23 weeks

yen took this picture on saturday, i was 23 weeks and 2 days.  i feel so much bigger than this picture shows.  i'm just not used to all this extra weight (16.5 lbs) all in front.  i'm walking differently and constantly surprised by my new shape when i pass a mirror.

the gym

i'm starting to experience that shitty time in pregnancy when you can't get comfortable for an entire night's sleep. last night i had a towel folded up under my right hip so i wouldn't put pressure on the main blood vessel in my back. i also had a throw pillow under my normal pillow so i could read without feeling like i was suffocating.

i slept for several hours then awoke at 4:45 as i seem to do almost every morning. this time y was awake too and had his laptop in bed. what is actually the dimmest of light settings on the monitor feels like a lighthouse beacon when you're trying to win the insomnia war.

the alarm clock went off an hour later.

i think the thing that got my biscuit to the gym was the thought of the good water pressure in the shower. the shower at my loft is really weak and it takes a lot of time to rinse conditioner out of my hair. the gym shower is no joke, that water hits you and you're clean really fast. oh and the fact that my car was parked on the street and would have to be moved by 8am or i'd be the recipient of a $40+ ticket was also incentive.

once i'm at gold's i feel so good. this morning i jogged for a mile and a half on the treadmill next to my friend margie, who by the way is throwing me a baby shower with all the gym girls next month. i love that i've been going to a gym so regularly that i have formed friendships there.

the jogging made me feel like myself again and not like the person who was struggling in bed with a huge belly. i feel like me when i exercise. don't get me wrong, i absolutely love being pregnant but my time at the gym is totally mine and not a time when i'm obsessively reading about my baby's progress in the womb or mentally listing everything i need to do to get his crib area ready.

in the locker room all the regulars i've known for a while said nice things to me about my growing belly and how it doesn't look like i've put on weight anywhere else. that kind of encouragement and love is so worth getting out of bed for.

yen felt the baby move

on tuesday night i felt little one kicking around and being so active i could see my belly jumping. for the first time i put y's hand on my belly and he felt all the activity that was going on. it was monumental in my pregnancy world.

i'm getting so used to all the movement, it's really a wonder being pregnant. i feel like it's going too fast now. my 6th month just began and once it's over, i'll be in the 3rd trimester. every day is take your baby to work day for me and i love that. i get to have my teeny bambino and my job. my last day of work for several months will be july 10th. after that i'll be waiting for labor and then soon after i will be a mom. FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!! it's a little scary sometimes.

nesting has started

this weekend y and i cleaned out the living room closet where the baby is going to go. that sounds horrible. i'll post pictures but basically it goes like this: we live in a 1,000 sq ft loft. there is no extra room to be made for our little butter bun except in places like our living room closet. the doors came off this weekend and the shelf was torn out. the space where our closet was will become "baby cove" over the next few months.

i ordered flor and wallpaper samples on monday but so much needs to be done to that little space before we can kit it out with the crib and dresser/ changing table. when i ripped the shelf out a small patch of drywall came off. woops. apparently one end of the shelf was affixed to the wall with industrial glue. we also need to prime and paint a cement pillar that is right next to the designated crib area. we would keep it naked but the bits of cement are shedding all over the place and we'd end up giving our kid asthma or something just because we wanted to keep his living space loft-like and industrial.

the amount of junk that came out of the closet and our basement storage is astounding. right now a huge portion of it is piled up in the basement with a note attached to a box pleading patience from our neighbors and promising its removal by saturday. last night i went to the basement to throw out some recycling and noticed that not only are people taking things from the pile (yay!) but they are also adding to the pile (boo!) what to do? apparently the urge to add to a mass of junk is irresistible.