Baby Bump | 23 Weeks

My update is coming to you late this week because there has been a blanket fort in our living-room. And my tripod was necessary to ensure the fort remained structurally sound.

In baby news there really isn’t too much to tell. He’s been kicking so much and I absolutely love it. On babycenter.com I read my 23 week update which says “Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With his sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance.” This brought to mind the sweetest image of my baby dancing with me. It was one of my favorite weekly updates to read so far.

We’ve been talking names but we aren’t telling anyone. I know, I know… After keeping the gender a secret for two weeks you’d think we were done withholding information, but this is different. We don’t really want to name him before he is born and we don’t want to over-think the naming too much. We just want to have a general idea by the time he is born then we will decide once we have seen his adorable little face. So please forgive us for withholding this, too. I swear it isn’t because we get some sick pleasure out of it. Lol.

One of the most significant things in the last few weeks, which I’ve touched on but haven’t really discussed in detail, is how wonderful I feel. On the inside at least. My first trimester was so miserable. I had not endured such extended misery in my life until that point. When I would have good days, I was too scared to hope that it signaled the end of my suffering. The first-trimester blues gradually faded until one day (around 18-20 weeks) I woke up and realized I was almost myself again! This feeling has been strong since then and I am so happy to finally be where I am now. I’m dealing with other physical issues like awful hip pain, but it’s so much better than what I was feeling. And nothing can beat the mental recovery I have had, thanks to some nicer hormones flowing through my system.

This boost in my mood has given me a renewed sense of excitement for life and the inevitable urge to nest. I’m a little worried though, because while my brain has been all “let’s take on the world and organize your life!” My body has not been as helpful. In my mind I have so many things I want to do to prepare for Baby T, but in reality I have accomplished very little. It frightens me. So that is my purpose in the next few weeks. Just for fun, (and because this is my blog and I can bore you if I want to) here is what my next two weeks look like.

Today: Grocery shopping, Do some light laundry and housework, design work, email correspondence, finally get my printer back to working order.
This weekend: A couple possible photo-shoots, date night/weekend with the hubs.
Next week: Clean the guestroom and hopefully even organize my craft closet. Also, design work.
Next weekend: My sister-in-law is getting married! My sister, Bethany and I will be photographing the event.

Also in the months of June and July: Two baby showers will eventually be taking place and I will need a nursery to put these things in. :)

The Bump:

Baby’s Size| Large Mango

How far along | 23 weeks

Sleep | Twice over the weekend I only had to wake up twice to pee! This is huge for me…although we’ve been sleeping in the blanket fort, which is a bit of a chore to crawl out of when I need to get up and go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Totally worth it though. Oh, I also had some weird dreams the other night. I’ve had lot of dreams, which isn’t weird, but these were scary. *shiver. No, thank you.

Clothes | I ripped some of my favorite PJs whose waistline still fits, so that was sad. I want to live in light, loose pants and shirts for the rest of my life (or at least the next four months).

Cravings | Last night I had this instant desire for Sprite. I didn’t get it, though. Sad. Other than that I have been indulging my taste for sweet baked things like blueberry muffins, cheese danish, banana bread and scones. I feel bad but they are so easy to grab and eat and so yummy! I suppose the good thing is, I’ve also been craving salad. With lots of dressing, but still… salad, people!

Food Aversions |  There is this incredibly delicious pasta I make frequently and is one of Steven’s favorite dishes for me to make. Well… you guessed it. Ew. I feel bad, but it just does NOT sound good. In other food talk, last week I cooked a full meal every night! Most of them were also brand new experiments for me and included several side dishes. It was fun.

Symptoms | Back and hip pain rules the week. I’ve actually been able to handle most of it lately, but when I walk alot (like at the museum this past weekend) my sciatica flares up and I can barely take a step. And my back hurts the most when I’ve been sitting at my desk for too long. That makes accomplishing any businessy work much more difficult.

Doctor’s Appointment | I finally had my real appointment. It was weird. My doctor was called in for a delivery and they asked if I wanted to stay to see her (after waiting an hour already I would have had to wait another full hour) or I could see a nurse practitioner. I chose to see the NP and it was a quick appointment, hardly worth the wait. And the NP didn’t really seem to know what she was doing. It took her awhile to find the heartbeat, which would have been scarier if I hadn’t been feeling him kick minutes before. Whew. Next appointment in 3 weeks.

Movement | SO MUCH! I can feel it pretty easily from the outside now, although there are movements from all directions now so I don’t always know where to have Steven put his hand when I try to have him feel. Baby Boy’s been stubborn, though. He’ll kick or move several times in a row, but once Steven’s trying to feel he will get shy and stop. Sigh. A bunch of people have been telling me lately about what it’s like when you can see the movements from the outside. I suppose that is my next goal.

Belly Button | Last night I couldn’t stop touching it. It was so weird that when I tried to poke my finger in it, it would barely go in. It’s almost flat now.

Gender | Still a boy. There was no mistaking that sonogram indication, so I don’t think this will be changing. :)

Best moment of the week | Having an adventure with Steven over the weekend.

What I miss | My face. It’s completely changed. It’s bigger, redder, full of acne and creased with redness and sweat. Sigh. I never had skin problems before this. I want my old face back. Every time I look in the mirror I sigh.