22 weeks

22 weeks
what's cooking? [new baby things]:  babe is about 11 inches long, about the length of a squash or bag of oreos and weighs almost a pound.  she has eyebrows, eyelashes and maybe some hair [if she's not a baldy].  if she does have hair it's white.  they don't get their hair or eye pigment just yet.  from here on out she's just supposed to be working on beefin' up.  i love that.  i especially love it since the ultrasound techs keep giving me pictures of your creepy skeleton face.  it's not your fault...you just need some cheeks already!  baby can sense what she touches now, so she's feeling all around - so fun.

gender: little bitty girl!

movement: still moving as much as ever.  i'm getting more daytime movements than ever before, she's normally such a night owl / early am shaker.  there have been a few more times where i can feel her moving in two places at once.  for the first time this week i felt her doing sweeping movements instead of just quick jabs.  and now i know when you're hiccuping i think, little lady!

momma developments: my belly button is facing straight upward.  it fills up just like a pool in the shower.  and my button is getting a little more shallow.  it started out so deep i never thought i'd have an outtie but we'll see how it turns out.  my belly is as hard as a rock, feels like steel.  i have had a few bouts with forgetfulness and with irritability.  hoping to keep my head for the next few months. 

total weight gain: 13-14 pounds.  definitely feeling bigger & kind of waddle-y.  its a little bit hard to bend over & putting on boots while standing is a real problem. 

maternity clothes: same as last week.  all maternity bottoms, mix of regular and maternity tops.  still able to wear some dresses from pre-pregnancy.  would like to get a few more maternity tops but long tanks are really helpful.

cravings: i'm pretty much wanting to eat all the time - even if i'm not hungry.  i find myself really wanting sweets. i know its wrong but i would eat 5 easter baskets full of treats if someone would let me, if i just happened upon 5 unsupervised baskets...hmm.

anything hard?
math.  ben and i were talking this morning and sadly i found out that i've been a month off in my mind of how far along i am. so i was thinking that 5.5 months didn't mean that i was in to my sixth month yet but in reality i'm half way through my sixth month and before long [2 weeks!] i will be beginning my seventh.  holy smokes.  very exciting for my weight gain plan [i thought i was getting really behind] a little less exciting for my to-do list which is growing daily.  so much to do, so little time!  i may be the only person in the history of having children to be confused by the weeks system and how that works out in real life but i must say - how embarrassing!

had an uh-oh moment about labor again.  you know where you remember - oh my gosh there is an actual person inside me and someday she's going to have to come out?  that is one scary moment.

this past week was really rough for sleep.  it wasn't your fault babe, i just wasn't very well rested. 

we're fixing up our house & the nursery soon.  being motivated to do things is really hard for me but i desperately want them to be complete so i'm just gonna push it.  and hopefully benny can help keep me on track.

never forget:

you kicked your grandma karen this past week and ginny & em.  they loved it.  ginny also sang you musical show tunes - right into my belly.  i think you really liked that.

this week i had my first stranger say something about my bump without 'knowing' i was prego.  at work i was carrying boxes for a customer and she said "oh no, you don't need to carry that, let me get that for you."  sweet woman.

me and your dad planned out the layout of your room on a little online site with all the dimensions.  i can't wait for you to have a place to live!  we are getting you new carpeting in two weeks too and i couldn't be more thrilled about that.  you probably won't feel as excited as me mainly because you're a baby but also because you'll never know how disgusting your current carpet is to appreciate it, but take my word - this will be a definite up-grade.  you can roll all over the floor and i won't want to hose you off afterward.

you went with me to see auntie jenna try on wedding dresses this week.  she looked beautiful and you kicked at your favorites.  i'm sure you'll have great taste.

i want you to have 500 headbands & girly hair clips.  i'm going to work on that.

uhhh, and uk is going to the final four babe!!  facing u of l.  oh my.  you're going to be cheering your little face off!

baby info sources:
baby center
parents connect
what to expect