23 Weeks

Wow,
Can I just say that being pregnant is awesome and I love it and I want more kids, BUT, it is not easy, it is not fun, and it is sometimes a pain in the butt! (Literally!)

So, Tuesday I'll be 23 weeks pregnant, Baby G will have good odds of surviving if anything were to happen to us and he's definitely starting to make himself known.

Tim and I have a name that we're feeling out and even using around the house, but we're not 100% so don't go getting anything monogrammed! It MIGHT be the one, but we're reserving the right to change it up until we sign the paperwork!

I have this webpage bookmarked in my favorites and came across it again today. I think it is so cool. You start out with an 8 week old itty bitty fetus & then when you move the slider, the baby grows. It is so cool. I play with it A LOT. I find it amazing how BIG Baby G is getting in there. I still don't look pregnant from the outside & many of my pre-preg. shirts still fit! I am down to one pair of shorts but it's ok, since I don't really go anywhere.

Anyway, when I was putting my anti-stretch mark lotion on my belly & boobs today, I was playing around & pulled my flabby layers up towards my boobs. When I did that you could CLEARLY see that I do indeed have a baby bump, it's just covered by plenty of flesh. (Which means Baby G is nice & safe in there!) I have big ambitions of actually getting some stomach toning exercises done to try to build up some muscles there to help w/ delivery but, actually having the time/energy to do them right now, is not happening. Maybe once the house is taken care of.

Baby G kicks a lot. I can feel him all the time. Even when I'm vacuuming and moving around the house. For the most part it's not uncomfortable, sometimes it's not when I'd like it to be but hey, I wanted this. This stage of pregnancy is DEFINITELY better than the first trimester when I was SO sick & tired.

However, I would never tell a newly pregnant woman "just wait till the 2nd trimest, it'll all get better" because that's just not true. Sure, I have SLIGHTLY more energy (I also have more time to sleep though...) and I'm no longer nauseaus. BUT, my back aches constantly. I have a HARD time sleeping & if I was still working full-time I'd still be exhausted. I can sleep in until 10:30 am if I was up all night getting kicked in the bladder. Some women can't. The kicking, even at this stage, can be painful and when I'm trying to sleep or read or do anything relaxing, it's pretty much the only thing I can focus on. Baby G doesn't like me to lay on my stomach at all. He doesn't care for laying on my back either. Oh and he USED to like it when I slept on my left side, but suddenly that doesn't work & now I'm sleeping on my right side. So, although the 2nd trimester is easier than the first (and funner b/c I get to feel my baby moving & have the knowledge that he can hear my voice, AWW!) it's not like being pregnant is suddenly EASY.

I'm starting to read and research delivery and breastfeeding. Any tips, book suggestions, webpages, what-not are highly appreciated though I won't guarantee that I'll take all advice I receive. (Such as being told to toughen up my nipples...women this is NOT happening. Those ladies hurt enough as it is!) But I will APPRECIATE all advice.

I want to have the basics of my birth plan in my place by my 28 week doctor appointment. (My next appointment is my 24 week appointment can you believe that? It's on: July 16 @ 3:45. Then my next appointment after that will be the 28 weeks, which is the week of: August 10th. Wowzie!)

So, anyway, that's your pregnancy update for today!