Baby Bump: 23 Weeks!

Date: May 16th, 2011
How Far Along: 23 weeks!
Size of the Baby: a large mango
Maternity Clothes: all maternity pants and a mix of maternity and regular tops and dresses
Gender: a GIRL! Brynley Alison (Alison after my middle name too)
Movement: lots of movement all throughout the day. I notice her sleep and wake periods-morning after meals or snacks, and sometimes the middle of the night after I've awakened to use the bathroom or to turn on the other side she will then wake and start moving around.
Sleep: some days are better than others as far as sleeping goes. I still toss and turn a lot during the night and have pregnancy insomnia, not all the time but at least once or twice during the week. I have noticed I am getting a lot more tired by the end of the day too!
Cravings/Aversions: cravings would be chick fil a chicken nuggets with a diet lemonade and mexican. I was looking back through my pregnancy journal I had with Ryder and chicken and mexican were the two things I couldn't eat with him, but so funny they are the two things I always seem to crave for meals. Seeing as the nuggets are the only form of chicken I seem to be able to tolerate right now, I take what I can get. If I try to eat beef or grilled chicken, it literally gags me, so I have come to the realization that even though I'm eating chicken nuggets at least I am getting some protein in ha! I have also had lots of watermelon, strawberry, and honeydew cravings YUM!
Symptoms: this week my energy level has taken a nosedive for some reason, maybe my lack of sleep, but I can definitely tell a difference. I know Brynley weighs more this week, and it's gotten much much hotter (like 95 degrees out) so that could be part of it too. I notice if I stand still or stand on my feet too long I get really lightheaded and need to sit down. I was standing for awhile over the weekend making dinner and dessert and all of a sudden felt really weird. I think the heat is getting to me ha! Other than that, dry itchy patches on my face again, and I have to pee a lot more during the day, after walking awhile, or just in general.
Mood: I've been very emotional all week, crying over silly things (not silly at the time, but in hindsight) I've also been short with Scot and Ryder this week but I'm blaming my mood on the lack of sleep I felt like I got this past week
Highlights this week: watching Brynley move and seeing my bare stomach move, getting a pink tutu at Black Lion while I was out shopping and seeing how cute it looked hanging in her closet, and getting some cute things monogrammed and seeing her name
Husbandisms: lots! Between my moodswings and being so tired, I just couldn't tolerate any button pushing or comments I guess. #1- Coming home this week, tired and having had a long work day, I sat on the floor after coming in the door and hugged Ryder and read a shutterfly story to him of the book I had made, then got up to take a bath and when I came out and didn't feel like playing legos at that very moment, Scot told Ryder kiddingly that "Mommy doesn't want to play with you" and that had me crying like a baby. I later told him that it hurt my feelings that he would even say something like that, and to please not say things, even jokingly, in front of Ryder because it made me feel and sound like a terrible mommy. #2- in a conversation about next spring and our trips to possibly Hawaii and Vegas, Scot mentioned that he wanted me to get back to my pre-baby body. In reference to pictures from a cruise we had taken 5 months post partum with Ryder, he commented that I was more in shape the month before the cruise, than I was when the pictures were taken and I started crying like a baby yet again. I think he was just being honest, but honey, HONESTY is not always the best POLICY when your pregnant and hormonal wife is in the discussion ha! Next time I don't think we will bring the "what I look like here or then" conversation up. Gotta love those pregnancy hormones!

I'm not really sure what was up with the lighting when we took these pictures, but I still like seeing my baby bump. It also looks a little lopsided, maybe from the way I was holding my shirt or stomach.