20 weeks

20 weeks! We're halfway there, yippee! This week I learned the perils of overdoing it. After babysitting for a friend on Friday night and not getting home until 1:15 am, I spent all day Saturday cleaning and baking. Here's the result...

This is at our friends' house Saturday evening, after enjoying some homemade pizzas and board games. It took me all of 5 minutes once we started watching football to pass out (Stewart must have followed soon after, but he doesn't have the pregnancy excuse like me.) I didn't even know that Brian and Krisita took this picture until I went to upload the belly picture a few minutes ago! Don't we look like a fun pair to have over on a Saturday night?? :-)

So I've been reflecting on the first half of the pregnancy, and what is/isn't what I expected. I definitely think overall the symptoms have been much milder than I was anticipating. The morning sickness wasn't as bad as I thought, I haven't had major cravings or food aversions, I'm not too sensitive to smells, etc. I thought I'd have a bigger belly by now. I'm starting to get aches and pains that I didn't think I would get until much later (lower back pain, sore hips when I sleep, etc.) In terms of things that are what I anticipated, I would say my emotions in general are what I thought they would be. I knew I would probably be a nervous wreck in the beginning, and I was. I knew I'd feel more confident once we got out of the first trimester, and I did. I knew I would start to feel a stronger connection to the baby once I knew the gender and could feel him start to move, and I do. Overall, I would say that I am really enjoying being pregnant, while at the same time wishing I could fast forward the next 20 weeks. I hope the second half of the pregnancy goes as smoothly as the first half!

I know certain readers (hi mom!) are anxious to see the latest belly picture. I can tell a pretty significant difference compared to last week, what do you think?