24 Weeks Pregnant!

Baby Growth: This week Baby C is measuring in over a pound and right around 12 inches long. Sections of his lungs are expanding and starting to produce lung surfactant. This stuff helps keep the lungs from collapsing after birth (um – important!). This week Baby C is also considered a viable baby. This means that if he were to be born right now, he has a fairly good chance at survival (about 50%). Brain development is also starting to spike again this week and he is learning how to coordinate things like heart rhythm, breathing, kidney function, and circulation. This is also when he starting gaining fat and putting on some cute little rolls. Eyebrows and eyelashes are also recognizable at this point. Hiccupping is getting more common and he is stretching often now. He is also starting to hear completely.

My Symptoms: This week, my uterus is the size of a soccer ball – and boy do I feel it!! Just doing normal tasks is really starting to wear me out. Bending over is becoming VERY difficult. I can do it still, but it really is not comfortable at all. I’m totally at the point where I have to sit down to put my shoes on for sure.

I’ve also been a lot more hungry this week for sure. I haven’t really been eating a lot more than normal, just because I don’t want to gain 4 lbs in one week again! I’ve also tried to snack on “healthier” stuff this week (ie: bananas, grapes, granola crisps, etc.)

I’ve really not felt good the past 2 days again. I don’t think it’s the same cold junk that I dealt with a few weeks ago. I just generally don’t feel so hot. It’s kind of frustrating because I can’t exactly pin down what doesn’t feel good – it’s just an overall thing.

Weight: I’ve gained 1.5 lbs this week. This puts me at a total of 8.5 lbs so far. Not too bad.

Belly Pictures:

Gender: Boy!

Maternity Clothes: I’ve finally stepped it up a little in wearing my maternity clothes. I don’t love them a ton, but I’m starting to be VERY limited in my selection of regular clothes that I can still wear. Yesterday, I even wore a pair of maternity pants for the first time this pregnancy. Yuck. I can’t stand them. But I was really not feeling so hot yesterday morning, so I just wanted to grab something that was looser. I’m still wearing a good bit of regular clothes, though. I’m probably in 60% regular clothes and 40% maternity clothes. I can even still button my regular jeans – how crazy is that?!

Movement: Literally, this child moves ALL DAY. To the point where I’m a little concerned because if he moves this much after he’s born, he’s never going to sleep! Haha. All joking aside - I really do love feeling it. It is so awesome, hands down my favorite part of pregnancy, and a feeling that I will try to remember for the rest of my life! I took a little video this past weekend where you can see the kicks from the outside of my belly. You have to look closely (and get used to being able to see me breathe), but you can see it for sure!

Sleep: I’ve been sleeping a lot better this week. And I’ve noticed that I’ve hardly woken up on my back at all. Part of the reason that I think that I’ve been sleeping better is because I’ve not been really hot AND my nose hasn’t gotten stuffed up. I’m so thankful for those things!

What I Miss: Not feeling tired! This time change has got me all whacked out and I feel sleepy all day long! It usually takes me about a week to adjust, so I’m ready for that to happen!

What I’m Looking Forward To: We go to Atlanta this weekend to go to Ikea to get some baby stuff and to pick up his furniture from my sister. I’m so excited! I can’t wait to get it all into his room and start nesting!

Cravings: Actually, this is the first week in forever that I haven’t craved sushi! Maybe because I gave in and ate it last week? Who knows. We did cook cheeseburgers this past weekend and they were unbelieveably good!!

Best Moment of the Week: Oh goodness – we had such a GREAT weekend! I went with Mrs. Becky this past Friday to Tallahassee to get LL’s chick pics done and they turned out SO GOOD! Then we went to the Azalea Festival on Saturday and had a blast. I love having wonderful weekends.

My Questions or Concerns: I don’t think that I really have any right now. I did find out that it’s totally normal to have Braxton Hicks at this point in my pregnancy. So that’s a relief. I guess I’m getting pretty nervous about Marie checking me in 2 weeks right before I leave for California. I know the chances of me being dilated at 26 weeks are very slim, but what happens if I am? I’ll have to cancel my trip AND I’ll probably have to be on bed rest – two things that are really not okay! So I’m just going to start praying now that my cervix is locked up nice and tight – haha.

Goals for the Week: Get the last of the stuff out of the nursery (we have really done a good job this week!).  I finally scheduled our 3D/4D ultrasound - April 12!  I'm glad I got that checked off my list!  :)