Whoa, we're halfway there!

(Come on, sing it, you know the song! Totally stuck in my head today.)

So, today I am 20 weeks. Today I have made half a baby. I mean, the baby is half-baked. I mean, I'm halfway through this pregnancy.

She's bouncing around in there quite a bit. I feel her every day, now, though still not reliably.

Last night we were watching Deadliest Catch (love that show!), and you know the theme song is "Dead or Alive". We always watch the intro (the only other show we watch the intro/credits for is CSI:NY, because they use "Baba O'Riley" for theirs), and we belt out the lyrics. So I looked over at P and asked if we owned that song. He didn't think so, so he fetched my iTouchy and DL'ed the entire album. Later that night, we were laying on the bed, and wow, she was kicking! He even took his hand off my belly to see if we could see it move, and sure enough, we can! So he turned that song on, and I swear she was kicking only on the downbeats (ah, yes, she's going to be a musical genius!)!!!

P got upset for a minute because "Dead or Alive" isn't exactly what we'd have chosen for her first song, but I assured him that I've already introduced her to all kinds of music that he hates when we drive in the car. ;-)

Whoa---oh, we're half way there....

Week 19

Cravings:
Not really. But still super-hungry. I'm really enjoying eating what I want when I want without really worrying (much) about calories.

Aversions:
Don't really know any more. Still not wanting chocolate as much as pre-preg, but not sure that it still counts as an aversion.

Other symptoms:
I am moody. Freaking moody. Last Wednesday, every other thing out of P's mouth made me want him to die. Or at least to go into the other room. Not his fault - he generally isn't this annoying (hence his still-breathing state), therefore, it must be my hormones. Then on Sunday I had a full-on cry fest. Twice. Yeah, that was super fun. Then Monday/Tuesday, the vendors at work were getting on my nerves, and I told my boss, "I've lost my ability to sugar-coat right now. I need you to censor this email." For reals.

Things bugging me:
Work.

Current weight: 141

Feeling the Kid randomly every day now. She seems most active in the evenings, but I get little kicks throughout the day. She kicked so hard on Monday night that P felt it again! Last night she kicked so hard that I swear I saw my hand move.

Other preggo stuff:

We (finally) worked on the nursery this weekend.

Here is the whole story. On Friday, I went to the knee doc, Aunt Dollie's, then to Little Miyako because I was craving some miso. Then I was right next door to Motherhood Maternity, and holy shit they have cute stuff!! So, I'm out 75 bucks (holy shit their shit is expensive - everything I got was on sale!!!), but I have 3 cute tops that I picked out for myself. It is surprising what a difference that can make, wearing your own clothes. I never realized it until I wore someone else's for more than a month, then got something of my own! Anyways, then I went to pick my new glasses from SAMS, stopping by Home Depot for some zero VOC primer (safe for baby!), which they DIDN'T HAVE. Losers. Jumping on the Lowe's train now. Then down to Lowe's for the primer, then to Target for some groceries, then home. I was gone from 9:30 to 4, and I was freaking exhausted.

Next morning, I wake up at the ass-crack of dawn and start getting shit done. Laundry, dishes, converting pics to jpgs, etc. I must be nesting! When P got up I dragged him up to the nursery and we got that bitch primed and the floor down to plywood. Then we went to Lowe's and spent lots of money on more supplies, with the plan of killing the popcorn ceiling before the 2nd coat of primer, then patching, priming, and painting the ceiling as well, then putting the paint on, then the floors in. Well, the trip to Lowe's exhausted me, but as much of that as possible is on the schedule for next weekend!

I am *so* relieved that we are finally making progress up there. So relieved.


Non-preggo stuff:

Moved up to Couch to 5K week 4. Skipped week 3 entirely. Had been elongating week 2 runs, so instead of 90 run/2 minutes walk, I was doing 4 intervals of 2 minutes run/90 walk, 1 of 2.5 min run/1 min walk, and 1 3.5 minute run to close the thing out. When I looked at Week 3, it was easier than that, so I skipped the thing. With that said, though, I was really worried going into the 5 minute runs. I gave myself permission to walk after 4 minutes if I needed to. I was short of breath, but I knew I could last 60 more seconds, I mean, hell, I've run a marathon!! So I've gotten 2 Week 4 runs in so far, and I'm so proud of myself!!

One more - 18 weeks belly pic!

No more pins! And, yes, it has really "popped". Looking back at these photos, I gained 4 pounds in the first 12 weeks. After that about a pound a week. Funny that the photos don't really seem to reflect that, eh?

Belly pics!

6 weeks. (Looking at my abs in this one makes me want to cry!)

8 weeks.

9 weeks.

11 weeks.

12 weeks. (Note the sexy pins holding up my pants.)

13 weeks.

14 weeks.

17 weeks.

Boo, Preston!

Here I am, awake early on a Saturday morning, wanting to edit and upload photos. So why am I not, you ask? Preston's computer can't see Preston's Z drive where all the photos are stored. Booooo Preston!

I did edit 2 cuties uploaded from his phone, though. Kitties playing in Judtona's maternity clothes boxes with Preston. So at least there's that.

It's a....

Or, you know, girl! :-)

So, I had the ultrasound yesterday, and I was sure, absolutely sure going in that it was a boy. She poked me and prodded me and measured things and P and I watched The Kid. The Kid kicked, a lot, and I'd say "Whoa!!" every time. She was kicking harder than normal - I think she doesn't like to be compressed in there... anyways, I'm sure now that what I was feeling were kicks! And that is sooooo cool!

Anyways, finally the lady gets this shot like The Kid is sitting on the camera. With her legs a little spread. I'm thinking, I don't see his willy. But I'm not wanting to say anything. Finally P says, "It's a girl, isn't it?" And the lady says yes. I actually asked her if she was sure, because I was sooooo sure it was a boy! But a girl, yay! We've even got an ultrasound pic with an arrow pointing at the distinct lack of boy bits. (Boy, would it sure suck if The Kid really was a boy - he'll never live down us not being able to find the goods!)

My dad is super-excited. I'm really happy. I'm already planning a pretty sage green nursery with an animal theme.

And then this morning, when Grimmy was having his morning suck, she got all ticked at him compressing her space, and she kicked really hard 5 times. I put my hand down there and I could feel it!! On the outside!!! So I woke Preston up and we layed there for about half an hour, and he thinks he felt her too!

Sooooo cool.

Can't wait to start painting this weekend. And, you know, laying floors.

Oh, and for the record, this is what I want my shower cake to look like:
Only I want Spock instead of Darth Vader. And I want it to say "It a Gril!", instead of "It's a girl!", and I want a Carrot Jockey on there somewhere. And it should be marble cake, people. Marble. Baby likes marble. (This is the Cake Wrecks reference to that shower cake. And Cake Wrecks is where I got the Gril cake from too. And if you haven't read Cake Wrecks, go do it, it is hilarious. You will thank me.)

Today we find out: boy or girl

Can I focus?

No!!!

Clothes

Well, I had to go buy bigger underwear last weekend. If that doesn't just suck.

And today I took the pins out of the waist of my formerly fat pants. Now they are just the only pants that fit that aren't elastic waisted or maternity. Joy.

Week 18

Trying to post a little more often.... Trying to get you some pics (Jocelyn). Promise.

Cravings:
Not really. But hungry a lot. I did well with my eating this past week.

Aversions:
Still some types of chocolate.

Other symptoms:
God, I am huge. I'm a freaking barge. And I'm not even halfway though this. My book says The Kid is bigger than my hand. My hand!! That is huge! There is a giant human in my belly!!!

Things bugging me:
There is too much shit to do around the house before this baby comes out. (How can it be this big and I'm not halfway through??)
My neck stopped hurting. And then yesterday it started again.
And you'd better not make me miss my bedtime. It won't be pretty.
Oh, and I am fat.

Current weight: 139.6

Can feel The Kid pretty reliably when I lay on my belly. So I'm squishing the little guy at least once a day. For the fun of it.

Went to Adron/Judtona (not their real names)'s for a crib and a highchair and a pack-n-play this weekend. Holy shit, there is a *crib* in my house. Shit.

Oh, one more thing. I went swimming last Thursday morning for the first time in quite a while. It felt weird. Like, super-weird. Like my giant fat belly was hanging blimp-like below me in the water, and that was causing all my ligaments to stretch. It actually kind of hurt a little, before it loosened up and started to feel pretty good.


Non-preggo stuff:

Aw, shit, I don't know!

Oh, yes I do! Preston took me to Reef for my birthday. It would have been better with wine, but no. Anyways. Oh, and we had The.Most.Amazing dessert. It was, crap, I can't remember what it was. Yes I can! Buttermilk panna cotta (that tasted like cheesecake) with strawberries and the *most* amazing strawberry sorbet that tasted like gelato. Yummy! Would totally go back for just that. Like every day.

Three Things Thursday

1. Baby Kicks: I've felt 3 things that I'm pretty sure are kicks. The first 2 were May 1st and 2nd, just as I was settling down on my left side to sleep. It felt...almost like a ligament shift, but there aren't ligaments there. Felt almost like The Kid did a flip-turn against my left belly, like maybe when I laid down, he drifted downwards, then kicked off to center himself again. The third was yesterday in the Knee Doc's office. He asked me to lay on my belly, and I swear, just when the belly was fully compressed, I felt what could only be a kick right in the front center, followed by a few flutters. I imagined The Kid saying, in a Cartman voice, "Moooooom, there's no room in here!"

2. This week is week 4 of doing week 2 of Couch to 5K. I've been running longer than my 90 seconds all week, though, this morning doing 1 90 second interval, 4 2 minute intervals, and closing with a 3 minute interval. I think I'm ready for week 3 next time I go out. Finally. (Again, it isn't the knee, it is The Kid that is holding me back.)

3. One of the weirdest things about being pregnant is that maternity pants are mostly elastic waisted, so you never have to zip a zipper. Now whenever I wear regular pants (I can still fit into my "fat" pants from 2006/7), my fly is usually down because I've gotten out of the habit of zipping it!!

Weeks 16 and 17

Cravings:
French fries. Fresh Reeses sound good too. Yeah, none of this has changed.

Aversions:
Still some types of chocolate, but the not wanting to eat thing has gone by the wayside. Now I want to eat. Yes, now. Yes, always.

Other symptoms:
Still feeling the moody. Had a break down and cry day last Wednesday.

Things bugging me:
There is too much shit to do around the house before this baby comes out.
My neck still hurts. 15 days and counting. I've resorted to drugs to try to fix it.
Oh, and I am fat.

Current weight: 139 (You read that right. My mom managed to put 2.5 lbs on me in 2 days at her house the other weekend. Trying to refocus on cleaner, healthier eating.)

Had a belly check on Wednesday. The Kid's heart was beating a nice steady 144. And the Dr. prescribed Flexaril for my neck spasm and anxiety (for P's surgery). Gender ultrasound is May 19!!!!


Non-preggo stuff:

Preston had surgery on Friday. He was super-grumpy most of the weekend. I did all I could to not kill him. Oh, and he is fine, btw.

We finally built out the really cool aluminum box that I rescued from the archives trash! 5 wooden shelves installed, and ready to be a DVD cabinet looking all cool on the wall downstairs (the rest of the DVDs are upstairs). Now all we have to do is hang it! Will try to get some pics soon. Of everything: belly, P's hospital (some of these are funny!), cabinet build-out.

Time for some new floors in the nursery. Damnit.