Long Overdue Post #2-Munchy P Update
Right. So the other thing I've been meaning to post about is my one-trick pony these days-Munchy P.
I'm in my 21st week now-more than halfway through the pregnancy-which is weird (a word that I use way too often).
Here's a picture of me on the 18th, the night before our 20-week visit. I feel like in this picture, if you already know I'm pregnant, it's pretty obvious, but most people on the street wouldn't assume I am. I've taken to wearing tight clothes to make it more obvious because otherwise I feel like I look like I've just put on weight. (Among other things on my mind recently: new/old/changing/resurfacing body-image issues related to a lifelong physical and emotional struggle with my weight and watching myself get bigger for a really good, natural, healthy reason but still feeling like I'm failing at something because of the weight gain. Issues: we all haz them.)
Also, I need to remember to wear a dark bra with this shirt. It's thinner than I realize at the sides.
On the 19th, we had our 20-week visit, which included our anatomical ultrasound, where they look at the baby very closely, checking out all the organs for development and checking for defects or other warning signs. Good news: All of Munchy P's parts are exactly where they should be, appear to be built correctly, and are exactly as big as they should be for how old he is.
The tech took something like 87 still images of him but only printed out a few "glamour shots" for us-views of his little face. Honestly, most of the rest of the stuff she was looking at looked like various views of the StayPuft Marshmallow Man. We got a real treat (on top of the huge treat of just being able to see him for nearly an hour) in that as the tech was focusing in on his head, he raised his fist and started sucking his thumb.
One of the other weird things about the ultrasound is that my belly popped out immediately afterwards. I mean, on Saturday (10/16) I was at a party with Marc's family, most of whom had just learned of the pregnancy or hadn't seen me since the wedding, and nobody believed I was almost five months along. I was still wearing my regular old jeans, which I also wore to the ultrasound appointment. When I got off the table and got dressed, I could no longer button my jeans. My sister claims it's psychological, which may have some merit. I also feel like having someone lean on all the muscles in my abdomen for an hour probably stretched things out quite a bit. At any rate, in the space of an hour, I went from the picture above to something only slightly smaller than this, which was taken this morning (21 weeks, 3 days):
This week's progress is mainly having signed us up for birthing classes. Because of my age, I'm already in a group that is more likely to be induced and/or be delivered by C-section, and I'd really like to avoid major abdominal surgery if I can. From what I can tell, the best way to do that is to learn about how to do it naturally and practice a lot, with the partner, and have a doula present at the birth to help you both. (For the record, I'm not against epidurals or drugs for birth in general, and I may hit a certain point where I change my mind, raise my hand, and ask for my drugs, but I'm going to prepare for a natural birth.) So. Several months of childbirth classes.
Next I have to start registering for baby stuff, a task that I find even more overwhelming than the wedding registry because of the amount of research you have to do into most of the stuff that will go on the list. I also have to work out how to determine whether I'm having a shower-any advice on dropping a hint to the people likely to host (read: my mother-in-law)? I don't really want to ask anyone, but if it's going to happen sometime in the six weeks before the due date, invitations will have to go out in early December. Which, it's true, is a month away. Still.
Yeah. That's me these days. Nesting and stressing about nesting. Also getting used to having to sit down to put on my socks and pants.
Oh. And, yes, I do have a 20-minute presentation and a paper due Wednesday, and no, I haven't done more than save down the reading I'll need for both. Therefore, yes, that is how I'll be spending Halloween weekend. (Unless we go to a party Sunday night, in which case I'll be dressing up in the one nice dress that still fits me and roam the room with a candy cigarette in one hand and a martini glass full of Sprite in the other-I'll be Season 3 Betty Draper.)
ETA: Totally forgot an exciting Munchy P detail! I can feel him moving! I started feeling things that were probably him around 17 weeks, but they were really hard to differentiate from my lunch. Right around 19-20 weeks it became much more obvious to me that it was him, and this week he's gotten big enough that once in a while we can feel him from the outside, which is a) weird and b) especially exciting for Marc. Yay!
I'm in my 21st week now-more than halfway through the pregnancy-which is weird (a word that I use way too often).
Here's a picture of me on the 18th, the night before our 20-week visit. I feel like in this picture, if you already know I'm pregnant, it's pretty obvious, but most people on the street wouldn't assume I am. I've taken to wearing tight clothes to make it more obvious because otherwise I feel like I look like I've just put on weight. (Among other things on my mind recently: new/old/changing/resurfacing body-image issues related to a lifelong physical and emotional struggle with my weight and watching myself get bigger for a really good, natural, healthy reason but still feeling like I'm failing at something because of the weight gain. Issues: we all haz them.)
Also, I need to remember to wear a dark bra with this shirt. It's thinner than I realize at the sides.
On the 19th, we had our 20-week visit, which included our anatomical ultrasound, where they look at the baby very closely, checking out all the organs for development and checking for defects or other warning signs. Good news: All of Munchy P's parts are exactly where they should be, appear to be built correctly, and are exactly as big as they should be for how old he is.
The tech took something like 87 still images of him but only printed out a few "glamour shots" for us-views of his little face. Honestly, most of the rest of the stuff she was looking at looked like various views of the StayPuft Marshmallow Man. We got a real treat (on top of the huge treat of just being able to see him for nearly an hour) in that as the tech was focusing in on his head, he raised his fist and started sucking his thumb.
One of the other weird things about the ultrasound is that my belly popped out immediately afterwards. I mean, on Saturday (10/16) I was at a party with Marc's family, most of whom had just learned of the pregnancy or hadn't seen me since the wedding, and nobody believed I was almost five months along. I was still wearing my regular old jeans, which I also wore to the ultrasound appointment. When I got off the table and got dressed, I could no longer button my jeans. My sister claims it's psychological, which may have some merit. I also feel like having someone lean on all the muscles in my abdomen for an hour probably stretched things out quite a bit. At any rate, in the space of an hour, I went from the picture above to something only slightly smaller than this, which was taken this morning (21 weeks, 3 days):
This week's progress is mainly having signed us up for birthing classes. Because of my age, I'm already in a group that is more likely to be induced and/or be delivered by C-section, and I'd really like to avoid major abdominal surgery if I can. From what I can tell, the best way to do that is to learn about how to do it naturally and practice a lot, with the partner, and have a doula present at the birth to help you both. (For the record, I'm not against epidurals or drugs for birth in general, and I may hit a certain point where I change my mind, raise my hand, and ask for my drugs, but I'm going to prepare for a natural birth.) So. Several months of childbirth classes.
Next I have to start registering for baby stuff, a task that I find even more overwhelming than the wedding registry because of the amount of research you have to do into most of the stuff that will go on the list. I also have to work out how to determine whether I'm having a shower-any advice on dropping a hint to the people likely to host (read: my mother-in-law)? I don't really want to ask anyone, but if it's going to happen sometime in the six weeks before the due date, invitations will have to go out in early December. Which, it's true, is a month away. Still.
Yeah. That's me these days. Nesting and stressing about nesting. Also getting used to having to sit down to put on my socks and pants.
Oh. And, yes, I do have a 20-minute presentation and a paper due Wednesday, and no, I haven't done more than save down the reading I'll need for both. Therefore, yes, that is how I'll be spending Halloween weekend. (Unless we go to a party Sunday night, in which case I'll be dressing up in the one nice dress that still fits me and roam the room with a candy cigarette in one hand and a martini glass full of Sprite in the other-I'll be Season 3 Betty Draper.)
ETA: Totally forgot an exciting Munchy P detail! I can feel him moving! I started feeling things that were probably him around 17 weeks, but they were really hard to differentiate from my lunch. Right around 19-20 weeks it became much more obvious to me that it was him, and this week he's gotten big enough that once in a while we can feel him from the outside, which is a) weird and b) especially exciting for Marc. Yay!