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Week 22  Milestones: Baby's length is about 27cm, but when he's curled up he's only about 19cm CRL. He now weighs a whole pound!!! My Journal: This journal is a little late in being written this week since we went away for family holidays for the last week of August and beginning of September. I can't believe it's September already, time is just flying by! And yet at the same time, we had such a wonderful and relaxing vacation, it feels like we've been away for about a month. It was very refreshing to be away for a family trip, and I think all of us enjoyed it - hopefully our littlest family member included! I do like to think Avery was included a little bit on our family trip, since we heard from him pretty often and spent some time trying to feel him move around and kick! He has a pretty predictable sleeping/waking pattern now, and I tend to get a lot of little kicks between 7 and 11pm. If I am awake between 5 and 8am, I get to feel a lot of kicks then too. Other than those two main "active" times, he is awake for another handful of times throughout the day, when I'll get a few kicks and some movement and then nothing again for a little while. I can definitely tell he can hear and feel things outside the womb though! Often when there is a change in the environment like a loud noise or very noticeable temperature change, he'll react to it by moving around or kicking. One exciting development is that Harmony felt the baby move for the first time and now we can all feel and see the baby move!!! It's exciting for me that everyone else in the family is finally able to start having a real connection with this little one too. The excitment has not died down for Harmony, even though she understands it'll still be a while before Avery is born and she can hold him. She likes to try to whisper things to him, even though we try to explain he can't hear quiet noises like that. I'm glad we can at least catch what she's saying once in a while - she likes to tell Avery she loves him very much. As for Paul, he seems to enjoy feeling the baby move around, although he doesn't have the same patience I do for sitting and waiting for jumps and kicks. I think he'll enjoy it a little more when Avery is a bit bigger, although even now we are both amazed to think about how big our little boy is getting! I referred to Avery as "my son" for the first time in the past week and it sounded like such a strange thing to say! I'll have to take some time to get used to saying things like that (including phrases referring to "the kids"!). Now that September is here, it's time to really get ready for the baby! In just a few short weeks, I'll be in my third trimester!! I really would like to have my office cleared out by the end of this month so that I can get the painting and some of the decorating out of the way. I'm determined not to be like I was with Harmony - still up on a chair stenciling at 8 and a half months and still not packed for the hospital a couple weeks before she was due (which was when she ended up arriving!). After months of "window shopping" for baby items, we finally made our first purchases. We got the playpen we've been looking at for forever and will be putting it together for a test run sometime soon. We also picked out the first set of clothes for Avery - a very cute blue and white "coming home" outfit. Then, a friend of mine who just had a baby boy brought over some of his clothes that he'd outgrown - I'd been thrilled enough that Avery would have a playmate only 6 months older than he was, but the hand-me-downs are a nice extra too (I lucked out with Harmony in the same way since one of my best friend's little girl is 5 months older than Harmony). It's so fun to look at all these clothes and think about what Avery will look like wearing them! Even while we were camping, we were planning and thinking about next summer when he'll be there with us (well, there and able to see what's going on!). In a way it's hard to picture what it will be like (and what he'll look like and be like), but in a way it seems like it will be so natural. By the time he's a few months old, I suspect we'll wonder what life was ever like without him here in our family. Test Results/Ultrasounds/Appointments: Nothing this week - I go back later this month for my 24-week check up. Physical: I've been reading for a while that it's during the past week or two that my uterus has been creeping up to be above my belly button, and all those little kicks I've felt right under my belly button and above it have confirmed that the baby's little living space is starting to take over! This has meant that it's been a little more challenging to move around, to get up from lying down, etc. I find I don't have the same balance and mobility that I did even a month ago. My center of balance is feeling "off" and I'm adjusting to having to move and walk differently. And yes, I admit, when I'm tired or walking uphill, I have been starting to waddle a little bit. I'm just trying to enjoy it instead of being embarassed about it, because it's all part of the joy and wonder of carrying a little baby around in there (even if it looks a little silly)! Camping was a bit of a challenge, especially getting in and out of the tent, but somehow I managed. My left hip muscles have been really sore for about a week, but I'm hoping that's just as a result of sleeping on an air matress in a tent instead of in my nice cosy bed and that I'll be feeling better soon. I've had a few of those round ligament pains again, but have actually had a decent break from those night-time leg pains. Overall, I'd say I'm still doing just fine and just trying to get used to all the body changes! Weight Gain/Food: Uh-oh! I knew this would happen eventually, I just didn't know it would happen all at once. I was staying at around 5 lbs for such a long time, but this past week I've stepped on the scale a couple times to see total gains of 10 or 12 lbs. That's still well within the range of an average gain for this far along in a pregnancy, but I'd wanted to make sure to stay as close as possible to the lower range since I already have quite a bit of weight leftover from my other pregnancies. I think the holidays have a lot to do with it though, so I'm hoping that when I get back into my routine of Aquafit and being active, I'll be able to keep things level for a little while longer. I really want to start walking more and being more active in the fall when I have more time. I know gaining up to 35 or 40 lbs is still considered "healthy" and I'm not worried about gaining weight in general, but I do want to try to save most of that weight gain for baby's own weight and pregnancy-related weight, and not gather up any fat stores (I already have enough of that!). In other words, I wouldn't mind if my belly was "all baby", and I was able to lose the weight a little more easily and quickly this time around. Emotional: A stress-free and relaxing week was definitely what I needed, since my mind always races a mile a minute (along with my heart-rate) when I'm living my usual rushing-around-busy lifestyle. We had a busy (and somewhat stressful) week before leaving for our holidays, which made it even more essential to just pack up and leave the hectic pace behind. It was great to just slow right down and live simply. As I told Harmony while we were canoeing across the lake, the mind likes having a rest when seeing such simple scenery - like just being able to see water, trees, and sky everywhere you turn! I think part of the reason that our week of camping felt like a month was just having so much space in between. Nothing to worry about other than the basics, nothing that you have to rush off to do next. No alarms or watches or deadlines. I think I should've gone camping for my entire first trimester just for the mental calmness it induces! But I tried to bring a little of that calmness home with me and will try to have a restful fall. I enjoyed "getting away from it all", so I'm going to make sure to make that space for myself more often in real life too. It's been so healthy and positive for me just to focus on family and food and nature and sunshine and life all around me that I want to keep those feelings with me as much as I can.
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