Week 23

Taken last week at 22 weeks

23 weeks down, just 18-ish more to go! Sounds like a long time, but I have a feeling it's going to go by real fast. The pregnancy itself for the most part is going by very fast and I am happy to report that it seems like just a month or two ago I saw those two lines that began this amazing journey. I'm only guessing, but it will probably be terrifying when we start counting down from 10 weeks left. Or maybe it will drag...waiting around for it and all. We shall see.

Baby is kicking harder and more frequently everyday now, which is just awesome. I haven't had any of those "low fetal movement" days in a few weeks now, thank goodness. Those suck. I have read not to fret over not feeling the baby kick all the time but it's really hard not to. And I also read that the bigger the baby gets, the less you may feel it move, due to the lack of room in there. So I'll just have to remember that for the future. The orange juice trick works just about every time for me. Everytime I drink it he starts kicking immediately. 

I have started sleeping exclusively on my side these days. I know the doctor told me I don't have to do that until I am really big, but it makes me nervous to lay flat on my back for too long, so I just don't. And the other night I was just resting on my back for like 10 minutes and I swore I started to feel lightheaded. Don't know if that's possible yet, since I'm really not big at all, but better safe than sorry in my book. 

Plus sleeping on my side isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Usually I can't stand side-sleeping cause it bothers my neck and shoulders, but using a million pillows propped under me in all the right places makes a world of difference. I haven't been having my typical upper back pain at all, in fact. Really the main aches and pains I have are in my feet. They absolutely KILL after a long day at work. And my hips have been bothering me at night and in the morning especially. Must book prenatal massage like, now. I think the extra weight around my belly is starting to actually impact them. 

Speaking of bellies - my new belly is kind of cute! I have put on 15 pounds so far and feel good about it. Pretty proud of that right there. I have to admit it's a little scary watching the numbers change on my scale so quickly, but not nearly as scary as I thought it'd be. I've always had weird body issues, so I never thought I'd have a yearning to get larger in the belly. But it really feels good...healthy in a robust, alive kind of way. My bump is clearly a baby right now, as opposed to the last few months of just looking like I was getting plumper around the middle. I kind of tried to hide it for the majority of the pregnancy, just because I wasn't too fond of the change in my waist yet, but now my baby bump is flaunting itself all over the place. All hail to the bump.

The one thing I have to say is an extremely unpleasant sensation I've been getting is when I have stabby pains in my groin. I believe they refer to this as "Round Ligament Pain," or essentially, my uterus stretching to make room for the growing baby. Ouch. And sometimes when I'm laying down he kind of balls up over to one side of me, and you can literally see the baby curled up in a ball in my belly. It's a weird uncomfortable pressure feeling and it's very alien-like. 

And here's some exciting news - Cody is now able to SEE the baby kicking from the outside! So 

cool. Also alien-like.

Before.

And of course the little baby room. We won't be setting up the crib anytime soon, based on how we'll need the space for company during the holidays, plus it's just too early. Setting up the crib seems like the last thing we should do. In my superstitious mind, it feels like a jinxy project to get into so early. So we may just hold off on that til March. But we were all ready to repaint as soon as we found out the sex. 

We wanted to give it a cozy, relaxing feel, but nothing too drab or "baby themed," if that makes any sense. So we, actually Mom & her boyfriend Dave (THANKS A MILLION), painted it. They primed over the bright yellow paint in one day and slapped the wall and ceiling paint on a few days later, saving us a big headache and tons of time. They did it all in just a few hours. I'm sure it would have taken Cody and I two days at least. 

The bright blue on the ceiling was a little scary to commit to, but it was an idea I saw on Pinterest and we both just were drawn to it for some reason. We picked out the paint and then went home, where I then had paint-buyer's remorse for the next 12 hours. I was like, "Um, is pregnancy making me lose my mind? Why would I want to put blue on the ceiling, what was I thinking?" But Mom and Cody convinced me it was a good choice so we just went for it. And I'm glad we did. The walls look white in the picture below but they're actually a soft gray. The ceiling is actually much more mellow in person, and really gives the room the vibe we were going for. Soothing, bright, cozy, relaxing, fun, and whimsical - all traits I hope to see in our little guy.

After.
Love it!