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Happy Monday to all. I thought it would be fun to share a pregnancy journal on here… I’ve meant to do it for ages but I keep forgetting and would rather sleep when I’m not working… haha! I hope you enjoy being a part of my pregnancy journey which is already more than halfway over! I just want you all to know I’m not going to be all flowery and vague on these journals and pregnancy posts …I’d rather keep it real for you all and tell you how I’m feeling and the weird symptoms, medical stuff, or cravings along the way!
How Far Along? 22 weeks
Week 22 Began: Friday, November 11
Size of Baby: An American Guinea Pig (8-12 in long)
Gender: A girl, Margaret
Weight Gain: Up 6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.
Maternity Clothes: I love wearing my inexpensive but super comfy pregnancy yoga pants that are cotton with some stretch. I also wear lots of sweaters or if I’m going out, a non-maternity dress with comfy-chic fall boots and tights.
Nursery: We have done more with the bathroom than the nursery… haha. Got a shower curtain, new rugs, and towels for the guest/baby bathroom. I spent yesterday hanging up my clothes, my brothers clothes, I think even some were my Dads as a baby (my Mom is the eldest of 5 so none of those exist anymore), and then ones we’ve purchased or been given so far (like from my Carters post). We plan to use the furniture I had growing up as a kid/tween/teen which is this lovely whitewashed wicker and wood set. We will move the queen bed in this room into the office and move the twin daybed from the office into the nursery. Plan to get a glider-recliner ordered, and the crib ordered as well before Christmas!
Movement: Annoyingly, not really. I have an anterior placenta, and so I’ve missed a lot of that movement. Occasionally, like last night, I thought I felt her move her foot or hand across my stomach… which would be GREAT as that would mean the placenta moved up (hopefully up and not down). We have another ultrasound (my one billionth, it feels like) this Thursday to check the placenta position and hopefully get a look at Margaret’s face for the first time since 14 weeks (which is why the scheduled another one when we had one a couple weeks ago). Finally for SURE felt her kick back at my OB who was checking on her on Friday, which was GREAT. I almost burst into tears. OB has been great at pulling out the doppler on my non-ultrasound appts to confirm her movement, heart rate, etc. to ease my nerves.
Symptoms: I’m finally showing more, although just barely. Seems I am long and lean but when I eat a good meal it shows a lot more! haha. Finally able to eat more, it took a while to get used to due to my Celiac but things seem to be moving better now. Hair and nails look healthy… excited about my hair appt on Thursday afternoon so I’ll look a bit more fresh for the holidays!
Side Effects: Awkward gas (one end or the other…). Insane dreams. Difficulty in returning to sleep. Some aversions to types of textures of food. Just started heartburn for the first time in my life the past couple weeks, so that’s been hard to get used to. Congestion and a runny nose I cannot seem to get rid of – love my saline spray, warm humidifier and Kleenex coconut/Cool Touch tissues – saving grace for my raw nose! I get round ligament pain occasionally, and thankfully the pelvic floor pain twinges have eased with continued pregnancy yoga/pilates and pelvic exercises.
Sleep: I never seem to get enough sleep but I average about 9-10 hours. My last week of work is this week so I look forward to no days of alarms and being able to rest as much as I feel I need to. Started using the Boppy wedge this week and I’m sure I’ll start using my Snoodle soon.
Cravings: My BFF continues to be a small bowl of Food Lion brand orange sherbet almost every night. I love savory meals – things with fish sauce, etc.
What I Miss: Things that have gluten… haha. I dream about gluten and surprisingly processed food items I literally haven’t eaten in the 3+ I’ve had my Celiac diagnosis. Fully loaded lox bagels, Campbells cream of mushroom soup casserole dishes, Fried Onions on green beans, Marie Callender’s chicken pot pies, Edwards key lime pies, dumplings from this place in Charlottesville on the Downtown Mall called Marco and Luca, sushi that involves tempura soft shell crab, etc. etc.
Best Moment This Week: When the OB helped me feel her move. That was such a wonderful experience and I felt such a huge rush of relief and love.
What I Learned This Week: Currently reading (almost finished with) The Baby Book by the Drs. Sears. I learned this week about potty training methods, changes/stages/suggested toys/entertainment from birth to two years, baby wearing, nighttime parenting. Learned from my Mom that I went from breast feeding straight to a cup (like a normal open top drinking cup… not a special kids cup with a top or bottle or anything). I hope I can breastfeed and I want to do it as long as possible, ideally to two years while adding in solids at the normal stages…
Looking Forward To: Another nice weekend at home with M as we try to get some house tasks done in the next couple weeks before Thanksgiving. Also looking forward to Thursday morning when we will hopefully see Margaret’s face for the first time together.
Are there any pregnancy details you would like me to share as the pregnancy progresses?