Baby #2: Week 20

Wow halfway!  I know the last 10 weeks or so will drag on, but right now it really feels like time is flying.  I cannot believe it is already July.

I forgot to mention last week that I'm finally feeling consistent movement.  It still mostly just feels like little flutters, but once in a while I get a big kick and it's all so exciting.  Feeling a person move inside of me has to be one of the coolest things I'll ever experience.

Week 20 started off with our anatomy scan ultrasound.  We already knew our little peanut is a girl, but this scan looks at so much more and it's really just amazing.  We saw her little heart beating away, saw her spine, her brain, other organs.  We got to see her grab her foot.  They estimated her at 12 ounces and said everything looked normal and reassuring.  She's right on track!

Not creepy at all right?  As you can see on the right, she was folded in half for most of the scan.  There may also be an alien behind her...

Here's a comparison shot of V vs. Baby #2.

Congratulations, it's a gremlin!

I also got the results back from my latest blood test, which screened for neural tube defects, such as spina bifida, as well as other chromosomal abnormalities, and it came back negative as well.  I feel so relieved to know that she is doing well in there :)

I debated skipping the gym on Wednesday.  I stayed up too late on Tuesday night and thought I could go on Thursday instead.  But then I woke up naturally at 5:15 am and figured it was fate.  Similar to last Wednesday, the focus was overhead squats.

The pause OH squats felt nice and easy and I worked up to 91#.  I did Nancy Rx except I rowed the 400m and I finished in 17:34.  My shoulder was bothering me a little bit when I snatched the weight, but once it was overhead it felt totally fine.  Why you suck left shoulder?!

On Thursday all the furniture was delivered!  I ordered the dressers from Wayfair and the delivery process was super smooth.  I was able to easily change my delivery appointment online, then the day of you can track the truck, see how many stops it is behind you and when they are expected to come.  There's a phone number for the delivery driver if you need to contact them.  They called me 30 mins before arriving, right in the middle of my 4 hour window, and when they showed up they were at my house for 5 minutes and delivered my stuff with a smile.  Oh and the shipping fee was only $20.

My buybuyBABY delivery was the complete opposite.  The delivery was through Pilot Freight Services and I would not recommend them to anybody.  I never heard from them all day and there was no way to track what was happening.  An hour after our delivery window, I called them to check the status and they said it would be another hour.  I was so annoyed, I was home all day and now they were telling me they were going to deliver my stuff right when I need to go pick up V.  And buybuyBABY's only option is to deliver with a signature, so they refused to just leave it in my garage if I wasn't there.  I rushed out of the house to try and grab a few things from Wegmans and get V early to get back in time, but I was in the middle of Wegmans when they called and told me they'd be there in 25 minutes.  I called Dave and he was able to leave work early to be there for the delivery.  When the driver pulled up 2.25 hours after our delivery window, he was short with Dave, didn't even offer an apology for being so late, and was smoking a vape.  I paid $99 for "white glove delivery" (aka the cheapest option on their website)... what the F!  I would've ordered the crib from Wayfair if it was in stock, but I was stuck with buybuyBABY.  I miss Babies R Us and the option to pick up the stuff at their store for free like we did last time.  I wrote them a super long nastygram on their delivery feedback and also wrote them a message in their contact us form.  I want a refund for the delivery fee, but I'm really not holding my breath.

Thankfully I was able to wash all my stress away with our weekend in Cape May!  It was super hot, which meant we were in the water constantly.  Vienna loves the ocean and has no fear.  My in-laws spoil us with childcare, delicious food, and rides everywhere.  We took Vienna to the arcade for the first time and she loved the stupid little rides.  We caught up with Karisa and Frank and their kiddos.  We stayed out way too late with Kay and Trip.  And we celebrated Dave's birthday!
  

I'm definitely still trying to catch up on sleep.  Staying out until 1 am (when I was pregnant last time) was totally fine when I got to sleep in and then nap on the beach.  Not the case these days!  I'm slightly worried about how I'm going to handle Folk Fest because not getting enough sleep just makes me feel terrible right now.  I'm guessing I'm going to get a little wild with some extra coffee.

In other pregnancy related happenings, I had my first real battle with heartburn on the way home from the beach.  I remember having it in the second trimester last time, so hopefully this isn't a regular occurrence now.  It sucked.

Deja vu!  20 weeks in both pics, 4 lbs heavier this time around.  I think my belly is a little bigger and I know my boobs are!  I kinda feel like a blimp.  I'm considering doing a "super healthy eating week" after the holiday weekend to get myself reigned in a little, things have gotten really loose as of late.  I'm thinking about doing a Whole7, but I'm not sure about being that strict, maybe I'll keep some cheese and rice or something.  I know I'd feel less tired if I was eating super clean and I'm sure it would help me avoid any heartburn too.

Painting is happening this weekend... so I guess I'll have a final decision on the color next week.  Stay tuned!

My Pregnancy: Weeks 18, 19, & 20

Life has been busy and I seemed to fall behind, so I'm lumping some weeks together so I don't miss any!

Week 18:

We spent most of this week in Arizona (I owe you a blog post full of amazing pictures from our trip!) and my most notable pregnancy thing was being super itchy.  I think it was a special combo of stretching skin, healing poison ivy, super dry air, and crappy bar soap.  I was scratching my boobs and belly all week and Dave's cousin's wife kept giving me crap for it.  When we got home, my poison ivy scabs were mostly healed and I got pretty serious lathering up with lotion and I felt immediate relief.

What else?  My hunger was raging and I did not pass up a chance to eat second breakfast when Dave's family was offering.  I felt pretty good on all our hikes, but I could tell towards the end of our 4 mile hike that that was my limit.  I busted a move on the dance floor at the wedding just like normal and it felt great.  I was pretty disappointed when I realized I probably shouldn't go in the hot tub at our rental house, but I stuck my feet and calves in and that was pretty satisfying after a long hike.

Week 19:

I almost forgot to do pics this week, so these kind of suck. They happened at dusk right before week 19 ended.  Oh well.

We had our first Hypnobabies class on Monday.  It was class 2 out of 6, since we missed the first class while we were on our trip.  There are 3 other couples in our class.  We covered nutrition guidelines and an overview of the stages of birth.  Our instructor Keli shared a ton of birth stories and anecdotes with us and class involved a lot of discussion.  Towards the end of class we did some prenatal exercises and then we listened to Keli read a hypnosis script.  I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the rest of the course.

Baby has officially started to occupy my bladder space!  One day I was fine and the next day I suddenly felt like I had to pee all the time.  There's not much in there when I relieve myself, but it sure feels like it.  I can't imagine how bad this is going to get eventually!

I killed it at the gym this week.  Olympic lifting still feels great.  I hit a 115# squat clean, an 80# snatch complex, and some 125# back squats.

I finally felt the baby for the first time!  I was told that it would be super subtle, just a flutter, or even just feel like I had gas, so a few times in the past week or two I would feel something.  But then I'd wonder if it really was just my stomach rumbling and I was trying to convince myself otherwise.  So I just kept waiting to feel something definite.  But while I was driving my car on Tuesday morning, I felt something that was different than before.  It was definitely subtle but unlike anything I had felt.  And then I felt it a couple more times.  Hello baby :)  I can't wait till Dave can feel her!

Week 20:

We had our 20 week ultrasound and it was amazing!  Baby girl was 13 oz and measured perfectly on schedule.  The doctor said the word of the day was normal and that everything looked great.  The ultrasound technology is crazy.  We got to see all her external body parts clearly as well as views of her brain, spine, internal organs, arteries, and even the chambers of her heart.  It was SO cool.  And they surprised us mid ultrasound by turning on the 3D views.  I had no idea that was going to happen.  I generally think 3D ultrasound pictures are lightweight disturbing, but when it's your baby and you can see little lips and a tiny nose... well it's different.  It was such a cool experience and made it even more real.

This week also brought some unpleasant symptoms like some horribly aching feet.  I've been noticing my feet really hurt after being on them for extended periods of time and I typically wear really comfortable footwear so I think it's due to the pregnancy.  My feet don't look swollen yet, so I'm thinking this is going to get a lot worse.  I've also noticed my skin hasn't been great.  My face has been hit or miss, but I have a bunch of blemishes on my chest that are not cute.

Honestly wasn't sure I'd want to put these on the internet or not, but here we go!

It's pretty much a miracle that my boobs fit into a few of my old suits.  I don't think I'll be getting away with that after Memorial Day lol.

Mela is way cuter.  It was her first time at the beach and she loved it, even when she got wrecked by a wave and then rolled face first in the sand to try and dry herself off.

Everyone was texting me Happy Mother's Day and every time I was like who me?  Dave got me a Mother's Day card and wrote a poem in it from the baby.  It was adorable!  Can't believe I'm halfway through this pregnancy.  Time is flying!