Halfway there

I am now 20 weeks pregnant, which means I'm halfway there, give or take (I've technically only been pregnant about 18 weeks, and I could go as far along as 42 weeks, but let's not split hairs here).

I think I'll do one of those question and answer type thingies for this milestone.

Weight Gain: 9-10 pounds, depending on the day. Basically right on track, I think.

Symptoms: My midsection seems to be protruding... hehe. Other than that "symptom", I've been hungry (which I've mentioned) and my thighs occasionally start burning terribly. There's a long story with that: basically I had pinched nerves in my legs that rendered my upper thighs numb during my adolescence, and about a month ago they started to un-pinch and I have feeling where I haven't had feeling in about 14 years. Sometimes that feeling is YOWWWCH. Fortunately I've figured out some stretches that help alleviate this. It's an unexpected annoyance, but I'll take it over nausea/insomnia/spotting/Mad Cow Disease/pretty much anything else bad.

Cravings/Aversions: I haven't had many specific cravings; food in general just sounds good. Except canned mushrooms, still. So: no real cravings, one weird aversion.

I am loving: this stage. I'm not huge, I have most of my energy back, I generally sleep through the night, and people can tell I'm pregnant just by looking at me, which leads to things like folks holding the door for me or offering me a seat. That's nice.

I miss: Not gonna lie, on hot days an ice-cold alcoholic beverage sounds really good. I'm being creative with alternatives, but I think I might ask for a White Russian once I've birthed this child.

I'm looking forward to: learning the gender. And getting the anatomy scan to see how the kid's doing in there.

I'm freaked out about: Well, "freaked out" is a strong word, but I think this month we need to start putting together a registry and make a childbirth-class plan. We didn't really have much of a baby-related to-do list before now, so concrete prepare-for-a-child stuff is a little daunting.

Milestones: Halfway there! And baby is the length of a banana now! Also: we found a place to move for the fall, which is sort of baby-related, as that will be baby's first home. Crazy.

Movement: Yes, I'm starting to feel the occasional kick/bump/flutter a few times a day. They're still pretty faint, but at this point I'm not mistaking it for gas or anything. It usually happens shortly after I eat, so there's just another motivation to eat.

Exercise: I've been doing fairly well this week, considering the amount of thesis work that's gotten crammed in: walking at least a couple of miles most days. I've only done yoga once in the last week, so I need to do that more often. The whole leg-burning thing happens less if I'm doing regular yoga.

Diet: ehh... I'm doing OK here. I got back in to the Green Monster groove this week, and have been adding whole milk kefir to the shakes, which makes them much higher in protein and super-creamy - so breakfasts have been great. I've been terrible about both the timing and the content of lunches and really need to get back in to packing a lunch every day. DH's schedule is calming down and he's offered to make me lunch in the morning, because he's awesome.

So I'm feeling pretty good, overall. On to the second half! I predict less nausea and secrets, more weight gain and comments from random strangers than the first half.