Pregnancy 2: Week 19!

Hello everyone!  Sorry it's been such a quiet week. I've been keeping busy playing and playing and playing with Tenley mostly, plus doing a little painting and crafting on the side. I love fall. More than anything. And I'm so happy summer is ending because, quite frankly, being pregnant in the summer isn't that fun when you can't do a lot of the stuff you typically do...even just jumping off a dock into the water is a no-no when you're growing a baby. I do kind of miss (but only a tiny bit) having the freedom to do things a little more recklessly. 

But besides that, let's be honest, fall is the best! I love the changing colors outside, the temperature changes (and the resultant wardrobe changes to be sure!), the change in foods (hello pumpkin bread and MORE hot chocolate (since I have it all the time anyway;), cider, apples, pies, yum), and of course the welcoming of holidays. I don't know why, but I actually really like Halloween. I was never really into it when I was younger, (I mean, I trick-or-treated and stuff, but I basically chose the easiest costumes possible like a farmer or a black cat or a Pink Lady most years) and even though it's basically pointless, I enjoy having a day to dress up once a year. Especially being married, I like having an excuse to dress up with Dalin and Tenley. I think I also like Halloween because it gives me something to look forward to in the fall, and it's closely followed by Thanksgiving and Christmas, which I love even more! All around, it's a great time of year:)

And so far, being pregnant in the cooler weather is awesome. My sweaters (which I have a decent collection of) look a little more lumpy on me than I'd like with my belly, but I'm figuring out some new ways to wear them. And I guess it's okay to look a little lumpy in the fall. It's a cozier time.

As you can see, I'm not wearing a sweater here and my baby belly is holding it's own pretty well. I think it looks smaller now than it did a couple of weeks ago and I did lose a few pounds so I guess that's why (I went from 96 lbs at one appointment to 106 to 103, so...darn about losing weight) but going from hearty home-cooked meals with your family back to poor college student meals will do that to you. I'll tell you one thing, I certainly miss eating steak and lobster every other night...

I think it must be boy season starting this fall, because it seems like everyone who is having a baby after October is having a little guy! Tenley was definitely born during girl season (I can think of over a dozen girls who were born within a month of her!) so it will be interesting to see what happens next time around! Baby boy is apparently the size of a mango (though his kicks definitely make him feel more like a cantaloupe), and he seems to be doing wonderfully. I feel lots of movement during the day, before bed at night, and also in the morning before I get up. The other morning, he was right at the surface of my belly (if I had had my contacts in I bet I could have seen a little outline, he was pressed so tight to the surface) and so my belly felt very hard with him right there. I patted his little body and enjoyed him snuggling into me as long as I could until he moved away. Like most babies in the womb, he gets the hiccups quite often and even though it's kind of cute, it's also frustrating that I can't do anything to help him get rid of them. Plus, they kind of feel like a little twitch inside me that I can't stop so it gets a little distracting. 

Check out how flat my belly is on the surface. I was not like that with Tenley at all. If my body is consistent in future pregnancies, I might be able to guess the gender based on belly shape alone! Tenley was much higher and rounder. It is still weird to feel how noticeable that flat spot is. 

I love this boy. He might become a momma's boy just because I already feel so protective of him. Tenley is currently a momma's girl now and she always wants to snuggle with me, which I absolutely love, except I don't want her to feel any jealousy once her brother is here when I'll have to give him a little bit more attention. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. I'm sure Tenley will continue to change and develop a lot in the next four and a half months! That sounds so short a time to me! 

Anyway, I love being pregnant. It's easier to say that being in the second trimester which is notoriously easy for me but this time has been so much less stressful not having to look up every little thing that is going on with my body. In fact, I think the only time I opened my mommy books was when I first found out I was pregnant and looked up in "What to Expect When You're Expecting..." what to expect in pregnancy the second time around. So far, everything has been pretty much the same as with Tenley so I'm feeling so happy and blessed....I am praying my delivery will be a little quicker, but I doubt I can top pushing for four hours, so I think it'll be fine. At any rate, yesterday I stepped back into my maternity jeans for the first time this pregnancy and though they're a little loose from being stretched out with Tenley (and by my thighs, which were huge last time and probably will be again by the end), they are so very comfortable and I wish I had like five pairs in different shades. Dalin actually ordered these for me last time and they are easily my favorite maternity pants. I love that they look like normal jeans. 

K, well, that's pretty much what I have for you now. My nose is ultra-sensitive still (our trash can is outside haha) and my bladder is ultra-tiny (annoyingly so), but all in all, I can't complain. I am hungry though, so I'll have to save anything else for another post. 

Although real quick, check out this little tiny who fell asleep next to her mum and sleeping little bro as I was typing this. This girl is my favorite.

If you're pregnant for your second time, what changes are you experiencing? 

If you're pregnant for the first time, I wanna know how it's going! (You can even tell me anonymously if you haven't told anyone else you're pregnant yet;) I won't tell. And I LOVE talking about babies and pregnancy, so I'll be really excited for you. 

If you just have a comment or question about pregnancy, I'd love any of those, too! 

Wishing you all blissful pregnancies (and easy labors;),