People are now fully aware of what is going on underneath those tunics and leggings. They feel more comfortable asking about due dates, gender, and giving their random words of advice. And as much as this drives a lot of people crazy, I have to admit, I don't mind it. In fact, I like it when people acknowledge the bump, and to hear what people feel they have the liberty to say. I mean, really no one can beat what a previous coworker once told me while I was pregnant with my first......
"I knew you were pregnant not from your expanding belly but from the fullness ( I think that was the word she used) in your face....." And then when the look of utter shock must have been plastered over my "full" and chubbed up face, she quickly back peddled and started using words like "glowing" and radiant" and how skinny I was prior to being pregnant....yeah, thanks.
Good thing I have a sense of humor, and have learned to accept the fact that yes, my face gets full during pregnancy. But so does my belly, they kind of balance one another out. And that's ok, I still love being pregnant and all that the woman's body does to bring life to the world. I think it's beautiful and wonderful, and such tender work of our Heavenly Father.
And 26 weeks seems to encapsulate it all. It's that fine moment when you really start to feel pregnant, maybe start to waddle a bit (at least I am this time around), your belly seems to get bigger each day, and you realize that in around 3 short months you will be welcoming a sweet little baby into your world.
As scary as it sometimes seems, both realizing I have 3 more months of my belly getting even bigger (at this rate I'm gonna be a house!) and also will be responsible for yet another little human being. I try to let my excitement overcome the fear. Especially after going back and reading a lot of my thoughts and fears prior to my last two births. I realized that fear is just something that comes with the unknown. I have a lot of the same questions and wondering how I'm going to figure it all out. And oddly enough, you do....eventually. You find your own pace and own rhythm to parenting. And I keep trying to convince myself that though life will be more hectic, busy and tears and tantrums will more than likely be a common occurance....through it all, we will find our norm. And hopefully thrive through it all, through all my blundering attempts to do this thing called mothering.
I guess these are all the thoughts that have been screaming through my brain lately. They kind of got triggered when I realized just how close we are getting.
So where exactly are we?
26 weeks.
Total weight gain: About 18 lbs. apparently getting the stomach bug and puking my guts out (literally, I had it coming out my nose TMI, I know...I'm sorry) helps ward off another 7 lb weight gain. I still am not sure what I had or if it was just pregnancy related, because I had to go back on zofran just to ease up the nastiness. And the nausea carried on and off for the remainder of the week. I do remember having something similar happen while pregnant with Bennett. And eventually it tapered off, so I'm hoping that is the case. But I only gained 3 lbs since my last appointment 5 weeks ago. And currently I am about right where I was with both my other pregnancies.
Sleep: Oh sleep, you confuse me. I have nights where I literally pass out and don't move until Mr Cole wanders in with his bed head at 5 in the morning...begging to get up....seriously dude.
And then there are nights where I sleep hard until 2 or 3 and then am up for the rest of the night. Sometimes I manage to sneak in a little bit of sleep after Kyle brings Cole downstairs in the morning, but that only lasts until 7 the latest, when he has to leave for work. I'm also finding it to be more and more painful to get up, lay down, and turn from one side to the other.
Best moment this week: Hands down it was getting my ultra sound done and my OB appointment. I was super nervous going to it, because it seems that bad news always follows when I get ultra sounds done. But I had an awesome tech, and he was so reassuring and even did some 3D pictures for me without even asking. We caught the little stinker with his finger up his nose....definitely all boy.
My OB was just thrilled with how well baby boy is doing and how he looked. He is currently in about the 35th percentile for weight (estimated 1lb 10oz), which is perfect and follows nicely to the size of babies I seem to birth. I left feeling completely relieved to have had such a positive check up, and so happy that our little baby is growing and developing just as he should be.
Food cravings: Two words. Apple. Crisp. And me with a big ole spoon and ice cream melting into the sweet apple and cinnamon heaven....... I guess my aversions to sweets are wearing off. And I'm making up for lost time.
And then there is the licorice. Oh how I denied it for as long as I could. Prior to being pregnant I had pretty much cut out red dye and artificial coloring as much as I could. And it seems that is all I want now. Red licorice, red swedish fish, red sour patch kids.....I even found myself sneaking twizzlers from the boys' Halloween stash. Twizzlers! It's like eating candle wax, but it tasted so good! So I don't know what to tell ya, not a whole lot of healthy cravings going on around here. except for oatmeal.....I've been eating a lot of oatmeal, cooked, baked, raw.....yep, raw.
And the best craving yet.... COFFEE! Hallelujah!!! every morning right around 7, I want a nice creamy cup of coffee. Lately, I have been using my homemade salted caramel to make myself a latte, thick with foam, and topped with a hefty drizzling of caramel. Sugar strike is definitely over.
Oh, and totally random.....but several week ago while watching TV at night with Kyle I suddenly got the most intense craving for......Gatorade? The neon beverage is right up there with all the red dye. But when my nausea returned, and I had the whole "out my nose" experience, I was able to convince myself that I needed to satisfy my craving. And I did, and it was good. I still find myself running to the fridge for a good chug here and there.
Aversions: Still haven't been able to cook with fresh garlic. I'm going to attempt to chop up some cilantro to cook in a dish for tomorrow.....so we will see how I do. But other than that, my list seems to be getting shorter and shorter.
Labor Signs: Just good ole Braxton Hicks, I had one so painful it woke me up the other night. But then stopped, and I haven't had one like that since.
Movement: My little guy is starting to fall into his own little rhythm. I can pretty much tell you when he will be awake and moving. He usually wakes up with Cole between 4:30-5:30. And then will do a little dance a few hours later in the morning (usually while I'm enjoying my delightful latte), and always always right around noon time. The afternoon is sporadic, and he comes alive right after I put the boys down for bed. I guess it's party time. The other day I swear he was practicing his touchdown dance, either that or he was throwing one good tantrum. I've never felt so much power come from one little human like that.
How are you feeling: Well, despite my run in with zofran. My nausea seems to have gotten better for the most part. But my body....well, I am feeling very pregnant. The very day I turned 26 weeks it was like my body just gave up! I've been waddling around in pain, and have mentioned numerous times to Kyle that I feel like I'm being split in two. I get random pains, and have random limbs ache unbearably. Like my arm? Kept me up nearly all night. I also have started getting heartburn, nothing a little tums can't handle. But I'm just thankful it held off this long....i feel like I dealt with heartburn my entire pregnancy with Bennett. But other than that I feel pretty good, I lose energy quickly...but honestly, I really can't complain.
Can't believe next week I start walking into the 3rd and final trimester! Unbelievable. We are going to have to up our hustle to get things checked off the "before baby gets here" list. Yikes!
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