Today I'm exactly 18 weeks. The baby is the size of a bell pepper and looks like a miniature newborn according to the iphone app that tells me about my growing belly.
I think it's pretty obvious I look pregnant by now but I definitely get that double check and hesitation to ask, as in is she just guzzling a lot of beer or... Second trimester feels better than the first but I'm still tired. Mainly because Collin has decided to wake up before 6am and then on other mornings my brain is just programmed to wake up early. I'm feeling more and more movement which is definitely my favorite part of pregnancy though it's still pretty sporadic at this point.
Keeping up with aerobic type workouts is getting harder. I've been having these fun Braxton-hicks contractions consistently for the past several weeks (practice contractions where your stomach expands as hard as a rock and feels pretty damn uncomfortable) so the doctor said to take it easy. Figure I'll keep running, just shorter distances with spurts of walking. Another fun thing about pregnancy is as I run my stomach pushes down on my bladder and it feels like I'm going to burst after thirty minutes. But I don't want to give up running until I know it doesn't feel good anymore . When you work so hard to get to the point where five miles is a breeze it kind of sucks to have to start over after pregnancy. I'm hoping my body remembers! I'm also trying to find time for a prenatal swim class and do a pilates DVD a couple times a week.
It may sound like I'm obsessing over exercise but if I don't work out I get stir crazy and mean (just ask Mike)! The voracious appetite is also taking over but I'm trying not to overdo it. No heartburn this time. Luckily most of the stuff I crave is pretty healthy--falafel, fruit, hummus, oatmeal, avocado. Ice cream and sweets don't really interest me. And to be stereotypical peanut butter and pickles are go-to snacks (sometimes together--don't judge).
We get the official word boy or girl in a couple weeks though we're pretty sure there was a penis in view at our last ultrasound and since Mike's genes don't seem capable of carrying anything but males we're expecting a little brother for Collin. I'm hoping maybe this baby will be a little calmer and more cautious than our daredevil but not holding my breath.
The realization has also hit that we're going to have to just deal with two kiddos in this house temporarily and wait until next spring to list. The bedrooms will be a little cramped but I know there are families that deal with way smaller living arrangements so we can't complain too much. Mike won't have to kill himself working to finish the house in the next month and we'll have more money in the bank so hopefully we can go for our dream house as opposed to settling. Right now we could most likely afford a brand new house in the burbs. But we're city dwellers at heart and inevitability we'll probably end up sticking around NE Portland but move to a nicer neighborhood with good schools. It's hard to imagine giving up all the restaurants, shops and quirks of inner-city life. We also have parks around every corner and lots of families. The downside of inner-city life is crime and gang violence are not too far away. And finding a brand new house in this area is almost impossible--I am not someone who romanticizes over the character of older homes but the only new houses around here seem to either be way above our price range or skinny infill lots with no yard. Overall, we're happy here. As long as we find an updated home in a neighborhood that Collin and his sib can play outside without me having to be a hawk it'll be all good.
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