19 weeks

I turned 19 weeks yesterday and I have my big ultrasound this Friday! I guess I haven't mentioned this on the blog.....our plan is to wait to find out the sex this time. I've always thought it would be fun and exciting to be surprised on the day of the birth. Of course the drawback is that I can't plan for a girl, if that's what it happens to be. And sometimes I wonder if I'm just going to break down and say, "okay, just tell me!" when I'm on the table and the ultrasound tech already knows the sex. I'm hoping I'll be able to keep my resolve! Mainly, I'm hoping it will help me concentrate on the health of the baby.....it seems like I hear so many stories about sick babies, so I really just want to see confirmation that it's healthy.

A few stats this week:

Size/Movement: According to my 19-week baby center email, the baby is 6 inches long, head to rump (not including legs). The size of an "heirloom tomato." I think it's so funny that they always choose vegetables (many times, obscure ones!) to describe the baby's size. It's hard to believe that it's so big now.....I can still hardly feel it moving! Once or twice a day I'll feel a few little punches in a row, but it's usually very low in my tummy....so I'm wondering if the placenta is, indeed, sitting in a spot that blocks some of the movement.

Eating habits: This pregnancy, in my first trimester it hardly even crossed my mind to be conscious of what I was/wasn't eating. Oops! It hit me about 6 weeks ago that I need to be eating more calcium and protein than normal. I remember with Drew reading that a pregnant lady is supposed to have about 70 grams of protein every day. This is hard to do! So I've been trying to drink a glass of milk every night, with my packet of hot chocolate with added calcium. And I'm trying to snack on lunchmeat and cheese when I get a chance.

Nursery: We're combining the study and guest bedroom, so the guest bedroom will become the baby's room. It's already painted a pretty beige color and we have brown drapes, so I'll probably just leave it the way it is (although I might paint the crib wall a darker brown). I found some cute letter and number wall hangings at Kirklands back in April.....definitely gender-neutral. We don't have any of the furniture moved or pictures hung yet. I don't think Drew's anywhere close to being ready to move out of his crib, but I want to get started on the baby's room soon. I'm thinking about buying another crib on Craigslist so we're not having to rush to get Drew into a toddler bed in the next few months. (Because while I know the baby's not going to be sleeping in his/her room for weeks/months, I still want to have the room all ready!)

How I'm feeling: TIRED! The boys have been waking up at 6:05 for the past few weeks. Thankfully Drew's been taking longer naps, so I usually can plan on a break of at least two hours in the afternoon.

My friend Kari (just had her third boy) told me last week to get all of my little projects done before the baby comes. I know this is true! I always have probably ten or fifteen projects I'm trying to work on (right now it includes painting rooms, getting caught up on our 2009 picture album, landscaping projects in the backyard, organizing a closet, organizing my recipes, etc). I'm consciously trying to work on those while the boys are napping, which is the main reason I've been so bad at blogging. I so desperately want to make it to October feeling like I've accomplished a lot this summer, and not stressed about all of the things on my to-do list that will have to be pushed back indefinitely once the baby comes. But I also want to enjoy time with my boys, and I don't want to be so consumed with my to-do list that I forget to have fun too.