Pregnancy update: 20 weeks

I’m going to try to stick to an “every 4 weeks” pregnancy update over here, since sooo many people want to hear what’s going on. I can also attempt to sprinkle in FAQs I’ve been getting and other things along the way, but I’m also going to use a template for consistency’s sake.

Some people were wondering how long I used fertility awareness for as birth control before I started trying to conceive. I used it for a little over 5 years and yes, the pregnancy was planned.

How far along? 20 weeks! Technically 20 weeks and 1 day today. I’m calling this the fake halfway point, because you don’t really even know you’re pregnant for 4 weeks, so I feel like real halfway should be 22 weeks.

How big is the baby? I don’t know. I think I read they are about 10 inches now, which is crazy since they are about half of their full length but still waaaay lower in weight. Actually, maybe this was banana-size week (pretty sure that’d be a BIG banana at 10 inches). Long skinny baby.

Total weight gain/loss? I started at 123 and right now I am 140, so I’ve already gained a total of 17 lbs. To tell you the truth, I am pretty shocked at how quickly I gained weight, especially since I don’t LOOK particularly large. I think I just got ultra ultra dense. I’m at the point where I’m supposed to “gain a pound a week until the baby is born” so if that is true for me that’d put me around 37 lbs, which is pretty normal, I guess. I’m very interested in seeing the flux and so far it doesn’t bother me.

Maternity clothes? I definitely have some and have been wearing them on bottom since 10-12 weeks. I have a really small waist and larger hips/butt/thighs so I have to wear pants that have a really tight waistband or they will be pulled down by butt. Glorious, I know. Anyway, due to that fact maternity had to come sooner rather than later, but my choices constantly change with my growing body and I’ve found I have more clothes now than I do in my normal wardrobe. I’m very minimal with my clothes.

Actually, I think I could talk about maternity clothes forever. One, they almost all have very awful fit. The shorts that fit me best are an XS, and while I’m not saying I’m fat, I’m not an XS. Even those shorts are weirdly proportioned, though. I’m just not sure maternity clothes are made to fit me correctly. Two, I am annoyed by how hard it is to find natural materials. I made a real effort to get pretty much my entire wardrobe natural materials in the last couple of years and that all went out the window with maternity clothes. I am wondering if I did shopping not at the thrift store if I would have better luck. Third, I can’t believe how few things can be found stripe-less and in neutral colors! I don’t wear a lot of patterns other than floral or polka dots occasionally, and my most commonly worn color is black, so I’ve found it hard to find a lot of maternity clothes I actually like.

Sleep? I am SO on and off with sleep lately. I got an amazing night sleep last night, but I usually either take a while to fall asleep or I wake up around 3am to pee and then can’t fall back asleep. As far as I can tell, it’s a comfort thing. I don’t particularly love sleeping on my side because it often makes my arms go numb, back is only comfortable sometimes at this stage, and I had to give up my stomach a while ago.

Best moment this month? Well, almost within this month was when I first felt movement (15weeks, 5days), so I’d definitely say that was the best.

Symptoms? I’ve mostly been good lately, but I do have some round ligament pain and SI joint pain when I stand for a long time. Obviously, someone needs to go to the chiropractor and stop putting it off. My strongest symptom is probably my deep and unrelenting hunger.

Food cravings? I’d say the only thing that is random that sounds AMAZING to me is this pasta salad I used to eat a bunch growing up. As far as I know it’s a Hawaiian recipe that has pasta, peas, tuna, and mayonnaise. I can’t find any mayo at the store I am actually ok with eating and buying, so I really need to make some mayo and recreate this with brown rice pasta, salmon, some veggie, and mayo. Also not part of the recipe, but as a kid I liked covering it with relish. I knooooow, it’s weird, but strangely delicious.  The only other thing that happens to me is when I get super hungry I crave super high calorie foods like chocolate. I haven’t had any cravings that I couldn’t just feed myself something else and be just fine for.

Food aversions? I’m not very into rice or cooked greens (other than cabbage and broccoli) still. I can eat pretty much anything, though.

Baby’s sex? No idea. We are keeping it a surprise! I will tell you that I have had times where I was sure it was both. So much for mom’s intuition.

Labor signs? Haha, thankfully not yet, that would be bad.

Belly button in or out? So very out! I have kind of half an outie anyway, so I knew it’d happen fast and furious.

What I miss? Sleeping on my stomach. Actually having a sex drive (Unfortunately, so far I have been one of the people that loses it during pregnancy instead of it ramping up. Oh well).

What I’m looking forward to? Meeting the baby. I’m definitely starting to wonder about their personality.

Things I HAVEN’T done this month? Let’s see, I think the biggest thing I am not doing is the 20 week ultrasound, since I am not doing any ultrasounds. GASP, I know, I’m nuts. I decided against ultrasounds for various reasons like 1.) I’m not convinced of the ultimate safety, 2.) I wanted the bonding experience to not include ultrasounds, 3.) Too many anecdotes about moms or babies not feeling well during/after ultrasounds, 4.) I didn’t want the anxiety, either before the ultrasounds or after if something was *maybe* not ok. I know the decision is not conventional, and certainly not for everyone, but the only thing that an ultrasound would POTENTIALLY change in my course of action would be my decision to have a home birth (for example, if the baby had a health issue that they were sure to need medical intervention right away after birth or if my placenta was covering my cervix) and the chances of that were so small the benefits don’t outweigh the risks in my case.

Honestly, I haven’t done basically anything medical so far. MY midwife takes my blood pressure at each appointment and at the last appointment she measured the length from my public bone to the top of my uterus (the fundus). I think she’ll be able to hear the heartbeat with the fetoscope at my next appointment and I know at some point she is going to do my bloodwork, but for the most part my midwife appointments are just a bunch of talking. :)

How I’m trying to ensure a healthy pregnancy? Well, good diet, obviously. But I also am trying to focus on a lot of things to help the baby be in a good position. I know that I have terrible posture, so I am being very proactive with positioning exercises and doing long walks everyday.

Bump?