Part of the reason for my current bloggy silence is busyness, and not MY busyness, per se, but my mother in law's busyness that drafts us into service. She is running for state senate and my husband is her treasurer and webmaster, I help along with smaller tasks like her mailers, absentee lists, etc etc. The primary is next Tuesday, so right around the bend, and it is a close, very heated race among two of the three Republicans. Even if I wasn't related to her, I'd think she was a very strong, conservative candidate and knowing first hand how much incredible work she has put into this just makes it all the more impressive. She was on our local PBD show 'Running' last night, giving her introduction and a quick question/answer round with her fellow politicians (that got quite heated, it was amusing), and tonight we will all attend a candidate forum locally to see her hash it out with them again. That forum is the first one in this part of her district in years and years, if that gives you an idea of how unusually contentious this race is!

I will be thrilled when the primary is over (moreso if she wins!) because this has been a huge time draw for the whole family, just out of the necessity of things needing to be done. She also has the vehicle we will be bequeathed (a Suburban) post-primary so we can fit three carseats, and I don't get it until she is done using it is a campaign billboard ;). She will also be more available to help with the children if/when I go into labor, and the general election will send more funds her way for a lot less legwork if she gets the nomination from the primary process. Basically we get a lot of benefits, as a family and her individually, with a lot less stress. So be thinking good thoughts for us over the next week as things stay busy and a bit tense, and any/all good Super Tuesday vibes for her are much appreciated.

On a different topic, weight! This has been a pattern throat the pregnancy, and one I find very interesting indeed. My weight seems to be in a pattern of 'steady, steady, steady, JUMP!', with the jumps corresponding to a big increase in fundal height/belly size. My weight really leapt up from 219-220 to 223, and other than the VBS bump and correction it has stayed within the same general range for each day. The general trend upward has only been about 13 pounds this whole pregnancy, and I am almost at the end, so I am thrilled about that. But it SEEMS like I have gained a lot more, because I gain a bunch so quickly and then it levels out for a month or so. It has been a frustrating thing to see, making me second guess my eating habits when I see it leap, but now it really seems to be the trend line I am on and independent (mostly) of day to day consumption. My calories have been on the high side of what I want, but my overall gain is still very low for this point in pregnancy and I do think I will have held steady when all is said and done, post-baby.

This is just another benefit of logging food and weight during pregnancy - I still have accountability, but moreover, I have a log showing my body's response to the internal workings and external stimuli I give it. I am confident and comfortable with my gains because they aren't random pigouts, but a very consistent pattern that my unique body and baby grow at. I also understand how my activity and sleep patterns are affecting my daily totals, and it helps me see if something starts going really funky, like edema, because it WILL show up in my daily log. For my health, the logging has been great. It hasn't prevented me from eating a lot of ice-cream, but it DOES keep me accountable to measure me portion ;). And while it won't stop the normal gain of a growing human, it will give me a solid diagnostic tool for this pregnancy, and comparing pregnancies down the road. There are very few situations in life where less information is preferable to more, and weight is no exception. It could condemn me or stress me if I let it, but instead I am just viewing it for the tool it is and happy to have a logical pattern emerge from several months of confusing data!