22 Weeks

Today we are 22 weeks! Baby is now almost a foot long, and weighs almost a pound. She is about the size of a papaya or a spaghetti squash. That seems so big to me!
She is probably sleeping 12-14 hours a day. I have been feeling her little flutters and thumps a bit more frequently in the past few days. I imagine I'll be feeling her more and more in the next couple of weeks! I actually saw my belly move from the outside a couple of times last night. What a crazy sensation!

She now looks like a miniature newborn. SO tiny, and so cute! She is very wrinkly like a raisin right now as her skin prepares to cover her baby fat when it starts growing. Her tastebuds are forming, and her tooth buds are developing below her gums. She is now producing hormones of her own. The irises of her eyes have formed, but they still lack pigment. I am guessing that they will be turning blue or green!

As for me, I'm feeling pretty good. I am getting bigger and bigger every day! (One of these days soon, I'll have Mike take a nicer picture of me for you guys.) The big thing in my pregnancy emails this week seems to be stretch marks. So far I have none, so I'm hoping that's a good sign that I might be one of the lucky ones. We'll see! In the meantime, I'm keeping my belly nice and moisturized.

22 Weeks

While I'm still feeling happy and healthy, things aren't quite as peachy wonderful as they have been lately. I'm thrilled that my girls are growing so much, but I am having a hard time adjusting to them! I love my new bras, but they just aren't comfortable by the end of the day - there's nothing I want more than to just let them loose. But then the girls touch my belly, and that feeling just completely weirds me out! They are somewhat tender now, and quite itchy. No leakage just yet. I know Mike can't wait for that one....yeah right. ;)

I'm also experiencing heartburn now. The nausea I had the other day seems to be in check as long as I eat healthy (and not too large of portions!), but the gas pains and nausea are pretty uncomfortable.

The other side effect that has been coming back now is fatigue. It's nothing like the first trimester, but gradually the exhaustion is creeping up on me again. I'm back to 9:30 or 10:00 PM crash mode. Plus I'm having a harder time sleeping now - I toss and turn all night. I just can't quite get comfortable, I guess. At least I don't fully wake in the night! I still have a few months to work up to that. ;)

I haven't noticed any skin changes at all (other than being really really really pale!). No discoloration or spots or anything. I don't have the linea negra (the dark like down my belly) yet, so hopefully my paleness will be good for something and prevent me from getting that. I feel like a zombie - my eyes get so dark against my pale face. I can't wait to be able to go tanning again!!! I haven't really noticed it yet, but Mike thinks that my hair is finally starting to look thicker. I'm not actually growing more hair, but I am losing it at a much slower pace now, which causes my hair to be fuller. I like that!!!

Just a few more weeks until the third trimester now - I can't believe I'm almost to the home stretch! I'm guessing that I'll be scheduling my glucose screening soon. My next appointment is January 22nd, so just a couple more weeks!