Halfway to Baby!

On Friday the 16th, I/we received the best news a parent can hope for at our 20 week appointment. I'm not talking about whether Little One is a girl or a boy, I mean that he or she is completely 100% healthy, active, & right on track (possibly even a couple days ahead!)! Little One has a very strong heartbeat (158), all of the bones are looking strong & well-developed, no indication of any spinal deformities or cleft lip, and even the doc made a comment about how active/squirmy Little One was :) Little One was also very shy; the doc couldn't get a good shot of his or her face because he or she kept their face hidden behind their hands the entire time! Little One also kept his/her legs closed tight, which is maybe not a bad habit to have, haha!

Christmas Day will officially be 21 weeks for Little One and myself! I cannot believe we are already halfway done with this pregnancy; it seems like it was only a month or two ago that I took four pregnancy tests (because the first two were cheapos & the third one might have been an error :P) which of course all came out very positive (& which I may or may not have kept...that's not weird, right?).

Little One has been much more active lately, & is definitely making their presence known more & more each day! There is a lot more movement going on in there (though not so much that it can be seen or felt from the outside quite yet), & I think I have officially reached the "Oh she's pregnant" stage :) I adore my baby belly, even if it does make wearing my work clothes a bit more...let's say "adventurous." I had been a little concerned up to this point because I'd yet to gain any weight, but I also know my BMI was slightly higher than "normal" when I got pregnant, meaning I don't need to gain as much weight as other women (ugh, that freaking BMI chart...I hate it so much. It's so impractical & it doesn't take anything else into account other than height, so how can everyone really rely on something like that? Here's a tiny little box that we're going to try & fit you into & if you're in this category, you must be overweight - because you know, muscle mass doesn't matter - & you better get to used to everyone who sees it telling you that you should really considering losing some weight, even if, for example, you teach a fitness class every week, this stupid little chart claims that you are still not "in shape". Ok, mini-rant over). Well, this week, that definitely changed - my weight jumped up 6-8 pounds (depending on the time of day I step on the scale)! That may not seem like much, and it may seem weird to be excited about gaining weight, but yay!!

Along the lines of fitness, I am now reaching the point where I have to swallow my pride & admit that there are certain things I just cannot do anymore. Like if I have to do the lower impact option(s) in Cardio, it's not the end of the world. Or if I can't walk with the dog as fast as I used to, what really matters is that I'm staying active & finding the balance between pushing myself too hard & not hard enough. More than anything, that has been my main goal through this pregnancy: to stay active. With Little One getting bigger, he or she is starting to press against my lungs more, making it a little more difficult to take deep breaths or catch my breath, & at this stage in the pregnancy, the mom's blood pressure tends to drop somewhat since she is now pumping blood for another little body. This can also make it difficult to catch my breath &/or work out at the level I was before. I just keep reminding myself of all the things that are going on inside my body right now, & tell myself "it is not about you, it's about the baby." That seems to help.

Recently, my sister-in-law & I were discussing & comparing symptoms, & I mentioned that I had been lucky enough not to be plagued with heartburn so far. Apparently, those are the magic words one uses to summon heartburn from what I can only imagine to be the depths of hell. I shouldn't be so dramatic; I only started having it a day or two ago, & so far it's been more of a minor discomfort/irritation rather than all-out pain (fingers crossed that it stays this way...or goes away completely; that would be fine too :) ). Drinking a lot of water seems to help keep it under wraps for me so far, which is good because the chalkiness of things like Tums almost make me gag just thinking about them.

Having said all this, there is one thing I would like address. I think that, in the past, I may have given off the wrong idea about why I made this blog. While I do appreciate all the "hang in there" & "don't worry, it gets better" comments, and I know they come from a good place and people are only trying to help, I don't want anyone to think that this is me complaining. The truth is, I am loving every single symptom, & even when I feel/have felt my absolute worst, there has not been even one brief moment where it ever occurred to me that this might not be worth it. Don't get me wrong; I am loving the support, & all the commiserating comments crack me up :) I started this blog because I am an insatiably curious person by nature, & I can only imagine there are other people out there like me who want to know all the little details & nuances about this experience, but don't want to annoy other people with constant questions. That's where - I hope - my Baby Blog comes in :)

So in closing, everyone is happy, healthy, & ready for the holiday. Husband, Diesel dog, Little One, & I all wish you & your families a Happy, Happy Holiday!