20 WEEKS BUMP UPDATE – Half way there!

By
Elena @ Every Avenue Life
-
26
1001

20 Weeks Bump Update – Half Way There!

Are you digging my red leggings? I bought a few leggings on clearance  in bright colors just for fun and I’m just loving the red right now.
I find it interesting how you almost can’t see my belly from the front, while it’s really popping out from the side. It’s definitely more than previous weeks though, so I think I’ll start taking a front picture too. I really love seeing our pregnant ladies’ front shots- they look adorable!

STATS:

How far along: 20 weeks.

How big is baby: The size of a banana. She’s producing meconium that she will hopefully wait to pass until she’s safety out of the womb.

Total weight gain: 1 pound (145lb) this week, for a total of  approximately 9 pounds from the start of the pregnancy.

Sleep: I’m managing. Still using 5 pillows which is working pretty well. I still get up 3-4 times a night to go to the bathroom. I think it’s because I drink a lot of water all day long and before bed, as well as when I get up to pee ( a bit counterproductive, don’t you think?), but the frequent bathroom trips don’t seem to disturb my sleep too much. I go back to sleep with no problems.

Maternity Clothes: Let’s see… I did buy a few pieces of actual maternity clothes, just for fun, however I haven’t had a chance to wear any yet. Mostly I wear bottoms that used to be really loose on me pre-pregnancy and all of my tops still fit.  Otherwise, I’ve been buying non-maternity outfits that I could possibly wear during pregnancy, at least until I am really big. Speaking of purchases, I am getting ready to write an outfit post with my latest clothing purchases (some maternity and some non-maternity), I already took all the pictures, so I just have to put it together. Is it something you’d be interested in reading? I’ve been trying to buy pregnancy friendly items, in 1 size up from my pre-pregnancy size, hoping that I can still wear them post-partum.

Best moment of the week:

Wow! I don’t think I even remember what I did this week, besides work, and lots of baby/nursery planning.

I guess the best parts of my week were:
1. Buying our first set of clothes for Alexis- I couldn’t resist ( Zulily is evil, I am telling you! You cannot walk away unscathed if you’re pregnant or a mom. That being said, *whispering*  “Go sign up, it’s awesome!”). Oh and I will definitely be doing a post about the stuff we’re buying for Alexis. So cute!
2. Receiving some of our first baby gifts from friends ALL over the world! (Thank you, Olesya, Eric, Iris, Olga, Zoltan and Barbara!) So much fun and makes it sooo real!

Food cravings : I’m good here. No strong cravings, just trying to eat as healthy as possible. I did switch my one daily indulgence from pistachio ice-cream cone to a chocolate cone ( that’s considering I’m not a huge fan of anything chocolate)

Food aversions: Nothing here either. I still don’t necessarily LIKE food, but nothing particular that makes me want to vomit.

Symptoms:

Being out of breath, occasional heartburn, insane HUNGER, break outs, lots of movement, Braxton Hicks.
I somehow thought it was too early for BH, but after having occasional cramping for 3 days, I called my OB and the nurse reassured me that it’s fine, as long as I don’t have more than 6 an hour in a lying position ( mine are always when I’m on my feet for 15 minutes or more). Also, i thought BH were supposed to be painless. They feel like pre-menstrual cramping to me.

Movement:

Alexis getting more and more active! She’s been kicking regularly since the first time we felt her, but this past week it REALLY picked up. That little girl is so strong that she startles me all the time. It’s so much fun watching my belly move, though. I can’t imagine her getting bigger and stronger, to be honest – it feels like a little bit more  growth and she’ll poke through my skin.

Gender: Adorable healthy girl

What I’m looking forward to:
Going to the fabric store to figure out what type of fabric I want for Alexis’s bedding. My sister from Russia will be sewing it and, like with everything, I want to order the fabric online, however I honestly don’t have a very good idea of what satin or silk or other types of fabric look like (lol).
Hubby painting the nursery this weekend ( if we can somehow un-bury ourselves from the backlog of work things to be done)

What I miss:
Sushi again
Getting my hair highlighted (ugh! I hate my roots. And it’d be fine if i was going to the beach more often and doing my usual things, because my hair gets bleached in the sun almost to the point where i don’t even need to do highlights, but having limited sun exposure (good for skin, bad for hair))

Next appt: October 6th

 

 

 

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26 COMMENTS

  1. I’m with you on Zulily, the baby girl clothes they have on there are soooo awesome. Love them all! As for me, I would love to read about your recent purchases for yourself, and especially if you have the pictures ready already! You (and Alexis) are looking so cute! Can you believe you are halfway finished?! I bet the second half will go faster now that you are feeling better and not nauseous 24/7, at least the second half always has went faster for me.

  2. I loved this shot,you are so showing the bump! When is your due date? I bet it’s close to mine! So happy to see that you are saying Alexis,and no the baby or something like that… it’s such an strong name.

    I’m with you on Zulily,my friend send me their link last week and I just can’t get enough of it!

    Can’t believe you are already 20 weeks,sounds like yesterday I found you blog and now there’s just 4 months to you meet your little Alexis.

    p.s. love that you post two pictures today,is nice to see more of your growing belly!

    • My Due date is January 24-26 depending on whether you go by the doctor’s LMP or my known date of conception.
      I love calling Alexis by her name- makes it feel real! We’ve been treating her like she’s already here and calling her by her name is a part of it.

      I agree on the two pictures- will do from now on!

  8. Wow! When you have your next appointment, it will be almost my due date! Eeekkk! Crazy! Sorry, I got distracted. ; )

    I’d love to hear about what you’re buying for maternity clothes, whether they are maternity or not. Plus, I could always use some fashion ideas, too. I’ve actually gotten a couple non-maternity shirts to tide me over the rest of my pregnancy. I just got them bigger than I normally buy, and they’re actually long enough which is usually the big problem. At the end last time, I only had like one shirt and I was wishing I’d bought more, so hopefully I’ll have enough now to last me the rest of my pregnancy. Plus the beginning post partum time, when my boobs are way too big to fit into any of my regular clothes too.

    You’re belly definitely is popping out a little more from last week even. I loved finally “looking” pregnant. It’s so fun! You look great, as always!!

  9. Long time reader but first time poster here…love your blog!!! I really enjoy reading all your posts, especially the weekly updates. We are 2 weeks apart (I’m 22 weeks), so it’s especially fun to follow others’ pregnancies that are so close to my own. A few things:

    (1) Your bump is adorable 🙂

    (2) Congrats on the gender reveal! I love the name Alexis, and your video was so creative and touching.

    (3) I’m in the same spot as you re:clothing – wearing mostly the same tops but only the bottoms that had been larger on me pre-pregnancy. I did break down and buy a few pairs of maternity pants for work last weekend (I’m a teacher), and I must say they are ultra-comfy with the big elastic panel. Might have to keep those around for a while after the baby comes…

    Thanks again for your posts, and I hope everything keeps going well for you! 🙂

  10. Hey pretty lady, look at you and your bump! SO cute! I love the 2 pics for this week, cause the straight forward ones you can’t tell your pregnant at all!

    Can’t wait to see your recap of the last 20 weeks!

    Also a HUGE second on Zulily (however) they are notorious for not always shipping right away. Just an FYI if you buy Alexis stuff when she’s hear, buy like the next size up.

    <3 ya girl!

  11. Hi there. I have a question that is a little off topic from the post, but I am very curious to get your take since are so highly educated about pregnancy and health risks before and after birth. What is your take on vaccines? I hear so much conflicting advice, and I know it’s a controversial topic, so I am curious to know if you have reached any conclusions on the topic through all your research. Thanks!

    • Ohhh, this is a really hard one!
      If you’re talking about vaccines during pregnancy, it’s best to avoid them and get vaccinated before getting pregnant ( which is what I made sure i did), however flu vaccine is a different story, since it’s seasonal and getting a flu would be worse than possible vaccination dangers. So I got mine for this season and I made sure it had no preservatives.

      If you’re talking about childhood vaccines, it’s such a hairy topic. I haven’t gotten too deep into it, but from what I have read and found the claims that vaccines cause autism have been unsubstantiated and disputed ( the time for when autism behavior starts displaying a child simply coincides with vaccination times, which personally makes sense). There IS this whole problem with vaccines having mercury and other poisonous materials in them as preservative, which I DO think is a big issue. So I’ll be requesting vaccines without preservative. Then there’s an option of delaying the vaccination schedule. But the problem is if you’re going to have kids that are not vaccinated, or had their schedule delayed, then that really puts smaller kids in danger that don’t normally come in contact with those illnesses. So it’s a HUGELY double edged sword. I wouldn’t want my younger child to get into contact with an older child who SHOULD HAVE been vaccinated, but wasn’t, and now my child is sick. So I don’t want to do it to other parents and kids either.

      For now, we have decided that we’ll vaccinate according to the traditional schedule BUT request vaccines without preservatives, or milder preservative if the others don’t exist.
      Also, there are certain illnesses that could be devastating or deathly to a child that I just can’t in my right mind not protect my child from.

      I haven’t read all the info that is out there about vaccinations. But that’s our opinion for the time being until I get a bit more into this specific topic. I guess I’ve been sort of afraid to start reading the vaccination books, because I really do believe in vaccines, and I just don’t want to get pointed in the wrong direction via fraudulent studies ( like the autism one) and decide to skip them. In the end I think the best protection we can give our kids is prenatal programming, attachment parenting, breastfeeding while eating healthy, and teaching them good eating habits as well.

      I am sure I will be writing about vaccinations, whether I stick with the plan with have now, or read something that changes my mind completely.

  13. hi! i know you’re about to deliver and this post was over 20 weeks ago – but where did you buy your leggings from? i’m a pilates/yoga instructor and i’m now into my third trimester – nothing is fitting! including my leggings (and i teach 6 days a week – i live in leggings!)! i’ve been to several stores and i can’t for the life of me find cheap but cute leggings. i like how this red pair you’re wearing doesn’t pinch your waist (creating that “muffin top”) and will expand comfortably as your belly expands – if you can remember, where did you get them from?

    and by the way i love your blog – i’ve already converted my face/body products to some that you suggested. i hope you will have time to continue blogging once alexis arrives! which is any day now! yay!
    hugs,
    sommer

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