Pregnancy Insomnia at 22 Weeks!

Here we are, at 22 weeks and man am I tired! I have been having a really difficult time sleeping lately! I either can't fall asleep because of little annoyances (blanket too heavy, clothes too scratchy, sheets too wrinkled, moon too bright, room too dark etc.) or I have mini wake ups, where I wake up every couple hours. Often I feel exhausted because my dreams have been quite bizarre, and I can't turn them off! I cannot seem to find any peace or rest in that crazy mind of mine. I'm thinking my mind is helping my body prepare for the lack of sleep that will be coming my way, even though I personally think it should let me catch as many zzz's as I can now. But, how can I argue with myself? Don't I know I'm always right? ;)

Little Muppet is either going to be in Riverdance when it grows up, or will be an Olympic marathon runner, as it is moving non stop now. Any time I sit down, I can feel it punching and kicking away. I also find it funny that anytime I try to show someone, it decides to stop. It has it's father's sense of humour. :) The other day it was making my tummy jump on the left side (that is the side I feel it most on) and so I called Chris in to see it. He came over and leaned over my left side with his head down close to my tummy, hoping to catch a glimpse of the tummy ripples. Of course Muppet stopped at that moment. Chris decided to encourage it by saying in a loud, deep voice, "Hello baby!" Suddenly, on the left side, my tummy punched out, right at Chris. I think he scared the poor child!

I've started to get a few faint stretch marks on my hips...oh the memories of puberty. It kind of feels like I'm reliving my teenage years all over again. Acne, stretch marks, mood swings, sudden fat deposits in places that didn't have any before...heck, I'm even getting furrier! My tummy looks like a peach with all that fuzz (James and the GIANT peach)! Who knew you could go through the joys of puberty more than once in a lifetime!

At 22 weeks, Muppet is about the size of a papaya, or the length of a spaghetti squash and weighs around 1 pound! That's like a bag of sugar (but you know the baby is even sweeter!) ;) If you were to see Muppet at this stage, it's eyelashes, hair and eyebrows would be white, as pigment still hasn't developed. *Oh, it's kicking...It knows I'm talking about it.* At this stage, Little Muppet is also learning how to use it's hands and the sense of touch. With this new sense, it probably touches it's face and grabs it's umbilical cord. It also can hear even more clearly, so we need to make sure we're reading it a story every night.

One thing Little Muppet will be hearing a lot of is my Anne Murray CD 'There's A Hippo In My Tub'. I grew up listening to her when I was small (though my version was on a cassette) and knew it would be a staple in Muppet's childhood too. It has so many of my favourites on it! Some classics include: Inch Worm, Teddy Bear's Picnic, You Are My Sunshine and of course, Animal Crackers. When I heard Anne Murray was coming to town, I knew I had to get a copy of the CD signed and I am so happy I did! She even inscribed it with, "To Little Muppet" for me! :) Funnily enough, this was all done before I had even tried getting pregnant. I just knew one day I hopefully would be lucky enough to be and that her wonderful songs would be there through it all.

Belly Watch!
It's here and it's bigger than ever! ;) It keeps on growing and now it's starting to crave something I thought it never would...CANDY! I am a salt person, I've always been a salt person. My Hallowe'en candy always lasted me until the next Hallowe'en because, well...I didn't really want to eat it. The chips would be gone in seconds, but candy? I'd trade it for a chunk of bread with a hunk of cheese any day! Now? All I want is sour, sweet goodness! Give me chocolate and cherry blasters and we'll be best friends for life! Who is this monster I've become? Truly I am losing my identity to this growing belly! :) I'm trying to stay good though, and only letting myself have a few sweets once and awhile. I try to keep that evil, sugar craving voice quiet with snacks that have natural sugars like berries and juice. We shall see how long this craving lasts for though...Oh, how I long for the days of pump cheese... ;)

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Our First Glimpse Of Little Muppet!

We went for our first ultrasound the other day and I can't even begin to share how amazing that experience was!

Being a first time mom, I obviously over-react to every little twinge and cramp I feel. Somedays I even wondered if I was still pregnant, I mean, when you can't see something, you start to wonder if it's even there! So going in for my ultrasound was just what the doctored ordered...literally. :)

I was instructed to drink a whole bunch of water, how much I am not really sure, but I decided that 2 bottles of water should do it. I started drinking my first bottle about a half hour before we were to leave for the hospital, which of course resulted in me needing to pee right before we went out the door. I decided to quickly top off my second bottle to make up for the water I ...uh...wasted. We got in the car, and I pulled out my second bottle and started to drink. As soon as we pulled into the parking lot at the hospital, I exclaimed to my husband, "I gotta pee!!" We checked in, and then I ran to the bathroom...*sigh* Another wasted bottle of water. I then filled up my bottle and as I filled out my paperwork, I chugged that water down like it was going out of style but on sale for 75% off. (Who can resist a deal like that?) ;)

The sonographer approached me and asked, "Do you have a full bladder?", to which I responded, "...I did...But I had to pee super bad!" Apparently she felt I was 'hydrated' enough anyways, so it was all good. :)

My husband wasn't able to go into the room with me at first, as the sonographer wanted to do all the measurements and stuff before sharing with us, so I waited until he was invited back into the room to hear whatever news she had for us. I have never been so nervous in my life! At one point, I was like, "Can she not find the baby?!" Thankfully, that was not the case. She called Chris into the room, and then showed us the most magical thing we have ever seen, our little baby! When it first came onto the screen, both of happily exclaimed, "It's a baby!" It was so adorable...yes, I am going to be one of those mothers. It was moving around, kicking it's little legs, and at one point, it's arm and hand were so clear we could count the fingers! Watching it's little heartbeat was also amazing. It fluttered around in it's chest like a little bird's. I kept apologizing to it as I laughed, as it made it jump around in my belly. I still can't believe that a little person is kicking up a storm inside me and I can't even feel it! It's so crazy, but having the ultrasound really made everything feel real for the first time. Seeing Chris' face light up as soon as he saw his Little Muppet on the screen is something I will carry with me forever.

Little Muppet is 11 weeks 6 days and is about the size of a large plum now. It is almost fully formed. Soon it's hands will form into little fists, and one day I am sure that I will feel them flailing around in my tummy. Right now, it's taking advantage of all the room I've got, and is preforming either water ballet, or some form of karate, as it is kicking and squirming all around.

Here is my belly at 11 weeks 6 days. I am definitely starting to show, though I just look like I let myself go instead of looking pregnant. I find my tummy hangs over my pants, and we all know how sexy that can be. People probably think I'm a frequent diner at McDonalds, which is totally the opposite, as I find my hunger has diminished. This little baby doesn't want me to eat, though I have to so I can push through my nausea. :P  I go about my days wearing baggier shirts and yoga pants. They hide the flab and are very comfortable.

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