24 and 25 Weeks Pregnant!

Yes, late again, in fact... I am so late that I have to do two weeks together!

I have been feeling so sick this week that even coming to my blogger account seems daunting! It's not even pregnancy related, just a cold, but I am seriously wiped out! Normally, I would take off a day, SLEEP, and feel about 90% better the next day. Seriously, I have done this about once a year since I have been teaching and the day of sleep works wonders! That can't happen this week, though, because I am already low on days, and each appointment brings me half a day closer to my limit of ten days this year. 

Speaking of appointments, I was super happy with my appointment on Monday (the official 24 week mark)! I didn't have to wait too terribly long, and the parenting magazines were enough to keep me company. She actually asked me questions rather than the other way around. We talked about pediatricians,  Hunter's movements, Braxton Hicks, and next appointment's glucose test. She measured the uterus using the handy dandy measuring tape... exactly 24 centimeters which is what week I am on so he is smack dab in the middle of where he needs to be yet again. She also said that after the glucose test we will have an ultrasound to measure his growth. Also, that will put me in the third trimester, which means appointments every two weeks instead of four! I can't believe how fast this is all going, I am really enjoying pregnancy!

Since I have two weeks of updating to do, I have more things to talk about. 

• Movements- I am still feeling tons of movement, he kind of has a pattern, but every time I feel like I have it nailed down, he won't move at his 'scheduled' time and I get worried! This past week I have been feeling different movements which is really exciting for me! I have felt some sliding movements, where I am guessing his feet, hands, or possibly elbows are sliding across my belly. It's only for a couple of inch stretches, but totally different than jabs with kicks and punches. I am also feeling him push straight against my belly wall. The first time happened at night and I had just rolled to my left side. I felt the right half of my uterus get super tight feeling and I thought it may be a Braxton-Hicks contraction, but when I laid on my back and felt around I could feel a hard ball about the size of my fist smashed up against the side of my belly. I am guessing it was either his head or little tush, but I couldn't tell. Since that night, I have had that feeling multiple times and can feel the same fist sized ball up against my stomach. I am also having movements in multiple places at once, not at the exact same moment, but about a second apart. When the movement started, I could him kick in one place at a time pretty much, but now, I may feel some movements in the lower left side, then a second later feel some on the lower right side or even upper side. It makes me feel better to know that he is moving around a lot more in there!

• Heartburn- this is in full swing this week. I smuggled a little tupperware container of Tums from my parents house to see how well they worked for me. Well, they worked so well that when I ran out, Tim was making a late night run to CVS to get some more!

• Sciatic Pain- O. M.G. This is terrible! Backstory- when I was about 17 I flipped a four-wheeler and really messed up my back. About a year later, the pain started in my leg, I couldn't stretch it and I couldn't sit for long periods of time. This was right before I left for school, and as the first two years of college ticked away, the pain got worse and worse. During these two years, I had a few MRI's done, 5 cortizone injections, but in the end the only things that worked was to have back surgery. By the time I actually went in for the surgery, I could barely walk, my leg was always numb, and I was in severe pain all the time. I woke up and felt like a new person and it was AMAZING! Skip forward 6 years to being pregnant with a 'low-rider' baby, and I spent a few days in just as much pain as I had been in right before my surgery. (With the actual injury of slipped and ruptured disks, it got worse and worse. Now, I wake up one day and have a baby laying on my sciatic nerve so it started right away). I researched and researched found that may websites suggest sleeping on a firm mattress.... so while hubby snoozes away in our king sized bed, I am sleeping on an air mattress on the floor. It is a nice big one, and it gets super firm, but it still feels weird not to be sleeping in bed next to Tim. The bright side is that each day my sciatic pain in considerably less and less, and today (25 weeks, 2 days), I didn't have any pain at all!

• Hunger- I am still not one of those pregnant women who want to eat all the time. I can eat breakfast when I wake up, eat lunch at 10:30 (yes, kindergarten lunch is at 10:30...), then have a tiny snack (we're talking a few crackers) at about 2:00, and eat dinner when I get home. I am not eating excessively, and don't find myself needing a second dinner. I am noticing that when I do get a big plate in front of me with something I like, I tend to eat too much and before I realize it, it is backing up into my esophagus or something! The other day, I went to a movie with friends and had been so in the mood for popcorn. I ate half of the medium bag in about 10 minutes, and about 5 minutes after that, I felt miserable and like I was overfilled (literally) with popcorn. It happened again at my favorite restaurant, Pappasito's, and I didn't realize it until we were in the car on the way home from dinner. I am making sure to keep a better feel for when I am actually full!

• Headaches- I have not had any headaches in about a month and it is awesome! It feels so wonderful not to have a pounding head!

• Pee Breaks- I am definitely going pee much more than I ever did before. I am usually up at 2:00 in the morning to go, but luckily I am not up multiple times in the middle of the night! Embarrassing fact, today (25 weeks, 2 days) I accidentally sneeze-peed. Seriously, is this going to happen more and more? Do I need to keep an extra pair of pants in my classroom? 

• Sense of Smell- This has gotten out of control. The other day I made Tim take out the quarter full trash can, because I swore it just reeked. He had his face in the can and couldn't smell anything. I am also smelling dog food everywhere I go in the house. Granted, you never know where Sophie could have dragged a piece of food before she got around to eating it. 

• Looking Forward to- We have a 3D ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow!!! I am beyond excited!! 

• Belly Measurement/Weight Gain- I have started measuring my belly because I am really curious about the actual growth measurement. I started at 24 weeks 5 days in the evening, and got a measurement of just over 36 inches. The next morning I measured in at exactly 35. This pattern continued for a few days, so I have decided just to measure in the mornings! This morning I measured in at 36 inches! I have never been so excited to see waist growth! As for weight, I was up 7 pounds at 24 weeks, and up 8 pounds at 25 weeks. One pound a week is good for me!