25 Weeks

Snoogle Maternity Pillow being enjoyed by Maddie

Since my last post I invested in a Snoogle pillow which is basically an oversized body pillow with weird curves on it that are supposed to make you sleep easier in a pregnant body. I thought my side sleeping with a heavy belly is what has been causing my back and hip pain. Apparently, I was wrong. I’ve been informed that my nagging “hip” pain, that is really in my love handle area on my back is actually due to my sciatic nerve. And boy does it suck. Not only has my walk evolved into something similar to that of Lieutenant Dan, my jog is non-existent. Because the dull pain is always there, sometimes I forget about it and attempt a jog, usually going after Maddie, and immediately get a shooting pain that stops me in my tracks and forces me to grasp my lower back with such drama that I should probably be cast in an AARP commercial. Luckily, my good friend Bekah is the one who alerted me that my pain is not from sleeping in a weird position and is because of this big nerve that runs down your back to your toes. The only way to ease the pain is to do physical therapy, which in my case will be provided by Youtube videos of stretches specific to sciatica. I’m hoping I find a bit of relief soon because this is seriously disrupting my sleep and general ability to get around comfortably and not at a snail’s pace. Also, it makes my butt numb.

On the positive side of happenings, my Mom was nice enough to get me an early birthday present in the form of fall maternity clothes, yay! I was most excited to order the coveted Gap Maternity Jean. I had heard great things about them but couldn’t pull the trigger with the $70 price tag, I’m more of a $40 and below kinda girl when it comes to jean purchasing. I have tried on countless pairs of maternity jeans and 9 out of 10 leave you with a crotch that either looks ten times it’s normal size with a convenient “v” wrinkle showcasing its hugeness or an equally flattering camel toe. Couple this with your new mile long and double wide ass cheeks. Up until now I had been rocking my Old Navy skinnies which were comfortable and provided me with a normal looking tush. The only complaint I had was the full tummy panel was too tight and the demi-panel (that I have) cuts my belly in a weird spot that makes me look like I’m carrying a cone head baby. Fast forward to me receiving my Gap jeans in the mail (eek!), I ordered my pre-pregnancy size and they fit perfectly! Normal butt + normal crotch + non-pointy belly = success!

Gap Jeans + Old Navy Maternity Top

I had an ultrasound this morning (officially my last with the specialist!) and our baby has continued on with her beastly growth pattern. According to a few baby websites a fetus at 25 weeks should weigh about 1.5 pounds. Our girl weighs over 2 pounds which is the supposed normal weight (according to babycenter.com) of a fetus between 27-28 weeks. Our friends like to theorize that it’s because I eat so many eggs. Basically our baby is protein loading and pumping iron in there. Seriously though, Michael decided to stop the excessive trips to the grocery store and bought me two 18-packs of eggs recently, I only have three left.
That’s all the ultra exciting news over here! I had better get to my school work and I’ll leave you with some updated stats. I switched up the questionnaire a bit just because I liked the wording better, but its basically the same. Enjoy!

How far along? 25 weeks, 3 days
How big is baby? Just over 2 pounds, about 14 inches long. According to the fruit/veggie comparison she’s a cauliflower.
Miss Anything? I really miss sleeping through the night and not lying awake in pain.
Movement: She is moving all the time, her kicks are strong enough to startle me and get uncomfortable sometimes. Especially the rib shots.
Food cravings: Root Beer, mint chocolate chip ice cream
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing
Gender: Girl!
Labor Signs: No
Symptoms: Sciatic nerve pain, inability to hold down burps and trouble breathing because she is starting to crowd my abdomen.
Belly Button in or out? Still in
Wedding rings on or off? On, but a little tighter than normal.
Mood: Happy! Sometimes too happy; uncontrollable giggling and laughing so hard I cry.
Looking forward to:  Our baby girl’s friend (she just doesn’t know it yet) being born in the next month to six weeks!

The Best and the Worst

Amongst family and friends it’s been no secret that my pregnancy has been fairly easy. No morning sickness, mood swings, tearful outbursts or acne. I am really thankful to have avoided these common side effects while creating a human, so when I do experience discomfort I try not to be a drama queen about it. Too bad for you the non-complaining stops NOW.  I feel like I have to fill you in on something I am experiencing that I really didn’t expect from pregnancy: SHIN SPLINTS. They are killer. They popped up about two weeks ago and I’ve been googling remedies ever since. I knew from my past experience with exercise induced shin splints that a potassium boost usually helps. My body reminded me of that last week when I went to bed with shin pain, was rudely awakened by a viscous Charley Horse, and in the morning I was craving…raw salmon? Turning to trusty google taught me that raw salmon has about the same amount of potassium as a banana per 100 grams, about 360mg. Since raw salmon is a no-go for me and to get the most potassium bang for the buck, I made an awesome white bean (561mg per 100 g) dip and pretty much devoured the entirety of it. My shin splints and leg cramps went away for a good 4 or 5 days! Awesome! Not awesome is they’re back now because I don’t eat white bean dip everyday. I guess I’ll have to start force feeding myself bananas all the time, does it still count if they’re in the form of banana bread with chocolate chips?

Now that we’ve got all the complaining out of the way, let’s talk about the BEST of this best and worst post. Now that I’m six months along I wanted to share some of my favorite things for me and baby I’ve found so far.

IN LOVE with the Britax B-Agile Stroller in Peacock

Best for Baby
Last week I put a stroller/carseat combination on our registry…. for the third time. I swear this is finally the one! I really don’t think I’ll change it again because this stroller is so awesome. I originally had the Chicco Cortina + KeyFit carseat, but then after falling in love with the easy maneuverability and lightweight frame, I switched to the Mamas and Papas Sola stroller paired with a Graco carseat. I made that switch without Michael having the opportunity to test-drive the stroller, but dragged him to Babies ‘R Us this past weekend to hopefully seal the deal. Instead of him falling deeply in love with the bright purple Sola stroller as I did, he wasn’t so impressed with the $399 price tag coupled with the fact that we’d have to get an adapter just so the Graco carseat, which wasn’t our first choice, would fit (the Sola stroller only has an adapter for Graco seats and two other international brands). Luckily I spotted a stroller that had a similar styling as the purple Sola and was almost just as lightweight! The Britax B-Agile paired with a B-Safe infant carseat of the same brand. After pushing all the wrong buttons and lifting levers for about 15 clueless minutes, we finally figured out just how easy it is to click the matching carseat in and out, and also how to use the one-handed folding feature on the stroller. I was sold on the fold, Michael was sold on the convenience. To make the travel system even more of a match made in heaven, I found the stroller in turquoise on Amazon! My favorite color + gender neutrality for a possible baby boy in the future. Success!

Best for Me
Recently I had to go without my beloved Mama Mio Tummy Rub Oil for a couple days and it made me realize just how much I cherish that tiny bottle of goodness. Seriously, it’s become like a drug. I didn’t realize how addicted I’ve become to it until I was forced to be without it since I forgot to order a new bottle until it was too late. Luckily I have Amazon Prime so I only had to suffer while using another oil for two days, but my skin was so itchy during those 48 hours! Nothing keeps my skin as hydrated as Mama Mio. I am six months into pregnancy now and do not have any signs of stretch marks. *Crossing fingers* my skin remains scar free, but I am feeling really confident that my combination of tummy oil + Palmer’s stretch mark cream is getting the job done. Although the oil is a bit pricey at $35 for 4oz, a little goes a long way. I just bought my second bottle of oil last week at 23 weeks pregnant and $70 to avoid dreaded stretch marks is well worth it for me!

Best for Everyone
Something that has kept Michael and I on an even-keel throughout my pregnancy so far is being equally involved in sharing decisions and feelings about the baby and everything that comes along with adding a new member to our family. It might sound obvious to some to have a partner involved in each aspect but sometimes it’s easy to assume that your fellow parent to be will have the same views or feelings as you and that’s not always the case. I encourage Michael to let me know if he feels overwhelmed or a little freaked out and let him know that I feel that way sometimes too! It’s not a bad thing to feel uncertain about taking on a task that you have never dealt with before and cannot truly be 100% prepared for. On his end, he has been really great about listening to my pros and cons for every stroller, swing, and carseat on the market and also being sensitive when I’m feeling really useless due to my inability to lift things over 20 pounds. We’ve been learning together and it’s been working great for us so far. 

Baby Bump Stats 

How far along? 6 months! Last month of second trimester!
How big is baby? I officially am carrying a cantaloupe, that is scary. 10.5-to-11.8-inches, weighs about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces
Total weight gain/loss: +16 pounds, I might stealthily delete this question from all future posts!
Maternity clothes? A bunch of new sweaters are coming in the mail! I’ve been successful at wearing loose, flowy summer tops but sweaters are a different story. Unless I want to look like a stuffed sausage with half my belly hanging out, maternity sweaters are the way to go!
Best moment this week: Crossing off a bunch of home projects off our before-baby-gets-here-list.
Movement: She’s been kicking the crap out of me this entire post writing session, I’ve jumped in surprise/pain 5+ times.
Food cravings: Root beer! We went to two stores the other day and they didn’t have my beloved Mug root beer, Michael was nice enough to pull off at a gas station to get me some.
Food Aversions: None
Gender: GIRL
Labor Signs: None
Pregnancy Symptoms: Shin splints, hip aches, back aches at night again.
Belly Button in or out: Innie
What I miss: Sleeping in any position I want, being able to take deep breaths while sitting down.
What I am looking forward to: Christmas! When all of our family will fly across the country to be with us! So stoked!
Upcoming appointments/events: 9/19- Ultrasound, 9/24- 26 week checkup