Before I got pregnant I had this vision of the amazing pregnant lady I was going to be. I would have an impeccable blog that would become a worldwide over night sensation and I would definitely chronicle my bump progress to the fullest extent.

The reality is I am so freaking tired that I can barely manage to write blog posts much less make the blog beautiful. I also am freaked out about the changes in my body. I am totally not embracing them, I am horrified by them. One of the few body parts I have that I love was my stomach. It’s always been flat and sometimes ripped depending on my workout and eating habits. It’s also the first part of my body to get back in shape when I commit to working out again after an extended break. I know a lot of people struggle with their stomachs so I am definitely grateful for my mom’s genes in that arena. Being pregnant, though, requires you to gain weight, a lot of weight with twins, and most of it’s in your stomach – ugh. Watching the evolution of my muffin top and knowing that no matter what  my diet or exercise regime is that I am going to continue to grow until I can’t see my toes and Luke will have to roll me out of bed completely pisses me off. However, Luke is mesmerized by my situation. He loves it – touching it, gawking at it, talking to it, putting his ear up to it (to hear the ocean?) and begging to take pictures of it. If I knew that my husband would someday be more in love with me and my appearance when I can barely squeeze into my jeans and have a legit beer belly hanging over – I would have never deprived myself of so many carbs in my early 20s! Oh the irony. This has been our song and dance so far: Luke begs to take pictures of my belly and I bite his head off. Consequently I only have 3 or 4 bump pictures but here they are:

 

Above: 6 weeks. Not much going on in the bump department yet. My butt still sticks out further than my gut! All in the same week I found out I was pregnant, finished the year end audit at work and got myself a nice little raise so Luke whisked me off to Sedona to celebrate all three! It was the first time in my adult life I didn’t celebrate with champagne but we did have an amazing dinner at L’Auberge and a much needed couples massage.

 

Above: 9 ish weeks. Still not a lot going on, but I could tell because my belly was starting to stick out over my pants. This was right before I headed out to a brunch with the girls. I threw a poncho on over the tank top and drank fake mimosas all morning to trick them out 🙂 I can’t believe at some point my belly will stick out far enough to touch Jak’s nose. I wonder if it will freak the dogs out as much as it does me!

 

Above: 12 weeks. The gut is definitely starting to bust out! Our friends Heather & Craig had us over for NYE and I was scrambling to find something to wear. Going through my closet I found this top that I had worn an few years (and pounds) ago so I threw it on, walked out and told Luke I was ready to go. I was expecting to terrify him but Instead he said “You look great babe, hurry up.” Then he did a double take and said “Oh my god! Look at that belly it’s so amazing blah blah blah…” He was actually going to let me walk out of the house like that.

 

Above: 14 weeks. It’s finally hiking weather in Arizona – our favorite time of year. We took the dogs on a long hike through Phoenix mountain preserve and I survived! My energy levels are up and down so I’m glad I was able to manage the 3 -4 miles this hike ended up being. Midway through the hike I also thought I felt one of the babies moving! Upon later research, 14 weeks is a little early to feel movement but I definitely felt something. Luke thought I was over doing it but we didn’t really have an option, we were two miles out and had to go two miles back. So we pushed on and I haven’t felt anything since. The only thing about working out when pregnant is that it is the only thing I can do all day. If I work out, it takes a two hour nap and a lot of food and reality tv to recover!