A Little Pregnancy Update

I never really documented anything about my previous pregnancies, so I thought I would document just a little of how I am feeling now that I am about 22 weeks along.

Cravings: Dairy, dairy, and more dairy. We are going through a gallon more of milk a week than we used to, and I can't get enough of that or cheese, or yogurt, or whatever. The only other things that I'll have cravings for are cold salads and fruit.

Sleep: Sleep has started to be difficult- and it takes me a long time to get comfortable at night to be able to fall asleep. It drives Ben nuts because I am tossing and turning, but I can't help it.

Weight gain: As you can see from the not so pretty picture, I am definitely starting to show, but I look more fat than pregnant- I am at that awkward stage where you can't quite ask "are you pregnant?" because I might just be fat- you all know what I mean. I'm really not all that concerned about weight gain this pregnancy, because since I know it's my last pregnancy I know I'll be doing some great fitness and diet plans to get back to my marriage weight (and let's not forget all the nursing and pumping I will do- that's my favorite diet plan because it is so easy!)

Sickness: Outside of those first few weeks, I haven't felt sick at all.

Pains: I do have "Pelvic Girdle Pain." I looked it up the other night and I definitely have all the symptoms. Basically, my ligaments in the pelvic region are stretching too much and causing pain to walk. And move. And roll over in bed. And sometimes even to sit. It will probably only intensify as time goes on, so I am not looking forward to that. The cure is to give birth. With the other two I had bad sciatica, and I had a little bit of that but now the sciatica is gone and I just have this other pain. Oh, well- it's better than nausea.

Swelling: I am sure the ankle swelling will be coming soon- I always get HUGE ankles. As of yet, however, I haven't had much swelling at all except in my fingers. They have swollen just enough that I can't wear my wedding ring anymore. 

Baby Kicking: I have actually been feeling the baby kick since about week 16 or 17. I know that seems early, but I did. She usually kicks the most right as I am about to fall asleep, but it isn't enough to keep me awake or anything. It's fun to feel the baby moving, though. Audra likes to try to feel the baby as well- it's very cute! She doesn't quite kick strong enough for anyone else to feel it, but Ben did feel a few little flutters a couple of weeks ago.

Overall mood: I haven't had any weird hormonal mood swings or anything (at least that I am aware of- maybe Ben disagrees!). I'm tired ALL THE TIME, but overall I feel great. My past pregnancies were pretty easy outside of the sciatica, and this one is the same. I really can't complain- I'm lucky that way. That doesn't mean I like being pregnant- even with easy pregnancies I don't like it, but I know it could be A LOT worse, so I am grateful.

The coolest part of being pregnant (as I am sure most of you moms will agree) is realizing that I have this person inside me. The miracle of life and how people come into being is so miraculous, and it is indescribable to be a part of that. Creating this new life. It's awesome.

That pretty much sums up my pregnancy. I know it's not very exciting, but I am sure someday this little one will want to know how I felt with her growing inside of me!