"Ohhhhh, we're halfway there..."

Yup, 20 weeks! This pregnancy has had its highs and lows, but things are going pretty well for baby and Shrimp Mama. I feel good most of the time now, which is a welcome change. A lot of the pregnancy-related anxiety of the first/early second trimester has ebbed off and I feel excited and positive. It might sound odd, but I actually feel very calm about everything, even delivery. I always thought I'd be afraid and dreading it, but I'm looking forward to every stage of this, even the painful parts, because it's beautiful in its own way. Knowing that my body is doing this incredible thing makes me feel powerful and capable of handling anything.

Shrimpy and mama's 20 week selfie.

I got back from my 20 week checkup a few hours ago, and we're doing great! My baby-sac (okay, that doesn't sound better than "uterus") was measuring perfectly for this stage, and the results from the measurements taken during the ultrasound were great as well. I asked my doctor about my weight gain concerns (I've gained only 1.5 lb since becoming pregnant, and all of that in the last month) and she said I had nothing to worry about; that it was normal (there is a very wide range of normal weight gain!) So I actually feel pretty worry-free at this point, and am just enjoying the ride.

Baby is moving a lot now; I feel her wiggling around a few times a day (sometimes it feels like a finger dragging along the inside of my skin, or like flutters, or a *pop!*). The doctor was laughing because Shrimpy kept swimming away when she was trying to measure her heartbeat. That's my squirmy kid! Just like her dad! Things like the ultrasound and feeling movement really helped make me feel more connected to my little shrimp (the first stages are so much guessing and mystery).

This week, the week that I am on stay-cation, is naturally the week that the fire restoration people fiiiiinally came in to do all the carpentry and painting after weeks of waiting. This hasn't helped the life-stress levels much, nor aided in me relaxing, but at least it is going to be done. We've been promised that they will be out of our hair (and house) by the end of the month. Tomorrow wouldn't be soon enough, but an approximate end-date is somewhat reassuring at this point. We're just so eager to get our house put back together and to be able to get to our nursery to start setting it up. If you look past me in the photo, you can see what a mess our living room is. That's all of the stuff displaced by the painting/carpentry/plastering project going on in our bathroom and main walkway. Sigh.

A little update on the Salvation Army stranger: she showed up at our house with the bassinet (it's really nice), a change table topper, a manly-coloured Moby wrap (which I have been wanting!), and even some soft blankies. I thanked her profusely, of course. We just feel so taken care of and surrounded by love. Just how I would want to feel while building our little family.