22 weeks

What's new this week?
My skin seems to be clearing up...at least the skin on my face does. So that's a big plus. And I'm not needing as much sleep as I have been. I can get by on 8 hours instead of 10-14. Not quite as awesome as my usual "6 hours and I'm golden", but considering I wake up about every couple of hours to pee or because I'm getting my ass kicked from the inside, I guess it's a pretty good compromise.
My skin is becoming quite translucent, which is really strange. I'm fair skinned, so I've always been able to see the veins on the insides of my arms. But today I got out of the shower and I was a veritable road map of green veins! They are all over my chest, the sides of my belly, hips, and inner thighs. Of course I had to run to my computer to google pictures "varicose veins" and message my friend Jessica (who is also quite fair skinned and pregnant) to see if she was experiencing the same thing. She is, and it isn't varicose veins. But it still looks wierd.
Today my back hurt like CRAZY. I could barely even walk it hurt so badly on the left side. As soon as I sat down I felt better, so I don't think it was a pre-term labor symptom. I think I just tried to do too much (like go run errands all morning) and haven't been drinking enough water. If it happens again in the next week though, I'm calling the Dr.
And one more down, my usually iron stomach has become a total wuss. I'm not experiencing morning sickness, but anything that looks or smells gross and high heights send me running for the toilet. I literally almost threw up yesterday watching an episode of CSI:NY when Mac, Hawks, and Danny were on the top of the Empire State building. I had to close my eyes until the scene was over. Talk about vertigo.
I am finally learning how to tell what position "she" is in. At my ultrasound Monday "she" was head down. But I was thinking "she" was feet down because of all the taps I feel near my hips. Now I can feel the difference between punches and kicks. Punches are sharper and smaller, while kicks are more like resounding thumps. And sometimes I will feel a big hard bulge on one side of my belly...I though it was a head, turns out, it's a butt. It's pretty exciting.
The Florida Institute of Ultrasound needs patients for their students to practice on. So I'm going to go and be their pregnant guinea pig on January 22. Hopefully the kiddo will be much stronger by then so I can really get a good idea of what position "she" might be in beforehand. Then I can check test my theory.
And now for the belly from my point of view: