Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep

I wish sleep were easy at this stage!  "Everyone" (my doctor, all the resources online, etc) recommends side sleeping starting in the 2nd trimester.  Sleeping on one's belly is like sleeping on a melon and back sleeping allows the growing uterus to put pressure on major blood vessels in the body.  However, every time I try to sleep on my side, my lower arm falls asleep!  Talk about annoying!  Then I usually wake up (& have to pee) and change positions.  It's not a very restful sleep at all, I'll say.  At least I don't have bags under my eyes just yet, so it must be that I'm getting enough sleep for now.  And the best (and most frustrating) part is the doctor's response (he uses this one to answer many of my pregnancy symptom concerns):  "Oh, that's too bad.  Unfortunately, it will only get worse and there's nothing that can be done about it.  This is the 3rd discussion I've had about this topic with patients today."  Don't get me wrong, I like my doc; there's just not much one can do about symptoms caused by pregnancy hormones.  I'm just not ready to pack our bed with lots and lots of pillows - there might not be much room for Craig left!

Other than the sleep issues, I feel fantastic this week.  Baby moves around occasionally, but nothing you can feel on the outside of my belly yet (unfortunately for Craig).  I'm happy that I'm a happy & healthy-looking pregnant woman instead of my fear of looking blotchy and exhausted.  I hope I have that "glow" that everyone talks about!

23 Weeks Pregnant

I was a little envious at the doctor's office this week when I kept seeing women with beautiful baby bumps, but I figure mine will come in time.  The baby is supposed to double his/her weight over the next 4 weeks, and eventually that's just going to have to show up on the outside.  And the good part about the bump waiting in the wings is that I can still wear the majority of my regular clothes.

Then I realized that I actually have a picture from 15 weeks in the same shirt, and you can tell that there's more of a bump there now (even though today's picture is slightly more zoomed in)!  Take a look:

15 Weeks

23 Weeks

 I do also think I have a little more on top too - yippee!