A Shout Hello, and the Musings of a Soon-To-Be Old Fart

What's happening underneath that bump?

The rapid growth phase begins to slow down this week. Organs and body functions are strengthening rather than growing and baby can respond to outside stimuli. The digestive system and heart are maturing, the legs are reaching their relative proportions and the buds for permanent teeth are forming this week. He or she is 10.5 ounces, and is nearing seven and half inches. The vermix the creamy film that protects your baby's skin from liquid is still being produced, and will continue to coat the body until and the legs are reaching their relative proportions.

After days of agonizing over whether all those weird sensations I feel in my belly region were made by the baby or my stomach or my bowels, I finally felt the baby move for the first time with certainty on Sunday night.

Hubby and I were in bed, getting ready to turn in, and I had my hand on my stomach. All of a sudden, I felt my hand go "bump". Baby definitely made sure to make his/her presence known. I personally think he/she got tired of being squished and was kicking at my hand to have me move it. I had John place his hand on the same spot and after awhile, baby dutifully gave two more kicks there. It was the coolest thing! I can't wait till he/she gets a little bigger so that he/she will be capable of giving good strong kicks. It definitely makes it feel more real - and less like I'm just sticking a basketball under my shirt...Which, by the way, my belly seem to have grown quite a bit within the past week, during that growth spurt, I was actually having difficultly breathing! I don't know if I can handle getting much bigger!!

As I progress along with my pregnancy, I find myself getting more sensitive to salt - I'll get massive headaches that will last for days if I consume "too much" of it. So there goes my favorite Chinese restaurant take-outs (which, by the way, I don't understand why they are always loaded with sodium.....it's only the restaurants found here though.....I don't ever remember Chinese food being that unhealthy back in Malaysia). As a result, hubby and I have started cooking more. It's healthier (well, in the sense that at least we know WHAT is in it - the calorie part is still up for debate) and it's definitely cheaper. Albeit meal times may get a tad bit monotonous since we're stuck eating leftovers for days on end. That outcome definitely stresses the importance of cooking well, and having dishes that we like.

So on Sunday night, hubby decided it was time for him to step up to his chef duties and he made pizzas for dinner (which lasted all the way through Thursday's dinner......)

By the way, the area rug that I mentioned in the last post is DONE and has been moved into place:

Our guest room

On a more dismal note, I'll be turning 25 this weekend. I'm getting old - I'll officially be in the "30's" group rather than the "20's" when my age is rounded up. And that even without horror of the result of basic mathematics, being 25 itself in some ways, scare me. 25 year-old women, to me, are those who have their lives in control - they are the ones whose hair is always perfectly coiffured, and nails are always perfectly manicured; they always look polished, they have the great clothes, the great shoes, the great bags; they are accomplished and are getting more and more so by the minute.

Me? I feel like I'm perpetually stuck at the age of 16. I don't feel like I've quite grown up yet. Sure, I'm married, own a car, own a house, have a good job and I have a baby on the way. But that wasn't quite the dreamlife I had in mind when I was "planning" my future back when I was teenager. Not that I mind my life right now. Heavens no. But it just wasn't what was "planned". And therefore, I never felt like I got past that "planning" stage because things never did take off the way I hoped it would.

Blame it on TV and Hollywood for creating a "mold" of what success should be, of what it should look like - thin, rich, beautiful.

Perhaps it's time to rewrite my plans.