25 weeks and visits of all sorts

This time the company is Joel and his girlfriend Stephanie who are visiting.  And thankfully they're staying with Lindsey.  Not that I don't love my brother and wouldn't love having him around, but Josh has been sick for a week and the timing just wouldn't have been good at all.  Last week he had a cold and cough that wouldn't get better.  He went to the doctor and got on antibiotics and after a few days he perked up a little.  BUT he would cough every time he laid down and his throat was hurting worse and worse.... which eventually led us to the conclusion that all the irritation had probably led to a throat ulcer.  So, another visit to the doc yesterday to get prednisone for the ulcer.  He's getting better, but not enough to lay down yet.  Plus the meds are making him shaky all the time.  Here's hoping he'll be able to get a good night's sleep soon and we can get back to our usual schedule.


Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 25 weeks

Size of Baby: 13-14" long, ~1.5-2 lbs

Total Weight Gain: ~19 lbs

Maternity Clothes: exclusively

Best Moment this week: It's been a rough week with Josh sick and very little sleep.  I've missed him at night as he's spent most nights on the couch, and day-times aren't much better for connecting since he has had very little voice (and recently dr ordered vocal rest).  Yesterday after the dr put him on vocal rest he started scribbling (usually jokes) on note pads or typing notes on his phone.  Last night I was "complaining" about getting kicked when he picked up his phone and started typing.  With a sweet kiss he handed me the phone and walked away while I read : "I'm glad I could give you a baby. I know how happy it makes you. I love you."  This may be my favorite pregnancy memory ever, seriously :)  I love my hubs, and he knows he totally made my day with that note.

Gender: BOY! 

Movement: I keep forgetting to mention that Ash loves church.  I am guessing it's the combination of me singing (since he can hear my voice more than anyone else's) and the bass and drums (the lower frequencies are the ones that get through the amniotic fluid the best).  He always dances while I sing on Sundays.  I love him :-)

Food Craving: again, not at all pregnancy related, but I went and bought some Einstein Bros pumpkin cream cheese (and grabbed some bagel thins and cinnamon bread at the grocery store to put it on).  What I've really been craving is chocolate (in all its forms... mocha, ice cream, cookies, candy), but it gives me HORRIBLE reflux.  So reflux is keeping me relatively healthy... :)

What I Miss Most: being able to eat whatever sounds good without thinking of what it'll do to my reflux.  There is so much I can't eat.  A lot of it is unhealthy (greasy fatty foods), so it's nice to have innate discouragement to eat those things... but some of it is good for me or neutral (like Italian or Mexican or non-skim dairy) and I can't wait to eat what sounds good again.

Sleep: ATROCIOUS! It's been such a rough week.  With Josh sleeping on the couch b/c of his cough, I've been pretty restless in bed.  I just don't sleep well with him elsewhere.  I miss my hubs. 

What I am looking forward to:  spending some time with my little brother and his girlfriend this week while they're visiting.  What I'm NOT looking forward to is my 3 hr glucose test on Monday morning.  Fasting for 12 hrs, going in and drinking a drink with twice the glucose, and three blood draws (1 hr, 2 hr, 3 hr).  Not to mention the anxiety I have over failing and having to eat a GD diet.  I don't know if I can live without sugar AND carbs :)

Belly Button: we have pretty much shifted from cinnamon bun to crescent moon

Symptoms: reflux, carpal tunnel, sore back.  I've started wearing the brace for carpal tunnel when I sleep at night and when I'm relaxing during the day/evening.  It doesn't cure the problem, but days when I don't wear it much my tingling is closer to pain, so I'm going to keep wearing it.

24 weeks? Impossible!

I seriously didn't believe it when I read that this morning.  I thought for sure I was at 23 weeks.  Time has just flown for the past month or two.  I remember when I was laboriously counting DAYS till 20 wks, and somehow we've already flown 4 weeks past that without realizing it.  Anyway, here's my update sans pics b/c I'm not home to upload them.  Maybe later this week.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 24 weeks

Size of Baby: 1 foot long!, 1.5 lb

Total Weight Gain: ~18 lbs

Maternity Clothes: this week I put on one of my pre-preg button-up shirts and buttoned the two buttons at the bottom of my boobs and the top of my belly, and they were tight.  Cute, but I'll only be able to pull that off a few more weeks.

Best Moment this week: again impossible to say b/c having Dave & Shelia here was so awesome!

Gender: BOY! I love to stop and look in the door at his nursery... without any decorations, just paint and furniture, it's so cute!  I'm so excited about finishing touches! :)

Movement: he always dances around mealtimes.  If I'm hungry but too busy to stop and eat yet he kicks me as if to say "we need food, mom!" and if I eat at a normal time he waits till I finish and relax and then he starts moving.  This week I think I'm feeling him in two places at once, as if he's trying to stretch himself to both sides of my abdomen at once.  Like a kick and a punch, or maybe he's doing the YMCA in there :)  I wish I had a window to see in and tell what he's doing.  4 more weeks till my next (and maybe last?) ultrasound; I can't wait!! :)

Food Craving: nothing specific, though after weeks of "vacation" eating, I've been enjoying lots of veggies and lighter meals like BLT's and vegetarian tacos and PB&J's.  And the cooler days of fall have me craving more hot drinks and soups and hearty dishes too.  Looking forward to the squash season as well.

What I Miss Most: Dave & Shelia.  They were SUCH good company.  The two weeks flew by and I would have had them stay longer if I could.

Sleep: ATROCIOUS!  Okay, well, you caught me after two particularly bad nights, so maybe I'm exaggerating :)  Josh has been sick and the dogs have been cold since I buzzed them almost bald this weekend so between them trying to burrow deeper into the covers or snuggle closer, and Josh coughing through the night, and me trying to get comfortable with my giant belly and my hurting ears (this has always been a problem for me which is why I'm picky about my pillow), it's been a rough couple days.  In general, though, a "good night's sleep" has become a thing of the past.

What I am looking forward to: is not so much the glucose test, but the doctor's appointment that goes along with it on Thursday.  I've got a few questions to ask and I'm really eager for the answers, plus looking forward to see how the appts start to change now that I'm more than halfway.  You know, besides having to leave a urine sample! :-D

Belly Button: flat and starting to lose the top half of the cinnamon bun swirl I've always had, but still pretty deep on the bottom half of the swirl.  I realized this week that I should probably start making sure some of my cocoa butter gets in there when I moisturize my belly every day. 

Speaking of cocoa butter, I have to mention, I stopped using it for two days to try out this BioOil that everyone on my message boards has been raving about b/c Josh hates the sweet smell of the butter.  TWO DAYS and I started getting stretch marks.  I was so upset.  I mean, it was probably inevitable but apparently the butter was helping keep them at bay till absolutely necessary.  Fortunately they were VERY shallow (and almost weblike) when I found them, so back on the butter they faded quite a bit and are holding steady.  But you'd better believe I will be using that stuff daily (or twice daily) till this baby has come and gone! :)

Symptoms: reflux and carpal tunnel and sore back are all still kicking.  I'm going to ask the doc if there's anything I can do to help the carpal tunnel.  Some days I've got almost no sensation in my right forefinger and thumb.  Heat sensitivity is almost always null with those two too.  And some days it tingles so bad it hurts to turn the steering wheel.  I've also invested in a heating pad for my aching back.  After a couple nights of filling up the hot water bottle, I decided that electric (and bigger) was the way to go for me.  So now I spend my evenings watching TV on the chair (b/c it's firmer and more comfy than the couch now) with my feet on the ottoman and low heat on my back.  But I feel better when I go to bed.

23 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 23 weeks

Size of Baby: 11+", 1+ lb

Total Weight Gain: ~17 lbs

Maternity Clothes: I went this week and bought a pair of pajama bottoms (optional capris) b/c every night Josh is complaining about being cold while I'm complaining about being hot. Hopefully we'll find a comfortable medium :-)

Best Moment this week: impossible to say. I have had so much fun hanging out with Josh and Dave and Shelia! The zoo was a blast, walking around Garden of the Gods was fun, the two art festivals we happened upon were entertaining, my girls' day with Shelia was awesome. And frankly just sitting around the house in pj's watching Mad Men has been fun too. Although, as always, I'd say my massage was definitely a high among highs...I wasn't exaggerating the awesomeness in my reminiscence. Unfortunately, a day later I'm as sore as I was before getting it. :-P

Gender: BOY! The nursery is coming along and it's so cute!!

Movement: He's getting stronger and more active as time goes on. Most of the movement is low in my abdomen still. I've been able to tell the difference between kicks and rolls, and a few times he's kicked hard and sudden enough to take my breath away. :-)

Food Craving: This has nothing to do with being pregnant, but I can't get enough pumpkin spice lattes from Starbucks. This is a dangerous time of year for me. :)

What I Miss Most: being comfortable. And my old body.

Sleep: Same old, waking up every 2 hrs or so. And with company I've been getting to bed late more often and am starting to run out of juice. Thank goodness for having a job that allows for naps during my day!!

What I am looking forward to: our crib should be in tomorrow or Thursday, then I'll have all the furniture in the room. Also can't wait to get the curtains sewn. The fabric we picked is perfect!! We need to go shopping for coordinating fabric for the cushions on the glider and that'll be a more complicated sewing project that'll probably wait till the break in company during mid Oct-mid Nov.

Belly Button: same old same old, although it's at the verge of threatening to pop!!

Symptoms: the reflux as usual. I don't know if I've mentioned the carpal tunnel. My fingers on my right hand have been tingling for about 3 weeks straight. It's worse when I am driving or pushing the stroller or leaning on that arm, but it's pretty bad all the time. Sometimes they go numb. it's driving me crazy, but from all I've read there's not much I can do. I'm going to ask the dr next week if he has any suggestions, but I'm not hopeful. Also, I've had almost a constant backache lately. All the walking we've done has not helped, but even just sitting around it aches. I'm thinking a bath may start to become part of my daily routine soon as the weather gets cooler.

Pictures

Here are some pictures of me, my belly, and family.  Also a few of Ash's developing nursery; I'll post more when we get the crib and glider in.  It's coming together!! :)

Looking cute at 22 weeks walking around Garden of the Gods

Taking a quick rest break at Garden of the Gods

22 1/2 weeks at Cheyenne Mtn Zoo

We went to an art fair in Castle Rock over the weekend and couldn't resist this adorable painting of Hobbes.  We'll have to frame it before we can hang it, but he'll be hanging out in Ash's room.  Isn't he cute!?

Dave primed and painted the dresser.  Josh and I painted the red drawers.  Dave & Josh hung the shelves.  I think Hobbes will live right above where he is when we get him framed.

We made a Target run this weekend too, and got the shelves under the window and hamper.  Can't wait to go fabric shopping tomorrow with Shelia to pick out fabric for curtains and accents.