20 Weeks

How big is baby: 20 Weeks | Banana
How I'm feeling: Pretty good. I spent most of my 20 weeks in Mexico photographing a wedding. Was still pretty sick leading up to leaving (also after delta overbooking us and being a day late) so I haven't worked out since early week 18 and I am feeling it! I got to get to the gym.
Weight gain/loss: I won't step on the scale till Wednesday as travel always messes with my weight. I also wasn't too shy at the resort with food, definitely stayed away from gluten but enjoyed tons of Fresh fruit, hashbrowns, decaf lattes. ***update stepped on the scale today Tuesday and it was crazy laughable and scary. REALLY hoping I level out by next week as this morning showed 17 total.  So taking this number as motivation to get to the gym daily even if it's just a 20 min walk!! Plus I really want to get my 12 times this month (I did for the first time ever last month)***
Stretch marks: None I have seen yet. Will be starting to add Aargon oil to my mix as I was gifted some!
Sleep: I slept amazing in Mexico except for the morning a lizard landed on my tummy and I promptly popped out of bed screaming. Leah thought I was hilarious. Me not so much.
Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Definitely still in love with sparkling water. Has lots of club soda with lime and cherries at the pool bar. (Which I paid for later.....read below)
Movement: Yes! Nothing consistent and some days much more than others but I feel him. I just can't wait for the consistency and for Matt to feel. We have been trying but when he puts his hand to my belly the movement stops. Same thing when I put my hand there.
What I'm loving: 1. That our nursery is taking strides!!! Matt painted and put up the crib (which finally came back in stock, praise The Lord) and we together today organized all the junk that was there. 2. Um, my swimsuit top from Bare Necessities . Where have you been my WHOLE life. I have never felt more comfortable in my life in swimwear, where I am normally worrying about my boobs falling out of my suit or the red marks I would have for a week from trying to tie them so tight! I bought my own target bottoms and I am so so so happy I found this top. Hoping it will fit me the rest of the way. I got it a little big, so hoping so.

Symptoms: Well I had my first run in with pregnancy heartburn the day we left Mexico and it wasn't pretty. I almost threw up multiple times and nothing really settled my stomach. I will definitely be cutting back on carbonated water and doing whatever I can to avoid that. I was extremely exhausted on our flight home also, and bending over in the evenings (as my tummy is bigger is getting harder)
What I'm looking forward to: Matt feeling him kick and movement in response to touches or sounds. I really want it to happen and I think it would be amazing to feel him more often.
Best moment of the week: Feeling great in my body. LOVING my belly. Especially without clothes on, just enamored by what happens to a woman's body while growing a baby. I didn't notice it till later in the week but what a joy it was to not have to worry about comparing my body to other women. Also sitting out in the sun this week was remarkable. I've never been a coffee gal but it was so great to meander over a decaf latte with my best girlfriend Leah. Knowing that there was no where else to be, no internet or calls to miss. That my friends is heaven. We were there for the perfect amount of time. So happy to be back to my hubby!
Verse that I am clinging to: This verse popped up in a weekly devotional I get and for the first time in a long time I was able to read it with confidence and joy. So many times during our infertility journey it was so hard to read this. I especially LOVE the excerpt that I quoted below. It speaks so much to my heart and how grateful I feel and how much of a gift we have obtained from the Lord. Praying that we get to meet this little man in July and hold him for many millions of days after that. But handing that hope and all my heart and fears over to Jesus daily has been my main objective these past couple of weeks.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it [a thorn in my flesh] away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. - 2 Corinthians 12:8-10. NIV

"He further reminds us that God doesn't desire us to be weak--he desires us to be strong and powerful. It's only by enduring temporary weakness through trials and tribulations that we arrive on the other side."

Photos: I can't believe we are half way! In a phase that a lot of Maternity clothes make me look bigger than I am now, but my normal clothes aren't long enough. Making it work with belts and cardigans I think. You'll see in the photos below, also I had to include a shot with the dress I wore in Mexico too. See that photo in my last post.

       | 20 Weeks and 5 Days |