10 weeks!

I passed the 10 week milestone yesterday.  For a comedic rendering of this week, see this blog. This week I've discovered some interesting things happening to my body.  The upper part of my abdomen has gotten hard (think abs of steel!) and rounded out a bit.  I was wondering why I'm looking pregnant already when baby is only the size of a kumquat, but then I read that by week 10 your uterus is about the size of a large grapefruit.  It shoves all your internal organs upwards to make room for baby.  So...hard abdomen=stomach being pushed into my ribs.  Lovely.

I also have strange 'indents' happening on the lower part of my belly.  It's almost like a vertical muffin top.  So weird.  And even with all of this, I've only gained 2 pounds.  Wahoo!  Although, overweight women such as myself are only supposed to gain 11-20 pounds the entire pregnancy (according to an online source).  Although I'll wait to talk to my OB to see what she says about that.

Another interesting thing related to weight gain is how people always say "you're eating for two now!".  It's actually false.  According to this article, you're eating for about 1.2 people.  Think of how small a baby is compared to you!  They don't need nearly as many calories.  It says that in the first trimester, you need NO additional calories to your diet.  You may feel hungrier, but you need to choose protein and fiber-rich foods to keep you feeling full (and for other reasons...).  In the second trimester, you're only supposed to add 300 calories a day and by the third trimester, add 450 calories/day.  That's about how many calories are in 4 chicken nuggets and a small fries at McDonald's.  Crazy!

So the pooch/belly may be here, but most of that is compressed innards and bloat.  Think about THAT the next time you ask to touch a pregnant lady's belly!  Haha!