22 weeks and counting

Does my belly make my ass look smaller?

22/23 weeks and we're into the home stretch. By my calculations, I have only 19/20 weeks left - barring baby delaying the event, of course.

As you can see, the belly is growing. From this picture I'm pleased to report that my disproportionate mid-section may have done the seemingly impossible: made my butt look smaller. Yes, it's time to find joy in the small things.

Other small things...

Heartburn: Check. Having never really had heartburn before (I know, lucky me!) I wasn't really sure what the acid burn in my throat was. After two days I clued in. (Ya think?)

Nicknames: Usually, the creation of nicknames for people and dogs is an organic process for Hubby and I - they just 'appear' out of regular conversation. For instance, my dog Frankie has MANY: Frankster, Meat Head, Doobie, Doobie-do, Doober, Boober, Boob, Boobie, L'il Doober, Blankie Frankie... I could go on but I'm sure you get the picture.

While eating dinner last night, however, we realized that the most creative we'd got with our growing spawn was "Baby". Ahem. So we decided to try and come up with one there and then. It wasn't exactly the creative brainstorming session to end all creative brainstorming sessions (probably the result of the location being IHOP on Senior Night). I think our final selection was "L'il D", somehow emerging from Hubby's last name, I don't even remember how now.

For some reason, Hubby seems to want to call the baby "Maybe". He thinks it's hilarious. I'm just not getting the joke and so far none of his lame explanations have been sufficient. Naming anything related to me with a word that suggests procrastination and indecision just goes against the grain of my very being. I tried for "Definitely" but he wasn't having any.

On this blog I've toyed with "Vixen Baby" but this seems a bit inappropriate if it's a boy and, anyway, it doesn't exactly roll off the tongue. Outside our little family unit "The Bump" and "It" seem to suffice in regular conversation.

So, "nickname" remains an unchecked box, I think... Thank God we found the real names easier to come up with!

Nursery: Almost done. Crib and changing table went up on Sunday. Purchased ceiling fan for installation this weekend. Still left to do: hem curtains, cut blinds, buy new door, buy side table, and add finishing touches like pictures and wall decorations. Will post pics when considered somewhat 'complete'. (As a sneak-peak, the pic of me above shows me in front of one of the walls in that room.)

Kicking: Yes. Lots now. At 2am this morning I woke up for no reason I could discern and changed positions. Unfortunately baby didn't seem to like the new spot I'd picked out for us and decided to let me know in no uncertain terms that I needed to choose again. The kicks/punches/turns or whatever they are, are definitely getting stronger and I can already imagine a day when they'll become quite uncomfortable (some already are) and capable of preventing me from sleeping. The kicks are also getting more frequent - or they're just getting stronger so I can feel them more often now, not sure which. Now baby seems to kick a lot in the morning when I sit down to work, kick whenever I'm driving or in a car, and kick when I sit down at night to watch TV. I'm just hoping I'm not having a "mini-me" - my mother gleefully reports that I only kicked whenever she was sitting or laying down. Worse news is that I was probably preparing her for my one-hour-a-day sleeping habits once born.

Bad Dreams: I'd heard that pregnancy could prompt uneasy dreams. That certainly seems to be true of me lately. Last night Hubby and I were running from a gunman who seemed to have taken a small casino (?) hostage. We ran into someone's house for shelter and they locked all the doors. But when I went to the bathroom, I noticed that the large window didn't have a lock and just at that moment the gunman removed the window screen and climbed through to take everyone in the house hostage. I was then gagged and hooked-up to a small explosive device in the bathroom, with a trigger tied to the handle, whereupon I woke up. (Not the 2am wake-up... that was later after several more disturbing half-dreams.) Anyone who can interpret that lot is definitely welcome to.

So, what's up with "L'il D"?

(Nah, not working for me either)

According to one of the million e-newsletters that populate my personal email, here is a quick update on baby's progress:

At eight inches and slightly over a pound, your baby is the size and shape of a small doll. (But then, you already knew that you were carrying a living doll, didn't you?) This week marks the beginning of some serious weight gain. Your baby's weight in the next four weeks alone should double (and you may feel as though yours is too).

You have probably heard your baby's heartbeat through a Doppler a number of times already (though you never get tired of hearing it), but by now you can also hear it through a standard stethoscope. What a heart throb!

Your baby's skin is reddish in color now because of the developing blood vessels underneath (remember, the skin is very thin still). It also hangs loosely from his or her little body at this point. That's because the skin grows faster than the fat develops. But don't worry. By the time your baby is born, he or she will be pleasantly plump and filled out — from chubby cheeks to chubby toes.

And thus concludes this week's update. Next ObGyn appointment is this Thursday, so we'll get to see if I have been successful in stemming the excessive weight gain from last month. Yup, really looking forward to THAT.

TTFN.