Today my Pilates instructor said something to the effect of “Wow, you really look pregnant.” I swear, I’m getting bigger on a daily basis now. My appetite has also gotten larger. I still feel like I’m on track, weight-gain-wise, but it’s interesting to feel hungrier. I’d expected to be a lot more hungry during pregnancy, and more prone to cravings. But the first 20 weeks were really pretty mellow in that regard.
I had a distinct craving tonight after swim class: Vietnamese fried imperial rolls and beef noodle soup. My recipe for the week this week might just be take-out.
Yes, I did two kinds of exercise in one day. Scheduling snafu. It won’t happen again, I promise. Maybe.
Pilates gal also said that it seems like the swimming is making my muscles more fluid, pardon the pun. Cool by me.
In other respects, the last couple of days have been a little rough, like the worst case of PMS, which, given the increase in hunger, and the popping-out belly, probably makes sense — that maybe I’m having a hormone surge.
Yesterday, on my way to exchange a scarf I’d bought, while I was parking the car, I just started crying. No reason. Honestly. I couldn’t think of a single thing to be upset about. I just needed to cry. Wracking, wailing sobs. Good stuff.
Today I woke up about 4:00 a.m. Pretty sure I felt a kick, because my whole stomach actually contracted afterward, like a reflexive leg-swing response to a knee hammer. And then there was that 4.3 earthquake around 4:45. Scary.
By six-ish, I was wandering around the house, checking email, hitting the kitchen for my morning vitamins, leaving the doors open when I turned the lights on, rudely waking my husband. “I always keep the doors closed,” he muttered, rightfully.
And then I picked a fight with him.
And later, I went online to check my bank accounts and credit card balances. Not a happiness-inducing exercise.
Funny part is, by about midday, I was fine. Completely fine. I think the exercise definitely helped. And I took a nap after. But still. These hormone swings are really something.
In other surprising and potentially good news, it seems that as a self-employed person, I am eligible to apply for State Disability Insurance, which would provide six weeks of benefits if I can’t work after the baby is born, eight if I have a c-section. And then I could apply for Paid Family Leave after that if needed. It also appears that the basis for the benefits would be computed from my income during 2005, my best earning year of my freelance life. (As would the annual fee, with a two-year minimum, but it still seems to be worth it.)