24 Week Update

24 weeks this past Tuesday.

It's been going SO well, sometimes I still feel the need to pinch myself!

- Doctor appointment on Thursday morning went GREAT! Baby is right on target, and so am I. We are both doing really well and baby's heartbeat sounds amazing! He's a stubborn little guy, kept trying to hide from the Dopplar, but we finally got to hear him.

- Got a new bed set up on Friday night! Our new Comfortaire mattress is ... interesting. I look forward to figuring out the right number setting for me and hopefully having this ease some of my pain! 11+ years with that other mattress was just too much. So thankful we were able to do this!!

- Rough week of pain & fatigue. Really... a truly hard week. Saw the chiropractor this morning and it helped SO much! {side note: thankfully the side pain with my pulled muscle that I mentioned in my 20-week update has finally gone away!}

- Ready for Spring to get here!! Want to walk outside more. So. very. ready. Which is weird because I don't mind the cold. Just bring on the Spring with 40/50 temps and sunshine, and I'm good to go.

The rest of the story....

How far along? 24 Weeks 

Sleep: Still not happening much. I'm up 3-5 times every night, with plenty of tossing and turning in-between. Not sleeping in much on the weekends now, so I'm trying to just get used to how life will be after baby, but Fibro & lack of sleep in me doesn't bode well for a week's worth of good productivity. I'm trying to rest in evenings and such so that I can keep up. I take breaks where I can get them and cancel things if/when I need to... including things I love.

Maternity clothes: Beyond frustrated with my inability to find boots. I've tried for months and bought a pair online that I loved, only to get them and have them not fit. Ughh! So disappointing. I easily get depressed trying to find things in Plus size/petite and I just want to be normal. I am totally jealous of skinny/well-fit pregnant women. They have it so easy and they have absolutely no idea. I know that's my own issue, I'm just saying I shed tears and have regret over it, but I have to move past it and just enjoy this pregnancy the best that I can. My good friend Stacey was just reminding me yesterday of how important this is. To treasure it through the good and the bad. To stop beating myself up and deal with that stuff later. So grateful for her encouragement! I definitely spend too much time beating myself up and need to get over it so I can more thoroughly enjoy the pregnancy and my growing baby, as it will continue to go by all too quickly!

Best moment this week: This morning with 3-year-old nephew Ashdyn excitedly wanting to feel my belly to see if he could feel baby kicking/moving. He and his mom Becca both tried and despite that baby was active, they couldn't feel him. Tim has felt baby kick twice, but at this point they have to be pretty hefty kicks. Maybe a couple more weeks yet....

Miss Anything? Normal breathing. My ability to breathe is getting worse. Miss wearing normal shoes. Definitely have slip-ons only now as well as my widest shoes possible as my feet are starting to spread due to the relaxin hormone. {But this does not mean I've given up the hunt for nice boots!!} Also greatly miss wearing my wedding ring and feel like something is missing every morning, despite that it's around my neck now. I'm generally not swollen but my ring was just snug enough, I didn't want to be one of those ladies in the ER getting it sawed off. 

Movement: Oh.my.goodness. Soooo much movement, it's absolutely incredible!! I told my doctor I feared he might come out bouncing off the walls (LOL), but she just smiled and told me how good that is because it just shows them he's getting plenty of blood and oxygen. OH! Okay... so yeah I can deal now with the crazy amount of moving. Grateful my little guy is so active and healthy!! :)

Food cravings: Reese's Peanut Butter Puffs cereal {this has been a consistently big one}, Culver's chocolate milkshakes/McDonald's M&M McFlurry/DQ hot fudge sundae, fruit {if Clementine's were even easier to peel/eat, I'd have them all the time}, popcorn, Chick-fil-a chicken sandwiches/waffle fries/sweet tea, Panera sausage & cheese breakfast souffles, soda {grrr thought I was over this!}, hot bologna & egg sandwiches, and all things Thai or Chinese food {non-spicy}. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of coconut {specifically hubster's lotion}. Hubster's hairspray. Some of my own perfume. Our trash the very moment it starts to get stinky. Spicy smells/restaurants. Seafood. Fish is totally unappealing to me right now {major boo!}. Sprays/scents like laundry detergent, weird soap, air freshener, etc. Gasoline. Getting stuck behind diesel trucks on the road {thankful for recirculating air!}. 

Have you started to show yet: Most definitely! 

Gender: It's a BOY!

Belly Button in or out? In

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. Tired. Excited. Terrified. Irritable. Cranky. Joyful. Hellooo roller coaster of hormones!

Looking forward to: Getting the floor put in the baby room done so we can move furniture in and our house won't be in such disarray. {yes... this is still the case!}

Not loving: Back pain, hip pain, tailbone pain, crushing fatigue. 

Total weight gain: 13 pounds. Beating myself up plenty. Thankfully people say I look thinner... I think my face is thinning out while the weight redistributes toward baby. Plus keep in mind some of it is baby, increase in blood flow, increase in fluid retention, amniotic fluid, and the placenta. My OB isn't worried at all and she says I'm doing great, so I'm trying to get over it but with my existing weight, I have to be super careful not to gain much. So. very. hard. The past few weeks have been the toughest in this regard!

So grateful for this experience and for the little guy growing inside of me. I am less shocked now, more reality-sinking-in. Not as overwhelmed and trying to go with the flow. Lots of decisions happening now {cribs, childcare, work stuff, etc}. Showers being planned and invitation lists being made with friends/family. So excited for the things to come!

My last travel date is April 5-7 when we go to my hometown for a shower back there and time with family. After that I won't be traveling anymore until a while after baby. In some ways this is really hard... to not share more of my late pregnancy stage with my nieces, sister-in-law, and mom especially. I'll see them again soon after baby is born {we already have all our houseguests mapped out for the 6 weeks after baby, though some will depend on exact timing baby decides to arrive}, so that's good, but it's hard to not share this more with them. My nieces have been especially intrigued and sweet about it all, hugging and kissing baby like crazy since finding out, and reading regularly all my pregnancy iPhone apps. So great!!! Going to really hate to have to cut them off and not see them my last 3 months of pregnancy. :( Especially even more so given that we can't get my mom's Skype to work anymore and that's where we often catch up and get to "see" them {when she's watching them in the evening occasionally}!! This devastates me to no end.

But on the plus side of that, I think it'll be nice to not travel just because of the stress and discomfort. The last trip won't be on the train like my last two trips down there have been this winter, so I fear what that means for my pain and stress levels, though it's certainly easier for me to sleep in the car rather than the train so my fatigue won't be as bad. The bigger concern is the bathroom since having it nearby right now is pretty vital. That whole pregnancy bladder thing is so totally true. I only had about a month between the first trimester into the second where it wasn't so bad. Now it's ridiculous and we can't help but make a constant joke of it! This kiddo is definitely overtaking my body... and I couldn't be more excited and thrilled, despite it all! :)