Friday, October 30, 2015

Pregnancy Update: 26 Weeks

I actually remembered to ask the Mister to take my picture one night this week.  However, I didn't really think through that my black shirt against that dark brown chest may make it hard to see where my belly stopped! Hopefully you can tell!  Also, please pardon my rainy day hair.  We've had a humid week.


Baby's size: She's as big as an eggplant (according to What to Expect), a head of lettuce (according to The Bump), or a slow loris (according to the "weird-but-cute animals" theme on OviaPregnancy).

This is what a slow loris looks like, if you were wondering.
(gif is from www.tumblr.com)

What I'm wearing: This evening will be the only day I've worked this week (and it's my last day - whoop, whoop!), so I've spent most of this week in work-out capris, t-shirts, and sweatshirts.  It's still too warm for most of my sweaters (ugh), so when I do have to wear "real clothes" it's my Liz Lange maternity jeans (pictured above) or my black ponte leggings/pants paired with a stretchy maternity shirt and sometimes a cardigan.  (I pretty much live in that black Liz Lange maternity shirt that's also pictured above - I didn't think I'd ever like any maternity shirt with the ruched sides, but I am obsessed with that one and am thinking I'll probably have to buy it in another color.)

Weight gained:  I didn't gain any weight this week, so I'm still at 24 pounds.  I'm pretty relieved I finally stopped putting on weight like crazy, but I know I need to keep gaining a little because the baby has to grow and stay nourished.  Hopefully my weight will continue increasing but at a much slower pace than it has the past couple weeks because my goal was to have gained no more than 18 pounds by this point.  I didn't really change anything as far as my exercise or diet this week (I feel like I'm hungry all the time, and I snack whenever I'm hungry, but I try to keep it as healthy as I can stomach), so it's hard to know what I did right this week that I wasn't doing before.

The Mister and me at a beautiful wedding of some friends of ours this past Saturday - I was really happy to find that loose, comfy dress at a discount store last week.  People kept saying they couldn't tell I was pregnant (much less six months!), which is hilarious to me because I feel HUGE, but I guess it may not be obvious to folks who don't know what I normally look like since I don't have a big bump. (FYI - That's the end of my sleeve sticking out behind me, not my butt.  It's not THAT big... yet.)

Working out: With my work schedule slowing down, I was able to walk the dogs every morning this week other than one day when it was pouring.  I was even able to go 5 miles on Monday when it was cooler and my round ligament pain wasn't terrible!  On the other days I had to stick to my 40 minute, 2 mile route because the weather was a little warmer.  I was also able to either do a barre or yoga DVD 3 days this week - that's pretty good for me!  However, I can feel my balance going when I try to do barre (I'm glad nobody is watching me while I'm falling over constantly).  For the prenatal yoga, I've started doing the third trimester modifications using a chair for balance and support on most of the poses, even though I'm not quite out of the second trimester yet.  I've found I need the little bit of help and reassurance already.  We didn't make it to the gym last weekend because we ended up staying out of town the whole time, and we have a busy weekend planned again, so I'm not sure when we'll be able to go (as I've mentioned before, I don't like going without Chris right now, just to be super safe, and he's usually not available to go with me during the work week).  I'm finding myself really looking forward to getting back in the gym and lifting heavy once the baby is here and I've healed, but I'm definitely willing to be patient and stick with my easier exercise routine right now.

New Symptoms:  My main new symptom this week has been a lot of discomfort and pain in my abdomen, mostly on the lower right side but I feel it in other places too.  I think it's just very intense round ligament pain, and I'm hoping it's a sign baby is stretching out and moving up a little as she grows since she's been crammed down at the bottom of my uterus for months.

Also, I've started feeling really sick if I don't eat immediately when I'm hungry.  I almost need to set a timer for every two hours or so to make sure I get some food in my stomach before I start to feel yucky.

I was thinking I was some kind of weirdo because I wasn't having Braxton Hicks contractions yet, and it seems like everyone else does by this point in their pregnancy.  But I have been having a sensation since almost the very beginning of my pregnancy that feels like all the muscles on the front of my stomach are tightening for no particular reason.  The only thing that sometimes helps is rubbing my stomach and taking deep breaths to try to relax the muscles.  I assumed that couldn't be Braxton Hicks because it started so early on, but I read somewhere this week that they can start as early as 6 weeks, so I guess that is what I've been feeling.  They're the most pronounced when I'm on my feet for a long time, especially when I'm busy, like when I'm cooking and cleaning.

Days until my next appointment: Five!  Our next appointment is this coming Wednesday.  We haven't been since 21-22 weeks, so I'm excited to go back and check that everything is progressing as it should be.  It'll also be a relief to hear the results of our follow-up anatomy scan we did a couple weeks ago since they weren't able to get a good view of everything on the first one.

Food aversions: I'm not averse to much right now - mostly just plain water as I have been the whole time.  I'm also not digging raw veggies just because they're hard for me to digest right now, so I burp up the taste for a while after I eat them. : (

Food cravings: Chocolate milk, ice cream, Wendy's cheeseburgers, pumpkin pie, and Halloween candy (those mini candy bars and gummies of all kinds) - I still haven't bought any, trying to hold out till tomorrow!

How I'm sleeping: I was sleeping pretty well earlier this week, but these past couple nights I'm back to waking up every two hours or so (especially when you add that tender, stretchy abdominal pain I've been feeling).  I was hoping I could make time for a nap today, but it doesn't look like it's gonna happen!

What I'm looking forward to in the near future: We start our childbirth classes next week!  Even though I'm a little nervous to see and hear exactly what the labor and delivery process is all about, I do want to go into it informed and as ready as I can be.  

Feeling baby move: I'm feeling her move a lot more (sometimes I think she's trying to bust out of there!).  I think these next couple weeks is when I'm supposed to start REALLY feeling her all the time, so I'm excited about that.  When she's in the right position, I can see her moving from the outside now, but, of course, when I try to take a video or call Chris over to see she stops.

Innie or outie?: Still an innie!

It's so hard to believe I'm almost in the third trimester!  When I look back at this summer and spring, I feel like I've been pregnant a long time, but day to day the time is flying by.  Tomorrow is already Halloween and then the holidays will be right around the corner, followed shortly by the arrival of our little one!

We're planning to go to Raleigh tomorrow to watch the NC State vs. Clemson game at my brother's house and celebrate Halloween.  Originally we were going to try to go the game, but we decided we could save the money and "tailgate" in his backyard.

Celebrating the holiday last night at Chris's battery's "trunk or treat!"  Chris said our trunk was boring, but I was pretty proud of my paint drip pumpkins.  And our lights blinked and made scary noises (even though I brought AA instead of AAA batteries, so we had to keep pressing the little "try me" button from the store to make them work)!  Apparently black was my color this week... sorry it's so hard to see my bump in all these pics.

Have a safe and very happy Halloween!!

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