26 Weeks

I'm having blogger's block this week. So I'll start out with the easy stuff:

Mini's estimated size right now is 14 inches long and about 2 lbs. She's getting big! She's also getting on a more regular sleep schedule, and is often sleeping when I am. She is still being extremely active in my belly.

I got some fun things in the mail yesterday! Mama K aka Gran sent me a lovely bracelet similar to the one I had mentioned liking a couple of weeks ago. I'm wearing it in the pics below! She also sent me a cute card from "Mini" about what she's doing in the sixth month. I've never seen anything like that before!

I also got the long-awaited invitation to the baby shower that Jessica is planning! An exciting preview, for sure! Looking at it on the fridge has gotten me really hyped for the shower, and I can't wait to see what's in store and see so many of our friends and family in one place!

The invitation:

I love the modern chalkboard look!

We should have had our second childbirth class last night, but the other two couples weren't going to be able to make it, so last night's class got canceled. Tyler and I were pretty disappointed, since the class just started and we were ready to move onto the next topic, but we'll get back to it next week. 

Beautiful weather again for the pictures! Although it is getting much harder to climb that hill to the tree!

25 weeks of pregnancy gone by

It's hard to believe I'm 25 weeks! Just 11 weeks until I'm considered "full term"-- wow! I've had a lot of energy in the past week, and I haven't been as uncomfortable as I was the week before. It's a good thing too, since our week was pretty busy and eventful.

Most of you know now that we've been considering buying a home instead of throwing more money into the great abyss of renting. We also need more space and a yard, which a house gives us without having to pay more per month. We found our perfect house back in January, when this thought was just a little idea. We still weren't sure what we were going to do, but last month we decided to go forward with trying to buy. This house had stayed on the market the whole time, and even gone down in price, and the seller was offering to pay closing costs now. As everything fell into place, we were becoming more and more convinced that this is the house for us.

 Last week, after a discouraging lack of correspondence from our agent, we abruptly switched agents to one who was more invested in us and the sale. We are SO happy we did this! We met with her on Wednesday, and planned to make our offer this Monday.

On Saturday, we went to Tuscaloosa and visited my family and celebrated my nephew's birthday. It was fun seeing everyone again! We also got to see Tyler's family, aka Poppa, Gran, and Uncle Spence. It was a wonderful weekend, and the fun of it helped pass the time so that I wouldn't be too obsessed with the upcoming offer on the house.

Monday, we met the agent at the house and gave it another quick look. It was even better than I remembered, and I got really excited. We made our offer and waited.

While we were waiting, that night we had our first childbirthing class! The teacher is great, and the two other couples seem really nice. I hope we learn a lot and have a good time in the class over the next 10 weeks.

So after just a little bit of back and forth, last night we came to an agreement with the seller of the house! It was a wonderful moment. We feel so blessed to have this opportunity. I never expected we would be buying so soon, but it just seemed to make sense. We still have a lot to do and a long way to go before the house is officially ours, but we feel that things will continue to go well and that this is our house.

Between all of these goings on, we still managed to take a belly pic yesterday!

Since 25 weeks seems like a milestone number, I thought I would go back and post some of the belly pictures from the past weeks and reminisce a bit.

24 Weeks: Comfy clothes, please

Here we are at another milestone. Today I'm 24 weeks, which marks the point of "viability", which means if Mini were born now, she would have a good chance of surviving. Hard to believe, huh? But let's not have that happen for another 12 weeks or so, anyway.

In a few weeks, I will enter the third trimester. This is supposed to be the trimester where you get more uncomfortable and less mobile. If this is true, I feel like I'm already there. My belly is so stretched and big that I can hardly find a comfortable position, and sometimes it's hard to breathe--- mainly when I have a few bites too many at a meal! I'm starting to feel and act like a pregnant stereotype at this point, because Tyler has had to deal with me pouting that nothing fits right, I'm uncomfortable, and I just feel big. And not to mention, THERE ARE THREE MONTHS LEFT, PEOPLE!!

Okay, so that's what's going on with me right now. What's going on with Mini? Well she's still kicking away-- and pretty often throughout the day. She's also putting on weight. They estimate about a half a pound a week at this point. That's a pretty big jump, when you think about her going from 1 lb. to 1.5 lbs. in a week! That's a 50% increase! She's also possibly growing hair on her head, though it won't have pigment until later. Oh, and she can also open her eyes now!

The next month is sure to be a busy one for all three of us. Tyler and I start our childbirthing class next Monday. That should be interesting! After my glucose test appointment on May 7th, we start having appointments every other week. Lots of driving to Birmingham! Not to mention the many other events going on around this time. I might have to "play it by ear" whether I can make it to all of these, but I'm going to do my best.

Now, for the pictures. I might start wearing a lot more black from now on.. it makes me feel smaller. haha

23 Weeks: Big Mama

It's taking over the worrrrrld!!!!

No, it's not The Blob. It's my belly.

So, it honestly looked extra big today with that button-down shirt, but it's still pretty big. At least, according to the doctor. Not to mention, I feel 8 months pregnant. What a difference four weeks have made.

We had an appointment with another doctor in the practice today, Dr. Ross. He was a nice guy and we both liked him. He measured my belly and said I am measuring a week ahead. The same forecast i got last appointment when they measured the baby.

The main thing that tells me that my belly has gotten really big, though, is the reaction from random folks. Today, I got lots of smiles from woman strangers, and comments from a restaurant host. You know you're really showing when people aren't afraid to address your condition out of fear they'll be wrong.

Sunny days are here, at last...

I could not be happier that the temperature reached the 80's today, and the 70's earlier this week. Just in time, too, because every pair of pants I own are now more uncomfortable than I feel like dealing with. I am overjoyed to be able to don loose dresses and skirts, without fear of getting a chill outside.

But while the sun may mean good things for my comfort level, it apparently doesn't bode well for these photos. I was pretty frustrated today that all the pictures came out so shadowy and I was squinting in almost every pic. Maybe I should whip out the sunglasses every week now....

Mini has been kicking away in the past week. One night last week, i contemplated calling her Sugar Ray because it felt like she was using my organs as punching bags! I can even see her move from the outside now. She is a wiggly little worm! 

According to my updates, her taste buds have formed, she is having REM sleep and probably dreaming, and she has a sense of balance so she knows if I'm moving or dancing! That's pretty cool! So I might be doing a little more dancing from now on, just for fun :)

22 Weeks: I get a kick out of you

I actually can't remember much about the past week, except for Easter Sunday and Tyler's stomach virus. On Sunday, Tyler and I decided to go to a large Methodist church down the road. We had been meaning to try it out, but just hadn't gotten around to it. What better time than Easter! This particular church has 4 Sunday morning services: 2 contemporary and 2 traditional. We went to the one we could find the easiest (on the huge church campus) and that happened to be the contemporary. We sat at the top of the balcony. Yep, the balcony. I'm not good at gauging numbers, but Tyler and I guessed there were about 1,000 people at that one service. Call me old-fashioned, but I'm not crazy about attending church in an arena. Haha. 

After church, Tyler's stomach wasn't feeling well. We just figured the coffee had not been good on his stomach. But when he was at work, he came down with a horrible fever, so by the time he got home from work (11pm), he was burning up and had chills. Luckily, it was a 24 hour stomach virus, and by Monday afternoon, he was able to eat whatever he wanted fine. There have been so many people sick lately! Both Tyler's and my mom have been fighting something off in the past week, and my sister Jessica has also been sick. I hope everyone is back to 100% soon!

On to the pregnancy news! Mini is strong and active now, and she let's me know by kicking me all day long! It started in the past week, I think. But I wasn't sure it was her until she gave my bladder a good kick. There was no doubt then! She's actually kicking and wiggling away as I type. Tyler even felt her for the first time last night! He was surprised and said it felt like a little thump. I've been trying to get him to feel it for several days, but she always stopped the moment I got his hand on my stomach. 

Here's what Baby-Gaga.com says...

Congratulations! You’re now housing a human who weighs nearly a pound and measures nearly a foot in length!

Your wee babe's perfect little pancreas (a super-duper organ that produces hormones and aids in digestion) is now making its own hormones for your baby's body and brain!

If you were worried, you can finally stop that: your baby's future in the circus as a world-famous tight-rope-walker is secure now that their inner ear is developed to the point that they have their own sense of balance.

Luckily for your little womb-explorer, this new balance promotes physical dexterity, which has them actively feeling out their surroundings where skin, body parts, and the resident umbilical cord are the big sensory experiences.

Your sweet babe is sort of looking like an oversized red prune right now as more and more skin (and therefore wrinkles) are showing up each week.

Not to worry, all those wrinkles are just your baby's way of planning ahead for the time when they’ll start piling on all of that irresistible baby chub.

And on to some pictures....