21 Weeks

How far along: 21 weeks, completed 5.29.12

Weight gain: I won’t know how much more I’ve gained (other than the 4 pounds so far) until the end of June at my next appointment. It’s the curse–and blessing–of not owning a scale (cast your votes–blessing vs. curse–below).

Clothes: Dresses and skirts with soft, stretchy waistbands are my absolute BFF’s, especially with our little heat wave over the weekend.

Purchases: Baby clothes!!! Aaaaah! I did the deed and went crazy on the frillies. It happened like this: I went to Target quite innocently to get a gift for somebody, and, well, since I was already there, well . . . ya know . . . might as well . . . yes. I wandered up to the baby section.

More like I ran up the escalator.

I was so eager to feast my eyes on cute little girl things that I couldn’t hold back.

I hit the clearance racks and loaded up my basket with a pair of adorable little grey leggings with ruffles on the bottom, little dresses with flowers, little poofy skirts with pockets, a little pink shirt, little tangerine-colored bottoms with a bow . . . oh, oh, oh!

All in all, I came home with about 7 or so outfits (one or two newborn things, and then a range of things from 3 months to 6 months, 9 months, and beyond) that I promptly and gushingly showed to my brother-in-law, since he was the only one around and I had to wax enthusiastic to somebody.

Then I spread everything out on the bed to show my husband the second he walked in the door.

I’m sure people will give us tons of cute girly stuff (who can resist those tiny ruffle-ridden outfits??), so I don’t want to shop for clothes too much–but this was my way of celebrating the fact that she’s a girl, and I know it.

I also got some cocoa butter to complement my collection of lotions, and have started applying it regularly. The skin on my belly felt kind of itchy the other day, and I realized I must begin the battle against stretch marks now!

Body: My abdominals have not been working the way they usually do. Suddenly it’s become slightly challenging to get out of bed, get up from a chair, get up from the couch–the common denominator being getting up. It’s like my ab muscles have migrated and don’t want to support the rest of my body in its daily motions like they used to. So I’m using my arms a lot to pull myself up, especially since the midwife warned me that trying to use my abs could cause them to separate up top in a way that’s harmful to me.

Sleep: I just can’t do the stomach-sleeping thing anymore. I tried a few times, and not only has it become uncomfortable, but the Little Wa-Wa has started to protest. When I lie on my stomach, she’s started to make her displeasure known by giving me some amazingly strong thumps. Enter the body pillow! It’s a miracle worker. I slept with it one night and loved it. The next night, because I’m stubborn and don’t want to be needy, I decided to try to sleep without it. I proceeded to toss and turn for hours, until finally around 3 am, when I was mid-roll and jiggling the bed around something awful, my husband spoke into the darkness two solitary words:

Body pillow.”

“Okay,” I mumbled, grabbing the pillow, stuffing it between my legs and leaning my torso on it. Immediately, sweet slumber returned.

Best moment(s) of the week: Calling our daughter by name. I’ll fill you guys in on all the details and the thought behind this later.

Movement: I felt the most intense movement to date on Memorial Day. There I was on my back, minding my own sleepy business, and suddenly I felt these strong . . . I guess they felt like pulses. Kind of like when your heart gives a big thump–it was like a massive heart giving a violent pulse in my belly (sorry, that sounds kind of creepy, but it’s the best way I can think to describe the sensation). My husband and I were lying in bed at the time, about to read some Sherlock, so I grabbed his hand and put it on my belly. Thump went the Little Wa-Wa. Thump! My husband’s eyes got wide. “Wow,” he said.

I beamed. Having him finally be able to really, really feel our baby move (beyond a shadow of a doubt) is incredible.

Food cravings/aversions: All normal! Though I have to say that after having the leftovers of this incredibly spicy Thai dish, the little one started moving around like crazy. I read somewhere that she can taste what I eat through the amniotic fluid starting around now, so I want to try and get some spice and variety in there so that she comes out loving what I love: new flavors! Heat! Vegetables!

Symptoms: I’m just starting to feel big and a little awkward, and not having my abs be my faithful supporters is weird. That’s about it.

Emotions: Feeling great! I’m excited about our birthing classes starting soon, excited about my baby shower coming up in the not-so-distant future (July 14th), and excited that the apartment we were hoping for seems to be coming through. God is so good that it verges on ridiculous.

Hopes and dreams: I have high hopes for the Bradley method class I signed us up for with a woman called Denyse (she’s been recommended to me by a few people). It starts in a few weeks, and goes for 9 weeks (3 hours per night on Mondays). My book on hypnobirthing also just arrived, and I’m looking forward to reading through that and doing some of the exercises.

What I miss: Ach–sleeping on my stomach. But it won’t kill me to go without this pleasure for 19 weeks, so . . . whatever.

What I’m looking forward to: An even bellier belly next week! It’s grown noticeably, and it’s bizarre to think it will grow so much more before all this is over.

Husband update:  Hearing him say our daughter’s name is . . . thrilling. Comforting. Lovely. Moving. Wonderful. I think it means a lot to both me and my husband, and has brought him closer to her.

Every now and then we’ll be talking, I’ll say something ridiculous like “I can’t wait to bundle her up like a little burrito!” and his eyes will just get all dreamy and mushy and full of love and hope.

It’s a beautiful thing to see in a man’s face.

And that’s it for this week . . . next week, more of the same!

19 thoughts on “21 Weeks

  1. giselle

    You look great and so does your hubby. I can’t wait to know her name. 🙂 And I love the stuff you bought!!! Cute! Fun! Not too frilly!

  2. Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef

    not owning a scale=blessing. i don’t own one either and feel i could obsess if i did! i’m all about going by how you feel in that regard. and those baby clothes are precious, esp. that flowery skirt…i love it!

  3. Kimby

    Jenna, there IS something captivating about those ruffly little outfits — soooo cute! Glad to hear you’re feeling well — you look GREAT! (so does your hubby) — and that middle of the night, two-word conversation made me laugh uproariously. 🙂

  4. Julia Menn

    I know when my niece is born (which should be any day, as yesterday was her due date!!) I won’t be able to resist the baby clothes, either! So it must be an even bigger pull for you – the mom!

    I don’t own a scale – not like we’d have any room in this apartment for one, anyway. I find it nice for the most part – I, too, believe I would obsess over my weight more with one.

  5. Suzie

    I love the little tank top with the blue flower and matching shorts, so adorable! Your little belly is actually looking like a pregnant belly now 🙂 You look great! I have a scale but, use it maybe once a month. I think we weigh the dogs more than ourselves…lol!

  6. Layla

    I’m SO happy for you both! I’ve been enjoying your updates & pictures so much. I love the burrito description when referring to bundling her up, it’s one I used myself, when referring to a swaddled baby 🙂

  7. Becky

    Congratulations on being over halfway there! Pregnancies take a long time, don’t they? But I think it is all part of God’s plan to let you mentally prepare for this upside down flip and shake-shake-shake you are about to experience in life. It’s going to be wonderful for you and it will be fun seeing your reaction to all the firsts.

    1. Jenna Post author

      Yes! They totally do take a long time. I mean, I’ve been pregnant since January (kind of all year so far) and I’m just now halfway there? Whoa.

  8. Heidi

    The little outfits are absolutely precious!!! I can’t wait to see her in all of them 🙂

  9. Kate

    I’m so glad you’ll be going to Bradley with Denyse! I did the same thing with girls’ clothes but then found they weren’t the right size for the season! So fun to celebrate though. So happy for you.

    1. Jenna Post author

      I’m excited too, especially with your recommendation joined to 2 others! And I tried to think seasonally when picking the sizes . . . but I’m hoping that (like I do with my wardrobe) leggings and a cardigan can make anything work for any weather. =)

  10. Julie M.

    Shopping for baby clothes is half the fun. Those outfits are adorable!! I’m so excited to hear the name and thrilled to hear you’ll be learning Bradley. You’ll love it. 🙂

  11. Veronica

    You’ll only think about a scale while you’re pregnant so it’s only a temporary curse, if you even mind not knowing how much you’re gaining. You really don’t need one since you stay nice and trim. Some women (me) rely on one to make sure they’re not gaining so it would be a curse for me not to have one. (Ahem, I haven’t used mine in a long time, which might explain why I’m wearing bigger and bigger pants!)

    Anyway, you look lovely and I”m loving your bump. Can’t believe how fast it’s growing now that you’ve started to show! Can’t wait to hear her name. Will you wait until she’s born to announce it?

    1. Jenna Post author

      No, we won’t wait until she’s born to announce her name. I want to write a blog post about it soon, because we’ve been getting so much joy out of calling her by name! =) I’m so excited to share . . .

  12. joanne

    You, my dear, have officially popped in the most adorable way possible! LOVE IT! And I’m so enamored with all those little girl’s clothes. I wouldn’t be able to resist going crazy shopping either.

  13. Sarah K.

    Hey, there’s a baby in there! Love your bump. I’m curious to find out how the Bradley classes are. We looked into classes with Denyse but they were either full or started too late in the pregnancy for us.

    1. Jenna Post author

      Well I will be sure to tell you all about the classes! OUr first one is June 18th, and I’m really looking forward to it.

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