Whooooaaaa, we're halfway there! 20 weeks!

Week 20

How far along? 20 weeks, 1 day

Baby is the size of a: banana (about 6.5 inches head to rump, 10 inches head to heel)

Total weight gain: Still slightly below my starting weight. Which means weight gain is coming soon

Maternity clothes?  Yeah, my pants won’t button even if I try. It needs to get warmer so I can wear my maternity shorts! They apparently don’t make maternity jeans for us vertically challenged folks 

Stretch marks? None yet.

Sleep: Better! I’ve been so exhausted that I’ve been falling asleep almost immediately. Definitely miss having Mark next to me though, even if he is a mouth breather at night ;)

Best moment this week: I’m home! Like I said, I really, really miss Mark, but it’s good to be back!

Miss Anything?  My amazing husband.

Movement: Oh yes. This kid is being pretty active at times! It’s a weird sensation, feeling a human inside my belly…

Food cravings: Today, I really want a tuna sandwich. Uh, weird. (Don’t worry, it’s safe to have up to 12 ounces a week!)

Anything making you queasy or sick: Today has been a queasy day. Other than that, still, no red meat. Ew.

Gender:  Still thinking girl! If Tricare cooperates with me and lets me see a doctor, we’ll hopefully find out soon. 

Labor Signs: None

Symptoms: My tail bone hurts! And my hands and feet swelled up quite a bit a few days ago. This summer should be fun!

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On, but I couldn’t get them off the other day when my fingers swelled. I need to start keeping an eye on them!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. The only thing making me mad is Tricare. 

Looking forward to: Visiting Mark in a few weeks! 

19 Weeks

Week 19

How far along? 19 weeks, 1 day

Baby is the size of a: mango!

Total weight gain: I keep forgetting to weigh myself! As of a few days ago, I was still down 5 pounds

Maternity clothes?  Mostly, yes. 

Stretch marks? None yet.

Sleep: Ugh. What’s sleep? It takes me hours to fall asleep at night. Partially because  my bladder needs to be emptied every 30 minutes and my feet feel like they’re on fire. But, also because baby is most active at night and the little kicks are still new to me, so I stay up so I can feel them. Oops.

Best moment this week: Is it sad that this week my best moment may have come from eating a Philly? Whatever, it was amazing.

Miss Anything?  I miss shopping in regular sizes. Maternity clothes are ugly, boring, and expensive.

Movement: Some! Like I said, mostly at night. Sometimes I freak out when I haven’t felt anything for awhile.

Food cravings: Uh, chicken Phillies. Oh. My. Gosh. What is my problem? 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I don’t want red meat. Nasty.

Gender:  Had another baby girl dream a few days ago!

Labor Signs: None

Symptoms: Food dreams haha

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On, but as it gets warmer, my fingers are swelling more.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, but I usually get a little irritable by nighttime.  

Looking forward to: Going home and seeing my family and friends! But knowing I’ll be without Mark is making me incredibly sad. I think we’re really over the whole long distance thing. 

18 Weeks

Week 18

How far along? 18 weeks, 1 day

Baby is the size of a: sweet potato or a bell pepper

Total weight gain: I weighed myself a few days ago and I was only down 5.5 pounds.

Maternity clothes?  Oh yes.  

Stretch marks? None yet.

Sleep: Still having a weird sleep schedule. If I could just sleep 7 hours straight, it’d be a miracle. I think my body is just preparing itself to be woken up at all hours of the night by an infant.

Best moment this week: Finally got a date for when I’m going home! See you next Saturday, Normal!

Miss Anything?  I don’t want wine, I don’t want beer, I just want a giant margarita on the rocks.

Movement: Come on, baby, KICK ME! I’m ready for it!

Food cravings: Barbeque sauce. We went to a cookout the other day and one of Mark’s friends had smoked ribs all day and it was covered in caramelized BBQ and oh my gosh, it was heavenly. Now I can’t get enough of it.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I’m getting better! Ground beef still sounds revolting.

Gender:  I’ve been referring to baby as  “she” without realizing it. Until Mark calls baby a “he” and I’m like WHAT? We should find out in about 2-3 weeks if baby cooperates!

Labor Signs: None

Symptoms: So many weird ones. Some are too embarrassing to post online.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: I’ve been happy! Now that the worst of my morning sickness is over (I’ve still thrown up a few times the past couple of days, but at least it’s better), I’m just excited about this baby. I haven’t really experienced many mood swings, I just cry at random things.

Looking forward to: Going home next week! Although…I’m not excited about Mark and I going long distance again for a few weeks. 

17 Weeks

Week 17

How far along? 17 weeks, 1 day

Baby is the size of a: onion

Total weight gain: To be honest, I haven’t checked recently. I’ve been eating pretty normally though, so I’m sure it’s up!

Maternity clothes?  Finally went shopping for maternity clothes yesterday. They’re SO expensive. And I just have to say that maternity pants are the most comfortable things ever. I bought a pair of shorts, but I’m still looking for some capris that don’t go down to my ankles.

Stretch marks? Not yet, but I’m starting to get a very, very light linea nigra.

Sleep: I have issues falling asleep at night. As soon as I decide I’m ready to sleep, my bladder wakes up. Who knew it was even possible to pee 5 times in 20 minutes?

Best moment this week: We went on a drive through the hills on Sunday! It was nice to see some scenery and get some fresh air!

Miss Anything?  I could really go for a margarita.

Movement: Still just some tiny flutters, but I have to really focus to feel it. I’m ready for some real kicks!

Food cravings: ROOT BEER. I know it’s so bad to drink pop, and it’s something I had mostly cut out of my life the past few months before I got pregnant. Now I can’t get enough of it. Don’t worry, I limit myself to one a day.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Still don’t want anything to do with red meat.

Gender:  Team girl! Funny story--supposedly a heart rate above 140 indicates girl, and below 140 is boy. Guess what our baby's heart rate was last week? 140. Such a little stinker.

Labor Signs: None

Symptoms: My tail bone hurts, my back hurts, I pee all the time, still nauseous from time to time, getting less and less sleep, that nasty linea nigra thing, I either have no appetite or a huge appetite, veins, veins everywhere,  and an ever-expanding (sore) chest.

Belly Button in or out? In. And it’d better stay that way.

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! It’s been a good couple of days. Hopefully it’s all good from here on out.

Looking forward to: My pedicure today! Ridiculously dry feet is apparently another fun pregnancy symptom of mine. 

16 Weeks

Week 16

How far along? 16 weks, 1 day

Baby is the size of a: avocado!

Total weight gain: -9 lbs. I gained back two pounds this past week. I have to keep reminding myself that, in this case, gaining weight is a GOOD thing

Maternity clothes?  I’ve been using the ponytail holder trick on my jeans when I leave the apartment. Otherwise, it’s all yoga pants, all the time

Stretch marks? Not yet

Sleep: Having trouble sleeping at night, but I sleep fine during the day

Best moment this week: Saturday was a GREAT day for me. I felt completely fine and we went on a 2 mile walk, I cleaned the apartment and we went out to dinner with Mark’s friends where I ate my whole meal and possibly half of Mark’s…

Miss Anything?  I miss last week when I was feeling better

Movement: Still feeling some very slight movement, but I’m ready to know for sure.

Food cravings: Still peanut butter and still juice.

Anything making you queasy or sick: The thought of beef. Ew.

Gender:  Still thinking girl

Labor Signs: None

Symptoms: My belly is hard as a rock. I always imagined rock hard abs, but not like this! My feet feel like they’re on fire when I’m in bed at night, so I keep them propped up to help. And sharp stabbing pains in my abdomen whenever I sneeze, cough, or vomit. Pretty sure it’s round ligament pain, but I’m asking at my doctor’s appointment tomorrow to be sure. Oh, and did I mention I’m throwing up again?

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, mostly, but bummed that I’m back to feeling like crap.

Looking forward to: Consistently feeling better. I feel like my week of relief was either a birthday present or an early April Fool’s Day joke from God. 

15 Weeks

There's a light at the end of the tunnel! I'm FINALLY feeling better, after being extremely miserable for most of the last ten weeks! I'm still pretty nauseous in the morning and at night, but overall, I feel so much better and I'm extremely grateful. 

Week 15

How far along? 15 weeks, 2 days

Baby is the size of a: Apple, orange or a…kit kat bar?

Total weight gain: -11 lbs

Maternity clothes?  I’m wearing my stretchiest pajama pants!

Stretch marks? Not yet

Sleep: I could sleep all day. And wow, do I have some crazy dreams.

Best moment this week: Mark and I WENT ON A DATE! I felt well enough Monday that we left the house to have fun for the first time in over 2 months! Also, Mark doesn’t smell nearly as bad to me, so we’re back to being a gross couple who snuggles all the time! Yay!

Miss Anything?  Shopping, and for some reason, exercising.

Movement: I’m 99.9% sure that I’m feeling the itty bittiest movements ever.

Food cravings: Peanut butter! And juice.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I’m doing MUCH better, but still have some food and smell aversions

Gender:  I’m officially voting girl.  

Labor Signs: None

Symptoms: So many, where do I even begin? I just want to say that anyone who says pregnant women are beautiful, hasn’t looked that closely at a pregnant woman.  We’re disgusting.

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy, but my hormones came out baring claws last night and then I felt so guilty for snapping at Mark that I started bawling. Luckily, I’m blessed with an understanding husband.

Looking forward to: nicer weather 

Gender Prediction

I've decided to check out some Old Wives Tales that supposedly predict the sex of your baby! This is just for fun, because I'm bored :)

Morning sickness: Girl
---Legend has it that the worse your morning sickness is, the more likely you are to have a girl. While this may not be true in all cases, but so far in my family, it's right! My mom didn't have morning sickness with my brother but had it with all us girls and Kathy didn't have morning sickness with her son!
Cravings: Girl 
---Craving sweet things supposedly indicates a girl, whereas salty/sour things point to having a boy. I mostly like things that are sweet right now, but I still crave salty things too! However, I read that craving citrus means a girl, so based on the amount of mandarin oranges I've been eating, I'm thinking sugar and spice.
Chinese Calendar: Boy
---This tale is based on the Chinese lunar calendar, and is determined by using the mothers birthdate and the month in which the baby was conceived.
Baby's Heartbeat: Girl
---Supposedly, a heartbeat below 140 indicates boy and anything above 140 is a girl. Our baby's heartbeat was 161 at 8 weeks and 153 at 12 weeks.
Mood: Boy
---The crankier you are, the more likely you will have a girl (hmm, wonder how they came up with that one!). I've been in a fairly good mood, so it could be a boy!
Even/Odd Test: Girl
---This is an old Mayan trick. You take your age and the month of conception (so for me, it's 24 and 12) and add them together. If the number is even, it's a girl. Odd, a boy.
Headaches: Boy
---If you have more headaches, it points to a boy and I've been having some pretty terrible headaches! However, headaches are a very common side effect of my nausea medication, so who knows?
Beauty: Girl
---Girls supposedly "steal" their mother's beauty from them. My forehead is covered in tiny bumps and my chin is breaking out like crazy. Not to mention the stupid little hairs that are popping up all over my body. Gross!
Sleep Position: Girl
---Sleeping on your right side indicates a girl, and left means a boy. I've almost always slept on my left side, but lately I'm finding the right side more comfortable. Weird.
Hands: Undetermined
---Soft hands point to a girl, but dry hands point to a boy. In the beginning of pregnancy, the palms of my hands and feet were getting really dry. I've never had dry palms before! Now, my hands have become increasingly soft. I'm wondering if my dehydration towards the beginning maybe played a part in my dry hands, but for now, we're calling it a tie.
Ring Test: Girl
---This one is probably the most ridiculous I've heard and I can't believe I just tried it, but hey, all in the name of science, right? Tie your wedding ring to a string and hold it above your belly. If it moves in a circle, you've got a boy. Mine moved back and forth, indicating a girl.

TOTAL:
Girl- 7, Boy- 3 (and a tie!)

So far, it's looking like a girl! We won't find out for several more weeks, so it's been really fun to guess. I change my mind all the time about whether I think we're having a boy or girl (I've heard that mother's intuition in this case is right over 70%  of the time), but right now I'm leaning towards girl. Mark is still banking on his boy and refers to our baby as "he". Anyone want to make a guess?