20 Weeks Pregnant!

Halfway there!!! It’s gettin’ real now!

Baby Growth: This week Leo is weighing in around 10.5 oz and is roughly 6.5 inches from head to bottom, 10 inches from head to heel (length of a banana!). Up until this point the measuring has been from head to bottom because the feet are all curled up but now that Leo is stretching out the measurements start going from head to heel…good to know!

 My Symptoms:

Y’all. On Tuesday I went to bed feeling like normal. And Wednesday, I woke up PREGNANT! I swear it was an overnight switch. I felt more pregnant. And my stomach was like WOAH! My belly kinda hurt too? Like it was tender in places and I just didn’t feel “right”. Very achy. My belly stopped being able to “suck in” at all and my boobs are def not sticking out further than it anymore! I also looked in the mirror at it and my belly button is officially an outie! Yes. I’m posting a picture of my belly button for the world to see haha but look at that thing!!! Also that little hole above my belly button? That’s a constant reminder of my belly button ring days…the hole NEVER completely closed and I took the ring out ten years ago.

This week was pretty eventful for us! Over last weekend Zach was in a golf tournament and we had Kye’s family-only birthday celebration. I did SO MUCH better handling everything for this party while pregnant than I did for Britt’s in Dec. Rather than cleaning all day Saturday leading up to the party, I cleaned on Friday. Then I took the kids out of the house Saturday so they wouldn’t mess up how clean it was 🙂 That way I was well rested for the party rather than being exhausted from doing too much in one day! It worked out great and everyone had a fun time!

On Monday we had our taxes done. Ugh. It’s the one time of the year that you wish you made less money and had spent more so you can write stuff off haha! With this being our first year of Dave Ramsey we had a good bit less to write off because we spent so much less and saved so much more. It was tough to hear the amount we owed and our van savings def took a hit BUT I’m beyond proud of Zach for having such a great financial year in 2013 and I’m thankful we did save so much and were able to give so much more to the Lord!

Also on Monday we had our family pictures done! Zach did a spray tan for me Sunday night and I forgot how obsessed I am with it. Seriously! I feel SO MUCH more attractive when I’m spray tanned! I also got to paint my toe nails for the first time in months which was also nice! We always have a great time working with Captured by Colson and I LOVE the images she got of us! I’m posting a couple sneak peak shots in this post 🙂

I also got to spend some time with some good friends this week. As the realization has set in that my life is gonna be over for awhile after Leo arrives I want to make sure to spend time with my little family as much as possible and to get in quality time with my friends as well! I don’t want them to forget about me when I’m in my un-social new-mommy stage 😉 I went to the mix with Kori and also helped my Japanese food craving by going to dinner with Katie! Both nights were so fun and I’m PUMPED for this coming week with two chances to hang with some of my favorites 🙂

In other pregnancy symptom type stuff…

Zach couldn’t sleep one night because I was SNORING! I just read on my weekly update on Babycenter that it’s actually very normal! It’s caused by estrogen! How random is that?!? It suggested sleeping on my side and elevating my head to help, so we’ll try that this week if it happens again. He was so sweet not to wake me but I hate that he didn’t get his rest!

I am still getting round ligament pains when I stand up quickly but they are brief and totally bare able. My back started to hurt again this week too…which isn’t it too early for those aches and pains?!?! My appetite still hasn’t increased much even though I do feel SO pregnant now! Zach says I’m the most picky I’ve ever been since he met me when it comes to food, which is funny for a pregnant person huh? NOTHING really ever sounds good to me to eat. I will pick at my dinner most nights and truly only enjoy breakfast and lunch for the most part. I also have noticed my gag reflex is really sensitive now. I am the one around here who picks up anything icky that may be on the floor and when such an event occurred this week I literally gagged over the sink to wear my eyes were watering from it which is super abnormal for me!

Kye had his 5 year well visit this week and I want to some how blame my error on the pregnancy…however…I made the appointment a year ago so I’m not sure I can?!?! But I guess when I made the appointment I put it in my phone wrong and we got there at 1:00 but they were closed for the weekend and his appointment was actually at 9 am that morning. Oops! We went to a gas station to get slushies since it’s been such a craving for me but they didn’t have orange ones so I didn’t really like it. My craving I guess is specific to orange slushies only! 🙂 

 Weight: I totally forgot to weigh in on Friday! It was a super busy day and it just slipped my mind!

Gender: We finalized the bedding decisions this week!!! I am SO excited! I am putting the gender revealing ultrasound in the mail so the Top Secret Friend can tell the designer which one to send us 🙂 Here is a sneak peak for y’all…it’s the digital design of each option! I hope y’all love it as much as I do! Zach and I are both more excited about this nursery than we have been about either of our others!!!

Girl

Boy

Pretty much everyone I talk to thinks Leo is a boy. Honestly, I agree. In the beginning of pregnancy I hardcore thought Leo was a boy then I went through a period where I truly had no clue…and now I’m back to boy. While my “plan” was always to have boy first, then two girls, then a boy last…I’m obviously happy EITHER WAY! I liked the idea of the girls being close in age and having a boy at the end so we’d be less likely to spoil him/baby him with him being our last. BUT if it’s the Lord’s plan for us to have three of the same sex, I’d rather have three boys and one girl than three girls and one boy. So Leo being a boy would take the pressure off of baby #4 😉 If we DO have three boys and one girl I truly would be overjoyed to adopt our second daughter someday! And I don’t think I fully appreciate Kye being a boy b/c he was my first and I had nothing to compare him to and didn’t really understand what qualities about him were “boy qualities” and not just “baby qualities” so Leo being a boy would be wonderful to get to appreciate all the boy-ness in a way I didn’t the first time around!  Plus Kye would LOVE a brother and Britt could totally handle two brothers with no problem 😉 I may change my vote, but right now I will truly be surprised if Leo is born and they say “it’s a girl!” b/c I fully expect it to be “it’s a boy!”

Maternity Clothes: So one of my goals for this year is to do a better job packing the kids clothes up as they outgrow them. I know a lot of people go through and pack up ALL of one size before moving to the next size, but I don’t do that. I pack things away usually as I try them on the kids and they no longer fit. Some clothing items can be the same size but fit differently, ya know? Often when I take the clothes up to the attic area to pack them away I get lazy and don’t put them in their proper containers. I’m trying to do better about taking the time to put them away as I go and this week while I was up there I decided to open one of the tubs of maternity clothes. On top were some of the things Robyn had given me and they really looked like stuff Casey could use NOW! I figured it made sense for us to just go through all my maternity stuff together. We are different sizes (hello, she’s like 9 inches or so taller than I am haha) and she’s also further along than I am. So the stuff that will fit us both, she can go ahead and use until I need it or until she’s no longer pregnant 🙂 

She came over Thursday and we went through everything…all FOUR tubs I have filled with stuff! What should have been fun, wasn’t. And I couldn’t exactly figure out why but the more stuff we dug out, the more upset I got. I did find a TON of cute things I plan to go ahead and start wearing and I’m so glad that SO much of my stuff did fit Casey (and omg she looked adorable in it all too! She has that “skinny pregnant” look that makes you want to hate her haha) but for some reason I was just upset. Later that afternoon it hit me that my mom bought me majority of my really really cute maternity stuff. And that I wore all the cutest stuff to my showers and to all the “big events” of my pregnancies. The thought of wearing those clothes for this one when my mom won’t be part of any of the “big events” just really, really hurts. 

I have always been very sentimental when it comes to clothes. I think a lot of it is because I can’t smell? I know smell is linked to memories. That when you smell something it will take you back to a certain moment or childhood memory or something. Since I don’t have that ability, clothes do that of me. I can look at my clothing and instantly remember exactly where I wore it and am mentally taken back to those moments. And seeing all those clothes really did take me right back to happier times with my mom and her excitement with my pregnancies and all the fun times we had together planning and preparing for my babies. 

Feeling that way really made it easier for me to let Casey borrow it all, and I’m glad she will get use out of all the cute dresses! However, I can’t wear them. I don’t know if I will be able to again or not? But I know right now I def can’t. So I brought down a lot of maternity clothes and am thankful I do have so many…but now I’m in need of dresses and the cute clothes to wear for showers and the “big events” that will come along before Leo is born!

I know I may write things here about my feelings and my hurt with missing my family, but honestly I don’t talk about it hardly at all. And hardly ever. I have always expressed myself best through writing and just don’t like to say the words out loud b/c they hurt more that way. I tried to swallow down the hurt I was feeling about the clothes and the memories they brought up to the surface but I could tell it was affecting me. I’ve been working hard at being “less hormonal” (if that’s possible while 20 weeks pregnant haha!) especially when it comes to Zach but feeling that hurt inside made it hard for me to be nice at all! I ended up telling him my feelings and having a bit of a cry about it and I felt silly about it. I mean it’s CLOTHES. I shouldn’t be crying over clothing right?!?! But I love what he said…he told me that there are land mines everywhere around me and that it’s impossible to always avoid them all and it’s also impossible to know when I will hit one. The maternity clothes were an emotional land mine for me, for sure. And that’s okay. 

I am VERY thankful I decided to go through all the clothes with Casey rather than by myself. If I’d been alone it would have been a lot more painful I think and I also wouldn’t have been able to get the things out of my possession like I did when she was here! 

Movement: It’s still very, very often but now it’s also more intense! Like to the point where I can’t stay focused on other things when Leo decides to get active in there. I will say this every single week…I love it. I say it because it truly is the best feeling in the world and I never, ever take it for granted and neither should any other pregnant woman!!!

Sleep: This time change is kicking my buttttt. When I go to bed I’m not tired so I toss and turn to fall asleep. Then it’s super hard to wake up in the morning because I’m so exhausted! I’m still sleeping pretty well and actually haven’t had to get up much in the night at all because with the time change my body thinks it’s earlier than it actually is so I don’t have to pee bad enough to wake up!

Cravings: I had both The Mix (froyo) and Japanese food (shrimp, rice and tonnnns of yum yum sauce) this week and I have to say….I enjoyed the japanese food more than the froyo. How crazy is THAT?!?! 

What I Miss: Not having back pains, not being so hormonal!!! 

Best Moment of the Week: Having our family pictures done Monday afternoon was SO FUN. Seriously! I love, love, LOVE to work with Captured by Colson. We have done so much together now that she just really knows US and it makes the entire experience relaxing and enjoyable for us all. Even Zach enjoyed it!!! And the images show the FUN we had too! She snapped a few “maternity” pics for me and our timing has just been so awesome. Our last photos were taken the day after I found out I was pregnant with Leo and these were taken during my 20th week! Perfect time to document it 🙂 You’ll have to wait for the rest!

When we were getting ready for the pics on Monday I went to get Britt up from her nap and just had on my panties and the cami I wore under the dress. Her reaction was priceless! She said “MOMMY! BABY!” And grabbed my belly right away and was so excited about it haha. Guess my gut was showing 😉 I asked her what she is going to do when she meets the baby. I asked if she’s going to kiss it and she said no. I asked if she’s going to hug it and she said no! So I asked “What are you going to do?” and she said “hold hands hold hands!” it was so cute 🙂 

Kye told me he is so excited for the baby that he doesn’t think he will be able to sleep until the baby gets here! He rubs my belly all the time and insists on kissing the baby before naps and night time. he also LOVES to talk about what we will do at the hospital and what kind of present he wants to buy for the baby 🙂 

Questions/Concerns:

• I need to ask Stacy about Ireland and how to best prepare for the flight and such
• I need to find some cute maternity dresses! I need a size Small or Medium…if ANYONE has any they are looking to sell let me know…OR if you have a place you recommend looking to buy some I’d love to hear about it! I didn’t buy anything with Britt so it’s been 6 years since I’ve been on the maternity clothes hunt!
• I also need van opinions! We are thinking our choices are down to most likely being the Toyota Sienna or the Honda Odyssey. If y’all know me with my car seat decisions I always look at the features and not the brand name. I kinda feel like, so far, the Honda is like the “Britax” of minivans. Like everyone gets it b/c “it’s a Honda” just like they buy Britax so often just because the name implies safety, reliability, etc. But there are TONS of equally safe car seats that aren’t nearly as expensive that aren’t by Britax. Ya know? I don’t wanna spend more on a Honda just to say I drive the Honda! So I’d LOVE to hear DETAILS about the vans you own and WHY you love them (or hate them!). Originally I really wanted the Nissan Quest but I haven’t heard many stellar reviews about them? 

Goals for the Week: Bradley! Van research and go see them in person. Get Kye’s new room well underway. Start ordering gifts for all of Casey’s upcoming showers. Get registered for Leo! I REALLY appreciate everything y’all had to say last week!!! We did decide to get the Ikea high chair and try it out, so thank you 🙂  

Belly Pictures: As usual you can find belly stickers like the ones I’m wearing from here!

NO one can say I don’t look pregnant NOW huh?!?! It does make me feel so good to hear so many sweet compliments. Now that it’s more obvious that I’m showing I’ve heard multiple times this week “you are the cutest pregnant girl ever.” And I mean, duh, I know that I’m totally not the cutest one ever but hearing it is so, so sweet 🙂 

Notes from Past Pregnancies: Here is my 20 week post with Britt. Interesting that I was feeling the same pains that I am right now, but they made me so nervous. I am SO thankful for the PEACE I have this pregnancy. I spent so much of my pregnancy with Britt in fear that it made it hard to truly enjoy and savor the process. I am really not doing that this time at all and I’m so thankful 🙂 Also interesting that with both past pregnancies I had a lot of night sweats. It must have been because the weather was warmer? Because so far I haven’t been sweating at all at night! But it’s also winter 🙂 I’m also thankful I have yet to have my “pregnancy mustache” this round. I HATED that with Britt. I have noticed my freckles are darker but the melasma hasn’t popped up…yet. I def look BIGGER this time than I did at this point with Britt huh? The tighter fitting dress is probably helping! Y’all will DIE but I took pics of myself in a bikini at 20 weeks pregnant with Kye! I’m not sure which pregnancy I am favoring more right now? My chest is def much bigger than with Kye but I think my belly is similar? And, no, I will NOT be trying on a bikini to do a comparison picture…

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Emily Parker

Hey Y'all, I'm Emily! I'm a stay at home mom and consider parenting to be my passion. Disney is my happiest place and I love making memories as a family together. I'm a big believer in transparency and share all of my real-life moments as a mother of four.

My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.

You can read more about our family on my About Me page. Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

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