23 Weeks Pregnant

Supposedly I’ve hit the 6 month mark? But doesn’t 24 weeks equal six months? So wouldn’t it be next week???

Baby Growth: This week Blitzen weighs in at a little over a pound and is measuring more than 11 inches long (the size of a large mango). Supposedly if I was a dancer (which I’m not) Blitzen would be able to feel me dancing. He or she is able to hear loud sounds and it’s a great time to make lots of noise as the baby will be used to those sounds at birth. Also if I watch my stomach during movement I may be able to see Blitzen moving around! I gotta look for that this week for sure!

Belly Picture: Zach asked me this morning how far along I am and I said “hold on lemmie see my sticker” Seriously, these things are the only way I know each Friday where I’m at in this pregnancy! I really enjoy having the weekly picture and can’t wait to see the transition from beginning of my pregnancy to the end (along with the facebook album I’ll do a blog entry of all the pictures after Blitzen is born!). 

 At this point ya’ll are probably thinking I purposefully wear Stella and Dot stuff on Fridays but it’s just been a coincidence the past couple of weeks! Today I’m wearing my Birds of Paradise Necklace, Sunset Bangle, and Marchesa Studs

Symptoms: I doubt my feeling pregnant symptom will be changing anytime soon huh? πŸ˜‰ With Kye starting school this week it was an emotional one for me (post to come, I’m almost caught up!) and a busy one as I’m trying to maximize my free time. I have a pre-nesting itch where I just want to ORGANIZE. Not clean. Not straighten…organize. I bought a bunch of storage tubs (in the dollar bin at Target – um SCORE) today and I have this need to go through all of Kye’s toys. I want to pick out the baby ones and make sure they are clean with fresh batteries and rearrange all of that stuff to make them easier to get to. It’s a random thing to feel so passionately about doing but I hardcore want to. I really want Zach and I to put together the bookshelf we bought for the baby’s closet too so I can go through Kye’s old books!

I’ve had muliple headaches this week. I also haven’t had more than 7 hours of sleep in ages. I know that’s bad…but I have SO much to get done! Plus it’s Big Brother season so we have a lot of tv watching to do πŸ˜‰ I’ve noticed my skin is drier and I’ve been loading up my feet with lotion and sleeping in socks at night to keep them moist. Very random!

I went into Victoria’s Secret to get some underwear and asked the girl for the cheapest ones and she started showing me all these cute styles and saying things like “these look so great on.” I finally had to stop her and tell her that I’m pregnant. She still didn’t get it and I told her that I can’t even see my privates, I really don’t care how cute the panties are or how “great” they look on – I just want comfort! I’m at that point with things where comfort is key.

We’ve gotten a little better at doing Bradley stuff and I’m straight up SORE. Squats kill me! I’m also working out my arms this time and I’m hoping it’ll help them not be pure jelly after labor πŸ˜‰

Weight: I honestly thought I’ve gained 4 lbs this week. It was Zach’s birthday on Sunday and I made him a cake plus Mom bought him one and Mrs. Charlotte made one…we ate so much cake. It was delicious but eating that much junk made me go into “pregnant girl mode.” I ate what I wanted, when I wanted and didn’t even think twice about it. It’s exactly how I was last pregnancy. Last night I realized that it has to STOP so I put an entire cake (1/2 of the one I made and 1/2 the one Mom got him) down our garbage disposal!!! And I turned down the cake Casey made last night for Jordan’s birthday. I gotta stay on track πŸ˜‰ 

When I weighed myself this morning I was surprised…I’ve only gained 1 lb (close to 1 1/2 but I’m gonna try to stick with whole numbers for this)! I’m sitting at a total of 4 lbs gained which is GREAT for 23 weeks don’t you think? I’m pretty proud of myself especially since a book I have says the average weight gain at this point is between 12 and 15 lbs! I wanna keep this thing going good πŸ™‚

Gender: At church on Sunday a friend of mine told me about some trick you can do on your wrist with a necklace and she did it on me and it showed boy first (for kye, it went back and forth) then stopped then went in a circle for this baby which I guess is supposed to mean girl? I need to google it b/c I love fun tricks like that πŸ™‚  I went to the first kids sale of the season this week too and am jealous of all my friends buying up all the cute girls clothes, today at Hobby Lobby I saw all kinds of cute pink stuff that would look good in the nursery! Guess we’ll see πŸ˜‰

Maternity Clothes: I know I said last week that this would prob be the week but it wasn’t. I did go through and try on the pants Kelly let me borrow and my old stuff and some of it is HUGE still. Shirts I was wearing at this stage last time are still mega big so I’m sticking with normal clothes for now. Whenever I find stuff mega on sale I always buy bigger sizes for when I’m pregnant and, especially, for after I have the baby so I’m wearing those tops now (larges instead of mediums or mediums that fit very loose).

Movement: It’s SO strong. Last night Zach couldn’t get over it! I had Kye feel it for the first time yesterday. We were laying in his bed after nap and I put his hand and said “you can feel the baby move.” He felt it and immediately sat up, lifted up my shirt, and said “I wanna see it!!!” When I asked if he wanted to feel again he said a quick no. I think it kinda freaked him out. You should have seen how wide his eyes got when I told him he lived in Mommy’s belly too when he was a baby…

Sleep: Need LOTS more of it!!! I’ll sleep when I’m dead right?

Cravings: Cake. Cake. Cake. Glad it’s GONE!!!

What I Miss: Wearing clothes and looking cute in them. I already see “old” pictures of myself from a few months ago and long to look that way again!

Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Kye feeling Blitzen move for the firs time. Finding out that Zach earned us a BIG upgrade on the Hawaii trip! We get an extra night’s stay, plus extra spending money, plus free spa treatments. I can’t WAIT for our trip – it’s going to be SO fun and neither of us are the least bit upset about the whole Mediterranean thing!

Questions/Concerns: At the kids sale I got to talking to other moms (my standard thing at those sales haha) and a couple of them have multiple kids so I asked them for stroller tips. They said hands down to spend the money and get a Combi. That it’s the easiest to fold up, to get in and out of the car, to fit in smaller storage spaces (like when we travel), and the easiest to fit through doorways. They both said I’d be happier with it than with a sit and stand or with a standard double stroller. I do think I’ll also want a jogging one though for walks? I looked at the Combi and am a little concerned with the lack of cup holders and storage space. Does anyone else have one??? Any advice???? I need to get going on registering so any tips on that kind of thing would be great!

Goals for the Week: Do Bradley – EVERY NIGHT. Get the dogs under control (they have been waking us up multiple times at night to go outside or for us to pick them up to put them on the bed AND Levi has gained weight randomly so we need to get that back on track and our cat has been on a hairball puke streak that I’m ready to end). Register for Blitzen. 

Notes from Pregnancy #1: During this point in my pregnancy last time I felt concerned that Zach and I would lose our “us time” and we decided we’d go on a date every Monday night. All you parents are laughing right? You KNOW that doesn’t happen!!! We started to plan our baby moon and didn’t take it until the 3rd trimester. We won’t be having one this time probably since we’re going to Hawaii, I think that counts πŸ˜‰ Although we may do something small just for a night so we can celebrate our Christmas together…if Blitzen waits long enough to arrive!

I could feel “Clover” moving mostly at night and early in the morning and I missed my old boobs the most πŸ˜‰ I was shocked at how much they changed with pregnancy, thought they looked nasty, and was scared they wouldn’t go back to normal. Guess what? They didn’t. During this week last pregnancy I had a fever and drove home from our business trip to Atlanta feeling sick but had to turn around and get everything together for a camping trip we had planned with some friends. Camping!!! I can’t believe I was camping at this stage in pregnancy. I was an idiot! I had a pretty miserable trip and felt very left out b/c I couldn’t do much being pregnant. The day we got back I had a big breakdown and was mega depressed then had to get in the car and drive to Alabama on my own to meet Zach for another business trip. I guess I was just as busy then as I am now huh? I think it’s a common theme in my life…no matter what stage I’m in πŸ˜‰ I REALLY enjoyed the Alabama trip though b/c I got to relax, watch movies, sit in the tub, etc. I’d love another one of those trips right now for sure!

Emily Parker

4 Comments

  1. Amy Darley
    August 12, 2011 / 8:16 pm

    haha, I like your victoria's secret story! I know exactly what you mean πŸ™‚ That's so cool that Kye got to feel Blitzen move!! It seems like your pregnancy is going so fast… I know probably not to you though.

  2. Rachael_Copponex
    August 12, 2011 / 8:45 pm

    Good news about the combi that's the one I have! Never got to use it πŸ™

  3. Forddygirl
    August 13, 2011 / 12:25 am

    Your little rant about your animals had me laughing hysterically πŸ™‚ thanks! hehehe….And you look SUPER cute preggo from the front now, too! YAY!

  4. Christi
    August 13, 2011 / 12:43 am

    I would go and try strollers out…our combi felt fragile too me. Β i know that there are some high end double strollers that moms are raving about city select, etc…but I don't know about them. Β I've heard great things about the maclarens too.

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