Week 21

I know that I say this every week, but I really can't believe how fast time is flying. We're already over halfway there. The baby is kicking up a storm and rolling around all the time.

His new thing is just too cute--as soon as I start eating, he starts rolling around and kicking like I've been starving him his whole life. It's so adorable. Now that he can taste, it is totally fitting for him to get so excited about food. But I don't know if it's just coincidence, because there is no way for him to know that I'm eating when I take the second bite--food can't travel to him that fast, but he does it every time (at least every time it's been a few hours since the last time I ate), so it can't just be coincidence. I love that he gets as excited as I do about delicious food.

Another strange thing is that my belly has totally stopped growing. I mean, I'm still getting bigger, but not nearly as fast as I was before. I gained 10 inches in the first 14 weeks or so of the pregnancy, and then, in the last seven weeks, I've only gained about two more. My belly looks like it's getting bigger and changing shape and everything, but only a little bit. And everything is still normal (so far), so I am trying not to worry that my body is squishing my baby. He's just so sweet and he needs room to grow. Don't you just love him?

Kicking

I've been feeling the baby moving and kicking for weeks now, which is really fun. But, finally, Michael and I were in the right place at the right time (and both awake and lucid enough) for Michael to get to feel him kick. It is really sweet. I mean, he can only feel the strongest kicks right now, the ones that are definitely kicks. And I guess he could barely feel it, but he felt a couple of kicks before we went to sleep last night. It was funny how the baby would stop kicking as soon as I was confident they were strong enough for Michael to feel them--he's done that for a few days now--Michael suggested that his touch was just so soothing to the baby and made him stop kicking for a minute. But last night, Michael finally caught him in the act. It's really an amazing thing to share.

The baby is usually only active a couple times a day--about an hour or two or so after I wake up (both times) and sometimes a little before I go to bed (the first time--and the second, I guess, but it's the same thing as after I wake up). I go to bed at like 7:45-8:30 and then wake up at about 11:30-12:30 and am up for a few hours, then I go back to sleep and wake up around 5-6. Sometimes he starts kicking sooner, and sometimes he waits a little longer, but he's not usually too active at other times of the day so far, but we have plenty of time for him to change his sleeping habits. I wonder if I change mine (which I am completely incapable of doing) if he would change his. He's such a cute little boy. So adorable and sweet and good and well-mannered and respectful and gentle and loving and all of those other traits you would expect from the most amazing, advanced child alive.

It's amazing to watch my family grow (cheesy, but true, and I'm not apologizing).

Week 20--Halfway There Already!

I can't believe that we're at the halfway point right now. I mean, I am really big and I feel kind of ready to have this baby, but I'm just so nervous and excited. I still can't totally believe that it's real. Just 20 more weeks and we'll have an adorable little (cross your fingers!) baby to take home with us and love forever. How fun.

I'm happy that he's a boy. I love that he's a boy. I love the color scheme I have chosen for his nursery (and everything, really). I love that I get to choose the colors and that I love them. There is nothing that I don't love about having a baby (except the fact that my face seems to think I'm 13 years old again, but I'm not blaming the baby for that).

Guys, he is so cute. I just love him!

I found my sweater--so here's the obligatory picture, taken on Michael's and my 40-month wedding anniversary (happy anniversary to us!):

I hate that pregnancy has made my skin think it's 13 years old again. Ridiculous.

He's a BOY!!!!

He's a boy! I am so excited. And he's huge. He already weighs 13 ounces. But he has the cutest face. And the cutest hands and feet and arms and legs and belly. And he has a really big brain. He's the smartest baby ever. I just know it. His little baby bum is just too cute. I love him so much. He is just the cutest baby in the whole world to ever exist.

I gained a lot of weight in the last five weeks since my last appointment--like a LOT, but I'm figuring most of it was water weight because I had just drunk a ton of liquids and had just eaten a huge meal, so I'm hoping I really just gained a normal amount.

Being pregnant is SO much more fun now that I'm feeling the baby move all the time--well, not ALL the time, but much more often than a couple weeks ago.

I can't wait to meet my little baby boy. He's just so cute, you guys. I'm not even joking. He is so cute, I just can't stand it!

Week 19

So, the photo is going to wait until tomorrow (and, again, sorry about the no photo last week).

I just wanted to take a minute and talk about how excited I am to find out if we're having a boy or a girl. I really just can't wait--it's pretty much the most exciting thing ever, and I just hope they can tell us! We go tomorrow, which is pretty early, and I did want to wait until after the holidays, but I'm just so happy and excited to find out--there aren't words. It's not that I want one more than the other or I'll be happier if I have a boy or a girl, it's just so exciting to get to pick out little pink or blue clothes and blankets and accessories and bedding. I just can't wait! Won't that be SO much fun? Tons of little pink things or little blue things. Then my mom will know whether to call the baby Fauntleroy or Thumbelina (because we are still against telling anyone his name before he's born--to minimize the judging all of the judgers in the world do--once he's born and you meet him, you'll fall so in love, who will care if his name is Juggernauseous?).

Being pregnant has been so much fun so far, even though I am getting bigger every day and I already have that silly little waddle going on when I walk, even though my back is constantly hurting and there is nothing I can do to alleviate the pain, even exercise and stretching doesn't really seem to help.

At work, I am fine for the first two hours of the day, but then my body gets so restless--sitting is pure torture. I feel bad getting up every time I want to--especially since I have nothing to do--I just want to walk around. My poor back and legs are so tired when I am sitting down, like they are cramping up and will shrivel and die, but I totally feel like I could walk forever.

But feeling the baby wiggle and move around is the most amazing feeling--so fun and exciting and cute. Guys, I seriously have the cutest baby in the world. On Friday, at the Festivus celebration for work when we went to Joel's show, he was as still as can be until the first time they blasted the music, then he shot straight up and headbutted me. It was sweet. Too cute that the sudden burst of loud music startled his tiny little ears. It's amazing to think that he can already hear and perceive what's going on around him while we've still got over half the pregnancy to go. He's just so little and tiny and so sweet and cute and well-mannered. Maybe he really is a she?

New Pants

I have one pair of maternity pants that I just love, but the legs are about 6 inches too long. Then I have one pair of maternity pants that is kind of lame and I'm hoping will fit better as time goes by and my belly gets bigger.

I have five pair of pants that are so big (mostly because I am so little) and ride so low, I thought they would fit forever.

But a couple really sad things have been happening lately. The other day, I noticed that the olive/khaki (two pair that are the same, just different colors) were getting a little tight, so that would soon knock out two pair, bringing me to just five pair of pants. Then, yesterday, at work, I was wearing a different pair of olive pants, and when I sat down, I had to unbutton them because the button dug into my belly. That was the first time that button had ever been unbuttoned in all the life of those pants. Standing up was no problem, and I still didn't have to unbutton them to take them off. Just the sitting part. But I don't want to deal with that anymore, so that takes out those pants for sure. The olive/pink pants are no longer to be worn during this pregnancy. So, in desperation at the thought of only having three pair of pants that I can still wear (and one of those I don't want to wear again until my belly is even bigger), I went back to the olive/khaki pants. I was all set to wear them today, because they don't have a big button--just a small button and double hook-and-bar closure. Perfect! But they are cut a little smaller than the other pants because they won't even button up. So, I am down to three pair of pants until the two pair of jeans I ordered get here. I hope it's soon because we're running out of time. It's going to be too much to do laundry twice a week just so I can stay in clean pants. But now I REALLY need to get my maternity pants hemmed. I wonder when I can find time to get someone to do that...

The funny part is how sad I felt about it. I mean, I know that maternity pants will give me a little more of the back support I need and will be so much more comfortable for me now that my belly is really getting big. But none of that matters. It is so hard for me to have to say goodbye to my normal pants. It's so sad. Buying/wearing maternity shirts was awesome and exciting and I loved it so much. It was great. I still love it. I love that I totally fill them out, too, even if I am kind of starting to grow out of one of them already and I still have five months to go. It's fine. But having to wear maternity pants all day is breaking my heart. So many of them just look hideous and awful and I would rather die than wear them (don't get me started on the maternity garmies--hateful old women who design them and make them so they are neither comfortable nor functional!), and the ones that I like all cost more than I can pay for them.

I hope to soon be able to resign myself to wearing maternity pants all the time, because that is what is going to have to happen. I should stop talking about it in the future tense, because it's happening right now. I do have one more pair of pants that is not maternity, and I really like that. And I am looking forward to finally being able to wear jeans again. That is something. There is a bright side. I just hope the new jeans fit well and don't suck and that I can get the lot of pants hemmed before long.