(At my baby shower–31 weeks.)

When I announced that I was pregnant back in August, I didn’t intend for that to be the last post I’d write for nearly five months!  I really wanted to start churning out recipes again and sharing all the beautiful and delicious details of our trip to Italy with you.  Part of the reason I haven’t yet is because I literally don’t have enough space on my computer for the photos from our trip, and the task of creating space is just as big and looming as actually sorting and editing the photos.  It’s starting to look like an Italy recap may be a slow project for sleepless nights as a new parent.  As far as new recipes go, pregnancy has made my tastes and appetite a little wonky and, honestly, creative cooking just hasn’t been as much of a priority these days.

I did want to pop in before the year officially ends, however, and at least give you all an update on things.

We’re getting close now; I’m 35 weeks along.  Aside from the first trimester sickness and exhaustion, and the third trimester discomfort and bruised ribs, I’ve had a relatively easy pregnancy.  It’s been a healthy pregnancy too, without any complications, and with a super active baby who I’ve been able to feel tumbling around in there since just shy of 16 weeks.

I finally look pregnant!  I say finally because it took a very long time for this to happen, which was not at all what I expected.  I remember sitting down with one of my yoga teachers around 5 or 6 weeks to discuss the adjustments I’d need to make in my practice.  She tilted her head down to inspect my belly, saying, “Okay, so it doesn’t look like you’re showing yet–some women’s uteruses pop out really early.  Let me know when you start noticing shape changes.”  In my head I thought, Oh yeah, I’m totally going to be one of those women who pop early.  Nope.  It took until 27 or 28 weeks until I finally started showing, and it has only really started looking like a belly (as opposed to just a bump) since about 32 weeks, or roughly 7 months.

(30 weeks on Thanksgiving & 34 weeks on Christmas)

I’m still sort of small.  It seems to be a combination of having a long torso, not gaining extraneous weight, and the abdominal tone that I developed through yoga (at 8 months, I can still sit directly upright from lying down).  I know it’s a blessing in a lot of ways that I’ve stayed on the smaller side, but it’s been an enormous mental adjustment to accept and appreciate that.  I always imagined that I would be one of those women who grows a big, round, glorious belly and just exudes a pregnant aura everywhere I go.  Instead, a little over a week ago, our maternity photographer was asking me if I could push my belly out because she was having a hard time finding angles to make me look pregnant.  I’m not complaining–it’s just been very different from my expectations.

Another departure from expectation: we found out back in August that we will be having a boy!  We had both always assumed our first would be a girl, and all the old wives tales early on pointed in that direction as well.  It took a few days of mental adjustment, but it’s now nearly impossible to imagine looking at pink and purple ruffles instead of blue trucks and dinosaurs.  We’re so excited to meet our little guy!

Looking back now on 2012, it’s amazing to me how long the year felt.  Pregnancy has been this odd game of waiting patiently and preparing furiously–throw normal life stuff into the mix and it has all felt a bit nonstop.  Usually when things are busy they seem to go faster, but this has somehow translated into one year feeling much more like two.  And though the pregnancy has been the big thing, 2012 also saw my one-year vegan anniversary, about half a dozen new babies among our friends, the marriage of two of our very best friends, and I picked up sewing (note the elephant pillow in the nursery photo; I’m calling it a pregnancy symptom).

I won’t make any promises about when posting will become more regular again, but do know that I haven’t given up on things here.  2013 is bound to be another crazy year as we welcome our son and figure out the whole parenting thing.  I’ll try to pop in when I can, though–even if it’s with more silly or life-related things than food for a while.

Happy New Year!  Hope you all had a wonderful 2012!