20 Weeks

M and I have started clearing out the room that will be the baby's nursery.  There is a little bit more in there than I thought there was but we're making progress.  I also use the closet in that room for my things so I will need to clear that out as well.  I want to get the room all empty so when the furniture comes in, we can go crazy and get it all set up.  I feel the nesting phase may be kicking in.

It's cute, right?  A little bit country, a little bit sporty.  I wasn't able to get the mobile, rug, wall hangings, or lamp as this theme has been discontinued.  I was sad.

My mother in law, aka Nana, is going to be making some roman-type shades to go under the valances we got.  I'm so excited!  I am so thankful we have such wonderful family to help us out and who can't wait for this little guy to get here.  Blessings are all around.

I thought I would write a little bit about birthing plans and options.  There are home births, water births, natural births, births with midwives, births with doulas, and good old fashioned hospital births.  I am not one of these new age revolutioniz-ed women who find the beauty in birthing at home with no medical attention.  Nor am I or do I need to be "in touch" with my body. There is just too much that could potentially go wrong and frankly, I want the doctors and the drugs.  Start shooting me up as soon as I get there I say.  I don't need to be a martyr nor do I need to be able to say that I did it naturally.  It is my body, my girlie bits, and I want it all medically monitored and numbed the heck up. 

In the end, the baby needs to come out and I want this in the safest way possible (i.e. hopsital with doctors).   My doctor actually asked me at my appointment this week if I was considering an epidural.  I said oh yes.  She put in my record "thinking about epidural."  Ain't no thinking about it, doc.

Some say the drugs affect your baby.  If so, it is really insignificant as babies are born every day with the assistance of epidurals.  Why feel all that pain if you don't need to?  I mean really.  To each their own and this is mine.

So to recap, my complete birthing plan is:

Epidural, as soon as I can get it, preferably while in the wheelchair being taken to my room.  The end.

At 20 weeks, the baby is now 10.5 ounces and 10 inches long - about the length of a banana (baby size now being measured by length).

He is now swallowing more and more and is producing meconium.  As quoted from the website: "...meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery)."

That is disgusting.  That is all.

How I'm feeling:  Oy.  There is stretching.  So much stretching.  Luckily, no stretch  marks (yet)  but I was pretty uncomfortable this week on a few occasions.   No linea nigra (yet) either.  That sucker is just weird.

If I tap or pat my belly, I don't feel it.  But if I scratch it, I feel it.  Is that weird?  Side effect of skin being stretched to the verge of snapping?

And the belly button that is flattening and all but disappearing is very disconcerting.

Pregnancy notes: HALF WAY THERE!! WHOO HOO!

Randomness: Every time I sneeze, that baby has got to get knocked around in there.  I am not a quiet sneezer.

Food cravings and notes: Nothing really this week.  I haven't really known what I've wanted to eat this week.  M brought home ice cream the other day as a surprise and that's always good.

I did, however, eat an obscene amount of Cheez-Its one afternoon.

I also went out to dinner with the girls one night which was fantastic.  We ordered this dessert of fried pound cake sticks with a butterscotch dipping sauce.  Yes, I wrote fried cake.  Oh. My. Word.  Baby D went ballistic in there after eating that.

Doctor's Visit: Four week check up.  Everything and everyone is looking good!  I gained another 3 pounds so that's 13 in total so far.  I'm measuring at 20cm so I'm right on par where I should be and the due date is still July 5.  Baby is at extremely low risk for down syndrome, trisomy 18, or any other genetic problems.  Yay!