Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Pregnancy Journal: Halfway









From 5 Minutes for Parenting

By Kelly

I’m halfway there.

No. Sorry. Let me rephrase.

I’M HALFWAY THERE! WOO-HOO!

Twenty weeks (almost 21) is a milestone for most of us preggos. We are amazed we’ve made it this far, and simultaneously freaked out that we only have 20 weeks (or less) to go. “Do I have diapers? Do I need to register? Have I cleaned my fridge lately? Are my spices alphabetized? How will I get it all done?!?”

This is also the time when the minor aches and pains of late-stage pregnancy start to enter the picture.

(I mostly said that to keep up the illusion for the first-timers. If you’re pregnant with number two or beyond, late-term woes probably kicked in around week 13. It’s part of the pregnancy game. After your first trip around the board, there’s no passing go, no more collecting $200. Instead, you turn the corner from the first trimester and go straight to Heartburn Jail.)

A collection of these physical symptoms might include:

- The inability to lie on your back without feeling like an elephant is sitting on your abdomen. It happens when your enlarged uterus presses on the largest vein taking blood from your legs back to your heart, which can leave you feeling lightheaded, dizzy and nauseous.

- The inability to get out of bed in the morning without groaning and rolling around like a pig in mud. It’s sexy, no?

- Consistent if not constant heartburn. At least Tums have calcium.

- An aching back, due to the utter disappearance of your abdominal muscles.

Or if you’re lucky, you get E. All of the above.

Still, 20 weeks is also a magical time. For 90% of women, morning sickness is gone. Our hair is thick and our skin is radiant. We’re showing. ("Hey world! Check me out! I’m growing a human!") And best of all, that little baby in there is moving and flipping and doing all it can to remind us of its presence.

I read a book last week that painted such a beautiful picture of conception – of the dance between cells and the holy mystery when they merge to form a new life. That new life is woven and spun in joyous darkness; only the One who is forming it can see its spark. And the this and the that slowly becomes a baby, a person, someone with a soul and a purpose and a heart to be loved.

Then they kick. And we, their mothers, feel the thrill of new, but still hidden, life.

I almost feel sorry for men, that they never get to wear a miracle.

Kelly blogs at Love Well. She's expecting her fourth baby - a boy - in May.

10 comments:

  1. The halfway mark is about the time I start to develop some, er, other bigger bumps. New bras are needed and it is a great time for the hubby. It is when I should give my man a little freedom because once I start nursing it is a hands-off zone for everyone except the baby.
    Seriously! The other night Princess was sleeping in our bed and wanted to snuggle. She put her head on my chest and I almost jumped through the roof. This morning Honey hugged me a little too hard and I had to squelch an ouch!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Somehow, despite it all, it leaves me wondering if I would maybe like to do that again.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Whoo hoo for you!!! I just hit week 19 so I am right behind you in this celebration.

    Had our Level II ultrasound today and found out we have a little girl on the way.

    Also - woke up last week with that familiar ache in the hips. Ugh. I feel like a Barbie doll that has had her legs pulled out and then only partly put back in. I kept thinking "So soon?" But I know that from here on out, this pregnancy is going to fly by.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I'm right behind you, at 19 weeks. Our ultrasound is on Monday, so hopefully next week I can comment with our results!

    I have been feeling the baby a lot lately. And I have also been feeling that I really don't want to wish this pregnancy away. It is such a special time, and it's the last time for us. Plus, the baby is sooooo easy to take care of!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Did you have your other babies late, on time, or early? What were the labors and births like? I love hearing labor and birth stories. I think I was relatively comfortable throughout most of the pregnancies, except the last one-I had every ache, my fingers got numb towards the end, had a hard time breathing when I would lay down-on my side only, but still. I was so ready for that baby to be born. She was due in October, and the song, "Wake me up when September Ends" was my theme; it seemed to always be playing when I would go to the grocery store, and I would think, "Amen!"
    You're going to make it!! The last 20 (or 16-19) weeks will go by SOOOO fast!
    And P.S. Go easy on yourself about alphabatizing the spices-I am sure your baby will not be reading them until he is at least a few weeks old. ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  6. E for me for sure! lol

    I loved this milestone, but hated it at the same time. I was uncomfortable from this point on, not a good time for me.

    I love reading this posts! It makes me itch for another sooner than later.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hey Kelly!
    I've loved reading your Wednesday posts on here, I look forward to it each week. I'm also 20 weeks along (due May 24), so it's been fun to follow you on your journey this time around. We have our ultrasound in the morning, so we are hoping to find out what gender this little gift is! We have a girl and a boy already, so it will be fun to see what we get this time. :-) Also, I'm close friends with Angie Osborne, and it's so fun the connection you guys made online so long ago! From the small amount I've read on here an on your blog, you guys seem so alike! Must be the great sense of humor, among many other things. :-) Blessings to you on the last half!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. The heartburn! I had none with Anja (or at least none bad enough to remember), but you're right--it's been almost constant with this baby. I can eat like 1/2 a cup of food and I am DONE. Or if I do eat more, I can count on it feeling like it's all lodged in my esophagus for the rest of the day.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The layout is what really caught my eye, then the i looked at the writing and i think you did a very nice job. Good work:)

    ReplyDelete
  10. I simply had to say thanks all over again. I am not sure the things I might have taken care of without the creative ideas shown by you about this area. Certainly was the distressing difficulty in my opinion, but being able to view a new professional technique you solved the issue made me to cry over joy. Extremely grateful for the service and as well , believe you know what a great job that you're accomplishing educating other individuals with the aid of a web site. Most likely you haven't got to know any of us.

    ReplyDelete