Major Movement

Last night Bub was sitting in the bathroom with me while I was having a bath. I was waiting for the baby to start moving so that we could see if he could finally feel her, but she was pretty quiet so I didn't say anything.  Of course, as soon as he went downstairs to watch TV she started squirming around.  I put my hand on my belly and, sure enough, felt a couple of kicks (the first time I've felt them from the outside). I yelled for Bub who was reluctant to come all the way back upstairs until I said "come right now and you can feel the baby moving!".  He literally RAN up the stairs.  Of course, she stopped moving the moment he put his hand on my belly. We tried for a couple minutes but it seemed that she was simply getting comfortable and was back to snoozing peacefully. 

Luckily, when I laid down in bed a couple minute later she started squirming again.  Bub put his hand on my belly and waited. We've been testing it out for a couple weeks now and hadn't had any success so I don't think he was optimistic. It took a couple of strong kicks, but all of a sudden his face lit up and he said "well I felt that!" with the biggest, goofiest grin on his face.  She gave her Daddy a couple more nudges before settling down again, and I don't think I've seen him smile like that ever.  I've been dying for him to feel her since I felt my first movement, so I was over the moon about it.  Honestly, it was my favorite thing about being pregnant so far.

Then, I'm not sure if she was excited with all the attention last night or what, but today she's been nudging and squirming and rolling around pretty much non-stop.  It's definitely the strongest that I've felt her movements.  In the bath this afternoon (yes, I take a lot of long baths) I noticed little twitches on my belly as she moved.  Then suddenly, with a particularly strong kick, I saw my belly pop out just below the belly button.  I was so surprised that I spent the next 30 minutes staring at my belly watching her move.  It was definitely equal parts amazing and weird.... but I'm glad that I got to hit this little landmark around the same time that  Bub got to feel her for the first time.

It's definitely getting more real with each of these little changes.  I can't wait to meet her.

4:1

I am exactly 20 weeks today! It's kinda crazy to be half way. In some ways, I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER and in some ways it seems to be going by really quickly. 

I'm certainly showing, but I'm not huge yet. I was actually getting concerned because I'm smaller (bump wise) than many of my friends at the same stage.  BUT, then I remembered that everyone is different and I tried to move on. I'm sure I'm gaining all over... I feel like a heifer, but I've been staying away from the scale.  My new rule is to only weigh myself at Doctor's appointments.  No point in depressing myself.

As for symptoms, I'm still pretty tired, but I'm having trouble sleeping at night so I would imagine that is most of the problem. It became uncomfortable to sleep on my stomach in my 19th week, so that's adding the my night time troubles. My nausea is pretty much gone, but I often feel a little yucky after dinner or any big meal.

I started feeling the first hints of movement around the 18 week mark, but I wasn't totally sure it was the baby.  Then, on Friday January 6th (18w4d), I felt the first absolutely for sure baby kicks. I immediately sent a text to my husband saying: I think someone just kicked me. His response? YAY! I had to laugh because if anyone every saw those texts out of context, they would really wonder what kind of husband I have.

By far the most exciting piece of news we got this week was that we're having a baby girl!  My poor husband will now be outnumbered by a ratio of 4:1 in the house since both of our dogs, our first babies, are girls.  I have to say that while I'm super excited, I'm not at all surprised.  I just "knew" right from the beginning.  Even before I got a positive pregnancy test, I went out and bought a little pink sleeper.  I can't really explain it... I just knew.  It was so cool to see her moving around. She even waved at us, which the tech recorded for the video we got.  For most of the ultrasound (almost an hour) she was curled up on her tummy, looking very comfortable.  Ironically, this is also my favorite position, which is no longer a possibility for me.

It's really nice to be able to say "her" and "she" instead of "it" or "the baby"... and I feel like we can finally start buying/sorting through some of the stuff that has been handed down to us.  For an obsessive planner, this is good news.  I think it's still going to take some time to really sink in that in less than 5 months I will be a Mom to a daughter, but I'm getting there and I can't wait to meet her.

General Stats:

As of today: 20 weeks

Baby Size: Cantaloupe

Next Appt: January 20- regular doctors visit

Baby Themed Christmas

While we decided that this Christmas would be a "light" one, we still had a wonderful couple of days with family, food and laughter.

I doubt I've ever been easier to buy for than I was this year, between gift certificates for maternity clothes, prenatal yoga classes and other assorted baby items, I was definitely spoiled.

I thought I'd highlight my two favorites.

First from my Uncle...

A beautiful antique rocking chair that he had refinished for me.  His wife will sew a pad once we decide what we're doing with the nursery.

From my Mom....

She knew how badly I wanted a Coach diaper bag, but she also knew that I'd never spend the money myself, nor would I ever officially ask anyone else to. I adore it!

I'm excited to get going on the nursery and have a few ideas in mind.  I'm trying to hold off until after the 16th when we'll know what we're having.  It can't come soon enough!