Left - 16 weeks ; Right - 23 weeks |
how far along: 23
weeks! Over halfway baby! I feel like it was just last week I peed on a stick,
and yet in no time at all, I’ll be doing everything I can to bring on labor.
Wild.
baby size: baby is the size of an eggplant! WHAT. Or 12 inches
and 1 whole pound, to be technical. A whole pound!! Kind of blows my mind how
fast this little peanut is growing in there, but I guess that’s also why I fall
asleep at 8 these days. Who am I kidding, my favorite line now is to ask Jake
if there’s a game on, so I have an excuse to fall asleep on the couch at 6:30 –
pre bedtime nap if you will. Laugh all you want, they’re heavenly. I adore
sleep and know come next year, it will elude me so I get it where I can.
gender: Well my “mama instinct” from the very beginning was
right – It’s a Boy ! I was 50/50 for Old Wive’s Tales, and the Chinese gender
chart didn’t really help me because I “conceived” right at the cusp of
June/July, and they go either way. Heartbeat was showing consistently as a
girl, 160 and then 148. I felt like it would be a boy from the week I found out,
but all of my dreams where peanut made an appearance, it was a girl – so
needless to say, I wasn’t sure in any way. The first 3 months I was sure
it was a boy, but that’s only because my skin hadn’t broken out like crazy yet
– it did, so then I wasn’t sure anymore. But I guess it turns out my first
instinct was right, and I have a little man baking in there!
showing? Oh, yes. The last 4-5 weeks is when it went from
being pregnancy chub to a legit belly, and I couldn’t love it more. The 4 weeks
or so when it was just chub were a little tough on my confidence, but this bump
is amazing. And what amazes me the most is that it feels like… nothing. On days
when I’m not a) bloated from indigestion or b) don’t have round ligament pain,
it really doesn’t feel like anything, it feels the same as when my tummy was
flat. Except it is most certainly no longer flat! I imagined it to be really
heavy or something I was aware of 24/7 and that may still come but for now,
it’s a weightless bump. And it's really cool - i've never been more in awe of my body and what it's capable of.
belly button: it’s still an innie, but it’s getting definitely
stretched out these days. Still wondering if it’ll pop or not. It’s so
stretched that I honestly forget what it used to look like.
weight gained: Let’s just say I wasted no time in gaining weight,
my goodness. I also forgot how easily my body gains weight when I’m not being
strict. Pre-pregnancy I supplemented a
lot with things like protein powder, and I didn’t eat dairy or much gluten.
Well, pregnancy threw all of that out the window, and the first trimester alone
I’d say carbs made up 70% of my diet. With that and the addition back in of
dairy, and the lack of protein powders keeping me full but calories low, my
weight crept up really fast. At this point I’m about 20 pounds up which is
still on track for what I should gain the whole pregnancy (25-35 lbs for my
BMI), but I’ve definitely put the bagels away for a rainy day – or for my
husband to consume. However, with
feeling so much better I am able to work out about 2-4 times a week, and that’s
obviously helping keep the weight gain on track, and not exorbent. Could've done without the weight gain in my face, but such is life - weight can be lost eventually.
symptoms: Is shiny hair & good skin a symptom? #boypregnancy. Honestly, not many. My morning sickness ended around
week 13, and was replaced by sleepiness, the occasional ache or headache, and
hunger. If I don’t eat every 2 hours, the hunger settles in fast and furious. I
get indigestion and heartburn on the daily, so I’m hoping that that
old wive’s tale is accurate and he comes out with a head full of hair! But
honestly, this trimester has really been quite lovely – I guess it’s called the
magic trimester for a reason! If anything I have to remind myself that I have
this additional weight at the front and I have to be more mindful about bending
over or grabbing things, it’s easy to forget!
Really though, I just feel really really grateful & lucky that me and baby are happy
& healthy, above all else.
cravings: LOL – ask my husband about the ketchup chips
debacle and what a monster I became when he didn't bring them home (even surprised myself with that one!). Cravings are random, make no sense, and are kinda few and far between,
thankfully. Mostly I just can’t get enough of oranges and apples currently, anything
vinegary, MEAT, but have had a craving for a really decadent mac n’ cheese for
weeks that I really oughta satisfy soon. And cake – I could go for cake any
day, any time, any kind.
aversions: One thing – Mexican food. I don’t know why, but
that’s the only thing that has stuck around. Well, that and Happy Planet fruit
smoothies, but that’s the result of a very unfortunate early morning sickness
situation. I’m still not crazy over salads, but I force them down when I have
to.
The past few weeks I’ve finally
finally finally felt baby move for real on the outside – I had felt what I
thought were a few flutters, and sometimes I could feel what I would consider
ambiguous movement, but no legit kicks. I was never sure if I was feeling the
infamous “flutter”, or the rumble of an intestine; now that I know it’s 100%
baby, well it’s just the best – I know I’m going to miss these so much, even
when I’m snuggling my little man for real. My favorite is when he moves into a
position that I can feel his little bum or head on the side of my stomach. But
also super crazy to me – like that’s my HUMAN in there that I’ve built from
scratch. It’s pretty neat feeling my little ninja moving and shaking in there,
I can’t wait for the kicks to get even stronger and feel them more and more –
and for the grandparents and husband to feel it (he’s still a little wigged out
so far, but this past weekend he finally felt a kick and I wish I could’ve
recorded the mixture of amazement and shock on his face when he went “WOAH,
what was that!? Was that it!!?”). And then they’ll eventually get so strong he’ll boot my
rib or nail me in the bladder and I’ll chuckle to myself while I change my
pants. Ahh pregnancy, tis beautiful.