26 weeks & 4 days

We had our 26 week check-up appointment yesterday and I wanted to wait until after that to write this update. We are now starting our bi-weekly appointments! Time is just flying by... this is the last week of my 2nd trimester. The baby is doing great. She is very active! I mostly feel her in the evenings when we lay in bed. I can feel her getting bigger (not only by looking at me) but also by her movements. She kicks on all sides of my belly now- and sometimes all at the same time. I joke that she is going to have her Daddy's dancing skills because sometimes it feels like she is breaking it down in there.... :)

My weekly book says she is about 14 inches long from head to toe and weighs about 2 pounds now. After our appointment yesterday, she may be slightly bigger than that. The doctor said I'm measuring about 27 to 28 weeks so she may be here a little sooner than we expect! He said typically we wouldn't have another ultrasound but since she may be bigger than we think, just to remind them and we can fit another one in closer to the due date. That can be the reason we do one :) Her heartbeat was in the 150 range and of course we love to hear that each time we go!

My belly is still measuring 36", which is the same as my measurement at 24 weeks. I feel larger and  guess it is just moving outward more... I did gain a little weight since my last appointment. I'm up to 147 pounds which is a total of 17 pounds gained. I have noticed that it is harder to bend over to do things, like put on socks/shoes. Getting up off the couch is taking more effort than ever before too. Luckily, Brent usually just pulls me up! My next appointment is my glucose tolerance test. Hopefully that won't be as bad as some people make it out to be...

Below are the pictures we took at 26 weeks. It was after a workout class so I may look a little sweaty.....

I am so excited about tonight! Brent and I are going to put together the crib and dresser for the nursery. We had the carpet replaced on Monday and have been cleaning/organizing things to their new places. Her room is so clean and ready for furniture! Our guest bedroom is now that and our office, and Brent's music room. It may be a little more crowded than normal but we will make it work! 

We have also signed up for a childbirth class in February. It is offered either during the week or on a weekend. They have it one weekend a month so I'm glad we went ahead and signed up for this! We also made an appointment to go meet with a Pediatrician next week. After talking to a lot of people and researching providers online, I really want to use Primary Pediatrics and their Doctor Lance Slade. Not only does he have an impressive resume, but he and his family seem very involved in the community and helping children. 

Hope everyone has a great weekend :)

24 weeks along...

I know it has been a few weeks since I have updated this blog. I hope everyone had a great New Year. Today is my first day back at work and I'm not feeling great. I have a sore throat and just feel "sick"... I am hoping to go home and go to bed once I get off. But, on to better news- we have a growing little girl on our hands. She is now up to 12" long (from head to toe) and a little over a pound in weight. The brain, taste buds and lungs are starting to grow quickly now. The lungs will continue to develop until the very end. They are starting to produce surfactant, which is a substance that helps the air sacs inflate once she is born. She is now the size of an ear of corn.

She is very active because I feel her move pretty often. Sometimes I feel her on both sides of my belly at the same time which is just showing how long she is :) My waist is now measuring 35" around and I'm weighing 145 lbs, which is a 15 lb gain so far. Below are the 24 week photos. I can really notice that my belly is getting round and can see it coming off of my ribs a lot when I look into the mirror. I do have a feeling that my belly button will be popping out at some point because it is pretty flat right now :)

We have started to get ready for the baby by getting the nursery together. Our office will now be sharing the room with our guest bedroom so the nursery will be our old office room, which is the smaller of the two. We ordered new carpet to get everything all clean before she arrives. Brent pulled up the old carpet and is going to paint the room this week. We are doing the room in grey and yellow with elephants and giraffes. The walls are mostly white with the top half a soft yellow. The furniture we ordered is black and we have the bed and dresser ready to be put together once the room is ready. We got some really cute nursery items for Christmas. Catherine made us book ends that are grey and yellow elephants. She is very creative! Our baby bed was a gift also from my parents for Christmas. I can't wait to put it together and get everything up :)

We will also have a baby name to share soon! :)