23 weeks

This past Friday I was officially 23 weeks pregnant with Baby Boy K #2.  Which means now, on Tuesday, I'm 23.5 weeks, and also 23.5 weeks late in posting any sort of weekly updates on this pregnancy.

Second child syndrome.

But in an attempt to keep some actual, decent records of this pregnancy, perhaps I should share some details of how things are going the second time around!

How far along are you? 23.5 weeks

How I'm feeling: Feeling great compared to the entire first trimester.  Some days I completely forget I'm pregnant, which is easy to do when chasing a toddler, cleaning the house, etc. etc.  I have a tendency to push my limits and try to tackle chores or pick up items way too heavy for my current body state.  But aside from the evening heartburn and the fact that I pass out on the couch no later than 10 pm every night - I feel great!

Total weight gain: Welllllll...at my last Dr. appt, just before we found out that baby #2 is a boy, I had only gained a total of 10 lbs so far.  Although that doesn't account for the fact that there were about 20 lbs of Nick weight that I still hadn't lost.  And it also doesnt' account for the EAT ALL THE THINGS! attitude and cravings I've been having this past month...so we shall see tomorrow.

Cool baby facts: This is the week where loud noises become familiar to baby in the womb.  So baby will be accustomed to sounds like the vacuum and dog barking when he is on the "outside".  I'm not sure this fact is totally true though.  When I was pregnant with Nick, I rarely vacuumed...yet he was all sorts of obsessed with the vacuum cleaner when he was old enough to recognize it.  Although, Whinnie did bark ALL the time while I was pregnant, and once he was born - and she still doesn't affect him.  She could bark into his ear while he's sleeping and it wouldn't phase him.  Hope that rings true for baby boy 2!

How big is baby? He is currently about the size of a large mango, according to baby center. 

Sleep: Aside from the last week of Nick being sick and sleeping half of the night in our bed - and coughing himself into vomit-fits, causing us to have to change the sheets at 4am - my sleeping has been great.  I'm up anywhere from 1 to 3 times a night to pee, but pretty much able to fall back asleep immediately.  And I'm most comfortable on my right side, even though they say it's best to sleep on your left.  So far the giant preggo pillow has not had to join us in the bed, but I have it laying on the floor right next to my side just in case I need any quick middle of the night support.

Maternity Clothes: I've been wearing maternity clothes since, oh, about the minute I peed on the stick.  I expanded ridiculously quickly this time around.  I'm still getting away with some non-maternity t-shirts, but did have to purchase a few summery maternity items seeing as I grew so fast and it was still so warm just a few weeks ago.  Fortunately most of my maternity wear from Nick will still work/fit for this winter.  Not so fortunately, I feel like so much of it is outdated and not my style.  Therefore, I've bought a few new staples and layering pieces to add to my wardrobe.  AND I finally bought maternity panties.  I'm not sure how I survived without them the first time around.  I totally get why there is a market for them.  Sadly I only bought three pairs, but I fully intend to add to that collection this week. 

Best moment this week:  The past few days have been a little worrisome.  Baby hasn't been super active.  I feel him move/kick a bit - and usually at the same times - but not frequently, and definitely not hard/swift kicks.  I read that at 23 weeks, baby still has quite a bit of room to move freely (and with judging by the size of my belly, I'd say that's VERY true).  But this morning, as I sat at my desk, he started kicking and punching so hard that my belly was vibrating.  I think he's finally making his presence known (aside from the presence he made known via first trimester dry-heaving). 

Movement: See below.  He's finally on the move.  Here's hoping he gives the tap-dancing on my cervix a break.  Oh, and that he stops using my bladder as a beanbag chair.  Having to pee the minute I stand up from the toilet is getting old.

Food cravings: Anything.  No seriously.  But I have been craving some Mexican food -- authentic, not Old el Paso tacos, hubby.  Oh and last Friday all I wanted was a plain bagel with plain cream cheese.  I got it, and it was totally NOT what I wanted.  Boring at best.  And I had a craving for candied crystallized ginger a few weeks ago, so I picked up some at Trader Joe's...and I've eaten about 3 pieces.  Just not what I imagined in my head.  Also, just like with Nick, this time around I can drink milk by the gallon - in a day.  First thing I want when I wake up is milk.  Between the two of us, Nick and I are bankrupting our grocery budget based on milk consumption alone.

Food aversions:  Nothing really.  Although weirdly enough, a few weekends ago when we went to Lake Anna for a friends engagement surprise, Todd made a huge batch of molasses cookies.  We had several leftover, and I wanted nothing to do with them.  Even ended up throwing out the stale leftovers - about 8 of them - just last night.  Even I feel like this is blasphemy.

Belly button in or out: My pregnant belly button is so ugly.  Like a giant crater in the middle of a bowling ball.  No, basketball.  Whatever...it's still in, but it's super unattractive.  You will never see me posting bare-bellied preggo pics.  Nobody wants to see that.

What I miss: Rare seared tuna.  Wine.  Not having to poop 6 times a day.

What I'm looking forward to: Getting my glucose test over and done with tomorrow morning.  I just have this weird fear that I'm going to fail.  Could be the chocolate ice cream I've been eating 3-4 nights a week.  Or could be the fact that I figure if I don't end up with pre-eclampsia this time around, I'll definitely have gestational diabetes.  But here's to hoping for the best, and NO complications. 

Randoms: The rash on my wedding ring finger that I developed while pregnant with Nick has now started up.  My finger looks like it was burned.  It's both heinous and itchy.  So for now, I've stopped wearing my rings.  Sad.  On a happier note, we are pretty certain we've settled on a name for baby boy #2!  But that's for us to keep secret for now...

 

Also -- I just realized I don't have a 23 week picture uploaded.  Will get one taken and add to this post soon.