Journey through Pregnancy: Month 5

How far along

Week 20 as of Tuesday, March 23*

*I keep having to google “what month corresponds with ___ week of pregnancy” & I know that sounds stupid but it’s really confusing how they count pregnancy weeks.

Sex

It’s a boy 🙂

Total weight gain/stretch marks

Definitely gaining more now (duh!). Will says he thinks they’re might be a few stretch marks, super light, but I’m not sure they’re actually new. Not that it matters, but I don’t think I have much.

Maternity Clothes

I broke down and finally bought my first pair of  real maternity clothes. Motherhood.com was having a hella great sale ($50 off $100 + free shipping!) so I got 1 pair of maternity jeans, a one-piece bathing suit, leggings, and a new bra. I have thoughts about this purchase lol:

1. I hate maternity jeans because I hate jeggings & I stupidly thought they would feel more like “real” jeans. I will probably only get 1 more pair to change up the style & that’s it. It’s going to be dresses & skirts for me!
2. Maternity leggings should be the only leggings that exist: buttery soft & great coverage! I will probably wear these even after pregnancy (I got a pair of postpartum leggings from a friend but you are not supposed to wear them during pregnancy).
3. Maternity bras make you feel like you’re 80 & scream MOM BOOBS! But they are oh so comfortable. I spent a long time googling this because how the heck to you buy a bra for pregnancy when you know your boobs are going to change? Basically the rule of thumb seemed to be go up a cup size & band number. So in the interest of unfiltered information I bought a 34D.

I also got a few more maternity pieces from a friend (yayayayy!) & honestly, besides a few undergarments, I don’t think I’ll need much else in this department.

Sleep

Around week 19 I started to stir a lot in my sleep. Any time I would end up on my back (which happened quite a lot) it would wake me up. I was really grumpy at first because I thoroughly enjoy sleeping well but I hope to figure it out soon!

Miss Anything?

Wine, for the first time, smelled delicious. No, I didn’t have any but I also don’t believe you should demonize women who do have an occasional glass during pregnancy. #stoppolicing

Cravings

Still absolutely nothing & I am not complaining.

Symptoms

First (& hopefully only time) I threw up at work. Luckily it was during out 15 minute break in between classes and so there were no students in my room. I’m guessing something in my breakfast didn’t settle. But the moment I got it out of my system and got to swish with water I felt completely better.

Ok so total TMI, but *many* women have very increased sex drives during the second trimester & that “pregnancy glow” on their face. However, it seems I’ve got none of the “bad” side effects of pregnancy (morning sickness, cravings) along with none of the “good” ones. So weird. Plus, my face is breaking out like crazy!!!

Mood

Overwhelmed at this registry nonsense. If I could pay someone to pick out everything, do the research, and ignore it myself, I totally would! Odd for someone who loves to do all sorts of research and make lists, I know. But this is so different. It feels like if I make the wrong choice on any of the million items you need to buy it could be devastating. Let alone the fact that everything requires extensive research. What kinds of baby baths are dangerous? What type of nose snot clearer is easiest to use? What thermometer is most accurate? Why hypoallergenic, organice, fair-trade, linen blend unicorn breath sheets am I supposed to buy?

Best Moment this Month

The anatomy ultrasound was so cool! I got to see all ten little toes and fingers, see him moving around and confirm his boy parts. lol It’s just absolutely insane how developed babies are while still so small! My 19 week ultrasound was Wednesday, March 10 (it’s the picture at the top of the post) & we both got a clean bill of health.

Annddddd I got cleared for a COVID vaccine shot!!! :)))) So I made my appointment when I came home at got that shot March 11th. On the literal one-year anniversary of COVID being named a global pandemic. My oh my how the world has changed in the past 365 days. From personal tragedy of miscarriage, to millions of people all over the world losing their livelihoods and lives. We are forever changed after March 11, 2020.

Hardest Moment this Month

Welp I ended up in the ER during spring break so that was scary and definitely wins the award for “hardest moment.” I have a pretty benign, but annoying heart condition called SVT (google it if you care). This means that sometimes, randomly, my heart rate can shoot up for over 150 BPM out of nowhere. It has not happened in ages & since college I have gotten really good at “controlling it” and stopping it in its tracks. Well pregnancy changes a lot of things and I couldn’t get this episode to stop. After a few hours (yes, I said hours. . .{insert chastisement here}) we went to the ER when they had to give me some drug to forcibly slow down my heart about 80 BPM.

And then I felt fine. Back to my old, busy body self and I thought they were going to let me leave after checking the baby out. I should have known better. I had to spend the night in the hospital for observation that my heart didn’t act up again (it didn’t) & that the baby was ok (he was). The crappiest part was, unbeknownst to me, I was put on a CLEAR LIQUID diet!!! So I went 24 hours without “real food” (noon to noon) and only had broth & juice at 9:30pm, 7:30am, and 10:30am. Not. a. happy. camper.

An “upside” of the sheer boredom of staying in a hospital when you feel perfectly well is that you have time to sit in bed and just be. During one of those stare-out-the-window moments I felt the baby move. Ever so softly but it was definitely it. People have described it to be as butterflies (nope) or a snake (also nope), for me it felt/feels like a wave under my skin. I still don’t feel it very often or strongly but in the quiet moments sometimes I can.

As creepy as the thought of a living being inside of me is (because it is!), I’m looking forward to feeling him move more. I think it’ll be a little reassurance that everything is a-ok.

Exercise

I didn’t do AS MUCH this month as month 4. I had a few appointments and stuff that were scheduled after work and disrupted my workouts but I still feel good. Still trying to run 2 miles a week but I’m going to need some belly support for that soon. I am no longer riding the bike, just don’t feel comfortable doing that. I am sticking to the prenatal yoga on doyogawithme.com because the one time I tried non-prenatal yoga, thinking I would know where to accommodate, I had to modify so much it wasn’t worth it.

I need to incorporate more strength training into my routine because I need to definitely build my muscles if I am going to glide into the third trimester as painlessly as possible.

Although not “strictly” exercise, we did a hell ton of yard work & house work over spring break. That was a workout for me! My back would be cranky by the end of the day but an ice pack while on the couch after dinner would do the trick. I’m not letting pregnancy stop me from being myself.

JMF