20 Week Pregnancy Update
Halfway there!!! Baby is currently the size of a small cantaloupe, weighs about 10.2 ounces and measures about 6.5 inches from crown to rump (10 inches head to toe).Feeling movement has been quite exciting the past month. At 15 weeks, I started feeling the flutters. Compared to my first pregnancy, this happened few weeks earlier this time, probably because I recognized the feeling immediately. A few weeks later those flutters turned into kicks! I was sitting in the sun at the park while Brock played when I felt the familiar kick for the first time. I quickly placed my hand over the spot and baby continued to kick me over and over, it was pretty exciting...those kicks were the highlight of my 17th week. Since then feeling movement has only become stronger and more frequent.We also just had the big 20 week ultrasound. This pregnancy has definitely had it's differences from my pregnancy with Brock, the biggest one being that I'm now 35 years old. Due to my age, the ultrasound had to be done offsite with a perinatal doctor at the hospital I will be delivering. The ultrasound was long and extremely thorough. Baby was very comfortable and stayed tucked in a little ball most of the ultrasound which made it hard for the technician to get all of the vital images she needed. I tried everything I could to get baby to move around by emptying my bladder, drinking more water...and emptying again, laying on both sides, coughing, standing up and touching my toes and finally, we got the final image of the heart that she needed! An hour and a half later. We were very pleased, all of baby's results were normal. The only concerning result came from me, I was displayed an irregular heartbeat. My doctor doesn't seem to be too concerned because I am not showing any major symptoms like shortness of breath or dizziness. I will be seeing a cardiologist that specializes in pregnancy and in the meantime I was told no caffeine. Will keep you updated on this and I would love to hear from other women that may have experienced this during pregnancy. Now to the fun stuff!
Due Date: August 31st, 2018Gender: Girl (I'm so excited!)Name: Not yet! I'm a little embarrassed to share that we haven't really talked about it and it's one of the questions we get the most. There are a few names that we still really like from when I was pregnant with Brock so we'll see if one of those sticks.How I'm Feeling: Overall, really good! As hard as it was to get pregnant the first time with my son, I was very lucky with my pregnancy and never experienced a day of nausea. I did however have a lot of headaches. This time around I got it. I felt pretty sick all day from week 7 to week 12, it was horrible and made me realize how lucky I was the first time. Once the morning sickness subsided I've only had a few moments of nausea and headaches but I'm thinking it was more related to me cutting out caffeine and not pregnancy.I also wanted to point out I'm now a believer in the old wise tale in pregnancy gender determination...Nausea = You're having a girl Headaches = You're having a boyHow I'm Sleeping: What a difference a trimester makes! First trimester I slept O.K. This trimester sleep has been wonderful...especially since I broke out the ol' pregnancy pillow from last time! While I have a deep love for my body pillow, it is a bed dominator and my husband does not share the same feeling. This is mine and new this pregnancy they offer super soft, easy to put on-and-off replacement pillow cover here. Other than that, I have been sleeping very deep and having some very intense dreams. Anyone else experience this?What I'm Eating: Haha....everything! I'm a hungry mama when I'm pregnant and I definitely don't believe that pregnancy is a time to hold back. For the most part I'm making smart choices but that doesn't mean I'm not splurging from time to time. I mean, when else am I going to indulge in a cinnamon roll or chocolate croissant?!First trimester I had to have a carb at every meal. For breakfast I loved scrambled eggs with cheese and english muffin or avocado toast (my fave!). At lunch, I would choose a sandwich over a salad most of the time and since dinners are typically me doing the cooking, I got to prepare whatever sounded good on the stomach that week.This trimester has been better. For breakfast I've been doing a lot of overnight chia oat bowls, oatmeal with PB powder and banana and veggie scrambles (spinach, mushrooms and feta). Hooray... my options at lunch have broadened too! I'm still doing sandwiches a few times a week but I also make a mean veggie stir fry with chicken at home and am loving soups and salads again. Dinners have returned to normal protocol.The main difference I've noticed between this pregnancy and my first is that while I'm still hungry, I don't think I'm eating at much as when I was pregnant with my son. My first pregnancy I had many...MANY grilled cheese sandwich nights, this pregnancy I haven't had one. However, I have been loving me some french fries! Regular, sweet potato...it doesn't matter.Exercise: I've done a pretty good job of staying active so far... compared to my first pregnancy when I was under strict physical restriction. It's been amazing to be pregnant and be allowed to continue working out the way I was pre-pregnancy. When I was pregnant with my son I couldn't walk or lift anything over 10 lbs until cleared to do so at 12 weeks. Then once cleared, I was instructed to walk and use light weights but no jumping or heavy lifting.I'm currently working out at least 4 days a week and I'm constantly changing it up. I'm still running, although I don't know how much longer I will be able to. I recently started experiencing some bladder pain only while running, sometimes it goes away but other times it's unbearable and I have to stop and walk. For now, every run is a win for me since I never know how my body is going to handle it. Most important thing for me right now now is to listen to my body. PS, I'm putting together a Fit Mom blog post breaking down what workouts have been working for me so far this pregnancy.
Weeks 9 - 12
Weeks 14 - 18
Week 19
Body and Weight Gain: I have a strong personal opinion about this one that I will share with you. I do not weigh myself and haven't since I first found out I was pregnant. I see nothing positive coming from me obsessing over the weight I'm gaining during pregnancy. I'm supposed to gain weight, a lot actually. It's my doctors job to monitor my weight, not mine. I eat when I'm hungry, I make healthy choices and I am active. The weight will come off so until then, I'm embracing this 9 months and doing my part to grow the healthiest baby girl I can.They say the average weight gain for women my height is between 25-35 lbs. I gained 40 lbs with my first pregnancy which as you can see is "above average". It made more sense when Brock was born and came out weighing 9.6 lbs which is a large baby. I will never forget when the doctors pulled him out, everyone in the room was gasping about his size and I remember hearing "He's gotta be 10 lbs!"So far, I'm measuring "on track" this pregnancy. Specifically, I was 3 days ahead at my ultrasound last week. I don't think I will gain as much weight this pregnancy for a couple reasons (1) I weighed less pre-pregnancy then I did with my first by 7 lbs & (2) I'm having a girl and I don't feel as hungry as I did when I was having a boy.Knock on wood! I don't have any visible stretch marks yet. And, my belly button is remains an "innie"...but then again, mine never popped out with Brock either. I'll keep you posted with both of these :)What I'm Wearing: Lately, I've been really into basics, accessorizing and over everything, it has to be comfortable! First trimester I lived in leggings and oversized sweaters and thermals. As far as pregnancy clothing, I prefer buying a few staple dresses and then mixing and matching different jackets, flannels or crop tops over them. If I'm wearing maternity jeans or shorts, a belly band that goes over my bump is a must. Brock was born in January (almost the complete opposite time of year as the due date this time) so I'm investing in pieces that I can wear as the weather continues to warm up. I have a feeling I'm going to be living in easy sundresses all summer long and I just picked up the cutest pair of jean shorts here.How Is Brock: He talks about "baby sister" everyday and always say's "you're belly is getting BIG!" but in all reality, I don't think he understands what is happening... yet. He'll be 3 1/2 when she is born and from what I keep hearing from everyone, this is going to be a great age separation. Good thing we totally planned it this way ;)Feeling Nervous About: Having another c-section. After being in labor for 18 hours, I still had to have an emergency cesarian with Brock. That was such a hard process for me to recover from. I would really like to explore the option of labor this time (if my doctor will let me).Baby Preparations: I'm happy to share that we have started on her nursery! Ok, it might be because we already have stuff from Brock's baby room (lol) but we do have the general layout set in baby sisters new room. I found an inspiration nursery that I'm obsessed with and would like to re-create so I will be working on pulling it together these next few months. I'm also happy to report that we got down all of Brock's baby stuff from the attic and went through every bin to organize and separate things that we will be able to use again. It was a huge project, I didn't realize how much stuff we had accumulated over the past 3 years (yikes!) But the good news is that I'm feeling very accomplished becuase we are able to reuse SO much stuff there really isn't too much to get.
