21 Weeks. Or, Sometimes It's Too Hard to Think of a Title

21 weeks 5 days.  I'm still feeling great and not showing as much as most at this far along but yesterday while we were out on our evening walk with the puppy Matt said "Wow, you're finally starting to look a little pregnant!"  Yay?!  I am glad I will no longer look like I just ate a five pound burrito for breakfast but I'm feeling large and in charge and a bit...awkward already and I have a looong way to go.  It's also become apparent that unless someone KNOWS I'm pregnant, it's not obvious, which means they all just think I'm getting poochy.  Nothing better than feeling fat and not being able to do anything about it!

It's been gorgeous weather all winter but that means not cold at all which also means we're in for a scorcher of a summer.  Hold me and my whaleness.  I told Matt he'll have to come visit me in the pool when June hits because that's where I'll be living.

I've noticed that I'm much more tired in the second trimester than the first.  This seems to unusual since most women report a burst of energy in the second trimester, but I acknowledge that outside factors such as a light sleeping dog and family in town (more about that below) are contributing factors to the exhaustion, so it may just be that and have nothing to do with the pregnancy. 

My appetite is back and I feel like I'm back to normal food portions.  I seem to have a new found love for Doritos, but I'm keeping it in check because I don't really want an orange cheese baby.  My dad bought FIFTEEN boxes of Thin Mints which have been hard to avoid, but I think I've done pretty well.  I think in total I've eaten one sleeve.

Baby boy is now very active and Matt has finally been able to feel a few kicks from the outside.  When I'm super busy I still don't notice them as much as when I'm resting but he's definitely letting us know that he's in there.  It's really nice to have something confirming his little life every day, rather than stressing out and waiting for the next appointment to hear his heartbeat.  I still can't get over how weird it is that I have a little person in there, moving around and growing like a weed.

I'm still walking every day and some mornings there's definitely a strain on my ligaments from el womb.  I keep wondering if I should get some sort of sling to help out from the outside.  That would kind of look awesome, no?!

As for the rest of life...it's been a very eventful couple of weeks up around here.  First and foremost, my little sister had her baby this week.  Vivan Rachel is totally gorgeous and we're all in love.  The not so great part is that my sister was in labor for almost 60 hours...28 of which were like, HARD labor, and she had to push for TWO AND A HALF HOURS.  Vivan was posterior thus the delay.  Interestingly enough those stats are almost exactly the same as my mother's when she had her first (me).  If you're with me here all of this is pointing to a posterior baby and several hellish days of labor for me considering all of our pregnancies have been almost exactly the same and we all have different sizes of the exact same bone structure.  Party in my uterus, right?  I'm petrified.

Meagan having her baby also meant lots and lots of family in town.  Dad showed up from China and Mom is in from Utah.  Meagan's husband's Mom (got that?) is in from New Orleans.  I have the more spacious living quarters so we've spent a lot of time here at my house.  Overall it's been great and I love having everyone here...but I also realized how very quiet Matt's and my life is, and how routine we've made things.  Having extra people here just jacks all that up.  It's fun for a while but I think three or four days of company is about where we tucker out.  Sadly/luckily, my Dad had to leave earlier than expected so, for the moment, no one is physically staying here, but we are still having some meals and gatherings here so it's quieter but not all the way back to normal.

The great news is my Mom is here and can help me start moving furniture around so we can get started on the nursery for the little man.  I found a crib I'm madly in love with (I think I mentioned that before...) and if I can get Matt fully on board the colors are decided.  Now I just need to hone in on a decor plan, fabrics and get moving!
 
Work has died down quite a bit which is good for me mentally, bad for the bank account.  Hopefully I can still get some odd things going here and there so I can fund the nursery projects but we might have to be on a stricter budget than expected.  It's fine, I'm sure everything will be perfect it's just a minor stress in the back of my head.  There's some opportunities floating around and I can honestly say something has always plopped right in my lap when we need money so I'm not too worried about it.  We'll see what happens coming up and trust that everything will work out like it always does.

So there's the update. I'll probably wait to post a belly shot until 24 weeks.  I'm guessing by then there will be something significant to show.  My next appointment is the first week of April and I think that's when I do the dreaded glucose test.  Cannot wait.  Must remember to stop eating Starburst Jelly Beans loooong before then.  Which will be impossible because hi.  Have you HAD those?  Delicious.

Fifty Percent

Well, I'm at 20 weeks, the official halfway point in this pregnancy.  It seemed like SUCH A BIG DEAL to get here...and now I'm thinking "wait a second I have TWENTY MORE WEEKS TO GO?"

I added it all up and I've been pregnant for 42 weeks in total.  By the time I'm done it will be 62 with only one baby.  That in and of itself is a little depressing and makes me feel like I will NEVER AGAIN NOT BE PREGNANT.  Not that I can complain since it appears I will continue to have fairly easy pregnancies, it's just a long freaking time.  I guess the bonus is that in the last 22 months I've only had  my period like ten times.  Silver lining, right?

I had my monthly appointment this morning and everything is great.  He was moving all over and it took the doctor a while  to get a good position to get the heartrate.  It's in the 150s which is perfect, and my uterus is measuring a week ahead, so 21 weeks.  It may not mean anything but it might also mean he'll come earlier in July which is fine by me!  The less time I have to be pregnant in July heat, the better.

I went to Buy Buy Baby and attempted to register today.  That store is awesome and overwhelming and it made me realize that Amazon may be my best choice because it has the exact colors I want in my swing and bouncer and such.,  and that way I'm not sending people too many options.  I'll still keep the Buy Buy Baby registry for the coupons though.  Can't go wrong with a guaranteed 10% off your registry item and the use of any Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons.  The best thing that came out of it is that I found THE crib I want.  It's very similar to the dream crib at Restoration Hardware but in a better color and half the price.  I feel like the nursery can start coming together now.  Suhweet.

Other than that, nothing too much to report.  Appetite is good, I feel good, baby is good, life is good.  Now just to buckle down and prepare myself for the next twenty weeks.