Pregnancy Update: 21 Weeks

Hi! Here's my weekly pregnancy update. I would like to remember this special time, so I'm documenting it! I turn a new week every Friday, so I'm trying to do these posts during the middle of the week. Here's the first ever pregnancy update, and you can find all the pregnancy updates in this tag.

21 weeks!

Current Facts

Baby Size

Pomegranate or large banana or endive (10.5 inches, 12.7 ounces)

From the Glow Nurture, What to Expect, and The Bump apps

How I'm Feeling

Great! Considering I have hyperemesis gravidarum, the fact that the nausea and vomiting are completely gone this week is a big deal for me. I can now venture out of our house from time to time, though I can only go to nearby places. I still get pretty weak though. Whenever I go out, I would be worn down by fatigue and would have to recuperate for the rest of the day -- sometimes until the next day. I also get very fatigued when it's hot. I'm always overheating. Aside from that, I've also been having trouble eating. I mentioned this in my last update, where I said that I'm having trouble with portions. I couldn't eat for months, and now that I can eat, I can't eat normally. The top of my tummy gets really tight when I do, and I feel like throwing up when it happens. Now I eat small amounts of food, but I'm hungry all the time these days so I eat as frequently as I can. You know how you don't feel satisfied if you didn't have enough? That's how I feel these days for every meal, but apparently, my stomach thinks it has had enough and then changes its mind an hour later. I know right, sometimes I feel like this pregnancy doesn't want me to eat! On a minor note, I've also been having itchy skin -- not just on my belly area, but all over. I'm still using the belly butter in my general belly and chest area, and I'm using lotion on the rest of my body, and this helps a lot. I have to say, the Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter -- which I've been applying every night -- is really working wonders! My weird rough dry patches are all gone and haven't come back. 

Cravings/Aversions

I can pretty much eat anything these days. I can even take fried food sometimes, but not a lot. I still prefer light and dry or soupy things.
  

I can eat all sorts of food now, but food that's soupy and not too rich (even a bit bland) is still the best for me at the moment. This pork and potato dish over rice is something Aleq and I just threw together one day and now we keep on making it. I can eat it for three days straight. It's hearty and comforting. #lutongbahay #hyperemesis

A photo posted by Jullienne (@liatenshi) on Jun 21, 2016 at 8:09pm PDT

Last night's joint cooking venture: our favorite chicken and asparagus stir-fry over rice. 🍲 The one good thing that came out of me being sick is that the hubby has learned to cook and isn't so afraid of the stove anymore (well he still yells "Whoa!" every time something sizzles but that's about it 😂). This means we can now cook together! For this one, we shared the food prep duties, and he bravely handled the pan. It was fun even if it was really late at night and we lost a bit of sleep! #hubbyapproved #wifeyapproved #homecooking

A photo posted by Jullienne (@liatenshi) on Jun 27, 2016 at 9:00pm PDT

I've been craving avocados this week! I have it with milk and sugar and chill it for a bit before eating. It find it so good, I feel like I'm eating ice cream.

Been loving chilled avocados with milk and brown sugar lately. This is the second jar I've made in the last few days. It reminds me so much of my childhood, when my parents used to make it all the time. I should cut down on the sugar and just have it with milk, but it's just so good!

A photo posted by Jullienne (@liatenshi) on Jun 28, 2016 at 8:45pm PDT

Baby Activity

I've been feeling the baby move so much more than last week. Sometimes when I touch my belly, I feel soft little nudges where I'm touching it, which makes me think that the baby feels my touch and is also saying hi. I love it. The hubby still can't see or feel anything on my belly, but he gets a kick out of talking to the baby and I tell him whenever the baby reacts. They were having an actual conversation about fastfood the other night. Hubby: When you get out of there and you're big enough we'll go to McDonald's okay? Baby: No response. Hubby: Jollibee? KFC? Baby: No response. Hubby: How about daddy's favorite, Burger King? Baby: *starts moving like crazy* It was adorable! <3

Milestone
We finally announced that "It's a boy!" this week! We found out at our congenital scan the previous week, and we're so excited.

We went with this announcement. Thanks to Pinterest for the idea. I had to struggle with foil and tape that day, heh, but it's okay.

Pregnancy Favorites

*Human Heart Nature Natural Body Wash, Natural Healthy Lotion, and Peppermint Flavored Lip Balm - As you know, I've been using natural makeup and bath and body products, just to minimize the chemicals that go into my body at this point in time. Since I've been having itchy skin, I started using the Human Heart Nature Healthy Lotion in Orange Sunrise. I love that it feels light and smells light -- it absorbs quickly and easily and the orange scent doesn't bother me. In a previous post, I also mentioned that I had to stop using the Burt's Bees Citrus and Ginger Body Wash because the herbal scent eventually became too strong for my pregnant senses. I've switched to Human Heart Nature's Natural Body Wash in Sweet Orange, which is the same as the lotion. It has a light orange fragrance that my senses can handle, it feels great in the shower, and it's so easy to rinse off. My cousin Sheila and I also traded lip balms. I had this unflavored lip balm from Healthy Options that had a waxy taste that bothered me, and she gave me the Human Heart Nature Peppermint Lip Balm. I haven't used it yet, but I'll try it this coming week.

*5 Minute Stories for Boys - My cousin Lek told us that we should start reading to the baby, and the hubby and I were grateful because we haven't thought of it! (Why, we have no idea. Preggo fog, maybe?) We randomly picked up this book over the weekend (hubby of course had to choose the one with the dragon on the cover) and we've started reading one story every evening to the little one. 

Coming Up
I'm having my first 75g Oral Glucose Tolerance Test this weekend. I'm nervous! We're worried about the fasting and how long the test is going to be, and we just want to get it over with. Wish me luck.

That's about it for this week! Thanks for reading.