19 Week Update (A Little Late)

Since Blogger's being such a pain tonight, here's a second post with some pictures. We've been trying to take a picture each week, just to see how my belly changes with baby's growth. We've missed a few weeks, but not too many.

14 Weeks (First Belly Picture!)

16 Weeks

17 Weeks

18 Weeks

19 Weeks (My first maternity shirt!)

How Far Along: 19 weeks. We're firmly in the 2nd trimester!

Weight Gain: Somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 pounds total. But we've had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's, so I'm trying to cut myself some slack. I really try not to think about the fact that I've already gained half of the maximum my doctor reccommends.

Maternity Clothes: Yes! I've been in maternity pants for several weeks now, and they are amazing. As my friend Janetta said, "Where have these pants been our whole lives?!" Most maternity shirts are still a little big in the belly area, but it won't be too long before my "regular" shirts won't cover the bump anymore.

Stretch Marks: Nothing new here. But I did buy some stretch mark cream. It's probably just snake oil, but what the heck...it's worth a try to try to fend them off for as long as possible. I figure they're inevitable though.

Sleep: This is pretty much the first time in my life that I'm not sleeping great. It's no longer comfortable to sleep on my belly, and everything I read says that sleeping on my back is not an option. I've been trying to sleep on my side, but I hate it. I did finally break down and buy a body pillow, and it has helped to keep me on my side at night, but it's ginormous. It takes up way too much of the bed.

Best Moment This Week: Seeing our little one on the ultrasound and getting a great report on the anatomy scan. Baby looks great! S/he had hiccups, and we were able to see him/her open and close his/her mouth. We're choosing not to find out the gender so that we'll be surprised at delivery!

Gender Guess: I've decided that I think it's a boy. We've always called baby "him," but I just have a gut feeling it's a boy. We'll have to wait and see!

Belly Button: Getting more shallow by the day, it seems. I guess before long I'll have an outie!

Cravings: Still no real cravings. I've noticed that baby moves more after I drink some juice, or eat something sweet, so I have to do that every day to get him worked up! :)

What I Miss: Nothing, really. Well, maybe the times when I could effortlessly bend at the waist to put on my socks, but that's no big deal. Carrying this little miracle is definitely worth some trouble bending!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Feeling some stronger kicks and punches, and getting started on putting the nursery together.

Milestones: Since the last time I updated, there've been several! Feeling movement, wearing a maternity shirt, and our anatomy scan!