Week 21

We are officially past the halfway mark! This is also the last weekly fruit update...they move to monthly changes after this.

I definitely feel HUGE this week! I swear I've grown a lot since that last picture was taken, and I know there's plenty of growing left to do. I'm to that point where no one has to question whether I'm pregnant or not...even with a winter coat on. Most days I feel great, today I felt squished...breathing was harder, bending over felt nearly impossible, and there was definitely some stretching going on.

I've been busy the past few days creating baby registries, and tomorrow I will embark on washing/organizing all of the baby clothes we've received. Hopefully soon we'll start on creating the nursery. Jason has quite a few projects going so it'll be some time before we get any pictures of that up!

Here are the links to the registries....they are a work in progress and will still be changed and added to, but it's a good start.

Target- http://www.target.com/RegistryGiftGiverCmd?isPreview=false&status=completePageLink&listId=tF-3XNw_TJoixwSxkM7viA&registryType=BB&isAjax=false

Babies R Us- http://www.toysrus.com/registry/search/index.jsp?_flowExecutionKey=_c6130C4D0-349F-CF74-D90E-7B8720F9FAC3_kDC551E33-0754-0A45-A64E-BC92804B6EE7&overrideStore=TRUS

And here's the weekly update on the babies' size:

Your Baby: Week 21

Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.

As a side note... please keep Jason and me in mind this next week....we turned in our cable box and will be living on just the basic channels. We're already joking about how this is going to make us have to actually talk to each other or read instead of turning on the tv!

Week 20

Your Baby: Week 20

Baby's digestive system is busy creating meconium (a tarry black substance made of swallowed amniotic fluid, digestive secretion and dead cells), which will fill the first diaper after birth. And, speaking of the diaper situation... baby's genitals are now fully formed!

Jason and I definitely agree that there are not 2 cantaloupes inside me so we think this picture is referring to the diameter and not the entire melon.

Sorry for the delay in posting this week; with Christmas and traveling and just keeping my head on straight this is the first time I've had to sit down and write.

While at Christmas with Jason's family I compared my belly with Lesley (our sister in law's) from when she was pregnant... it appears that I am measuring 6.5-7 months when referring to her pictures.

New symptoms the past few weeks include reflux, difficulty sleeping, and hip/leg pains at night.

We had our 20wk ultrasound on the 21st and we have some new pics that we'll post below. The babies are measuring great and are a good few weeks ahead in weight and head size.

I hope you all had great Christmases!

Our daughter's footprint:

Our son's footprint:

Profile view of our son:

Unfortunately, our daughter was camera shy, so we didn't get too many shots of her. She'll have her picture taken plenty as many photos as Jason takes.

Week 19

Definitely not the prettiest description of the babies this week. Crazy that they're mango sized. I'm still feeling good, growing and stretching, and the little ones are becoming very active. We will have more pics next week after our 20 wk ultrasound! :) After the Christmas tree fiasco (See below) I'll keep this post nice and short!

Your Baby: Week 19

Vernix caseosa, a greasy white substance made of lanugo, oil and dead skin cells (yum) now coats baby's skin, shielding it from the amniotic fluid. (Picture yourself after a nine-month bath, and the need for protection makes sense.) You might actually get to see the vernix at birth, especially if baby is premature.

Christmas Tree Infestation

Jason and I came home from church today. It was like any other day... quick trip to Target, hit the grocery store and come home. While Jason was bringing in the groceries I decided to water the tree. As I bent down to pour the water in I noticed a spider-looking creature crawling up the base of the tree stand. I was afraid it was a tick so I called Jason over and then I noticed what looked like hundreds of little eggs and big mama bugs all over the tree skirt. Upon further inspection we realized there were hundreds of bugs crawling all over the tree. (See pics below) After researching online we discovered the bugs were probably aphids but without much debate at all the tree was thrown outside. Jason offered to buy a new one, or call Lowe's to get a refund, but we figured they'd just give us a new tree. I figure we're leaving in less than a week for Christmas festivities and the tree would die then anyway so we'll keep the rest of the decorations up and just go 'tree-less' for a few days. Definitely contemplating an artificial tree for next year. I'm not sure I can go down that road, but our next tree will be thoroughly inspected and shook out before it goes up!

today marks quite an accomplishment

19 weeks in and meg finally looks more pregnant than me!