the basics.

I haven't done any bump updates recently and I'm feeling like quite the slacker. I'm pretty sure the only person who even cares about reading about our growing bambino and my growing tummy is my sweet mother (Hi, Mom), but I would like to start keeping tabs on this pregnancy for my sake and Baby Bryant's.

With that being said, my belly is growing. Rapidly. For the most part, I think that a lot of it is bloat. Well, bloat and fat. It's too hard to pass up dessert--especially when sweets are my #1 craving. I'm climbing the scale at Olympic speed. SEVEN pounds gained, to be exact. To combat the extra jiggle I have started a minor workout regimen. I am trying to get an hour walk in daily followed by a few exercises with weights that baby daddy showed me in the gym. If I have no control over my expanding waist, I may as well keep the other body parts in check! So far, so good and loving the sore muscles. Really.

While we are on the subject of my growing belly, I would like to add that I am officially wetting my feet in the maternity wear world. I have been keeping tabs on my weekly stats: size of baby, what baby is up to, weight, sleep, movement, symptoms, mood, cravings and aversions...you get the drift. Well, one of the bullets is "maternity clothes?" and at 16 weeks I finally got to fill in the blank with a big YEP. Several weeks ago I caved in and made my first maternity purchase at Target. Check out these stunners:

OWW OWW! Ok, I promise--they are a lot cuter on and OH SO comfortable. The dark wash and material dress them up a bit too so I can go either way when wearing them. I think that a good pair of shorts is a summer necessity and now I have that checked off my list. Score.

At 17 weeks I made a few more essential purchases--this time thinking long term (I'm going to look like a whale come fall/winter, so I wanted to be prepared and make some good investments). First, you can't go wrong with a few basic tees and tanks. Welcome to my closet:

Boring colors, I know. But, you've got to start somewhere so why not with neutrals? My next purchases were a couple of pairs of leggings, a pair of jeans, and some corduroys. The BeBand (lent to me by my sister-in-law, Lea) works great and has prevented me from buying maternity pants sooner. But, I am reaching the point where a few pairs of my favorite jeans won't even zip anymore and are becoming quite uncomfortable. I'm not retiring the BeBand quite yet, but I'm going to give it somewhat of a much needed break.  Anyway, these items arrived in the mail yesterday and I will say that I was pleasantly surprised:

Not bad, right? I'm actually wearing the skinny jeans today and they are amazing! When I tried them on last night I told John that I could totally rock them sans baby bump. He just stared blankly at me. I am still able to wear the majority of my tops and dresses so for now, I think that I'm good to go until I really start bulging. 

And lastly, I will leave you with a pic of my 17 week belly. Only 2 more days until we reach 18 weeks! I have an appointment on Monday and will be scheduling our 20 week ultrasound! I'm pushing for Friday, the 27th, but we will see. We cannot wait to know whether Baby Bryant is a boy or a girl. YAY!