Week 21 Pregnancy Update (Halfway there!)

Or more than halfway, if this baby comes as early as his/her sisters! Madeline was urged to come out right at 37 weeks and Autumn came at 38 weeks and 1 day.

The girls are so adorable. They recently discovered that if they talk loud enough at my belly, they can get the baby to move. Whenever I/they leave or come home they have started kissing my belly and saying "hi/bye" to "their" baby. So excited to watch them be much older siblings to this little one!

So this picture was take right around 21 weeks, although my midwife has me at a week later. My belly is measuring 6-7 weeks ahead. This is pretty usual for me, yes, I'm certain there is only one baby and I don't think this baby will be huge- this is due to my complete lack of abdominal muscle tone. Haha.

My energy level is close to normal. I still look forward to my afternoon siestas as often as I can take one. Lately, I've been listening to my Hypnobabies Special Place/Easy, Comfortable Childbirth tracks to get ready for next month's class and I feel energized when it ends.

No cravings... unless you count crunchy raw veggies and water. Ha. This is a very big change from my last pregnancies when I was relying on a DQ Blizzard every night for my calcium. As a result I'm only up about 12 pounds so far. Not too bad considering I had gained at least 30 pounds by this point with both of the girls. I'm hoping for a nice average weight gain this time- 20-35 pounds. Healthy and normal!

Speaking of, I am still running 3 days a week with Hal. The other days I've been doing other stuff and using exercise videos. So far I haven't found one that I like. Too much jumping and abs... I need something that is simple, old fashioned aerobics!

We tore the wall separating our bedroom wall from the "backroom" wall to allow us to expand it so we have room for the birthpool (!) and then the cosleeper and rocker/recliner. I'm hopeful that it will be finished in the next 4-6 weeks, so I'll have plenty of nesting time. In the meantime I'm adjusting to living with dust and mess for awhile.

But... this is getting more real! I'm really enjoying this pregnancy so much. I know I'll be ready when this little one is born. But I'm loving every moment of gestating, trying to be present and absorb it all.