SO close I can taste it!

ALMOST half way there! For some reason, I am really looking forward to to 20 week mark. Week 19 was pretty great! I was reunited  with my sweet husband and things have been heavenly! I miss my family and last week was fantastic but it feels good to be home and with my best friend again. So Chad "missed" me and stuff but he also got his "man date" on quite a bit! Him and Preston played golf and fished every other day making his transition from bachelorhood back to happily anchored by his ball and chain less smooth. Normally I would just pick up the pace and go golfing and fishing with them but I was still recovering from my highly unattractive sunburn. Chad's such a champ, he's been taking care of me all week.
    I have this problem, i worry, like a lot and it's a little unhealthy. I never noticed how much I worried until I got pregnant and all of a sudden I'm responsible for another life. I worry about what I eat, how I sleep, how loud I am (I know, it's silly), how much water I'm drinking... so pretty much anything that I can stretch into the realm of what might adversely effect the baby. SO I'm sure you can imagine a sunburn totally fits....i'm pathetic I know.
    However I will justify a little of my worrying with the happening of the week before. When I received the sunburn i was in so much pain, I received very little sleep and was so stressed out. I tried drinking a ton of water, clod baths and showers and ice packs all over my body but i felt so over heated for about 4 days in a row! I was worried I melted little Liam! (It sounds even crazier when I write it out) Plus, the stinging got so bad that my mom convinced me to take a Tylenol for the first time in my whole pregnancy ( I swore to myself that I would just tough out whatever happened in my pregnancy and stay far far away from medicine but after a lot of convincing from my mom and sister, I regretfully took some) It helped for a little bit but the sting was back the next day. I cried so much those last three days and sadly I don't think it was as much the pain as it was the worry for my sweet little boy that made me cry! I'm so grateful for my sweet dad and brother-in-law, Brennon, who gave me a very special blessing, helping me stay calm and heal from my 2nd degree burns.
   After returning home from Cali and AZ I was expecting things to get better but even now a week and a half later, I'm still stinging and peeling. Around the week mark I got pretty nervous, Still no healing, very little pain relief and I hadn't felt the baby at all. I called the doctor and asked her very nonchalantly if I should be worried or not. I told her it was probably just a bad burn and I was more than willing to tough it out without meds but I had read about blood poisoning and a few other conditions that pregnant women are more prone to with sunburns and wanted to know if there was a way for me to rule those out. She asked me to hold (not good for my nerves) than moved some appointments around to get me into the doctors withing the next hour which made me even more uneasy.
    I rushed into the doctors and they sent me right back. they checked everything, measurements, the burns, everything and lastly they checked that baby's heartbeat. It was loud and strong! I had so much relief. All the little things they checked with me were perfectly normal and on track. I was so relived and comforted.
A few things I learned:
-Sunburns are much more likely when you're pregnant because you have much more blood, making it closer to the surface of your skin, encouraging burns.
-Swelling is much more likely with pregnancy because of water retention so swelling with sunburns can be very intense.
-Aloe is more than fine when you're pregnant.
-Tylenol is, in fact, not the worst thing you can take during pregnancy
-Worrying always makes things worst

I'm so glad this week is over and that I'm healing a little (aka, peeling like a lizard)

Week:19

 Total Weight Gain:1 pound up from my pre-pregnancy weight.

Stretch Marks: A few new ones, this time on my belly...weird.

Best Moment This Week: Feeling the baby kick when I sit up. I've been able to feel some movement when laying flat on my back totally still but today I felt him just walking around, it was crazy!

Missing: My ankles. kankles are gnarly and I'm so ready to stop swelling. 

Movement: Some! I don't know if its a kick, but i know its the baby!
Symptoms: Still swollen from my sunburn but other than that, i'm golden :)

Food Cravings: Nothing in particular...but the other day I would have killed for some curly fries (gross I know)

Causing Nausea: Nothing! and It's amazing!

Labor Signs: Ha

Belly Button: ...

Wedding ring:  Its tight!I'll probably take it off this week :(

Moods: So happy!

Next Doctor's Appointment: August 26th...I think, its a Monday because I get to meet with a Doctor for the first time! 
Looking Forward to: My 20 week appointment, there will be lots of pictures and a good report on the baby's growth and development...nervous and excited!

Baby Facts: Developing a protective coating over his skin, called vernix caseosa. It's greasy and white. Working on his five senses. Nerve cells for his sense of taste, hearing, sight and smell are developing in his brain. At about 6.0 inches long and weighing in at about 8.5 ounce, he's getting there!