Week 21

Babymooning!!!  I am writing this blog post from our hotel room on Waikiki Beach!  Not too shabby, huh?  Hubby and I are greatly enjoying this special time together.  And while I keep falling into our regular get-up-and-go routine and not really *thinking* about why we're here, I try to remind myself that even though nothing about this trip feels abnormal - it will be the last of its kind for MANY years to come.  Of course we can take trips without kids in the future, but we would miss them and worry about them.  And then if you bring them, there is really no "relaxation" in the definition of that type of vacation.  So that's why this trip/babymoon is so special.  We're resting, we're spending time together, we're seeing new places, eating new things and learning about a place.  We both love to travel and while this is certainly not an exotic international locale, we are happy to be (slowly) exploring someplace we've never been.

How far along:  21 weeks today!
What did baby do this week: Baby is the size of a pomegranate (wait, is a pomegranate really larger than last week's banana?) and about 10.5 inches.  I read somewhere that if you could see your baby right now, s/he would look like a smaller version of what they'll look like at birth.  Meaning all the facial features are done forming and they just need to grow and get bigger!  Baby has fully developed taste buds and can taste what I'm eating as they swallow amniotic fluid.  They are also developing a regular sleep cycle and starting to have dreams!
Total weight gain: I don't know since we've been gone all week - but my gawd I'm worried it's a lot more than I want to.  We've been eating so "well"!!!
Symptoms: Nothing really this week.  However I have noticed that since we've been on vacation, we've been doing a lot of walking (hiked 6 miles one day).  Sometimes we're walking multiple miles 2 days in a row.  And my feet are KILLING ME!!  Yes, sometimes I'm not wearing great shoes (ie. flip-flops.  But NOT on the days we are hiking/walking many miles) and I think my feet actually hurt more when we are browsing around/standing around/moving slowly since then I'm resting on my heels more instead of moving on my whole foot.  But Hubby has had to rub my feet more than once on this trip.  And he's been dropping me off at the hotel lobby before parking the car on many a night too.  The perfect hubby!  No back pain - just my FEET!
Queasy or Sick: Nope - yay!
Sleep: It has been WONDERFUL while we've been on vacation.  I really must be super stress free!  And I'm not getting up to pee at night every single night!
Best moment this week: The only thing that tops being here?... I'm certain I've been feeling our baby kick.  What a wonderful way to celebrate our Babymoon!
Hardest part of the week: Sorry - I know this just rubs in our trip to paradise, but researching and deciding on all the cool things we want to do each day.  I know, *wah*!  But it IS hard work to research a vacation spot and figure out how to optimally fill a week with interesting and enjoyable memories!  Especially thinking this could be our last where we can so freely do this.
Looking forward to:  Going home to an empty house (sorry Sissy, you know I love!)  My sister and her family have been staying with us but their remodel should be finished around the time we get home so I'll get my whole house back to start nesting and working on the nursery.
Movement:  I think......I think...... I'm pretty sure.... that YES!  What I'm feeling pretty darn low in my abdomen (maybe 4 inches below my belly button) is not gas or hunger pangs as I'd been thinking before, but my little baby's feet kicking me!  The feeling is stronger this week and it's always the same.  I read on another pregnancy blog someone mentioning that since the feeling is not like anything they'd felt before, they're determining it to be their baby.  Well this falls true for me too: it's kinda LIKE gas or hungriness, but it's still not like anything I'm certain I've felt before.  So it must be Baby!  I thought it seemed a little low to be baby kicks, but we know after my anatomy scan that Baby is turned feet down right now and I read online that just depending on how the baby is positioned, sometimes kicks are in the belly, sometimes the side, sometimes the pelvic area...  But I'm so excited that I'm finally feeling movement!!!  Hubby has been asking what it feels like and I just tell him "gas".  Haha - he knows how that feels FOR SURE!!

Food cravings: Well since Hawaiian food can be very heavy and I'm only sampling little bites of poke or sushi at very high-end/reputable restaurants, I've mostly been craving light food here.  Like soup with noodles and salads.  No giant plates of beef teriyaki or loco moco.  But I'm also craving all the great sweets too: Hawaiian donuts and shave ice.  Yum!!
Happy or moody: Very happy
Labor signs: No
Maternity clothes: I am just wearing a regular bikini at the pool.  But yes otherwise maternity clothes.  I put on a non-maternity shirt the other day and found it is now just slightly too short to cover the band of my maternity shorts.  So yah, just about full-fledged maternity clothes all the time.  And big bras.  Like lunch lady style bras.  I bought a few new ones before our trip and was floored to realize I'd gone from barely filling a 36B to a 38C!!  And these are not cute, perky, little cute bras like I'm used to.  They're big - with 3 hooks instead of 2 and wide straps.  I made a comment to Hubby (I think also since I'm seeing myself in so many pictures we've taken this week) that I feel like I put on a pregnancy suit every morning.  I'm still adjusting to this new body I have in front of me.  The boobs and belly all feel fake and like I can come home at night and take them all off!
Belly button in or out: In
Wedding rings on or off: On, but snugger.
Stretch marks: No
Learnings from the week: I've talked in earlier posts about how my fingernails were so strong and not breaking and how I'd have to cut them at least once every 2 weeks.  However in the last month I swear they're not as strong as they were in the first half of my pregnancy.  I've been wondering why this is.  But I may have figured it out.  This last month has basically been the time that my morning sickness or queasiness has been gone.  I've definitely been more active in this time.  Hiking, walking, doing things around the house... so maybe I'm just doing more with my hands and thus causing my nails to break more frequently?  Random, I know - but something that I noticed.
Final Thoughts: I would HIGHLY recommend a Babymoon.  You don't need to spend a lot of money or fly across the country to still get away and have some sweet downtime bonding with your significant other.  A friend of mine did 4 weekend trips with her Hubby so as to save her PTO for when her baby is here.  Also a great option!  It's so hard to imagine how life will change for us but of course it WILL.  So while a wonderful new chapter of life is about to begin, another one is ending.  And I think it's SO important to cherish the time with my Hubby right now.  These are the last few months that it will be just the two of us.  I had a friend recently mention to me that even though we're no spring chickens, she's not ready to rush into marriage and babies with her newish (but serious) boyfriend because she's doesn't want to have to share him.  There are obviously other reasons too - but that "sharing" idea stuck with me.  I love the attention Hubby and I give each other (and let's be honest, I probably get a little more than he gets) and it's very true that our attention to each other will not only be cut in half, but probably down to about 10-25% in the early days with a new baby.  So do yourselves a favor and try to spend some special time with your partner.  Relax, get away from daily life, talk about the future, talk about the baby, and just enjoy each other.