What’s going on inside my uterus this week? Why, I thought you’d never ask!
How far along? 20 weeks.
How big is baby? 11 ounces! The same weight as the half-eaten box of couscous in our kitchen. (We weighed everything in our kitchen until we found something that was 11 ounces. “It’s heavier than this bottle of white mocha sauce!” I exclaimed to Mike.)
Total weight gain: + 7 pounds
Updates: Anatomy scan! Gabe can feel the baby kick!
Anxious about: In 3 weeks, we find out where we’ll be moving 6 weeks after this baby is born. I’m so nervous about everything around that (finding a place in a different city, packing at the end of pregnancy, moving with a newborn, leaving all my friends and family at a time when support is really valuable, being home alone with 2 kids while Mike works a full-time job, etc etc.) I want to tell myself it’s an adventure, since it’s something we are doing and have no choice. But at this stage I’m just nervous!
Excited about: Over the moon to have a healthy baby. Super excited to see Gabe as a big brother (he is super excited, too, and even told some strangers at a restaurant about it).
Feeling: I’ve had a bad cold for a week or so and spent all of last night hugging the toilet. It had been 6 days since I last threw up, so I thought I was in the clear! Sadly, not yet. Currently typing this from bed and stressing about all my work deadlines.
Exercise: Last weekend wasn’t so bad (a long walk, some Wii Fit), but then with the spotting, I took the rest of the week off. And this week has been a bust between the negative temperatures and being under the weather. I managed to do some yoga and a few days walking in the halls of our apartment building, but mostly I’ve been a lump in bed.
Sleep: Cannot fall asleep.
Movement: I think the baby is karate chopping me all the time. Or doing pirouettes. That’s the only explanation I have for why I only feel him in my low belly even though its feet are up by my belly button.
Food cravings: Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Come to me, my love.
Misc:
- Last week I had a day or two of spotting and absolutely had a breakdown. I freaked out to Mike one night, crying that I “couldn’t do this.” Things seem to be okay, but man. I’d like to not have anything scary happen the rest of pregnancy, thank you.
- We have started discussing names. It’s equally fun and difficult. What names do YOU think go well with Gabe/Gabriel? I like nicknames, so I’m thinking we’ll continue that with the next babe.
- I am currently phoning it in hardcore with parenting. Lying in bed while Gabe watches PBS Kids and I will myself to keep the Zofran down.
- I made it to 20 weeks. 16 weeks ago, I couldn’t even bear to hope this baby would actually stick around. I am beyond grateful and tear up a little more than I’d like to admit when I think about all we’ve been through to get here. You’d better believe I’m gonna hold it over this kid’s head. ;)
We have such cute little boys that live by us. Their names are Gabriel “Gabe” and
Ezekeial “Zeke”…Zeke and Gabe. Super cute names.
Oh, I love Zeke!
My best friend has a son named Gabriel (Gabe) and she named her daughter Claire. I love the sound of Gabe & Claire together… Now she’s pregnant with another daughter and we’re brainstorming names to match the other two!
Oh, Claire is such a pretty name. :)
No shame in phoning it in! I did so for pretty much the entirety of months 2 through 5:)
I’ll be thinking of you with the moving! My sister-in-law is due with her first baby March 10th and has to move from Texas to Virginia April 1st. (Her husband is in the Army.) An adventure for sure!
Our third was unnamed for the first week because we could not settle on a boy name we both liked. He is Clayborn- Clay, for short. It was either that or Oliver, Ollie for a nickname. So there ya go- two more contenders:)
You should ask your doctor for the Zofran that dissolves on your tongue. I had a terrible stomach virus a few years ago and the doctor prescribed it to me. It’s magical!
I hope you start feeling better soon!
So over the moon thrilled for you and your family! I know you must be scared sometimes, especially with the events of last week, but try to stay calm and trust yourself. You’ve made it this far and you’re doing great. How fun to keep the sex a mystery! I couldn’t do it – I just had to know!
I’m so glad the baby is healthy and things are looking good!
As for names, what about another angel name? I’d say Michael, but that’s your husband’s name, so…I don’t know. What’s another male angel? For a girl, I kind of like Seraphina, with Sera as a nickname.
Or Samuel/Sam for a boy? Gabe and Sam seem like names that go well together.
Raphael and call him Rafe or Raffie :)
I cannot!! Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael? Too much. Haha.
ahaha, what a holy family you’d have. Uriel is another archangel but well… yea. not a hot trending name there :-p
i was just trying to go with the angel theme the OP suggested ;)
Long-time reader, but I’ve never commented before. Love your blog though :)
I just wanted to share my experience of moving with a newborn. Last spring we were living in Ireland, I was 25 weeks pregnant with my second kid, and my husband had his first temporary teaching job after grad school. The plan was to stay there for a couple of years before university lets him go, when he suddenly applied for a permanent position in Scotland and got the job. So instead of waiting for the baby to come we were looking for schools and apartments in Edinburgh and trying to sign a contract without coming over. This last month was just crazy, but in the end we packed everything and moved when our baby was only 17 days old, and it went surprisingly well. Oh, and here in Edinburgh I’ve met a girl who moved all the way from Florida 4 weeks after having a baby.
Being away from your family sucks though. We skype a lot, but it’s just not enough.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Rina! It really helps to know that others have been where we might have to be. :)
I believe we agreed you were naming the baby after me? Jennifer goes very well with Gabriel.
HOORAY for twenty weeks! You are going to make it!
Dude. I am stressed out FOR you about the moving thing! Sorry I know that’s not what you need to hear, but man! I’ll be praying for you!
Yay yay yay 20 weeks! So exciting!!! I LOVE that you all weighed things in the kitchen to find something that matched the weight of the baby.
Hang in there with the move information – I’m sure it seems scary but you will ROCK it!
Just thinking about Gabe being able to feel the baby kick is THE BEST. He must love that! I think he is at such a perfect age to know what is going on and also be really close to this baby.
I really hope you don’t have any more scary things occur in this pregnancy either. I had such a scary end of pregnancy and I’m so thankful that Max has really never made me super nervous once he was on the outside. I’m sure there is time for that of course :) But there is an especially helpless feeling when pregnant because you can’t just like go over and check if he/she is breathing, ha.
And also, you look great! I hope you start to feel better quickly though- 20 weeks is no time to be throwing up!
He totally is a great age – he GETS it, but is excited about it and wants to be incredibly helpful. I mean, I think he wishes this baby would come out ready to play trains, but he’s really excited about teaching the baby “how to talk.” Ha.
And, yes, a little window into our uterus when things make us nervous would be awesome!
(PS: I’m impressed you’re reading and commenting in the thick of baby craziness!)
You look great & happy, & I love the line (& the mental image that goes with) “We weighed everything in our kitchen until we found something that was 11 ounces.” Sending you good vibes for the pregnancy, the moving news, & everything else. xoxo
You look awesome and sound so happy. :)
And I’m so excited to find out where you’ll be moving! Living vicariously through you. :)
Another long time reader, but first time commenter, I am so happy you made it to 20 weeks, you’re gonna make it! And I can relate to the stress of moving, I moved across the ocean while being pregnant with my daughter, had to promise doctor I would go on bed rest once I got to my destination but everything went well thankfully!
I envy you for having cravings. :(. I never had them, but everyone else around me craved something while I was pregnant!
Love this update (minus the scary spotting; I hope it says at bay for you the rest of the time and nothing else scary please & thank you).
I’m behind the times so I didn’t realize you guys are moving soon. I don’t suppose STL or the surrounding areas are on the list? If yes, hit me up. I’m more than happy to help in anyway I can, ever.
Names that go well with Gabriel… I’m partial to Christian (prob cause it’s my brother’s name), Quinn, Diana (it is/was my mom’s name so it’s always popping into my head) and Lucy (though there seem to be a lot of Lucy’s these days).
20 weeks!!!! Yay!! You look so beautiful!! Check out that baby belly!!! Keep hope and happy thoughts! Cannot believe you are moving!!! Good luck in your next adventure!!!
I’ve been reading since before you were pregnant with Gabe and had to comment just to say that we moved to the UK from Florida when my guy was 10 weeks old. We moved out of our apartment (that had been home for a year and a half) when I was 26 weeks pregnant, and lived with various friends, in a temp vacation rental (where I had a 99% homebirth), in a house that belonged to our church, flew to Wales UK, lived with another couple, moved to a house for six months, then moved into our current house when Charlie was 10 months old. Um, it’s been a bit crazy. But all that to say, you can do it, and the hardest thing won’t be actually doing it, it will be the way other people will make you feel like you’re supposed to feel (if that makes sense?). Comments like, “Aw, you don’t get to decorate a nursery?” and “It must be so strange not to know where you’ll be when the baby is born!” always made me feel much worse than the experience actually was. Skype and FaceTime and iMessage are awesome, iPhone photostream is great for sharing 8 zillion pics with family and not being on Facebook, and honestly, the best part — you can parent exactly the way you want without all the well-meaning comments from those who feel they can. Obviously this was a little more significant with our first baby, but even with number two I’m sure it will be freeing to do your parenting ‘thang without crazy-Aunt-who-means-well, etc.
I was so excited to see you were pregnant when I finally caught up on my blog reader (because 14 month old boy means not much blog readin’), and am excited to watch your progress! Feel free to email me (I know, you don’t really know me) if you need any support / empathy. It can be tough sometimes to feel a bit homeless when all you want to do is nest, but on the other hand, adventures are fun and this is life–I know you will enjoy it!
Stumbled across your blog and can totally relate to your” anxious about” section. My husband is in his 6th year of a physics PhD program and will graduate in Dec, 4 weeks before baby boy #2 is born. He is in the process of looking for a job and as of now, our future is up in the air. It’s scary not knowing where we will be moving to, and thinking about all of the unknown with a newborn and 2 year old in tow, with no family support, is daunting. Saw this was written in January of this year, so now I am eagerly reading forward to see how everything turned out! Hopefully all for the best.
-Dana