20 weeks!

I’m 20 weeks along now and super excited that I’m finally halfway there. In the early days, it felt like this moment would never get here and even now, it feels like the baby itself will never get here. Hurry up March! My pregnancy has been very calm so far. I was expecting to experience all of the horrible symptoms of pregnancy like bad morning sickness, food aversions, and out-of-control emotions. However, I was extremely lucky and only experienced a little bit of morning sickness and some fatigue; it was very manageable! The only food aversions I had were coffee, which went away as I entered my second trimester, and onions, which actually got stronger as I entered my second trimester. And I’m finally starting to get that little baby bump!

But enough about that. On to my current stats!

baby size: According to my Glow Nurture app, the baby weighs about 10.5 ounces and is 10 inches long – about the length of a small banana.

cravings: Smoothies. As with most of my cravings (even pre-pregnancy), if I saw someone consuming something that looked delicious I’d want it. About two weeks ago, I saw someone drinking a smoothie and I’ve wanted one ever since. While I haven’t made to a smoothie king, I’ve made do with Bolthouse Farms and other smoothie drinks from the grocery store. But you have to be careful with those; they can have a ton of sugar!

feelings: I haven’t been nearly as emotional as I thought I would be but I’m noticing the tears come much easier these days. It wasn’t unusual to find me crying during a movie or at a sweet video or commercial but now I can just see someone crying and it’ll bring tears. I’ve also noticed that I get irritated a little quicker than I did before, but luckily it doesn’t last long. Otherwise, I still have my sunny disposition 🙂

best moment of the month: By far, the most amazing moment of my entire pregnancy so far was the first time I felt the baby move. At 16 weeks, I read that I could start feeling movements at any moment (it’s called “quickening”) and I kept researching what women said it felt like, hoping I had felt it/would feel it soon. They described the feeling as flutters or gas bubbles. It wasn’t until I was about 18 weeks that I finally felt it! I was lying on the couch in the evening, watching TV and playing on my phone, when I felt the little muscle spasms-flutters in my stomach. It took me a second to realize what it was, but when it clicked, I was so excited. I feel them pretty much once a day now, usually in the evening before bed when I’m relaxing on the couch, and I absolutely love it.

movement: See above.

miss anything?: The only thing I think I really miss right now is roller coaster rides. Not that I’m an avid amusement park attendee, but seeing signs for Carowind’s or Busch Garden’s Halloween attractions made me realize I couldn’t go right now even if I wanted to. Just the thought of not being able to do something as fun as that makes me miss it, even when I had no plans to do it in the first place!

looking forward to: The anatomy scan next week. I’m anxious to find out whether the baby is healthy and growing as expected, and to confirm the sex. Also, Thanksgiving with our families. Many of our family members haven’t seen the bump yet so it’s going to be a lot of fun. Plus, FOOD!

how we’re prepping: Slow and steady at the moment. We started our Centering Pregnancy class but we haven’t gotten very far with the nursery. That’s pretty common, right? We’ve put up new curtains, bought a few cute decorations, and measured the closet for an upgrade. My mother is giving us the crib she used when she babysat my nephews. I love scoring free baby gear!  I think once the crib set up, everything else in the nursery will fall into place.

Linkups: Let it Shine 

Photo source

While I don’t want this space to start centering around my pregnancy and the coming baby, it is an integral part of my life — of our NCsquared Life, if you will — so I can’t ignore it. One aspect that I’m really excited about is the Centering Pregnancy classes that Nick and I decided to join. Centering Pregnancy is prenatal care that happens in a small group of expectant mothers and their partners/companions and follows the recommended schedule of prenatal visits, but each visit is about 90 minutes hours long, giving women 10 times more time with their provider. Women are empowered  in their prenatal care by taking their own weight and blood pressure and recording their own health data with private time with their provider for belly check. Then everyone in the group (there are 2-3 other couples in mine) circle up where a healthcare provider leads discussions and interactive activities that address important and timely health topics. I think one of the coolest aspects about this form of care is that it brings 8-10 women who are all due at the same time together for care. I’ve only been to one class so far but I really like it. My particular class (there are several classes that meet at different times) is very diverse with lots of different ages, ethnicities, races, etc. and I’m really looking forward to getting to know everyone and creating a bond with these other expecting mothers.

In our class, we talked a lot about nutrition and what we should and shouldn’t eat. Here are the lifesavers that my provider approved:

• Lunch meat. Because food standards are so high in the U.S., there’s almost nothing to worry about when eating turkey, ham, bologna, etc. In fact, she said we’re more likely to get sick from spoiled mayo from leaving the sandwich out too long, if, for example, you make a sandwich in the morning for your lunch later that day and you don’t properly refrigerate it.
• Sushi and smoked salmon. Same as above! She also said that if you ate a lot of sushi pre-pregnancy then your body is already used to that bacteria so you’re going to be fine. She did advise to use your nose: because of pregnant ladies’ super-heightened sense of smell, we’d be able to smell if something wasn’t right. If it smells off, don’t eat it. And that goes for everything! But look, this girl loves her sushi.
• Soft cheeses, from the grocery store. Again, same as above regarding the high food standards in the U.S. Just make sure the cheese was made with pasteurized milk and you’re good to go.
• Soft or runny eggs. My favorite part of the egg has long been the runny, gooey yolk. Dipping toast in yolk to me is like breakfast heaven. So I was really excited to hear my doctor say it’s perfectly fine to eat runny eggs.
• Coffee/caffeine. Most recommendations say you can have up to 200 mg per day, which is about one cup. My doc said we could have more than that and we’d be fine, but these days my heart will let me know if I’ve had too much because it will start beating so fast or feel fluttery. One cup is enough for me right now, for sure.
• Alcohol.* Controversial, I know, but hear me out. My doctor said that having the occasional glass of wine (the key word here being occasional, obviously) will not give your baby Fetal Alcohol Syndrome. Examples she gave as ‘occasional’ was having one glass of wine with Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, or having one glass of champagne on New Year’s. I think this is reasonable. After all, you hear of European women drinking wine all the time during their pregnancies and their kids turn out fine.

*Listen, I’m not a healthcare provider so I’m not claiming that I know best and I’m definitely NOT trying to give you medical advice so please don’t try to sue me. I’m simply sharing the information that my provider gave to me. Obviously, every person has to make their own decisions and if they choose to avoid every single one of these things, then more power to them. I applaud their decisions. My decision, however, was to drive straight to Bruegger’s Bagels after this appointment and scarf down a smoked salmon bagel. And so far, I’ve been just fine!

I can’t wait for class next month when we discuss body changes and the common discomforts of pregnancy, and how to take care of yourself. I’ll be sure to share any interesting information we receive!

Until next time,
Nikki