Week 22: Papaya

Dear Bun,

You are almost 1 lb!  For the next few weeks, you will be around the size of a papaya or spaghetti squash, and will be working on putting on weight. You are starting to look like a miniature newborn now and are developing tiny tooth buds beneath your gums.  Your eyes have formed, but they don't have any pigment yet and are your eyelids are still fused shut. I still talk to you daily, and last weekend you got to hear your Grandma Retta and Grandpa Paul's voices too.  They can't wait to meet you!

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and I could not help myself from thinking about next Thanksgiving and how you would be with us then. Your dad will probably be sneaking you bites of turkey and autumn pudding, maybe some pumpkin pie too.  We have so much to be thankful for bun, but right now, I am thankful for you.  For your health (so far), for your kicks, for your hiccups that I feel every now and then, and thankful that in a few months, I will be able to hold you in my arms.

Love you,

Mom

P.S.  Here we are, I managed to get Morgan in one picture and I dragged your dad into the other one :)  I hope you like to have your picture taken more than he does.



Week 21: Banana

Dear Bun,

Here we are at 21 weeks, we are now at the point where we are counting DOWN until the due date!  As for your weekly development, you are now swallowing amniotic fluid and can taste a difference in what I eat.  Bun, this is perfect timing because this week is Thanksgiving, so at least you can enjoy it a little too :)  I have heard that what I eat forms your preference for certain foods when you are older, so moms that ate lots of spicy foods, have kids that like spicy foods, etc.  It will be interesting to see if that holds true for you too.  You are still moving alot and quite active.  Your arms and legs are finally in proportion so your movements are becoming more coordinated.  I still feel you move throughout the day, but John has not been able to feel from the outside yet.

Last week, we cleared out the room we had planned for the nursery, but once I got everything out of the room, we realized that the furniture we have picked out will not fit, so I had to switch everything over again on Monday night.  This way, you will have a bigger room, so there will be more room to play on the floor when you are older, and the furniture will fit better.  Speaking of furniture, we made our first big nursery purchase today, we got a rocker/glider for the nursery.  I am excited to rock you and start reading to you.  Your grandmother (my mom) was a reading teacher, so I think I inherited a love of children's books from her.  I am excited to start building your book collection.  When I was little, I had so many books, but I made my mom read the same one to me every night: Goodnight Moon.  I will get a copy for you so we can see if you like it as much as I did!

I had to take my weekly bump pic in a different spot this time because it was dark and the lighting in the front room is bad.  Right behind me are 2 bedrooms, yours will be on the right, and the guest room will be on the left.  Your room is still empty now, but I will share pictures when everything comes together.

Love,

Mom

Week 20: Cantaloupe

Dear Bun,

We are halfway there!  This week, you are about as big as a cantaloupe!  Your major develpments are that your genitals are fully formed and you have started producing poop.  That's right, this week, I learned that you are producing "meconium" which is a by-product of digestion, and will be the first thing we find in your soiled diaper.  Can't wait for that one.

You have been moving around so much lately! I was resting with my hand on my stomach the other night, and I even felt you move from the outside! I have still been feeling great. So far, pregnancy seems to be agreeing with me.  I have been reading "what to expect when you're expecting" and every week, I read about something that pregnant women may be experiencing at that time, but I have yet to experience any of the horrors that you read about (stretch marks, skin tags, morning sickness etc) I'm not done yet of course, but am happy with the way things are progressing.  I have gained 13 lbs so far, and am wearing maternity clothes all the time.  I even had to go buy nursing bras this weekend because my stomach has not been the only thing growing!

I have been working more on your nursery and started picking out paint colors.  I think the walls will be blue.  I have selected some of the furniture, and your dad is helping me tape everything off so we know how it will fit in the room.  I'm a big planner like that.   

As far as eating, I have started eating red meat again.  I made beef stew today and it tasted so good, it has been about 2-3 months since I have been able to think about red meat.  The biggest thing I miss (shockingly, it's not beer or wine) is deli turkey.  I think the first place I am going to go after you are born is Jersey Mike's to get a turkey sub!  I eat peanut butter or peanuts alot, and I was nervous after reading the study that came out last week about the link between peanut allergies and mom's that ate peanuts while pregnant.  I asked my doctor though, and she thought it was inconclusive, so she told me to keep on with the peanut butter, YES!

I still crave fruit, hot chocolate/chocolate milk, and cheese alot.  I have lots of aversions too, but they seem to change depending on the day, nothing really consistant.  I still have to carry snacks (usually nuts or crackers) with me all the time, because I will go from not being hungry at all, to needing something to eat right then.  Usually, as long as I have something in my stomach, we are both happy :)

Week 19: Mango

Dear Bun,

We are almost halfway there!  This is week 19 and time has been going by so quickly lately. I could not find much exciting about week 19 except that your sensory development is being perfected now, and you are developing a waxy coating on your skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.  I guess that makes sense, I can't imagine what my skin would look like after sitting in a bath for 9 months! I have been talking to you alot since I read that you can now hear and recongnize our voices.  Sometimes, I accidentally slip and call you Morgan, sorry about that.  We have a name for you that we are 95% percent sure on, but we are not sharing it yet just in case we change our minds since we still have some time. 

Here I am at 19 weeks.  I took this picture on Saturday because I was cleaning out your future room and thought my bump looked especially big in my yoga pants.  I was really productive and got everything out of your room and closets, so now I can start shopping for furniture.  I ordered your bedding last week, and it came in and we both love it.  I can't wait to see how it all comes together.  I am feeling good, but my back has been hurting alot recently.  John tells me it's because I need to sit down and relax, which is very hard for me.  I am also trying to switch from sleeping on my back to sleeping on my left side since that is what is recommended.  It's hard though, I haven't slept much the past few nights because I am trying to get used to it!  Also, I guess I am starting to look like a real pregnant woman now... the past 2 days, I have had complete strangers ask me if I was expecting which I think is a scary thing to ask someone if you are not sure! 

Love you bun!

Mom