How far along: 22 weeks (technically, 22 weeks and 3 days today)
How big is the baby: Our baby is about 11 inches long and weighs almost a pound. If we were to go in for a 3D/4D ultrasound right now, she’d actually look like a newborn since her lips, eyelids and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she’s even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums.
Total weight gain: According to my doctor’s scale this past week, I am up 3 lbs since my 18 week appointment. During my 20 week bump report, I was up 1.5 lbs…so I guess I’ve gained another 1.5 lbs in the past two weeks for a total of 9 lbs since the start of my pregnancy. My doctor told me at the start of my pregnancy that she wanted me to gain between 25-35 lbs so I feel like I’m right on track and maintaining well. As a point of comparison, I tend to check out Elena’s bump reports…as well as my mother’s weight gain during her pregnancy with me. My mom gained a total of 18 lbs during her pregnancy with me…and I was 9 lbs 3 oz. She always said she was all belly/baby, so I seem to be following in her footsteps.
Sleep: The sleep situation hasn’t changed a whole lot from a two weeks ago. However, I am now sleeping with a different pillow between my legs and that seems to make a nice difference.
Maternity Clothes: I haven’t talked about maternity clothes up until now because there wasn’t a whole lot to talk about. A lot of my pre-pregnancy dresses fit beautifully and I’m really enjoying wearing them now that we have nicer weather – and it’s kinda fun to show off my baby bump. Since my mall trip with Casey a couple of weeks ago…I’ve purchased a pair of jeans from H&M (LOVE THEM), some gym pants (so much more comfortable), a few pairs of capris for work and several maternity tops. For the most part, I’m pretty satisfied with these purchases…minus one pair of capri pants that makes me look like I’m wearing a diaper. I kid you not! I either need to grow a butt or never wear fitted shirts with that pair of capris again.
Best moment of the week (past two weeks): Our little girl is moving and kicking on a regular basis now. She also responds to our voices. For example, early last week, I was on my way home from a birthday party. Granted, I’d just eaten a piece of cake so I’m sure she was feeling the sugar rush…but I started talking to her. “Hey baby girl, your mama loves you.” She’d kick. This went back and forth for a good 15-20 minutes. Since then, I look forward to laying back every night and watching her move. My husband can also feel her move – which is pretty awesome. The only thing that feels kinda weird is when she is rolling over and I can feel her head move against my stomach. It almost feels like an upset stomach – my belly gets hard in one spot and then softens when she’s adjusted. So sweet!
On that note, at this point…she gets a little shy when she hears other people’s voices. While we were visiting my in-laws this past weekend, our niece asked if she was moving. She had been, but wasn’t moving right at that very moment…so I responded, “not right now sweetie.” Our niece quickly said, “that’s okay, I’m sure she’ll move soon enough.” It was pretty cute. Later, our niece asked us again if we’d chosen a name for our baby (for a few nights in a row, I think she called almost every night). The truth is we have, but we haven’t shared it with anyone yet…we’re still enjoying keeping it a secret for a little longer. I guess I could just tell her that we’re not sharing it yet, but I thought it’d be more fun to say “Dora…like the Explorer.” Apparently, our 7 year old niece hasn’t picked up on sarcasm yet. On Monday morning, she saw my husband’s cousin at school and promptly told her that she knew the name of our baby, but that she couldn’t tell a soul since it was a secret (she also doesn’t know what secrets are). My husband’s cousin said, “well what is it?” To which our niece said, “Dora…like the Explorer.” Considering I’d jokingly told his cousin the same thing when I saw her on Saturday, she had to chuckle to herself…but she wasn’t quite sure if she was more excited about the name or that she knew a secret. Either way, it makes me laugh. Just to clarify, we have NOT named our daughter Dora.
Food cravings: I’m really loving chocolate/banana/peanut butter protein smoothies from the Smoothie King and yogurt from Yopop (specifically cake batter yogurt)! And when I need a cookie…Girl Scout Shortbread cookies! I really wish I’d bought more of those this year.
Food aversions: The only thing that really irritates my nose is strong coffee. If I have a cup, it’s usually French Vanilla (or chai…gosh, that sounds good right now). However, the smell of Sumatra completely grosses me out. Whenever my coworkers make a cup, I have to move away.
Symptoms:
- Heartburn is back! I don’t necessarily eat anything that would provoke heartburn (I stay away from spicy foods or anything too greasy), but it’s been making an appearance lately. Tums have been my friend…but if it continues, I’ll probably have to start taking Prilosec daily.
Gender: Girl!
What I’m looking forward to: We haven’t made any progress on the nursery other than taking our fabrics to a seamstress who will be making our bedding and curtains. In the next two weeks, I’m hoping that my husband will have some time to take down the bed that is currently in the nursery. We’ll also be picking up our crib and bassinet – so that’s pretty exciting.
What I miss: Nothing really – but I can already tell that I’m going to miss being so close to our little girl once she’s born. There’s nothing that compares to these moments where it’s just the two of us.
Next Appointment: April 24th…regular checkup and glucose tolerance test.
