{ 22 weeks! }

don't like this picture of me very much but oh well right : )

 

 

How far along? 22 weeks, 3 days

Total weight gain: Nothing has changed much from last week but I think I'm safe to say my weight gain is pretty solid at closer to 8 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Nope, regular clothes still! Although I tried on my first skirt for church recently and there was no way this particular skirt was gonna be worn that day. Darn jean material! j/k
Stretch marks? No stretch marks but my stomach is still dry.
Sleep: Sleep is still about the same as long as I have an extra pillow.
Best moment this week: Macie being able to feel this lil' guy kick. She thought that was pretty neat.
Miss Anything? Macie is in ski school right now and the last two years Jordan and I had been able to go for free as chaperones but obviously that's a big negative this year so lately I've been thinking about snowboarding. This year I'm on hot chocolate duty instead : )

Movement: I think our little guy might be a night owl like his mama because he tends to be more active at night. Not super late or anything, usually around dinner and when we're watching a movie or something.
Food cravings: Not really been wanting any particular food that I absolutely have to have at that moment. A few things have been sounding kinda good like those Tostino's pizzas once in awhile, carrots, and milkshakes. Random I know : )
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing in particular. Jordan found a cup with a bunch of dead bugs in it that was gross but I think that would have been pretty gross to me even before I was pregnant.
Gender: BOY!!!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In but I can see it changing a little already.
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and excited yet, nervous at the same time. Very happy the nausea is completley gone! Excited to start deciding things when it comes to the nursery (went and got some minkee to make a blanket)! But of course nervous for when I actually go into labor (even though that's still 4 months away).
Looking forward to: Starting to make all sorts of cute blankets and things for our little guy!

My pregnancy has been going pretty different than I think I was anticipating but not in a bad way or anything. Just different. For example, and yes I'm going to say this, I was kind of looking forward to putting on some baby weight and seeing my belly grow. Now, don't get me wrong, my belly is growing, just not nearly as fast as I would have thought considering I'm having to eat literally every 1 1/2 - 2 hours. I am eating way more on the healthy side so that might be part of the no weight gain thing but still. My daily food usually consists of a a cup of milk bowl of cereal (or oatmeal depending on the day) and some orange juice, then between breakfast and lunch usually some applesauce and sliced peaches, maybe a cheese stick. Lunch is different everyday but usually we get nice meals like Chile's, Applebees, Olive Garden, Fong's, Great Harvest and places like that brought to us so lunch is still pretty healthy too. Lunch tends to fill me up better than breakfast so I can last a couple hours after lunch before I need to eat again but usually I'll have some carrots and possibly another cheesestick. And I have to try and be drinking water throughout the whole day which at first is something I struggled with because one time I drank a full cup of water, not even fast, and it really didn't go very well so I've been careful of that since then.

I was also expecting to be having to go to the bathroom pretty often. Of course more so towards the end of the pregnancy but almost from the beginning I honestly hadn't been needing to use the restroom period. Not necessarily because I wasn't eating or drinking very much though. A couple times around week 14 I think I was at work and slowly my kidney area would begin to hurt kinda bad. Moving around made it hurt more. Even exhaling was more painful. Before work I'd use the restroom, that might have been a habit I wasn't aware I was doing but I'd notice the pain would start to subside. The next day I talked to a nurse I work with about it and she thought I should do an urinanalysis to see about a UTI and then one of our PA's thought I should do a CMP because the UA showed that I was spilling glucose in my urine. Both came back negative so we were all a little stumped. I didn't think much of it but it started hurting again the next week. My next appointment was fairly soon after that and I asked the PA in my doctor's office about a theory I had. She checked me for a kidney infection first. I didn't have a kidney infection but I told her throughout my entire pregnancy so far I'd very rarely, if ever had a strong sensation to go to the bathroom. Throughout the entire day it was almost as if I didn't need to at all really even though I'd been drinking some milk, juice, and water thoughout the day. So I asked her if it was possible to just not have a sensation to go to the bathroom? She said it's a-typical but it is possible. So basically the pain I was feeling in my kidneys that I could sometimes feel around to each of my sides was urine backing up into my kidneys because my bladder was full. So really, for some odd reason, being pregnant has taken away most of any sensation I have of needing to go to the bathroom and at least through the rest of my pregnancy I have to try to keep myself on a schedule of trying to go to the bathroom since I basically don't have anything to remind me. Ha! So far it's been going pretty well in that area. I've been able to remind myself and the few times that I haven't I notice my kidney area will just start to feel a little more uncomfortable and I'll realize why shortly after. The PA said after this little guy comes I shouldn't have to worry about reminding myself but that if a sensation to go to the bathroom doens't come back I will probably have to do some tests to figure out why. That part kinda stinks but I suppose only time will tell if I have to do anything else in that area afterwards.