Week 21: 03/26/15 - 04/01/15

Time to set this hoodie aside...! 

Milestones this week:

• 03/31/15: First noticed signs of Linea Nigra! Very faint, but it's definitely there. For those who don't know what this is, it is a horizontal line that starts at the top of the belly and goes straight down through the belly button. 

This week I...

Experienced a pregnancy craving miracle! This week I was craving McDonald's frozen strawberry lemonades like you wouldn't believe, I HAD to have them! The only problem? They were discontinued. I was super bummed, with this craving I couldn't satisfy that was driving me bananas. Until Brian and I ran through McDonald's for breakfast (normally I try not to eat there.. Too broke and it's too unhealthy! This particular day, I didn't have time to make breakfast, and if I don't eat every meal I tend to pass out). On a whim, I asked the worker if they had the frozen lemonades, completely expecting a no, but instead got a reply of, "actually, yeah! We just got them back, we haven't even started advertising them yet, but we can go ahead and make you one." OH. MY. GOODNESS. I actually started crying with joy, Brian wouldn't stop laughing at me! What are the chances that within days of me starting to crave this discontinued item, they'd bring it back?!

Stats this week:

• Weight: Week: -1.0; Pregnancy - 8.0
• Symptoms: Fatigue, Round ligament pain, Light cramping, Back pain
• Cravings: Ice cream, Cheetos, Smoothies, Frozen Strawberry Lemonade
• Baby Bean's size: Carrot
• Baby's length: 10.51 in
• Baby's weight: 12.70 oz
• Baby's Heart rate: 143 BPM

Tip of the week:

Oh the heat! It's started warming up here this week, and even though it's only in the 70s right now, I feel like it's in the 90s. So I'm starting a list on ways to keep cool. It helps that I worked at an amusement park three summers ago, and I had to stand outside 8-10 hours in record breaking heat! So here's my list of mini-tips of the week;

• Dress in layers, so as you start to heat up you can start removing layers to help you cool down.
• Take control of that AC! Make your poor sweet hubby/SO layer up with a sweater or blanket, you not overheating is important. 
• If you're going to be in the sun for a long time, wear a hat! I didn't believe it before my job at the amusement park, but it really does make a HUGE difference. 
• If you don't have AC and it's just too miserably hot, spend some time at a local library, museum, or friends house. You'll get some culture/socialization, and you'll keep cool. 
• Swimming is obviously always a great way to cool down. Swimming is also a great way to low impact exercise through the summer without burning up. Target, JcPenneys, Old Navy, and Amazon all have cute, decent priced maternity swim suits! If you want to show off that bump, you can always get a cute bikini top, although I've heard most women who wear a bikini while pregnant prefer shorts or a swim skirt to bikini bottoms. 
• Speaking of exercise, yes it's important to keep that exercise up, but maybe forgo the long walk/jog in the heat in exchange for something indoors; prenatal yoga, walking on a treadmill or just around the house, even just stretching can be better than a walk causing you to overheat.
• Most of you know I'm a huge fan of those icy treats! There have been a few times those icy treats have been life savers this past week! It's amazing how well an icee, smoothie, ice cream, or frozen lemonade can cool you down, or if you're trying to keep those calories down, even just a large cup of ice water. 
• Try to avoid being outside too incredibly long. This one is obvious, but avoid those harsh rays of the sun!