Pumpkin: Weeks 26 & 27

March 9th - March 22nd

How I Look
It seems like I look about the same. From my perspective (looking down) I feel a little bit huge.. but thank goodness for the perspective of pictures :). I'm gaining weight a little more quickly than I had been, or so the scale says, but I don't feel it too much. Oh, and that hair thing.. never mind. I'm still shedding. And I'm okay with that.

How I Feel
Uncomfortable, but getting better. There was a stretch in there where my back hurt no matter what I did or didn't do and it was hard to get comfortable in any situation, sitting standing or laying. I can remember a friend saying this when she was about at this point and so I had hope that maybe it was just an adjustment phase. I'm sure there's more discomfort to come, but for now it's gotten a little better. My back doesn't hurt as bad. I'm watching my posture better, which I think is helping, and I'm not doing things that I know will tweak my back (vacuuming, lifting heavy things, carrying too many things on one side of my body etc). Hopefully Blake will pick up with the vacuuming!

What I Feel
I still feel our little sweet P being a wiggle worm. She tends to lay sideways and face inward so her little nudges and kicks aren't as visible but kind of tickle more. She does still squirm and move around, so sometimes she's facing outward and she gives us a show. Last weekend she was really active and Blake leaned down to listen to her and talk to her and she kicked him right in the ear! The next day we were sitting on the couch and she was kicking away when suddenly you could see her little foot coming out of my belly. You could feel the bones of her heel and practically count her toes! It was crazy! She did it several times in a row too, so both of us got to see and feel it. I also still feel Braxton Hicks pretty consistently, especially in the evening. I assume those aren't going away any time soon.

What I Am Doing
Complaining. Oh, did I admit that publicly? For shame.Unfortunately, it's true and Blake hears the most of it. I do try to keep the perspective that in general I've had a very easy pregnancy, and really I don't have much to complain about (except, man I'm telling you... that sciatica pain is killer). I do think that the more positive I keep my attitude the better I feel, so I try not to get caught up in the complaining too much.. but I'll admit that last week it got the better of me! I'm also seriously craving sweets - which I satisfy by eating tons and tons of fruit (maybe this is part of the extra weight gain?). I also gave into a craving for carrot cake that's been hanging around for weeks... it was delicious! I read something about cravings that, sweet or not, your body might just be saying, "I'm hungry!" and you should eat more protein in your snacks to keep your body feeling full longer. I've been trying that and I think maybe there's some truth to it, but I think I also just really love any excuse to eat fruit.

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When the Evening Comes

Lately I've been waking up with a song in my head. You might have heard the popular Christian/worship song by Matt Redman, 10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord). It's one of those songs that instantly realigns my heart, even if it's been overplayed on the radio and sung at church for months. I love it. I have loved it since I first heard it awhile ago, but it's recently come back around and plays through my head when I wake up. Specifically this verse:

The sun comes up, it's a new day dawning
It's time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

It's that last lyric that really sticks with me as I go about my morning routine. It's my prayer for the day as I close my Bible (app). I can have a wonderful time with the Lord in the morning, but by the time I find myself crawling back into bed at night I look back at the day and know that it didn't end how it started. Sometime between my shower and logging in on my computer at work I get distracted by the routine and to do list.

It's been my struggle lately. Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, those things become the focus of my day and steer my attitude, instead of the focus of worship I started out with. How can I change this, how do I keep my focus on the Lord instead of being consumed by the task at hand? How do I change my habits and remember to make work about the Lord in an environment that prohibits any trace of Him?

I don't have answers, but I do have a Father who knows what I need and is helping me grow. So my prayer remains: Let me be singing when the evening comes.

Pumpkin: Weeks 24 & 25

February 23 - March 8

It seems like every week up to 20 weeks took forever, but now it seems like every week after 20 has gone by so quickly!

How I Look
Still growing but I do feel like I'm staving off the 'beached whale' look for now. Oddly enough, my perceptions have change. While I'm still surprised when strangers publicly acknowledge my pregnancy, others clearly think it safe to risk the comments. When I walk past a class lined up in the hall I hear them exclaim, "Did you see that lady!? She's going to have a baby!" "What, where?!" "I saw her!" "Ohh, that lady is going to have a baby! I bet it's a [insert gender]!"  Cracks me up. When I made a comment about being surprised that strangers boldly ask about my pregnancy, people generally respond with: "um ya, have you seen yourself in the mirror lately!?". I don't know why I still feel like there might be a question (e.g., maybe she's just fat).. but other people sure seem to all agree that there is no questioning what's going on in my abdomen. It's a baby.

I'm belaboring the 'how I look' section but this is something I always wondered before I was pregnant, so I'm making a note of it now in case I forget later or in case someone has the same question and happens to stumble upon this blog post. I always wondered what happens to your pre-pregnancy fat when you get pregnant. Does it disappear (I wish), does it get spread out, does it hang out at the bottom of the bump etc. In my experience, (although still within the normal BMI range prior to pregnancy) I had a good 10 lbs of fat I would have liked to lose before getting pregnant (I did lose some.. but not all of it). At first it stayed put and just got pushed out. This caused me to not take any pre-bump pictures because I kind of looked like I would in a few weeks, except at that point it was just fat... I regret not taking them anyway. As my pregnancy has progressed, I've found that the fat really has stayed evenly distributed across my bump, similar to its disbursement prior to getting pregnant (i.e., a little more toward my lower abs, less toward the top, a little on the sides). At any given point, regardless of how hard my belly gets (it varies) I can still pinch a little bit of fat. As my bump grows, it does seem to continue to spread out, again, with a similar disbursement. I'm guessing that once I'm full term, it will all be spread pretty thin (assuming I don't add too much to it) and it will be harder to get enough to pinch.

How I Feel
Great! These weeks I've truly felt great! On two occasions I overdid things (e.g., stood in the kitchen baking too long, tried to move heavy things, vacuuming etc.), which definitely brings on sciatica (shooting pain down my bottom and legs) and Braxton Hicks. I also notice an increase in Braxton Hicks contractions when I'm not drinking enough water. The contractions are still painless, just noticeable and kind of annoying. I also have more energy lately (most of the time) and have gotten some things crossed off the to do list. Additionally, I'm getting pretty excited as we get into more baby prep and talking about baby showers etc!

What I Feel
It's fun to start to figure out/guessing which parts of her are moving and what makes her move. I also realized that a certain movement is hiccups! Funny :). I say this every week but man she is getting so strong! That's about it really, just that Pumpkin girl getting her grove on!

What We're Doing
Shopping! We've done some practical shopping and some not-so-practical shopping :). We had SO much fun (and when I say we, I truly mean we. Blake is more of a sucker for cute baby girl clothes than I am!) going through Baby Gap with some friends last weekend. They are having a boy, and I'm sure they are saving a ton of money doing so! I know, I know.. don't buy yourself clothes, everyone will give you more clothes than you can handle but if you saw the adorable soft pinks and creams in the Peter Rabbit line for Baby Gap, you'd have taken advantage of the sale too. We also received our first major gift from Blake's dad. He bought us some major nursery furniture which includes a dresser/changing table, co-sleeper/portable crib and full-sized crib. We've had so much fun putting things together and rearranging our room (again, I say honestly, we are having fun doing it, even if Blake is doing all the heavy lifting) ;). I got our closet organized and it's ready for more baby clothes as is the dresser! We are just converting a corner of our master bedroom into a nursery, and she'll sleep next to our bed for quite a while, so we might not actually set up the crib until she needs it. But it's so fun to see things coming together and to have a little space that is dedicated 'baby'.

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