20 weeks: baby is the size of a cantaloupe

Today marks the halfway point of this pregnancy and that seems like something to celebrate. Baby is about 10" from head to heel and about 10 oz in weight. She is forming sweat glands and immunities are transferring from me to her. I hope I'm giving her a lot of good ones. She's moving and kicking and squirming all over the place as I write this! She has been really active tonight.

I've been getting a lot of foot cramps the last few weeks and I guess that is a common thing in pregnancy. The kind where a couple toes suddenly get a mind of their own and break away from the pack. It's not really painful. I have another new pregnancy symptom brewing that I'm not too thrilled about - a linea nigra. It's a dark vertical line that runs down the abdomen starting at the belly button. When I read about it in Mayo Clinic's Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy I first thought, "WHAT?!" and then I vaguely remembered seeing it on other pregnant women's bellies. It happens to about 75% of us. It's really faint at this point but there's no denying it's on its way. It's really not a big deal and it'll go away after pregnancy, it's just one of those vain things. Another one of those vain things I didn't know about beforehand that's also happening are bigger and darker areolas.  It has something to do with preparing for breastfeeding. A more obvious target maybe?

Evan and I are in Thailand this week and next week for our babymoon.  A babymoon is a vacation for an expectant couple to enjoy a final trip together alone before baby. We booked this trip during first trimester with positive thoughts that second trimester would be a time I'd be feeling great. Aside from the complications I've been experiencing, I also had a stomach flu virus for five days last week! It was dicey right up until the day we left and we were prepared to cancel the trip and eat the sunk costs. I was still a little queasy when we left so I slapped on the Sea Bands I got for morning sickness a few months ago and was good to go. I'm being very careful about what I eat and also honoring my physical limitations and letting Evan go off and do some things on his own while I nap or rest in the hotel room. Today we went shopping and we were eyeing some things for the baby. A carved wood elephant, some itty bitty Thai baby clothes, a piece of artwork for the nursery. The baby bump photo was taken on a street in Bangkok today and the photo below is Evan with a street food cart guy holding a freshly prepared green papaya salad. Street food is everywhere! If this little girl ends up with a special affinity for Thai cuisine I'll know why.