My – what a difference 10 weeks makes!
BabyHTP and I are finally in the 20s! Here’s what’s going on this week: “Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He’s also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel. If you’re having a girl, her uterus is now fully formed and her ovaries are holding about seven million primitive eggs. If you’re having a boy, his testicles have begun their descent from the abdomen to their ultimate destination — the scrotum. His brain continues to form and grow. His teeth are beginning to appear, and he can swallow.†(Source, source, source)
Somewhere in there is 10.5 inches of baby. Crazy.
For the first 15 weeks of pregnancy, I would study my belly in the mirror, hoping and hoping and hoping that a bump would soon appear. I don’t need to squint anymore – the bump is definitely there. I’ve switched almost exclusively to maternity pants, although I can sometimes get away with using a belly band.
Probably the most exciting thing that happened in the last week was we went in for our anatomy ultrasound. I was really, really nervous prior to the ultrasound – as mentioned, we opted out of genetic testing, and the ultrasound was our first chance to get some sort of confirmation that things are developing properly. I was so freaked out that I talked a million miles a minute on the car ride to the doctor’s. Luckily, everything looked just fine. And, somehow, we didn’t accidentally get a peek of any genitals, so we’re still clueless about the sex (just how we like it).
Any guesses? Boy or girl?
Let’s see… as far as pregnancy symptoms go, I still feel pretty great. No sickness, no aversions. I did experience my first Braxton Hicks contraction, which was odd and slightly scary. I do get tired easily, but I’ve been getting regular acupuncture, and it seems to really make a difference in my sleep. I put a kibosh on eating ice cream right before bed, too, and that seems to have helped (sugar + sleep = hell).
Speaking of sleep, one thing that is really stressing me out is sleep positions. You’re told not to sleep on your back during the second and third trimesters because the weight of the baby and uterus can compress the baby’s blood supply; apparently, sleeping on the left side is best. I’m a back sleeper (like a corpse) and switching to the left is so hard. And I feel super guilty when I wake up on my back or right side. Panic-Free Pregnancy says sleep position isn’t really a big deal, but I read a study that back or right side sleepers have a slightly higher risk of the baby being stillborn, so now I’m super paranoid.
And regardless of how I turn and flip during the night, going to sleep and waking up are my favorite times of the day because that’s when the baby is most active (or when I most easily notice the movements). It’s so fun to feel the baby move around.
I did find out this week that I’m low in iron. This is common during pregnancy, but especially for vegetarians, so I’ve been taking an iron supplement, eating more iron-rich vegetarian foods, and cooking with my cast-iron skillet. Hopefully, I’ll see an improvement in my energy levels in a few weeks.
Last, but not least, I have intense nursery envy. ALL I WANT TO DO IS DECORATE. We can’t buy anything for the nursery because we’re not sure where we will be living when the baby comes. We’ll either be in a bigger rental or our own home, but we won’t know for sure until end of March.
So, in lieu of actually decorating my nursery, I’ve been Pinteresting ideas. Here’s what I like:
(Source, source, source, source, source)
Can you tell I prefer grey, birds, and trees?
Here are my Babble posts from this week:
Here’s Week 20, neatly summarized:
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Total Weight Gain: No official weigh-in this week, but I’m guessing 11 – 12 pounds.
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Workouts: Four workouts! 2.0 mile walk, 2.0 mile walk/run, 3/4 mile swim, and yoga
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Baby Items Purchased: New maternity dress pants (go Target!). Now I can breathe at work.
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Cravings: Smoothies. Eggs on buttered toast. A tropical vacation. Oh wait, were we talking about food?
I wonder why sleeping on the left side is so much better than the right! that seems odd!