pregnancy 0.5

twenty week update

the bump: i love having a bump - and i knew i would! the downsides are that up until this point, and probably for another few weeks it's mostly soft and squishy and can definitely be mistaken for fat depending on what i'm wearing. although it grosses me out a bit, i hope my belly button pops soon because that indentation ruins the whole bump! i'm also kind of obsessed with other pregnant women's tummies. i took a prenatal yoga class this week and wanted to stare intently at the other bumps but it somehow feels wrong so i just took quick glances.

clothes: i haven't had a problem with clothes and i'm curious to see if i will. i pretty much only wear empire waist dresses so that's incredibly convenient. and i never really wore anything very tight like little shorts or tank tops etc. i also lost about twelve pounds in the first trimester as a result of eating well for the first time ever. i think this has given me a bit of extra time with all of my dresses that might normally have gotten tighter. i've just started gaining weight...which is probably for the best. i did decide to do one maternity shop (online - i had no luck in real life). i bought six dresses -  three from asos maternity and three from pink blush maternity. the pink blush dresses are wrap and are a little tight for something i just bought, but they weren't very expensive and i hate sending back online orders. i was really impressed with the size of the dresses from asos and they are very unique (for maternity wear!).

dresses i purchased (top asos, bottom pink blush)

bladder: i pee all the time. but you know...i don't really know whether that's any different from pre-pregnancy. jon used to joke that he could tell me to "use the washroom" at any time (even if i didn't think i had to go)...and i would. i wake up between 3-6 times a night to pee which is different from 2-3 times before the schmoolet.

nausea: again, not sure this is any different from not being pregnant. i've always been pretty nauseous. i always get waves of it at the strangest times and pregnancy is no different. in the first trimester if i was nauseous i would eat something (despite all feelings to the contrary) and it worked every time. that sometimes works in the second trimester but not as often. i'm scared to write this for fear of some sort of nausea gods cracking down on me...but i have yet to throw up. maybe that's a reward for always dealing with this issue.

sleep: once more...this is something i've never done well. i'm pretty much an expert at naps but i never ever sleep through the night. i can see how this is going to get uncomfortable as my belly gets bigger. i'm a stomach sleeper and this without a doubt has been the hardest thing - i miss it greatly and sometimes cave and hitch my leg up on a pillow. but then my back hurts so...no win. i had jon pick me up the snoogle pregnancy pillow and OH MY why don't we all sleep with this all the time? it somehow supports you in all the right places and keeps you happy on one side for a looong time. i love you snoogle.

food: in the first trimester i only wanted simple, healthy, straightforward foods - a piece of chicken and a salad...an apple and some crackers...yoghurt and half a piece of buttered whole wheat bread. but now of course (as they say), my appetite has widened. i'm enjoying sugar (and should probably cut back), and fast food. the only thing that isn't different is how much i can eat in one sitting - not very much at all. i get full super super quick and can rarely finish any meal. jon gets lots of extras from my plate. i'm also not very hungry at night which is a bit strange because i was enjoying the whole "dinner" process this summer. but now i'm lucky to get a few bites in between 6 pm and 9 pm.

cravings: none that i can think of really. certain things however, taste like the best food in the world. this includes pineapple, sourdough bread and barbecue chicken. 

aversions: none really. i still dislike the same things. jon often suggests we order pizza - and before this is something i loved so i would have tried to resist but failed. now i say no a lot because the "idea" of eating pizza kind of grosses me out. 

mood: i'm not going to make any conclusive comments on this because my life has changed so dramatically in the past month. if i'm sad or anxious or fatigued i'm willing to bet it has way more to do with the fact that i'm not currently working and usually sit at home all day. 

doctor: in victoria i got lucky and was referred to a great female OBGYN by a walk-in clinic doctor. i liked her and felt comfortable and never had to wait at appointments. here in ontario it's been next to impossible to find a doctor. i won't get into the details but it's been a series of condescension, bad reviews, locational issues, full up rosters etc. so i took things into my own hands and looked into a midwife. we met with her this past week and we both feel good about it. she's young but knowledgeable and we feel cared for and connected now. i'll still be giving birth at a hospital however.

ultrasound: this was very relaxing. much better than my first one at six weeks where i was crying, in pain (don't ever drink as much water as they tell you!), couldn't understand the technician, and got chastised. this time i had a little chat with the technician, then closed my eyes and relaxed for twenty minutes. she had a total poker face so there was no point in watching her. she then called in my husband and my mother and we all got to see the baby wiggle and such. i got one really great photo out of it, which i've included here. 

sex: our midwife wrote down the sex for us. then she wrapped it about eight times, and put it in a sealed envelope. i took it to the post office where they faxed it to my mother and then resealed it without me seeing. it's now hidden between our mattresses and jon doesn't know where it is...shhh. we are gathering with our family this sunday to reveal whether we're having a boy or a girl. i'm still hoping for a girl (even though i know it's a boy), and jon is still firmly in the boy boy boy camp. he wants to be able to say "my son, my son"...like some corny movie line.

name: if it's a boy jon wants the name to start with a "j". all the men (and even some women) in his family have names that begin with this letter. i have a distaste for almost all "j" names so if the schmoolet is male, the name is pretty much chosen...and i don't mind it. i have lots of gal names that i've always loved but i haven't let myself even think about that possibility!

nursery: this room is still full of all of our moving boxes. we'll have to get those out of there at some point! i've approached our landlord about painting the room and he said we could "talk further about it." i'm feeling light grey for sure.

prep: thinking about classes and equipment and such but no action.