Bump vs. Bump

"Blogging at you" live from Toronto!

After a joyous visit in Miami from some treasured London, Ontario friends...

... which included a day in South Beach and a trip up to Lakeland, FL to see a Detroit Tigers vs. NY Yankees pre-season game, I flew to Toronto.

Now, this trip was supposed to be an important step forward in my dissertation research. The next step to take is to recruit participants for the study, which I had planned to do using the radio. I picked this method in an attempt to engage "regular folks" -- people who may not necessarily participate in research projects like mine. I had difficulties booking radio interviews as most stations, be they corporate or otherwise, were only interested in advertising dollars to give me the access I sought. I did, however, book one really exciting and potentially fruitful interview on CBC Toronto's "Here and Now."

So... I booked a ticket to Toronto, thrilled to get things off the ground.

The producer for the show called me mere hours before I was set to fly to Toronto for a pre-interview. She asked me questions about my project to get me ready for the real thing. I got more and more excited as the phone call progressed. Then, out of nowhere, she told me that there had been some kind of "misunderstanding" since I didn't actually have any data to report and that she was going to have to "pull the plug."

Huh. That was unexpected... and thoroughly disappointing.

I called my advisor and had her talk me down from the ledge. We regrouped and talked about the back-up plan, which had been discussed when I first wrote my dissertation proposal. I asked her about the trip and she told me not to cancel things. She encouraged me to use the trip to regroup. The last few days of my journey had originally been reserved for time in London, and we decided this would still be time well spent to meet in person and discuss the next steps.

So... I boarded the plane and have spent the last few days in Toronto regrouping and visiting dear friends and family. Despite the disappointing interview cancellation, the trip has been wonderful.

A few updates on the pregnancy front:

• I was able to start consistently exercising again last week. I hit the gym three times; I did a 60-minute interval class, swam, and did my own 30-minute weight and stretching circuit. I am excited to continue this once I am back in Miami next Wednesday. Since I've been away, I've been doing a lot of walking and hope to hit the UWO gym at least once while in London early next week.
• Lately I have been really hungry all of the time and seem to have lost the ability to feel "full." I am doing my best to stop eating when I think I've consumed enough calories, but I'm not always as strong as I want to be. It's been challenging to go from a normalized pre-pregnancy everyday calorie deficit to trying to discover not just what "normal calorie consumption" means but also adding 250 calories or so to that.

I think it might be helpful from this point forward to compare my pregnancy to karate. Having a baby is like getting your black belt. Along the way, you reach certain milestones (or belts) which are achieved by mastering certain skills. I am going to simplify the comparison on this blog to nine belts, which I will discuss as they are discovered and achieved throughout my pregnancy. I think this will make things more exciting that just talking about how many weeks have passed or how developed the baby is supposed to be or whatnot.

So far, I have achieved two belts:

Pregnancy White Belt: Gain Access to Any Bathroom As Necessary/Desired

The experts don't lie about how pregnancy makes you have to urinate all the time. For me, I think it's been a combination of the relocation of internal organs to make room for the baby (which puts pressure on the bladder at times) and a marked increase in my water consumption (I am always thirsty and can't seem to consume enough water.) Surviving in public means playing the pregnancy card whenever is necessary or desired to gain access to the bathroom. My time in Toronto has helped me master this skill and achieve this belt. I managed to gain access to at least a dozen bathrooms marked as "customers only" without buying a thing. The trick to mastering this level? Stick out your belly as far as you can, tell the clerk or waiter that you are pregnant... and watch what happens. Fake it 'til you make it, right?

Pregnancy Yellow Belt: Have Dessert With Any/All Meals

Now, I don't advocate the whole "eating for two" mentality but have definitely given myself permission to relax over the course of these nine months. I think stress can do more damage to a baby than having a piece of cake or pie from time to time. (Listen to me pretending to be a pregnancy expert!) I have, from time to time over the past few months, had dessert a bit more often than ever before... maybe a cookie after lunch and/or a more-generous-than-usual hunk of dark chocolate after dinner. Today I earned my pregnancy yellow belt by having dessert with breakfast. After a delicious meal this morning with dear friends at Future Bakery, I indulged in a piece of cheesecake. AND THE FETUS REJOICED. Bam. Yellow Belt. On my way to pregnancy mastery.

Seven more belts to go... and, if all goes as planned, at least 23 weeks lie ahead. Today I reached 17 weeks: the baby is around 5 ounces and the size of a turnip. AND I LOVE THE LITTLE THING. So much.

And did I mention I'm showing a bit? I look a bit like this right now:

I actually have two small "bumps" right now competing for supremacy. I think one is the actual baby and the other is a food baby. I guess this is normal and that the baby has to devour the food baby in order to take over my insides and continue to grow. This step is essential and is the reason pregnant women are encouraged to eat around 250 calories more each day than non-pregnant women. The epic baby vs. food baby battle must happen. It's science, folks.

Next up? Leaving for London tomorrow and then flying back to Miami with Bryn's parents on Wednesday! They are coming down for a 10-day visit!

(And a note to any bloggers/aspiring bloggers out there -- if you want to increase your blog's traffic, get pregnant and then announce the pregnancy on your blog! I think my site saw more traffic with my last post than it ever has... or ever will again.)