26 weeks: lady cucumber

Twenty-six weeks: 2.22.12







Photo thoughts: That belly sure is growing, huh? Also, still not feeling the outdoor shots. And at least I have a teeny hint of ab muscles trying to hang on for dear life, I suppose. Just for fun, you should peek at my 26 week belly photo from Truman's pregnancy and compare it to this time. Boggles my mind.

 
Size of baby: An English hothouse according to BC, which I mistakenly assumed was a tomato. Thankfully I googled it and realized it's just a big cucumber, so I grabbed a plain ol' cuc from the store and called it a day. The Bump is getting lazy and has gone to the 'one fruit a month' thing now. Woah. That time already?

Cravings: Really digging Oreos this week. And diet soda of course. Still sort of grossed out by myself and my lack of restraint with food, but I'm just starving all the freaking time.  And against my better judgment I weighed myself at home and discovered I've gained 8 pounds in the past 4 weeks, bringing my grand total up to 20 pounds already. So basically, right on par with where I was at with Truman. Sigh.

What I love: Nearing the third trimester. It's starting to feel more real every day.

What I'm looking forward to the most: This sounds really odd and a little ridiculous but I'm really starting to look forward to the actual labor. Two of my besties had their babies last week and just hearing them describe their experiences the second time around is enough to get me all giddy with anticipation. No, it won't be 'fun' by any means. But it's just such a magical event and I hope my labor and delivery go smooth and quick, just like theirs. Anything will be better than my 40 hours/2 day induction with Truman. (Well, not ANYTHING, but you know what I mean).

Worries:  Still can't believe she isn't strangling herself in there with all of that crazy movement in every direction. Still hoping those super low kicks don't mean she's settling in breech for the long run. And I have my glucose screen on Thursday so I'm hoping my horrendous sweet tooth doesn't come back to bite me in the big old butt.

What is different this time around: At 26 weeks with Truman's pregnancy, I was having a mental breakdown over some jeans that shrunk in the dryer since my body was morphing at alarming speeds. I was also being a total annoying over-achiever in the nursery decorating department. And this time I don't really care that much about jeans that don't fit properly. In fact I'm wearing both of my maternity pairs just fine---both the 'too short' Old Navy ones and the slightly roomier Gap version, too. I'm not freaking out about the changes my body is making just yet because I know it's going to get a LOT weirder up in here. Also, I have a lot of work to do on her nursery but at least I've painted her walls. I feel like having 3 months left is a lot of time but in reality I know it's going to fly.

Symptoms: My back has been bugging me a bit this week, probably since I pushed it a little too much over the weekend and painted walls in our new house for a total of 14 hours. Whoops. But otherwise, I still feel really good.

Sleep: Had a few nights when I woke up really easily for no good reason, then had a little trouble falling back to sleep. But overall, I'm so freaking exhausted in the evenings that I'm bumping my bedtime up to 9 pm and sleeping like a pregnant rock.

Movement: Yes, lots. Up high, down low, in the vag....you know, like she's some sort of acrobat in there. I love it so much it hurts. 

The belly: I think it's getting more and more noticeable each day and yet, I'm not getting many stranger comments right now. Hmmm. Either people are still on the fence about whether or not I'm actually pregnant and they don't want to offend, or they just don't care that much. I did have one patient (who I haven't seen since last year at this time, but she is one of my faves) say, 'WHAT IS THAT!' when I took off my coat, pointing to my tummy. That really made me smile, like okay--I really am pregnant and people sometimes notice. Plus Nate had his first 'WOAH---your belly is huge' moment the other day when I got out from the shower. Pregnancy is just such a weird thing when you think about it---growing a human inside of another human, slowly but surely. I think sometimes I forget I'm pregnant and then look down to see this growing belly and I have to smile. Pretty amazing.  

Milestones: Baby girl is now 1 and 2/3 pounds and 14 inches long, and she is beginning to breathe in the womb. Her ears are better developed than before so I'm sure she can hear me talk to myself as I paint numerous rooms in our house. I really think she must have had a growth spurt in the past 4 weeks, too, based on my belly and my weight gain.
  
Amusing comments from the general public: As I said above, most people are not asking blunt questions and so I'm not offering up any answers.  

Best moment of the week: Picking a paint color for the little missy's nursery. Although it was totally painful to put down my light pink paint chips, I know I made the logical decision by picking a robin's egg blue. Since, you know, that allows free reign for TONS of pink accents throughout the room. It's been really fun and satisfying to get into the house and start working our fingers to the bone. I can't wait to bring baby girl home from the hospital and show her where she is going to grow up with her big brother!