Caffeine & Aspartame Sins

I'm sitting here on a Sunday night in front of the TV, sipping on a diet soft drink. Only half a can, but still. Last night, DH and I had a date night at the movies. And while I was very good about not eating junk (after a pizza lunch) at the theater, a diet sparkly drink sounded very, very appealing.

Ah, the guilt!

My pregnancy books say no to artificial sweeteners & no to excessive caffeine. Okay, so I can forgive the minimal amount of caffeine this half a can of soda pop is giving me, but diet soda has been soooo taboo to me for a while, that I can't help but feel guilty. And then I think of all of the women before me who probably guzzled Tab soda & Diet colas & have delivered healthy babies. It's not that bad, is it?

Last night when I was getting ready for bed, I patted my very bloated belly & noted that my belly button is hardly sunken in anymore. It barely dips. Ugh, gross. It's going to be popping out here in the next few weeks, I can tell. My belly button is the most neglected part of my body because it grosses me out. I mostly choose to pretend it doesn't exist. But this new pressure system down there tells me that I can't ignore it much longer. Bleh. At this moment, I have to itch it because it tickles just to think about it.

But another surprise awaited me. When I climbed into bed, the weight of my belly made it a little uncomfortable to lay on my back. But instead of immediately changing positions, I laid there for a few minutes because I felt Corbin was pretty active. Sure enough, he started kicking & twisting all around. I put my hand on my belly & actually felt him kicking from the outside. I had DH put his hand on me, too. He says he felt it, but I don't think he really did, because he didn't seem as excited as I would have expected, considering he has been asking about it for a couple of weeks. Anyway, after a while, I had to turn on my left side & put a pillow between my knees to get comfortable.

DH just came down the steps with a new goatee. He shaved off his beard, which is understandable since it is summertime, but I do hope he makes a decision about his facial hair before the baby comes. I remember that when I was little & my dad shaved off his beard, I freaked out because I didn't recognize him. DH looks good any way he shaves (or doesn't). And any way he decides, the baby will probably always associate him with a prickly face.

Above is a pic of the nursery so far. We have a lot of decorating to do, but you can at least see our furniture. We are going with a jungle theme & hope to get some cane trees to round out the whole look. My favorite piece right now is the glider. I also got out my old children's books & am displaying them on the new bookcase. DH read me (and the baby) a book the other day to bone up on his skills. It was sweet.