26 Weeks!

I feel like this blog has just turned into my weekly baby count, but things have been super busy lately and I'm just glad I've been able to do the weekly updates. But let's be honest, nothing else going on is quite as exciting anyway!

So today is 26 weeks pregnant! About 14 more to go (whoa!). Next week, I'm in the 3rd trimester (double whoa!) and if I had the baby now, it would more than likely survive after some time in the NICU (Neonatal ICU). But, I've let the baby know more than a few times that it still has a lot of growing to do in there and we definitely don't want to meet it quite yet.

Pregnancy is still going pretty well. I'm definitely a bit more tired and sleep can be hit or miss. The little one has been kicking so hard, it's hard for me to fall asleep sometimes. When Nick leaves for PT in the morning, I either freeze or just can't quite get comfortable. And although I don't feel huge yet, I definitely am starting to feel "big". It doesn't help that 90-95% of my pre-pregnancy wardrobe no longer fits, ha ha. Good thing I have lots of cute maternity clothes! And I'm to the point where strangers ask when I'm due and what I'm having, which is better than people avoiding the subject.

My womb is now the size of a basketball (2 weeks ago it was a soccer ball!) and the baby is as big as a cucumber- about 15 inches long and about 2.2 pounds. It's still kicking like a rockstar and really likes to make it's presence known. It's gotten up to my ribs now a few times, which can be interesting. Also, today when it was getting it's heart rate taken, it gave the fetal doppler a good kick, ha ha! Nick said it definitely has his genes. Some developmental milestones this week:
- The network of nerves in the ears are maturing so the hearing is getting even better
- The heartbeat can often be heard with an ear up to the belly
- Eyes are blinking
- Is frequently curled up in the "fetal" position (it does this allll the time & I can usually tell where it is in my belly)

Here are this week's belly pictures:

26 weeks!

Like I said, it's getting big!

25 Weeks!

I am 25 weeks pregnant today, 15 more weeks to go (eek)! It's definitely starting to get a little more real. I had a dream last night where I went into a very fast & painless labor. Somehow the baby (who was a boy in the dream) was 5 pounds, even though I was only as far along as I am now. Weird pregnancy dreams! Thankfully, the baby can survive outside the womb in only a couple of weeks (crazy!), so that won't be something I'm paranoid about.

Which also means that 3rd trimester is not too far off either. Eeek! In honor of that milestone, I've definitely started feeling more tired (even though I'm sleeping pretty well) and I think I'm starting to have some braxton-hicks contractions. I described them to a new mommy friend of mine and she said that's what they sounded like. Nothing too painful, but it was definitely an intro into what I'm going to be going through in a few months!

Anyway, this week, the baby is about 13 1/2 inches long and weighs 2 pounds. It's about the size of a rutabega (ya, I had to look that one up), and it's getting some realllly good, strong kicks in. Here are some development milestones for the week:
- Eyes are now open and retinas are developed. As a result, the baby can react to light
- The hair finally has color (wonder what it will be!)
- The baby's equilibrium is established
- The baby can react/respond to noise

Here are this week's belly pictures:

The belly is getting bigger!

Close-up on the 25 week baby belly

24 Weeks/6 Months

Today is the 6 month (24 week) mark of pregnancy, woohoo! I can't believe I only have 4 more months, or 16 weeks left- I think the week count seems crazier. I've had a few leg cramps and some random back and rib pain, but otherwise, I'm feeling great. At one point last week, I attempted to jog for about a second and I could really feel the extra weight in my legs trying to get off the ground. And somehow, the belly button is still an innie. I, for one, am shocked, especially since my womb is now the size of a soccer ball!

The baby is now as big as an eggplant- about a foot long and 1 3/4 pounds (up about 4 ounces from last week!). I've had some fun drumming my fingers on my tummy lately and watching little kicks in response. It feels like the baby and I are playing. Before now, I'd have to push on my tummy to get a reaction, so it's pretty cool that it only takes some tapping now. Some developmental milestones this week:

- Capillaries are forming underneath the skin making it more opaque
- Lungs are continuing to develop
- Nostrils are starting to open
- The brain is growing quickly

And here are this week's belly pictures, in which I am sporting my new cute haircut with bangs:

6 months! Crazy!

A little more of a side view

I've realized very few of my pre-pregnancy tops are long enough to fit over the belly, so we've made the official switch to mostly maternity tops. Although I still find the stray pair of jeans that I can still easily button or a really long top. There's just more surface area to cover now.

Snow Day!

So in absolutely absurd Southern fashion, today was declared a snow day, and pretty much everything shut down. At first, Nick was supposed to go in to work at noon, and then they completely canceled it, which was nice, of them, huh? How much snow did we actually get?

This much

Ya, I know, really not that bad. They may have had a bit of an extreme reaction. I think it actually snowed more on Christmas. But, in truth, it was actually really icy because we had tons of sleet and freezing rain too. And, since they don't really have any equipment to deal with snowy/icy roads down here, everyone was advised not to drive and thus everything was canceled/closed for the day!

Everybody thought it was kind of silly that most things (like schools) were closed yesterday, but I'm glad they did it that way because last year when we had crazy snow in Texas (actual legit snow, which put today to shame), they didn't cancel things until after it had been snowing for hours and it was a bit chaotic.

Anyway, we have thoroughly enjoyed some down time and the dogs enjoyed playing in the cold at the dog park. Scout ate lots of ice until he shivered and Rufus ran and slid all over the place chasing his frisbee. Nick also had some more time to get some homework done, which was kind of lame, but necessary.

I also started a new Bible study today with some lovely Army wives which I'm really excited about. We're going to be going through Beth Moore's Breaking Free and I'm anticipating some good growth and fellowship since there are only going to be about 8 of us. And it'll get done right before Baby Drake is due to arrive, which is always good.

Apparently now is a popular time to start a Bible study because I got another invitation to one, on top of PWOC starting this week and our normal study through our church starting back up. I decided to limit it to 3 though (the one I started today, PWOC & our church one), phew!

Otherwise, things are good. Really starting to pick up, obviously. And I figured out that my major problem with sleeping was due to nasal congestion, so I slept much better last night after using some nasal spray before bed. Yay!

23 Weeks!

Today marks 23 weeks of pregnancy! The baby is now as big as an ear of corn- approximately 1.5 lbs and up to 11 inches long

Some developmental milestones this week:
- Hearing is fully developed
- It has a sense of movement
- Blood vessels are developing in the lungs to prepare for breathing
- The face is almost fully formed
- It will gain about 6 ounces a week from here on!

Here are this week's belly pictures:

The belly is making it very obvious that I'm pregnant, ha ha


Close-up on the belly full of baby

I had a check-up at the doctor yesterday & the heartbeat is still holding strong at around 150. I'm also on track for weight gain which is good news because there was a little concern awhile ago that I wasn't gaining enough weight. But, obviously I am good to go, as you can see by the ginormous belly (just kidding)! But seriously, I don't think I can wear pre-pregnancy clothes anymore since my shirts are working hard to cover the belly. Also, the kicks are definitely getting stronger, enough that I was slightly annoyed when I was going to bed last night. Crazy to think that the baby will be here in only a few months!

2011!

I absolutely can't believe it's already 2011! All vacation, it seemed like time was simply slipping away. I would seriously look up at the clock and it would be hours later. Such a weird feeling!

This is going to be a big year, obviously! 2010 was great and all, but I'm excited for a new year. It feels like when I was in college and the new semester was starting. There are new Bible studies starting at church and PWOC and I'm motivated to set goals and start new things. Obviously, things are going to get slightly crazy with the arrival of our little one in May, but what better time to really focus on what's important.

I don't really do New Year's resolutions, but Nick and I started some things in the past few months that we're trying to keep up:
- Read through the Bible in a year
- Pray together every day/night (we picked different topics/people for each day)
- Memorize 2 verses of Scripture a week (through the use of the Navigator's book)
- Read our daily devotionals

I'm also just trying to get the house reorganized and refine my cleaning/chores. I even shined my sink today! It's the little things, ha ha. So, here's to a new year!

Ski Trip

I slacked off on my 22 week (5.5 months) belly picture this week because we were on a ski trip with our church's youth group! We just got back last night. It was really fun, but oh man, I am still super tired. I'm actually shocked we were able to make it well past midnight last night, but we were having a good time with some friends. If we would've stayed home, we definitely would've been asleep by like 10pm. I feel like such an old person because I don't know how these kids are able to stay up so late. I think the earliest we went to sleep was midnight the whole trip.

I didn't ski or anything since I definitely would've fallen and hurt myself and/or the baby, but it was still a fun trip. One kid got a concussion and another got a deep bruise on his shoulder (we thought he separated it or something), so it was definitely a little dangerous. Thankfully, they're both totally fine now, but it definitely made things interesting. I spent a lot of time hanging out in the lodge reading and played a couple marathon games of Uno (one lasted about an hour!). Nick did lots and lots of snowboarding and had an awesome time at it too. I think he really enjoyed "twilight" skiing- from 6-10pm.

The youth pastor also did some awesome talks about possessions and God's will. Also, I was amazed at the spiritual maturity level of the girls in my small group. It was a really great trip, although I'll be good if I don't have to have any more fried food for awhile (I don't know how you Southerners do it!). I'm hoping we can keep up our involvement in the youth group, even though I'm more used to hanging out with younger kids. Here are a few pictures:

Hanging out in the lodge

Nick is ready to snowboard!

Outside on the last night

Even though I missed the belly picture, I'll give you the breakdown of the baby this week. The baby is now as big as a papaya- 1.2 pounds and is between 8-11 inches long. Some developmental milestones:

- The baby will double in weight in the next month alone
- You can now hear the heartbeat through a stethoscope instead of a doppler
- Blood vessels are developing underneath the skin
- The pancreas is developing

I'm doing pretty well. Still some back pain, but otherwise still feeling great! I'm absolutely mesmerized by my belly button which has almost popped! It was a very deep innie before, so it is so weird to see it's transformation. Once it does pop, I'll have to post a picture of the before and after because it's pretty dramatic!