| From Weeks 19 - 24 |
| Weight at 19 weeks = 142 pounds |
| The body is beautiful? or just plain big?? Thank God for draw string pants! I have several pair that I couldn't have lived without! The strings are getting shorter and shorter with every passing day and I will likely grow out of them soon. Good thing I have some new maternity (elastic waist) pants! Those are even more comfy! The no-panel maternity jeans I had no longer fit. I believe they are 3-6 month maternity .. not meant to last? Lilli hates it when I wear them, she is constantly pushing at the wasit line! Yes - Lilli kicks all the time. It seems she kicks, pokes and prods when I settle down. When I get a minute to relax, I will stare at my 'bump' knowing what will come next ... it looks like a bag of ferrets! Really cute! Jason was actually able to feel her kick really good a few weeks ago and she is only getting stronger! I swear she either has a.) the metabolism rate of her mother b.) her hyperactivness from her dad or c.) is going to make a great soccer player/gymnast/cheerleader/runner etc .... But it is likely to be a great combination of all three! |
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| It is weird to wake up every morning and look in the mirror. I think I have said that before, but it still shocks me when I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My rib cage alone has spread over two inches - not to mention everything else that is spreading! :-) I'm not complaining, I just pray that everything goes back to its normal position after Lilli is born. I know it might take a few months, but I will be fine as long as it goes back - or gets close! Speaking of spreading, I have become terrified of getting stretchmarks! It looks like I have swallowed a beachball and I tell myself that if I load up on the Palmer's Cocoa Butter, that I will steer clear of StretchMark City?! I have been lucky thus far, but time can only tell. They say it happens in the last half of the pregnancy and comes over night .... I will keep praying and conditoning. |
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| My body is starting to do some strange things. I am constantly out of breath. It's really embarrassing when I answer the phone and it sounds like I ran a quarter mile sprint to catch the phone on the last ring, when actually, I just walked across the room! According to my half-dozen books, I will have to endure this "not so fit" feeling until the baby drops at the end of term, getting ready for birth. Then and only then will I feel the slightest bit of relief regarding my lung capacity. Evidentally, what happens is, my lungs actually expand to hold more oxygen for me and the baby and therefore makes me feel like I am short of breath, when I am actually getting more. I had read, at least in one book source, that I should be guzzeling 12 cups of water a day to keep up with my growing body. For WEEKS, I drowned myself in bottled water, even forcing myself to drink when I thought I could hold no more. I would just hold the bottle to my lips and open up. It was hard! Especially since I am a 'ice and lemon' water drinker. I don't get that luxury at work. Most of the time, the water is room temperature. I was doing good! Then I read in more places than one, that (as a pregnant woman) I should be consuming no less than 6-8 cups a day. WHAT?! I had been doubling that! How could they do this to me? I had been running to the bathroom every fifteen minutes just so I could make room for more agua! Ugh! That said - I have decided to try to stick to my 12 cups a day. It can only be GOOD for me .... right? RIGHT? |
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| I have experienced another nuisance, thanks to being pregnant ... HOT FLASHES! Can anyone invent an a/c pack that is portable - maybe strap it on your back or attach it somehow to your person? I can be in mid-sentence with someone and get a hot flash. It can be 60 degrees in the room and here it comes! In fact, I have the a/c at home set to 64, and I still wake up in the middle of the night having a fit! Throwing the covers off me like a crazy woman!!! About waking up in the middle of the night ... yeah ... I do that all the time. If it's not b/c Lilli is kicking, it is to use the bathroom or b/c I got a leg cramp ~ but I always wake up hot. I keep telling myself that this is God's way of preparing me for Lilli's arrival .... so why doesn't Jason wake up? Maybe I should crawl over him the next time I have to run to the bathroom. It is the straightest shot to the toilet! :-) |
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| I can't believe I am posting this picture ... these are my painting shorts .... Belly shot at 22 weeks. |