21 weeks and all's well! Mama's been enjoying the best things about pregnancy: baby kicks, looking fierce in an elastic waistband, and being able to eat whatever she wants. I started feeling The Bean at around 18 weeks and feel him fairly consistently now. His kicks are low and fluttery, and seem to get stronger if my posture gets ugly. He doesn't like being scrunched up down there. Our little guy is a little bigger than a canteloupe but my belly is slightly larger. And by slightly, I mean I have arrived at freak show status about 20 weeks early. I am already getting the "You're due WHEN?!" comments from strangers that are great self esteem boosters. What's different about this pregnancy is I've gained a lot less weight so far, and seem to only be growing in the belly region. This makes me look like I'm smuggling a basketball and gets a lot of sympathetic looks when people realize I still have 4 months to go before this show is over. Another fun happening involves the belly button. It popped out last week and is equally gross and adorable all at the same time. Funny because it never happened in 38 weeks of gestating Ben, but here it is, sticking out for the whole world to see. Ben caught a glimpse of it the other night and became obsessed - pressing it over and over again like something was supposed to happen. He recently figured out the function of buttons - on the dishwasher, TV, etc, so I'm guessing he expected something magical to happen. It never did. I encourage him to pet his brother and talk to him, but he still doesn't get it and pretty much thinks I'm insane for suggesting it. He'll know soon enough.
Health is still in good shape. No swelling, blood pressure issues or any of the other stuff that began to rear its ugly head around this time last go-around. That's been a relief and will hopefully continue another 18 weeks or so. The doctor told us that unless I go into labor early, The Bean will be delivered in Week 39, which puts us anywhere between September 28th and October 4th. It's kinda cool to pinpoint a specific window. We may even get to decide his birthday if it jives with the doctor's golf schedule. That is, if The Bean doesn't make a surprise attempt at entering the world.
Preparing for our second son has been maintenance free so far. This is a great perk to having two kids of the same gender, two years apart, in the same season. We are thankful we resisted the urge to sell off all of Ben's adorable onesies and hats with animal ears, as well as his toys, blankets and anything else we ever got for him. These things are slowly making their way out of containers and diaper boxes, being dusted off, and found a new place in the nursery. This is a lot easier than painting shapes on the wall and building furniture with confusing directions. I was hesitant about it at first, but am really warming up to the idea of the boys in one room. He definitely has a name (yet to be announced) so that process is out of the way. Because he's leaving my body through the emergency exit like his brother, I get to bypass the ridiculousness that is child birthing class, so the only thing left to do is wait for his arrival! I love this pregnancy!
Summer is around the corner and lots of fun can be anticipated. The Turners are traveling to High Point next month to see Auntie Lauren and Uncle Bear get married. We travel to the beach a little over a month after that and will likely be spending a lot of time at the pool in between. Not looking forward to wearing a bathing suit, but totally looking forward to floating in the water! We're also hoping to make a few trips to the mountains here and there, and will likely go up for the 4th of July because after doing it for 3 straight years, I'm pretty sure it's tradition. Mama and The Bean have lots to look forward to before we meet face to face.
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Halfway already?!
18 weeks, 6 days: The obligatory (and super cute) profile shot:
Jazzercise in the womb: You'd think I could feel it!
Hey y'all!: face forward shot with his little heart beating away
Showing off my nasal cavity and waving hello:
Yep, it's official: girls don't have those :)
Last week, Week 18, I started feeling little baby kicks. They are very slight and only happen when I'm sitting very still, but unmistakable to a veteran mama. I felt Ben much earlier than The Bean, but today confirmed that this is because his placenta is front and center, cushioning most of his movements. When I can feel him, it's because he is working on his jazzercise routine and really getting busy. The combination of the kicks and seeing my little human on the screen this afternoon helped me understand that THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING! I am not reliving my pregnancy with Ben, and I am not talking about someone else, I am having another baby! Holy cow! I have to be honest, it's been harder for me to bond with The Bean. I'm chalking it up to being super busy chasing a toddler around and not sitting around, dreaming about nursery colors and newborn onesies. But this week has changed all of that. My little guy is half cooked and will be here in as much time as it took to get this far! He is super cute, too. I fell in love all over again watching him squirm around while the nice ultrasound tech tried to measure his head and leg bones.
The Bean probably has a name. This was a long conversation (19 weeks long) that became quite boring at the end. We kept landing on the same 10 or so names, and by we, I mean me. Jacob agreed with one or two, but we couldn't quite work out a name combo. Until THE name. I threw it out over chicken fingers at our friendly neighborhood restaurant and Jacob didn't say "that sucks". A few minutes later, he said "I could live with that" and I slept on it to see if I could too. Sure enough, I still love it. The first name is his top choice, and the middle name is mine. Backwards from Ben's naming ceremony, where I chose the first, and he the second. In true Turner fashion, we'll probably keep it a surprise because 1. it's the only surprise left, and 2. we'd like to avoid the "You're naming him WHAT?!" conversation with friends and family. It's not completely outrageous, but there's always that insensitive guy who proceeds to share a story about how he knew someone by that name who picked his nose, or remind you what embarrassing word the name can rhyme with. Anyone who has named a child can relate to this. Because I am pregnant and emotional over things like Alltel commercials, I want to avoid this situation.
I have finally arrived in the glorious "honeymoon trimester". The morning sickness is gone except for the occasional "I think I just threw up in my mouth" situation (sorry, it happens). I LOVE my new curves and believe myself to be rocking pregnancy, but am savoring it because I am approaching "Your baby is due WHEN?!" status, followed by "Are you carrying twins?" to end with "I didn't know bellies could stretch that much!". I'm carrying The Bean front and center, just like Ben. I'd like to think you can't tell I'm pregnant if you're behind me at the checkout line because he's all out front. I feel pretty wonderful and am still a manageable enough size to work in the yard (my favorite spring/summer past time). Oh yeah, and my health is stellar. Like I said, the honeymoon trimester. I did finally put my regular jeans away this weekend (RIP regular jeans: 0 weeks - 18 weeks gestation). Wearing pants to my ribcage and feeling good.
10 weeks:
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