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Battle Scars [Not a Happy Trail]

While on our babymoon, I noticed a slight line extending up from my public bone. "I think I'm starting to get my linea nigra," I told J. "What's that?" "A dark vertical line — usually extending from the belly button and the pubic area — that appears in most pregnancies." "You mean a happy trail?" "No, it's discoloration of the skin. It's not hair." "But it looks like a happy trail!" "It's not a happy trail. It's a LINEA NIGRA." "Haha! You have a happy trail!!!" Yes, my husband is very mature, wouldn't you say? I fully expected my linea nigra to grow darker in the 7 weeks since I first noticed it, but it hasn't. Before pregnancy, I frankly found the linea nigra to be...

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Already Feeling Like a Bad Mom

All the mommy/pregnancy blogs I read post tons of nursery inspiration photos, show off all the lovely DIY goodies they have crafted for their child(ren), and seem genuinely excited about filling their homes with baby clothes, toys, and accessories. Me? Not so much. Beautiful nurseries are nice, to be sure, but I'm too cheap and lazy to go all out. I would be perfectly happy to add a crib to the (already-bare) guest room and call it a day. J and I have joked about painting a Transformers mural à la Scrubs, but I doubt we will get around to even painting the walls a different color. As for DIY projects, you can forget about it. As adept as I may be with a pencil/paintbrush/mousepad,...

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25 Weeks

Things are progressing slowly but surely. I am feeling more and more movements above my belly button, whereas before most of the kicks and punches stayed in the lower regions. I have also started to feel simultaneous jabs this week (ie, one on my upper right side and the other on the bottom left) which can only mean that she is getting stronger and starting to really explore my belly. My weight gain is now at 25 lbs. With 15 weeks left in this pregnancy, and estimating that I will gain the recommended 1 lb per week, it is very likely that I will hit — and possibly go over — the 40 lb mark. Even the additional 25 lbs is...

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Kegels Alone May Not Be Beneficial

"Don't forget to do your kegels!" is one mantra that every pregnant woman hears. However, just how effective are kegel exercises? As much as fellow moms and moms-to-be tell me how beneficial they are, I have heard and read many accounts of women who have regularly done kegels throughout their pregnancies only to suffer from horrible incontinence after birth. I also know of women who have never done kegels and continue to have perfect post-partum urinary control. image source Yesterday, I read that kegels may not always prevent incontinence. In fact, a biomedical scientist named Katy Bowman believes that doing too many kegels may cause pelvic floor disorder (which leads to incontinence)! Instead, Bowman recommends exercises such as squats to help strengthen the pelvic floor. Click on over...

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24 Weeks

My heart skipped a beat when I woke up yesterday morning. I had reached a new milestone. My baby is now considered viable by the American medical community. And how can she not? Baby girl is growing larger and stronger every day. I can now see my belly do "jumps" as she hiccups. She reacts to sounds and light. She keeps me awake at night (yep, she's definitely a night owl) with her incessant tumblings. The best part? She dances in my stomach whenever I play the piano.   My SIL — a musical genius who has a PhD from Juilliard — says that our baby cannot not be musical seeing as both J and I have both have had extensive classical music training. And...

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