5 Months Pregnant!

I’m now 23 weeks! Feeling very blessed and very pregnant! 

I started to write a 5-month update last week which was all about how terrible I felt. Being so cranky and tired, however, I never managed to finish it and now that I’m back in the blogging mood, I’m feeling quite a bit better! 

It was an adjustment to suddenly be thrust into ‘full-fledged’ pregnancy mode. I swear I woke up on Halloween a full trimester further along than I was the night before. My belly really popped. My abdomen became heavy. I now waddle at the end of the day.  By 3 p.m. my mojo runs out at work. My upper back aches a lot, mostly from sitting at a desk all day.

Now that I’ve had a couple of weeks to adjust to the ‘new normal’ of being a fully pregnant gal, I generally feel pretty great. Keeping energy up is challenging - as is finding time to exercise - but things are so good compared to how they could be. My physical challenges are small compared to what many women face. All signs are pointing to a healthy baby. I am very lucky. 

I can feel this baby moving so much more than I did with my first!  I have an anterior placenta this time too, which means the placenta is at the front, creating a barrier between me and baby. This means that I won’t feel as strong movement or kicks as my posterior-placenta carrying sisters.  I was disappointed when I found out I had an anterior placenta again. I wanted the experience of feeling lots of movement. This little baby isn’t discouraged by the padding between us - I feel him/her squirming around all the time! I love it! Every time baby moves I am reminded of the little miracle inside me and consoled that s/he is doing well. 

5 Month Overview 

Weeks Pregnant:  23

Belly Status:   Anyone who has met me before can tell I’m pregnant although they tend to assume I’m significantly less further along than I am. Strangers still don’t seem to know, which is disappointing because the only alternative is that I’m quite chunky around the middle! 

Main Complaint: Sore upper back at work. Very tired with few opportunities to rest. 

Main Fear:  It will always be the health and wellness of my unborn child, but in terms of specific fears on my mind at the moment, I have to say that I fear never getting a good night's sleep again! Lexia, now 21 months old, was awake and fussy from 3-5 a.m. this morning. How am I going to manage that with a newborn?!  

Main Joy: Feeling baby move! Baby was a busy one last night. I don’t think s/he was too happy that older sister Lexia was crying in the middle of the night!  

Currently Excited About: I’m so excited and joyous to think that our second child will be joining our family in just four months. I know I’ve done this before, but it still seems so magical and incredible! It’s almost hard to believe.