20 Weeks

Again, I am a few days late on this post! I was in Las Vegas for my friend Amanda's Bachelorette Party this past weekend, so I am just getting around to posting about Week 20, which was actually last Thursday, July 31st.

This week...

Baby Bell is the size of a... banana - which just seems crazy big to me! Baby weighs about 10 ounces and measures about 6.5 inches. Can't believe we are halfway there!

My bump is... becoming more "real" every day. I can no longer sleep on my stomach - which is my favorite sleeping position - and sleeping on my back is becoming less and less comfortable. Everyone has been saying that this is the time to start sleeping on your side, but I just haven't figured out how to do that without having my whole arm go numb! Ah, the problems of a pregnant woman...

I have been feeling... pretty good! It seems that life has finally slowed down a little bit and the to-do list keeps getting shorter as items get checked of the list, which I am sure helps with my stress levels! We have another doctor's appointment tomorrow, during which I am hoping to see normal blood pressure levels. I am just hoping this feeling can be sustained as we go into a busy August and September!

I have been craving... nothing too specific lately - just whatever sounds good in the moment! However, the Z-Man sandwich from Oklahoma Joe's sure has been sounding good multiple days/weeks in a row...

Our favorite thing has been... there has been so many exciting things happening that I can’t choose just one. So here are three favorite things!

Two weeks ago, Michael's sister Emily and her family were in town for a week-long visit. We spent a lot of time hanging out with our nieces and nephews. It was fun seeing how excited they are about the baby - giving my belly hugs and kisses and talking about the baby. It just made me feel so blessed to know how much this baby will be loved - not just by Michael and I, but by our family and friends as well! Our niece Miriam has already drawn the baby multiple pictures and our nephew James is fully convinced that Santa will be "delivering" the baby via chimney on Christmas Day. He was sure to remind me that we do not want to have the fire going on Christmas Eve - otherwise the baby will be burned! :)

Over the past two weeks, Baby Bell's movements have become stronger - to the point where Michael is now able to feel some of the movements and kicks! It has been awesome getting to feel the baby move around several times a day. It is nice having a constant reminder that I am going to be a mom in just a few short months! It has also been interesting to track where Baby Bell "hangs out". The baby is usually on my lower right side, but I have noticed that when I am around loud noises (for example, this past weekend in Las Vegas), the baby burrows further down to try to "get away" from the noise!

On July 30th, at nineteen weeks and six days, we had our second sonogram, including the anatomy scan. It was so amazing to see how much the baby has grown since our last sonogram at 13 weeks! We were able to see all the different aspects of baby's little body, including the spine, the brain, the four chambers of the heart, the arm and leg bones, and the tiny hands and feet (pictures to come!). Essentially, everything about the baby was textbook - measuring the appropriate size and weight for this point in the pregnancy. Baby was in an interesting position during the sonogram - with the baby's spine up against my belly and the baby's head facing my back.  It was difficult to get a great profile shot, and even harder to see the sex organs. In order for us to find out the sex, we had to get the baby to flip around - which was apparently not on the baby's agenda for the day. After 30 minutes of prodding, massaging, and flipping over from side to side, the sonographer finally felt confident enough to share the sex of the baby, which I promise we will be sharing later this week!

There was one downside to the sonogram. The sonographer informed us that I have a low-lying placenta, which essentially means that my placenta lies low in the uterus. At this point, the sonographer couldn't tell if the placenta was just low-lying or if the placenta was partially or completely blocking my cervix - a condition called placenta previa. The hope is that as my uterus grows, the placenta will subsequently move higher in the uterus. However, if it it remains where it is at as my due date approaches there will be a lot of risks for a natural birth. Women with placenta previa usually deliver their babies before their due date by cesarean delivery. As I keep telling Michael, it is nothing to panic about yet. We are going to talk with my doctor more tomorrow and do another sonogram at 28 weeks to check on the progress.

We are looking forward to... moving into our new home! Michael and I have officially purchased a new home in Lenexa, Kansas and we are closing later this week! I am so ready to be out of our crammed apartment and have all of our things with us again! This will also allows us to begin thinking about the nursery - a decorating task that I am so excited for! Here is a quick preview of our new home - more photos to come!