month 5 {may}

22 weeks, 4 days...holy BUMP!

How Far Along: 22 weeks, 1 day

Size: I think I'm going to stop saying all four things and just say the ones I like/feel are most helpful that week haha :) So Ada is now the size of an ear of corn and a guinea pig :)

Gender: It's a girl! :)

Name: Ada Charlotte :) 

Movement: Movement has been one of the hardest things for me to detect. Even as late as 21 weeks, I wasn't sure if stuff I felt inside was Ada or just like digestion stuff. Occasionally I would feel something like a heartbeat, but it really felt like a consistent heartbeat, not like an inconsistently moving baby. But lately I've felt a bit more -- little pokes and jabs. But still, not all that much movement yet. I can't wait to feel more conclusive and consistent movement :)

Fun Fact: Ada is now dreaming and can be measured from head to toe rather than crown to rump. It's so crazy to read the daily and weekly things that my app tells me about how she is developing. It really is a miracle that our bodies can create other bodies. 

Sleep: Sleep is officially not my favorite. I just can't get comfortable for long. I added a pillow to my bed, which gets moved from between my knees (when I'm on my side) to behind my knees (when I'm on my back) to under my stomach (when I'm on my side). The pillow definitely helps, but I still wake up every time I have to change positions. Everything is getting more uncomfortable!

Weight Gain: *Sigh* I know that women gain weight differently, and I honestly LOVE my bump, so there are no issues there, but I just felt more down this month as I read or saw different things about really fit pregnant women. I have not been good to exercise and life has been so crazy that we've been eating out a ton, so I just feel unhealthy and then guilty because I'm supposed to be supporting a baby. Idk why health is so hard for me . . . I know some people are super motivated by it, but I'm just . . . not. Anyway. I'm up a total of 23.5 pounds.

Also, I made the switch to maternity pants at the beginning of the month. I'd been rocking the expand-regular-jeans-with-a-hair-tie look for pretty much the whole time before that, but I was very happy to make the switch. Maternity pants from H&M are the best!

Symptoms: HOLY LOWER BACK PAIN. I didn't think that would be an issue til I was bigger, but man it hit me early this month and it seems it is here to stay. Even with bi-weekly trips to the chiropractor and weekly massages, my lower back is pretty much always out of whack now. Mostly just my very lower back on the left side. 

I've also occasionally had what I think people refer to as pelvic floor pain, something else I didn't think would happen til later. It's just like pain down yonder and it is activated by things like getting up from the floor (or any movement, really, if it's flaring up), just anytime I need to engage any muscles down there. 

Charlie horses started this month, but so far they're not too bad. They're just occasional, and they usually happen when I wake up/they wake me up. 

I can't put socks or shoes on standing up anymore! I have to sit down and cross my ankle over to my knee haha :) 

And last of all is that I've just experienced more discomfort starting with this month. My complaints have definitely increased, so I feel bad for Russ by the time I get to months 8 and 9! Haha :)

Symptoms I don't have are pregnancy brain and moodiness. Haha someone asked me if pregnancy brain was a real thing and I said, "Well, I'm sure it is, but so far I haven't experienced it!" And although I've had very occasional times of moodiness (read: emotions, because I'm a human), I don't think any of it is pregnancy-related. It's so crazy to me how everyone has different pregnancy symptoms. Also, in case you're wondering, Russ confirmed the non-moody part, so I'm not just imagining things :)

Diabetes: Well, consistent with everything else this month, diabetes also experienced a decline. My doctor warned me early on that I would require more insulin as my pregnancy went on, and that definitely happened this month (and I'm sure I will continue to need more). However, I just adjusted things so slowly that I spent a lot of the month having higher blood sugars. I seeeeriously thought my a1c would jump to 7.5, but miraculously it stayed exactly the same at 6.9. My doctor and I were both really surprised that it wasn't higher since we were both looking at a chart of my blood sugars over the past two weeks. But I still have some rates that need to be higher, so from now on I'll just be really aggressive with that until I get to something that makes me low all the time, and then I'll dial it back from there.

Cravings/Aversions: No, not really. I reallllyyyy wanted a fruit pizza for my birthday but never satisfied that craving, so maybe that ;) Also, one day I had an ice cream cone from Macey's, and that really hit the spot :) Oh! And I've been loving bagel sandwiches whenever I can get them lately (usually just on weekends) :)

Missing Most: Comfort -- mostly when it comes to sleeping and that pain in my lower back.

Nursery: Well the nursery has not made much progress this month, at least as far as can be seen. We sold the crib (which we actually decided was quite sturdy) but haven't yet purchased a new one. I also cleared out some of the other furniture that I decided I didn't want and tried to sell it in 2016 Garage Sale 1.0. Anything that didn't sell is now sticking around for 2016 Garage Sale 2.0 which will happen sometime later this summer. 

The biggest things that happened for the nursery this month, though, are that 

1. I made a plan! I drew out specific things that I want to do and incorporate, and I decided on the theme/design/motif. It will be mostly floral stuff in various pink and coral hues, as well as touches of tea party here and there. I don't know what it is, but I still just think tea parties are the cutest things! Especially for a little girl :)
2. I bought some stuff! Fabric to make a crib sheet and changing pad cover (because I just couldn't find what I wanted already made), a big cardboard "A" for which I have some crafty plans, and a vintage silver tea set that is so stinkin' cute! And I got it at a garage sale for $5, so you can't beat that! Annnnddd I may as well give you a sneak peak of the fabric :)

Month 6 will definitely see a crib and dresser purchase; I'm sure of it! Especially since I feel like I'm stuck until then . . . 

Daddy: Ohhh Daddy got real cute this month :) I think it's become more real for him now that we know gender :) We love talking about our baby girl, our little Ada :) 

Before this month, Russ didn't really talk to my belly or touch my belly, but this month, he started to. He'll like randomly grab my belly and do weird-but-cute things to let Ada know he's there :) Idk how to make it not sound weird here, but it really is so adorable to me :)

On the last day of May, he felt her kick for the first time. I had barely been feeling her more, but apparently it's enough to be felt from the outside sometimes now! Though, he was touching my bare skin, so probably no one else could feel Ada's kicks yet cuz -- personal space! Haha. It was a really sweet moment though :)

When we saw this little outfit, Russ had to have it. I was hesitant because it is size newborn and what if our baby is big enough that she never fits into newborn? I also didn't think the outfit itself was all that cute. But just like Russ, I loved the cute saying, "My heart belongs to daddy" :) I loved that Russ really wanted it, and I couldn't say no :)

Highlights & Memories: 

• Mother's Day! I've always felt that Mother's Day should be a celebration of all women, not just those who have children to take care of, but it still felt a bit more special this year since I am well on my way toward having a baby in my life :)
• Toward the end of May, my family had a Sunday dinner together. When my cute 3-year-old niece Hadley came into the room and saw me for the first time that day, she came right up to me and started touching my belly and like hugging and kissing it, saying "oooh baby!" It was seriously so. adorable! :)
• So this isn't particular to month 5, but if you've ever heard that chant/song/game thing called "big booty," Russ and I sing various renditions of it all the time now. We always sang the big booty version, because I've got a big booty, but now we sing "big booty," "big belly," and "big baby." "Big baby, big baby, big baby, ahhh yeah!" Haha :)

Can't Wait For: I honestly can't wait to be done with the yard and all of the house projects we've got going on. Partially because that will be AWESOME, and partially because that means I'll get to focus more energy on the nursery. I have all the ideas just waiting to be put into action!

I'm also excited for my sister to live here! It will be so fun to have her around for the rest of the pregnancy and after Ada is born and just in general :)

Annnndddd I'm still excited for the baby showers in my future. Lately I've been thinking about all the ones I want to have. There are too many different groups of people in my life! :)

And although it's still a long way off, I just am so excited to hold this baby girl in my arms :) Every time I think about holding a brand new baby straight from heaven, I'm a little bit overcome with happiness :)

**ashleynicole