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This blog is probably as good a place as any to keep a diary of my pregnancy and share my experience. I know I’ve eagerly read other blogs and quizzed other mamas in search of answers: Is this normal? Do other people experience this? What should I expect? The internet is both a great resource and a terrifying wealth of too much information.
When we were traveling this summer, I became obsessed with researching listeria after I ate some feta cheese without checking to make sure it had been pasteurized. I’m normally not really a worrier, but the idea of listeria had me scared. Until Elie looked up the statistics and asked me to guess a number between 1 and 40,000. Me guessing the number right was about the same chance I had of getting listeria. That helped. A little.
My pregnancy has been fairly uneventful, if just a bit uncomfortable. Even now, I am still nauseous almost every day. I had another friend explain it as feeling ‘green,’ which is an apt description. It’s not debilitating, just…uncomfortable. I have the same adjective to describe my growing belly. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m short-waisted and there’s not a lot of room there, or if everyone feels this way. It’s just uncomfortable, and I’m still hoping to hit that second trimester bliss I’ve heard so much about.
But as I write this, I can feel Bubbles moving in my belly, and it makes every discomfort disappear to the background like white noise. I first started feeling those little flutters in week 18, and I’ve learned to recognize them more and more. But even cooler and more amazing, I can actually feel Bubbles with my hands—almost all the time.
When we went to visit our midwife a few weeks ago, we heard the heartbeat again, strong and loud. I felt for a lump on my belly and asked the midwife, “I keep feeling lumps like this. Is this my uterus, or an organ?”
She felt the lump under my fingers and laughed. “That’s the baby! You’re lucky you can feel it so early.”
Ever since then, I’m constantly aware of where Bubbles is, moving up under my navel during yoga or sliding to the side when I sleep at night. If I rub my belly where Bubbles is, he or she will often poke out so I can see him or her. Elie laughs at me, because I say that Bubbles is cuddling with me. It’s amazing.
It’s hard to believe that I’m almost halfway to giving birth to this little person.
These pictures were taken at McKenzie's wedding shower, which was during my 19th week. You can read more about the shower on Nourish RDs.
I love when I see an email from a friend, and that’s how I think of you. I hope you feel the same. In my newsletter, I share the kinds of recipes and stories I used to blog about. You’ll get the recipes I’m cooking for my family as well as anything else I think might bring more connection or more joy.
