(OVER) Halfway there!

I meant to post this at 20 weeks, but cut me some slack!

Baby Girl Benich has cooked over 21 weeks with less than 19 weeks to go!!! I love the 20 weeks milestone for so many reasons...here are just a few...
1. You hopefully find out at 20 weeks that everything looks good, baby is healthy, and get a little reassurance that everything's on track. 20 weeks is also when you can get a lot bad news, so I'm extra excited and anxious to get to 20 weeks! Thankfully we got all good news!!
2. You can usually find out if the little pea is a boy or a girl!!! And even though we cheated and found out early, it was very reassuring that "she" is still a girl :)
3. I feel like you start to look a little more consistently pregnant...instead of just blubbery. Don't get me wrong, no one likes getting bigger...but this stage isn't too bad! Maternity clothes start to fit better, you have an actual belly, but don't look like you're about to fall over (YET!)
4. And I like knowing that if I've made it this far, the next 20 weeks should fly right by! Wishful thinking I know...but it helps!

My pregnancy is going great. Very few complaint besides the regular old bothers. I am still getting bad headaches and have to be really careful as soon as I start to get one. The best medicine I've found is a Coke. One sugary caffeinated Coca-Cola does more than Tylenol, naps, and ice packs combined. It's really quite strange, but I'll take it. I'm not used to drinking real Cokes, so it's a little treat (and a bad habit that will be hard to break post baby!). I've hit the starving-want to eat everything in sight-i'm not going to make it to my next meal stage. Randomly, I'm craving rice crispy treats! And while it's nice to not feel queasy, I'm trying to be as careful as I can to not gain too much baby weight.

I'm starting to feel her move and kick a lot. My doctor did tell me that the position of her placenta is going to limit how much movement I can feel, but luckily I can still feel her high, low, and on the sides, just not in the middle. Beau's tried to feel her a few times (when she's really active) but it's still a little early for that. After being on my feet most the day, I feel her like crazy when I first sit down to read books and rock with Wade at bedtime. I like to think she wants in on our night time routine. I've even taught Wade that his baby sister is in my belly and he'll lean down and give her kisses. Yes, my stingy kisser will kiss his baby sister! Other than the kissing, and the big boy bed in his new room, he has no idea what's happening.

An update on the name game.....we're getting close!!! We have a "comparison" name that we're now measuring other names up against. This is exactly what we did with "Wade" and it worked, so I feel confident this girl WILL have a name by her birthday. Sorry though, still not telling! Thanks to everyone who gave awesome suggestions. I've had fun receiving new ideas from all of you. I have so many that I love, but probably won't use for some silly reason. So whoever is having the next girl...remind me to give you my list. I also want to reiterate for the record that if I'm picky about names, Beau is Mr. Super Picky. He's lucky I'm so flexible and will go with the names he likes :) He would totally disagree with that statement, but since it's my blog I can say it.

I know the next few months are going to fly by, so I am trying to get as much done now as I can. With all the projects going on around the house, it's hard to stay focused on one task. But I'm cleaning out closets and cabinets...the basement room/bathroom renovation is almost finished...so Wade's new room will be next...so then I can make the nursery a little more girlie in time for baby girl. I know there's no rush, because she won't even be in her room for the first few months. But I also know how crazy it is with a newborn around. If it doesn't get done before she arrives, I'm confident it will NEVER get done. Wish me luck :)

a foot

a hand