Week 25

I do plan on writing up the TYSNFFTASOAPIRTPAB post in the next couple of days, so watch for it! (However I do reserve the right to not write it in the next couple of days if I don't feel like it. :-) )

Fruit/Veggie

Rutabaga (the weight of one anyways... not that I even know what a rutabaga looks like)

Size

13 1/2 inches, 1.5 lb (I can't believe something that long is inside of me!)

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)

He's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. He's also growing more hair - and if you could see it, you'd be able to discern its color & texture. (I'm betting he has dark hair like Josh.)

Best Moment this Week

We had lots of fun with great friends on the Fourth of July. & ate horribly, too! (well, it tasted great, but I can't imagine it was too good for me :-) ). I also got to lay out at the pool today with two friends - ahh, relaxing!

Gender

BOY! Elliot James.

Movement

It's so fun to watch my stomach move around. I'm looking forward to being able to distinguish which body parts are poking out. He does get into one position fairly often where I guess a knee or a foot is pushing hard on this particular spot on my stomach & it hurts! I have to get him to move so I can be more comfortable.

Food Craving

Still eating fruit like a crazy person. Watermelon, white nectarines, cherries, oranges, & honeydew this week. :-)

Sleep

So, the pregnancy pillow does seem to help, but apparently does not alleviate my back pain. Yesterday was really bad & today I have still had to be very cautious with my movements so I don't make it worse. Last night while I was trying to get comfortable I realized my hips were hurting... that's new. I just think the days of good, comfortable sleep are over until Elliot is sleeping in his room instead of in my belly.

What I am looking forward to

I'm currently bidding on a baby carrier (a mei tai) on ebay & I'll find out tonight if I win it! This weekend I'm heading off to Austin to spend time with some friends from high school which will be fun as always, while Josh & a friend of ours work on replacing the plumbing & re-tiling our shower. I'm really excited for that to get done!

Symptoms

Slight nausea, exhaustion, extreme back pain (the past couple of days anyways), hip pain at night.

Week 24

Fruit/Veggie

Ear of corn

Size

Over 1 pound & almost a foot long (he probably gained around 4 oz since last week)

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)

His body is filling out proportionally & he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is growing quickly now, & his taste buds are continuing to develop.

Best Moment this Week

See post below - "Weekend Getaway." That was great. We also got his two dressers (one has a changing table top) put together (& by we I mean Josh) & we get his crib within the next week.

Gender

BOY! Elliot James.

Movement

The thing that has surprised me this week about his movement is that he is taking up a much bigger space now, so his movements are spread out & it has gotten harder to tell what he's doing in there. Less kicks & punches & more squirming & readjusting. My stomach is dancing around as I type this.

Food Craving

Hmm... nothing really. Oh I did really want chicken & dumplings this week so I made it a couple nights ago... it was yummy.

Sleep

Due to how badly my back was hurting, I started sleeping with the pregnancy pillow. The downside is getting used to sleeping with it. It's not easy to turn over so I end up sleeping on one side until I wake up to go to the bathroom so my ear hurts. But it's been 3 nights now & I'm getting used to it. The good news is, it does seem to have helped with my back pain. So I guess it will be my constant sleeping companion for the next 3 months.

What I am looking forward to

This weekend should be fun... we'll (hopefully) get to go out on the lake (if it's not raining) then spending the fourth cooking out with friends!

Symptoms

Slight nausea, exhaustion, less lower back pain, & it seems I am fighting a sinus infection (the left side of my face & head starts to hurt when I get one... I'm hoping to fight it so I can deal without taking meds).

Weekend Getaway

This weekend Josh & I went away to my parents' ranch. He has been so busy with work & traveling & I have had work & baby stuff & all kinds of preoccupations; we definitely needed a break!

It was SO NICE to be away & take a mental break from everything. We slept in, laid around, made a big breakfast, went in to San Angelo & walked around the stores downtown & hung out at the soda foundation to get a coke float & a milkshake, looked at antiques, then ate an early dinner at a restaurant that used to be a bank in the 1890's with a tunnel that connected to a brothel (who knew things were so sketchy back then in San Angelo??), rode the ATV & talked with the cows, & slept some more.

We were not ready to get back to real life, that is for sure. But we were really thankful for the opportunity to go relax for a while!

Week 23

FYI: I do indeed have other things going on in my life besides being pregnant, I promise! I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to blog about anything besides this weekly update (that I have to squeeze in sometimes!). So sorry if you are getting bored with this... come back in 3 1/2 months! :-)

Fruit/Veggie

Large mango (weight not length)

Size

Over 11 inches head to foot, & over 1 pound

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)

Blood vessels in his lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing him for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as your dog barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze him when he hears them outside the womb.

Best Moment this Week

We got a couple of the pieces of furniture for his room in yesterday; I'm hoping we'll get to put those together next week sometime. Josh is working on building shelves in the garage for more storage. I also got in a couple of diapers that I had ordered (we are going to cloth diaper... I'll let you get out the whole "you're crazy!" reaction from that side of the computer). So I can't wait to start getting things put together... it's still just in piles right now. Oh ya, & we registered!

Gender

BOY! Elliot James.

Movement

Same old thing - he's a squirmer!

Food Craving

I have about 3 diet Cherry Cokes a week. Yum. I try not to have caffeine every day.

Sleep

I sleep mostly on my sides now, which is just not near as comfortable as on my back. I'm still sleeping, just not comfortably.

What I am looking forward to

Getting his room together... still!

Symptoms

Slight nausea, exhaustion (I asked about it at my appointment & after analyzing all the factors, it's just how I experience pregnancy - tired!), bad lower back pain (not constant, but piercing, & it is worse on some days than others), aversions

Week 22

Fruit/Veggie

Spaghetti Squash

Size

11 inches head to foot, & almost one pound

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)

Your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn, & he's developing tiny tooth buds beneath his gums.

Best Moment this Week

My mom & I got the fabric to make his crib skirt & window treatments, & I got further in my planning for his wall decor. We ordered the furniture (but won't get it for at least 6 weeks since it's currently out of stock).

Gender

BOY! Elliot James.

Movement

He moves often from breech to head-down, so sometimes his kicks are high & sometimes they are low. A couple of times I have felt his kicks making a circle as his feet moved counter-clockwise around my stomach. It's funny to feel him squirming around.

Food Craving

Still cherry stuff, like Cherry Coke.

Sleep

I think I turned a corner in the sleeping department... onto Uncomfortable Street. Sleeping is not as comfortable anymore. I'll wake up in the night with my back hurting because I'm sleeping on it, & I don't get that "ahh, bed" feeling anymore no matter how tired I am because I just feel awkward laying down now. Poo. I knew it wouldn't last! It might be time to use the pregnancy pillow.

What I am looking forward to

We are registering this weekend... I'm hoping we make it out alive. There are SO MANY things to consider, & Josh doesn't care for a lot of it, so at first I said we could just register together for the stuff he had an opinion about & I'd do the rest later, but last time we were in there he expressed an opinion about almost everything. SO, we'll be there a while!!

Symptoms

I was excited to say that it seemed I was over the nausea... until yesterday. I felt horrible yesterday, bad headache, nauseous, tired. The headache is gone today but my stomach is still yucky & I was so tired this morning, I went to the gym, quit halfway through my workout, came home & went back to sleep. So, I don't know if the nausea is gone yet or not. I was thinking too, that everyone told me the exhaustion would be gone by week 14... so 8 weeks later, it's starting to wear on me. I'm over halfway done... I can make it!! No, being pregnant is definitely not my favorite physical state... but I want to meet our little guy! & feeling him move around makes it better.

Week 21

Fruit/Veggie

Carrot

Size

10 1/2 inches head to foot; no weight in the email this week, weird.

Baby Changes (Source: BabyCenter.com.)

Your baby's eyebrows & lids are present now. (It also mentions that I should soon be feeling flutters turn to kicks, but Elliot's been kicking the poo out of me for a few weeks now, so that's old news.)

Best Moment this Week

We bought a glider for his room, & I did some online registering. I feel productive actually getting stuff done!

Gender

BOY! Elliot James.

Movement

Still kickin' away. It's getting more obvious what he's doing in there - I am starting to be able to distinguish what his movements are. He moved a couple days ago from being breech to being head-down so now his kicks are high instead of low. He also lets me know when I'm bending over too far, like he doesn't have as much room in there all of a sudden.

Food Craving

Cherry flavored stuff... cherries, cherry flavored sparkling water, cherry Coke. Random.

Sleep

I'm sleeping okay. I have determined based on the past two Saturdays that my body needs about 11 hours of sleep a night right now. I'm definitely not getting that which is why I'm always tired. My back hasn't hurt too much this past week which is good.

What I am looking forward to

Continuing to register & get his room ready! I have a feeling this will be a project for the next month-6 weeks.

Symptoms

Slight nausea, exhaustion, aversions.

it's go time

So, everything up until this point has been waiting. Waiting for our first appointment. Waiting for our second appointment. Waiting to tell people. Waiting to feel better (still kind of waiting with that one...). Waiting to find out our baby's identity.

& now... BOMBARDED! I feel like I have a million things to do. I need to register soon, so I need to research products. I need to figure out where I'm going to register. I need to create my baby shower guest list. I need to decide if I'm going to take any classes, because I need to sign up soon. AH! Not to mention, we need to clean out Elliot's room so we can order his furniture & start setting things up. Whoa! When did all this happen?! I have (assumedly [I just got spell-checked - assumedly isn't a word? it is now]) four months before he comes, but so much else going on in that time, & I feel the crunch now.

So, IT'S GO TIME PEOPLE!