Twenty-One Weeks

Well, what's happened this week? I've started to have some of the discomforts of pregnancy. It's getting a little harder to bend down to put my shoes on. I've got the "crunched up" feeling like I'm slumped over, but I'm not. (You'll see in my 20 week photo to the right that my belly is starting to grow above my belly button, and not just below.) I keep trying to stretch out, but it doesn't seem to help! My hips have been hurting...I'm thinking that's them doing what they're supposed to be doing as they grow and spread. And sometimes my abdomen is just sore and uncomfortable, like it needs an ice pack or a hot pad. Jon likened my aches and pains to growing pains, which if you've seen him you know he's familiar with! I'm glad he understands, because even I have started to get annoyed that I grunt every time I pull myself out of a chair. :)

The other day I had Fun Dip on my mind. You know, the packet of flavored sugar that you eat with a sugar stick? They're so great. Anyway, Jon was heading to the gas station to fill my car up before I went into the office the next day. As he walked out, I asked him to bring me back some Fun Dip! Woohoo! Well, 30 minutes later he's still not back! Finally he calls and says, "I've been to two gas stations and the grocery store, and I can't find any Fun Dip!" He sounded so dejected. Here I was with a random wish for a random food--don't know if I would call it a craving because, as I've said before, I'm pretty spontaneous in my food desires anyway--and he can't help me! He said as he was staring at the candy aisle in one of the gas stations, a guy came up and said, "You must be here for your kids." "No, my wife," Jon said. "Is she pregnant?" was the man's response! How funny is that!

So, no Fun Dip for me. My friend Cliff had told me earlier that day that he used to make his own Fun Dip with Kool-Aid and sugar, so I tried it with lemonade and sugar. Eh...not the greatest, but it had to do.

I've quit weighing as much, since my scale seems to be way off. The last time I weighed, it said I was back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Well, looking at the belly photos, I think we can all agree that can't be right!

Oh, a random thing that some people don't know about is veins. The amount of blood in my body has increased dramatically, and all my veins have dilated to accommodate the greater blood flow. Sounds like something I might never notice, but au contraire! I'm thinking that my headaches might have been linked to that, because perhaps the vessels in my brain hadn't expanded, yet. Also, blue blood vessels are much more prominent, especially across my chest, where it looks like a road map of Texas. And I've also got spider veins in random places. Supposedly all these things will go away after pregnancy. We'll see!

Caleb is still lively and kicking away! Jon's felt him a couple times, now, which is really cool. The other day he e-mailed me and asked, "How's my boy?" That made me feel good. Jon has a little boy, even though he can't hold him, yet, or love on him personally. He already loves him, despite that.

Caleb is about 12 ounces and 10.5 inches long. So, since last week, he's only gained 1.5 ounces and half an inch. I'm waiting for the time when he catches up to the cats. I wonder if he will, though, since they're growing, too, and should be about full-grown by the time he's born (so about 10-12 pounds). Whoo, I hope he doesn't keep up with them!! It would just be cool to have a visual. "Look! Here's my cat. He's the size of Caleb!" I know, that's probably weird. But it would still be cool.

Sidenote: The belly pics in the sidebar will only run through three times now, so it will end on the most recent picture. I don't have a whole lot of control over what it does--I can decide how long each photo is up, and how many times it loops--but if anyone has a preference, let me know.