21 Weeks

I am now 21 weeks.   21 weeks is a big deal for me.  I delivered my twins at 20 weeks and 6 days.  I'm happy to be past that point.  I guess I feel like I can breathe a sigh of relief at that point.  Not that I don't hear stories of loss much later but 20 weeks and 6 days was my loss, it's the one I lived.  I'm just happy to be on the other side of that number.

So I thought I'd start a weekly update, or at least attempt a weekly update.  It's entirely possible that I'll fall off the wagon after week one but I'm going to give it a shot.  I love looking back at the weekly updates I did when I was pregnant with Ty and I think it's pretty cool to see how my body changed from week to week in pictures.  I love being pregnant and as uncomfortable as it is to have my picture taken, it's worth it in the end to capture these memories.  This is probably my last go at pregnancy.  I think we are done after this so that's all the more reason to remember, whether comfortable or not.

Here's a look at me at 21 weeks...

Yes, I know.  I don't look pregnant.  I hear this pretty much every time I tell someone how far along I am.  I'm not sure how to respond.  I usually just say, "I have a lot of places to hide a baby." when all I really want to say is "yes, I know I'm extremely fat and you can't tell that there's a human growing inside of me.  And yes, I do wish I had one of those cute baby bumps that everyone else gets but this is the body I've earned.... no one's fault but my own." but I'm sure that would send people in a tizzy and cause quite a bit of awkwardness so I'm just going to keep my "I have a lot of places to hide a baby,"answer handy.  Funny thing is that even looking at my own picture, I think the same thing everyone else thinks but when I look down at my belly, I can totally tell that I'm pregnant.  Not to mention my clothes don't fit anymore.  All that to say, yes I am pregnant and yes I know I don't look pregnant.  This is just what fat pregnant people look like.    

Here's the best look at baby's profile at 18 weeks...

How far along:  21 weeks

Size of baby:  a pomegranate

Clothes:  I have a few regular jeans that were too big in the waist when I wasn't pregnant that I can actually wear pretty comfortable right now.  That's the only reason I didn't get rid of them in the recent closet clean out.  Other than that I finally purchased two pairs of maternity jeans and they feel AMAZING!!!  Maternity jeans are one of the best parts of being pregnant.  When I tried those jeans on I let out a big sigh of comfort and all I could think was that I wish they made something like that for when you're not pregnant too!  I have worn some maternity shirts but it isn't totally necessary just yet, especially since my wardrobe tends to consist of t-shirts and sweatshirts.  I'm very trendy you know!  Ha!  

Gender/Names:  This is baby boy #5 for the Johnston's!  As for names we've thrown around quite a few.  Here's a list we've been working on... Knox, Finn, Deacon, and there are a few more that are escaping me right now.  Maybe I should have specified... that was MY list.  Wayne's list looks more like this... Judge, Hawkeye (no, he isn't kidding), Winchester, and many more that he is just sure would make this kid a total badass!  I'm just going to be sure no one allows him near the birth certificate without my approval!  

Sleep:  I'm sleeping fine still.  I am starting to notice that I'm not lasting on my back as long now but other than that I'm good.  

Movement:  This is tricky.  After I had Ty I realized there are things I feel that I definitely would have said were baby movement if I was pregnant.  Now I question everything I feel.  I do think I've felt him some but not a lot yet.  My placenta is in the front and that makes it a little harder too.  My baby's seem to get a big kick out of my bladder.  It must be like a trampoline park in there because that seems to be where I think I feel him the most and where my other boys seemed to spend their time as well.  I can almost hear them, " do you have to pee now?  How about NOW?"  It's a weird feeling.  I also think I've felt some of that squirmy feeling as well, which makes sense because the ultrasound has shown a very active boy every time I've had one.  

Cravings:  My cravings so far for this pregnancy can be summed up in three words, pizza, coke, and chocolate.  I do try to limit myself, but I'm not gonna lie, this baby is probably going to come out a pizza addict!  I still chew a lot of ice too but that's really no different when I'm not pregnant, I just get to pass it off as a craving right now, which I think makes it more acceptable.