Bumpdate: Weeks 18-22 (and gender reveal)

How far along? 22 weeks. Over half way! I’d planned to have Corey take some bump photos and even painted a mini pumpkin to hold in them for a social media gender reveal but when given the choice between doing this or taking a nap…well this is the photo you get! 

Weight gain: Fluctuating between 4-6 pounds depending on the day. 

Cravings: Lots of salads and fresh fruit and pizza.

Anything making me nauseas/queasy? I haven’t been nauseas at all the last few weeks except when something smells too strongly. I can smell everything so this is requiring Corey to put fresh lemon down the garbage disposal and take out the trash every single day.

Stretch marks: Not yet. Still applying Bio Oil and Belly Butter every day both morning and night. I’ve heard this doesn’t actually help…that you just either get them or don’t based on genetics but I am not taking any chances. 

Maternity clothes: Belly bands are still keeping me in some of my old pants but I’m also wearing some maternity bottoms, too. I purchased several pairs of maternity work pants, a pair of jeans, two pairs of leggings, yoga pants, and a couple sets of tights so I’m adding those to my rotation. I have a couple maternity tops that I don’t need yet and lots of flowly non-maternity tunics so I’m really hoping I won’t need to step foot into Destination Maternity again.  

Wedding rings on/off: On. 

Sleep: What’s that?! I have been sleeping terribly. I’m having a lot of lower back pain and I just cannot get comfortable sleeping on my side. I’m also waking up to use the restroom several times a night. I got a little slap on the hand regarding my water intake but since I only have one restroom break at 9:00 am at work, I am not able to drink much water until the day is over or else I’m in pain all afternoon. So, I end up drinking a ton after my students leave to try to catch up and end up needing to use the restroom every hour all evening and night. 

Exercise: I have really slowed down unfortunately. It’s a battle between my mind and body every day and several days a week I am still working out but several other days my body is just screaming at me to sit down after being up, walking around, and moving all day. I don’t have a sedentary job, though, so even on days when I take a day off of Beachbody, I am still getting about 8-10,000 steps a day.

Movement: I finally started to feel flutters at 19 weeks. Corey and I were watching TV in bed when I felt the first one and was positive what it was and I was just so excited. I feel them mostly at night. I’m not sure if that it the time she is most active or just when I am least active and paying attention. 

Gender: Baby W is a little girl! We found out at 15 weeks and our OB confirmed it at 19 weeks. We would have been happy with either and Corey really thought it was a boy. I never had an intuition either way. I just prayed for Baby to be healthy. We are still going back and forth between two names but the amount of pink deliveries arriving every couple days at our house is crazy. Corey works from home and he says he can keep track of the time based on when the UPS man rings the doorbell. {Insert embarrassed emoticon here.} 

Symptoms: Exhaustion, bigger boobs that are tender, some mood swings. Pretty much the same as it has been. I also have started having round ligament pain daily, which is miserable. I thought it was too early for that but my doctor said nope and that unfortunately if I am having it already, I will probably have it for the duration.

Best moment this month: Feeling baby girl move for the first time. This was so exciting! Also, making some decisions about the nursery was great as well as finally feeling like I “popped” and seeing a real bump every day. 

Worst moment this month: I had an accident at work. I don’t know if you can really call it an “accident” but I was struck by a student with a chair…in the stomach. It was two days after my monthly checkup and our anatomy scan so I had just been to the doctor. I felt fine at first but ended up having to go for an emergency appointment an hour later, which was absolutely terrifying. I was a little bruised but we are both just fine now and I’m reminded that unfortunately, this comes with the territory of my career. 

Looking forward to: Getting to work on the nursery. We have started relocating Corey’s home office to our smaller spare room downstairs and are now ready to begin the nursery. After much debating, I have picked out the furniture, then changed my mind, and made other “final” selections. I have been really lucky that I have happened upon coupons for all of the big things so I placed the order for the dresser, glider, and crib and then splurged on some adorable wall shelving with my savings.