25 Weeks

Goodness!  My blogging has definitely been slacking. 

Last weekend we headed to the mountains in Asheville for a little R&R.  And man did we need it!  Our version of camping these days is a little more cush than our old version with tents and sleeping bags.  But, let's be honest, we've never been hard core adventurers packing in our dehydrated food and packing out our, e-hem, personal waste.  Maybe one Girl Scout camping trip back in 1996...

Traveling with a "special needs" doggy does pose a certain amount of difficulty.  It's getting a little easier now that we have some tricks under our belt.  Part of getting clever with his feedings is when and where...

Yes, this is in the back of the Trailblazer at a rest stop about 2 hours into the trip.  I love his little nose poking up.  Where does Grizzly go during these mid-road trip stops?  Banished to the front seat...  Call me crazy but I don't think she minds!

         

We finally got to the campground and got everything all situated.  UNC was playing a kind of big game so Jessica may or may not be charging her phone inside and pulling up the game...

Saturday morning we slept in big time.  It was a little piece of heaven!  Once we finally shook the sleep out, we decided to go for a hike.  There was a place we were headed on the Blue Ridge Parkway that was supposed to be a relatively easy out and back hike.  We drove up and up and around and around and finally got to the entrance of the Blue Ridge Parkway...aaaaaaand it was closed.  That didn't stop us from going on a hike!  Yeah, so we may have hiked actually ON the Parkway.  It was ok though, the dogs had the best time rolling around in some leaves and playing with sticks.   

        

 

 We headed back down the mountain and decided to head to down town Asheville to do a little shopping.  Then Sunday we had to get up and pack up and head out.  It was cold and windy and rainy and super yucky.  And Jess had caught a cold.  And nobody was really happy.  We drove down to Charlotte to visit Ikea for an organizer thing for the baby's closet then on to home.

After finally pulling into the garage, unloading everything from the car, starting up the laundry, and breaking down the cooler, I hear a little hiss coming from the car.  There was a screw in the tire and it was hissing like an angry snake.  Oops!  Thank goodness we made it all the way home before it went flat.  That would have been a bad, bad day (did I mention how Jessica had a cold?  She's not the most pleasant when she doesn't feel good).  Mom and dad came over and he and Jessica put the spare on so she could get going to school the next day.  Have I ever mentioned how awesome my parents are?  They're pretty darn awesome!

How far along:  25 weeks and 6 days (so I'm a little late!)

Total weight gain: +11.4

Maternity clothes:  Yes. I may need to go shopping soon.  My 3/4 regular, 1/4 maternity wardrobe is leaning a little heavily to the maternity side of things

Symptoms:  So random - my belly button hurts like a mother about every other day.  The other days, doesn't hurt at all.  Aaand my back started to hurt yesterday - boo. 

Stretch marks: None

Sleep:  Feeling good after sleeping in today!  Thank goodness for a day off!

Best moment of this week: Getting out of town last, last weekend was the best moment of the 25 week mark

What's new this week: 13 1/2 inches and 1 1/2 pounds!  Go little buddy go!  He's getting his chunk on.  I'm pretty sure he's finally head down but we shall see at my appointment next week.

Miss anything: Being comfortable?  Trying to brace myself because it's only going to get worse...

Movement:  Oh yeah - wild man in there

Food cravings: Nothing crazy

Anything making you queasy or sick: Doing pretty good - I pretty much just like to eat

Have you started to show yet: Yuppers!

Gender: Still a boy

Labor signs: None, thank goodness!  

Belly button in or out: It's getting more flat - so weird.  I thought it was pretty deep unpregnant and that it would never get flat or pop out, but I am wrong.  It's headed that way.

Wedding rings on or off:  Officially off :(

Happy or moody most of the time: Doing pretty good!  Happy!

Looking forward to: The next midwife appointment, hearing his little heartbeat, and finally seeing his little face.  Is it July yet??

24 Weeks..about a week late

Oops!! Where does the time go?  Let's just pretend that this was originally posted on 3/20...

Last Wednesday was a little nutty - and then Thursday got even more nutty!  Wednesday was my last day before having 4 - yes 4 whole days - off!  We were headed out of town to Asheville to do a little camping but first we had a Thursday full of baby planning.  

Thursday morning we were off and running.  Jess and I had an appointment for a daycare tour.  We were surprisingly impressed!  AND within budget.  I'm sad to say that budget is a very important aspect of the child care search.  It's one of the many things we wished we could give him the best of...but we'd rather put a roof over his head and give him some health insurance...aaaaaand have a quality individual snuggling and feeding our little munchkin.

After for first daycare tour, we had a second day care tour.  And then a third!  Yowza.  Nothing stood close to the first one of the day so that was it.  Easy peasy.  Ish.  

We went home hoping for a nap but that wasn't exactly in the cards.  We had to prepare snack for birth class.  Snack.  All I could think about was orange slices and soccer.  THEN we had a meeting with a pediatrician.  He was nice and all but the office was really far from the house - completely not convenient.  So, we're going to scope out a different one - closer to the house with good recommendations from other people.  

And THEN we went to baby class.  I think I got in the bed and passed out!

Twenty four weeks is also a major milestone for the babe.  He's is capable of living on the outside. He's still really, really little and would need a LOT of medical attention and spend a LOT of time with the folks of the NICU but he could survive.  Every week he's in there from here on out increases his likelihood for survival and decreases his need for interventions.  At least 12 more weeks buddy!!  Holy smokes.  The first 12 went by so fast...

How far along:  Well, let's just pretend I wrote this last week - 24 weeks

Total weight gain:  Same as last week, no gain no loss from last week

Maternity clothes:  Yes'm

Symptoms:  My belly button is getting more shallow and starting to hurt a little.  So weird

Stretch marks:  None

Sleep:  Need moooooooore sleep

Best moment of this week:  Ummmm, I can't remember too much about the specifics of last week

What's new this week:  Almost 12 inches and 1.3 pounds.  His hair is beginning to change to the color it will be at birth - brown?  Blonde?  His weight will double in the next 4 weeks - you know what that means for mama!?  More dresses!  His lungs are developing more and more preparing for life on the outside.  Apparently loud noises can startle him...we're expecting company so the door bell and subsequent dog barks should be interesting!

Miss anything:  Sleeping comfortably.  I'm afraid it will just continue to get worse...

Movement:  Like a wild man!

Food cravings:  Nothing too crazy

Anything making you queasy or sick:  Nothing major...what doesn't give me heartburn?!

Have you started to show yet:  Oh yeah, getting harder to "hide" it at work

Gender:  Still a boy as far as I know

Labor signs:  My uterus has been practicing with those crazy Braxton Hicks

Belly button in or out:  Currently in but getting more shallow every day.  And sore!

Wedding rings on or off:  Hmmm, this time last week I was still trying to keep them on? 

Happy or moody most of the time:  Mostly happy until I'm sleepy

Looking forward to: Vacation!