Baby Size: According to the Baby Center app, Baby Girl is about 11″ from head to rump (about the size of a spaghetti squash) and around 15 ounces.
Total Weight Gain: Down two pounds at the moment, but up 3 pounds from pre-pregnancy. Still bouncing within the same 5-pound range.
Maternity Clothes: Still in “normal” clothes most of the time.
Sleep: Still sleeping well.
Best Moment of Week: My 5-month maternity photo shoot with Erica and my goat Cookie (who is also 5-months pregnant). These photos turned out SO STINKING CUTE. I shared them on my Facebook page and also in a Nigerian Dwarf group on Facebook and the post totally blew up. (At the moment, in less than 24 hours, it has over 600 “Likes” and over 80 comments – not “viral” by any means, but certainly more attention than what I’m used to!) I still have 4 months to go, but as of the day the photos were taken, Cookie only has 4 days to go till her due date!
Miss Anything?: This week hasn’t been too bad in terms of things that have bothered me or I’ve been unable to do. Though I am finding when it comes to farm chores, I’m doing things a bit slower these days. (Like all the work to get ready for goat kidding season!)
Movement: Baby girl has been quite busy with lots of somersaults and tap-dancing. She’s still sitting very low in my belly but I feel like pretty soon you’ll be able to feel her from the outside because her kicks are getting pretty firm!
Food Cravings: Nothing too extreme. I have been enjoying seafood (fish, shrimp) quite a lot.
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?: Still getting “gaggy” feeling occasionally, but not too bad overall. Chicken is still very unappealing to me (it’s a texture-thing).
Happy or Moody?: Happy and very content to be busy and absorbed in all the lovely things that go on in springtime around here. Springtime on the farm is just my favorite. Baby chicks, baby goats, trees budding, flowers popping up… it all brings me so much joy!
Labor Signs: Nope – thankfully! 🙂
Shopping/Nesting/Preparation: I’ve been nesting on behalf of the goats instead (haha) – getting their kidding pen accommodations ready when their babies start arriving in the coming weeks. It’s kind of a nice distraction to think more about them right now.
I’m a little late posting this, but better late than never! I haven’t been much in a picture-taking mood (at least in terms of self portraits) but I decided to push through anyway to try and keep up with this.
How far along? 21 weeks (19 to go – we’re over the midway point now!)
Baby Size: According to the Baby Center app, Baby Girl is about 10.5″ from head to rump (about the size of a carrot) and around 12.75 ounces.
Total Weight Gain: Still negligible. I’m bouncing around in about a 2-pound window now (up 2, down 2 – over and over)
Maternity Clothes: I’m still continuing to wear my “normal” clothes for the most part, though I have a couple of maternity pieces that are extra roomy and comfortable.
Sleep: Still sleeping well for the most part, except when I have heartburn/acid issues. “Springing forward” for daylight savings and a couple of client projects did keep me up late over the weekend and got me a little off-track, though.
Best Moment of Week: “Flutters” are starting to evolve into full-fledged –thump– kicks! I’m so excited about this! Every time I feel her kick or push, it makes me smile.
Miss Anything?: Bananas. This week I discovered that bananas apparently hate me. I get super sick to my stomach after I eat them. They now rank up there with almonds in terms of: WTF these things are supposed to be healthy, why does my body hate them?
Movement: Starting about midway through week 20 is when she started going from light flutters to more obvious jabs and kicks. They’re still not TOO hard but certainly a lot more noticable!
Food Cravings: Nothing much. If anything, I have a lot of food aversions and I really have issues finding things I want to eat.
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?: As I mentioned above, bananas are no longer my friend. Actually most of this week I’ve had major food aversions–not because of taste or nausea, but because of the texture. I found it particularly bad with chicken, of all things! Last Thursday was the first day all week that I actually ate and enjoyed the food and it felt SO good to have a full, happy belly after dinner. It actually felt like an unusual sensation to feel full after eating and not feel sick or bothered by the texture of the food.
Happy or Moody?: Happy and tired. (I think that’s just my “normal.”)
Labor Signs: Still have a long way to go for this!
Shopping/Nesting/Preparation: Not much this week, really.
Looking Forward To (in Week 21): I’m anticipating a quiet week and just looking forward to continuing to feel more and more kicks and movement every day.
How far along? 20 weeks today! We’re halfway there! (Ohhhh-oh, livin’ on a prayer… as my 7-year-old would say. I don’t know how/why he discovered Bon Jovi, but it’s a thing these days.)
Baby Size: According to the Baby Center app, Baby Girl is about 10″ from head to rump (about the size of a banana) and around 10.5 ounces. Starting this week, the baby is now measured from head-to-toe rather than head-to-rump, so that’s part of why there was a 4″ jump!
Total Weight Gain: I’m still bouncing around in a 5-pound range and haven’t really gained more than that. (Either that or I need a new scale.)
Maternity Clothes: Still not a must-have … roomier t-shirts and sweatshirts and stretchy pants work for now, though maternity things are comfortable.
Sleep: Still sleeping well, thanks to my pregnancy pillow.
Best Moment of Week: Continuing to feel Baby Girl move and kick has been making me SO happy!
Miss Anything?: Mexican food. -sigh- I can eat it, but I pay for it (with heartburn) afterward.
Movement: Kicks and flutters are still pretty intermittent. There was one day (this past Wednesday, I think) that I didn’t feel her move all day and I fought with myself mentally trying not to panic. Thankfully the next day she made up for it with lots of flutters and flips. I’m looking forward to the coming weeks when the movements get increasingly obvious and regular–both becuase it’s fun, and because it lets me know she’s doing OK in there!
Food Cravings: Chocolate. I got four pounds of chocolates for my birthday! My parents got me a 2 pound box of chocolate creams and a pound box of chocolate covered assorted nuts, and my friend Erica got me pound-size box of chocolate caramels with sea salt. I think I ate the caramels in about 4 days, and now I’ve moved onto the assorted nuts. This baby is most definitely a sweets-baby. (And I’m normally a salty-snack sort of person, so this is a pretty big change for me!)
Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?: I’m still having issues with gagging and “choking” on things (not really choking because my airway is clear — just getting a “tickle” that I can’t seem to clear, I guess). About once a week I’ll have an episode when I’m eating and something tickles my gag reflex, and no matter how much water I drink to try and clear the “tickle”, I can’t stop gagging and coughing until I eventually throw up. It’s actually kind of embarassing.
Big-brother-to-be wanted to get in on the photos this week! ❤
Happy or Moody?: Still pretty happy most of the time. Occasionally droopy and tired, but rarely “moody”.
Labor Signs: Still have a long way to go for this!
Shopping/Nesting/Preparation: I’ve been behaving myself pretty well as far as buying a lot of stuff. I’ve shifted over to doing a bunch of knitting for Baby Girl instead. So far, I’ve finished a blanket and a cardigan sweater and last night I started a hat to match the cardigan, and I’m almost done with that. I should have enough of the same yarn to also make some matching booties, I think. I ordered a couple more yarns to knit a couple more sweaters also. Baby knits are so satisfying because you can produce an entire (itsy-bitsy) sweater in a week or so!
Looking Forward To (in Week 20): Celebrating the halfway mark and enjoying some rest and self-care. (I’m a simple girl!)
One of the fun things about expecting a baby girl is how many fun knitting patterns there are out there to make! It always seems the most fun patterns (frilly, lacy things) are always for girls. So I’m taking full advantage and I’m so exited to make lots of sweaters, hats, booties, and other projects! (My Ravelry queue is quickly filling up!)
Baby Girl’s Pinwheel Baby Blanket (Project Link on Ravelry) Pattern: Round or Pinwheel Baby Blanket by Genia Planck Yarn: Plymouth Yarn Dreamin’ in White/Yellow
The first thing I had to knit for baby girl was a pinwheel blanket. I knit one of these for Myles when he was a baby that he used all the time, so this baby needed one as well! I used a yarn that has been in my stash for probably 10+ years now. I’m thinking this will be our last baby and most of our friends are done having babies, so I thought it was high time to use up the baby yarns in my stash.
It’s really hard to judge how large the blanket is when it’s all scrunched up on the circular needles, and I was too lazy to feed it onto waste yarn and stretch it out, so this blanket turned out a bit larger than Myles’ blanket. Even though I loathe doing seed stitch, I really love the edge turned out. (It was worth the tedious knit-purl-knit-purl!)
Baby Girl’s Baby Surprise Jacket (Project Link on Ravelry) Pattern: Baby Surprise Jacket by Elizabeth Zimmermann Yarn: KnitPicks Swish DK in Wonderland Heather, Green Tea Heather, Haze Heather, Blossom Heather, and Frosting
The second knit that I tackled was the classic EZ Baby Surprise. I’ve knit two of these in the past (one for a sample for the knit shop, and a second for a knitting class I taught) but it’s been almost 15 years since I last knit it, so it took dusting off some brain cells to remember how it comes together. It’s an incredibly clever pattern; it’s all knit flat in one solid piece of garter stitch with some very clever decreases and increases. When you finish, you fold it up origami-style and there are only 2 seams (the tops of the sleeves/shoulders) to seam, and POOF you’re done! The toughest part of this pattern is that it is almost written in prose-style, which is not at all the way more modern patterns are written. If you just follow the directions on faith, though, it turns out beautifully!
I started this on a Sunday and had it finished by Thursday, after only spending a bit of time each evening knitting on it. (Not bad for less than a week!) I still need to weave in my ends, seam the shoulders, and go shopping for some cute little buttons – but I’m going to call it 95% done at least.
So, what’s next?
I have leftover yarn from the Baby Surprise Jacket, so I thought I would knit a coordinating Marley Hat (from Itty Bitty Hats by Susan B. Anderson). If there’s still leftover yarn after that, maybe I’ll make some coordinated booties as well. (Because why not?)
I also have some leftover white/yellow yarn from the blanket so I thought I’d dig through my stash and see if I can find a green and another medium-to-dark shade to pair it with and knit the Upside Down Daisy Hat (also from the Itty Bitty Hats book) with that. I’ve always loved that hat and meant to knit one — but I never had anyone to make one for!
I (*cough*) may have also placed an order today for yarns to make a Helena Sweater and a February Baby Sweater. I knit the Helena pattern way back in 2009 for a friend’s baby and I remember loving the pattern, so I’m very eager to do that one next as soon as the yarn arrives! I knit the adult-size version of the February Sweater for myself about 10 years ago also, but I’ve never made the baby-sized version. I guess I’m a creature of habit, and I definitely love lace patterns!
Anyone have any other “must-knit” baby patterns for little girls? I prefer things that can be knit in one piece with minimal seaming. (One of these days I need to get over myself and learn to properly do mattress stitch; I avoid it like the plague.) I’m especially looking for a sock or bootie pattern that actually stays on little feet. (Bonus points if it uses fingering weight yarn because goodness knows I have lots of little leftover balls of sock yarn in my stash!)
