Halfway There

At times it feels like the past 20 weeks has flown by so fast...but then looking ahead at ANOTHER 20 weeks, it feels little slow. I think it just depends on how I'm feeling at the time. Even though I know you're all looking forward to another funny pregnancy rule/annoyance post, I don't want all my readers to think I'm a completely disagreeable pregnant woman. I'm actually quite pleasant. To quote Elizabeth Bennet, "Follies and nonsense, whims and inconsistencies, do divert me, I own, and I laugh at them whenever I can."

However I can say right now, I'm loving being pregnant. I love my baby bump. I love feeling my baby wiggle inside me. I love being amazed at the miracle God has brought into our lives. I love being able to protect him and literally house him. I love looking into Tyler's eyes and seeing how excited he is and how much he loves our little baby boy already. We're both already in love.


20 w 4 d

How Far Along: 21 weeks

Weight Gained: 6 pounds

Belly Growth: 21 Centimeters

Heart Beat: around 140 bpm

Size of the Baby: 13 ounces, length of a banana

Movement: Amazing. I felt his first little twitches and a kick at 19 weeks 4 days. I was on the beach in Kauai, trying to get comfortable laying on my stomach. So I dug a hole to put my belly in. I wish I could do the same thing on my bed! Well there was a rock on the bottom of my belly that was jabbing into me. I tried to move it a few times then gave up. Well apparently Peanut didn't give up because all of a sudden I feel a soft kick/hit. The rock must have been bugging him. After that I felt quite a few little movements. Tyler was playing in the water, so I was left to myself to marvel in this wonderment. Of course, my emotions took over. First I was very creeped out. EWWW was my reaction. THEN, I started sobbing happy tears. After a few minutes of that, I started laughing hysterically. I was so incredibly happy. The other people on the beach probably though I was going crazy. It was an amazing moment for me. I can't wait for Tyler to join in the fun.

Food Craving/Aversions: No cravings yet really...at least nothing out of the ordinary. I still can't drink coffee. It's okay, but I don't enjoy it and I'm a little scared of it. Chinese food sounds gross, so I just stay away. Other than that I've finally eating close to normal again! Yay!

What I Miss: Energy, eating completely normal, motivation, being able to walk up stairs without panting at the top-hehe.

Symptoms: The nausea is basically gone-yay!! I feel fairly close to normal again. I'm hungry a lot more, but I can't eat a big meal. I still have low energy, but better than the past few months. I'm starting to get too warm lately and uncomfortable. Other than that, I'm pretty much in that blissful time of pregnancy.

Best Moment This Past Month: Feeling Baby Peanut for the first time. Hands down. Also finding out from the 20 week ultrasound that baby seems completely healthy-praise God!

Other: We bought the stroller and carseat-yay! I feel so short next to the stroller though. I had a huge growth spurt in Kauai last week. I completely popped out while we were there.





Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God.
Job 37:14

Beginning of Wedding "Things"

With Bama's wedding coming up, we celebrated first with a bridal shower. It was a lot of fun and we had a great time celebrating Bama as a bride. We celebrated with yummy food and of course my mother's specialty fried ice cream, a few fun games (gag me), and a lot of quality time. I was able to shoot a video of Bret answering 20 questions. I had a great time putting the video together. Since it's all of Bama's and Bret's information, I'll let her post it if she would like to.

I of course didn't get any other photos besides the ones below. I was trying to save my memory card for Bama's version of the 20 question game. We made Bama a wedding dress from napkins, then forced her outside for a little bit in hopes a few cars passed by. Bama enjoyed it and Dawsen had NO idea what we were up to, lol.











Now were all speedily preparing for the upcoming nuptials. Updates soon!

Pregnancy Rules for Non-Pregnant People

I've seen a lot of lists running around pregnancy blogs, forums, pages, etc. They're so funny and true and had to repost.

Dear Non-Pregnant Person,
I hope you find these guidelines helpful in your interactions with pregnant women, as failing to follow them may result in serious physical harm. If you are thinking, 'surely she doesn't mean me' — then you should probably read this twice.

1. The appropriate response to a couple telling you they are having a baby is 'Congratulations!' with enthusiasm. Any other response makes you a jerk.

2. Through the wonders of science, we now know that babies are made ONLY by the mother and father — not grandparents. Unless the baby is in your uterus or you are the man that helped put it there, you may not ever use the phrase 'my baby'.

3. On the same note, unless you made the baby as defined in 2, the pregnancy, birth, and raising of the child are not about you. You do not have input. No one wants to hear your opinion unless they ask for it…

4. The body of a pregnant woman should be treated the same as any other body. You would not randomly touch someones stomach if they were not pregnant, nor would you inquire into the condition of their uterus, cervix, or how they plan to use their breasts. Pregnancy does not remove all traces of privacy from a woman.

5. Likewise, no woman wants to hear comments on her weight…ever. A pregnant woman does not find it flattering that you think she is about is pop, must be having twins, looks swollen or has gained weight in her face. Telling her she looks too small only makes her worry that she is somehow starving her baby. Making such comments invite her to critique your physical appearance and you may not act offended. The only acceptable comment on appearance is 'You look fabulous!'.

6. By the time we are 20-30 years old, most of us have picked up on the fact that the summer is hot. We are hot every summer when we are not pregnant. We don't need you to point out that we will be miserably hot before the baby comes. Nor do we need to know how badly you will feel for us because we will be pregnant during the summer and how glad you are that YOU will not be pregnant this coming summer.

7. There is a reason that tickets to Labor & Delivery are not yet sold on Ticketmaster. Childbirth is actually not a public event. It may sound crazy, but some women really do not relish the idea of their mother, MIL, or a host of other family members seeing their bare butt and genitals. Also, some people simply feel like the birth of their child is a private and emotional moment to be shared only by the parents. You weren't invited to be there when the baby was created, you probably won't be invited to be there when it comes out either.

8. Like everything else in life, unless you receive an invitation, you are NOT invited. This includes doctor appointments, ultrasounds, labor, delivery, the hospital, and the parent's home. You do not decide if you will be there for the birth or if you will move in with the new parents to 'help out'. If your assistance is desired, rest assured that you will be asked for it.

9. If you are asked to help after the birth, this means you should clean up the house, help with cooking meals, and generally stay out of the way. Holding the baby more than the parents, interfering with breastfeeding and sleeping schedules, and making a woman who is still leaking fluid from multiple locations lift a finger in housework is not helping.

10. The only people entitled to time with the baby are the parents. Whether they choose to have you at the hospital for the birth or ask for you to wait three weeks to visit, appreciate that you are being given the privilege of seeing their child. Complaining or showing disappointment only encourages the parents to include you less.

Sincerely,

All the Pregnant Women in the World

And then here are a few extra I found that made me laugh:

1. Do not take a pregnant woman's food.
2. Do not wake a sleeping pregnant woman unless it's an emergency. Emergency does not mean "I can't find my socks".
3. If she says "no thanks" to food or drink offered, that means NO. Please don't waive it in her face and ask "are you sure?" because you might get vomited on.
4. Never say the words "just wait" followed by anything negative. Ex: "Just wait until you're 9 months, you'll be huuuuuuge"
5. Always let a pregnant woman cut in line for the bathroom.
6. Don't stare at the belly like it's from another planet.
7. Never comment on what or how much she is eating. If chocolate cake is the only thing that doesn't bring nausea, we're eating it!!
8. Do not EVER EVER EVER touch a stranger's belly. We don't touch your husband's beer gut.

Love all of these. I especially love that you can hear the tone of annoyance in the authors writing, lol. One rule I saw said "you are better off not even breathing around a pregnant woman, never mind talking to her." Love it! Hope you enjoy them as well!!!

*Thankfully most of these rules have not be necessary during my pregnancy!

2011 Photo Shoot

Okay, enough with the narrating. I'm usually not a big writer on my blog, it's more about the life and happenings of Tyler and I. I leave the writing and bloggish-thinking to other Utah Mom's/Wives/Bloggers. They pretty much cover EVERYTHING! Also, we'll leave the pregnancy aside for now as well and get back to normal photo blogging.

In late February Tyler and I finally had photos taken. The last time was from our wedding photographer-we even did our own engagement photos. It was so nice to not have to worry about positioning, lighting, background, etc. and just have fun with my husband. Here are a few favorites of our photos.