As 23 weeks come to an end, there’s not a whole lot going on. I’m very excited that my all day sickness seems to finally have taken a hike, which is amazing! 5 months was plenty, thank you. I wouldn’t say my taste buds are 100% back, but they are getting there and I can deal with that. I have definitely noticed I’m eating more. I try to only eat when my stomach growls and keep my snacks to fruits and veggies. Fridays seem to end up as my free for all day though since it seems I’ve run out of fresh groceries by then : )

My stomach obliviously keeps getting bigger and bigger. I’m measuring at 35” at my roundest, the same size as Jeremy’s waist. He so kindly offered to let me borrow some of his pants, but I think I’m good : ) About a week ago, I ran into a table with my belly because I’m just not used to something being there. I’m finding myself apologizing to my stomach more and more these days : ) I also can’t squeeze through things anymore, and sucking anything in is out of the question. A co-worker parked really close to me the other day and I didn’t think I was going to be able to get into my car. Especially since my days of entering through the passenger’s side and crawling to the driver’s side are over for now. And bending over, well just forget it, I have to ask Jeremy to help me put on my socks.

I think Jeremy’s getting jealous of the body pillow I bought a few weeks ago, since I’m snuggling up to it every night instead of him. I do occasionally wake up with hip aches, but for the most part it is helping me get more rest. I am, however, getting up to use the bathroom every couple hours still and since there’s no way to make that better, I’m still pretty groggy in the mornings. Not that I was ever a morning person anyway.

I’m pretty sure my tailbone is at war against me and is trying to exit out my back. I thought exercise would help, but it seems the day after I do a work out it hurts more. I’m not doing anything crazy so I’m confused why that is. I’m seriously thinking about investing in one of those donut seat cushions for my office chair since I can’t really lay down on the job. And a pillow for lower back support. I’m currently using a rolled up blanket (when I’m not using it to try to stay warm).

Baby Kakes is kicking a ton these days and he’s getting pretty strong. Sometimes I find myself jerking forward from a kick I wasn’t expecting and it makes me laugh to myself. If anyone saw me, I’m sure they’d think something was wrong. He hasn’t found my bladder yet and he’s not keeping me up at night so I am thankful for that. (He must know I’m writing about this, he just started kicking me again). He usually kicks a lot after I’ve eaten something so we joke that he has an opinion about that food.

Other than that, things are going well. We’re still in limbo as we wait for the house and no, we still haven’t decided on a name.

I think it’s time for my afternoon snack …

After a very long day attempting to start our registries on Saturday, Jeremy and I treated ourselves to Kobe’s in Altamonte for dinner. We usually only make it there on someone’s birthday, but we were in the area and their version of Chinese food sounded so good we couldn’t help ourselves. We placed our orders, enjoyed the soup and salad, and after a few minutes with the chef, he mentioned something about my belly and if we were having a baby and what it was. After he found out it was a boy he gave Jeremy a high-five. He also asked when we were due. I said we were due in May and he said that is great because it will mean we will have a baby in the Year of the Tiger.

The Tiger is the third sign in the Chinese Zodiac and is a sign of bravery. The tiger is a courageous fighter and is admired by the Chinese. The Tiger is a natural leader and loves to be the center of attention. People born in the Year of the Tiger are generally well-liked because of their charismatic personalities.

Throughout the dinner we kept up a conversation with the older couple next to us. The lady, Diane, is a nurse and at one time had trained to be a midwife. She wanted to know what birth center we were using and who our midwife was. Turns out that she knows our midwife, Kaleen. Diane said we were in great hands and that we had made a wonderful decision to give birth outside of a hospital. We both already really like Kaleen and are confident we made the right decision to use the birth center, but it was nice to hear someone else encouraging us in our choice. (To be honest, I’ve really been surprised by the positive feedback we’ve received about using a midwife in general. I had really prepared myself to have to brush off more people’s disapproval. It’s been very nice to not have encountered many negative thoughts.)  One reason I really liked Diane was that as we were leaving she told me that I looked like I was doing a good job of gaining the appropriate amount of weight. Thank you Diane!

As a side note to this story, on Wednesday Jeremy met me for a quick bite at a Chinese place for lunch. The lady serving us told me that I was so skinny. I wanted to jump across the counter and give her a hug. (And then she went on about how great it was to have a boy and then I think she said that no one cared as much when you had a girl. Her accent was very thick so maybe I misunderstood her but then again maybe not, she was Chinese.)

Anyways, I think I’m only going to eat out at asian restaurants for the next few months : )

We finished our Farris and Foster Chocolate last night. Time to go back!