{ Dear Peanut }

Dear Peanut,

It's hard for me to believe, but guess what? We are about 1/3 of the way through this pregnancy! Thirteen weeks plus a couple days is about as close to 1/3 of the way through 40 weeks as you can get. I'm sure you're happy and cozy in there, given how comfortable you are making yourself in my body. According to BabyCenter, you are about three inches long--the size of a medium shrimp--and weigh nearly an ounce.

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It's crazy to think how tiny you are, and yet how insistently you make me aware of your presence. I'm still nauseous quite a bit, but my appetite is great. {It's very convenient, actually; last night I justified eating two brownies by saying that one was for me, and one was for you.} I haven't had any strange cravings, though there are quite a few smells that turn my stomach, and photos of food make me queasy. Naps are pretty high on my priority list, too. My pants are starting to feel snug, and sometimes I have to unbutton the middle button on my winter coat. It's at my ribcage, not my belly, but it gets so tight! I guess everything is shifting up to make room for you. 

Last week Daddy and I heard your heartbeat. You kicked the Doppler probe, which made me laugh. It's amazing how tiny your heart is, given that all of you weighs less than an ounce, and yet it has all four chambers and pumps 160 times a minute.

Just in the last few days, I've started looking at nurseries on Pinterest, getting ideas for what I want to do in your room. Fair warning: You're going to be sharing it with Daddy's home office and a variety of other things that just don't fit anywhere else in our two-bedroom condo. So it has to be something that both you and Daddy will like...or at least tolerate. Here's an example of a nursery I adore, but which would probably not work as an office...

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...and here's a color scheme that would be more conducive to an office/nursery arrangement:

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{Don't you love the elephant hamper?!}

My first "official" purchase for you was an adorable, hand-painted, orange and white mini lampshade from One King's Lane, just a couple weeks after we found out about you. Tonight we are {hopefully} going to make our first big purchase in preparation for your arrival--a crib I found on craigslist. It's the exact one I've had in my mind for years when I imagined having a baby of my own. Hopefully it won't be a scam!

Well, Sweet Pea, I really ought to start cleaning out some space in that office so there will be room for your crib when we get home tonight. Stay safe and sound and comfy!

Love,

Mommy