24 Weeks

I haven't written much about this pregnancy so far, so this is a little update. I am 24 weeks today. I feel like I've been pregnant FOREVER!!! I can't believe I still have 16 weeks left to go. I have a lot to get done between now and then, but it still seems so far away. This pregnancy has been very different from my others. With the other two, by 15 weeks I was on a prescription for heartburn and by 20 weeks I had this crazy numb spot in my rib cage. At 24 weeks with this pregnancy, my heartburn isn't any worse than pre-pregnancy (just a night or two a week, and tums totally do the job) and no weird numb spot! This baby is sitting really low (so low, at my 19 week ultrasound they couldn't get full pictures of the brain because it was so far down in my pelvis) which has led me to two conclusions: 1)Maternity pants don't fit the same when you feel like your baby is hanging between your knees. They don't stay up because my baby hump isn't firm like with the others. The pants just slide right down. I've been opting for lots of leggings and sweatpants. I think I wore jeans one night last week, and that was for mutual for an hour and a half! and 2)A low baby causes lots of pressure, swelling, and varicose veins in not fun places! At my appointment today, my doctor told me that I need to have scheduled rest time each day! (HA!) 3-4 hours of normal activity, then an hour of laying down on my left side, repeated until bedtime. It will be pretty interesting to see how this will actually work in real life, but if it will take a way some of the discomfort, I will make it work. Overall, I just need to take it easy and not push myself (like trying to get 3 bedrooms completely made over in a week!) My blood pressure has been normal so far with this one, but with Gage it didn't get crazy high until 36 weeks. So far, I've gained 11 pounds and I'm on track to gain the least with this one! I did however, cancel my gym membership because it hurts to even walk. So it will be interesting to see how well I can keep it up. But I'm pretty sure chasing Gage around all day and keeping him from bugging Maisey will be exercise enough. I've been craving mostly salty things: chips, popcorn, pickles, chicken in a biskit crackers. And a few other things like poptarts, m&m's, and sugar snap peas. We are pretty sure we are naming her Miley or Mylee, haven't decided on the spelling yet. We are excited for her to be here, but we are kind of nervous. Shaun and I both slumped down on the couch the other night after a particularly long day with the kids and we were both thinking the same thing (but I said it first!!!): "What did we get ourselves into?" Are we really ready for another child? To be outnumbered? To be in the baby phase again: bottles, binkies, no sleep, no sanity. It's a little too late to be having second thoughts though, huh? I'm sure everything will be put to ease when she makes her grand entrance into the world and melts all of our hearts.

Until then, you get to see me:

at 24 weeks, taken at our traditional picture spot in our house--the front door!