20 Weeks!

What a week it has been, starting with the fact that...

YOU'RE A GIRL! I couldn't be more surprised if I "woke up with my head sewn to the carpet."

In talking with my brother last night, he said my sister-in-law flipped when she found out it was a girl. I replied with, "That's good, because I cried for two hours."

And I did. It was beyond shocking. And I have no idea why.

But after I've let the shock wear off, walked through half a dozen infant girls' aisles in  Younkers, JcPenney and Kohl's, I finally figured it out.

I don't know the second thing about girls. But the first thing I know is that they can be cruel. Cruel. Hateful. Hurtful. Jealous. Unkind.

Maybe that's the reason I hung out with the potheads and the boys so much in high school? Who knows. But I was at the receiving end of some of those hateful, hurtful things, and I couldn't be a more kind person. It taught me a lot, but going through it was terrible.

Eric and I had a long talk about it on the way home from our family Christmas's this morning, and he made a good point. All I have reference for is girls raised by other people. Not girls raised by us.

Excellent point. So I guess we raise her to be kind, resilient, and accepting. Which we will. I feel a lot better about those girly clothes sitting in our little girls' closet now.

In other news, it's Christmas, and I'm excited to be having a little girl. Onward to the update!

How far along? 20 weeks! And like I told Eric today, only 5 more months left of this pregnancy... I guess you could say at this point, the glass is half full...
Maternity clothes? Everything I wear is now maternity. Although regular still fit (hooray!) my abdomen is getting much harder, and it hurts when I sit down. So I try to get by with as much maternity stuff as possible. Which is pretty much 99% of the time!
Weight gain? No, because I'm sick. Again. Yes, that's right. A sinus infection has struck, causing a postnasal drip that is giving me a sore throat. Which makes it hard to enjoy any kind of food. Ugh...
Stretch marks? None! Wahoo!
Best moment this week? There were so, so many of them. Watching James opening gifts from family, our ultrasound appointment, the fact that school was cancelled on Friday due to ice, spending time with my mom, which I haven't in a long time, moving the new crib into our little girls room! But the one that takes the cake was probably walking out of Christmas Eve service last night with my family to a beautiful, fluffy snowfall. It was lovely.
Miss anything? Not feeling shiity?
Movement? Tons, and pretty consistently. Every night around 9:30 and every morning around 6:30 she's bumping away in there. And Eric got to feel her last night, on Christmas Eve.
Food cravings? Nope. Just food.
Anything make you queasy or sick? My mom made pasta for dinner one night this week and it made me sick to my stomach just looking at it. Normally, I'm a big pasta fan, but holy smokes, this was terrible. I had to get up and leave the table. Something about it just struck a no good, very bad chord with me.
Labor signs? No!
Symptoms? Probably TMI, but holy smokes my boobs are sensitive. James is climbing on anything and everything, and I get the brunt of that a lot. Today, he "landed" on my right boob and I thought it was going to pop like a balloon. I don't remember them being this sensitive when I was pregnant with James!
Belly button in or out? IN!
Linea nigra? Nothing.
Wedding ring on or off? On!
Happy or moody?  Definitely happy this week. Very nostalgic and I thought about my dad a lot. It didn't make me sad, necessarily, as I've come to accept (finally) that he's not here, but just nostalgic. I remembered a lot of fun Christmas memories with him this year, and made me wish he were here to create more with James.
Looking forward to: This week of rest and relaxation. Christmas break 2010/2011 was the same time I made all of James' nursery decor. This year, I'm hoping that I will be able to do the same for Baby Girl Engels. Cant wait to go and buy the paint (for the paintings... not the walls! Screw that, we already painted that room a long time ago!) and the flowers and lace and pearls. Can't wait to see what this little girls room will look like! And buying the crib sheets. I've decided I'm not going to get a bedding set, just some sheets. AND getting all the after-Christmas deals at Target tomorrow. Call me a nerd, but I love me a good deal. Lots to look forward to this week! :)