Chipmunk cheeks (aka weight gain during this pregnancy)

In the past two weeks I baked the following:

chocolate-chip sour-cream coffee cake (it's amazing!! - go bake it right now!)
pumpkin cookies
whole-wheat apple muffins
mango banana muffins
black-bottom cupcakes***

Now, remember that a) I naturally gain weight easily b) I live in a two-person household c) I am home all day long unable to move and d) I am pregnant and naturally craving sweets.

Should it be any surprise to me that I've gained 5 lbs in the past week and a half then?

Hm. No. It shouldn't.

I am currently on a full-stop baking hiatus.

(But I really want to make these.)

Anyways, I really have gained so much weight during this pregnancy. Now, I'll let you know that I have nothing but scorn for those women who care about their figure during pregnancy. I mean - HELLO! - you're PREGNANT! Your growing baby needs good food and your body needs some stored fat to make breast-milk after birth! (The making of which - btw - uses more energy than growing baby does.) But I really haven't been helping myself out by eating so many sweets while being unable to exercise.

Don't be misled by this picture of my ginaaarmous belly - that belly is ALL baby! (He is so squished in there, I feel his protest kicks and squiggles all day - and night - long.... he is one strong baby!) My fat deposits are pretty much all in my butt. The best was when my grandmother told me (repeatedly) that I was "carrying all in the back." Okay, thanks grandma! You know that's not physically possible right? Why don't you just call me fat and get it over with?? She regaled me with stories of her two pregnancies the whole visit - "I didn't go one pound over the 12 pound weight gain my doctor recommended!" Well... gee.... that sounds.... healthy?

My recommended weight gain (based on this calculator) was 25 lbs, given that I'm 5'4" and started at 120 lbs. Right now I weigh 160. Yes, you read that right! I've gained 40 lbs!

When thinking about that number my first reaction is utter revulsion and a steel-will resolution not to consume any baked product ever again. But the fact of the matter is, I don't sit at home stuffing my face with cake all day. I just can't MOVE, so that one piece of cake, or one cookie, does not get burned off, at. all. So unless I want to completely deprive myself of one of the only joys left to me in this pregnancy, then I'm going to gain more weight before this little guy's appearance.

Right now I'm leading towards the yes, you must deprive yourself of this last joy side of things. I can go four more weeks** without baking... right? right? 


* for the record, DH's co-workers have been benefiting from this baking spree and my freezer overfloweth with muffins!

** my NCT instructor last night told me she thinks I will deliver early, "there's not much room left in there!" were her exact words! As someone who has been seeing 8-month pregnant women every week for 30 years I think I can safely put some hope in her opinion. Because seriously, giving birth at 38 weeks (in one month's time) sounds so infinitely preferably to the dreaded 1-2 week's over-due that is common with many first births! (38-42 weeks is all within full-term. Doesn't that make the phrase "due-date" rather funny?) Here's for a birthday in the single digits of December!!!!