Week 20 (!!!) Pregnancy Journal: BEBE DEUX

This pregnancy has been awesome. And different. Awesome and way different.

I could claim the usual Baby #2 cliches ("No time to nap!" - "Too busy chasing a toddler around to remember I'm pregnant!"), and yes, they are true -- but other than that, I think what is so different about this pregnancy is that I am feeling a sense of calm about it. 

Nothing is ever certain, and I still hope and pray for a healthy pregnancy daily, but the calmness that I feel is moreso knowing this: we can do this. We can get ready for a baby, I am familiar with the hospital, I can deliver a baby, we can help a baby to survive and, hopefully, thrive. We can do diapers, we can do fevers, we can do middle-of-the-night wakeups, we have TOYS and baby gear out the wazoo. The scariness of being first-time parents is real, and although I know our lives will be crazy for a while with two very small little ones, I'm so ready to meet this little lovebug and experience life as a family of four. :)

I haven't kept a pregnancy journal or taken weekly photos (until today) this go-round, but something about hitting week 20 today made me feel a little sentimental about recording what's going on at this point with Baby Two, who Ian has nicknamed "The Newest" (Camille is "The Smallest").

necklace found here on Etsy

How Far Along? 20 weeks, halfway there.

Size of Baby: A small cantaloupe (6.5 inches).

Gender: We don't know, and we plan to keep it that way! I have days where I just feel so strongly that it's a boy, and I have other days where the similar symptoms to my first pregnancy makes me think it could be a little girl. Ian thinks we are having another girl, a lot of my friends are thinking boy. I did add in a poll on the right sidebar so you can tell me what you think ... pink or blue!

Weight Gain: Last time around with Camille, I had major anxiety that I wasn't gaining enough weight. With each doctor that I rotated around to, I would ask them if they thought the baby was healthy. I weighed myself each week and clocked in each pound gained like a shiny gold star. This time around, we have a child lock on the bathroom cabinet where the scale is kept, and I'm usually too busy and/or lazy to take it out and weigh myself. This morning was only the third time I've checked my weight while being pregnant and I am currently up 6-7 lbs.

Maternity Clothes: I am just reusing my maternity clothes from before. I purchased one cute dress on Zulily which will likely be a Christmas dress worn over tights -- it needs a quick hemming job, but I want to wait until closer to Christmas so that it doesn't end up too short if my belly grows faster than I expect. Other than that, I likely won't buy any new maternity clothes unless they are at a consignment shop for a steal!

Nursery: I think the plan is still to use Camille's room as the nursery. If we have a little boy, it will be repainted at some point after baby is here. The crib and changing table will both be staying in there. But with all of this said, sometimes in the middle of the night I wake up and think about keeping her in her current room and using our office as the baby's room. Can't decide, and it's making me a little nutty.

Movement: I started feeling movement right at the beginning of this month. I was laying in bed the Sunday night after Halloween, and Ian and I were battling and I was all stressed, and then BAM. Baby moved for me. Hallelujah you sweet little thing, you just made time slow down for me and you brought me back to reality. All is good, all is fine, all is wonderful.

Symptoms: Growing belly, finally have some energy back!

Sleep: Sleeping really well and loving my Snoogle pregnancy pillow as much this time around as I did being pregnant with Camille. It was pricey at the get-go, but so worth it.

Cravings: I'm not really having cravings this time around again. With Camille I did have certain desires for sweets (sweet tea always sounded amazing) and that's been the same this time, too. We STILL have Halloween candy in our home and that big orange bowl gets pillaged each night after dinner. Oh, and spicy always sounds great! Pizza? Pass the red pepper flakes!

What I Miss: Not having back pain, although I will say that I finally saw a massage therapist twice who REALLY helped. This was not a fancy spa massage -- quite the opposite, really. More therapeutic. But it worked.

Best Moment This Week: Just having Ian touch my belly and ask about the baby. That's the best. Never gets old. :) And on Sunday night he drew me a warm bubble bath as a surprise. Good job, boo.

Looking Forward To: Figuring out the nursery, deciding on a girl and a boy name, and experiencing the holidays again while pregnant! Oh, and meeting this sweet baby and hopefully having Ian be the one to tell me if we have a new son or daughter!

(Here's a photo of me at 20 weeks with Camille. I'm quite bigger this time around!)