My Twenty-Fourth Week

Alrighty, we have arrived at 25 weeks of pregnancy!

The twenty-fourth week went pretty good.  I'm in really good spirits and feeling happy and excited about what's to come.  It's feeling more real every day.

I would say I had decreased heartburn this week, which was cool.  I even tested it with spaghetti with tomato AND red pepper flakes in it the other night and didn't have any re flux.  I was surprised.  I guess that just proves my theory that it doesn't really matter that much what I eat (although I still think heavy amounts of citrus makes me get it)- if I am going to get it, I get it.

Even more people are commenting and remarking about the bump now, so I think it's really in that definitely looking pregnant territory now.  One thing I haven't really mentioned is that my chest has also grown.  Greg has been saying it was bigger for a while (how nice of you to notice) and for a while I didn't agree, because I was still fitting in to my normal bras, but recently I have actually had to buy some new bras so I guess I have gone up about a cup size now.  My friend Sarah also noticed and commented on it.  Nice.  I'm okay with this side effect since I've pretty much been smallish on top my whole life.  Bring on the Jessica Rabbit boobs...haha.

We finally did our registries this week.  We took a night to go to Buy Buy Baby and do that one in person.  We were there about three hours and despite all the neurotic research I have done on every baby thing imaginable, I still found the experience to be semi overwhelming.  We did a pretty good job starting it at the store, and then in the days to follow, I added more online to that and our Amazon registry after a little more research on a few items like the Pack N Play.  The registries actually ended up being sort of even in terms of how much stuff is on each one.  Amazon had some things that were not at Buy Buy Baby and/or were so much cheaper on Amazon (BOB Revolution!), I couldn't justify putting them on the Buy Buy Baby one.  Still, I loved the experience of getting to do the Buy Buy Baby one with Greg in the store.  He clearly wants to make sure our little girl gets plenty of girly pink stuff, despite her mama gravitating towards gender neutral options a lot of the time.

While at Buy Buy Baby, we ordered a glider for the nursery, which is the last major piece of furniture we need.  It will take a little while to come in, so we probably won't have it  for about a month.  I also got a couple bins at Target this week that we'll probably use for toys or changing supplies.  I have my eyes out for little touches to add here and there, but really I think the major stuff in the nursery is set.  I put our prints in our new frames and really like how they look- they just have to go up on the wall.

Our Graco car seat came!  It's very cute!  We ended up getting the girly version (not at my request), and I actually don't mind it, despite the fact that if we have a boy in the future, it might be slightly awkward if he uses it.  It's pretty surreal to see it sitting in our house and know that our baby will be using that soon!

I took my first hospital class this week.  It was on epidurals (and analgesics).  Like I said in my last post, I don't really have a strong opinion of whether I want a natural or epidural birth., but I just think it makes the most sense for us, with the situation we're in for this birth, to go with the epidural.  I will say, that I'm not one of those people that thinks epidurals are the best thing on earth and will make everything wonderful and perfect.  The class didn't change my opinion and make me want one any more or less.  Honestly, I am nervous about the epidural.  I am not a huge fan of needles, and frankly the idea of one going into my back near my spinal area (it's actually below the cord, more in the nerve area of the spinal column I learned), doesn't sound that appealing.  Still, I also didn't change my mind on getting one- I plan to.  I think if done properly and if I'm lucky enough to not have side effects, I will be glad that I did get one.  The nurse that taught our class recommended that we try to labor without the epidural while moving around (jacuzzi, birthing ball, walking, etc) to progress labor for a while and I think this is a good plan if I can handle it.  They recommend getting the epidural when you are between 4-6 cm dilated, so if I can, I will try to make it to about that point before opting for one so that it doesn't slow my progress down.  I do know that I don't want the analgesics, which are more the injected/intravenous drugs.  Those may help my pain, but they go into the blood stream and can affect the baby, which I definitely don't want.  Epidurals don't go into the blood stream and don't affect the baby.  Whatever happens, it's going to be interesting...

Movement/kicking is still kind of light.  On the night we registered, when we were sitting filling out the paperwork for the glider, I got a big string of thumps in a row and grabbed Greg's hand and put it on my stomach.  He immediately felt her!  That was cool!  She's most active between about 4pm and bedtime, and usually around 9pm I can usually count on some decent thumps.

I went to see baby Michael and Erin this weekend.  He was very cute and sleepy.  He slept through most of the visit, but woke up right before I was about to leave, so I did get to see him alert for a little bit and hold him.  He was a squirmy little guy!


How far along? 25 Weeks
Maternity clothes? Mostly maternity.
Stretch marks? Nope.
Symptoms: Big boobs, big belly.
Best moment this week: Greg feeling her move from outside.  Working on the registries.
Miss Anything? Turkey sandwich.  I went to Panera twice this week and missed the Sierra turkey sandwich, one of my favorites.
Movement: Yes, feeling the thumps from the outside was cool.
Food cravings: Donuts (we had some at work and I had trouble keeping myself away), cheeseburgers, smoothies (yay), double chocolate cookies, Greek salad.
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: Seeing the curtains and pictures up in the nursery, Thanksgiving.
What I am NOT looking forward to: The dreaded glucose test.
Weekly Wisdom: I might be ahead of schedule with stuff like the nursery and registering, but it's really helped me to feel like it's more real, and I need all the help I can get!
Milestones: Stronger kicking that can be felt from the outside.  Feeling obviously pregnant, with a more distinct round belly.