30 weeks

So. Got my H1N1 vaccine. hmph. I hate decisions and I hate difficult decisions even more. J and I hummed and hawed and prayed and researched and decided to go ahead. Now 2 days afterwards my legs feel achy....am I just becoming a paranoid mommy? Oh man, I guess it's the beginning of difficult decisions!

Otherwise- I've officially reached the "I can't see my feet" phase. I love the kicking and moving and dancing and re-decorating that goes on in my belly though. Baby gets inches out with his kicks and it looks soo weird and feels even more bizarre.

I'm getting on a plane next week. Ugh. I hate flying and hate it even MORE in pregnancy. Something about stale air, not being able to move, bumpy turbulence and nausea all rolled into one. Now I'm contemplating- should I wear a mask? Would people think I'M the sickie or just that I'm paranoid?

I'm nostalgic in a way to think that pregnancy only lasts a few more months but mainly just getting excited about meeting this little boy. Curly hair or straight? Dark or blond? Blue eyes or brown? Left handed or right? So many questions and anxieties until I actually count his fingers and toes.

Third trimester here I come!

Yup- here's the belly, growing bigger and bigger!

I love this part of pregnancy....and here are some of the reasons why:

-baby is wiggling, jumping, moving, hiccuping all the time (feels funny!)

-If I groan while attempting to tie my shoes, Jason will tie them for me

-I get back rubs often

-I have a good excuse to use 5 pillows at night

-Playing with my bellybutton is acceptable considering it's size

-I can still see my toes

-I get short of breath walking up a hill (which is kind of funny actually)

-3 more months and I get to hold my son!

...can't wait...

Placenta brain really does exist!

I seem to remember having a lightbulb idea of what I wanted to write about on here, but now have completey lost my brain again...it's really becoming a losing battle. Placenta - 10, Brain -1. In fact, without scaring fellow nurses too terribly out there, I made a ridiculous medication error the other day and I can't explain it except to say that I think my placenta took all my blood from my brain and I was left with a few cells to do my work. I walked clear into a different patients room, not really remembering that my patient was supposed to be a man, and gave a random woman patient my man's medication. What was I thinking? I have never made such a blatant error but I figure my life is over as I once knew it. Is this what motherhood will be like? Forgetting things mid-sentence, walking one direction then realizing I should be walking the other, having blank-out moments when I am not really sure what is going on....yikes. Someone reassure me I'll get my brain back post-child!!!

6 months

So I'm 6 months today. I have to say I'm enjoying this time more than any other so far in pregnancy. Feeling baby kicking away, getting winded walking a few feet too fast, starting to buy baby 'stuff.' I'm getting excited now that some of the major hurdles are over...or so I think! I guess I'll only get bigger and bigger from here! I like that people can actually TELL now that I'm pregnant. Although now people are asking to touch my belly, at first I was appalled! How weird of a question is that! But then I realized, 'oh yeah, it IS cool to touch a pregnant woman's belly.' Hard to get used to though! Now ahead is just trying to pick out names. I basically have to stop running names past people. I'm tired of seeing people's reactions to names I like. I figure they're pretty normal names but then...I guess we all have our opinions. I guess the name will stay a secret until the end! (especially since we haven't a clue what to call him!) I'm willing to take suggestions though...

Belly button

Had a super weird moment today...I looked down at my belly only to find that 'pop' my belly button looked super strange. I know it may look normal to some people, but truly, it has suddenly poked out more than normal. It even feels funny! Jason noticed it right away too. My body is definitely not feeling like my own anymore! Especially when lying in bed and all of a sudden it starts visibly moving from the outside. Crazy! I love that I can feel baby move more and more though.

Makes me think he's going to be a ballroom dancing, soccer playing, gymnast! Yup, that's right, HE.

P.s. it was a huge surprise! I thought for sure it was a girl- and I mean FOR SURE. I even bought this little cute pink dress and had a name picked out. When the doctor said it was a boy I was more than flabbergasted how my 'baby sense' got so mixed up. So, shhhh no telling my son that the first outfit I bought for him was a dress!

Baby boogie

For the longest time I was unsure if I was feeling the baby move or not. It felt like little flutters that I was pretty certain was not my bowels or liver or anything else...but I wasn't quite sure. Well, over the last week or so (week 20/21) I am now CERTAIN that I'm feeling the baby move. This time there are more definite 'kick-like' sensations I've been feeling. The other day I was busy all day but then sat down to rest and all of a sudden I felt the 'thud' in my belly, I was like "was that baby?" but then two seconds later, in the exact same spot, was the same thud feeling. Now I notice it a lot more. I especially notice it when I really have to pee but haven't made it to the bathroom yet, and baby either thinks a new trampoline has appeared or decides things are getting too crowded in there with my bladder in the way and starts stomping away on it. It's the weirdest sensation- baby river dance on my bladder! Sometimes too it makes me laugh out loud feeling the baby kick...it feels funny! And then, two nights ago, I was lying in bed and the thuds started coming on a certain side of my belly so I told J to put his hand there...not sure if he could feel it or not...and he could! The baby just kept kicking the same spot or head butting or whatever and jason felt it all! How special! I wonder what baby's patterns are for sleeping/moving because I feel baby move pretty erratically- mainly when I've stopped and am resting or sitting. Interesting. I love feeling the baby move though because it reminds me he/she is still there and flexing his/her little muscles!

Ultrasound

Well, we had our 20 week ultrasound today. I was really, really relieved to see that everything is going well and baby is healthy. Praise God for all your prayers. I was really becoming a basket case of worry over the last while and struggling with just giving up my concerns to God. I dunno, but I was just anxious all the time that something was wrong. OH man, is this what parenthood is going to be like?! AHHH. We did find out too that baby is growing too well in fact, bigger than average...I'm going to be huge before I know it! Baby weighs 12 ounces and just think how much bigger he/she will have to get over the next months. Yikes! We did find out what sex the baby is too, but for now it will be our little secret. We'll tell a bit later maybe once we get used to the idea ourselves! Here's a picture of our little cutie with his/her little turned up nose. CUTE! And I guess I haven't felt kicks as much because the placenta is at the front of the uterus cushioning baby from the outside world. That explains it! Either that or baby is nice and calm like his/her father (sure hope so!)