25 weeks

So officially in the 6th month now, my little eggplant is getting her immune system and her eyes are forming so that she will soon be opening and closing her eyes. Perfect for batting her eyes at mommy and daddy when she's in trouble, right? I also read that Nathan may be able to actually detect her heartbeat by putting his ear to my belly at some point this month. How cool! I'm not quite flexible enough to do that unfortunately. At some point this month, she should weigh around the 2 lb mark. Everyone at work cannot believe how much she grows over the weekends!

I had a couple patients today tell me that "as big as you are, you will probably have a big baby." Me, big? I think I'm still pretty small for 6 months pregnant. Wow. All those different opinions. I still have ladies at church swear I'm having a boy because I'm only showing and gaining right out in front.

Exciting thing of the week (for me anyway)... I believe that I'll be getting my pump for breastfeeding this week. A "nosy" (haha) patient asked me if I would be breastfeeding and I told her yes. She said her daughter had a pump that she was unable to use because of inability to lactate. It was basically new and top of the line. Come to find out, it is the pump that I was wanting. It is almost $300 retail in the stores and she only wants $125 for it. Yeah! That would be a huge money saver! Plus, the price to replace the shields and hoses is minimal compared to buying brand new. Hopefully this will work out and save me some big money!

The in-laws should be here by Friday. We are looking forward to their visit and I can't wait to shop with my mother-in-law for the baby's room!

I have the big talk with my boss tomorrow about work and my hours. I am petrified so some extra prayers that all will go well would be appreciated!

Have a great week!

Movin' right along

We had a painting party with Aunt Shelly this weekend and got the baby's room all done. I don't think this picture really shows the true color though. We are so pleased with the way it has turned out so far. Now we just need to work on getting some furniture in there! I can't wait to see the finished product.
This is a picture of my cousin, Rebecca, and I just after we got back from Topsail. I am 23 weeks in the picture and she is 35 weeks. Our babies will be just 3 months apart. I don't think our baby girl will run out of playmates!
I would not normally post a picture of my bare belly, but I took one the other night and was absolutely amazed at the growth in the last few weeks. I am DEFINITELY looking pregnant now! So far, no stretch marks either, but I still have a lot of growing to do. I have had a 10 pound weight gain so far, and I'm hoping to gain about 1 pound a week until she is born.
The normal 24 week belly picture. She is getting more and more active every day. Saturday was the first night she has kept me up because of her activity. Last night, Nathan and I just sat on the couch and watched my belly for about 30 minutes because the movements it was making was unreal! I think she might have had the first hiccups that I could feel last night. It was so funny. We can also now start to feel where her body is in my belly. We found a little foot last night and it was an awesome moment. I was amazed at how cramped she is starting to get in there. I guess because she is still so tiny that I just pictured her floating around and doing whatever she wants, but now her growth will be the main thing that makes me bigger until she is born. AMAZING!

Check out the link if you are curious what I am talking about (shows a baby at 24 weeks gestation, but this picture is a breech baby):
http://www.babycenter.com/fetal-development-images-24-weeks

I am at my 6 month beginning mark! One more month until I reach my 3rd trimester. I have to get my blood glucose test on July 9th. Fun, fun! Last Tuesday's appointment went great and her heart rate was 148bpm and she moved all around. I am measuring normally for this point in pregnancy and the doctor's nurse practitioner called me "petite"! Woo hoo!

Can't wait for a visit from Nathan's parents next week. We'll post fun pictures of baby's Gram and Pop! :) Have a great rest of the week.

Back from the Beach

Belly at (almost) 23 weeks
Lookin' prego at the beach
I miss the waves already
We love the beach! What a view, right?!
Last week's 22 week belly picture

So I have been delinquent in my blog post since we have been on vacation. I can't believe we are back already...it was the fastest week ever. Why are vacations always like that? We spent the week in Topsail Island, NC. Overall it was a really great week and I have a nice little tan to show for it! I got just a little burnt in places, but not bad.

As for Baby, she is rapidly growing and becoming more and more active. She would be very active at nights at the beach when I was really tired. She would also kick a lot if I was just sitting in the sun, but calmed down the minute I would go out in the water. Today on the flight home, she must not have enjoyed the pressure change because she was kicking me HARD once we started descending. The little papaya in my belly will do a lot of growing and finally weigh about a pound or more by now. She should still double in length before she is born and her little face is now completely formed. My next appointment is this Tuesday and I'm expecting a good report!

I was surprised how much the vacation actually wore me down. It was totally different than working, but I experienced more back pain and swelling than I ever have. By the end of my work week before we left, my feet were sooo swollen. Being in the ocean really helped, but they were really swollen yesterday because of the high heat and humidity. Nathan kept rubbing them and putting aloe on them because they were on fire and it felt like I had bugs running inside my feet. It was terrible! The flight also increased my swelling a lot so I need to spend lots of time with my feet propped for the rest of the weekend!

I also had a very emotional week this past week. The beach was so peaceful and therefore gave me a lot of time for reflection and anticipation. The realization that she will be here in 4 short months is unbelievable. The realization of how my body is really starting to change now is also very emotional and I just don't tolerate things the way I did when I wasn't pregnant. Food, activity, stress...it's all different now. I have to hand it to my hubby...he handles it very well when I'm emotional and I think this week really brought us closer and gave us some good energy to build up until baby arrives.

We are scheduled to paint next week and we have a lot of preparation to do in her room before we are able to do that. Here's hoping for a good, productive week!