I ended up not going in to have my hand looked at, as it wasn't getting any worse. My body seems to have fought whatever nastiness was associated with the bite and the swelling is pretty much gone. The whole area still itches but it is definitely on the mend, which is great!

The scale has stuck at 216.4 for three days in a row, so I am assuming that, holiday or growing baby, that is my accurate weight. It is up about six pounds from my pre pregnancy estimate and up about three from what the doctor measured me at for ten weeks gestation, so I'm quite happy with that. I am still struggling with lethargy and not doing my exercise block but that's okay, I am really not feeling like pushing at myself right now and need rest instead. I could beat myself up over my lack of exercise, but honestly I am still doing a lot of standing and moving throughout the day, just not a lot of hard, intentional movement. I feel okay today but my husband will be coming home early for a church thing we have, so I will be using my exercise block of time to start early on dinner before we go.

I think it is important to remind myself that NONE of this is failure. I am healthy and fairly active, my body is handling pregnancy fatigue and aches very well, but it's not the time to push myself hard if my energy or joints aren't up to to it. I still want to do more, but my body isn't really up for it right now.

I've had a few splurgy treats for eating, but overall am doing fine on that and staying around my calorie budget. No serious weightloss has occurred, I don't think, but I am not gaining either. This is as good as I Dan ask for in the holding pattern that is the next few months. I don't know if I'll make 189 by January this year or not, since I will only have two months postpartum and that assumes no stitches or surgery to recover from, but I can't say this year was bad in terms of weight if I consider how much I'd have gained if I wasn't watching what I ate. Probably 250 and higher, I'm sure. So maintenance really has been a feat unto itself and I know I should be proud and not frustrated. Like I said, I just need to keep reminding myself of how well I am doing and how far I have come, instead of frustration at a perceived 'lack of progress'.

It's all about progress and not perfect, after all :)