Halfway there!

Today, I am officially 20 weeks, and I couldn't be more thrilled. I'm halfway there! It's gone fast. I know that the most discomfort is still yet to come, but I'm feeling very optimistic that I'm going to make it ok.

So far, I've gained between 9 and 10 lbs., and am on track to gain exactly what I did when I was carrying Hank, 29 lbs. I'd like it to be less, but we'll see. The doctor is very happy with my weight gain, and tells me to gain between 25 and 35 lbs, so I'm perfectly average, which I know is a good thing. I'm also carrying this baby exactly like I did with Hank, meaning I carry throughout my obviously freakishly long torso, since it takes me a very long time to look very pregnant. I don't mind this at all. :) I will say though, that suddenly, Saturday morning, I woke up and looked down, and whoop! There's a baby belly. I swear it happened overnight. But I do look a bit pregnant now. I'm still not wearing maternity clothes, which I'm seeing as some sort of moral victory, because I'm, you know, crazy.

I have been wearing my Bella Bands non-stop for the past couple weeks. I had a white one leftover from my pregnancy with Hank, and at Allison's suggestion, went to Target and found their Be Bands. They're a good deal, $16.99, and they come in 3 colors: white, black and natural. I wanted natural, and they didn't have a small, so I got black, and I do love it. It coordinates with a lot of stuff. My goal is to hold off until 22 weeks and then re-evaluate. I may need to break out the maternity clothes at that point. But I'll take every week that I can.

I feel a ton of movement now, and I can tell that the baby is growing steadily at this point. I feel it throughout the day, and it *feels* different than it did before. Much more activity, much more intense. The baby even quickened during the consecration yesterday at Mass. :) I'm loving that.

This pregnancy, I plan to prepare for childbirth and the newborn time much more than last time, which is to say, prepare at all, because I just had no idea what I was in for with Hank. Last time, I attended the hospital's childbirth preparation class, and took a breastfeeding class, and called it a day. This time, much, much different already. I've been checking out books from the library like a crazy lady, and I'll start reviewing them tomorrow. I'll also provide a detailed account of my labor and delivery with Hank, and how I'd like it to be different this time. Prepare yourself for lots of body parts and fluids descriptions. Certainly, I won't be graphic, but it'll be an adult discussion. :)

I'm also preparing spiritually more intensely this time. I can talk about that more at length too, in a future post.

Anyway, back to prenatal stuff. I have my next ob/gyn appointment in 2 weeks, and I'm taking Hank with me so he can heard the baby's heartbeat. No more planned visits to the perinatologist, which although I adored her, I'm happy about. I feel great right now. Nausea faded at 14 weeks, and so far, I've had no sciatica, which debilitated me with Hank. It could still rear it's ugly head, but I'll take it for now. Aside from a growing belly, I feel like my old self, and my energy levels are high. I've been walking daily, and doing my hand weights and dancing weekly.

Baby is just going to be growing quite a bit now, and I'm going to be preparing. Brace yourselves now for my overpreparedness. :)