20 weeks pregnant -- size of a banana (Don says I looked super Asian in this picture! But hey, I took the picture at 5:30 in the morning -- what do you expect?)
I apologize for the delay in posts. We have had a very busy couple of weeks. The week before last was my Spring Break and during this week I am happy to say that I finally overcame the majority of my nausea. I still have had bouts here and there, but I definitely am feeling a lot better these days which is an incredible relief. I was really starting to worry that I would be in a state of misery forever!
Although I have conquered the nausea, all is still not rainbows and unicorns in the pregnancy world. To replace my nausea, I have gained some other not so pleasant side-effects, however they are seemingly much more manageable. Unexpectedly, when I was in Arizona during Spring Break, I got pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel. Basically my body was retaining a ton of fluid due to the increased heat and as a result was creating pressure on the median nerve that runs through my wrist. As a result, I had a lot of discomfort/pain in my wrist area. I kept telling Don, "There is something wrong with my wrists... They feel weird." The next day, on my BabyCenter App on my phone the entry focused on pregnancy-induced carpal tunnel! The unexplainable feeling was finally identified! My sweet husband tried to rub them to relieve the pressure, but I didn't find relief until a day or two after returning to Washington. Hopefully this isn't a sign of what is to come for me this summer. Another wonderful symptom I've now had the pleasure of experiencing is heartburn. Pregnancy causes muscles to loosen throughout the body, including the one on the top of your stomach. In combination with a growing uterus applying pressure on the stomach, this causes acid to escape up into my esophagus, also known as heartburn. Like the carpal tunnel, I didn't really know what this feeling was at first. It was just a huge discomfort in my lower throat and upper chest. It felt like a burning sensation or as if I had air stuck in my chest. It got so bad one night that I thought I might throw up! I noticed this symptom most when I consumed spicy food, so I plan on limiting spice in my diet which completely stinks! I love spicy food, but I must admit, I much prefer feeling good!
Other things that are changing about my body is my belly AND my belly button. I definitely have developed a baby bump over the last couple of weeks and even though it isn't huge yet, it has already affected my belly button! My belly button was squished inside (it looked kind of like a butt), now it is all spread out!
Last Friday, we had our 20 week ultrasound. The nurse found that my blood pressure was really high which has been very worrisome to me since the appointment. I know it couldn't have been helpful that I ate the saltiest thing I could possibly eat an hour before my appointment, but I still worry that it might not have just been a blood pressure spike and that this might be something that will negatively affect the pregnancy. Fortunately, I go into the doctor next Friday, which will hopefully give me more clarity on this situation. In the interim, I plan on working harder to eat healthier, well-rounded meals. I need to work even harder to introduce more vegetables into my diet! I have been eating tons of fruit, protein and dairy, but I am still lacking the proper amount of vegetables. As far as the actual ultrasound goes, it was incredible! It is such a remarkable experience to have the opportunity to watch the little life-form that is growing inside of me move! Don and I were also very privileged to have our mothers share in on this experience with us. The doctor measured all of the various parts of the baby and made sure that everything looked normal. He even predicted how big the baby would be when it is born! He said that it will be around 8 pounds! He also moved our due date forward two days to September 4th.
Our doctor put the gender of our baby into an envelope. One of Don's coworkers was given the duty of filling the pinata with either blue or pink candy based on the information. The following day, our friends and family gathered for our Gender Reveal Fiesta! Our guests dressed in pink or blue to represent their best guess as to what wonderful joy would come into our lives.
We broke into the pinata to reveal pink candy! We couldn't be more excited for Ravenna Joy Bushell's arrival this coming September!
My last exciting news to share is that I finally think that I have for sure felt the baby! It feels a little bit like gas or like popcorn popping inside of my lower abdomen, below my belly button. I started noticing it on Sunday night (not knowing really what it was) but was pretty certain of what the sensation was yesterday because while I was sitting, subbing for another class, I felt three spread out "pops" in the same place that were very distinctive. After that, I focused on the sensations in my belly and found that I felt it throughout the rest of the day! The feelings are generally on my left side of my abdomen, but I have felt some on the right too. Don tried to feel it while he was reading to Ravenna in bed (we bought two board books that we are alternating reading each night to her), but he wasn't able to feel her kicks. I am hoping that she will get strong enough in the next week or two for Don to feel her too!
Needless to say this has been such an amazing past week and has definitely made this whole process feel more real to us!
