My Pregnant Head.

"How are you feeling?"
"Oh, I'm awesome!"

"Any nasty pregnancy symptoms?"
"Nope! Feeling great!"

I sort of lie sometimes.  Because if I told people about my weird symptoms, I'm pretty sure they'd think I'm nuts.

I didn't have any of the dreaded morning sickness, so I feel like I really can't complain about anything.  But my mouth! My face! My head! You guys, it's been rough.

Thankfully, I've been seeing an amazing chiropractor who has helped me with my jaw issues.  That's all fixed up, and I'm so relieved.  But my mouth! My head! What the what?!

I'm not sure if I should blame hormones, or expanding blood vessels, or stress, or who-knows-what.  But some days, I don't even want to open my mouth to say words.

So I take Tylenol when I can.  And I use ice packs.  And every single morning at 2:30a when the Tylenol wears off, I whine my way to the bathroom to take another dose before I wake up too much.  Sometimes I take a shower and brush my teeth, because it helps.  Which is psychological, I know.  Then I come back to bed and lay there for hours.  And I think about things like wiggly teeth and sight words and nursery decor and why is this Tylenol not kicking in? And should I just get up and start my day?

So that's fun.

There's so much I want to be doing right now.  Cleaning out the office, which will soon be a nursery.  Finishing odd jobs around the house before baby arrives (or before I get too enormous to do odd jobs).  But I just can't do those things when I'm massaging my temples all day and laying with ice packs on my face.

At this point, you're probably all ready to send me meals and offer to clean.  Don't!  Really.  If you're going to feel sorry for someone, feel sorry for Jake.  He asks me a question, and sometimes my answer is "Ijusswantsomeorangejuice...".

And he's like "What did you just say?".  So I repeat myself - because, how can you not understand me?!

And he's like "Are you mad at me about something?" and I'm like "Nomyfacehuurrrts....".

He's the best.  He rubs my temples until his fingers are sore and almost bleedy (not really).  He asks if I want anything from the store before he comes home (just cherry 7up, please!).  He calls to check on me.  He tells me that he wishes there was something he could do, and he really means it.  You guys, I got a good one.  

So the next time you see me, and you ask "How are you, pregnant mama?!" - I will probably say "I'm doing great...couldn't be better!".  And it might be the truth....or it might not be :) 

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When are you due?!

March 9th! Which means I'm 20 weeks pregnant - halfway-ish there! My maternity clothes are getting lots of use these days :) If I wear regular clothes, I still just look extra-pudgy.  Or like I just gobbled up a whole pizza.  But in maternity clothes, it's pretty obvious :) In fact, one of Carter's nurses at the doctors office told me I looked 'tiny' for being this far along.  In my entire life, I've never - ever - ever - ever been called 'tiny' :)

Will you find out the gender?!

YES! In one week! Yes, we'll share it. This is the first tiny-baby on both sides of our family, so we know people are eager to buy cutsie blankets and things :) And I'm eager to set up the nursery and do all those fun nest-y things!

Are you doing any fun baby projects?!

I've got a couple easy sewing projects once we find out the gender.  And I'm working on a baby book (through iPhoto) every couple weeks.  I add things like names that we've been talking about, belly pictures, what/how the baby is growing during that week, and other pregnancy facts & stories. I'm also taking a few belly shots every so often.  Not, like, shots of liquor off my belly. But photos of my growing belly.  Which doesn't seem to be growing that much to me.

13 weeks vs. 19 weeks

I had a hard time choosing how I would take these belly shots.  I know myself.  I know that I'm not going to get dolled up every week to take a photo of adorable (or frumptastic) me, in front of a chalkboard.  I'm just not.  So I saw this silhouette picture somewhere, and thought it was perfect.  I don't have to do my hair or makeup - I can wear leggings and a tshirt - and I can do it whenever I feel like doing it.  So there.  Take that, Pinterest.  

Will you share the name?!

Nope! We are horrible, aren't we :)  So far, the names we like aren't all that common.  We just hate the idea of sharing our names, and having people say "That's HORRIBLE!" or "WHY would you name your baby that?!?".  It would probably sway our decision, and I want to pick a name that WE love.  We also know that if people see our baby in the hospital or sometime after birth, they will probably have the decency to keep their lips zipped about their opinion of our baby's name.  So the name will be a secret.  Which is kind of fun.  We (and everyone else) knew everything there was to know about Carter.  We even had a picture!  There were no surprises.  This time, we'd like to do things a little differently.

What does Carter think?!

It's hard to say.  He definitely talks about the baby.  Whether he actually understands that there is a baby in my belly is debatable :) I sometimes wonder if IIIII even understand what's going on! HA!  He will touch my belly, though, and say "Babyyyy!" or he'll say "Mom, dad, baby!".  Eventually we'll start preparing him for baby's arrival by using a dolly.  Honestly, we think Carter will be an awesome big brother.  He loves to help us, and I'm sure he'll love to help us with the baby.  

What gender are you hoping for?

We couldn't care less.  A boy would be so fun - two little boys.  Brothers.  I love the idea of brothers.  They would have a special bond, for sure.  And a girl would be so precious.  A boy and a girl.  Every little girl needs a big brother to look out for her.  I've always wanted to have a boy and a girl.  Truly, we don't care.  We're just thrilled to find out! 

Any other cravings or symptoms?

Well, my chin hairs are growing like weeds.  I just can't even.  If you want to really feel bad for me about something, feel bad for me about my chin hairs.  I haven't had any true I-need-this-right-now cravings.  But I do eat lots of cereal and orange juice.  I am also into peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  And pears.  Lots of pears.  Thankfully, a friend brought over a whole bag just this last Wednesday!  My usual desires for things like creamy pasta and comfort foods have only gotten stronger.  But I think I do a good job of balancing everything with lots of fruits and veggies (raw green beans!).  If my Grannie is reading this, and would like to make me the orange/grapefruit citrus salad, I'd be very grateful :) I've had a hankering for it several times over the past few weeks, but I hate the mess I make peeling & separating all those citrus fruits! I've had a few nights of nighttime leg cramps - but now they seem to have stopped.  Let's all hope that's the end of that! 

Have you felt any kicking?!

I felt the first kicks around 17 weeks, just one time.  Then a little over a week later, I felt it again during church.  And I haven't really felt it since.  But I've been a little crampy/achy (from all the stretching and growing going on), so I'm wondering if I'm just feeling that so much and not really feeling the kicks.  

So.  That's that.  You now know everything there is to know.

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I've got to say - I wrote most of this post over a week ago.  A few days ago, my mouth pain and headaches totally eased up and I feel like a million bucks.  I'm really, really, really hoping that I'm finally entering into the 'honeymoon' period of pregnancy where things are totally peachy, and I'm still not too big or too tired to feel good.

Bring on the second half!

One Thing I Know For Sure: Omigosh - I'm pregnant!