17 Weeks

I'm pretty sure I've entered the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy.  It seems a little early to me.  I definitely didn't think my belly would get in my way this soon.  But I've never been pregnant before so what do I know.  At this point, I can't sleep on my belly anymore (which used to be my favorite position).  The doctor told me last week that I shouldn't be sleeping on my back anymore either.  She explained that the baby sinks onto my vena cava which can cut off the blood supply to my brain, making me dizzy and light headed and possibly even pass out.  I listened, and politely ignored her advice.  I figured the baby couldn't possibly be heavy enough to cut off my blood supply yet!  Last night I rolled onto my back and almost immediately the room started spinning really fast.  It was scary, and now I will listen to my doctor.  So I can't sleep on my back anymore.  That leaves my left side (according to the doctor, this side is preferable) and my right side.  So I spend my night rolling back and forth in between getting up to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes.  By the way, I thought that particular side effect was supposed to go away during the second trimester.  Apparently not.  I haven't been sleeping well.  It's hard to get used to my new restrictions.  And when I do sleep, I have the most vivid and often terrifying dreams.  Daniel has complained that I take up too much of the bed.  And my response is "get used to it."  Because I'm not getting any smaller!  Daniel also felt it necessary to exclaim loudly and excitedly how huge I looked on Sunday.  He then took a picture and sent it to the entire family and posted it on twitter, again exclaiming how big I look.  Maybe a better description would be how big the baby is getting, or how pregnant I look.  I could go without the word "huge" or "big" being used to describe my appearance.  My back pain also hasn't gotten any better.  Though instead of pain, I can now more accurately describe it as fatigue.  It really feels like my back muscles are just tired from holding up the baby all day long.  So my new plan is to lay down for a few minutes when I get home from work, and try to exercise more.  Now that the weather is getting warmer, I am very happy to take walks outside.  Jackson also likes this new plan.  My allergies, however, do not.  But that will pass in the next few weeks as soon as everything stops blooming.  The new greatest thing about the pregnancy is my appetite.  I feel like I have a reason to eat whatever I want, whenever I want for the first time in my life.  I am constantly hungry.  I eat more food than Daniel in one sitting, and then I'm ready for a snack an hour later.  My biggest craving is sweets.  Specifically, fruity flavored sweets.  Like jolly ranchers and my new favorite snack- fruit snacks.  I haven't had those in forever, but they satisfy my craving perfectly now.  And I'm back to my old habit of a bowl of chocolate ice cream each evening.  Though I skip a day here and there.  Just this week, I'm starting to feel the baby move more consistently.  At least once a day I can identify definite baby movement.  I could be wrong, I guess, but I don't think I am.  Usually it's at a very specific spot.  Like I can stick my finger right where the movement is. I can now feel my uterus from my pubic bone almost all the way to my belly button.  So if it's in that area, it could be the baby.  Once or twice I've even felt a strong kick.  Though once it's over, I question if it really happened at all.  I'm so excited for when Daniel can feel the baby move.  So far I've felt kind of alone in the process.  I want him to be more involved. In other news... there isn't much other news.  Work is going as usual.  Daniel has 10 weeks left of college.  I'm counting down the days until our 20-week ultrasound (22) and our cruise (39)!  The weather is warming up and I am absolutely thrilled.  I love to spend time outside as much as possible.  In the summer, Denver has to be the most beautiful place on the planet.  It cools off just enough in the evening to sit outside.  It's just warm enough during the day that you can wear shorts and a tank top and be comfortable.  Perfect.