20 weeks.

And we made it to half way {at least let's hope [and pray and wish and will] so!}; woo hoo!!!

I call this "Barefoot and Pregnant".

How far along: 20 weeks

Symptoms: more movement {yippee!}. I’m still smelling things more and then today had a random bout of morning sickness, though it has never been sickness, just queasiness. It hit in the afternoon too which never really had happened before.

Wait gain: 141; from my start of 120 that’s a 21 pound gain. 

According to the Mayo Clinic, for my BMI prior to pregnancy I should gain between 25 and 35 pounds. But everyone is different. If I were to double what I’ve gained so far {since I’m at the half-way point} then I’d be only a bit beyond that window but I’ve heard that the biggest gain is in the latter months of pregnancy. I know that I’m eating healthy {thought not exercising like I could/should} and that I’m feeling OK about things so I’m not too worried. 

Plus, I believe I wasn’t at the weight my body would normally like to be at pre-pregnancy; I started eating freely {no more salad-only lunches} after I found out and that packed on a few pounds early on but then the gain has leveled out.

Size of baby: a banana. Both websites state this. What’s neat is that now baby’s length/height is measured as it would be for you and me; from our head to our feet. Prior, fetuses are measured crown to rump since their little leggies are so curled up {I love the word "rump"!}.

Exercise:  same as last week --> nada; does teaching high school count? Mental exercise? Although I got in some good walking with my dad and I walked to pick up our vegetables this week too.

Milestones: this was a big week for dad; Mike got to hear the heartbeat, see the baby on ultrasound, and feel a kick from the outside. 

We were supposed to find out gender but the little guy/gal would not uncross his/her legs. As a friend of ours pointed out, the kid’s already keeping secrets from his/her parents. 

This ultrasound was the big 20-week anatomy scan and everything looked beautiful; yea! There is a little cyst on the baby’s brain, which sounds really scary {choroid plexus cyst} but isn’t; it’s supposed to dissolve on its own in the next month or so and then we get to go back to confirm that it’s gone and THEN maybe we’ll find out the gender {talk about a lesson in learning to relinquish control!}/

What I miss: nada nada limonada; nothing!

Gender: not yet!

Movement: yes! Baby’s more active some days than others. Mike was able to feel it {so cool!} {he said he thinks it’s just gas} and I’ve seen a few bumps from the outside too. This part of pregnancy is amazing.

What I'm looking forward to: finding out the gender in a matter of DAYS weeks! Someone at work mentioned that now it’s kind of nice to still have something big {other than the birth, obviously} to look forward to. It’ll also be nice to feel more and more movement.

Thoughts/questions/concerns: that cyst was a weird/scary thing to find out about until the doctor seemed so relaxed about it. Other than that we have a baby with a beautiful heart, a good brain, and all his/her limbs {with some crossed legs}. 

Also, I'm not enamored of the OB practice I'm currently at and I've been meaning to get myself into/over to a local birthing center. There's also a midwifery practice nearby so hopefully I'll be transitioning over to one of those two places soon. The current place is OK but it's almost factory-like; there are so many doctors and so many patients it just doesn't feel that personal. Plus I'm really dedicated to the idea of having a nurse-midwife throughout the rest of this pregnancy and delivery.

Sleep: good still.

Goals: get in some exercise?

Random: we won’t break 70 degrees in the next week and for the first time in my life I’m OK with that; as I had heard, pregnancy really does make me a bit warmer. It’s actually nice to enjoy the cooling weather. 

Also, we had such a great time with my dad visiting; thanks so much for trekking out here grandpa! It's crazy to think we'll see family once more before they have a new little one to dote on.