. I know it's all for the baby but I don't think I EVER felt so much like a cow as I do now.

Stairs are the worst. When I gained weight previously, it was always over an extended period of time and I couldn't necessarily feel the effects. But I can certainly feel them now. Walking up stairs is such a pain..I can FEEL the extra weight pressing me down. I never felt this way when I was naturally this heavy.

And then there's bedtime. Up and down, side to side...ugh! I find myself flipping back and forth from one side of the belly to another to keep my upper arms from falling asleep. But the whole flipping aspect is quite difficult. Now I have to flip an ever growing...and an ever heavier belly over as well, making the task that much more difficult. No wonder I'm tired all the time!

But I suppose I need to look at the up sides. Baby has started kicking to the point where I can feel it when it kicks my hand. That's pretty cool. I suppose I don't feel it as much as others what with my anterior placenta and all, but it is definitely fantastic. And, I'm nearing my 3rd trimester. Only 3 months to go!

Battle of the Nursing Bras- Part II

The battle has begun!! My question to the general pregnant public is, how good at plus sized nursing bras for the larger woman? Did the bra company just make the bra bigger or did they actually spend the time to support our larger breasts properly?

Each bra will be rated from 1 to 5 (5 being highest) in each of 5 categories for a possible total of 25 points:

1. Comfort- How do I feel when wearing the bra? Does it annoy me at all?

2. Support- Am I flapping in the breeze or do I feel properly supported?

3. Need For Adjustment- Do the straps fall constantly? Do I feel the need to pull at the back frequently?

4. Sex Appeal/ Attractiveness- Whats my husbands view of me in the bra?

5. Ease of Breast Exposing- Well, these ARE for nursing, so how easily can I extract my breast from the cup for the purpose of breast feeding?

This week, I am putting the bog standard plus size nursing bra, non-underwire under the radar. This bra is $21.98 from Motherhood.

When I first put the bra on, it felt really good. I was a bit weary of the stretchy shoulder straps, but if shortened enough, they held their place fairly well. That being said, I felt the need to adjust and tug at the back of the bra if the straps were too short. On the flip side, if the straps were longer, the support was lacking, so there was a bit of a Catch 22. My husband liked the initial support when presented to him (but then his wife hasn't been in the mood for much bra showing lately, so his rating this week could have been in gratitude). This bra, like the other Motherhood bras, has a plastic hook/snap at each breast. I found it easy to unhook with opposite hands, but I wasn't well able to re-hook, say the right cup with the right hand. Re-hooking really was a two hand job.

So, how did Ms. Bog Standard fair:

Comfort- 4
Support- 3.5
Need For Adjustment-3
Sex Appeal/ Attractiveness- 3
Ease of Breast Exposing- 3.5

Total-17 points

So here's our standard for the rest of the bras to go by.

Ladies, please feel free to send me in some ratings of your own using this scale...just let us know where you bought the bra and how much it cost for those who might like to get one. Send me a message and I'll post your review in a blog.

Cheers!
Jen

The Belly Touching Controversy (and poll)

At the moment, I have to admit I don't really care if people touch my belly. But to be honest, the only people who have done so are my friends. But I'm curious how other people feel. Check out the bottom of the page and vote for your preference when it comes to others patting your bump.

My Ever Expanding Arse

I know this is a problem for all pregnant women, but for myself, who started off with a large one, I'm finding the fact that my bum is getting bigger every day quite frustrating. Sitting in a movie theatre, for one, is not as comfortable, and forget airplanes! I just flew to NY and back to see my mom after her surgery and those flights were possibly the worst for comfort ever! On the flight to the US, the armrests didn't go up all the way, which was awful for comfort.

But, on the positive side, I've become a fan of Aer Lingus' old planes. My flight back was on the plane named St. Padraig (St. Patrick in English, Aer Lingus names all their planes after Irish saints). This plane didn't have TV's for every seat, but the armrests went up farther... AND, it was the first time in a LONG while that I didn't have to ask for a seatbelt extension! What bliss to be able to buckle the seatbelt without extra material! And pregnant to boot! How funny to me that as the travelling world's bums expand, the airlines seatbelts get generally shorter. Thank God for old planes.

Preggy Pose

I've found a way to subdue my belly bump envy! By putting my hands on my back, by belly pops out for an obvious pregnant look! The new shirt I'm wearing in this pic helps too. I got it from Mothercare and it made my belly pop pretty well on it's own. Of course, I'm sure come May I'll be ready for that belly to be THIS size again! :)

New Pillow!

LOVE my dad! He took me to Babies R Us to get me another Boppy pillow wedge. But I decided to get this bad boy instead. This one is the 'Especially For Mom' pillow wedge. It feels a bit more firm, which I think my ever heavier bump needs for support. So far I'm a fan... it even helps prop my back up when I try to roll onto my back to sleep. The Boppy doesn't keep my sideways as well.

I'm considering a full body pillow as well, but I definitely want one that's head to toe.

Oh yes!

I forgot to mention! Now that I'm home in the states for the week, my father is going to take me back to Babies R Us to get another belly wedge pillow! Happy days for MEEEE! I'm also going to seriously consider the body pillow that you can cuddle that also is long enough and curves so you can stuff it between your knees. Luckily, I didn't pack much so I have room in my suitcase. :)

Say Yes To Flight Socks

With permission from my doctors here in Ireland, I boarded a plane in Dublin to JFK to visit my mother after her radical surgery. BTW, she's doing REALLY well and thank you all for your continued prayers. But I digress. My doctor gave me a prescription for socks that patients in hospitals often wear to avoid deep vein thrombosis, or DVT. This can happen on flights, and I'm sure many of you have seen flight socks sold in CVS or other pharmacies. Well, I've never bought the over the counter type, but I LOVED the ones I got! The pharmacist measured my calf and thigh to make sure I got the right size. What was unique about these socks vs. the ones you get over the counter, is that these went all the way up to my bum! So they not only supported my calves but my entire leg. I felt much better throughout the flight. I will admit, though, that by the end of the 7 hour journey, I was ready for those puppies to come off, as the elastic at the top can...chaff... your sensitive bits. But on the whole, they were certainly worth it. My legs didn't swell up and look like they were going to pop (like they did after my wedding on the way to Aruba) and they felt much less tight. I would highly suggest these for all pregnant ladies or even just plus sized people of all ages who need to take a long haul flight. So ask your doctor for the REAL ones!