19 weeks

This weekend we were up in the DC area visiting Erik’s family.  It was a short visit but it’s always great to spend time with them and we had a very nice trip.  It is weird to think that the next time that we will be there (for Thanksgiving) I will be 8 months pregnant and waddling around with a much bigger bump!  The next trip after that will have a car seat and tiny baby in the back.  At the time of writing this, we are only a few days away from the 20 week mark which is halfway though the pregnancy.  (insert deep, calming breath here as I try not to stress out about all the things we still have left to do before the big day!)  

19 weeks + 3 days

At 19 weeks the baby is the size of a mango, measuring 6 inches long and weighing in at around 8.5 ounces (so at least 0.5lbs of the 8 or so I have gained so far can be attributed to the baby!  hehe)  This week the baby is developing the protective coat of vernix which is often seen at birth as the white waxy stuff on the baby’s skin.  That coating keeps the baby from coming out like a wrinkled raisin from living in the amniotic fluid for all those months.  Nerve cells for taste, hearing, sight, and smell are developing in his/her brain this week as well.

19 weeks + 3 days

As you can see, the belly has definitely popped out quite a bit now and there is a noticeable change from just a week or two ago.  Knowing that we would be traveling this weekend and next, I made it a point to go out on my day off last week and pick up a few maternity shirts and a pair of jeans.  The belly band works for a lot of things but I have to say that right now nothing beats that giant stretchy panel of maternity pants.  If only all pants were this comfortable!  Fortunately not far from us we have an awesome upscale maternity and baby consignment store where I was able to score a cute pair of jeans for only $9.  I also went to old navy and found a few maternity things on their clearance rack.  I have a hard time paying full price for anything, let alone clothes that I will only be wearing for a few months time.

I am so happy to report that I am now feeling the baby moving!  This next part is going to sound crazy, but it is absolutely true.  One morning last week before we went to work, I had Erik have a talk with the baby and provide him/her with some encouraging words to start moving in a way that I could feel it.  It ended up as quite the humorous speech with him kneeling on the floor in front of me that went something like “hi little baby, ok listen up.  Your mother is a worrier and if you just give here a little kick here and there she will feel a lot better about your growth and development.  You will learn all this about her eventually but for now just trust me and help me out so your mom can relax a little....”  ;)  That very same day at work I had quite a few sensations of “bubbles popping” in my lower belly and was starting to become quite sure that those were in fact the tiny baby inside.  I know the baby can hear us at this point, but I guess he/she was also paying attention!  In the few days that followed I have definitely felt much stronger "thumping" sensations, usually when I am sitting down and most frequently in the morning or evening.  Before we left for our trip, both Erik and I felt the baby kicking from the outside and it was one of the best moments of my life.  The look on his face as he had his hand on my belly feeling a kick for the first time was something I will never forget.  I want to put that moment in a glass jar somewhere and keep it forever.

With how busy we are everyday, it’s often easy to forget to live in the moment and appreciate the little things.  But when I am sitting quietly and start feeling the baby move, it’s a wonderful reminder to just be present and do nothing except enjoy that very moment.  I feel so happy and so blessed right now, I really can’t even put into words how amazing this experience is. 

We are now home for three days before we head out for another road trip, this time going west for a few days at my parents house in the foothills of the Tennessee mountains.  Erik has a bike race not too far from them and we will all be there to cheer him on.  The baby will be cheering (and kicking) from the inside  ;)