Pregnancy Weeks 10-20

[Side Note: I decided to document my pregnancy privately but then I got to writing about it last week here and found I really like writing about what it is like. I want to share my experience. So there is a little catching up to do. This post is about my 10th-20th weeks of pregnancy, so roughly April 2th through July 4th-ish]

Weeks Along: 20 weeks

Weight:  170 lbs. (by the end of week 20 I have gained 27 lbs.)


Weeks to Go: 20 weeks (HALF WAY!!)


What I feel: Still feel like I can eat a cow for dinner. Then a chicken an hour later. Seriously hungry. Here is what I craved so far:

• McDonald's double cheeseburgers
• chips (so salty but oh so good!)
• veggie dip (goes well with chips)
• cereal (sugary the better)
• potato salad (this was a one time occurrence. strange but true) 
• ice cream (ok, this was always a weakness but something about eating more of it now because I can...)

Some days it seems like I can't get enough food before I want to fall over with exhaustion. Being tired is probably my number one pregnancy symptom. I am forever tired. So tired that I want to crawl under my desk and nap around 1 pm every day. I get tired thinking about sleep. I haven't slept a whole night in a while. I am constantly up during the night still. I can't seem to get and stay comfortable. I get good sleep from 5 am until 6:45 am but that is just not enough. I guess my body is going to learn to adapt to less sleep quicker than I thought.

I started to get morning sickness around week 12. It wasn't too bad, although it caught me by surprise a few times. A few times at work (once during a meeting with a customer where I had to excuse myself) and a handful of times at lunch. I think the worst part is I can't always take a shower after I throw up, depending on where I am, and that is all I want to do! I feel disgusting afterwards. Once during a meal my husband make a mock throwing up sound and it make me head right to the bathroom. Sparing too many details, this is the worst part of pregnancy so far.

Oh and this kind of scenario still happens, sleep;  wake up for unknown amount of time; eat; try to sleep again; wake up to go to work. Urgh. Not the best solution to a growing need for sleep.

A beautiful little bump is appearing!

What I look like: At week 10 I was not huge, but felt big. I grew out of most of my regular sized pants towards the end of these 10 weeks. I can still wear most of my shirts but pregnancy pants are in full swing. They are so much more comfortable. I bought a few pairs of pregnancy pants from a second hand store in town. I figured I might need a different size in a few more weeks so the three pairs of wearable pants will have to do.

Let's just say my chest is expanding faster than in my teens. Seriously. Overnight they grew how much? I have gone up 1 cup size already.

I did have one neighbor of ours comment "I thought you gained weight" after we told her we were expecting. Why, thank you.

Around 20 weeks I really started to not fit into everything. I ended up investing in some much needed work appropriate clothing, mainly dresses. I also found men's "A tank tops" work well under shirts I can still wear to cover my belly. Stretchy bottoms are my new best friend.

No stretch marks yet. My belly looks very vein-y though. Strange.


Oh Things I didn't know about pregnancy until now: Zits? Really? I heard about "pregnancy mask" but this acme is way worse. I have develop some real problem areas on the back of my arms. Really? I am sure a cleansing routine will help but this is bad.

Oh and sore boobs. Like tender to the touch. It is a look but no touch zone right now.

Timeline happenings: By the end of week 10 I told my boss about my pregnancy. I held off as I did not find out I was pregnant until I was almost 6 weeks along and the doctor doesn't see patients until week 10, so we are waiting for the official blood test confirmation that I am pregnant (let me tell you, I am). I am a little nervous but only because he is a guy. He has two kids, so I am sure he understands, but still. I am a little skiddish around my boss as it is. I have worked here for less than a year so that also adds to the fear.

Our first doctor's appointment was on the 10th week as well. We had to fill out a litany of questions (I should keep better records of my paternal Grandfather's medical history I guess!). Thank goodness for the soon-to-be-doctor husband of mine. He calmed me down as I was trying to rack my brain for any sort of random disease that runs in our families (I still can't find one). He reassured me that if the baby was healthy, it would grow properly without our doctor knowing every medical detail. The doctor was able to do an ultrasound on the baby. Her machine was a little old but we could make out the heartbeat, the little fetus and something that looked like a head. Our little baby is growing just fine. Phew.

At 14, 16 and 20 weeks I had additional doctor's appointments. At 14 weeks we were lucky enough to get our official ultra sound done. We saw out little peanut up close for the first time. And guess what? Our peanut has some extra parts. Boy parts that is. It has now become a he. Shortly after the ultrasound (and lunch) we rushed out to buy our first set of little baby boy clothes. A set of onesies with dinosaurs. The are adorable. And oh so little!

At 16 weeks and every appointment since, we have been able to hear the heart beat. He is a strong little thing. Last time we heard it he was clocking 160 beats per minute. He is going to be very healthy.




Things for Baby: Based on our budget and needs, husband and I have decided to buy one baby thing per week until we conquer our list. I scoured the internet (thank you insomnia!) for a "list of essential baby things" until I found this. It nearly saved my life.

 I was thinking of all the possible things we could need (like oh my, how many burp cloths are we going to need? And what about that bottle warmer I saw at the store?) and driving myself crazy. I am a huge fan of Rachel's book about minimalist living with a baby. I don't buy into the "I need everything there ever was invented" mentality, and our budget certainly does not allow that. We are living in a two bedroom townhouse that also does not allow for every kind of baby item imaginable.

Our list is about 20 things long (give or take a few items we are debating about). We received the crib, stroller and car seat as gifts so far. We plan on making purchases we are sure about now and waiting on other things until after the baby arrives. Who knows if they will like the bouncy chair or the swing?
Plus, this way we can stay within our budget without having to spend $400 in one week on baby items. Win-Win.

Our crib was a gift from my husband's grandparents. They let us pick out the duds and we even got to put it together ourselves! Ha. That was the best part. My husband is very handy, but even 10,00 screws and an allen wrench can really make life difficult. Starting with the box the crib came in...we picked out a matching set which had a dresser, crib & changing table (note: changing table not necessary, a dresser works too!). It came all together in one HUGE box. We have a mid-sized car. The box did not fit in our car. We literally had to take all the pieces out of the box then load them in the car one by one. Oh what fun. Then there were almost 10,000 screws to use. Each piece had to be put together. Oh good fun again. Lets just say, some how we ended up with a functioning crib, a dresser, a changing table, a new desk and a new bar. Yes that is right, out of this experience we gained extra furniture free of charge! My husband disassembled the former desk we had in the second bedroom to find he could make another smaller desk and a bar out of it. Crafty huh? I also got a planter box for my vegetable garden!
Win- Win again.

We also acquired a baby book in the last few weeks. I was very excited to fill it out (oh more writing!) so I started in right away. I got around to asking my husband all the cities he has lived in (it is kind of like a tax document, huh?) only to find out he was upset I did not let him write his own page (but I have better hand writing I said!). So addition to all our finest memories of our wedding, our first place, pregnancy happenings and life changing events, there is a humorous note on my husband's page about how mommy made daddy mad because he didn't get to fill out the 'about daddy' page. And that was our first fight over something for the baby.


And the Husband says: Lately the husband has been very supportive of my mini-freak outs and emotional burst. He loves my little baby "house" as he calls my baby bump. After spending many months learning everything that can go wrong with a pregnancy, I think he is thankful ours is going so well. Don't ever ask a medical student all the ways your baby can grow wrong.

"You look like a house!" has been said, in a very charming husband-only way. I guess it is true. I am a house for our baby.

"Do you want some more food?"
"I know you can eat more"
"Want to get ice cream tonight?" (that is my favorite one!)