21 week update

I will post a bump picture soon, I promise.

I am finally out of the phase where my pregnancy is totally surreal. For the first couple of months after finding out, I was totally immersed in trying to figure out what products were healthiest for Baby, what essentials we would need for our newborn, and driving myself mad trying to decide on vaccination, birth, and breastfeeding plans. At the end of the day, though, I would look at my belly, step on the scale, and think I’d imagined the whole ordeal.

Up until the night before we left for San Diego, I was still able to wear my pre-pregnancy clothes – but as convenience would have it, I suddenly discovered that 60% of the outfits I’d planned to pack were no longer fitting comfortably, and the rest certainly had lost their flattery. Flutters were finally turning to kicks, and the numbers of the scale were starting to increase. While away, Felipe and I started reading new material to my belly, including excerpts from The Perks of Being a Wallflower (my plane ride entertainment), David Sedaris short stories, and various books of poetry, although after a particular poem narrating the sorrowful experience of a young Hispanic woman who fell victim to rape and aborted her pregnancy, we decided it was wise to screen the readings ahead of time.

Of course, it all became most real in the doctor’s office last Wednesday, when Ivory showed us that she not only has grown into a lovely (though severely undercooked) little gal, but also exhibited signs of a personality. I used to have this idea of babies in the womb being mindless blobs of atoms which magically transformed into human beings at birth, so this whole being an expectant parent thing has really thrown me for a loop, especially since I was never someone who wanted to hold other peoples’ babies (with a small handful of exceptions based on my closeness to the parent). For fear that he or she would cry and I’d be instantly outed for my obvious lack of maternal instinct, I chose to steer clear of those situations, hugging walls and ducking under tables to avoid the inevitable awkwardness. I never would have guessed I’d be gushing over ultrasound images and looking for crib bedding, but here we are, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Ivory has been stirring constantly. We went to gospel meeting yesterday afternoon, and she spent the whole time trying to knock my bladder out of me. I noticed it especially while we were singing, which I’m sure she can hear pretty well at this stage. Daddy and Grandma Linda have enjoyed feeling her kicks several times now. It is such a comforting feeling every time she starts to move, just the little reassurance that she’s still in there doing her thing. And ooh, there it just was!

The weather here is lovely today. I'm impatiently waiting for springtime to arrive,  but days like this make it seem more possible that it eventually will. I took a drive to Subway on my lunch break (the first time I've driven anywhere for lunch in several months), and I just had to roll down the window for fresh air

In other news, we're starting our nursery (sort of)! Grandma Wendy and Grandpa Javier gifted us a beautiful Jenny Lind crib and changing table, pictured below, and we will be using coral and turquoise/aqua to decorate. If anyone finds a pretty coral bedding set, please feel free to send me the link; I'm on the lookout.