pinkIt is true, Little Baby Girl Sweeney is going to be arriving tentatively on September 16, 2014! Pat and I couldn’t be more excited!! For those of you who don’t know us very well, we’ve been married for a little less than 3 years, but have been together since 2003! We started dating in high school (he flirted shamelessly with me biology class). Only a few weeks after graduation, he left for Basic Training in the Army and a few months later I left for college at Syracuse University. Our relationship was always on and off for the next 4 years. Our young age, deployments, college, stress, and just being in different places in our lives, it was really good for us to have that time apart for us to know we were meant to be together.

Pat got a full scholarship to Indiana University right around the time  I was going to Grad school and doing my Dietetic Internship in Ohio (only one state away now). This short drive to see each other was a piece of cake and things started getting serious. We got engaged in November 2010  and married that next summer!! Pat is back to being full time Active Duty Army Officer and we’ve had 3 moves already, loving every minute of it!

We found out we were pregnant on January 16, Pat’s birthday, and it has been our precious secret up until recently. Having experienced a miscarriage last year, we didn’t want to get our hopes up too high until we were certain. Miscarriages are extremely common and we knew when we started trying to have a baby that that was a big possibility. I know very FEW women who have not gone through that awful experience. I believe everything happens for a reason though and God knows what he is doing, so we are ecstatic that we are going to be having a baby this fall!

18 weeks pregnancy blog

How Far Along?

18 weeks

Weight Gained?

8 pounds

Cravings?

So far all I’ve really wanted to eat has been salty, spicy foods! Lots of salsa, pizza, hot sauce and crushed red peppers! I already loved spicy foods though, so I don’t know if it really a craving. Thank goodness I’m not experiencing any heartburn.

Workouts?

The entire first trimester I completed P90x3. I absolutely loved it! I just completed it about 2 weeks ago and this week will be starting a new program. I am

I don’t care how big my belly gets, as long as baby and I are healthy. However, I refuse to have a saggy mom butt or flappy arms, so I’m keeping up with my weight training! 😉

Eating Plan?

You all hopefully know you really aren’t supposed to be “eating for two,” correct? Pregnant women only need approximately an extra 300 calories/day. I also exercise almost every day, so I eat more calories to compensate for my workouts. My daily nutrition looks something like this:

  • Meal 1: Chocolate Shakeology with chia seeds & 1/2 banana
  • Meal 2: 3 Omega-3 scrambled eggs with nutritional yeast, salsa, veggies & sometimes a tortilla or toast.
  • Meal 3: Apple & peanut butter
  • Meal 4: Salad or left overs
  • Meal 5: Chips & salsa, chips & avocado or crackers & spicy hummus
  • Meal 6: Vegetarian dinner (most of my favorite recipes are posted on my blog)
  • Meal 7: Sometimes I have a snack at night, just depends on how hungry I am. If I do have a snack at night (around 8pm) it is usually grapes, popcorn or just decaf tea.

Symptoms?

I took a lot of naps in the first trimester, but not so much anymore. I have to pee all the time which is annoying, but besides that I feel pretty normal!

What Does Pat Think?

Pat is reading his daddy books and is excited to be a father too! Here is what he said when I asked for a comment for my blog,  “My kingdom is finally coming together… I got my queen, I got my castle and now I finally have my little princess.”

Best Moment of the Week?

Last week I took a trip with my sisters and nieces & nephews. I think the best moment I had was laughing our heads off all weekend long!

Stay tuned for more updates!