YES... I am a total lame-ass and I didn't post anything about week 18. The only difference between week 17 and 18 is heartburn. I've never had heartburn before, I honestly didn't know what it was, other than what seemed like the obvious: your heart/ chest burns. Never thought to think about how/ why, etc. Maybe I am just an idiot, but it never occurred to me that heartburn is the same thing as acid reflux... Well, now I know... And it sucks. A big one. I thought I just had a little vomitous taste in my throat, minus the nausea/ vomiting etc. I am super lucky with most other pregnancy related symptoms else. The minor pimple problem is clearing up, nothing noticeable in the last two weeks... (Keeping my fingers crossed.) I posted on Facebook, asking for any tips on how to deal the heartburn, and I've had some great responses... Off I went to the market to get some bananas and cucumbers, and today I am headed to the pharmacy with a list of anti-acids that I can't pronounce... HAHha!! Anyhow, this is what we've learned about Baby Castro in the last two weeks!
Week 18:
"Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound."
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| a little swimmer 18 weeks (via internet search) |
Week 19:
"Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you. Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid."
Wow. Gross and educational. Our little peanut is slimy, squirmy and busy inside. I still haven't "officially" felt any kicks/ movements, but my belly grumbles and gurgles... And I'm pretty sure that what I am assuming is stomach gases and juices and gross normal things like that, that I am suddenly aware of, can possibly be Baby moving, saying hello. All the email updates/ books I've been reading all say the same thing: First time Mamas feel Baby move for the first time sometime between 16- 22 weeks. And even then, it usually happens before that, you just don't realize it. Huh. Will get back to you on that one.
Life Update:
My sweet honey Victor is off to work in Angola for the next 2.5 weeks-ish... The trip has already been extended a few days and I am NOT thinking about it... We survived 9 months long distance (our first year together!) so this really isn't a big deal. At least I keep telling myself (and him) this... The truth is, it sucks no matter what. We Skype, but the internet where he is staying is so shoddy that we can't video chat or it freezes and we lose connection. But we chat on Skype and IM, talk for a few minutes here and there via phone throughout the day. We're getting through. I have even more free time to... do whatever it is I do all day... HAha!!
But of course, I don't sleep very well when I don't have my snuggle bunny in bed with me... So I may fall asleep at 10 pm, but I wake up every few hours, and I am wide awake at 4:30 am, or 5,or 6... This isn't pregnancy related, I've always been this way with Vic. I typically wake up between 2 - 4 am when he is downstairs working, asking him when he is coming to bed. To SNUGGLE!!!!
This morning, I was awake and ready for the day at 6:15 am. Thank goodness for Kindle. I've read more books since I received my Kindle as a bridal shower gift last June... I think I've read maybe 20 books now? Anyhow...
Victor is filming 4 commercials in Luanda, Angola. Just a short 10 hour flight away. I'll post the video as soon as it's all finished in a month or so. The turn around time from the day that they finish filming until the day the commercial is on TV (and internet) is usually something crazy like less than 2 weeks. Vic says that Luanda is a mess of contradictions. People driving luxury sports cars while the poverty is mind-blowing... Luanda was recently noted to be The Most Expensive city in the world. Brilliant... monthly rent for a house is about $10,000, dinner out for two people is "easily $50" so says the BBC and it's best to have a personal body guard... with machine guns. I prefer not to think about my husband being in situations like that... NO no no no no... I think 99% of the time, he is in a factory/ housing compound, where everything is being filmed? Hmmm? Vic, is that correct? All I know is my snuggle bunny is stressed and busy and working like a maniac. And I am home dusting and organizing, watching Grey's Anatomy reruns...
Oh, and I think the "nesting" hormones kicked in this week... OOOHhhhhh yeah. I am making lists, including a chart of potential strollers, dusting, organizing "stuff." I keep looking at the living room bookcases, and then I go refer to the IKEA website. I am mentally redesigning our living room, which I hope to redo in the next two months. Paint (ok, Vic gets to paint), rearrange the furniture, and my dream: one wall of an epic IKEA bookcase configuration.
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| OK this isn't the IKEA photo, but we will definitely have a wall of books like this. <3 swoon <3 |
I've also been compiling wallpaper prints I like, that can be used in our combined bedroom/ nursery that we will be creating as soon as Vic is back from his trip. We are going with wallpaper on some of the walls, as Vic tore down (and we repainted last year) the sound proofing that he had hung years ago, when the space used to be his sound studio. It left some craters in the cement based walls (there is no dry wall in Portugal, as far as I can tell.. weird, right?!). And unless we want to pay a professional to come and fix the walls, I say, 'eff it, wallpaper it is. As long as its super neutral and inoffensive, and helps us maintain our resale value with the house. We will have to move in the future, as soon as baby is ready for a separate nursery. But I hope to nurse as long as possible, so that will require baby to be close for the time being. And Victor truly needs his own office space. So while we technically live in a 3 bedroom house, Vic having a proper work space is a bigger priority than our little peanut having his/her own place to sleep at night. And since what to you really use a bedroom for, other than sleeping, it isn't that important for me (yet) to have a separate bedroom. Ideally, we need a minimum of 4 bedrooms, that way Vic can have his office, and everyone has their own rooms (us, Bianca and Baby) a 5th bedroom/ office/ guest room would be perfect. For Grandma Patti and Grandpa Steve to come stay as long as they want... :)
Just re-reading my post, I think I may be better off keeping a diary, that way you all don't have to suffer through my thoughts, ramblings and repeated topics... My apologies.... I think with Vic being away the next 2 weeks, I warn you... I may blab on...
BUT! On another totally random side note, Vic said that his camera is upstairs, so if I can remember how to use that badboy, maybe I'll finally be able to post some belly shots! There's kinda something there worth seeing now! I do feel guilty that I haven't taken any photos of my belly yet, but up until about last week, I just looked heavier than I've ever been in my life... ANd that is super uncomfortable for me... It's not as "easy" as women claim, to reconcile what you think your body looks like, what you want your body to look like, and what it actually looks like in the unforgiving mirror. Add in a roller coaster of pregnancy hormones and a husband working like a madman AND on another continent... you get it.
And I just ate a cupcake. After this post, I am going to commit myself to 45 minutes of elliptical. Not much, but just a little something to get back into the habit of exercising. I have been seriously slacking and I feel guilty. Not about the cupcake, more about the complaining and insecurity. Exercise always makes me feel better, even if it doesn't show in the mirror, it always helps my head. Running was the #1 way I've worked through some of the most serious emotional stresses in my life. Not so much lately, as I am happy as a cubby little... clam? Uhh... yeah... As a former slightly-more-than-casual runner, I'd really like to get back into it but I have my concerns. Does anyone know about running during pregnancy, after a long break? Say, 6-8 months? Maybe even a year I guess, since I was really running, before my appendicitis and surgery last June. Awesome pre-wedding present, right? WHO GETS APPENDICITIS!
OK! Enough carrying on. Projects for today: elliptical, finish compiling stroller/ carrier/ car seat information, and start surprise sewing project for Vic. And take belly pictures.
Wish me luck!
