Half-way there! 20 weeks

Hello everyone!

It's hard to believe I'm half-way through this pregnancy at 20 weeks today.  In some ways it has gone by quickly, and in other ways, I feel like I've been pregnant for a long time already.  The weather was hot and humid when I first found out I was pregnant in August, and now we're immersed in snow and cold here in Vermont.  I've had a lot of "quality time" in my car over the past couple weeks, with bad road conditions and slow commutes to and from work, but I'm thankful to have a safe car that handles well in the snow.  Here is a photo out our back door this morning - it's shaping up to be a beautiful white Christmas:

The baby has been moving around a lot in my belly lately, and it's becoming much more fun to be pregnant now that I have the reassurance that something's happening in there!  People have been asking me if I'm still exercising, which I am.  I've been walking a lot (thanks to Roscoe), and I still go to Jazzercise a couple times per week, but I take things low-impact.  I actually feel better when I exercise, because it seems to loosen up any creaky muscles I'm feeling from carrying around this extra human in my body.

The other question I've been getting a lot is whether I have any weird cravings.  I haven't experienced anything too weird yet, but I feel like I've reverted to the diet of a 5-year-old kid.  Simple things still taste best to me, so anything with bread, pasta, and/or cheese are high on my list of favorites.  Grilled cheese, Mac and cheese, Pizza, cheese and crackers...but fortunately, fresh vegetables and fruit are also very tasty these days.  My palette is definitely different than it was pre-pregnancy, because I used to LOVE coffee, and now it just tastes bitter and yucky.  Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy it again after the baby is born!

At 20 weeks, our baby is about 10 inches long from head to heel, which is about the size of a banana!  I also read that the baby is getting the flavors of the foods I eat from the amniotic fluid, so it can actually influence her tastes when she starts eating solid foods.  I guess she'll like cheese!  :-)  Here are the 20-week belly shots - I'm definitely getting more round, and this is before I've started eating Christmas cookies!