26 weeks

How far along? 26 weeks (and 1 day)  

Due Date: August 2, 2011

Total weight gain/loss: 11.5 pounds

Maternity clothes? Oh yes and I'm loving them!!  It makes me wonder why you'd ever want to wear jeans that don't have the comfort of a full stretchy panel over your belly.

Stretch Marks? Nada...keep working for me, Bio Oil!

Sleep: Same as last week.

Best moment this week: I had a great day last Friday.  I was on-call all day at work, so I stuck around Indy just in case they needed me.  (Thankfully, I never did get called in!)  My mom and I went shopping and to lunch at Petite Chou with my mom, one of her work friends and her friend's daughter.  It was so much fun and the food was outstanding!!!  I'm dying to go back there!  I even picked up a book called Baby Bargains, which I had heard I NEEDED to get.  I read it all in about 24 hours and it helped me clean up my registries a TON!  I definitely love and recommend this book to all first time parents. 

Movement: She's moving more and harder all the time.  I'm also feeling way more kicks above my belly button, which feels so weird after feeling her so much so low for the longest time.

Food cravings: Seafood!

Food aversions: CHICKEN!  (Will I ever look at you the same?)

  

Gender: Girl (at least I hope she still is or I'm gonna have to start returning some things) 

Labor Signs: I'm still having random contractions, but definitely less this week than I have been having.  That makes me happy.  :)

Belly Button in or out? Innie, although it's getting a lot more shallow and I'm wondering if it will eventually get flat.  The top of it is getting stretched a lot though and it itches all the time!

What I miss: Sleeping on my back without feeling a little paranoid and being able to shave my legs and tie my shoes comfortably.

What I am looking forward to: Heading up to my hometown this weekend to spend some time with my family and my best friend!!!

  

Milestones: The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. She may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and takes that first gulp of air. And she's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel.

100 Days?!

Only 100 days until my due date?!?!  Are you kidding me?!!?  Time is definitely getting away from me faster than I thought it would.  Guess it's time to get this procrastinator's butt in gear and start getting some things done in the baby's room. 

Matt doesn't know it yet, but he will be helping me clear all the "guest bedroom" furniture and treadmill out of the soon-to-be baby's room today after we back from Easter dinner.  Last week I felt really productive since I picked out a paint color and ordered one piece of furniture.  Suddenly, that doesn't seem to be cutting it.   I NEED TO PAINT!!!  If this rain ever stops, I could paint and have the windows open for a few days to air out the room.  Yep, good excuse.  I'm blaming my lack of painting her room on the weather. 

Ok enough rambling about my procrastination.  Happy Easter!  He is risen!!!

25 weeks

How far along? 25 weeks     

Due Date: August 2, 2011

Total weight gain/loss: 10 pounds

Maternity clothes? Oh yes and I'm loving them!!  It makes me wonder why you'd ever want to wear jeans that don't have the comfort of a full stretchy panel over your belly.

Stretch Marks? Nada...keep working for me, Bio Oil!

Sleep: I'm sleeping fairly well, but have realized I'll never really sleep like I used to again.  I am not comfortable in one position for more than a few hours and then once I'm changing positions, I've got to get up and pee.  After I pee, I contract a few times so that makes it difficult to get comfortable, but it's been going on so long now that at least I know to expect it every time.  I guess gone are my days of sleeping soundly for a ridiculous amount of hours and sleeping in.  Bye, bye, old life.

Best moment this week: Shopping with my sister was so much fun last week!  I also decided on a paint color for the nursery and bought that and I'm about to order the first (and most expensive) piece of furniture for the baby's room.  

 

I also visited my first day care option today, which was exciting, but scary all at the same time.  I'd say I was pretty productive this week (well for me anyway).

Movement: She's crazy, especially in the late afternoon and when I lay down for bed at night on my side.  She's a late riser, so maybe she'll fit right into this family's lifestyle.  :)  (Wishful thinking)  It never fails though that whenever I'm with my mother-in-law and she wants to feel her move, she never performs.

Food cravings: Breakfast food (this week)

Food aversions: CHICKEN!  (Will I ever look at you the same?)

  

Gender: Girl (at least I hope she still is or I'm gonna have to start returning some things) 

Labor Signs: I'm still having a few random contractions here and there, but nothing painful or regular.  I did have quite a lot of contractions in a short amount of time on Saturday evening, so I took 1 Procardia, but they really didn't subside for about an hour and a half.  I have a hard time believing the Procardia had anything to do with that since it took so long.  I guess I'm just one of those girls doomed to contract most of my pregnancy.

Belly Button in or out? Innie, although it's getting a lot more shallow and I'm wondering if it will eventually get flat.  The top of it is getting stretched a lot though and it itches all the time!

What I miss: Sleeping on my back without feeling a little paranoid and being able to shave my legs and tie my shoes comfortably.

What I am looking forward to: Moving all the current furniture out of the baby's room and painting it!

  

Milestones: Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Sweet Viability a.k.a. 24 weeks

How far along? 24 weeks (and 1 day)       

Due Date: August 2, 2011

Total weight gain/loss: 10 pounds...yikes double digits!

Maternity clothes? Yep, mostly everything except a few comfy pants, sweatshirts and longer shirts still work.

Stretch Marks? Nada...keep working for me, Bio Oil!

Sleep: I'm still waking up several times a night to change positions, and of course there are the 1-3 bathroom trips every night.  I guess I'll probably just never sleep the same.  Maybe this is getting me ready for how motherhood will be.

Best moment this week: My glorious prenatal massage this afternoon!  It was pure heaven.  Although I could've done without all the idle chit chat from the lady massaging me.

Movement: She's crazy, especially in the late afternoon and when I lay down for bed at night on my side.  She's a late riser, so maybe she'll fit right into this family's lifestyle.  :)  (Wishful thinking)

Food cravings: Nothing special this week.

Food aversions: CHICKEN!  (Will I ever look at you the same?)

  

Gender: Girl (at least I hope she still is or I'm gonna have to start returning some things) 

Labor Signs: I'm still having a few random contractions here and there, but nothing painful or regular.  I did get a prescription for Procardia this past weekend after having a few hours of way too many contractions last Friday, but ever since I got it filled, I've had less contractions than before and haven't needed to take any of it.  Oh well, I guess that's better than having to take meds, right?

Belly Button in or out? Innie, although it's getting a lot more shallow and I'm wondering if it will eventually get flat.  The top of it is getting stretched a lot though and it itches all the time!

What I miss: Sleeping on my back without feeling a little paranoid and being able to shave my legs and tie my shoes comfortably.

What I am looking forward to:Being off for the next several days and shopping with my sis tomorrow in Indy.  We don't get nearly as much girl time together as we used to and I love every minute of it!

  

Milestones: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts her at just over a pound (most OB resources I've read at work say 630 grams, which is about 1 pound 6 ounces). Since she's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), she cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but her body is filling out proportionally and she'll soon start to plump up. Her brain is also growing quickly now, and her taste buds are continuing to develop. Her lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once she hits the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

23 weeks

How far along? 23 weeks (and 2 days)       

Due Date: August 2, 2011

Total weight gain/loss: 9 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yep, mostly everything except a few comfy pants, sweatshirts and longer shirts still work.

Stretch Marks? Nada...keep working for me, Bio Oil!

Sleep: I'm still waking up several times a night to change positions, and of course there are the 1-3 bathroom trips every night.  I guess I'll probably just never sleep the same.  Maybe this is getting me ready for how motherhood will be.

Best moment this week: Having my doctor's appointment and learning that nothing had changed with my cervix.

Movement: She's still quite the mover, but I think I'm getting more used to feeling her movements and therefore sometimes ignore them during the days when I'm busy at work.  Sometimes I leave work and feel like she hasn't moved as much that day, but then I get home and lay down and she's WILD.  Same on my days off.....W.I.L.D.

Food cravings: BLs (that would be a BLT minus the T)

Food aversions: CHICKEN!  (Will I ever look at you the same?)

  

Gender: Girl (at least I hope she still is or I'm gonna have to start returning some things) 

Labor Signs: Although I've been contracting for the last 2 weeks, my doctor checked my cervix on Monday and it was still very firm and long and closed, which was music to my ears.  She also did a fetal fibronectin test that predicts if you will spontaneously go into labor in the next 2 weeks and that came back negative.  Very reassuring news for a pregnant high risk OB nurse who wishes she knew less!  :)

Belly Button in or out? Innie, although it's getting a lot more shallow and I'm wondering if it will eventually get flat.

What I miss: Sleeping on my back without feeling a little paranoid and being able to shave my legs and tie my shoes comfortably.

What I am looking forward to: My prenatal massage next week.  Work has been hellish the last 2 weeks and a massage is MUCH NEEDED for this mama to unwind.

  

Milestones: Turn on the radio and sway to the music. With her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance. And now that she's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango), you may be able to see her squirm underneath your clothes. Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her 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 her when she hears them outside the womb.