25 Weeks Pregnant

The Belly:
It measures about a half inch bigger by the end of the week.
I feel official. Like no one would second guess I'm pregnant at this point. Not saying they wouldn't have figured it out, like last week or something. But I just mentally feel, physically official now. Perhaps its the pregnant swagger I'm starting to strut.

Just got back from swimming laps = wet hair.

(Edited in on 11/15/12: So, my "What to wear while pregnant" post went viral and now everyone seems to be clicking on this post to, basically see who I am. Who knew that this {likely one of the worst of my weekly pregnancy photos} would be looked at by so many people. Ha! Totally humbling! 

Thanks for stopping by, please don't put too much stock in the fact that I posted a "How to look awesome post" and then immediately look pretty much like a total mess (pajama-like dress, wet hair, no makeup!) in the post you clicked on. lol. I'm so loving this pinch of humiliation. :) 

To be honest with you, I didn't try very hard to get my fashion-act together with this pregnancy. I spent it studying pregnancy, and nutrition, and exercises, and all things VBAC. My first daughter was born VIA c-section after an induction, and my heart's cry was for a natural VBAC this time.

I really dove in hard after the answers I needed.

I did go on to have a really great VBAC with an amazing care team.

I learned a LOT of things I wish I had known the first time and I share them all along the way about all sorts of things.

I really hope you will look into my "Healthy Pregnancy" section (up in the tab on the top right) because I'd love it if you could benefit from it in any way, and have an awesome pregnancy and delivery.

*And just so you know, I've now experience the gambit of birthing styles, so it is the furthest thing from my heart to make anyone feel pressure or guilt in regards to how their baby is born -- becoming a mother is amazing no matter what!*

Anyway, If we have more babies, then I'll try to be one of those awesomely trendy-cool pretty mommas. Give me some time (my baby is four months old), I might be back, fashion people! ;) )

My belly button tried to pop this week. The top of it stuck out all funny. (I was seriously surprised, because my belly button never ended up popping last time.) But then it went away. I guess someone was pressing on it for a while. But its been feeling really shallow for at least a month now. So maybe I'm in for an outie this time around. We'll see.

Side note, the hips have grown another inch. For a grand total of 3 inches for baby.

"Beebee"

(Her Pjs are hilarious, they are very saggy! And she is wearing her black patent dress up shoes, that she pairs with everything!)

Physically:
I feel much better this week than last. The occasional round ligament ouch, and the random hip pain upon standing sometimes. But overall I'm not anywhere near as achey. I think its due to not being sick (finally!) and also being a lot more aware of how and how often I am lifting J.
Rolling over in bed is starting to feel like a chore. And to be honest that freaks me out, cause I know I have a long way to go.
My feet swelled for the first time this week. I just sat still for too long. But it was really funny because I was sitting there kinda just thinking "hmm something seems different." Then when I got up, it felt even more unusual. When I looked down and saw my chubby toes, I said out loud with total revelation, "Ooohhhh!" and Blake was like "what!?" and I tried to explain the very surprising realization that I was pregnant and my feet are big.
The only really rough thing this week was: for some reason, early (3am) Sunday morning I was woken up by some terrible indigestion and immediate need for the bathroom. I don't think it was what I ate, just a random pregnant thing. That happened to me a couple times with J too. But it was usually after eating something greasy. And I didn't have anything greasy this time. hmm. I didn't really feel recovered from that until around noon on Sunday.

Food:
I don't feel overly hungry at this point.
I keep doing the thing where nothing sounds good so I put off eating for a while, and then I get to the point where I HAVE to eat because now I have not eaten for too long, and then I panic because I extra don't want to eat anything because in this state everything sounds gross. Its frustrating.

Baby:
She's getting really strong. Monday night I felt her the most I've ever felt her. That feeling where you think she might be able to burst her way out. I had Blake feel her and he was like "woah" --- for at least 20 mins straight.
Got the official word Monday morning that she is, in fact, head down! Yay! I can't even express to you the sweet rush of relief that swept over me at the moment.
I had been thinking that's how all her movements felt to me. But I needed to know for sure, so that I have no less thing to worry over during this pregnancy.
And we are measuring on track with uterus size.
So good news all around.

J: 

She's started saying "Help you" (sounds like hep-pu) whenever she wants some help with something, or when she wants to help you with something. 

And when she pulls on me and I say, "Do you want me to come with?" She replies, "Me." (meaning: You, Mommy.)

So basically her "you's and me's" are not so correct. :) I think its adorable.

When we microwave her food, we count down for her, so she knows its almost done. So now whenever the microwave is on she can be heard saying, very excitedly, things like, "Eigh, twelve, teeteen, teeteen, teeteen, ten, three." Followed by "All done!" and clapping when it beeps. :) 

She's been rediscovering blowing raspberries, and cracking herself up. She'll just start doing it and then burst out laughing, and then do it all over again... over and over.

She's been getting really good at singing. She's getting the words right to lots of songs. And she's even working on her pitch. You can hear her, she moves the note until she is sure its right, and it is. I'm quite impressed.

This may sound silly, but I've been really excited this week because she's started consistently feeding herself. Like scooping the food herself and putting it into her mouth without any help. I know that's like light years behind most kids, but J's just had a way of taking her time getting into food and all of its surrounding details. Up until this point she would mainly ask for help with everything, even though I knew she had the skills. This week she's finally wanting to do it on her own. And wow, does that make things simpler for me. I can actually get the dishes done while she's in the chair, or eat my own food! Its so nice!

Just got a bunch of goodies in the mail from Granana. Including a Tinkerbell doll and night gown! Her own necklace. A new headband. Doesn't get much better than that!

Here she is trying to put Tinkerbell's shoes on her feet!

Emotionally:
     Had a total freak out fest again, like on Wednesday or Thursday. I just was dying to get the interview done with this provider so I could have some semblance of settledness. And Friday was a really long wait for me. So I freaked out about everything, across the board.
     The interview went really well. She put me at ease, and seemed to really understand what happened last time with my overdue-ness and labor and delivery with J. She had some wonderful suggestions for this time around. And seemed really capable, as well as trustworthy in the way of not taking risks.
So I made my official appointment with her for Monday to get my care started. (Which is the appointment I was referring to when I said I learned the baby's head down.) It went really well, and she was even more personable at this appointment.
     But then I left the appointment with a new emotional dilemma.
I'm not sure how to work out going to all these appointments while simultaneously taking care of J.
I have the ever mounting number of prenatal visits coming up (they get more frequent as the due date gets closer.) Plus I was referred to a chiropractor to help with pelvis alignment and good baby positioning. And I was recommended to a 12 week birth education class. (I'm not positive about the classes yet, but I am sold on the Chiropractor.)
     So I have all these places to be, and I don't have anyone to watch J for any of this.
So far Blake has come with me to the prenatal check ups so he can keep her corralled. I think I would be ok to bring J with me, even if he wasn't able to come. And my mom thinks I could get away with bringing her with to the chiropractor because those visits are quick. But its so much harder to focus, and I get so much more exhausted (and sweaty!) from it all, if I'm trying to be mentally present at the appointment and make sure J is behaving and have no help. Not to mention the fact that everything is 45 mins away. (Before we moved here, we were told you can find anything in Ames. We have found that to be basically totally inaccurate.  I knew that would be the case for this pregnancy and my VBAC hopeful self, but I didn't realize how far 45 mins, one way, would feel with a toddler in tow. And just how many trips that would equal.)
If I were to take those classes, I would certainly need a babysitter, I don't see how we could bring a busy toddler to a "learn how to get through labor" type setting made up of mostly first time moms.
So who's gonna watch my girl?
It'd make it easier if I was less up-tight about letting people watch her. But seriously, so far, I've had my mom close enough to do it, so I've never had to leave her with anyone but family. It feels so hard for me to be comfortable enough to leave her with anyone else. And it feels equally as hard to meet anyone here in Iowa. Its really hard to make a toddler's sleep schedule match up with anything, so getting to social type settings is really hard. Not to mention the fact that we were sick pretty much our whole first month here. So basically I don't know anyone.
Sigh.
     So yeah, I kinda freaked out again today. Because I just don't like being new any more. And it just seems so daunting to get through this pregnancy alone.