Random Updates

Picture I posted to Facebook of my bump at 19 weeks. 

 
Just a random update from the past few weeks. 

I've been feeling definite, strong kicks since before 16 weeks. Some days I think Baby G is practicing to become Lord of the Dance in there, and I love it. (Although in the interest of full disclosure, I finally admitted to Brad that the long Riverdance sessions, reassuring though they are, can get a little annoying when I'm trying to concentrate or sleep. But I know deep down I would not want them to stop.)

I kept trying to get Brad to feel the baby move, and there were a couple of times when he thought he could, but I didn't feel anything at the moments he thought he did. But yesterday I was watching my tummy -- YES, I can see the baby moving in there -- and there were like some solar flare baby movements. Really dramatic kicks that you could see CLEARLY just by looking. So I called Brad over, and he felt the baby for sure! Exciting milestone!

I was also having REALLY bad pain at my navel yesterday. It woke me up at 4 a.m. because the pain was so sharp, and it lasted for most of the day. I couldn't lay on my side without feeling really strong stabbing pains at my belly button. It was so bad at one point that I had to stop working and just lay down. I Googled it (frenemy) and learned that pain like that is normal at this stage. It could be just growing pains, or worst case it could be a herniated navel, but since the pain has let up today, I'm going with the former. Probably just the little pup making room.

Finally, I'm waiting for that awesome head of hair everyone talks about during pregnancy! One friend wrote on Facebook, "If God makes us get fuller and thicker during pregnancy, at least he lets our hair do the same!" Early on my hair was falling out a LOT. I've stopped losing hair, but I still feel like I can't do much with it. Might also be because I got a bad haircut in December and I just need to let that grow out. The result has been lots of ponytails and buns, which is meh, but Brad likes it when I have my hair in a ponytail (he requests it for special occasions - cute, no?), so at least there's that.

It's getting hard when I'm out running errands not to want to buy stuff for the nursery. I'm really waiting until we know if it's a boy or girl (click here to see the nursery inspiration boards I came up with), but I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday to get a mirror for our dining room, and MAN, they had awesome baby stuff and other objets marked 80% off! If only they could do that again next week! I've been hard at work clearing out the guest room. I sold an armoire through Craigslist yesterday, donated my mattress and box springs, and disassembled the bed. I'm now just trying to Craigslist a chair and ottoman, but I have NO TAKERS WHATSOEVER. Maybe I just need to slash the price to nothing (it's currently listed at $50). This weekend I hope to Kilz the red wall.

All in all, this baby is being VERY nice to me. I am grateful. I can't wait until Monday when Dr. Norwood's office does the full anatomical scan.  They'll check the brain, heart, spine, amniotic fluid and more. The gender reveal will be fun, but since it's been eight weeks since we last saw the little one, I'm aching for another glimpse!