20 weeks

Well, here we are! Halfway there. I can hardly believe it. It's hard to believe because I remember this being a HUGE milestone during our pregnancy with Emma. We took a ton of pictures then. Today, it's just as big of a deal but it seems like the milestone just snuck up on me instead of me waiting around for the big day to arrive. I know my belly is definitely poking out further this time around than last time and it's got a different shape, too. I feel like this time, it's more pointed out in front rather than being spread wider across my abdomen. My mom agrees with me on this too.

Baby Boy (or "Deuce," as James likes to call him) is kicking me a lot! He's pretty active all throughout the day but I can almost guarantee he'll get movin' if I lay back a little bit. I can't lay on my back for very long without starting to see stars and feeling my pulse in my entire face and neck. I didn't have THAT the first time around, I don't think! It's pretty neat too because he kicks all over now, not just down in the lower part of my belly. He kicks even up right near my belly button, which is crazy to think my uterus has already gotten big enough to reach up there. I still can't wrap my mind around how fast this one is progressing. I'm scared that I'll wake up one morning and all of a sudden I'll be 35 weeks and counting down the days till our son's big arrival. We have so much to do between now and then!

Better note the reason for the glasses. If you know me, you know I am NOT fond of wearing my glasses regularly. Well, I don't have a choice in the matter right now. Since about 7 weeks, I haven't been able to wear my contacts for longer than a few hours a day without my eyes turning blood red. It's crazy. My eyes don't hurt or feel dry or scratchy when they get red, they just feel tired and achy and look really terrible. Once I wear my glasses for a few days in a row, my eyes completely go back to normal and are fine. I've been to Dr. Beach, my cool eye doctor, about this twice already and we've got one more thing we're trying to see if we can nip this problem in the bud and put the thick glasses back in their case during the day. I can't see as well with them and although I like the frames I chose, I do NOT like the insane thickness of the lenses. My vision is HORRIBLE. I have yet to meet ANYONE, older or younger, with worse vision than me. If you know your prescription, compare it to this: -8.50 in one eye and -9.50 in the other. And that's for contacts (which is lower than my prescription for my glasses, since the contact lens sits directly on your eye ... your glasses prescription has to be stronger because of the distance the lens is away from your eye). Long story short (or, long story long because that's how I roll), the pregnancy could be exacerbating this irritation problem in my eyes and if this last resort we're going to try (which is wearing a brand new set of lenses each day) doesn't work, then I might have to wear these dang glasses not only till the pregnancy is over but also for as long as I want to breastfeed the little man! YIKES! I nursed Emma for just shy of a year (basically 50 weeks). My cool eye doctor said that any time a woman goes through extreme hormonal changes in her life (during pregnancy, while breastfeeding, during menopause, after a hysterectomy, etc.), her eyes can be affected by those changes. Score for me! If my glasses weren't so thick I probably wouldn't mind wearing them more often. I think people look cute in glasses. Just not ones with lenses thicker than the bullet-proof glass in the Pope's Pope-mobile. Even so, I'm getting used to wearing mine. I'm still really enjoying this pregnancy a lot and I'm embracing all the quirks it's bringing. :)
Another recent change is that my cravings have gotten stronger this trimester. I didn't really have the desire to eat much the whole first trimester and the first month of this second trimester but recently I just want to snack all day long. I don't (mainly because my grocery runs have been sparse and we don't have a lot to munch on around here), but I really WANT to. My awesome neighbor even brought me some gross (only in my mind, not to my taste buds) fast food one night (from an establishment that will remain UNNAMED due to my own embarrassment) because she was out running errands and I just HAD to have something. And at James' best friend's wedding last weekend, I could have eaten a ton of these awesome chocolate chip cookie dough truffles they had ... oh, so good. Don't worry. I haven't gone crazy and I am still trying to keep a good balance. We eat a lot of fruit and veggies (although admittedly not enough veggies) around here and I'm able to keep most of my portions small.

We still haven't settled on a name. Nor have we really talked seriously about searching for one, actually. I'm not picky about finding one no one else has and although I do like to know what names mean, I don't need to find anything truly poetic or mind-blowing. I just want a name that sounds right to us. One that flows well with our last name and one that speaks to us. An old co-worker once told me that the greatest gift you can give your child (besides love!) is a good name. I think about that often. I also really believe that the person makes the name special ... not the other way around. I know a ton of little girls out there are already named Emma ... but I still think it's a beautiful name, it means a lot to me because of my grandmother (and her indirect connection to that first name) and my sweet child has given it even more meaning with her own memorable personality. So I have no idea what our son will end up with as a name. I do know we only have to search for a first name, as most all of the boys in James' family take the middle name Randle, after his great-great-great-grandfather and the city of Randle, Wash.

I've also found myself feeling really feisty recently. I think I mentioned my powerful emotions in previous posts. I guess I just get more passionate and hormonal during the second trimester of pregnancy because I really do remember feeling this same intensity the last time I was pregnant. I'm sensitive about certain subjects (Kent teacher strike, anyone?) and I'm not really afraid to share my opinions. Being a natural-born people-pleaser (i.e., woman paranoid about offending/hurting anyone), I typically can share my opinions respectfully. While I still try to be respectful, I also find myself just bluntly blurting out my thoughts and not really caring how they sound (well, not as much as I normally would care/stress). Is that bad?

Anyway, I don't know why I can't go to bed at a reasonable hour. Playing on my laptop has seemed much more fun the past few days. But now my eyes are closing and I think it's time to put this down. Good night, everyone! :)