{Take Two} 26 weeks

Due Date: October 25th, 2014

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Whoa.

Marination Time: 26(ish) weeks.

Doctor Update: BP - 126/60, Baby's heart rate - 150, Cervical Length - 3.1

Weight Gain: +20 pounds as of appointment 7/24. No gain from last week.

Maternity Clothes: I need them.

Fruit of the Week: Baby is the length of a green onion.

Name: It's an endless search.

Gender: Still unknown. 

Movement: Holy moly. And I thought Lily was active in utero. I am terrified.

Cravings: Cold stuff. Otherwise, nothing in particular which can be really frustrating. Nothing really sounds good and nothing really sits well.

Annoyances: See: cravings.

Highlights of the Week: Not really a highlight, but I failed my glucose screening at my appointment, so we are waiting on bloodwork to see if I have to take the three-hour test. This was my last weekly appointment and we now go to every two weeks. Dr. Jonas is canceling my 28 week ultrasound and we will do a fetal fibronectin test that day instead. I will have one more cervical ultrasound at 30 weeks, and then we are just letting things ride!

{Take Two} 25 weeks

Due Date: October 25th, 2014

Musings on the Weekly Photo: A little up, not much out. Baby has been hanging back toward my spine and tailbone this week.

Marination Time: 25(ish) weeks.

Doctor Update: BP - 104/66, Baby's heart rate - 136, Cervical Length - 3.2

Weight Gain: +19 pounds or so (doctor's scale) as of appointment (7/17). Two pound gain this week (over ten days). I am slowly creeping closer and closer to what I weighed on day of delivery with L. 

Maternity Clothes: Can I get away with wearing my swimsuit and stretchy skirts all summer? Because that'd be awesome.

Fruit of the Week: Baby is the size of a rutabaga.

Name: We have come up with a couple more possible girl names but are still pretty stumped on boy names. We have a few on the list but I can't put off the feeling that the perfect name is out there, we just haven't heard it yet.

Gender: Still unknown. 

Movement: Tons! My belly shakes like a bowl of jello some nights. It's like a tae-bo workout in there! Baby also keeps flipping up and down. Last week, s/he was head down and this week, head back up. Let's hope one of these weeks, s/he choose head down and stays there.

Cravings: Fruit. Salad. Lemonade. I want just a little bit sweet, but nothing outrageous. A little nutella on a ritz cracker seems to satiate that craving. I get full quickly and if I overeat, I hurt. There is definitely some stomach squishing starting up, especially when baby is head up. S/he likes to kick my tailbone and smash his/her head into my stomach.

Annoyances: Stomach-squishing, tailbone-pushing, and a few days of contractions have made my belly pretty sore. Nothing too terrible overall though.

Highlights of the Week: The jello-belly is pretty fun. Next week is my last weekly appointment! We will then go to every two weeks - I will still receive an ultrasound at 28, 30, and 32 weeks but an emergency cerclage is off the table. As a precaution, they may do fetal fibronectin tests at those appointments as well. If it were to come back positive, then I would get the steroid shots just in case. Home stretch! Hopefully it will be a long home stretch, but it's the home stretch nonetheless. 

{Take Two} 24 weeks

Due Date: October 25th, 2014

Musings on the Weekly Photo: About the same size, eh? And looks very similar to my bump with Lily at this time.

Marination Time: 24(ish) weeks.

Doctor Update: BP - 102/60, Baby's heart rate - 146, Cervical Length - 3.7

Weight Gain: +17 pounds or so (doctor's scale), as of appointment (7/9). One pound gain this week.

Maternity Clothes: Stretch is still best, but I have been living in my swimsuit. It is so hot this week all I want to do is sit in Lily's little pool and let her "cool me off" aka pour water on my legs.

Fruit of the Week: Baby is as long as an ear of corn.

Name: We have some possible girl names but are stumped on boy names. Lily calls the baby "sister" most days, although she has recently switched it up to "brother." 

Gender: Still unknown. 

Movement: Lots of kicks and punches. Baby had his/her first hiccups this week that Mike could feel - we were both very amused.

Cravings: Cold, cold, cold. Ice. Then some cold stuff. Salad. Then some more ice. And ice cream, simply because it's really cold.

Annoyances: It's a cruel joke that just as Lily starts periodically sleeping all night, I have to wake up at least twice to pee. I've started going to bed later just so that I can pee one more time before falling asleep, thus reducing my nighttime bathroom trips to one.

Highlights of the Week: Baby is head down, cervix is stable, and I didn't gain four pounds in a week. But most importantly - viability!

{Take Two} 23 weeks

Due Date: October 25th, 2014

Musings on the Weekly Photo: There is definitely a bump.

Marination Time: 23(ish) weeks.

Doctor Update: Baby's heart rate - 157, Cervical Length - 3.7

Weight Gain: +16 pounds (doctor's scale), as of appointment (6/30). Four pounds gained this week! The doctor says she doubts I ate four pounds worth of food in a week so the gain is mostly fluid, but to watch my salt intake. Otherwise the gain itself is fine because I was behind before and am now on track.

Maternity Clothes: Stretch is best.

Fruit of the Week: Baby weighs as much as a small mango.

Name: We haven't really discussed it. 

Gender: It has one. We don't know what it is.

Movement: Lots of kicks and punches to my lower extremities. My bladder is apparently a trampoline.

Cravings: Fruit, salad, and COLD dessert but not chocolate, so popsicles and light ice cream taste good. I still want everything on ice.

Annoyances: Baby is breech, but has plenty of time to flip. Aforementioned trampoline effect is rather obnoxious, but it is what it is.

Highlights of the Week: I've been so stable, the doctor has no problem with me traveling if I feel up to it! We are heading to Butte for the long 4th of July weekend but will probably stick relatively close to home for the rest of the summer. Even if I'm allowed to travel, we don't feel like chancing it. Plus there's no better place to be than the Flathead in the summer!

{Take Two} 22 weeks

Due Date: October 25th, 2014

Musings on the Weekly Photo: It seems bigger to me. A lot of people this week have mentioned that it seems like it's suddenly "there" and obviously a baby bump. I've also ran into a few acquaintances I haven't seen in a couple of months, and they've all said congratulations, so I guess it's becoming more obviously a bump and not fat. Haha.

Marination Time: 22(ish) weeks.

Doctor Update: BP - 104/68, Baby's heart rate - 138, Cervical Length - 3.8

Weight Gain: +11 pounds or so (gym scale), as of appointment (6/24). No gain this week.

Maternity Clothes: Stretch is best.

Fruit of the Week: Baby is the size of a spaghetti squash.

Name: We haven't really discussed it minus a few "I don't really like it" comments from Michael. 

Gender: Still unknown!

Movement: Lots of kicks and punches.

Cravings: Fruit and lemonade. I want everything to be COLD. Popsicles are good, ice cream is hit or miss. Anything over ice is a huge win. Food-wise, a friend of mine made these amazing crustini's last week that had sautéed onions and mushrooms over goat cheese, drizzled with an amazing balsamic reduction. I've been dreaming about them all week! It's the onions. I can't get enough grilled or sautéed onions!

Annoyances: Lots of contractions, but nothing super productive. I forget to sit, then I sit too much. I feel like I'm growing at an exponential rate when in reality, I'm not. But I feel like it! Baby is also now breech, little stinker, but has plenty of time to flip back around. Bonus to being breech? Not putting pressure on my cervix, causing it to shorten.

Highlights of the Week: Our doctor's office got a new ultrasound machine, and we got to be practice for the 3/4D system! Also, we moved Lily into the basement this week, into her "new room" and the baby's room is mostly done. The next step is decorating both rooms and decorating/organizing the new playroom; Mom and Dad are visiting this weekend to help get that wrapped up while Mike is in Portland. I'm feeling more accomplished and ready to enjoy our summer!

{Take Two} 21 weeks

Due Date: October 25th, 2014

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Baby seems to be sitting back toward my spine this week, so my bump appears smaller. I also looked up info from 21 weeks with Lily, and she was transverse around this time - this baby is head down - so that explains the difference in the bump (this one being higher.)

Marination Time: 21(ish) weeks.

Weight Gain: +11 pounds or so, as of appointment (6/16). The gym scale and the doctor's scale differentiate by up to two pounds, so I'll stick with the gym scale's numbers. 

Maternity Clothes: The weather has been rainy and gross, so I broke out the full-panel maternity jeans this week. Why did I wait so long?! So comfortable.

Fruit of the Week: Length of a carrot!

Name: We haven't really discussed it, but we do have a list we've been keeping since Lily was born.

Gender: Still unknown! All ultrasounds will be transvaginal from here on out, so if baby stays head down, we hopefully won't get a sneak.

Movement: TONS more!

Cravings: Fruit and lemonade.

Annoyances: We had a great week! Minus ongoing contractions, I feel pretty good. Pretty much any time the baby rolls, I tend to have a contraction. The big thing is remembering to keep a happy medium between a hydrated and empty bladder. 

Highlights of the Week: TONS of movement! Baby must have had a growth spurt and is getting stronger because I am feeling a ton of punches down low and a few kicks up high, plus Mike can feel him/her easily now. Grow, baby, grow! We also got Lily and baby's rooms all painted, so now I can start decorating - I really want everything done soon so that I don't have to worry about things not being done. I'm in major early nesting mode for sure. Right now I'm planning on bringing in a lot of yellow and white, and then if it's a girl, I'll bring in coral and peaches, if it's a boy - reds and grays. So much fun!

{Take Two} 20 weeks

Due Date: October 25th, 2014

Musings on the Weekly Photo: I seem to be carrying a little higher but smaller with this one, don't you think?

Marination Time: 20(ish) weeks.

Weight Gain: +11 pounds or so, as of appointment (6/9).

Maternity Clothes: Now that we are having a lot of summer weather, I love that I can wear dresses and skirts every day.

Fruit of the Week: Length of a banana!

Name: We haven't really discussed it, but we do have a list we've been keeping since Lily was born.

Gender: Still unknown! Made it through the anatomy scan without an accidental showing of baby bits. 

Movement: TONS more! I feel a lot of punches and kicks, and s/he is making him/herself well-known on the outside too. Babe must have had a little growth spurt this week.

Cravings: Still with the carbs and fruit. I can eat an entire personal watermelon in one sitting. Meat is hit or miss, and I don't know if it'll be okay or not until I eat it. Salad never sounds good, but always ends up sitting really well.

Annoyances: Well... cervical length shortened a fair amount this week. Grr. Last week (6/3), I was at a 4.6 and this week (6/9), I was at a 3.1 - danger zone is considered 2.8. The doctor wasn't too concerned, but checked me anyway and despite having a lot of contractions, I'm not dilating, thank God. Cervical length is dynamic and can change day-to-day, so hopefully next week it lengthens again. I've been in a flurry trying to get things done just in case I get stuck on my keister, so the downstairs kids' rooms are coming together!

Another big thing that's been happening is that I'm having a lot of nightmares about this pregnancy, specifically about losing the baby. I wake up in tears a lot. I hope it's just the extra hormones and little bit of post-traumatic stress from my pregnancy with Lily, but it's worrisome. I get really anxious. What's weird is that with Lily, even after I started having issues, I never had a second thought that things wouldn't be okay. I don't know why I'm so much more concerned this time, but I suppose it's a natural reaction after a dramatic pregnancy.

Highlights of the Week: A friend of ours just had twins, and this week, Lily was so much more interested in them! She wasn't jealous at all, and was very intrigued. I was able to diaper, feed, and burp one of the babies without a smidge of resentment (she usually acts quite jealous when I hold babies.) She kept asking questions about the babies, exclaiming "Look at her tiny feet! She has small hands! She's just about my size!" She also keeps telling me she wants two babies. Sorry, honey. Not happening. ;)