Pregnancy Update: Month 5

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i am so grateful for this community. i was prepared for some ‘interesting’ responses to why i’m choosing a midwife and birth center and everyone was so damn respectful and shared their own truths and i love it. thank you!

i’m shooting to deliver these updates more in real time and during my last week of that month so here we are! month 5 has been a good one but also a surreal one since it was during this month i actually looked pregnant (to others and myself).

i mentioned GI issues so it was not uncommon for my stomach to bloat up to the point of how big i was previously (no exaggeration). this month was the point where i felt like ‘whoa. look at my stomach! there is something in there and i’m not just bloated!’

i try to take these pictures at the same time around mid-morning after i’ve showered so hence the stringy hair.

Month 5 pregnancy

HIGHLIGHTS

  • finding out we are having a little girl #yasqueen!
  • putting together the videos of us telling our family + how we found out!
  • watching bavery squirm around on the ultrasound for 45 minutes!
  • meeting our midwives and going to the birth center!

LOWLIGHTS

  • not flying to mexico next week for our friends’ wedding because of the zika virus (this is cassie’s wedding, our talented friend who takes our amazing photos!)
  • my husband not being able to get home in between weekly trips due to another crazy spring snow storm hitting denver
  • finding out we owed a ridiculous amount of taxes
  • how quickly time is passing – i’m already halfway?!

STRANGE/INTERESTING FACTS

  • bavery is developing her 5 senses (hope she’s enjoying all the doritos i’m eating)
  • the bones in baby’s legs and inner ears form first – now she can hear conversations!
  • by 21 weeks, all of her eggs are formed! crazy
  • at week 19, vernix (a slippery, white, fatty coating) formed on her skin so “she doesn’t pickle in the amniotic fluid” (i instantly thought of portlandia’s ‘we can pickle that!’)
  • sometimes the palms of my hands turn red because of extra estrogen
  • lower spine starts to curve backwards to keep me from falling forward

SYMPTOMS

  • dizziness is a bit better but still can’t do regular push-ups or things of that nature
  • my body continues to pulsate and it’s super weird. my midwife says it’s because my veins are so full of blood. *shiver
  • not sleeping great and it’s a lot less fun when no one is here to rub my back (and sugar refuses to learn how)

AVERSIONS

each day i wake up grateful not to be experiencing the intense aversions of the first trimester so right now i’m feeling pretty good about food. vegetables still sometimes gross me out so i just bought some V8 with mostly veggies in it to aid in this.

i don’t want indian or chinese food but i may eat thai. maaaybe.

CRAVINGS

fingers crossed that i might be slowly becoming lactose tolerant! i ate 3 piece of cheese the other day and didn’t feel horrible. eating mac-n-cheese still messes with me but i am having hope because I NEED REAL CHEESE AND ICE CREAM.

i can’t get enough nacho cheese doritos, either.

my cravings tend to be highly inspired by things i see. if i see a commercial for mexican food, i want it now. when we saw ‘the boss’ i immediately needed a brownie like whoa.

MOVEMENT

i can definitely feel more certain movements happening over here people! real talk: i am actually having some anxiety about the first time i feel a solid punch or a kick. i hate anticipation. i wish i could just chat with bavery, decide on a time that works for both of us and schedule when she was going to do kick or punch hard so i could be mentally prepared. ha!

she likes to move mostly at night when i’m laying on my side. my dad gave me the friendly reminder to “be sure to switch sides you lay on so she cooks evenly!”

WORKOUTS

i went on a hike with my friend kate and that was the best form of workout because it doesn’t feel like a workout (except in the beginning of a steep incline where i couldn’t talk at all). i like sneaky workouts like that so as soon as it’s nice again, more hiking please!

this is an unfiltered photo of glorious colorado party people!

hiking colorado red rocks

BUT don’t move here because 2 days after this was a serious snow storm (seriously the housing prices are insane thanks to the influx of people finding out it’s so awesome here). this is a photo from my mom’s place, which is near where we hiked:

snow storm

i am also trying out some prenatal yoga online (which i will tell you more about soon and you’ll get a chance to get a free membership!)

wall push-ups are my new friend!

MISSING ANYTHING

  • margaritas
  • our friends that will be headed to mexico without us (we love you cassie + lyn!)
  • my clear skin
  • my workout pants fitting. i mean, they are stretchy – stretch more!

LOOKING FORWARD TO

  • our babymoon at the beginning of may – we are going to HAWAII (since tulum, mexico was viciously ripped from us)!
  • seeing my sister in mid-may!
  • my husband’s birthday because we all know spouses benefit from the other’s birthday

missed the other updates? i gotchu.

first trimester + how to relieve first trimester symptoms

month 4 update

16 Comments

  1. Elyse

    April 20, 2016 at 8:41 am

    You are looking so good, Chelsea! Pregnancy is all so fascinating to me, but especially this,”by 21 weeks, all of her eggs are formed!” that’s seriously crazy…

    • chelsea

      April 20, 2016 at 10:22 am

      aw thanks elyse! if pregnancy fascinates you now – wait until you are experiencing it! it’s crazy cool! isn’t that nuts about all of her eggs (and ours when we were developing) are already ready to go! i totally texted my mom when i read that and said “you had our baby in you when you were pregnant with me!” it freaked us both out. ha!

  2. Jen L.

    April 20, 2016 at 8:46 am

    Loving these posts more and more, especially since I’m slowly starting to relate to things you’ve posted about a few weeks ago. 🙂

    PS – Once you get Sugar trained up on that back massage thing, can you send her to our house?? My chihuahua does make for a good heating pad, though.

    • chelsea

      April 20, 2016 at 10:23 am

      yay jen! i am SO excited for you in regards to ‘relating more’ 😉

      i will for sure send sugar over to teach your pup once i can convince her it’s in her best interest 🙂

  3. Audrey

    April 20, 2016 at 9:39 am

    I had no idea about the lower spine curving! Wow!
    I’m sorry Mr. WS couldn’t get home but I’m glad you guys are avoiding Mexico! That’s definitely sad to be missing out on the wedding, though.
    SO JEALOUS ABOUT HAWAII, THOUGH!
    And that snow. So jealous. (When we were in TN we met some people who’d driven east from Denver and they said they’d JUST missed all the snow. And then they went through Oklahoma and JUST missed a huge tornado. We were like, “Uh…. so what destructive weather are you going to leave behind once you’ve passed through here??!”
    Audrey recently posted…Allow Me to Point You In Another Direction…

    • chelsea

      April 20, 2016 at 10:58 am

      i had no idea about the spine either! our bodies are really amazing to how they adapt without us having to do a darn thing (especially since your center of gravity gets so out of whack)!

      i had a big cry fest because we literally booked our mexico trip 5 days before the zika news exploded and then they almost wouldn’t refund our money (which was over $2k – not insignificant!!!) but thankfully we got most of it back and now hawaii here we come!

      i hope those people didn’t bring any destructive with them while you were visiting TN – yikes!

  4. Anna

    April 20, 2016 at 10:12 am

    You look wonderful, Chelsea! I’ve been loving following along on your baby story. Our backyard in Boulder is still full of snow from this past weekend 🙂

    Where are you guys going in Hawaii? My husband and I went to Kauai in September and were so taken with the lush landscape. There were wild chickens and roosters everywhere. It was wild!
    Anna recently posted…My Favorite Podcasts & Digital Detox

    • chelsea

      April 20, 2016 at 11:05 am

      oh thank you anna 🙂 i definitely feel so much better than that first trimester! oh man it seems like boulder got slammed! i live in littleton and our area of it didn’t get hit very hard so i was grateful for my mom sending me the massive snow photos 20 mins away so i could be slightly less mad about DIA canceling 700 flights the day BEFORE!

      we are going to oahu and kauai is definitely on our future list! love that they had wild chickens and roosters running all around – ha!

  5. Sara

    April 20, 2016 at 11:14 am

    Baby making is such an amazing process. It is incredible all the changes that take place in your and baby’s body so quickly. I’m not looking forward to some parts of pregnancy, but in a lot of ways it seems like such a special time.
    Sara recently posted…Complementarian or Egalitarian Marital Roles?

    • chelsea

      April 20, 2016 at 5:39 pm

      it is absolutely fascinating sara!!! yes there are different hard times (the list i gave my husband yesterday was 1) my lack of energy 2) my crappy skin 3) not drinking booze) but it really is amazing! and to think…we all started this way!

  6. Vivien

    April 20, 2016 at 1:43 pm

    Agreed with her eggs being formed. Crazy to think about, and how many we go through in our lifetimes before one or more may get fertilized!

    Funnily enough, I’m heading down to Mexico for a friend’s wedding. She had to ask/caution me that if I was planning to get pregnant in the next few months, that I should avoid Mexico and she would most infidelity understand. My response was something along the lines of “no worries there, I don’t think I’ll get pregnant for the next two YEARS, let alone months!”

    P.S. If you paid a crazy amount in taxes, it probably means you made a crazy amount in income. Thought I’d throw it out there 🙂
    Vivien recently posted…Power of the Positive

    • chelsea

      April 20, 2016 at 5:43 pm

      so crazy right! apparently we are born with over 7 million but then only approx 400ish cycle through! fascinating things!

      glad you friend was considerate to ask about the wedding in mexico – totally jealous of your current pregnancy status. please drink 3 margaritas for me 🙂

      and yes, this was the first year we actually had something to show in a good amount of our taxes – we were just unprepared that the burden of tax payment would fall to us personally instead of through the business. sometimes learning is expensive haaa 🙂

  7. Courtney {Alkeks Abroad}

    April 21, 2016 at 2:13 am

    Love your updates! I’m super jealous of Hawaii, I have been looking up some different islands that are closer to us but apparently they have been added to the Zika list too . I tried to do regular push ups the other day HAHA it was so sad. When is your due date exactly?
    Courtney {Alkeks Abroad} recently posted…Easter Weekend in South Australia {Part 1}

    • chelsea

      April 21, 2016 at 6:51 am

      curse that damn zika! sorry all your nearby islands are added to the list too (and sorry hawaii is so far away). oh man – regular push ups – no way!

      one ultrasound put me at 8/31 for EDD and the other at 8/29 so fingers crossed for the end of august!
      chelsea recently posted…Pregnancy Update: Month 5

  8. Edye

    April 23, 2016 at 10:51 am

    Such an exciting time!! Congrats on your little princes 🙂

    Blessings,
    Edye // Gracefulcoffee
    Edye recently posted…Monday Pinspiration

  9. Amanda

    April 26, 2016 at 8:30 am

    I love the interesting facts you give. How crazy is it to know that all our eggs are formed at 21 weeks?? I mean, wow.
    Amanda recently posted…I Like to Eat When I Travel + A Giveaway!