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| Yeah, I’m eating powdered sugar donuts – I dare you to say something! |
How far along: 24 weeks (technically, 24 weeks and 3 days today) and VIABLE! At this stage in my pregnancy, if our little girl was born prematurely…with the help of significant hospital care, she would be capable of surviving. Granted, I keep telling her to get cozy until at least mid-July, but that provides a little peace of mind.
How big is the baby: Our baby is about 12 inches long and weighs just over a pound.
Total weight gain: Since my last bump report, I’ve gained another 2.5 lbs for a total of 11.5 lbs since the start of my pregnancy. My goal is to gain about a pound a week at this point, so I’m fairly close. However, I did probably eat a little more than usual over the Easter holiday…and those pumpkin pancakes I ate on Monday night (still thinking about them) probably didn’t help. No worries, I know she’s doing a lot of growing right now.
Sleep: Sleeping fairly well right now. I occasionally get hot in the middle of the night, but I have a fan close by that I can turn on. I’m still getting up about once or twice a night – I just do my thing and get right back to sleep.
Maternity Clothes: Dresses are my friend (and most comfortable with our warmer temperatures lately) – and most of my pre-pregnancy dresses do fit, so that’s nice. Last weekend, someone asked me where I was getting my maternity clothes…just so happened that the day they saw me, I wasn’t wearing any maternity clothes. I guess it helps that our little girl has moved up a bit and I can wear a lot of pants below the belly.
Best moments of the week (past two weeks): You’ll have to forgive me, I have a few best moments.
Best Moment #1: We decided to tell our families our baby’s name over the Easter holiday. I think I’ll still wait a while to share it with the entire world (you may have to wait until her birth), but my mom and dad were holding our crib hostage until we told them (not really). I was so nervous that they wouldn’t like the name or that somebody would say something snotty, but I was pleasantly surprised.
If you’re wondering how we announced it, I decided to go with the “Ryan Seacrest” envelope approach. In a cute card, I wrote “Our Daughter’s name is ______________.” While we were visiting my family on Saturday afternoon, my mom asked “so when you going to tell us this little girl’s name.” Since the whole family was there, I pulled out the envelope and allowed her and my sister (since it was her birthday) to read it together. I could see a little shock in their faces, but they were also smiling (clearly, the name we chose was NOT on their radar). We spent the next 15-20 minutes talking about nicknames and laughing at my husband as we discussed initials.
We called my husband’s family on Sunday evening to share the news with them. We first called his mom – but she reminded us that we’d promised our niece that we would tell her first…and that she could then announce it to the rest of the family. After having her repeat the name back to us a few times to make sure she was saying it right, we could hear her running into the other room (this was over the phone) to tell everyone else who was there. She proceeded to call the rest of the family. All in all, it was a great moment.
Best Moment #2: While visiting my family over the weekend, I allowed my mom and sister to touch my belly – specifically when she was moving around. I don’t particularly like most people touching my belly. I mean, it’s very personal. However, I wanted my mom and sister to feel our little girl moving around. My sister really got a “kick” out of talking to her (specifically – telling her that her Aunt Jamie is the best), calling her by name and then feeling her kick. And I think our baby girl liked it. In previous weeks, she’s been rather shy around other voices, but she was very active last weekend regardless of who was around.
Best Moment #3: Finally, we were able to take our crib and some of the clothes I wore as a baby home. My mom owns a children’s clothing boutique called The Red Caboose, so I already know that this little girl is going to be well dressed…but my mom also took the time to pull some of the clothes I wore as a baby that’s she’s had stored away for roughly 30 years. Since I was born in June, our baby will be able to wear a lot of the same things (including those sweet Feltman Brothers’ dresses). When I got everything home, I was surprised to see an almost full closet already. I can’t even wait for her to be able to wear all these cute clothes.
Food cravings: Still loving those smoothies and yogurt. The other night, I wanted egg rolls and wonton soup – specifically. I read somewhere that the food a mother craves during pregnancy does not necessarily predict what the baby will enjoy…in fact, the baby will often have aversions towards those foods. I wonder if this will mean that our baby has my husband’s taste buds – which includes all things spicy…yuck!
Food aversions: Nothing new.
Symptoms:
- Heartburn. Still having a bit of random heartburn. I can’t even tell you that it’s connected to food anymore. If the old wives’ tales are true – this is one hairy baby.
- Hot Flashes. I don’t know how else to describe it. The other day, I was driving into work and my body started overheating. I felt a wave of nausea and decided I better pull over. It was probably 53 degrees (Fahrenheit) outside, but rolling the windows down wasn’t enough. Once I pulled over though, I blasted the AC for a good five minutes. That cooled me down and allowed the nausea to pass. Either way, it was not fun.
- Leg Cramps. I’ve heard of people waking up in the middle of the night with awful leg cramps, and now I can effectively say that I’ve experienced them. I don’t know if I’m stretching my legs while I sleep or what, but these bad boys hurt!
- Hungry…again. In the beginning of my pregnancy, I was a bottomless pit – I couldn’t eat enough. That feeling is starting to come back from time to time which means I need to make sure I have healthy snacks nearby.
Exercise: I’m still doing a pretty good job of doing some form of exercise 4-5 days a week. I can’t do everything I did before getting pregnant (including the amount of weight I used to lift), but I do try to push myself to stay active. On top of a 20 minute (or more depending on my mood) cardio routine, I’ve been doing some good core exercises that I think will help get back into shape once she’s born.
Movement: I mentioned earlier that I let my mom and sister feel my belly as she was moving around this past weekend. She is no longer shy about moving when other people are around. But, if we back up a bit, you may remember me saying something to the effect of gas hurts, baby kicks don’t. I’d like to retract that statement. Baby kicks don’t necessarily hurt, but she is getting stronger every day. Some of those kicks and punches are pretty powerful. And, when she’s moving or rolling over…it kind of feels like an upset stomach and can be so intense that it makes me a bit nauseous.
Gender: Girl!
What I’m looking forward to: The nursery is still on my mind, but we’re making progress so I’m not as worried about it (my husband painted on Thursday). I’ve actually been itching to shop, but trying my best to hold back until we get through our showers (so I know what’s left to purchase). Our first one will be in my husband’s hometown on May 6th, followed a work shower on May 31st, and then another shower in my hometown sometime in June.
What I miss: Nothing really, although I found myself wanting either a beer or Margarita the other day…and I hardly drank before I got pregnant so that was unusual. I guess these warmer temperatures make me think about grilling out and enjoying adult beverages?
Next Appointment: April 24th…regular checkup and glucose tolerance test.
