27 Weeks and the Holidays have Arrived!

How Far Along: 27 Weeks
Size of Baby: a head of cauliflower, 2 lbs, 14.5 inches long
Total Weight Gained/Lost: +18lbs
Maternity Clothes: Yes... and lots of Don's t-shirts
Belly Button: In
Movement: All the time, even throughout the night now
Sleep: Good. I've gone without a nap the past couple of days and I still feel great. Lots of energy.
What I miss: my slimmer face!
Cravings: Oatmeal and strawberries!
Symptoms: Just lots of kicking and heartburn. 
Highlights from this week: Thanksgiving break! We got to spend lots of time with family and each other. We also put up Christmas decorations. For the first year ever, Don helped me string lights on the tree and Rory could not get enough of decorating the tree. He walks by the tree and knocks ornaments off just so he can put them back on the tree. Ha!!

 

Last Monthly Dr.'s Appointment...

   Today, 26 weeks 3 days, was my last monthly Dr.'s appointment! It went well and I will now go back every 2 weeks!! To me this is very exciting. Time goes by so quickly when I have a Dr.'s appointment to look forward to. Baby's heartbeat was in the upper 140's-150's. Everytime Dr. Helton would place the doppler probe on my belly, baby would kick it. It was awesome! They checked my iron and in the next week or so I will have my gestational diabetes screening done. Yum!

   Other great news is I can go back to clinical just 2 weeks after having the baby! This has been a concern for my instructors/dean. They recommended that I take 6 weeks off. What tha?!?  I only have 10 weeks after delivery until graduation. So basically, they were wanting me to postpone graduating until Decemeber. I have been EXTREMELY stressed since my intructor told me this. I mean STRESSED. Anxiety, mood swings, depressed... any of the symptoms associated with freaking out... I had. But haha! Dr. Helton said that if everything goes as planned and I have a normal vaginal delivery then I can get right back to work in 2 weeks. Boo ya! I have a meeting with the Dean on Dec. 6th to discuss "the plan" and hopefully get it approved. Now I pray that I get the go ahead from her and that I have a smooth delivery with no complications!

** Next appointment on Dec. 5th**

26 Weeks and Counting

   26 Weeks and it is almost Thanksgiving! Time is flying by at jet speed! I have only 3 weeks left of class then Christmas break! Yay!! I get almost a month off and I can not wait! Time to spend with my babies...all 3 of them ;)

   Right now I truly love being pregnant! The bigger I get the more I love it. Ha! Crazy, I know. I don't like to weigh myself or watch my face get more round, but I do love to watch my belly grow!! Rory loves my growing belly too! He is obsessed. He will randomly come up and rub on my belly or hug it or kiss it or just raise my shirt up and look at it. It is very heartwarming. My little baby isn't so little anymore...I'm about to have another little baby! Ahh!!

 How Far Along: 26 Weeks

Size of Baby: an English hothouse cucumber? 1.75lbs, 14 inches.

Total Weight Gained/Lost: +16-17lbs
Maternity Clothes: yes. I sometimes wear the same jeans 2 days in a row. Sue me...

Movement: Yup 

Sleep: Blah. I don't sleep good but I don't wake up tired either so I guess I shouldn't really complain. I've been rolling onto my back every single night lately and I am constantly waking up to roll back onto my side. Why do I do this?!?

What I miss: Can I use beer again?? I asked Don to get some non-alcoholic beer at his next liquor store visit and I am sad to so there is no such thing as completely alcohol free beer. Not in Carrollton anyways. O'Doul's is "non-alcoholic" but still has 0.5% alcohol content so I can't wont drink it. Tear

Cravings: It varies, nothing in particular. I don't crave salt anymore which is good. I notice that when I eat it my face is a little more filled out... a little swole if you will. So I have tried to lay off the salt. For now.

Symptoms: My nipples are really sensitive again, but not sore. I feel great! Heartburn is bothersome but I've become accustom to it. My appetite is back to normal. I don't have to eat everything in sight. Occasional pain in my lower left side and my back/hip aches if I sit or walk too long. My belly button is only about 1/2 an inch deep now. I give it 6 weeks to flatten out. It never stuck out with Rory, just evened out with my stomach. The dark line has not developed yet either but I can barely barely see it in the light. No headaches, no cramps, no stretch marks, no constipation, no urinary frequency. Life is good!

Highlights from this week: Finished my first 5K since being pregnant! It was super cold outside but it was lots of fun! I completed the race with my mother and sister. All 3 of us placed in our age categories. It felt great!

Caught off guard. Look at that baby...

25 Weeks, Eek!

                                                                                                               (25w3d)

How Far Along: 25 Weeks

Size of Baby: 13.5 inches, 1.5lbs+

Total Weight Gained/Lost: 16lbs. Holy cow! Thats a lot of weight gained since last week. Tear

I have been craving eating lots of ice cream and cheesecake lately. I have also been told numerous times this week that my belly has grown this week. I had a lady at Rory's school ask me when I was due...I told her February...her response... "oh!" and that was that. Good thing I'm not one of those emotional psychotic pregnant women. And good thing I don't get my feelings hurt easily.

Maternity Clothes: Of course

Movement: Yes
Sleep: Great
What I miss: Running :(
Cravings: Milky Ways
 Symptoms: Nothing to complain about. Same as usual. No headaches, no cramps, no discomfort. My back and hip hasn't hurt in a few weeks, yay! I pee like a non-pregnant person vs. someone with incontinence. I am still going to the bathroom without the use of laxative, woo hoo! I occasionally get short of breath from putting my pajamas on and crawling in bed
Highlights from this week: making it to 25 weeks! Ah! 15 weeks to go.

24 Weeks Down, 16 To Go!

* This week alone our baby has gained 4-6 ounces!



Whats going on inside: 24 Weeks



How Far Along: 24 Weeks

Size of Baby: an ear of corn. 1.5lbs, 12 inches.Total Weight Gained/Lost: +13

Maternity Clothes: Yes and will be buying some more soon.

Movement: All the time! If the kicks are comparative to this baby's size...its going to be one huge baby!

Sleep: Great!

What I miss: The sauna. I only used it every now and then after a really tough workout, but now that I can't use it, I can hear it calling my name every single time I'm at the gym.

Cravings: cocoa almonds

Symptoms: Same ole same. I'm not crampy, not peeing all the time, sleeping great. I can't really complain. I do have pressure on my bladder occasionally that makes me uncomfortable for a few seconds, but thats it. 

Highlights from this week: Attending my arobics class that I was religious about pre-pregnancy. I have missed the heck out of some step intervals so this week I talked to my intructor and started back!! It went great! I had decided to lower my step bench to decrease my risk of tripping or falling, but other than that I was able to do just about every exercise with very little modification!! It was wonderful! I'm looking so forward to going back next week. I knew I missed it, but I had no idea that I missed it this much!

23 Weeks and I Feel Great!!

How Far Along: 23 Weeks
Size of Baby: a large mango. 11inches, 1lb+
Total Weight Gained/Lost: +12 lbs, ah! I'm dying!
Maternity Clothes: yes
Movement: All the time, usually around the same time each day

 And yes, my stomach/back/hips/whatever is still as crooked as ever! 

Sleep: great!
What I miss: Lots and lots of coffee. I drink a cup here and there and it goes down like water. I wish I could drink it all the time, especially with all the delicious holiday flavors!
Cravings: Sweets, chocolate. I'm hoping this craving will go away soon
Symptoms: Nothing new this week. I feel great 
Highlights from this week: Welcoming our new cousin, Aspen, into the world this weekend! She was born on the 22nd and is oh so beautiful! Her and B2 will be best of friends! She is also an angel which I hope will rub off on our little one!