16-week Bumpdate: Ask and You Shall Receive

People at work keep asking about "the bump" and feeling disappointed because I inadvertently hide it under flowy shirts. Today, I really wanted to wear this shirt because I love the color (a light blue). The clingy shirt highlighted "the bump" effectively, I suppose. One of my fifth period students exclaimed, "OH! The bump is just so cuuuute!" My sophomores, whom I have yet to tell since my intern has been teaching them (it'd be awkward to yell randomly, "hey! I'm pregnant!" at them), kept eyeing my stomach today. I considered addressing the elephant in the room and then decided against it. Several colleagues simply pointed and said, "BUMP!" I feel as if I invented a fun game.

The Look: Top (has cute sleeves you can't see!): Old Navy (exact) Cardigan (old): LOFT Pants: Motherhood Maternity Necklace: gift

Wearing: I bought a pair of white maternity jeans, and I cannot wait to wear those bad boys. I have a student who is vehemently opposed to white jeans before Memorial Day. The class and I argued with her about Easter being a totally acceptable start date. In fact, we all felt white jeans were fair game any season of the year, so several of us plan to wear white jeans tomorrow just to mess with her. I don't really want to make her brain explode all over my poorly decorated bulletin boards (good thing I teach high school), so I might spare her. This time. In other news, I cannot wait to wear dresses and maxi skirts!
Reading: Résumés. So many of them. My brain hurts. So much.
Eating: Frequently and whatever sounds appealing, which changes hourly. I haven't really stuck to one thing because I think diversifying my diet will benefit both baby and me. I do really love olives and apples; they have yet to "get old." Steak and sweet potatoes one day, pasta another day, and a salad another day. I also crave oranges, which I cannot eat because I am allergic to them. To cope, I stood by the man making fresh orange juice in Whole Foods today and took in a few big whiffs.
Feeling: My threshold for pain is impressive after three surgeries (appendix, gall bladder, sinus), two car accidents, and a host of health problems. However, back pain has begun to settle in the past few days, and my Sjogrens is flaring up. My threshold is being tested. Granted, I would like to blame work stress for the Sjogrens flare and not this sweet baby. Of course, work stress is not causing things to stretch and making my back throb so badly that I rock back and forth while sobbing. We two tiny humans are trying to coexist in the tiny space that is my body; we'll eventually make it work. After the kid arrives, it will take over the house. Right now, it feels satisfied just taking over my body. I'm totally cool with that arrangement and just thankful it wants to share some space with me at all. To cope with the pain, I scheduled an acupuncture appointment for Saturday (first ever, came highly recommended) and a prenatal massage appointment next Thursday. Jeff so kindly bought me a foam roller to stretch out my back. I'll make this work, kid. I always do.
Anticipating: Spring break. I want to sleep in. Desperately. Mom, Dad, and I might take a mini trip in their RV. That would be exciting!
Bumpdates: 15 weeks