My Favorite Time

Just after the alarm clock goes off, I finally turn from sleeping on my side to laying flat on my back. I lay there in the dark and poke around on my phone - checking e-mails, catching up with friends, etc - while your dad snoozes next to me waiting for his wake up call.

And nearly every morning, when the house is dark and quiet, you wake up too. You kick and squirm and make your presence known.

This is my favorite time of day with you, Henry. While dad and the cats are sleeping and unaware, you and I wake up together and share a few quiet minutes before the hectic part of the day begins.

I guess you are more of a morning person like me.

23 Weeks!

How far along: 23 Weeks 2 Days (Sorry for being late, Henry)
Maternity Clothes: Yup. 
Stretch marks: Yes. Haven't gotten much darker, really.
Sleep: Not so great. I'm extremely tired, but side sleeping sucks.
Best moment of the Week: A got to feel Henry kicking! This kid sure has gotten STRONG FAST! Also we got to see Aunt Amber and cousin Jack and Grandma Rebecca visiting from out of town! 
Miss Anything? Some of my clothes. I have spirit week coming up for school and I have no idea what to do for Way Back Wednesday. Normally I'd throw on a cute vintage dress and be from the 50s! None of them fit :(
Movement: All the time, now, and it's unmistakable!
Food Cravings: I NEEDED Frosted Flakes last night. NEEDED. So I went to Target and bought them at 9pm. Then I ate two bowls. Whoops.
Queasy or Sick? Nope!
Have you started to show?  I definitely look pregnant. I love it. I kind of want to be bigger, weird as that sounds.
Gender: Henry!
Labor signs: No, and I'm grateful.
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? Off.  
Happy or moody? I think a bit less emotional than before. I watched some things that didn't make me cry, and I was very proud.

Alien!

As I lay in bed last night reading Wuthering Heights - after all, I need to finish up those long term substitute plans - Henry started kicking away.

Except it felt really STRONG.

So I put my hand over the spot he was kicking, and HE MOVED MY HAND from the outside! You couldn't see it just to look at my tummy, but when I had my hand there it was very clear that he was being felt from the outside. I called A in and had him place his hand where mine was . . .  and of course that stinker stopped moving!

It's still exciting, though, and I know A will get to feel his kicks soon!

He's my little alien in there!

22 Weeks!

How far along: 22 Weeks
Maternity Clothes: All the time
Stretch marks: Yes
Sleep: Pretty good. I fall asleep so much more quickly now than before.
Best moment of the Week: HENRY MOVING! It's been so cool. All of a sudden he must have gotten big enough to feel, because now I feel him all the time. He's most active around 10am and 9pm. It is the best, even if he DOES seem to love kicking when my bladder is full and I'm in the middle of a class and can't leave.
Miss Anything? Sleeping on my back. Side sleeping all the time is messing with my shoulders.
Movement: Finally yes!!
Food Cravings: Still macaroni and cheese. It's like my life's blood. I actually CRIED over not getting my mac and cheese order correct the other day. It was hilarious in hindsight.
Queasy or Sick? Nope. Still feel good!
Have you started to show?  Yes!

22 Weeks - Getting BIG!

Gender: Henry George!
Labor signs: No, thankfully. Two more weeks until V-Day (viability). Obviously I don't want to have him ANYTIME soon, but it will be nice to know he's at a point where he'd probably be okay.
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? Off.  
Happy or moody? Pretty happy. A bit overwhelmed with school and grading and thinking about long term sub plans. So much to do in so little time. 

Mover and Shaker

Last night, around 9pm, A and I were watching The Knick sitting on the couch. And all of a sudden, THERE IT WAS!

Henry is officially moving around, and I can FEEL it! It felt like someone was flicking the inside of my stomach just below my belly button. It happened on and off for the next 15 minutes or so. There was no denying it was him making his presence known!

This morning he was doing it again while I was sitting at my desk at school!

It was a crazy, weird feeling. I'm so so so excited to finally feel him in there, safe and sound!

Keep wiggling, Henry! I love it!

Farewell, Feet!

We have officially reached the moment where the baby belly now sticks out far enough that when I look down, my feet are hiding!

Mama's Eye View - 21 weeks 2 days

Personally, I'm more impressed that the belly sticks out further than my pre-pregnancy DDDs (though who knows what they measure now)! I sure am glad I got my Ravens maternity shirt, because my jersey isn't an option anymore.

21 Weeks

How far along: 21 Weeks, 1 Day
Maternity Clothes: Why was I not wearing these pre-pregnancy? They are great.
Stretch marks: Yes. Worth it though, I've decided.
Sleep: Better this week.
Best moment of the Week: Apparently I felt Henry this week!? I felt a popping, but then belched. I assumed it was really just gas. NOT SO, says my doctor! She said that where I felt the popping was uterus, not digestive system at this point. She says it was all Henry. Of course this has yet to repeat itself since.
Miss Anything? Wine. I had a small glass the other night and man do I miss sipping wine with dinner.
Movement: Ish? See above.
Food Cravings: Carbs. I love carbs.
Queasy or Sick? Nope. I am the luckiest pregnant lady ever.
Have you started to show?  Yes! I love it.
Gender: Henry :)
Labor signs: No! Thank god. Some ladies I know through an online forum have suffered losses in the last week, just on the cusp of viability. It's so heartbreaking. Please stay put, Henry. 24 weeks can't get here fast enough, because at least he'd have a shot.
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? Off.  
Happy or moody? Happy and emotional. I'm kind of glad I'm not a crazy angry lady. Of course, A says that's because he's being VERY careful with me. I'll take it!

20 Weeks - HALF BAKED!

How far along: 20 Weeks!!! Half way finished! How did this happen?
Maternity Clothes: Yup! And I love them. I especially love that they show off my bump :)
Stretch marks: Yes. No worse than before though.
Sleep: Not good. Either my hip or back hurts, I'm up to pee constantly, and I'm actually waking up A with my restlessness.
Best moment of the Week: This has been a pretty boring week on the Henry front, really. I mean that in the best possible way - we have such a smooth pregnancy and I'm incredibly grateful for that! So the best moment of the week was seeing the Orioles go up 2-0 on Detriot in the ALDS series! One more win and we're another step closer to the WORLD SERIES! I assume Henry's been bouncing around in there like crazy with Mama getting all excited.
Miss Anything? Scalding hot baths. I think they'd make my achey body feel better.
Movement: No. Still no. I'm hoping that now that we're half way through I'm not too far away from feeling him. The bigger he gets, the more likely I'll feel him poking around. Hard not to be jealous of people who feel their babies, though. 
Food Cravings: Not really. Pretty normal food week.
Queasy or Sick? No. Henry has been so easy on me.
Have you started to show?  Yes! Check out the 20 week bump!

Gender: Our boy! I really love being able to think about Henry as a real person now and the things we'll do and enjoy together.
Labor signs: No!
Belly button in, or out? In!
Wedding rings on or off? Still off. I could POSSIBLY wear them, but I have a replacement band and am wearing my rings on a chain. I think I'll just stick with it and not take the risk of them being "tight" to an extreme and cutting them off. 
Happy or moody? Super tired and wiped out, but happy. I'm not feeling too moody at all.

Hump Day BUMP Day!

Just a few more days to go until I'm officially "half baked" at twenty weeks! How on earth has half of this pregnancy flown by me already?

Henry is making his presence more known every day. Just yesterday I felt a lot of pressure and stretching, and I think it's because baby boy is going through a growth spurt - I was also a LOT hungrier yesterday than normal.

Here's the bump status for today . . .

19 Weeks, 5 days

At this point, my belly is actually sticking out a little bit farther than my chest, which means he has DEFINITELY been growing. I feel like at this point I'm looking more pregnant than piggy, and I've noticed (particularly if I'm wearing maternity shirts) that people are glancing at the belly and then smiling at me when I'm out running errands.

I've definitely started to get the nesting bug as well, talking with A about our Henry-To-Do list - things like painting the nursery, buying his crib, finishing the registry process, etc. It's exciting, and also scary, to know that I've got under five months to go to make all this stuff HAPPEN. On one hand it seems like ages, but on the other . . . if the FIRST twenty weeks flew by like this, how fast will the second twenty? I'm sure it will start seeming like an eternity come January, but in the meantime, I'm trying to soak up how much I enjoy this. I've been so fortunate to feel well and happy throughout my pregnancy so far, so it's been such a lovely experience.

The most daunting thing lying ahead of me? Three months worth of maternity leave lesson plans for the three different courses I teach. Oh my!