21 weeks

Note: This post was written for Friday, January 16.

I am 21 weeks pregnant today! I've got a little Bunlet banana boy inside of me.



I got my weekly pregnancy email this past weekend letting me know that this would probably be one of the best weeks of my entire pregnancy. That email was right. I've been feeling great, and I've had lots of energy. I could use some more sleep (as usual), but I'm convinced that the pregnancy-related insomnia is probably here to stay, unfortunately.

Here I am this week:



For some reason I thought this week of pregnancy would be uneventful. I was completely wrong. So much has been happening! (So get ready for a long post.)

In list form:

1) Nesting. This past week I was seized with the uncontrollable urge to get everything organized and cleaned. You may recall that we moved into our new house back in November, and of course we are not entirely settled in yet. Now that I'm halfway through my pregnancy and I know we'll be bringing home a baby in five months or less, I am a cleaning, organizing, purging machine. We had a yard sale last weekend and spent the entire rest of the weekend getting things put in their proper place.

I have to say, I have no idea how we ended up with so much stuff. I feel a little ashamed at our excess, but we're doing our part to downsize and make do with only the necessities and things we absolutely love.

2) Babbling. I no longer know how to form a coherent sentence. In the past couple of weeks, I've said things like "living coexistfully" and "big bowl of bubble wrap" (instead of "big roll of bubble wrap"). One night Roy asked me if I wanted something to drink, and I said, "Yes! I want that...what is it? You know what I mean! That stuff!" Poor Roy was as bewildered as I was - finally, I yelled out "GREEN CAN!", hoping he would know that I meant ginger ale.

And that's not all. On Wednesday night, I was eating dinner, and I told Roy, "This fork doesn't cut too well." Again, the poor bewildered face of Roy, and still I kept saying, "This fork isn't cutting well." Finally, I realized that what I actually meant was "knife."

Oh, brain, I miss you.

3) Pregnancy brain. I think that #2 is part of this. My memory is pretty terrible now, and I make silly mistakes. I sent an email to my boss requesting to have a couple of hours off on 9/22 when I meant 1/22. One of the attorneys I work with asked me to make a phone call requesting some information, and I wrote down all the pertinent info. I just didn't make the phone call, and she ended up making it herself.

And those are just two examples. I'd give you more, but I can't remember them.

4) Leg cramps. I've been woken up a couple of nights this week with severe leg cramps. No fun.

5) Sneezing. I do this a lot. I have actually been sneezing quite a bit throughout my pregnancy, but it's gotten worse lately. I'm sure the winds don't help.

6) Cravings. These are out of control. Most people tend to ask if I crave strange things, but my cravings are for normal foods, not for strange combinations. This week, it's been popcorn, Doritos, cookies, and milkshakes (notice a theme here?). Last week, it was Sour Patch Kids.

In addition to the cravings, I am hungry much more often than I used to be. Either Bunlet or I (or both) of us may be going through a growth spurt, because about an hour after I've eaten a meal, I'm hungry again. I am thankful that I'm one of those people who knows when to stop when it comes to food; otherwise, I'd probably be a fat cow by now.

7) Gingivitis. Unfortunately, I'm one of the many women who develops gingivitis during pregnancy. I have always had a shitty set of teeth (yay! genetics!) so this was no surprise to me. I visited the dentist this week to inspect one of my teeth (the crown fell off last week - how horrifically white trash) and to have a cleaning done. It was relatively painless, but of course I wasn't shocked to find out that I do need to have some dental work done - but most of it, if not all of it, can wait until after Bunlet is born.

8) Pre-pregnancy pants. The light of possibility shone down on me Wednesday morning as I got dressed for work. I saw one of my favorite pairs of pre-pregnancy pants hanging in the closet and decided to give them a whirl, even though I gave up wearing them when I was 13 weeks.

Imagine my surprise and delight when I was able to button them up and wear them that day! They fit pretty well under my belly, and I walked into work feeling like an absolute rock star. I had to take a picture, of course.



(This picture makes me look like I just have a large, white stomach that is big just for the sake of being big. Which is awesome.)

All was wonderful in pre-pregnancy pants land, and then I ate lunch. And apparently everything expanded, because the next thing I knew, I was rushing for the bathroom, bella band in hand, so that I could unbutton my pants and leave them that way for the rest of the day.

It was fun while it lasted.

9) Movement. Yes, we can feel our little guy moving around! Remember when I said I had felt some small explosions in my belly last week? Well, that was him, but I wasn't certain of it at the time. I became pretty sure during my dentist appointment. I was listening to my iPod, and I put one of the earbuds on my tummy. Right away, I felt something similar to gas. Before bed that night, I tried it again with the music, and I got an immediate (and strong) reaction. I summoned Roy into the room and had him put his hand on my belly, and sure enough, Bunlet kicked and Roy was able to feel it!

It is a very cool thing to experience; it definitely makes my pregnancy feel more real and exciting. Since that night, I've been feeling him kick and punch more regularly, and it always makes me smile. It's like I have my own little secret. I often wish that I had a window into my uterus so that I could see what he's doing in there.

10) First stranger comment. Yep, someone who didn't know I was pregnant beforehand commented on my belly. It was cool to know that my belly is looking more like a baby belly and less like a beer belly.

And that's all for this week...