Twenty-four weeks

How far along? Twenty-four weeks - 1/28/11

How big is baby? Still a papaya! See week 22.

Next appointment: February 1st

Symptoms: The main, persisting symptom is the sciatic nerve pain. Other than that, I feel great!

Reflections on this week: There really isn't much to report this week. I've been busy trying to go through all the closets because we've accumulated too much stuff! Since we're probably going to be getting more (increase in number of kids + increase of kids' ages = increase in number of items stored), I need some space! Mom and I are planning a garage sale in the spring, so I'm putting together boxes of all the things that need to go away. Super exciting, let me tell you. Anyone jealous?
 

What I'm looking forward to: Clean closets, a clutter-free house (ha!), and a chance to sit down. :) Oh, and I need to finish birthday party invitations and plans for Zoe's shindig in March. Better get busy.

Twenty-three weeks

How far along? Twenty-three weeks - 1/21/11

How big is baby? See last week's picture and stats.

Next appointment: February 1st

Symptoms: Oh, boy. Sciatica. My butt hurts.

Reflections on this week: I spent the majority of this week feeling downright crummy. The rain caused the mold count to rise significantly, so my allergy symptoms came in, full-force. After going through an entire box of Kleenex in just a couple of days, I'm feeling almost normal again. Thank goodness. It wasn't fun.

What I'm looking forward to: Relief from allergies, and the weekend! I have some serious updating to do. I haven't had lots of extra time lately, and that which I did have was devoted to catching up on things around the house. I'm hoping I'll get to post soon!

Christmas #4 of 4

Our final Christmas was this past Saturday, in Victoria, with Nathan's mom's side of the family. It was a lot of fun, and we got to visit with family members that we don't get to see very often.

It rained the entire day without stopping, and it made driving difficult (and pretty scary). Also, we were all trapped in the house and couldn't really send the kids outside much to burn off energy, so I was grateful that they were relatively well-behaved. They did get to go out for a little while in the drizzle to go see some cows and chickens (they were picking up eggs), and they really seemed to enjoy it. The rest of the time, they kept themselves occupied in the house with some toys, and in Uncle Paul's awesome home theater room. We watched Toy Story 3 at top volume...it was fun!

We also do a Chinese Christmas gift exchange every year, and it's always a lot of fun to see what everyone ends up with. We scored some pretty nice things this time!

I am a total moron, and did not remember to take the camera this year, so I have no pictures to share. I might have to steal some from Nathan's parents, because I know they had their camera with them. Maybe I'll update with some photos later.

Anyway, Christmas is finally over (thank goodness!), and we have almost a whole year to go before the insanity begins again. I am so, so glad!

Twenty-two weeks

How far along? Twenty-two weeks - 1/14/11

How big is baby? For the next two weeks...

 This, apparently, is a papaya. Who knew?

Next appointment: February 1st

Symptoms: Lots of movement lately, which I love! I'm feeling pretty decent these days, and I'm definitely getting a larger baby belly.

Reflections on this week: It was a crazy week. It's been cold, overcast, and rainy outside, so the kids and I were confined to the house for the majority of the week. This makes for some grouchy Alexanders. Also, I had to take Nicholas into Austin for a booster shot, which was thrilling for us both. My poor husband has been working on my parents' roof this week in the freezing cold wind...poor guy. I'm just glad this week is coming to a close, because it's been a little rough. The highlight was last night, when Ethan put his hand on my belly and felt Baby kick! He was so excited! He's been waiting for that for a long time, and will randomly come over and touch my tummy to see if he can feel anything. He finally did!

What I'm looking forward to: Hmm...nothing in particular! Maybe just a week of normality? Whatever that is...

Twenty-one weeks, and it's a...

GIRL!!

That's right, we're adding a little more estrogen to our family in May. I'm wondering if I should start working on this baby's album now, or wait until further confirmation, but we're pretty darn sure. I guess I'll just do it, and it'll be really funny if we end up being wrong.

Anyway...

How far along? Twenty-one weeks - 1/7/11

How big is baby?

Next appointment: February 1st

Symptoms: None right now, thankfully! Feeling great!

Reflections on this week: Finally got to see our little one on the big screen, and we were thrilled to discover that she is super healthy and developing right on schedule! I put several of my concerns/fears to rest, so my anxiety level has gone down quite a bit. One in particular was the lack of movement I was feeling, and I learned that the placenta is right in the front (anterior), which I suspected. This will keep me from feeling a lot of Baby's kicks and punches until things move and grow a little more.


What I'm looking forward to: Some stress-free baby growing time! Enjoying this part of the pregnancy, where I'm not in pain and can still walk normally. Feeling movement here and there from my little munchkin. Finding a name for the poor child, which will probably end up being very last-minute. There are so many things to look forward to, and I couldn't begin to list them all here!

As an added bonus, here's a screen shot for you guys to ogle:

So dramatic already.