It's All About the Belly

How far along? 20 weeks 6 days. I'm over the hump! (No pun intended.) It really IS all about the belly now. People want to touch it and strangers now seem to have a clear signal to ask questions about me and my baby. Weird. But sweet, I guess.

Baby's size and development? According to the stuff I read, he should be about 6 1/2- 7 1/2 inches for the traditional "crown to rump" length, which means probably more like 10 inches from head to toe, and 10-11 ounces! :) Dan has thrown out the produce references and now prefers to equate him with a small squirrel. It is so hard to believe that this little guy started out the size of a poppy seed. Wow.

Changes in me? Um, hello back pain! For crying out loud. Remember last time I said it wasn't that bad? Well, now it is. I can only last about 1/2-1 hour walking or on my feet working on any sort of housecleaning or projects before my back hurts so bad I have to lie down and spend the rest of the day recuperating with heat packs. This is throwing a big annoying wrench in my plan to tackle my To Do list. I think over the past five months I stopped using my abdominal muscles and my back is overcompensating for it. And it's already overcompensating for the weight in my uterus. Speaking of which, it passes my belly button now and continues to grow. I swear I can feel it growing all of the time! And sometimes patches of my abdomen feel so hard I think I have found, and can knock on, Blasty's head. However he isn't big enough yet for me to actually feel where he is and what parts of him are in what places.

We learned at our last ultrasound that my placenta is at the bottom of my uterus. This is known as "Placenta Previa," and it is a "complete placenta previa" because the placenta is completely covering my cervix. The gravity of this condition depends on how far along I am in my pregnancy. So right now, it isn't alarming. I read that 8 out of 10 cases diagnosed by week 20 resolve themselves later in the pregnancy. I am on "pelvic rest" so I am supposed to keep an eye out for any bleeding and avoid strenuous activity such as lifting more than 20 lbs., or agitation or strain in the pelvic region. The perinatologist said it was still OK for us to have sex but our doctor advised against it. He wants me to take every precaution to avoid causing bleeding. The good news is that over time, my placenta is likely to "migrate" farther from my cervix (I learned in my reading that since the placenta is implanted in the uterus, it doesn't actually move, but it can end up farther away as my uterus expands) and I also read that as the placenta itself grows, it's likely to grow toward the richer blood supply in the upper part of the uterus. This is what we will be hoping for because if it continues to stay where it is into my third trimester, I will have further restrictions and things will get a little bit more tricky.

Maternity clothes? Still rockin' the belly band but I'm feeling ready for some actual maternity pants! At the end of the month we are going to visit April and I'm going to have to see if I can borrow some. I'm also planning on pillaging Megan's used goods at the end of May, and in the meantime I am on the hunt for a dress to wear to a wedding. Liz Lange at Target has cute styles but they are either ivory (horribly unflattering for me) or black (can I wear black to a wedding??)

Sleep? Great. Did I mention our new bed? And that Rocco is a big boy now and sleeps on his own in his kennel in the living room??? (Why didn't we do that from the very beginning with him???) :) Yes, I know I have. But it is worth mentioning again. These are good ....Very good things. I might get to experience a small window of great sleep before things get changed by a newborn.

Best moment this past week? Reading to Blasty. Like I said before, Dan has been talking to him but I haven't really. It hasn't come very naturally to me. So I decided to read to him. I happen to have a few board books already because I have been collecting Eric Carle stuff for a long time. I am determined to own every book he has written/illustrated. Blasty LOVED "My Very First Book of Animal Homes." He moved through the entire reading. He quieted for the more plot driven story that followed, "A House for Hermit Crab." :-)



Movement? Still lots of flutters and pops. Now that I feel him regularly it drives me crazy when he stops. He was relatively immobile throughout the entire weekend and I was getting annoyed. LOL. I like to know he's there!!! :) We have determined that he is most active on Mondays. Monday arrived and he moved from 7 am to 10 pm non-stop. I can't wait for when he is bigger and Dan can finally feel him...!

Symptoms? Back pain, round ligament pain, acne, less energy but no longer quite so fatigued.

What I miss? Sex. I'm just being honest. It has been a while. This "pelvic rest" thing is annoying.

What am I looking forward to? Our trip to Illinois. It is only 1 month away! We will have 11 glorious days away from work to just relax and spend time with family and friends. I have been so much more "homesick" than usual ever since I found out I was pregnant. I just can not wait to see my family and friends, hug them, and spend time together.

Emotions? There is a list of emotions in the right hand column on this web page. I feel like I am so hormonal I feel each and every single one of them every day. LOL. What a roller coaster!