Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!
How Far Along: 18 weeks (pic: 18w6d, pre-turkey)
Isla Comparison: I was technically 19w0d here with Isla, but it’s only 1 day apart. I’m definitely a lot bigger this time around.
Size of Baby as Relative to Common Household Fruit or Vegetable: Papaya. According to babysizer, kiddo is the same size as a tribble this week. That’s much easier for me to picture in my head!
Total Weight Gain: I think I’m probably at pre-pregnancy weight at this point, maybe a pound or two above. Still not weighing in at home.
Sex: Boy
Movement: Movement has definitely picked up this week. Feeling lots of solid kicks. Kellen was even able to feel him from the outside a couple of days ago. It’s very reassuring to feel him kicking around in there. I’m already starting to get a feel for his rhythms, and unlike Isla, who never seemed to stop moving, he has his busy times of day and his quiet times of day. I can tell when he’s settling in, because my belly pooches out on the right side, which he seems to prefer for now.
Sleep: Pretty good for now, despite frequent trips to the bathroom.
What I miss: Nothing much, this week.
Cravings: Shake Shack’s SmokeShack burger and cheese fries with a Shack Attack concrete. Yum!
Symptoms: I’m starting to remember exactly how uncomfortable pregnancy can be. I’ve been having a lot of SI joint pain, round ligament pain, and general aches and pains in my hips and pelvis as things stretch and grow. I’m very grateful, though, I started out this pregnancy 10 lbs. lighter and in much better shape than I was with Isla. I’m not having all the swelling issues I had last time, and half an hour of yoga goes a long way to resolving the aches and pains. I also plan to start seeing a chiropractor soon to keep me moving. Braxton Hicks have also started up again. They hurt a lot more this time.
Maternity Clothes: All my pants have to have elastic bands at this point, but I’m still making my non-maternity shirts work for the most part, even though it’s starting to look funny.
Preparations: Not much going on this week. I’m finding it hard to be motivated on the baby front. We have most of what we need, and what we don’t have, I’m not worried about.
Emotions: A lot of the work stress has let up, and I’m getting back into my healthy living groove, which always boosts my mood. Having a good week and enjoying being in that phase of pregnancy between being sick and exhausted and being enormous.
PgAL Thoughts: Mostly this week I’ve been thinking a lot about how thankful I am for my family and especially for this little baby. Trying to focus on the positive and not dwell on the negative for the moment.
Best Moment(s) This Week: Thanksgiving! This year we had Thanksgiving at our house. My parents and brother came, and everyone pitched in to make different dishes. We had so much yummy food, it was unreal. The turkey in particular was incredible. We smoked it, and it was soooooo good. One of my all-time favorite Turkey Days. I’m excited about leftovers.
Ha – glad you clarified that this was a pre-turkey shot, because I know I certainly grew an extra inch or two over the holiday! I’m glad to hear work stress is letting up and you are now in your favorite time of the year! Hopefully the positive attitude will only get easier from here on out. (And I’m jealous you’re getting so much movement. I am dying for something up in here!)
Utter lack of abdominal muscle tone has really come in handy for detecting early movement. 😉