Week 23: Eggplant

These last few weeks have been really low-key and easy for me, which I definitely appreciate. I can tell this little girl is getting bigger by the day. She's a regular mover and kicker and seems to be most active in the later morning hours, always kicking me when I'm sitting at my desk at work. She isn't quite big enough to feel her regularly on the outside though. I've only felt her kick a couple times and Seth felt her once.

My belly continues to grow and the stretch marks and itchiness have definitely come on full-force. They seem to be spreading out all over... my belly, inner thighs, hips, & bewbs. I was always scared of the stretch marks but now that they're here, they don't bother me like I thought they would. I see them as a sign that my daughter is getting bigger and they've become kind of a badge of honor. She's definitely worth a couple battle scars.

Along with my belly getting bigger, I've found that normal sleeping positions just don't work for me anymore. A few weeks ago when I was sick, I slept propped up on pillows to keep from coughing, and found it was actually more comfortable to sleep that way instead of flat. So, these days I sleep on two pillows and get much better quality sleep. I can get my normal amount of sleep without waking up with an aching back.

I've started trying to plan what I want to do with the nursery and finally got the room completely cleared of office junk. Now it contains one large dresser (complete with one adorable newborn outfit from one of Seth's co-workers) and one large upholstered glider chair & ottoman. I've taken to using it as my reading room as the large window lets in a ton of sunlight and the glider is super comfy. Gracie also took an immediate liking to the chair and spends just about every morning snoozing away in it. Good thing the cat hair vacuums off easily. Anyway, I'm hoping I can pin down the rest of the decor in the next couple weeks. I think I'm going to go with a light aqua/turquoise and add some coral, light green, and/or yellow. Something gender-neutralish, colorful, and not too cutesy. Because I can tell you one thing, there's no way during all those hours of sitting and rocking and feeding my baby, that I'm going to stare at some garish huge vinyl cut-out of Winnie the Pooh on the wall (I hate Winnie the Pooh, can you tell?). Gotta please mom first, then baby!