12 week ultrasound, weight loss, and swimming

Everything looked fine at my ultrasound this week.  It was beyond exciting to see a little humanoid shape moving around in there!  At last!  The baby was bouncing on his/her back repeatedly and waving little arms and legs about continuously.  I could have watched for hours, as it made everything seem very real and the baby was so fun and fascinating to observe, but the scan was over after a few minutes.  And I only got to hear the heartbeat for a few seconds.  I'm still marveling at how this mango-sized creature can be in motion without me feeling anything at all!  I should get bloodwork results back next week that, combined with the results of the nuchal translucency scan, will tell me more about risks and further testing needs.

I'm down a few pounds, though it fluctuates by a five pound margin.  I often see something in the 246-251 range on the home scale.  Tuesday the doctor's scale said 250; yesterday the gym scale said 249.  I'd have to dig through my records, but I don't think I've seen anything in the 240's on the gym scale before now.  I think my face looks a little less chubby than it used to.  It is liberating to exercise and weigh myself and moderate my food choices without all the self-imposed pressure to lose lose LOSE. 

I went swimming yesterday for the first time in over 4 years and it felt really nice.  I rediscovered how much I enjoy the brain-body challenge of thinking about all these different components of the strokes while carrying them out.  I love getting a lane to myself and tuning out the rest of the world.  Unlike the case of group exercise classes or using gym machines or even taking walks outside, I don't have to look at anyone.  There's no one to compare myself to.  There's no interaction or competition or self-consciousness, which is great for me.

I might try some aqua cardio classes to mix things up in the pool, or I may sign up for a few private lessons so I can learn to do the breaststroke and backstroke more precisely and efficiently, even if I'm only going to do them slowly.  (I read those are the two best strokes to do during pregnancy.)  I went slowly yesterday, but still got my heart pumping and I felt deliciously tired a couple hours after my swim.  I felt like I had really done something good for myself.