22 Weeks Pregnant (5 Months)

After adjusting the days to get on track with my new due date (Nov 30), I am officially 5 months pregnant tomorrow!  It is crazy to think about it because I am now over the half way point...whoa!  Good thing I still have 4 more months because I don't even feel like I am prepared yet, but are you ever really prepared?  Probably not, from what I hear.  Anyway, the pregnancy right now has been going very smoothly.  I still do get sick and spend some time with the porcelein god in the mornings (about 3 days a week), but once I relieve myself of whatever needs to come up, I tend to start feeling better for the rest of the day.  I still have my energy and am pretty active during the day.  I am at the gym 3 days a week and spend the rest of the days walking 2 1/2 miles through our neighborhood with Rocky.

I was excited because while I was working at my friend's boutique last week, a woman asked me if I was expecting.  I was so excited that she asked.  Turns out she was expecting as well, so I'm sure she had babies on her mind.  Many other people have already begun celebrating our little girl as well.  We have received some fun packages in the mail of little onsies, sleepers, blankets, and other clothes.  I was so excited about them that I have already washed and folded them into drawers, getting ready to dress our little girl.  My mom also surprised me with a box filled with things that she kept from when I was a baby, including the outfit I wore home from the hospital and my baby book.  It was so fun to read through the book and see everything my parents did in preparing for my arrival.  One of my favorite things to read was a peice of paper that my dad was writing my mom's contractions on.  The nurse had asked him to write down the time every time my mom had a contraction and my mom included it in the book.  It made me think about how my parents, too, were doing it all for the first time once, and it was with me!  I could tell their excitement was exactly what Dana and I are feeling.  My dad also sent me a package and included a CD that read "listen and enjoy".  At first I didn't know what it was, but when I popped it into my computer I heard a collaboration of recordings of myself when I was little.  The beginning was my crying as a baby, then talking to my dad, then saying my ABC's and 123's.  It was so cute to hear and brought tears to my eyes instantly.  It is hard to believe that both of my parents have held on to these precious things for the last 30 years.

So, a little more about Baby Nevins.  She has been much more active lately.  I've been feeling her kicks much stronger now and more frequently.  Sometimes I can just sit and watch my belly move around while she moves.  I'm not sure that is a feeling I can ever sick of.  I'm pretty sure she's been having some growth spurts as well.  The other day my lower belly was hurting for quite a while.  It wasn't in a way where I was concerned to go see the doctor, but more a feeling of stretching and stabbing.  I did, however, call one of my cousin's to get affirmation that it was ok and normal.  It was bothering me for so long, though, that I thought for sure I was going to balloon over night.  It's hard to tell if one day made a significant difference, but I definitely know she's in there :)

Anyway, here is a pic of my belly at 5 months: