Cramps, Cravings and Other Pregnant Oddities...21 Weeks

Today (Monday) I am officially past the halfway mark, I am 21 weeks. Just to clarify (if you're like me before I was pregnant and your brain doesn't work in pregnancy weeks) I have been pregnant for about 4 1/2 months now and I am 'in the 5th month'.

I haven't talked much about pregnancy symptoms in these blog posts, but let me just take a moment to tell you about all the strange little things that many people fail to talk about in regards to pregnancy... My calves are tight like I've just done 100 calf raises and didn't stretch afterwards - they cramp regularly in the middle of the night causing me to leap from bed and startling Michael awake. My mouth is extra watery. I am extra thirsty. My nails are growing fast, but they're thin. My cravings and aversions are random and unexplained - I want Cesar salad desperately, first trimester regular mint flavors sounded gross and now the cinnamon that I replaced the other mints with tastes strange. I gag when I take vitamins or any other pill, which I never did before, and this is especially inconvenient now as I have more pills to take than ever with all the vitamins (and now Tylenol thanks to braces)! Last but not least... a better known 'symptom' is the popping belly button, but it feels entirely too early for my belly button to be on the way out - in my mind that is for 'really pregnant people' - but perhaps I just don't realize that I'm in that category!

Still, as I tell anyone who asks, this pregnancy has been so easy compared to others I've heard of, I really can't complain! I feel good most days and all the check ups I've had have been positive. We love our doctor, I have a wonderful, supporting husband and friends and we're really looking forward to sharing this beautiful little girl (skeletor) with our loved ones.

21 weeks from the side
21 weeks from the front

19 and 20 weeks...Half way there!

Well I missed again last week for the 19 week post, but I do have pictures from 19 and 20 weeks I can share today. I was so proud of myself initially for such diligent updates, but as I indicated last post, work has been absolutely crazy and does not promise to get better anytime soon! I guess pride does come before the fall... so much for regular blogging!

19 Weeks

20 Weeks (that belly button is on it's way out!)

My 18th and 19th weeks were good as far as how I have been feeling but work schedules haven't really allowed for the gym schedule I hoped to keep. The baby is the size of the cantaloupe this week (20 weeks) and I'm officially half way through my pregnancy... but let's not talk too much about that lest I freak myself out about all that remains to be done! She's "eating" several ounces of amniotic fluid every day to practice her swallowing and digesting and now her previously-existent taste buds work! Her body is now producing meconium (which is the "tar" that will show up in her first couple of diapers) and this will accumulate in her bowels until she is born unlike the urine. Appropriate dinner conversation? No. Fascinating? Yes!

The baby's room is almost entirely cleaned out now and Michael busted out the shelves in the closet this past week (thank you! thank you! thank you!) which will allow us to patch, sand and paint the closet so we can hang the wire shelving. As of this morning I am 98% positive on the fabrics we'll use for the bedding (that mom and I currently plan to make) which allows for further decision making on things like sheets, changing pad covers, room paint, etc. I should be excited about another decision down - I am, really I am - but in my pregnant brain it also feels like that opened the flood gates to more decision making! Alas, the to-do list grows and the schedule fills up, but the phrase that surfaced first at our wedding is now applicable to baby ... "It will all get done!"

I'm supposed to be gaining about a pound a week from here on out and though it's been that way for the last couple of weeks I seriously feel like my belly is getting bigger by the day. We still do not have a name though that is THE #1 question we're asked these days, but I do feel like our list of options is getting smaller. Hopefully something "will just feel right" very soon. I also still do not feel this little one moving yet, but if the sonogram is any indication...once I can feel her it is going to be non-stop activity. For now I will just enjoy the stillness of the belly!

Natasha

17 and 18 Weeks... a growing baby GIRL!

Of all the weeks to miss a post, I missed last week! It was also a bad week to miss the weekly picture since my belly is swelling by the day!

Below, the girls at 18 weeks.Week 16 and 17 have both been good weeks as far as how I have been feeling. I've made it to the gym a few times and it feels nice to be back in that routine. Work has been very busy (which is one of the reasons I'm behind) and so it's been a routine of wake-up, work, cook dinner, work more, sleep, repeat. In the midst of work I'm also trying to make time for our baby to-do-list which seems to be growing by the day.

Below, baby's profile and her 'skeletor' face.

Our sonogram in week 17 revealed that baby is very healthy, has a complete four chamber heart, two kidneys receiving adequate blood flow and normal sized brain, head, torso and femur. She moved non-stop the entire sonogram keeping her feet crossed right where we needed to see and so she is either very modest or ridiculously active - the sonogram technician said that we had a "a little ninja baby!" They estimated that she weighs about 9 oz. I think it's safe for me to speak for both of us when I say that we couldn't be happier, we're so excited, and we're so ready for her to be here with us... it's also safe to say that those things would all be just as true if it were a boy. The peace of mind that comes with knowing our growing baby is healthy as far as the doctors can tell, is worth it's weight in gold.

Last but not least.... Week 17 we had an onion and this week, week 18, we have a sweet potato! At this point baby's organs are all there and just working on maturing. She can swallow, yawn, roll, hiccup, punch and kick. I wait quietly, sitting nice and still hoping to feel some of this activity, but so far nothing! I'm entering the 'zone' where these movements are supposed to feel more distinct so it really could be any day now. What to Expect When You're Expecting says she should be around 5 oz. this week, http://www.thebump.com/ says she should be around 6.7 oz. and the sonogram last week showed she was actually around 9oz... of all the ways I hope our daughter is above average, I wasn't hoping that #1 is her birth weight! haha

Thanks to all of you who prayed for a positive sonogram, healthy baby, and healthy mommy. We continue to feel overwhelmed by the love and support of our friends and family as we creep along towards our due date!

- Natasha