21 weeks: Plans
21 weeks begins the start of the funny pregnancy stuff for me. Even though I’m not that big yet rolling over is now a struggle, and at my best friend’s bachelorette party I needed a little push to change positions. It was really funny (well, to me at least). I am also finally coming to terms with this new life. Things are not and will never be the same. Right now the baby in my belly is my priority, and I know I need to slow down. I can’t be constantly on the go anymore as I get tired. Also, if I do too much bambino reacts and gives me weird pains in my belly that I know can’t be good. I am finally listening to all the books (and um, my doc) that say to put my feet up as much as possible and rest when I need it. I took that to mean hire a cleaning person to come clean our condo. That sounds about right, right?!
Oh wait, I completely forgot to take one. I guess pregnancy brain is now starting to kick in?
There is a lot of planning and big decisions to be made when you’re having a baby. What will you do for maternity leave? When will you go back to work? How will you organize the baby room? What will you eat the first few weeks?
PhillyBoy and I are lucky in that we are on the same page for almost everything. Also, we are both mega-planners so we like talking about our plans for the next few months. Now that bambino is past the halfway mark it is time to consider those first weeks with baby. I’m such a Virgo that I’ve already addressed almost every big issue. Some are easier to address than others.
And since you’ve all been asking questions about this stuff I’ll share the answers.
For work I am probably going to take the standard 3 months off of my day job. I’d like to keep up with all of my freelance work, but in reality I won’t have as much time to share as I do now. Even now I have begun paring down the different side jobs I have to make them more manageable. It’s part of the sacrifice I wrote about above and also realizing that I need downtime these days.
As long as everything goes well and the baby hasn’t arrived yet my last day of work will be the Friday before Labor Day weekend. I then plan to have a few major cooking days with my mother in law (yay!!) to stock up our freezer for the first weeks with a newborn. I figure it will make dinners a lot easier if I just have to take something out of the freezer. So far on the list we have bolognese sauce, nonna’s meatballs, marinated chicken breasts, eggplant and buffalo chicken calzones, lentil soup and a white bean soup. Any other ideas of good freezable items that will cut down kitchen time significantly? As soon as the cooking is done I am going to get my butt over to the famous Rocky steps to try and get labor going.
This week I realized that I really love this baby in my belly already. I’m so in love. I love when he kicks me and I love thinking about the life we will have with him. I can’t wait to hold him in our arms and kiss him all day long. I can’t wait to see PB as a dad. I love this period in my pregnancy where I’ve fallen in love with bambino and fallen in love all over again with my husband.ย I’m just so full of love this week.
I also love the food at Siena and couldn’t help but order a side of eggplant parm and sweet potato fries to go with my salmon and salad. I ate about 3 bites of each but man was it yummy!
Here’s what Babycenter says about 21 weeks:
How your baby’s growing:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long โ the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she’s practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby’s eyebrows and lids are present now.
This weekend I had a really fun and unexpected bambino experience. Read about it here!
Random facts of the week:
Official doctor weigh in: 12-13 lbs for the pregnancy overall so far
Currently craving: only healthy stuff really. And honey mustard. I’m starting to fill up really fast and I want cold, light foods to satisfy my appetite.
Cryfests this week: 1 maternity clothing related one, and it was bad. It was solved with some tears, some helpful comments, and a friend willing to pick out my outfits for me via text pics of my outfits.
Things that are now uncomfortable: driving for more than 2 hours at a time, rolling over in bed, tying my shoes (because my belly lays on my thighs and it feels weird), zipping up dresses (because I can’t reach as far)
Any pregnancy questions for me? I know some of you must be as curious as I once was.
For more pregnancy posts, check out the PhillyBaby tab on the left sidebar of my home page! And for some more pregnancy talk, visit my blog on Babycenter!
Previous weeks:
Week 20
Week 19
Week 18
Week 17
Week 16
Week 15
Week 14
I love that you’re falling in love with your baby and husband (all over again)- so sweet ๐ Pregnancy really is such an incredible experience. A maid? I think I need one too ๐ I better get on that today hehe. It is amazing all the little things you start to think about/try to decide on. I am planning on doing a big cook fest before the baby comes too. We’ll have to do a recipe exchange ๐ Have a good day!
that sounds like a totally normal meal to me ๐
i love how your cooking food in advance for when the baby comes. very smart!!
Sabrina- I love reading these posts and I’m so happy for you and your husband! You have such a wonderful attitude and I know you will be great parents. Thanks for sharing the journey with us!
How about a bunch of frozen homemade granola bars for quick snacks? Oat-based for a breastfeeding boost!
You sound fabulous!
you’re***
Make some bland meals too, if you decide to nurse the baby they can’t handle beans and such in the early weeks/months. If you have a grocery delivery service use it, you will be happy not be bringing your tiny baby in the freezer section. Also check out Diapers.com it will make your life so much easier.
@Alexis Demirjian, Great thoughts here. I didn’t think about the beans issue. Any suggestions on some freezable bland meals?
@RhodeyGirlTests,
I think a veggie lasagna and maybe a strata of some type would be good. A women made me a mushroom, leek and gruyere one when my son was born. I’ll look for the recipe.
You can introduce beans, but do it slowly. I figured it would be fine because I ate hummus and lentils throughout my pregnancy, but it caused them a lot of gas in the first couple of months.
@Alexis Demirjian, Thank you! I’d love the mushroom leek and gruyere strata recipe if you have it. I won’t be able to find leeks but I’m sure I can use onion instead. Thanks!!!!
@Alexis Demirjian, Great advice! Never thought I’d hear an Armenian say stay away from beans!
I can’t believe you’re 21 weeks! Why do I feel like it’s going faster for you than for me? ๐ I’m loving this stage in pregnancy, too. I love feeling the wiggles, kicks and jumping jacks in my belly.
I’m 24 weeks today (6 months!) and have a doc appt this afternoon. I can’t wait to get an update on Baby D.
I’m starting to stress about some of the big issues, too, but haven’t solved many of them… full update coming on my blog on Thursday ๐
@Brittany (A Healthy Slice of Life), Good luck at your appointment!
I’m glad you’re doing well and enjoying this part of your pregnancy. Growing a life is a pretty amazing thing. At times, it seems a little inconvenient and awkward, but if you can take those moments to really think about what’s going on, it’s awesome.
I’m also a virgo and was in my element planning for baby! My last-minute-about-everything husband was not quite as amused by all of it, but he was a pretty good sport. ๐
I’d love to see your finalized list of freezer meals and recipes/links if that’s not too much work. I’m planning on making lots of freezer meals before the baby comes, too, and I’d love all the tips I can get!
@Sarah, Please remind me in a couple of months if you can and I’d love to share- when are you due?
As for cooking, I’d just say be a little careful about how much you make if you’re planning on freezing breast milk later. It can take up a LOT of freezer space. Oh! And SOOOO jealous of the 3 months off. As one of the owners said to me yesterday, “X needs to chill out because you’re only really out of pocket for 2 days while your in the hospital.” ARGH!!!
@Katy @ MonsterProof, Wow that totally blows!
And I didn’t think about the freezing breast milk part. We want to cook enough food for 4 weeks so hopefully by the time I start pumping half of the freezer will be available?
Ok, I will! Thank you:-).
I’m due November 2nd, so I have a while!
FWIW, I ate normally when breastfeeding (well, except for super spicy food and alcohol). My pediatrician said that babies will be gassy even if you eat boiled chicken and water, and it’s fine to eat as you normally would. Every baby is different, of course, but there’s my two cents.
What about freezing meatloaf (or the lovely kofta you made?) or beef stew?
Meals are great, but make sure you prep a bunch of easy, healthy snack foods for you to eat when you’re up at 2 a.m. I was absolutely ravenous the first two weeks of breastfeeding. Being able to grab a quick granola bar, carrot sticks, or even bowl of cereal in the middle of the night was a life saver.
“This week I realized that I really love this baby in my belly already. Iโm so in love. I love when he kicks me and I love thinking about the life we will have with him. I canโt wait to hold him in our arms and kiss him all day long.”
That made me smile so big! I’m so happy for you, and it sounds like everything is still going great. The frozen meal thing is a great idea- and it definitely beats stocking up on real frozen meals for the first few weeks!
Thanks for those ideas on what to cook and freeze. I have less than 8 weeks until my due date (!!!) so I am definitely going to start cooking and freezing meals before I get too uncomfortable.
Also, can I just say how much I love how you said you have fallen more in love with your husband while pregnant? I have had the same experience and it is so wonderful. ๐
Bake some things that you can eat with one hand – like muffins & granola bars. There will probably be many meals when you’ll be holding the babe with one hand and trying to eat with the other. I remember what a novelty it was going back to work where I could finally eat a lunch with both hands.
I have nursed all three of my kids and they never had any issues from foods I had eaten so you might be okay too:-)
I’d love to hear what your final list is for freezer meals. I’d like to do that myself!
As for maternity clothes, it is a limited selection, but check out Boden. I got the cutest maxi dress and plan to buy it in another color to take me through the summer! Stay away from the ruffle front dress though. Maybe it looks good on some people, but it seemed like the ruffles were in all the wrong places for a pregnant lady to me when I tried it on!