20 down, 20 to go...

I can't believe I've already reached the halfway point in this pregnancy.  To be fair, though, a more true "halfway" would be 4 weeks from now because we didn't even know about McBaby growing in my tummy until I was 8 weeks in.  But 20 is halfway, nonetheless, so I am celebrating inside a little bit today.

I don't feel like the belly has changed much in the last few weeks, though when I look at pictures, I realize that it has.  I don't feel HUGE (and I'm not...yet) though some days I can tell that there is alot of stretching going on in there.  Baby continues to be quite active most days.  It is always reassuring to get a little nudge or kick.  If I had to describe the feeling to someone who hadn't ever felt it, I would say it kinda feels like...hmm.  Imagine your stomach is a balloon that is blown up pretty full of air.  Now imagine a ball about the size of a small bouncy ball and it's in the balloon.  If you move the balloon so that the bouncy ball rolls along the bottom of the tight rubber balloon, that's kinda what movement feels like (if you can imagine your stomach is the balloon and baby is the ball).  And if you give the balloon a shake and the bouncy ball bounces on the side of the balloon a bit, that's kinda what a kick feels like.  It's hard to describe but that's as close as I can get.  And that's what it feels like at this stage.  I'm sure it will change as the baby gets bigger and stronger.  What do other women who have felt this movement say?  Is that an accurate description or was it very different for you?

I am still feeling great.  The most painful part of the pregnancy so far has been the headaches I've gotten.  Every couple weeks I'll get these terrible migraines that get so bad that I get nauseous.  They usually last a day or a couple days and then they go as quickly as they come.  Not fun, but seriously, I'll take a couple migraines here and there...it's a small price to pay. 

Let's see, what else comes with 20 weeks?  My bladder seems to have shrunk down to the size of a walnut.  I'm up about 3-4 times every night and frequent "el bano" throughout the day as well.  There's just no room in there at all...I can't wait until our little peanut is a bit bigger and boots me right in the bladder.  That will be a moment when I truly experience the sacrifice of motherly love in all its glory... 

I think we have our names picked.  We for sure have one gender decided, and I think we have the other one too.  At our ultrasound last week we had the opportunity to find out the gender and I would be lying if I said that it wasn't tempting to find out.  One word and we could have known who is in there - or at least a name!  But no, we stayed strong and continue to guess.  At the beginning I was pretty sure that I knew what we were having, but now I am not so sure.  I keep going back and forth...but deep down, I think I may still know.  Only time will tell!