21 Weeks

Woah! This one sneaked up on me somehow. It took me until almost 3:00 in the afternoon to remember that today is my update day. 21 weeks!

I got to go meet my former co-worker's baby today. He is simply precious, and holding him made me so anxious for Bean to get here. I've never been totally crazy about the newborn phase. Something about their fragility scared me. Now, though, I plan to cherish those first few days and weeks. Seeing a brand new baby like that is just so incredible.

One thing that surprised me a bit was the trip to the hospital in general. Being there made me feel so thankful that I am able to have a home birth. Before I married Jacob, met Seth and Beth and researched home birth, I never even gave it a thought. Now, though, the image of my laboring and delivering in a hospital seems SO weird and undesirable. Thank you God, that we live in a place where I have a safe, comfortable alternative to the hospital!

How I'm Feeling
Aside from straining my back over the weekend, I'm feeling pretty good. However, I ran out of my iron supplement yesterday and the result is my feeling TOTALLY anemic. I didn't realize how much the iron helped until it was gone. Today I am super crazy tired, I've been fighting dizzy spells and all sorts of other nonsense. It's definitely a motivator to keep on top of my Floradix and to make sure I have a replacement when my bottle is getting low.

What Bean's Doing
(taken from baby-gaga.com)

Your beautiful little miracle-gro baby will be putting on a full ounce and a half this week (and weighing up to 16.5 ounces), but that’s just the beginning! Within the next five weeks, they’ll really be packin’ it on! For now, we’re pleased to report the addition of rapid eye movement (REM) a key component to any healthy baby’s sleep schedule. While in the dermatology department: their thin soft skin is very red, rather translucent, and a bit wrinkled. Not to worry, it’s not a premature aging disease. It's just their clever little body setting them up with extra space that will smooth out once your little one starts packing on the baby-fat. That won’t be for a few more weeks, though. So for the time being, your munchkin is still a little lean mean growing machine! The beginnings of what is commonly called “brown fat” is just starting to fill in to help your baby retain some body heat, which is crucial as they’re not yet capable of regulating their own body temperature.

(Also, babycenter says that Bean is about 10.5 inches from head to toe and is sporting brand new eyebrows and lids.)

Cravings

• Baked treats, specifically brownies and cinnamon rolls (indulged)
  
• Corned beef (indulged)
• Strawberry belts (this one has been killing me - NOT indulged)
• In-N-Out (indulged)
  
• Fruit, specifically mandarin oranges (semi-indulged)
• Lucky Charms (NOT indulged)...Also, when I started craving it, the following words spilled forth from my lips, "I would have sex with someone for Lucky Charms right now. But, only if I could just lay there because my back hurts." Then I proceeded to laugh for about 10 minutes.