Pregnancy: Week 20
Well, I'm halfway there! I have 20 weeks to go and while it may seem like a lot of time, I'm know it will fly by. Ethan and I watched a home video that we filmed during random portions of my previous pregnancy. He would ask me things like how I felt/how I was doing, etc....I saw snippets from the past and before I knew it we were re-playing scenes from my admittance into the hospital. I was flooded with all the memories of labor that I've forgotten over time. Knowing that this is what faces me in 20 weeks leaves me a bit anxious and unsettled, though I try not to think about the hurdle labor will be. In my hospital gown and all, he asked me how I felt and what advice I would give to future Dianne. I could feel the pain in my response. The next scene was Kaiden getting cleaned off and bathed. All of the tension and anxiety I felt watching that video quickly went away and I was over-taken with the warm memories of holding him in my arms for the first time. I'm in no hurry for 20 weeks to pass but I'm not fearful of "the big day" either. The big day may mean the end of pregnancy but it means the beginning of new life!Baby Size & Development:Banana. Our baby girl should be 6.5" in length and this week her digestive system should be fully developed.Signs & Symptoms:Maternity clothes area a must now. I was using the belly band for a while but it's no longer comfortable to wear my old jeans. I actually had to go out and buy a few new pieces because all my maternity stuff from Kaiden is meant for summer and it's also incredibly stretched out from how huge I got. I made sure to get boring colors like black and grey so that they could easily be worn over and over without many noticing.Growing pains & back aches. My body definitely got the memo that I hit 20 weeks because I've been having some crazy aches. We actually had to leave friend's house early the other day because I felt so awful. Thankfully, I'm allowed to have Tylenol and it helped considerably, along with my husband's generous back rubs. :)Belly kicks. They seem to be getting stronger and stronger. Apparently, this is the week that my uterus starts moving up and expanding which would explain a lot. I'm sure baby girl is pumped to have some extra legroom.Stretch marks. They are already starting to pop up. With Kaiden, my stretch marks didn't pop up until the last few weeks so these may just be old. They used to really bug me but someone once told me they are my battle-scars and I should take pride in them. The more I grow to love motherhood, the more I can appreciate them.Best Moment This Week:Shopping for baby girl. I scored some adorable grey jeggings from Baby Gap for $2.97 and another pair of red jeggings from Old Navy for $2.47! I've been buying her (non-pink lol) pieces whenever I find a good deal. Most everything I've purchased has been $4 and under with a lot of thrift purchases for less than a dollar.Worst Moment This Week: The aches and pain. Remember that moment I told you about earlier where we left the friends house? After I got home I was crying in bed because I felt like garbage. I've been so used to feeling relatively normal these past few weeks that I had forgotten there are many discomforts pregnancy brings.What I Most Look Forward To:I look forward to Kaiden meeting baby girl. People ask me how I think he will handle her presence, and although, I think it will be tough to share mommy, I know he will have lots of love and affection to give her. He may have a tough exterior but his heart is so tender and I know that will be reflected the moment his little hands touch hers.