twenty-one weeks!

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bump watch: this bump is not joking around! i notice a big change from last week. baby girl is growing, growing, growing. at least i can still see my toes! 
little peanut: is the size of a banana! she weighs about 11 ounces and is seven inches long. this week, the biggest development is that she is starting to swallow some of the amniotic fluid, so she's getting a taste of whatever tickles my fancy each day. 

Fetal Development Week 22


best moment: feeling hiccups for the first time. it's just the cutest thing in the world. can't wait til we hear that sweet sound in November! 

symptoms: definitely feeling a little more pregnant this week, with crazy heartburn and some ankle puffiness in the heat. i've also been getting some stiffness and discomfort in my lower back, and had the brilliant thought that it might be because i haven't been doing any regular exercise for the past few months. i started back up with my workout DVDs (10 Minute Solution Prenatal Pilates, Suzanne Bowen's Slim & Toned Prenatal Barre, and Tracy Anderson's Pregnancy Project) and voila! the back pain has disappeared, and i'm feeling much more limber in general.

cravings: i've always loved mushroom swiss burgers and Heath bars in all their permutations (as the original bar, in ice cream, in milkshakes ... i'm not picky). today i discovered that Steak 'n Shake offers both a portobello swiss burger and a Heath bar milkshake and you better believe that's what myself and Little Peanut had for lunch. i'm sure it won't be the last time.

what i miss: i just spent a full five minutes thinking about what i miss, and there's really nothing that stands out this week. i'm just so grateful for a healthy baby, an easy pregnancy so far, and the opportunity to grow our family. God is good! 

 looking forward to: the sibling class that Greta will take in October. clearly it's a long way off, but i signed her up this week at the hospital where i'll deliver (and where Greta was born). i think she's going to love it. they ask each child to bring along a doll or stuffed animal so they can practice changing diapers, and they go over what to expect while mommy and daddy are in the hospital, how newborns act, and how the older sibling can participate. they even get a certificate at the end. i am truly so excited for the relationship these sisters will have! 

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