22 Weeks, 3 Days

You slept in today!
I couldn't believe it--almost two hours after I was up and moving before I heard from you.

I had a really restless night's sleep last night and I must've kept you awake as well.
We stayed in a hotel and there was something funky about the heating system.
We turned it down to 68 degrees...and woke up to like 86.
You make me hot already so I was, quite honestly, miserably uncomfortable.
Had I had access to a balcony, I'd have slept out there.
As it was, we suffered.

You even slept through breakfast which has NEVER happened!
It wasn't until we settled in the car on the way home that I sat up and exclaimed, "There you are!"

Of course, your exhaustion could have nothing to do with my sleeping issues and everything to do with your acrobatics.
Aren't you getting stuffy in there? 
Surely you're at least slightly cramped by now.
All I know is, you're capable of some hurtin'.
It's not so bad when I know you're awake and I'm sort of braced for a round of pounding but that first one when you catch me off-guard, it can be downright shocking!

We had a busy weekend--we went to a party with some of Daddy's friends.
It's a group of people we don't see much but we all joke that whenever we do, I'm pregnant with someone else.
It's true.
I haven't been able to have a drink with these friends since 2001.
And that's only partially a joke :)

Daddy said he almost felt bad because we (you) stole the show.
We were there to support a friend but we were kind of like some freak side-show.
Daddy's friends are not like my friends.
They all have two kids--one boy and one girl.
Mostly in that order.
So they think we are just biz-arr-o and are incredibly curious about the how's and what's and WHY's of it all.

I have the same conversation nearly 25 times.

When we arrive for these not-often gatherings, jaws drop, wives try to discreetly point in my direction, leaning in close to their husbands. 
("My God.  The Martins are here.  And they are pregnant.  AGAIN.")

They aren't discreet.  I see them.  I just wink and wave.

You're up right now, thudding around in there.
You're big, you know?
I went shopping for you this weekend.
Well, for me.
I needed some new clothes to fit for the spring-like weather that has finally arrived.

You'd think because you're my fifth baby that I'd just have gobs of maternity clothes but the truth is...I really don't.
What in the heck did I wear with everyone?
All I can tell you is that this time around, maternity clothes just aren't doing it for me.

I went into one store, a big one, one that houses that three smaller stores inside one massive space, and I looked around and thought...none of this stuff is me.
Pregnancy is not the time to wear things that don't feel good on so I left empty-handed.
(Nor is it the time for a drastic change in one's hair.  My stylist simply refuses to do anything different to me when I'm pregnant or am immediately post-partum.  I've asked, insisted at times, for something new and she always says, "No.  No, no, no.  You come back to me in a few months when you are hormonally sane and I will do whatever you want me to do."  She's a smart cookie, that one.  And brilliant with low-lights.)

I ended up going to the stores that I usually shop at and I bought mediums and larges in all the things I would normally wear.
You're so perfectly round and cute right now that I can just wear bigger sizes of the things I like and they fit us really good.
J. Crew, Banana Republic, and Gap.  (YOU are one stylish bump, my love.)
Those are my maternity stores right now and I'm actually quite excited to get dressed in the morning!
You can stretch these clothes out, it's okay, I bought them for that purpose and I'm donating all of my other official maternity stuff to the Resource Room over at the midwives's office.
What I have should last me until at least May.
By June, I will be so big and hot, I will likely walk the neighborhood naked.

Interestingly, I think we've settled on a girl's name for you.
First AND middle.
This is big news!
It's the one I liked so much early on, and a middle name that I think goes well.
Honestly, I've had this "potentially" paired up for ages, at least since we were pregnant with Creux.
I'm just hesitant to pull it all together.
(Your father doesn't just sit around on boring days and pair up potential baby names throughout the years.
Me, however, I'm always thinking.  Even when I'm not pregnant!)

I wasn't sure if I'd even mentioned to him the middle name that I liked or not but I must've.
Had Creux been a girl, it's what I think we would have named him though I was flipping between two middle names at that point.
Daddy asked me in the car, "So what names are we thinking of?"
And I said your Maybe Girl one, which he's known of and likes, and added the middle name and waited.
He's normally a "no'er".
He says no to just about every name I come to him with so I was totally prepared for that.
But he thought for a second or two and then he nodded, "I like that."
Whew.

(Or maybe he just feels guilty about his rather, uh, heartfelt opinion on the Maybe Boy you getting your bits snipped?)

I tossed out the second middle name and sure enough, it was immediately rejected.
That's okay.
I didn't really love that one anyway.

As for your Maybe Boy name, that initial contender is still the front-runner but I'm not completely sold.
I think Daddy is more sure on it than I am.
He might have even been the one to mention it awhile back, I can't remember.
It's really cute and I do like it, I'm not saying I don't, I'm just not done looking yet.
And there isn't anything on the horizon for a middle name.
Usually we'll pull together two or three full names and see what we like most.
We actually had Creux's middle name, Calloway, long before we had anything else for either gender.
Calloway is a family name on Daddy's side and when we were digging around, we both really liked it.
Nothing has turned up for you yet.

So...I'll keep looking.
It's a bit easier now that I sort of know who you might be.
It took kind of walking away from the names of choice to realize how much I really liked them!
Strange but that's how life is sometimes...

We have an appointment with our midwives this week.
It's been five long weeks since our last one! 
And you know what's weird? 
I really only have one, maybe two, monthly appointments left until we start going in twice a month.
Gulp.
Things really pick up fast at that point.
This pregnancy with you is just flying.
I know I've said that before.
But it's been the fastest one to date and I'm not sure why.
All I know is, I blink and I've turned another week with you.

I'm still feeling good, just tired.
Always tired.
And both times this weekend in the car, my hands started swelling on the drive.
The upcoming 12-hour long drive to the beach is going to be interesting for us.
In order to keep the swelling at bay, I need to drink water.
If I drink water, I have to pee like 45 seconds later so it will take us approximately three days to arrive at the shore.
Should be good times in the car!

I need to get some sleep.
It seems that you have already drifted off while waiting for me to finish up here.
Night, little one.

Loving you already,
Mama