Baby Size: According to the Baby Center app, baby girl is about 6″ from head to rump (about the size of an heirloom tomato) and around 8.5 ounces.
Have You Started To Show Yet?: Yes, though I could hide the bump with bulky clothes if I wanted to do so.
Total Weight Gain: I’m back up to what I had previously gained (about 5 pounds). I had lost about 3 pounds, but now I’m back to where I was previously.
Maternity Clothes: I’m still able to wear my regular t-shirts, sweatshirts, and pajama pants. I have one pair of jeans that are very stretchy and were a bit big for me to begin with, so those fit as well. My winter coats also still fit and zip — so that’s a plus in these last few cold days (fingers crossed) of winter!
Sleep: Other than staying up too late some nights watching Call the Midwife on Netflix (haha), I’m sleeping well so far! (Yay!)
Best Moment of Week: I had a checkup with my midwife this week and she told me several times that I “look great” which made me feel really good. It’s a different experience being pregnant at almost 40 (I turned 39 this week–ahem) and that encouragement and reassurance really helps a lot. Baby girl really likes to try and hide from the doppler but we did hear her heartbeat real quick, and it happened to be right in the spot where I’ve felt her moving (just to the right and slightly below my belly button), so that was really reassuring too.
Miss Anything?: I can’t eat big meals anymore. For my birthday we got takeout from Chopstix and I got a big platter of hand-rolled (cooked!) sushi. I wanted to eat it all but I just can’t do it or I’d explode! On the upside, there’s always lots of leftovers for lunch the next day!
Movement: Still just little flutters here and there. I’m looking forward to the more pronounced kicks in the coming weeks.
Food Cravings: Nothing specific, though just lately I’ve been enjoying spinach dip quite a lot!
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?: I’ve been feeling MUCH better this week in terms of nasuea. I’m super happy about that!
Happy or Moody?: Mostly happy.
Labor Signs: Nope – not for a while!
Shopping/Nesting/Preparation: I told Mike the other day at least I feel like we have the most basic things covered now: car seat, bassinet, a few newborn and 0-3M clothes, and lots of blankets (receiving blankets, quilts, hand knitted/crochet ones, etc). Not bad for only being at the halfway mark! I’ve also picked up a few other things when I see good sales, and some friends and family have asked me to make a registry as well, so I’ve added some nice-to-have items on there too.
I have my eye out for a dresser for baby girl. My mom said she may have one in her basement that would work for us, so I have to stop by and check that out at some point. I’m super anxious to start washing clothes and getting them organized into a dresser. I realize it’s SUPER early still, but my brain has been fixating on wanting to wash and fold ALL THE BABY THINGS. (Unfortunately that doesn’t seem to spill over into regular laundry… funny how that works.)
Looking Forward To (in Week 19): I’m anticipating a quiet week this week. I’m hoping I’ll get to feel baby girl moving more and more. At the end of the week, I’m feeling like maybe we should have a cake or something to celebrate the halfway mark!
Baby Size: According to the Baby Center app, baby girl is about 5.5″ from head to rump (about the size of a bell pepper) and around 6.75 ounces.
Have You Started To Show Yet?: I feel like I just really started to “pop” in the last few days. Because I’m already plus size, I’m in that in-between where I could kind of disguise it as just having put on a few pounds, but it’s getting increasingly obvious that it’s just the belly. I’m also feeling my center of gravity start to shift and I’m arching my lower back to compensate.
Total Weight Gain: I’ve gained about 3-4 pounds (it fluctuates a bit). I had gained 5, but in the last couple weeks I lost a couple pounds. I talked with my midwife and reviewed how I’m feeling and what I’m eating, and she said everything was fine and that it probably had to do more with me craving produce so much lately as well as not snacking in the evening (it gives me heartburn).
Belly Button (in or out): In. My belly button never “popped” with Myles, so I don’t expect it will this time either.
Maternity Clothes: Not necessary yet (I can get by with big t-shirts/sweatshirts and sweatpants). I did get a couple of pairs of maternity leggings and wear them simply for comfort, though! It’s certainly one of the nice parts of working from home — I don’t have to have a professional wardrobe of maternity clothes!
Sleep: Say hello to the “mama bird nest”, as Mike has dubbed it! I hit a point where I couldn’t get comfortable and get a good night’s sleep in our shared bed, so I set up a twin bed and I’ve been sleeping SO MUCH BETTER. It’s kind of in the middle of my home office, but meh – who cares? It’s also right in front of the radiator, so it’s nice and cozy!
The pregnancy pillow is one of my favorite things ever and Mike and the kids have been fighting over who gets “dibs” on it after the baby comes. I’m not sure I’m going to give it up. Ever.
Best Moment of Week: Tuesday evening (at 17.5 weeks), I finally started feeling small flutters of baby movements! It wasn’t too obvious and I was second guessing myself, but the next day I started to feel the same sensation more often when I sat quietly and paid careful attention for it. I am SO EXCITED. Feeling the baby kick and move and hiccup has been one of the things I’ve most looked forward to!
Miss Anything?: I miss being able to bend over for more than a few seconds without feeling like I can’t breathe and my guts are getting squished. (Ugh.)
Movement: Felt the first little flutters this past week! Just very gentle “tickles” right now.
Food Cravings: Not “cravings” necessarily, but I’ve been especially enjoying salads and snacking on baby carrots — any fresh produce, really. I’ve also really been enjoying vanilla Greek yogurt with this specific Bear Naked Cacao and Cashew Butter granola mixed into it for breakfast. I’m also hooked on pink velvet iced lattes from Dunkin’ but I have to be careful to limit how much caffeine I have because -whelp- I’m a caffeine fiend and baby doesn’t need that!
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?: This is a weird one but I have seen others say they’ve experienced it–when I go outside in really cold temps (like below 20 degrees Fahrenheit), then come back into the warm house I get “gaggy” and cough and sometimes get sick. Seeing food leftovers in the sink (thanks, preteen son that doesn’t clean up after doing dishes–lol) made me gag and throw up last night.
I also have to watch what I eat pretty carefully in terms of acidic or spicy foods because I’ve been having a lot of heartburn. Tums are my new BFF and I guess if old wives’ tales are to be believed, baby girl should have a beautiful head of hair!
Happy or Moody?: Mostly happy
Labor Signs: NO! We have lots of time to go before that!
Shopping/Nesting/Preparation: Our Valentine’s Day “date” was going to Target to finish setting up our registry and get our goodie bag of baby stuff. It’s been over a year (due to COVID) since I’ve been to Target (or any “big box” stores) so it was a really fun treat. While we were there, we also picked up some bodysuits and pajamas that were on clearance, as well as a cute little stuffed llama that was TOO soft to pass up.
I’ve also done a little online shopping as I’ve noticed good sales. I got our “bucket” car seat from Buy Buy Baby because it was on sale ($50 off) plus I had a 20% off coupon. I picked up a cute backpack-style diaper bag and a baby ring sling on both sale from Amazon.
I also found some of Myles’ baby things. I found my Ergo baby carrier from when Myles was little, as well as a bunch of burp cloths and baby wash cloths. I was most excited that his baby swing cleaned up well (after being stored in the back of our garage for almost 5+ years) and still works!
Looking Forward To (in Week 18): I’m looking forward to feeling the baby (hopefully!) move more. I have a second appointment with my midwife later in the week. I also celebrate my -ahem- 39th birthday this week. (EEK!)
A couple weeks ago when we had our ultrasound done, I also had blood drawn to be send for a SneakPeek clinical test. We got our results back later that week, and the email had the fun animated GIF reveal below. I’m SO excited to announce…
Our sons were both fist-pumping excited when we showed them. They were hoping for a baby sister, and the whole family has been hoping for a girl. (We have a lot of boys in the family, and not many girls.) Obviously, we’d have been happy either way, but this makes things even more exciting.
My mother has busied herself with unpacking all the dresses and outfits she saved from when I was little. There’s a shocking amount that has survived the last 30+ years. I’ve been having to restrain myself from ordering ALL the pink and lavender outfits that I lay eyes upon. (Oh, I am such a sucker for ruffle-butt pants and obnoxiously frilly dresses!)
I’ve also been very excited at the prospect of Disney princesses, unicorns, bows, and eventually tiny little piggy tails! Of course, with my luck, our little girl will prefer brother’s Transformers and Hot Wheels–and that will be just fine too–but I have to admit I’m looking forward to more girlie things if it works out that way. I have no room to talk, after all. I was an avid He-Man collector as a kid, but I also loved My Little Pony and dolls of all sorts. I guess being well-rounded is a good thing!
