29 Weeks = Butternut Squash

Today, I'm 29 weeks and 4 days pregnant, and our baby boy weighs about 3 pounds, like a butternut squash.

Weirdest winter ever. Today was 50 degrees and sunny. The wind was pretty intense, though.

By now, our baby is starting to feel a little cramped in there, which is probably why my belly has been jumping all over the place lately—a sight that's awesome and hilarious and weird. I've loved watching it the last few days, but every time I try to show Danny, he misses it by .02 seconds. Seriously, he'll stare at my belly for 2 minutes straight, and the second he looks away, my belly dances all over the place. (Update: 2 hours after I posted this, Danny saw my belly move!) On a similar note, Baby's kicks are strong enough now that when Danny and I cuddle up super close, he can feel the kicks against his own stomach. These are the things I'll miss when this little dude is finally in the outside world with us.

Nothing new to report on the symptoms front. Still feeling ridiculously good. My feet balloon up to let me know when I'm overdoing it. For instance, this morning, I did a lot of running around for the baby (finalized my registries, bought a few things for the nursery, and returned a few things I thought I wanted for the nursery), and after about 4 hours, my shoes felt tight—so I headed home.

He's a low rider! (And that crazy hair is the wind's doing, I promise.)

The past week or so, I've been bumping into things with my belly because it sort of appeared from out of nowhere—and until recently, I was able to wear a lot of my flowy or stretchy pre-pregnancy clothes. Only a few things fit now, so it's definitely time to bite the bullet and buy some maternity clothes. It seems like such a waste of money to buy a wardrobe that I'll only wear for about 11 weeks (11 weeks?!), but I really have no choice at this point.

Oh, and this is random, but I ordered my rocking chair a couple days ago! It won't be here for 2 weeks, though, and the wait is going to destroy me. On the bright side, it's nice to have little things to look forward to while I wait for this miracle to get here.

...and to All a Good Night! (By Danny)

Christmas Day is finally here, but our biggest gift won't arrive for another 99 or so days.  I can remember how magical the Christmas season was when I was a kid, how much anticipation and joy I felt, and it makes me happy to know that my little man will be feeling the same way in a few short years.

A couple weeks ago, I felt the baby move for the first time.  Wow.  I couldn't ask for a better gift than that.

Amanda and I have gone completely crazy with buying every cute thing we can find for our boy, and I couldn't care less.  I don't care how financially strapped we are, we will always find a way to make our Christmas magical (even if I have to sell my favorite guns).

This time last year, we were still mourning our first loss.  I kept replaying our ER visit in my mind. It was one of those life-defining moments you wish so hard you could just go back and erase. All of our fantasies of Christmas mornings felt like they were just flushed down the toilet.

Fortunately, feeling my boy move for the first time was also a life-defining moment, but the kind that makes you thank God or whatever it is you believe in for letting you experience it.

I imagine that this time next year will be another one of those moments. One of many.

20 Weeks = Banana

Today, I'm 20 weeks pregnant, and our baby boy is approximately the length of a banana. Twenty weeks. Half baked! I can hardly believe it.

This week, Banana is swallowing up a storm, and he's already producing a tarry poo substance that he'll store in his bowels until he's born. That's not cute in any way, but it's pretty fascinating. Also, he's sprouting nipples this week, which actually is kind of cute.

The only thing weirder than posing in your front yard with a banana is posing in your front yard with a banana when it's pitch-black outside. I'm doing my best not to look like a perv.

I feel so, so good lately. I'm definitely less tired, and my kidneys are finally chilling out! Twice this week, I didn't have to get up at all to pee in the middle of the night... which is probably why I'm feeling so rested and energetic. Booyah!

Something new: for the past 2 weeks or so, I've been having occasional leg cramps that hurt so badly they pull me out of a deep sleep. I had one last night, actually--and my leg is still sore today. I didn't know this was a symptom of pregnancy until I read it on my pregnancy website this morning. Supposedly, I probably just need more water. Simple enough.

Oh, and according to Danny, I've been "snoring like a walrus" for the first time in my life, so I'm going to go ahead and blame that on being pregnant, too.

There's obviously a baby in there now!

Like I mentioned a couple days ago, I've been enjoying feeling this little guy dance around. Something about it makes me feel very connected to him, and I can't wait until Danny can feel his kicks, too. So many amazing things have happened--and are happening--but there are still countless things to look forward to. I love this so much.

Monarch Butterfly

I never mess with my blog at work, but I have to make an exception today because I want to remember this moment forever. Bosses, if you're reading this, I apologize. I'll keep it quick, I promise.

For the past 5 days, I've felt little flutters in my stomach, but I tried to chalk it up to the digestion process or something because my doctor told me not to expect movement for a few more weeks, due to the location of my placenta. Yesterday, though, I really started to think the flutters had to be movement because they were so consistent. And today...

I CAN FEEL LITTLE MAN DANCING UP A STORM!

...as I type this, in fact... and there's no denying it anymore. I'm sitting at my desk, laughing out loud right now--because it's such a wonderfully bizarre feeling. If I had to describe it, I'd say it feels like there's a monarch butterfly in my stomach that really, really wants out. Flutter, flutter, tap, flutter.

So awesome. So reassuring. Keep it up, kiddo.

I really don't like publishing posts without a photo, so please do me a favor and imagine that there's a picture of me right here:




....wearing the biggest smile I've ever worn.