Fat Pregnant Lady (Download 60% Complete)

Today is V-Day, meaning my pregnancy is now officially viable! Baby's body is pretty much developed and now just needs to get fat. This week I am pretty sure Squirmy got the hiccups a couple of times. Fun stuff!

So what I need to do now is make sure baby's not packing it on... and, considering the way I've been eating the past month, I admittedly need to make some changes.

Doctor was concerned with how much weight I've put on since my last visit. If I knew I had been eating really well and exercising regularly, I would probably have let it go -- but I know what I've been eating, I know how much my activity level has decreased, and I know how poorly some of my clothes are fitting... so it's time to make some changes, especially given that I'm genetically predisposed to develop diabetes and would like that to not be an issue for me or Squirmy.

(Take a stab at what my biggest weakness has been.)

1. No more drive-through snacks!

2. No more junk cereal!

3. More whole grains, veggies, fruits, etc!

4. Eat when I'm hungry, not when I'm just bored or stressed!

5. As of today I am officially a member of the YMCA, likely through the end of my pregnancy. Let the lap swimming and water aerobics commence!

Baby Download 58% complete

Today is twenty-three weeks of pregnancy for me, and baby is roughly the size of a grapefruit. Next week my pregnancy will be considered "viable" -- meaning, if for some reason the baby had to come out at that point, his or her chances of survival would be considerably higher than if baby came before that point. Probably because, by twenty-four weeks gestation, baby's body is fully developed and just needs to grow and get fat from that point onward. (So guess when the fastest rate of belly expansion will take place.)

Meanwhile, Squirmy's body is almost completely developed and, from head to toe, is about a foot long. This little offspring of mine is still breech, or at least it seems that way based on the immense beating my bladder takes each day, but definitely alive and, most certainly, kicking and growing. I do think I felt Squirmy flip over earlier this week and felt some kicks several inches higher in my abdomen (above the belly button as opposed to the "bikini line"), only to feel them later on top of my bladder again and there they have remained. Maybe Squirmy will make a more permanent flip to the desired head down position in the next few weeks, but so far my doctor doesn't seem terribly concerned. Next OBGYN appointment is in a week, and for now I just like feeling the rolls, kicks, and punches.

Either Squirmy doesn't like my husband or Squirmy likes my husband a lot, because so far whenever I have him feel for the baby's movement, all movement ceases, usually until about two seconds after husband has been freed from holding his hand to my abdomen for several minutes while I occasionally prod my lower belly and coo, "Baby, say hi to Daddy!"

My brain continues to be seemingly addled by pregnancy. I often can't think of the words I want to say. One funny instance was earlier this week, when I was trying to explain why particular words like "can't" and "don't" have apostrophes to a first grader I am currently tutoring.

"Sometimes," I said, writing the word cannot on a paper, "We use short cuts, and we squish words together." I drew an arrow pointing down from cannot and wrote can't beneath it.

I continued explaining, "Can't and cannot mean the same thing. When we squish it together and say can't, it's called a..."

...And for the life of me I couldn't come up with the word contraction, until the student's mother walked through the room, chortling, and said, "A contraction? That's actually pretty funny you couldn't come up with THAT word." It was a very good joke!

"Badge of Honor"

It was discovered last night while I was getting ready for bed.

It's red.

It's a funny shape.

It's on my belly.

It's a stretch mark.

I mourned briefly but, at the same time, felt proud of my little red stretch mark. We'll see how I feel when I have dozens of them scattered across my belly like confetti on a table at a birthday party. I don't have to like them, but hopefully I won't mind them.

Baby Download 55% Complete

Today is twenty-two weeks of pregnancy. Baby is looking more and more like a newborn because of developed eyebrows and lips, and is also apparently sleeping in cycles of 12-14 hours. Squirmy must move in his or her sleep because I feel movement more frequently than that. Squirmy weighs around a pound by now and is roughly the size of a papaya, a fruit I'm not sure I've actually held in my hands before.

Thoughts from this week:

I think pregnancy has made me somewhat dyslexic.

The lower back pain has really started to kick in and I'm nervous because I know it's only going to get worse. Hauling around baskets of laundry and standing at the sink doing dishes for thirty minutes have become significantly more difficult tasks. And don't talk to me about mopping the floor.

Sleeping is also challenging these days, because in addition to my back pain my hips are particularly sore and hurt when I lie on my side no matter how much I stretch my I-bands (tendons on the outer parts of your hips) before I go to bed. Even though I prefer to sleep next to my husband, I am getting closer and closer to putting a foam topper on my father-in-law's old hospital bed and sleeping in that with the head of the bed inclined so I can finally just sleep on my back.

On Sunday I baked a cake, frosted it, and ate most of it over the course of two and a half days. I threw the rest of it away in a moment of sanity on Tuesday.

Last week I neglected exercise, partially due to the fact that my father-in-law was in the hospital with gallstone issues (he has since been discharged and is doing fine). This week I am trying to return to regular exercise of any kind because it seems to help with my back pain. (And don't forget all the cake I ate.)

I hear "boom" sound effects in my head when Squirmy gives a particularly strong kick, like the sound you hear on Jurassic Park when there's a Tyrannosaurus Rex in the distance and the glass of water gets rings on the surface because of the vibrations. I wonder what kind of sounds I'll hear at Christmas when I can't sleep at night because of the Tae Bo that will be occurring in my uterus.

Baby Download 53% Complete

Today is twenty-one weeks!

Squirmy weighs nearly a pound and has formed eyelids, eyebrows, and lips. I swear the other night I had my hand on my belly and felt a kick or two from the outside. Soon enough hubby will be able to feel baby's kicks, too!

The body changes have really kicked in and I am officially going through what feels like puberty again. My male friends may want to skip the rest of this entry altogether.

My feet seem to have grown.... given that I had to buy a pair of size twelve flats at Payless the other day. (I'm usually a 10 in casual shoes.)

I also struggle more to "cover up" for my teaching jobs. It doesn't matter how high my neckline is, either. I now empathize with the girls who complained during our internships how hard it was to cover up without wearing a scarf!

Belly itches a lot, surely that means stretch marks. I didn't really think the moderately priced "stretch mark prevention" lotion would work, but I've still been using it anyway as it seems to help with the itching.

That's all for now... I need a nap.

Ultrasound Joy

Today was the ultrasound that we could have used to determine the sex of the baby but chose not to -- and baby apparently was feeling shy anyway! Still, we got a nice look at the heart, all four chambers included, and the skull, spine, hands, feet, and brain. The doctor said everything looks perfect. I'm so excited!

Hubby went with me and was rapt with attention. It was sweet.

Here's what you've been waiting for... baby pictures!

Baby's knee is bent above his/her head in this picture.

Profile shot!

Precious tootsies!

See what I mean? No peeking allowed! Umbilical cord was bunched up under Squirmy's bum, and you can see it between the knees there.

After a while, baby curled up and started putting fingers and toes in his/her mouth.

More hiding behind hands and feet... Hubby's child for sure. "No pictures, please!"

We did finally get a nice face shot here. So in love with my little person.

January seems so close, and yet so far away. Close because we have so much preparing to do, but so far because I can't wait to see our little foot muncher in person!