This is so not a bump date: 22 Weeks

This is only a bump date in the sense that you can see two pictures of my "bump". I put it in quotations because sometimes it's smaller than I think, and most of the time? People just have no clue that I'm pregnant, let alone 5 months pregnant. When I tell people how far along I am they are honestly surprised. It's going to sound weird but I'm a little jealous of those mamas who have rounder bellies earlier on. Why am I a little jealous? Because it was around this time in my pregnancy with Cole that I was put on bed rest, and I never got to show off my rounding belly to co-workers and the general public. Instead I sent a few co-workers a picture at the very end when I was days away from giving birth.

Because my pregnancy feels different than your average pregnancy, I developed some questions that I might use from time to time to tell you how I am doing. These questions fit my unique pregnancy.

1) Has your uterus been cooperating with you?
2) How have you been sleeping?
3) Has the baby been moving much?
4) How is Cole handling your pregnancy?
5) Are you "taking it easy" still?
6) Do you look pregnant yet?
7) Are you bothering to wear maternity clothes?

Here at home in my messy bedroom, I look semi-pregnant (20 weeks)

Out in public, I definitely don't.

1) Has your uterus been cooperating with you?

In the sense that it has not been contracting in a regular pattern (except for the anatomy ultrasound - that's when I definitely alarmed the technician) my uterus has been cooperating with me. But it has not been cooperating with me in the sense that it contracts for any old reason at least several times a day. I can't pinpoint it to any one cause, and I can't keep it from happening, no matter what I do or don't do. Because of the three contractions that occurred in a row at my anatomy ultrasound, I am due to return to the high-risk doctor in another two weeks. The good news is: no cervical change whatsoever.

2) How have you been sleeping?

I can sleep through the night a lot better now (probably because I'm so exhausted) but now that I have started to work again I have to wake up at 4:30 a.m. in order to make it to work on time. So I only get at a very maximum 7 hours of sleep. 

3) Has the baby been moving much?

Much to my chagrin, this baby has been moving a ton.

4) How is Cole handling your pregnancy?

Every day when I come home from work he says hi to me and then says "There's a baby in your belly." He pulls up my shirt and gives my belly a kiss. 

5) Are you "taking it easy" still?

At work, I have students move desks for me every day. I don't rush, and I try to leave my duty early so I don't have to get pushed around in the hallways (to say that the school I work in is overcrowded would be a huge understatement). At home, I try not to pick Cole up as much as he wants me to pick him up. It's hard to not have him on my belly when I'm putting him to sleep.

6) Do you look pregnant yet?

As I've shown you in the pictures, I think I look pregnant, but when I go out in public, I don't really. I probably look like I just have a little belly.

7) Are you bothering to wear maternity clothes?

Of course! I love maternity clothes and have a lot of hand-me-downs, most of which I really didn't get a chance to wear my first pregnancy because I was on bed rest for 4 months. So I wear a piece of maternity clothing almost every day. I've also noticed that if I wear maternity pants, I am more likely to look pregnant because it cradles my belly rather than smushes it in.

If there are some other questions that you were wondering, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them!