My life as I know it

Week: 24 Baby length: 12.5 inches - the length of an ear of corn Baby weight: 1.25 lbs. Bump size: 37.5 inches (same as last week) Weight: +16 pounds (-.5 lbs. from last week) Cravings: Sweets, duh.   Cravings Nothing new to report in this department. I am still trying to resist sweet temptations. And by trying I mean that I made a reese's peanut butter cup dirt pudding for our cookout on Saturday and then proceeded to eat it and every other dessert available. I curse every individual who attended our party and didn't finish off the desserts and even worse - those who left their desserts at our house, which I then continued to eat on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday I showed up to a work meeting where there were muffins. Chocolate muffins. I resisted them for about the first hour of the meeting until I realized I wasn't even paying attention to anything we were discussing and rather was only thinking about how badly I wanted to eat a muffin. So I did....

Week: 23 Baby length: 11.5 inches - the length of a green onion Baby weight: 1.1 lb. Bump size: 37.5 inches (+1 inch from last week) Weight: +16.5 pounds (+.5 lbs. from last week) Cravings: Sweets, duh. I can't help but notice how awful I look in this picture. No makeup. My hair isn't done. Maybe it's the 90+ degree temperatures we've been experiencing or maybe it's just the beginning of a trend where I no longer care what I look like. Either way, please just focus on the bump and the onion. Thanks. Cravings Should I even keep writing about this? I'm craving sweets. Morning. Noon. And night. Sweets is all I think about. Last Thursday there was a tray of cookies in the faculty lounge at work. I took one of every kind (except the oatmeal raisin - is that even dessert? Sounds more like breakfast to me). I didn't eat any of them but put them in a tupperware container and took them home. It's like a weird dessert hoarding. I shouldn'...

Week: 22 Baby size: 11 inches - the length of celery Bump size: 36.5 inches   Weight: +16 pounds Cravings: Peanut butter desserts Cravings Rather than continue saying that I'm craving desserts, this week I thought I would give you some specifics. I want peanut butter desserts. And I won't even be picky about about which peanut butter desserts. Peanut butter ice cream, peanut butter pie, reese cups, etc. You name it, I want it. I don't hate gummy worms this week, either. I have been doing a much better job of controlling my portions when I do allow myself to indulge in desserts. I have found that I don't need a lot, just a few bites and I feel satisfied. So that's good. Even the Dessert Nazi allowed me to have two nutter butter cookies yesterday in honor of National Peanut Butter Cookie Day. Baby Movements At 20 weeks I felt the baby move a lot, and consistently. At 21 weeks I barely felt it move once. And now this week, it's moving like cra...

Week: 21 Baby size: 10.5 inches head to heel, the length of a carrot Bump size: 35.8 inches   Weight: +14 pounds Cravings: Anything sweet   Cravings Remember the pact Pat and I made about only eating sweets once a week? Here's how that is working out for me... I went to work the very next day and my coworker brought in red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting - my absolute favorite! I resisted the temptation all day long. That is, until about 3 p.m. when I couldn't take it anymore. So I ate one. It was delicious and so worth it. I have no regrets. It had been a crazy day at work, I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to tie up loose ends for the magazine I edit and gosh darn it, I earned that cupcake! And spoken like a true addict, I vowed that it "would be my last" and I would stick to the plan the next day. And I did. I was presented with this tasty little treat at a work luncheon the next day and I actually hand...

Week: 20 Baby size: 6.5 inches head to rump (10 inches head to heel), the size of a banana Bump size: 35.8 inches   Weight: +12 pounds Cravings: Anything sweet Half way there! It's very hard to believe. And a lot has happened this week. The baby's movements have gotten much stronger this week. Although I've been feeling things on and off since 15 weeks, it wasn't until the last few weeks that the movements have become more frequent. The movements before felt like soft little pokes or flicks. It wasn't until this week that they actually started to feel like strong kicks. They have gotten so strong, in fact, that Pat got to feel his first kick on Friday! It was so exciting and fun for both of us. He has been able to feel it a few times since then, too. Baby is most active after 10 p.m. at night (a habit we hope to break as soon as it's born!). Pat describes the movements to feel like muscle spasms. He's not far off. That's kind of what i...

Week: 19 Baby size: 6 inches, the size of a mango Bump size: 35.5 inches   Weight: +10 pounds Cravings: Anything sweet I still can't pass up desserts and don't worry - I didn't pass on anything this week, as much as I should have. I ate a glazed doughnut, piece of chocolate cake (it was small...) and a piece of cheesecake. Not all in the same day, but in the same week.  Other than my poor eating habits, which is old news at this point, there were a few other big developments this week. I guess you could say I officially "popped." I received more comments (and more belly touching) this week than I have throughout the pregnancy. This is both good and bad. I kind of liked being able to "hide" my pregnancy and only talk about it when and with whom I wanted. Those days are officially behind me and my protruding belly apparently is just screaming to people, "yes, I'm pregnant. Let's talk about it." There are only two weeks ...