19 Week Recap

19 weeks was a busy time for me and baby. We finished trips to New York City and D.C., saw old friends and caught up on sleep after a lot of travel around two amazing cities. This week I drank a ton of milk and water, and I craved "fair food:" caramel apples, funnel cakes, Frito pies, etc. At this point in the pregnancy, I have gained a total of four pounds from my starting weight (I lost about seven pounds during the first trimester due to nausea), and I feel like my stomach is huge. I'm walking about 45 minutes each night (thank you amazing weather!) and trying to drink a ton of water during the day.

Some things I'll want to remember about this time: I feel so off-balance when I get up from the couch or out of bed! I will get up too quickly and feel dizzy and have to rest for a moment and then try again. Aaron is so patient with me and my cravings. They are all over the place, and the poor guy has to deal with a lot at dinner time. I'm rarely hungry for dinner, and usually I have vegetable soup or cereal. He's so patient when it comes to me not making much for dinner. I also want to remember how much fun it is to dream with Aaron about what our little guy will look like. In my mind, he looks just like Aaron, with really dark hair and sweet eyes. I hope he gets his daddy's long legs, too.

Finally, I am thinking about purchasing the Jesus Calling devotional for kids. If you follow my blog, you may recall that I love the adult version of the book, and I want to get the children's version to read to the baby each night after he is born. Growing up, my parents would tuck my sister and me in to bed each night, we'd say prayers and then we would all sing the "night night song." Each night I still start my prayers with the same rote verse: "Now I lay me down to sleep..." and end with "God bless Daddy, Momma, Emmy, Jilly," over the years replacing our old cats and dogs names with Aaron's. Still, that ritual brings me incredible peace, especially as I've grown in to an adult with more complicated prayers that generally follow. I look forward to that time with our son.

Finally, now that I'm halfway there (remember, I write these posts at the end of each week), I am beginning to think about registry items and looking for recommendations in baby essentials. I'd love to know if you have any suggestions about baby gear you consider a must-have. We don't want a lot of stuff, but we do want to invest in high-quality items that will remain durable through several kids. I hear no matter what you do to limit toys and paraphernalia before your baby is born, you still end up with a ton-o-stuff. If you have any references to other websites or suggestions, please leave a comment!