Lil' Fee is truckin' along!

Well, this week marks #22! Lil' Fee is growing strong and stretching out my belly. In fact, my deep "innie" belly button is now almost flat. I have never actually been able to see down in it, so it's a cool thing to have happen! Just reminds me that she's getting larger every day. In fact, this week...she is the size of a spaghetti squash (how babycenter.com comes up with these, I don't know :-)

She's about 11 inches and almost weighs a pound! Her tooth buds are also forming underneath her gums. She was more active this last week...especially when I eat anything with mint in it. I chewed a piece of mint gum on Thursday for the first time since I've been pregnant, and she went crazy punching me. Either she liked it or not!! I wish Phil would have been around, as he for sure would have felt her. Alas, I was at the hair dresser, so she got to hear about it :-) Along with her growth, comes some lower back pain for me. In fact, I think I've started to "waddle" now because my glut muscles are hurting (probably from having to sleep on my sides), and have heard that your pelvis starts to adjust and get larger. That's probably what is messing with my lower back muscles. Regardless, I feel like I've been doing "Buns of Steel" and "Lower Backs of Steel"every night for two weeks!

Also, I've been investing in lotion for stretch marks just to be cautious. I don't even know if this works, but what the heck! I lather up every day and end up smelling like a live commercial for cocoa butter ....who needs perfume?!

Other than that, I am feeling great! In fact, Lil' Fee will be traveling to Illinois later this week for Christmas with the Helm family. It will be her first trip of many up there! We will be having a family baby shower while up there, so Phil and I are really excited...I wonder if the airlines will let pregnant women on the plane first like those with little kids...ha! :-)

On Monday, I have another four week doctor appointment...this is one of the easy ones, where you go in and basically just get checked over. You always have to have a bathroom break, where they check a sample for white blood cells, sugar, etc. Blood pressure, weight (boo!), and heartbeats are also checked...and that's it. Soon, I will be going every two weeks, but I can't remember when that starts. I also registered for the day-long "Preparing for birth" class at Rex hospital (although it's not until March). Phil is looking forward to spending a day at the hospital and learning how to be my labor "coach"..ha! I think we learn how to change diapers, swaddle a baby, feed a baby, etc. I think it will be neat and we will get to meet some other couples that are about the same due date time!

Well, here's to week #22....and happy growing to Lil' Fee!