I’m 20 weeks today! It’s the “official” halfway point, even though I’ve been told to expect to deliver early, so maybe I’m over halfway. It kind of feels like I’ve been pregnant forever, but not in a bad way. And it feels like the rest of the pregnancy will fly by, so I’m trying to enjoy it, while also being productive because there’s lots to do!
Previous Updates
I’m Pregnant! + The First Trimester
At 19 weeks pregnant, baby girl is supposedly the length of an artichoke.
Symptoms
Okay, I give in. I am still really nauseated. It’s not all day like it was earlier in my pregnancy but in the mornings it knocks me out. I end up cramming a lot of my work into the afternoon to the extent that I have the flexibility to do that, and I just try to survive the mornings.
If I take aloe water, senna, and a stupid amount of magnesium, the constipation is currently manageable. It’s quite the regimen.
I have to pee all the freaking time.
My hands still smell weird to me.
The pregnancy brain thing is still happening. We got a big chalkboard for the office so I can brain dump all the things we need to do on it, since I can’t hold it all in my head anymore.
I’m still sleeping a lot, and now that includes some vivid nightmares. They wake me up, I calm myself down, and then the nightmares continue when I fall back to sleep.
I have a little bump. When I showed my mom, she asked me if I was sucking my stomach in. I was offended, because I physically cannot do that anymore. When I went to my cousin’s birthday party this weekend, several people said I don’t look pregnant at all. I’m a pretty small person and any weight I’ve gained still kind of looks like I just ate a little too much, so I get it, but I definitely have a little bump.
There is a chance I felt some kicks last night. I’m not confident that’s what it was, but it’s the first time I’ve even thought it’s possible.
Food
My diet is still pretty much my normal and we ate so well this week. In addition to a few meals out (Jack was at a bachelor party this weekend), dinners looked like:
- One-pot chicken cabbage bowls with sesame ginger broth
- Chicken tikka masala + rice cooked in bone broth + roasted broccoli
- Pasta with homemade tomato sauce (with added sautéed mushrooms + spicy sausage) + spinach + arugula salad
- Risotto stuffed peppers (with roasted garlic chicken sausage and no corn)
My grandparents gave me even more delicious produce from their garden last weekend. I used most of the tomatoes to make the tomato sauce and I still have peppers, cucumbers, and cabbage to use this week!
When I’m feeling extra sick in the morning, I graze on berries or watermelon, and I occasionally need a spoonful of peanut butter or something protein-y to tide me over till lunch. And I usually have some pre-dinner fruit or some of my grandma’s zucchini bread (she gave me more!).
Exercise
I’m continuing to follow the Expecting and Empowered pregnancy guide, so that covers three of my workouts a week. This week I added a heavier lift in, as well, just to see where my strength is at. I also have been enjoying long walks with the dogs when we go in the mornings before it’s a million degrees. I haven’t wanted to run much in the crazy heat and humidity of the last few weeks, though.
The heat doesn’t bother Ben. He has taken to flopping down in the grass when we get near the car toward the end of the walk.
He only does this when it’s time to leave the park and at my parents’ house.
Stories
Jack said one day this week was the first time he looked at me walking around and thought, “Oh, yeah, you look a little pregnant.”
