20 weeks... almost 21

Whoa. I thought I wrote another entry? Where did it go? Your guess is as good as mine. We did find toasted ravioli, at olive garden. It was wonderful.

So we are more than halfway done. Over the past few days The Baby (we aren't really sure whether or not we are going to call him by his name publicly or save it for a surprise once he's born, but we are pretty close on having the name picked out) has really amped up on the kicks. He moves so suddenly and so strongly sometimes that I see him move my belly out of the corner of my eye. Now if I lie down on my back and suck it in, only the stuff right under my ribs gets sucked in, my belly doesn't change. I'm not one of the lucky few to get by without stretchmarks, and the ones I have are steadily climbing and they itch. I have a $20 stick of belly butter my mom bought me at a boutique that is really all that helps at this point, it keeps it soft and moisturized. I feel him move all day now, and at night. Even when I'm distracted.

It's funny to look at the ultrasound pictures and to know that he's already bigger and stronger than he was over 2 weeks ago. He's 10 inches long or more from head to toe and that just seems so remarkable. He's actually beating up on the computer right now, he hates it when I rest the laptop on him.

My mom bought him some organic baby clothes from work the other day. I love getting stuff for him, and folding it and putting it away neatly until the March baby shower when I'll get it all out and wash it. It's so funny to look at them and think that in four and a half months there will be a wiggly little warm baby boy in them complaining at me for something. I always thought being pregnant would be the coolest part of having a baby, but as time goes on I wish it would just hurry up so I can meet him. I feel like I've known him forever and I'm anxious to see his face!

I might cut back my hours at work. They want to hire in someone else and wanted to know how I felt. I want MORE hours, but as it is by the end of the week I am done. This week I have not been feeling well, and today I had to go home.. Between work and my other responsibilities its hard for me to "keep up" with myself. I guess it's better for my body if I only work 3 days a week but I still wish I could work more. My hips and tailbone are not holding up well, my weight has caught up with me. I've gained a normal 10 pounds with this pregnancy but thats on top of the 40 pounds overweight that I was before I was pregnant. It slows me down, I feel really cumbersome and silly, none of my clothes fit for more than a few weeks. My feet swell up during the day and by the end of my measly 4 hour workday are so sore in my shoes. I hardly worked at all this week because I have been so sore, and tired, and sick. I think if I cut down to 3 days, I might be able to catch up with myself and get some energy back. We'll see, I'm not really looking forward to it.

I have a midwife appointment tomorrow. Probably nothing exciting. I am in need of a serious nap, so I'll update again a bit later.