Baby Kicks Back!

Last week I mentioned posting a video of baby movements. I got a little one this morning to show you! It's just over 10 seconds long but you can see me find the baby's foot, poke it, and get kicked back in the belly button area a couple times. Take a look if you like!

We're almost at 27 weeks, the last week before the final trimester!!! How has time gone so fast?

18 Weeks Pregnant

Even though baby is just the size of a yam like one you may have enjoyed at dinner yesterday, s/he still got me a Christmas gift: no morning sickness on Christmas!!! I really enjoyed it and had a wonderful day with our family.

Baby is roughly the size of a sweet potato or yam, totalling about 8 inches from head to feet. I can really feel movements and I even just saw a little kick poke out the front of my tummy for a second!
Baby is also getting more and more aware of what's outside my tummy and s/he LOVES to lay next to daddy and Peach, too! When I spoon Shawn at night the baby tries to kick at his back. When I hold Peach, she will sprawl across my belly (I suspect she can hear baby's heart beat now) and the baby kicks and then snuggles up to her as well (can baby hear Peach's heart?). I think Peach loves the baby and the baby loves her already, too.

Thursday the 3rd will be my 120th day of Pregnancy: a very special day in Kundalini Yoga teachings/Sikhism in which the baby's soul enters its body. More to come on how we will celebrate very soon!

Happy Solstice!

It's officially winter and it sure looks like it here in Nebraska. We got over a foot of snow, I believe!
So Happy Solstice today to you all, and Merry Christmas this Tuesday!

Baby is a rolling stone today. S/he's only jabbed me a few times here and there but oy! is s/he ever moving around trying to get comfy. S/he was sleepy mostly yesterday but today I believe the activity is picking up. I hope s/he reserves some energy for daddy so he can feel his or her backside against my tummy later. S/he'll lay in the front so that I can tell the difference between the squish of my belly and the firmness of what has to be a baby-back! It's so awesome that baby has gone from being poppy-seed sized to being so large I can feel his or her body... amazing.

Oh, and I can still see all the way over my toes... for now.

*jabjab* Ouch!

The baby is kicking me now with an unexpected ferocity for something only as large as an orange! I know I'm the only one who can feel it right now but I wish Shawn could feel what I feel when I hurriedly grab his hand and place it on my belly; and my parents who are already so in love with their grandbaby (and fighting about which sex it will be) when I gasp or exclaim out with a particularly strong jab.
I came to blog about feeling this... it has almost been 2 weeks since I last posted! I want to share this and to record it to remember later for myself as well. It's amazing how the idea of the baby moving inside of me seemed alien at first. It still is quite strange to think about, but once I rationally accepted the fact that this is really how humans are made and brought into the world, it's become more matter-of-fact now that I have finally started to feel jabs and rolls.


Glowing and Round-faced!

I physically feel better than I have so far; the second trimester isn't my "honeymoon" period like it is for some pregnant ladies but it is definitely an improvement from how weeks 6-11 were for me. I haven't gained much more weight since my last appointment (just a pound) but my face is rounder... like my quickly growing belly! I have to wear maternity pants everyday so I have 2 pair (now 3; thanks Mom!!!) I rotate like I used to with my regular pants.
Last week I started sleeping better after Thursday or Friday. I wake up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom and maybe between 3:45 and 5 AM to get sick once if I didn't eat anything in the middle of the night. Then I go back to sleep with a very active-feeling belly and wake up between 7 and 7:30 AM (but I feel like I could sleep all day)! I have to eat first thing when I get up or I get sick again; I usually have cereal. Cereal is the only thing I have craved for the entire pregnancy so far. Other than that I have gone through a mac n' cheese phase, an egg salad phase, and now a (heated) turkey sandwich phase. I've been obsessed with turkey for a while now that I think of it...
I have been able to start cooking more again and now I cook most of our meals! Yay! Shawn enjoys that, too; he missed my cooking quite a bit I'm sure. Shawn is amazing at helping me and making life as easy as possible. He cleans everything and does all of the dishes so that when I am hungry I don't have to clean a bowl or plate and gag from hunger at the same time; there's always a dish ready for me! All I have to worry about is being comfortable, getting enough rest, and feeding us all.

Our next appointment is Wednesday. They're just going to check on me and maybe listen to the baby to check in on him or her. The next appointment after Wednesday we will finally be able to see our baby for the first time since 9 weeks! I'm so excited and I'm sure Shawn is, too. Imagine how big I'll be then... :o)