Week 24 (& 23!)

Baby is the size of an Eggplant!

Your baby is about eight-and-a-half inches long (standard letter size!) and weighs one-and-a-half pounds, gaining steadily at a rate of about six ounces per week. Much of that weight comes from growing organs, bones, muscle and accumulating baby fat. Wondering what (and who) your baby will look like? If you had a baby cam at 24 weeks pregnant, you'd almost be able to tell by now. That beautiful face (though still tiny) is almost fully formed, complete with eyelashes, eyebrows and hair. Is your baby a brunette, a blonde or a redhead? Actually, right now her locks are white since there's no pigment yet. The fat that will be piled on under baby's skin is also missing from the picture right now. Until those fat deposits are made, that very tender skin is still very transparent, which means a

close look would let you see clear through to all the organs, bones and blood vessels. Fortunately, that see-through look won't last much longer. What's been playing on your little rocker's stereo system these days? All kinds of sounds can be heard by your baby in your womb: air exhaling from your lungs (deep breath now), those gastric gurgles produced by your stomach and intestines, your voice and your partner's (which your baby will be able to recognize at birth) and even very loud sounds such as honking horns, barking dogs or a wailing fire truck.

It happened. I missed a week of blogging. Most of you probably didn't notice so let's just brush right past like it never happened. And to think I left week 22 on a bit of a cliff hanger too!

I ended the last post by telling you that one of my favourite moments happened during week 23. During week 23, baby girl kicks started to get real! It was no longer indistinguishable flutters but more "Hey momma, I'm here!" wiggles. I loved it! I was endlessly trying to call Thor over to feel the kicks only to have baby go still the second he put his hand on my belly. The Saturday of week 23, we were running errands in his truck and I felt our lil girl starting to get her groove on. I put Thors hand on my belly and not long after, baby girl gave a huge kick right into his palm! The look on Thor's face was one of the sweetest moments ever. He didn't take his hand off my belly the rest of the drive (even though the truck is a manual), and was already proclaiming our child the strongest baby and best kicker that has ever been created. hehe. Since then, Thor has been pretty hands on with the bump and he tells any friends or acquaintances that we cross path with that they should "touch the baby!". I have had to tell his weight room buddies not to feel pressured, they don't actually need to rub my Buddha belly if they don't want to.

Things have been going smoothly the last couple of weeks. I did finish up my gardening projects in time for Thor's family to come into town and we had a great time playing with them! Cousin Hailie and Aunt Tiffanie both got to feel baby kicks! We were able to enjoy a hike on Tubbs Hill, boating on Hayden lake and paddle boarding on Lake Coeur d'Alene. Other than complaints that the water in North Idaho is colder than the waters in Florida, I think they all enjoyed their visit. 

Weight Gain: 15 lbs and counting.... growing everyday! 

Cravings: Sweets - chocolate and fruit baby! Loving corn on the cob this summer.

Sleep: Still sleeping well with occasional afternoon naps. Since Im a side-sleeper, the weight of my torso is now putting my arms to sleep in the night and waking me up in the middle of the night... but its a minor inconvenience. 

Exercise: Still teaching RIP and Zumba, still climbing Canfield, although I take the switch backs now instead of the straight up trail. Weights and cardio, but I have not felt like going on a run in awhile... 

Dads thoughts: Keeps saying things like, "I just want the baby to be here already!" 

Mums thoughts: This is going too fast! I really really need to get a crib and a carseat and diapers and...... 

Week 22

Baby is the size of a Coconut!

Baby’s Got Eyelashes and Eyebrows
Guess what? At 22 weeks pregnant, your baby (who’s about the size of a small doll) has finally broken the one-pound mark. How heavy is that? Hold a one-pound box of sugar in your hand the next time you're in the grocery story (and expect people to ask you why you're grinning from ear to ear). Is the box eight inches long? That's about the length your baby is too! Your little doll’s eyelashes and eyebrows are also well formed now — and even more hair is sprouting atop that cute little head. You'd be quite surprised, though, if you could see your little one up close and in color. Hair at this stage of fetal development has no pigment, so it's bright white.

Baby’s Developing Grip, Vision and Hearing. This week, your sweetie is making more sense of the world as he or she develops the sense of touch. In fact, your little one's grip is quite developed — and since there's nothing else to grab in utero, he or she may sometimes hold on tight to that umbilical cord (don't worry — it's tough enough to handle it). The sense of sight is also getting more developed. Your fetus can now perceive light and dark much better than before (even with those fused eyelids). But remember — unless you're shining a flashlight over your belly (which you can do, by the way), it'll be mostly dark for your baby inside that cozy womb of yours. She can also hear your voice, your heartbeat, your gurgling stomach and the whoosh-whoosh of blood circulating through your body.

The word of the week is yard work. Wait, that's two words- blame it on the pregnancy brain! Anyone who has seen my Facebook posts knows that I have spent the last week attempting to turn my yard from a weed infested, overgrown jungle into a serene space that we want to spend time in with family and friends. The work is not over yet (is it ever?), but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and no longer feel a sense of overwhelming stress and doom when I think about the yard. I know, that sounds dramatic, but items such as new bark and serious de-weeding have been on the to-do list for YEARS! I am so thankful for my friend Melissa who really helped me dig in and get started on the de-weeding of the island- without that boost at the the beginning of the week, I'm not sure the rest of the progress would have happened. One of the most entertaining aspects of this project was showing up at the dump and the landscaping site as a 22 week pregnant female, covered in dirt. I got more that a few sideways glances, but I've always liked to make an impression!

I had to include some before and afters of the yard work so that baby girl can see what we were up to one day:

                            

We did enjoy a nice heat wave here in North Idaho, with temperatures rising to the mid-90's. Luckily for us, we are surrounded by beautiful lakes to go take a dip and relax! I was able to meet some girlfriends for an afternoon at the beach and paddle boarding this past Sunday. It was my first time wearing a swimsuit this year, but I decided to just embrace the stares and go for it! I did make the mistake of looking at my back with a hand mirror though.... Apparently my back is trying to keep up with the bump! I have rolls! My sweet friends tell me it is to help balance out the weight and make extra skin. Whatever is happening, we have a new family rule.... no hand mirrors for a year!

Finally, I did have a doc check up towards the end of the week. I am happy to report that it was completely boring and took all of 10 minutes. Apparently they are happy with my weight and back rolls, blood pressure is great, fetal heart beat was strong, see you in 4 weeks!

I don't want to give any spoilers, but I can tell you that one of my favorite pregnancy moments happened at the beginning of week 23, so make sure to check back in!

Week 21

Baby is the size of a Cantaloupe!

Your baby’s eyelids have finished forming this week, and he/she is very busy moving around and swallowing amniotic fluid. You most likely have felt your baby move by this time and have realized that he/she is not necessarily on the same schedule that you are.

As your baby swallows amniotic fluid, the digestive tract is continuing to mature. Your baby is also receiving some of the caloric intake from the amniotic fluid and can taste what mum is eating!

The bump is growing! I swear it changes on the daily now and I am starting to get those knowing smiles from strangers. While a lot of the pregnancy attention is very kind and sweet and welcomed, I have already experienced some strange things that people say to pregnant ladies.  One tip for anyone talking to a expectant mother, do not venture your guess as to how far along she is. Unless she is at a fair and paying a Carnie to guess her weight, you should never venture guesses at any women's numbers - age, weight, or months along in pregnancy. It never ends well, and if you are the type of person who is bold enough to make such guesses, you are probably not as smart as you think you are and therefore, you will be wrong.

Thor has been very amused by the growing bump and I love seeing how much attention he pays to it. My belly has never had so many kisses! It is not all sugar though... the other day we were discussing Thor's friends coming out for a visit and potentially taking the families to Silverwood- our conversation went a little like this:

Samantha: That will be so much fun! I probably can't ride any roller coasters or water slides though so I will have to spend a lot of time floating around the lazy river.

Thor: The kids will be saying, 'Hey this place is great.  They even have whales.'

Don't worry I gave him a dirty look, and then laughed of course because it is a funny image! To be honest my silhouette shocks me when I walk past a mirror, so I really can't blame him for trying to wrap his head around the growing bump.

This past week has been fairly uneventful. I am working on getting the garden up to par and starting to fall into a schedule for house cleaning. I have also been running errands for Thor since I am working less and have had to make several trips into Spokane. Turns out, I'm a bit of a whiz and changing locks - who knew! It is amazing how quick the days go when you are just buzzing between different errands!

 I attended another yoga class this week and am slowly learning how to modify movements to accommodate the bump - this experience will certainly make me a better trainer and instructor for other mommas in the future. I also did a group training workout today and it felt great until the very end when I got a little light headed. Might be time to start taking more little breathers and really watching my heart rate during those more challenging workout sessions.

I feel tiny little flutters of baby girl occasionally, but still not as consistently as I would like. I think it will be very reassuring to me of her well-being when she can give me a big jab in the ribs from time to time!

I'm afraid I don't have any pictures from this week... I need to get better about taking those bump shots - especially since there is a definite growth spurt going on! It is incredible to think that our lil' love bug weighs about 1 pound right now and in the next 18 weeks she will weight about 7 pounds!  I'm not sure my belly can expand 7X its current size- hopefully that is NOT how it works...