Weeks pregnant: 18, 19 & 20 weeks.
Weight Gain: I’m up 6lbs at 20 weeks. When I was pregnant with Q I was up 4lbs at this point.
Size of the baby: Week 18 – About the size of a bell pepper. Babycenter says “The size of an heirloom tomato” which means next to nothing to me, so, about 6 inches crown to rump. Week 19 – Week 20 – The length of a banana
Emotional stuff: Things continue to be good. I love summer! One of my dear friends had her baby boy and meeting him reminded me of how small and floppy and fragile little newborns are! It also made me imagine having a little brother for Q and I’m getting used to the idea. Again, we aren’t finding out but I have it in my head that this one’s a boy. My friends think so too. I know that it will be different to have a boy but it won’t be SOOOO different. I still feel like I’d be more at ease with another girl but hey, sometimes it’s good to step outside your comfort zone!
We got back some baby gear that we had lent out and let me tell you, it was bizarre seeing a bouncy seat in my living room! This kid is very good at reminding me several times a day that he’s in there as he’s the most active baby ever but it’s still kind of easy to forget that pretty soon there’s going to be a baby in my living room sitting in the bouncy seat!
I’m feeling very appreciative of my husband and little Q and really basking in the beauty of these last few months of being a family of 3.
Physical stuff: I felt really good for weeks 18 and most of 19 but the end of week 19 and early week 20 I was feeling nauseated constantly again (to the point of throwing up several times) and I had a permanent headache for a few days. Thankfully I’ve had two good days in a row so hopefully that was just a weird fluke and now it’s over.
I look a lot bigger in the bump picture from week 20 but it’s really just the angle of the photo. My bump is still pretty small but I’m on track with where I was for my first pregnancy. The baby loves to use my bladder as a trampoline so that gets uncomfortable really fast. Today I feel like it’s bruised or something!
I’m starting to get a bit of heartburn which I only expect to get worse over time. It was pretty brutal at the end last time. Other than that, things are good. I’m still able to sleep (when Q and the cats let me) and my hips and back have been feeling good. The heat sucks and I find myself getting really hot and winded more easily so I’ve been taking it easy and enjoying the air conditioning.
I can’t stop eating: Fresh fruits and veggies have been great. I love our little garden out back and the inexpensive berries available at the store! We make a caprese pasta salad pretty regularly and I’ve been using fresh tomato and basil from the garden. Today I added avocado and some feta and it blew my taste buds. So good!! Yum. Now I want some more. haha
I can’t even look at: Chicken breasts. Mostly imagining them raw is the problem. yuck yuck yuck.
Fitness: We go for walks when it’s not brutally hot. That’s about it right now.
Birth prep: I read the birthing books and we’re still interviewing doulas.
Baby prep: Still not much. We’re slowly re-collecting the baby gear that we lent out to friends and relatives so that’s coming back to us. That’s about it for right now!
Breastfeeding: Well, I think we are at an end of breastfeeding. It’s kind of crazy! She still asks for milk and wants to have access to my breasts but the milk is gone and she doesn’t even try to latch on most of the time. I know dates are kind of arbitrary but I’m going to keep offering when she asks until her birthday next week and then after that I’ll probably stop. Even though she’s pretty much done, we are only DAYS away from two years of breastfeeding so I’m going to let her if she wants to just to get to that milestone!
