so we’re starting week 20 tomorrow with the little man, and all is well. i felt him move for the first time today, which was really cool. in previous weeks, i would think i felt something but it went away so quickly that i didn’t think much of it. today though was a totally different story. i felt a distinct movement from about 1/2 way between my right hip and my belly button. it was almost like a tickle, but it moved from that point to a few inches closer to my belly button…. almost as though our little man were waving “hello” to everyone though my belly. it was really really cool. of course i have felt absolutely nothing since that moment, which is apparently normal, but it was really neat.

paul, as you all know, is gone…. AGAIN…. bleh!!! it’s hard. the dog is really mopey and i’m totally bummed out without him here. i can’t really figure out which is worse…. having him gone for 6 months (like last year) or having him gone for 3 months while i’m pregnant…. either way, it’s lousy. when i talked to paul on the phone today, he said that he was reading in his baby book that month 5 is really when the baby can start hearing you and recognizing the sound of your voice, which KILLS ME because he’s not hear to talk to his little man. grrr…. i’m really missing paul’s hand constantly on my belly. and of course i don’t realize how much i loved it until he’s gone, but his hand was always just sitting there on my belly. we would be watching tv and his hand would rest on my belly…. or falling asleep, his hand would be there…. and i’ve seen over the past few months just how much paul has been wanting to be connected to the baby, but now i’m really missing his connection to the baby as well.

all in all though, we’re doing just fine. the baby is healthy and wonderful and i can’t ask for anything more than that, right? i’m wrapping things up at school, midterms are next week, and looking forward to a looooooooong break in atlanta, while i prepare for our little man.

here’s a little blurb i found about what will be going on with mr. magoo over the next week. pretty cool stuff…. ps- i love the part about lowering the stress in one’s life. HA!!!!

Your baby is now half of his birth length, 10 inches (25 centimeters) that is. He is nowhere near halfway when it comes to his weight, though: he just weighs 11 ounces (320 grams) compared to the average full term birth weight of 7 1/2 pounds His growth will speed up from this point on, especially if you take it easy.
It’s normal that you don’t feel movement every day. Sometimes you feel him a few times a day and sometimes you feel nothing for several days. You can also feel him in different places in your abdomen. He still has enough room to swim to all of the different sides. And, your baby has to sleep, also… He often stays quiet when you’re busy and when you come home tired from work and plop down on the couch at night, your little one wakes up.
Healthy, normal, everyday stress can’t hurt the baby. However, some studies have shown than chronic and serious stress may lead to lower than average birthweight. When the mother is experiencing long term stress – whether from conflicts at work or home, job loss, death in the family, etc, the mother is constantly flooded with the stress hormone cortisol. It appears that the placenta can’t metabolize this abundant cortisol and the result is slightly reduced birth weight for the fetus. If you are facing serious stress, seek out ways to reduce it. If you can find counseling, share the work load, cut back your expenses, or exercise more, it may help to reduce your stress. Your health care provider may be able to help you by writing you actual orders to reduce the activity that causes you stress, (if that is applicable).