8/21/11

General Pregnancy Update:

How far along: 22(ish) weeks

How big is baby: According to The Bump website, baby is the size of a papaya this week.  I'm unfamiliar with papayas but I certainly wouldn't have guessed that a papaya is bigger than a cantelope...  In terms of weight, baby has almost certainly exceeded the 1 pound mark (seeing as though he was already 12 oz. as of my 20 week appointment).  Grow little man, grow!

Total weight gain: As of my last OB appointment, I had gained approx. 7.5 pounds.  However, I have since spent 7 days on a cruise gorging myself with ice-cream and other delicacies (See Babymoon Post).  I'll pat myself on the back if I didn't gain an extra ten pounds in that week alone.  Here's to hoping that the scale treats me well at my next appointment...

Belly button; Stretch Marks: I'm still an "innie" but unless I'm imagining things, my belly button is starting to shallow out.  No stretch marks... yet.

Last Dr's Appt: I already recapped my last appointment in a prior post, so I won't bore you with repeat details.  My next appointment is on September 6th.

Maternity clothes: Exclusively (other than a few work dreseses). I dig maternity clothes. 

How am I feeling: I feel fantastic!  No more nausea and no more puking.  My energy level is even fairly high!  I'm going to hang on to this 2nd trimester blissful period for dear life and pray that third trimester woes (read: insomnia, sciatica, back pain, etc. etc.) stay FAR, FAR AWAY.  I am experiencing moderate acid reflux on an almost daily basis as of about 2 weeks ago.  Although it is bothersome, I'll take it any day over the morning sickness.  It's manageable.

Mood Swings and Food Cravings: Mood is pretty stable and I haven't experienced any definitive cravings in the last 2 or 3 weeks other than being generally hungry most of the time.  My fixation on dark chocolate has returned, but I can't call that a pregnancy craving since it plagued me pre-pregnancy as well. 

Milestones: Baby dances around and kicks quite a bit now!  On Friday, August 12th (21 weeks exactly), Blake FINALLY felt the baby kick.  Although I've been feeling kicks consistently for several weeks, it was too sporadic and I could never manage to get Blake's hand on my belly fast enough.  He has been able to feel baby boy's kicks a couple more times since then.  Mom has felt him too!

What I'm looking forward to: Moving into the new house and starting to register/shop for baby/set up the nursery.  The house is move-in ready and we are simply waiting for shower door installations (Hurry Up AJAX!).  We may be able to start sleeping in the new house as soon as tomorrow night!  I'll be sure to post some pictures of the house ASAP.

Preparations and decisions being made: My BFFs have begun planning my shower.  They have also begun to harass me re: Baby Boy Halpern's name and nursery theme(s).  I have been entirely useless.  Blake and I still don't have a name picked and I haven't had a chance to shop for crib bedding (which I want to do before committing to a color scheme or theme).  Despite the harassment (which I actually quite enjoy anyway), I'm stoked that they have begun shower planning.  So exciting!