Sawyer giving Avie a poke. Yes, my belly is lopsided - all three of my kids favored the right side and have stretched it out!

It's official - I feel huge. Not just in my belly but everywhere. My back fat is growing, people. UGH. I wish I could be one of those women who stays stick thin and gains 15 pounds her whole pregnancy, but I'm just not. I have such a huge appetite and I figure if I'm hungry, the baby must need the nutrients, so I eat. I gained 60 pounds with both of the boys and easily lost it each time, so I'm trying not to stress over it, but I still hate blimping up in the meantime. I fully expect to start getting the "Oh my GAWDDDD are you SURE it's not twinzzzz?!?!?!" comments soon. My belly is all baby, just like it was the last two times. I have to say, I love the way I carry my babies straight out in front.

Other than that I'm feeling pretty good. Trying to keep my activity level up, although I don't always have a lot of energy. Having two whirlwinds running rampant all over the house helps with the activity. Heartburn is worse than with Beckett but not as bad as with Sawyer. I'm feeling the baby move a lot more these days, mostly down low and to the sides. Not a lot of activity above the belly button yet. She was hanging out head down with her back to my right side at my last appointment so I think a lot of what I feel is a kick from her feets on the left which bumps her body into my right. It's total cuteness.

I broke down and bought some maternity pants over the weekend. Up until now I'd just been wearing my regular jeans with a Bella Band over them. It was a nice boost of confidence. But the zipper was starting to dig in and the ol' hips were getting too wide, so I went for a pair of these from Motherhood. HEAVEN. So freakin' comfortable, seriously. On the shirt front, I'm still wearing normal ones. I hate maternity clothes with a passion. The tent look is so not me. Luckily, long shirts are in right now. I snagged a few from Rue 21 that I'm pretty sure will last me my whole pregnancy because they're so freakishly long. Then after the baby's born I can just dry them on high to shrink them up. Yay recycling!

I'm having a lot of trouble getting around already, which I guess is to be expected with this being my 5th pregnancy, 3rd to make it past the first trimester. My hips ache horribly after laying down for any length of time, and the pain in my pubic bone is excruciating. It feels like it's splitting in half when I stand up. Probably the early stages of SPD, which I luckily escaped the last two times. I need to bring it up with my midwife and maybe start seeing a chiropractor. Because with 16+ more weeks to go, it's certainly not going to get any better on its own, and I'd prefer not to need a walker complete with tennis balls before I birth this kid.

My dreams are becoming more and more vivid as the weeks go on, as well as incredibly twisted most nights. I dream every single time I fall asleep, even after getting up to pee in the wee hours of the morning. Which means I have 2-4 dreams per night. Most are nightmarish and leave me not wanting to fall back asleep. Should probably discuss this with the midwife as well. I'm hoping there's an extra supplement I can take that will help.

Next update: 28 weeks. Getting closer!

With pregnancy comes increasingly vivid and strange dreams for me. Last night? Avonlea was born with 12 teeth. Practically a full set. Adorable newborn baby, 8 lbs. 15 oz., light fluffy blonde hair, nice pearly set of chompers. Let me just say that I'm glad I don't feel pain in my dreams, because this baby did not know how to refrain from biting while nursing.

I woke up and went, "Phew, THAT was weird. Thank goodness that doesn't really happen. One or two teeth, maybe, but not 12." And then I Googled it.

Also in the same dream was a 48-hour labor. I'm thinking I'd rather have the toothed newborn.

Today marks 20 weeks. And I have quite the bump to show for it.



Have I mentioned how much I love pregnancy? The ability to eat a huge meal and not worry about sucking your gut in afterward. Can't beat that. Okay, so that's not the only reason I love it, but it's a nice perk. I also love not having to visit an OB and step on a scale that measures 10 pounds heavier than my home scale.

The nerve and joint pain, I could do without - experiencing that already this time around. But I'm finally feeling Miss Avie move on a regular basis, which is fabulous. I love it so much. I felt her from the outside for the first time a couple nights ago and it just made me smile.

Time is flying for me with this pregnancy. Which means my belly seems to grow at supersonic speed. Seriously, where did this thing come from?!



I love it though. Pregnancy is really the only time I feel truly and completely sexy.

A couple days ago, I received a sample package from Luvs containing one of their cute little BLues Clues diapers. I'm a Luvs girl, so I was like, "Sa-weet! Free diaper for my giant kid!" (Because you know the size 6 - which BOTH my kids wear - has the least amount of diapers in the box. NOT fair.)

Well, this was no size 6. Not even a 5 or a 4. It was an itty bitty, teeny tiny size ONE. Aside from wondering how the gods at Luvs could know I was baking a wee little thing that could fit into that size, I marveled for a good five minutes that OH MY GOD - I am going to have another baby that fits into that size. Size 1's are so tiny, people. And tiny equals disgustingly cute.

DH does not believe that either of our chub monsters ever fit unto a size 1, and I had to assure him that they actually started at the size below that - newborn. I have a hard time believing it myself.

Up until now, it has not really seemed real that I'm having a baby. I'm in that in-between stage of having a little bloat-belly but not feeling any movement or getting many "when are you due?" comments. Not even having a doppler at home to spy on the little nugget every now and then has made it much of a reality. But seeing that tiny little diaper that fit into the palm of my hand made me catch my breath.

Holy crap, guys - I'M HAVING A BABY.

And this, my friends, is evidence that I will be able to be seen from space by July 2009. I will be my own friggin' country if I keep growing at this rate.

I had been happily gloating that I wasn't getting poochy at all, up until around four days ago. Then THIS THING popped up out of nowhere. Hey there, ten weeks and four days old fetus.