Week Twenty-One

I hit me this week that, although I'm halfway through my pregnancy now, this second half is definitely the lonnng half.

It's the half where my lower back feels in constant need of a massage due to my changing body and lifting my 27ish lb toddler far too many times a day.

It's the half where I'm transitioning from "normal" clothes to maternity clothes, and somehow feel like a whale regardless of which I put on.

It's the half {this time, anyway} where the weather will continue to get warmer as I continue to get bigger, until I deliver this baby—which will probably be on the hottest day of the year!

It's the half where I wake up most mornings feeling like I was beat up the night before, only to remember that growing another person just takes a whole lot of energy!

Case in point: week 21 picture...

8:30am Monday morning; very tired, and looking rather large... Oh yeah, did I mention that my baby is apparently shaped like a lunchbox?!?

This IS also the half, though, where our little guy's movements feel stronger each day and the bond between us grows right along with them. And at the end of this half, I'll have much more than a bulging belly to show for it...

Here are some growth updates for the week {from TheBump.com}:

Baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid every day, both for hydration and nutrition and to practice swallowing and digesting. And, these days, those taste buds actually work! Studies show that after birth, babies are most interested in tastes they've already experienced through amniotic fluid. Meaning, think about what you want your future child to eat as you prepare your own lunch.