My Twenty-Fifth Week

I'm 26 weeks pregnant!  This is probably considered the last week of the second trimester.  Unbelievable!

Not a ton has changed since last week, except I feel like I've ballooned into full on preggo.  I'm sure you can see from my pictures that in the last couple weeks, I have really expanded!  I really do feel pretty big now, and am trying to imagine that the baby is going to grow to about three or four times the size it is now (it's approximately 2 lbs) and where it's going to go in my belly.  Crazy.  I was 8 pounds 11 oz when I was born, and my mom said she was about 8 1/2 lbs too, so this could definitely be a sizable baby if she takes after her family!  I'm up to about 16 lbs of weight gained.  That's still the low end of the scale according to my pregnancy books.

We (well, Greg mostly), hung the curtains, pictures, and mirror in the baby's room this week.  It looks really cute, I'm excited!  I promise to show you guys once it's a little more done.  I also did my first load of baby laundry, washing some sheets, clothes, and the liner from the bouncer chain in Dreft to prepare.  I know I'm ahead of schedule on some of this stuff, but my family is all coming to my house for an early Christmas on November 30th, so I'm trying to get a lot done before then because my niece will probably sleep in the nursery and I want them to see it looking at least close to complete :)

Heartburn is still happening sporadically.  I'm still just taking a Tums if I get it and it usually does the trick.   

My sleep is pretty broken these days.  I guess it basically has been ever since I got pregnant.  I flip back and forth from right to left side all night, and I'm usually up about twice to pee and drink water.  It's not a huge deal, but I can't remember the last time I slept 8 hours straight through.  I'm guessing it's going to be a long time before I experience that again!  I have made it without a pregnancy pillow so far, just holding one pillow kind of between my legs, but sometimes I wake up with some hip pain.  Not sure if I'm going to cave and get a pillow or not.  I've always been an early riser anyway, but I found myself waking up at about 6am both weekend days this week.  The good thing is when I get up that early, it's usually because my mind is racing on things I want to do, and I tend to be fairly productive.

Which brings me to my next topic- cleaning/nesting.  Greg worked on our kitchen grout with a Dremmel tool this week, making a lovely film of dust on everything.  He did it while I wasn't home and ventilated the area fairly well, using fans and an air purifier to help, and he covered everything he could with old sheets, but it still made a pretty big mess.  Once his project was finished, we did a deep clean of everything in the kitchen, removing everything from the counters and thoroughly cleaning each thing, the counters, and the floors.  We're trying to do that to the whole house in preparation for my family's visit and for the baby.

I can't stay off Zulily.  I think I've ordered about three things from it in the past couple weeks.  That site is dangerous!  I'm addicted to shopping for baby related stuff (except for that pair of boots I ordered).  Luckily I've pretty much stopped over analyzing my registries and I'm hoping I will mostly leave them alone except for a couple items I need Greg's help with.  I also ordered The Happiest Baby on The Block from Amazon after hearing how great it is.  I heard Baby Wise is great too, so I may pick that up.  Anyone have any other books they would suggest that I should read?

I would say the baby's movement and kicking has picked up a bit.  Greg (and me) felt her thump from the outside again a couple times this week, and I can usually feel her a bunch later at night and that's when the kicks seem to be the strongest.  I wonder if she'll be a night owl like her dad is.  I also even saw my belly move while she was moving/kicking.  Maybe she is active after all, but it's just not how I thought it would feel.

How far along? 26 Weeks
Maternity clothes? Mostly maternity.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Symptoms: Big boobs, big belly.
Best moment this week:  Probably feeling more movement.  I like it when she's active in there.
Miss Anything? I could use some wine and I'm sure I'm going to miss it even more when I see my parents drinking it this weekend for Thanksgiving.
Movement: Yes, seeing and feeling the thumps from the outside was cool.
Food cravings:  cheeseburgers, berries, ice cream (I usually want ice cream around 2-3pm and have to drag a co-worker out with me to get some at least once or twice a week).
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing this week.
Have you started to show yet: Yes, pretty much no doubt what's going on there now.
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No, thank god!
Belly Button in or out? In
Mood: Really happy.
Looking forward to: Thanksgiving, my family's upcoming visit.
What I am NOT looking forward to: The dreaded glucose test.
Weekly Wisdom: Stay calm, carry on.
Milestones: Stronger kicking that can be felt from the outside. Feeling obviously pregnant, with a more distinct round belly.  More nursery progress.  Received first registry gift in the mail from my friend Lisa :)