Pregnancy Update - 26 Weeks

How your baby's growing:  The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days. *From BabyCenter.com

The reality set in after vacation and now that we are in the month of June that we only have a few months left before Henry will make his way into our life. And I am only a couple weeks away from being in my third trimester. WTF, when did this all happen?! CRAZY.

Appointments: It was a busy week! I had an ultrasound on Monday. It was quick. We only had it because our stubborn piglet didn’t cooperate a month ago at the last one and she couldn’t get a good picture of his spine. So really all she was checking was his spine and heart. And thankfully, both looked great and it was good to see our growing boy. His head is up and butt is down and he STILL has his one leg over his head (sorta like the picture above). Really, how is that comfortable Henry?! The last ultrasound 5 weeks ago he had his feet above his head and he still has them up there. I don’t get it, that can’t be comfortable!!

(Sorry, not the best picture of Henry. You may have to click to make bigger.  In both pics, his head is on the left and body on the right.  In the top his arm...we are fairly certain it is his arm....is over his face/eyes.  I sleep like that!  In the bottom picture if you look at the lighter outlined area above his head you will see his FOOT!  Crazy boy.)

She didn’t do any measurements to see how big he was, so we don’t have an idea but Terry said he looked HUGE on the screen! It is fun to see our baby, though sometimes even though I know he is growing inside me and can see him on the screen it just doesn’t always sink in that I am pregnant and that is our baby. I know, weird….but sometimes it just blows my mind!

I also got my glucose test done Monday. That is fun. The drink was actually pretty tasty….it was like a sweet Sunkist and I haven’t had a Sunkist since before I was pregnant! But the three pokes to get my blood drawn and the over 2 hours of waiting was a boring way to spend my ½ day off. Plus, I was hungry! BUT, it is all for the little one and to find out something important so in the end it is no big deal. And everything came back great and they said my results were normal!! YAY.

How are you feeling?  I am still feeling good. Tired. I think part of it is this heat and we have had a lot more things going on and I am just whooped! Plus I haven’t been sleeping well. I did buy a body pillow last weekend which helps a bit so I am not sooo uncomfortable. (For the record our king size bed has one pregnant lady, my husband, a 9 pound cat, an 18 pound cat that takes up a ton of space, and a large body pillow…..maybe that is why I can’t sleep.) But I sleep for about an hour or two then wake up.  I also have been getting charley horse cramps in my calves in the night which hurts bad, plus I usually have to pee twice, and fluctuate between sweating or freezing. ALL those reasons are probably why I am tired and not sleeping well.  But if that is the worst of it, I can take that.

Any cravings? I am currently ALL about trail mix, I have a large bag with me at work and at home and I am also loving vanilla yogurt with chocolate syrup. Oh and cheese. My sister laughs because I bring a block of cheese to work and eat from that. SO GOOD. Those are my favorite foods right now.

Me at 26 weeks.

Best thing this week? I was asleep on my back (yes I know that isn’t the "best" but I prop myself up pretty high and sometimes I just can’t sleep on my sides as my hips become sore.  Oh yeah and I HATE always sleeping on my side). I woke up like I do a lot and flopped to my left side and within seconds Henry decided he hated that position. He started kicking, punching and moving all around. I felt my stomach and I think the little guy was all on my left side and didn’t like me laying on that side.  Or I was squishing him :) So I flopped to my right side and he started calming down, still punched a bit but eventually calmed down. Why did I like it….well minus the part where I probably squished him....because that was the most I had ever felt him and I was rubbing my belly and could feel him move. Plus it made me feel like he was real, which has been the hardest thing for me so far...that this is REAL. But there was no question he was not happy with that position and was letting me know just like a baby would! I just laid there at 3am rubbing my belly and just feeling him kick and punch and it was one of those moments where I actually knew without a daoubt that this little one was inside me and it was wonderful.

So you are feeling Henry Move?  YES! Terry is starting to feel him more and more and I think he is now waiting for when he can SEE my stomach move!  He also moves when I eat. Henry LOVES when I eat. I think it is one of his favorite things I do, which is good because T & I love to eat! I am still eating smaller meals and something small every couple hours as it helps with my indigestion and you can tell after I eat something because the little one goes crazy!  

Also, I am noticing his patterns. He seems to be the most active during the day (10am – 3:30pm) and in the evening calms down, which makes it harder for Terry to feel him move. During work I am constantly getting kicked in the bladder and feeling him, which is fun.

Have you registered? This weekend we are registering. We already have been registering on Amazon for some of the more unique items and then we are going to Babies R Us and Target. I feel pretty good about registering because friends have given me some great ideas on what to register for and what isn’t as important. Neither Terry nor I like to shop so I am hoping we can get it done quickly! I also have a list for all three places on what I want to register for at those places so it should be quick!!

Are you getting ready? This past weekend I decided since I have a TON of baby clothes already that I should start washing them and putting them away. Seriously, our son doesn’t need toys as he has plenty of clothes to play with. However, I began to notice that since we have been buying clothes from 3 months – 9 months that we haven’t been doing a great job at making sure we have everything we need. For example, in the 0-3 month we have a good amount of onesies, but no pants and only one pair of pj’s for the little guy. In the 3-6 month range we have plenty of pants and sweatshirts but only 2 onesies and 1 pair of pj’s. In the 9 month range it is mostly all p.j.’s and onesies! I made a list so in the coming months we can supplement the difference in what we got!

Anything you are annoyed at? YES. Not being able to carry stuff.  I forget ALL THE TIME that I need to be careful what I carry.  I do laundry, bring in as many grocery bags as I can, am organizing boxes and forget I am pregnant.  Well the other weekend it hit me.  I was cleaning the basement and obviously I know not to pick up anything too heavy and have Terry or Kristen do that for me, but regular stuff I still do.  Well after a few hours my body told me to STOP.  It caught me off guard, but I could tell I shouldn't push myself anymore.  I went up stairs and laid down and felt better.  But sometimes I honestly forget I am pregnant and just carry on with normal life.  I hate feeling like I can't do something because I CAN.  But it is more I shouldn't and I am coming to terms with this as it is very annoying but I know I need to be careful.


Overall that is it right now.  Really just figuring out what needs done and when it needs done....and then trying to get it done!  I know this summer will fly by so I am trying to get stuff done now that Terry is out of school!