24 Weeks - A Canteloupe

August 28, 2014

 

 

Photo Thoughts: I'm not sure why my shirt looks all freaky and psychedelic.  It is just a normal, striped shirt- promise.  Bonus photo this week that I took one morning before work when I was feeling particularly "bumpy."

How I'm Feeling: I feel good still.  And I definitely feel more and more pregnant as the days/weeks go on.  I guess that's how this thing works, huh?  But I guess the growing belly and the fact that I'm feeling more movement make it all more real.

Baby/Bump:  This week, baby boy's skin is becoming less translucent as it takes on a more pink-ish tone with the newly formed capillaries.  From here on out, he is going to put on about 6 oz a week!  Grow baby, grow!

The bump is definitely growing steadily.  Of course, it kind of varies on the time of day or what I'm wearing.  But I'm definitely past the point where I can "suck it in" or where I would feel like my stomach is significantly flatter again (relatively speaking) first thing in the morning.  I'd still say that I'm not large enough that strangers would easily peg me as pregnant, but I don't think that's far off.

Symptoms: My acne seems to be slowly clearing up a bit (knock on wood).  A few times this week, I noticed that my lower back was hurting throughout the day.  A couple times I even woke up in the middle of the night with my back aching.  Time to start pillow shopping- move over, David!

Weight: I keep "forgetting" to weigh myself each week.  I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday though, so I guess I will face the truth soon enough. I do know for a fact though, that I officially weigh the most I ever have.  I have surpassed my weight gain for my "beer/cafeteria food baby" during my Freshman year in college. 

What I'm Anticipating: I'm getting excited for the baby shower that my mom and sister are throwing for me in Phoenix in October!  I bought my flight to Phoenix this week, so all that's left to do is show up :-)  Oh, and register... Am I a bad mom already because I have yet to register? 

What I'm Stressing About/Worries: I had a minor scare this week when I went to pick up some moving boxes from a friend's house.  I was carrying the folded boxes sticking out in front of me with the edges resting on my stomach (smart), and I ran into a wall (clumsy).  So the boxes jabbed into my stomach really hard- it kind of took my breath away.  I almost called the nurse line at my doctor's office like a true paranoid first-time preggo because I didn't feel any movement after that for a few hours.  But then things seemed to pick back up to the normal amount of movement I'd been experiencing, so I calmed the heck down. 

In other news, I got a call this week that my doctor is mysteriously no longer practicing in the clinic any longer.  At first I was really confused and thought that just meant that I would be going to the hospital for my appointments with him, but the receptionist explained to me that no, that would not be the case.  So I am basically without an OB right now.  I already had my 24 week appointment scheduled for this Tuesday, so they just transferred me over to someone else in the practice for that appointment.  I wasn't too happy about the whole situation, but I will go to that appointment and at least see what I think about the new doctor.  However, I'm already thinking that unless I LOVE this doctor, I will switch to a new practice (if they'll take me).  I got a great recommendation from the wife of one of David's friends, so I'd love to try and see if this doctor will accept a new patient.  Totally weird and annoying though that I wasn't given any sort of heads up that this change of plans might be in the cards, but I guess there's nothing I can do about it now.  We will see how Tuesday goes...

Sleep: I'm mostly still sleeping really well, except for the few times where I woke up with some back pain. 

Exercise: Still sticking with it as best I can.  My goal is to make it to the gym or a group class 4-5 times a week.  I have noticed that sometimes (especially if I am running on the treadmill), my stomach starts to get really tight and a little painful.  But if I just stop for a couple minutes, or walk for a bit, the feeling quickly passes.  Oh, and I definitely cannot make it through a gym session without having to pee at least once- even if I go right before I even start working out.  Annoying.

Movement: Yep! I can feel him moving around daily now.  There's still not really much of a pattern that I can discern yet though.  But if I lay down for a while, I am sure to feel at least a few kicks almost immediately.  David can feel the kicks sometimes too, which is really neat. 

Boy or Girl: Baby boy!

Most "Entertaining" Question/Comment of the Week: On Monday, my co-worker said, "Wow, you really puffed up over the weekend!"  Puffed up?!  Excuse me?  I was able to kind of just laugh her comment off and say something to the effect of, "what is that supposed to mean?"  But still, I just can't get over the crazy things people say to pregnant women.  It also baffles me that the only rude comments I've received have all been from women... mothers, no less.  That seriously is the most shocking part. 

Milestones: It depends on which resource you consult, but according to one pregnancy website I regularly read, week 24 is "viability week" which basically means that if the baby had to be born from this week on, the doctors would take measures to keep the baby alive- with the help of a lot of interventions of course.  And supposedly over half of babies born at this point survive.  Crazy!  FYI- do NOT do what I just did- which was google what a baby born at 24 weeks looks like...

Highlights of the Week: We got a new car (well, used- but new to us)! Even before thinking about starting a family, I knew that I wanted my next car to be an SUV, so that is what we focused on during our car search.  We ended up with an Acura RDX, and so far we love it!  It's definitely "family friendly," but I'm telling myself that it's not overly "mom-mobile-ish."  Mostly, it is just SO nice to finally have two cars again.  We were a one car family for over two years, and surprisingly it wasn't actually that bad at all, but with our move approaching and baby on the way, it was definitely time for another set of wheels.  Now I just need a name for my new car.  You name your cars, right?  Any suggestions?  It's a girl car, by the way.