Pregnancy: Week 19 and 20 – The Halfwayish Point

The past two weeks have been pretty chill in pregnancy land. Well, they were. Then I realized that I’m at the halfwayish point, and I’m starting to freak the flip out.

In 20ish weeks (I keep saying “ish” because you never know when a baby is going to make it’s debut), I’m going to have a brand-spankin-new baby. One that eats, poops, cries, sleeps, doesn’t sleep, drools, coos and everything! Batteries not included. No refunds, rain checks or exchanges.

On the one hand, I can’t contain my excitement. There is going to be another tiny person in our home to love and care for. Bring on the booties and binkies!

On the other hand, are you kidding me? I only have 20ish weeks to get ready for Deuce! I only have 20ish weeks to get our home ready for an infant. In 20ish weeks I’m going to be in labor. In 20ish weeks I’m not going to sleep through the night for many moons. In 20ish weeks I’m going to be a mother of two. In 20ish weeks I’m going to be feeling very bovine. Like I said, flipping the freak out.

Excitement over binkies and fears of labor aside, the past two weeks have been pretty easy going.

Deuce is still not performing for Steve or Moanna. Steve has only felt Deuce move once, and I’m pretty sure Moanna has never felt Deuce. Perhaps it’s a coinsidence. Perhaps Deuce is shy. Perhaps Deuce doesn’t like people in his/her space. When I feel Deuce wake up for a little stretch and exercise, I’ll tell Steve. Steve will place his hands on the bump, and Deuce freezes. I picture Deuce having a jolly good time, and as soon as he/she feels someone else’s hands on my belly, he/she freezes and goes “Can’t someone ever get some privacy around this place? Who is that? How do they know I’m in here? And what do they think they’re doing on my turf? Maybe if I’m really still they’ll go away.”

Do you remember the “It’s 10:00PM. Do you know where your children are?” commercial? Well I know exactly where Deuce is at 10:00PM. Every night around 10:00PM without fail, Deuce wakes up for evening playtime. I have a feeling this kid is going to wake up nightly for a 10:00PM feeding because for weeks now, a 10:00PM session hasn’t been missed. You would think with that kind of predictability, that Steve would be able to feel this kid kicking around in there.

Speaking of movement. I keep getting stuck in certain positions. My hips and tail bone are not happy. They hurt like woah, and without warning, they lockup and I get stuck. When I try to move pain shoots through my lower back and legs. If someone isn’t around to move me, I’m stuck in whatever awkward freeze frame position my pregnant butt feels like sticking me in. This happened with Moanna, but much latter into things. I’m sure my midwife will recommend I see a chiropractor, an adjustment will fix me right up. I really can’t afford a chiropractor and I’ve heard that once you start seeing a chiropractor you have to keep going or things get worse.

For the past week or so, my appetite is out of control. Throughout the day, I’m still not eating a whole, whole lot. I’ve never been much of a daytime eater. However, when nightfall comes, I turn into a vacuum. I can eat a big dinner, and before I’ve even gotten up from the table, I am ready to eat another full meal. I resist the urge to be a total pig until about 10:00PM. 10:00PM seems to be a theme here. at 10:00Pm the pig comes out and eats several snacks and desserts. I’ve been able  remain poised enough to not send my poor husband out in the middle of the night for grub runs, but I can’t promise I’m going to be able to hold out much longer.

Before we part ways today, let’s talk about sleep. Here is my sleep pattern. I go to bed and then I lay there. Forever. Then I lay there some more. Finally I fall asleep and it’s time to wake up and pee. Then I go back to bed, and lay there. Forever. Then I finally fall asleep. Then I have bizarre dreams (thank you wacko pregnancy hormones). Then I wake up enough to realize it was a dream. Thankfully I fall back to sleep immediately. After that, sometimes I am good until morning. Sometimes the dream returns, and I have to wake up again. Sometimes I get stuck in the dream cycle where I keep returning to the dream and keep barley waking up, but I can’t wake myself up enough to get rid of the dream. Totally uncool and freaky. When morning finally comes, I can’t wake up. I seriously can’t wake up. It takes me an hour or more to wake up and stay awake. It’s like trying to wake up from surgery only you don’t have the hyper active nursing helping you along with rough sternum rubs and shoving gingerale in your mouth. Imagine trying to wake up from surgery without someone to help bring you back to reality. Once my feet hit the floor, I’m good to go, but getting there is no easy task.

Now let’s play a fun guessing game. What are Renee’s crazy pregnancy dreams about? I’ll reveal the saucy truth in a future post.

Weeks 17 and 18
Week 16
Months 3 and 4
Month 2
Month 1
We’re Having a Baby!

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