The 3 Perks of Pregnancy

I've been in a little bit of a funk since I saw a photo J took of me. We've been taking photos of my progression through this pregnancy, like we did when I was pregnant with Peanut. In my mind, I feel smaller this time around, but last night's photo at 25 weeks proved otherwise. It doesn't help that my upper body is quite dark thanks to water aerobics and weekly playdates at the pool, all the better to accentuate my round, white as a ghost belly. I need a little self-esteem boost, so I decided to jot down a few perks that come with this plump belly.

1. No stress about being bikini ready. Hands down, this is the best perk. We went on a lake trip with some friends for Memorial Day and for the first time ever, I didn't worry about kicking my workout up a notch before the trip. Texas summers are brutal enough, carrying around an extra 20 pregnancy pounds doesn't help, but the upside is I don't care what I look like in a bathing suit during my many visits to the pool!

2. Always get help with the groceries. I've been milking it at the grocery store, accepting help out to my car every time. Now that it's a billion degrees by 9am, it's such a treat to open the trunk, put Peanut in his carseat, and have someone else load my groceries while I sit in the air conditioning.

3. Men go out of their way to open the door for me. I wish I could say this happens to me all the time, but it doesn't. It happens now though. In fact, I stopped at a gas station while in Round Rock over the weekend and this guy ran up and apologized for not opening the door for me. He was not even within 6 feet of the door.

I have two more pounds to go until I outweigh the Mister. Depressing, yes, but at least most of second trimester has been awesome. The first 16 weeks were horrible with nausea, hormone headaches, exhaustion, and lots of food aversions, especially to meat. Now that I'm approaching my third trimester, I hope this burst of energy, which has allowed me to workout 3 times a week and keep up with Peanut, continues.