****I accidentally published this post last week — oops!! I thought I’d write a 25 week re-cap, and then didn’t get around to finishing it. Apparently I had too much faith in my finishing efforts and set the publish date to June 30th. So let’s try this again!

#babybrain

#whatamIgoingtoblameitonafterbabygetshere?

Good morning, friends!

Today marks 26 weeks of pregnancy.

20.5 wks vs 26 wks

I feel like every week is a milestone, but there’s also so much left to do, — and I want to savor this time! Who knows if I’ll ever get to experience it again.

Pregnancy seems to be a constant yin and yang; push and pull. There’s worry, and there’s elation. There’s planning for the future, and then there’s being snapped into the moment with a flurry of kicks.

Babymoon in San Diego

Last week, Shane and I were on our babymoon in San Diego. We enjoyed 5 days of perfect weather, beaches, delicious food, and that dreamy feel of just being on vacation.

But it didn’t start out sunshine and roses–

We first were nearly involved in a car accident on I5 going 70 miles per hour. The car directly in front of us was side swiped by the car to its left, and the result left it bouncing off the divider, straight toward our car. I yelped, “Shane!!” and he jumped over into the other lane, having it miss us by inches.

Thank God no one was in the lane next to us.

After recovering from that experience, we settled into our vacation rental for the night…only to wake up and discover it was infested with FLEAS.

FLEAS.

*shudder*

Long story short, we high tailed it out of there ASAP and into a new hotel, had all of our clothes cleaned, and lived the rest of the week happily ever after. Happy…and itchy.

I’ll spare you the pictures of the fleas (of which we took for evidence,) but here are some more pleasant pictures from the rest of our trip:

Updates

Since my brain is a bit all over the place, let’s just start with some updates!

24 Week Scan

A couple weeks ago, we had our “re-do” anatomy scan. At 20 weeks, the U/S tech couldn’t get a good head measurement, so we had to book another appointment for 24 weeks. (That US tech is no longer with the hospital….not sure what that means, lol.)

It was so good to be able to see her again, and it was crazy to see how much she’s grown in 4 weeks. She’d gained nearly a pound, and we could see her in even more detail.

She was measured at exactly 50th percentile, and clocked in at exactly 24 Weeks 0 Days, which is exactly what I was that day. We were very grateful to know she’s measuring as she should be.

Movements

I have been feeling her movements for almost 10 weeks now, but they’re becoming more and more regular and frequent. While I’m standing or sitting, she likes to hang out down low and kick me in my bladder (ha!) and while I’m lying down, she jabs me up above my belly button.

Braxton Hicks Contractions

Ugh. You guys. These SUCK. These started for me at week 18. They normally don’t start until 25+ weeks. Yes, it’s early.

They don’t hurt, but they are scary, and while they’re usually thought of as harmless, some research says they can soften and dilate the cervix, which is also scary. I want this baby to stay cooking until full term!

Basically, throughout the day, and especially at night, a part of my uterus contracts into a super tight, very hard little ball, stays like that for about 30 seconds, and then releases.

My doctor knows about it, and isn’t too concerned, but always tells me to take it easy. I’ve definitely decreased my activity level. It’s a bit of a bummer, but I’m also completely fine with it.

My volleyball season ends next week, but I think I’m calling it this week. Each week on Thursday I feel anxiety throughout the day, hoping that I’ll feel well to be able to play. But — I think the running and jumping it entails as a middle hitter is done for me for a while.

It doesn’t seem fair – or at least it doesn’t quite make sense – that for someone as active, healthy, and strong as I was before getting pregnant, to have to slow down SO much during pregnancy. After walking all day in SD last week, several of the days there was just quite a bit of pressure and discomfort that I just wanted to lie down.

I hope this doesn’t seem like I’m just complaining — I’m very thankful that I haven’t had any serious complications thus far, and want to completely respect my body. I’m grateful that I’m able to go on walks most days per week, and that I can still lift a few times a week as well.

That said, it seems like it’s much better on days where I don’t spend the majority of the day on my feet, so I might be trading in my long walks for more swimming in the upcoming weeks.

It’s also much better if I’m chugging water ALL day long. As such, my potty breaks have now increased from every 60 minutes to every 30 minutes 🙂

My Body

This belly just keeps on growing, and I continue to be amazed at the human body. I posted this picture on instagram as a “before/after” picture, but it’s really just astounding.

I’ve only gained around 6 pounds so far, but again, I’ve lost a bit of muscle, so that’s probably more around 10 pounds.

Training

As far as training goes, I’m lifting three times a week, was playing volleyball up until last week, and getting in a 30 minute walk 4-5 times a week. I’m excited to add/sub in swimming a few times throughout the week, too!

Everything in training is feeling pretty good — I just take it easy, and never do any movements that involve direct flexion of the rectus abdominis, to help prevent much Diastasis Recti from happening. I also avoid ballistic movements, like any sort of burpees, etc.

Basically, I train with caution, and listen to my body. It’s only a few more months, and I can hit it hard again when I’m not growing a human 🙂 NBD.

I share many of my workouts on Instagram, and especially in my IG stories.

Food

In order to gain enough weight, I’ve basically been eating any time I feel even the tinsiest amount of hunger. Sometimes I use my extra pregnancy calories on fun foods, but mostly I try and get in nutritious foods to help this growing babe. But it turns out, my body needs a sh!t ton of calories to grow a human, so I’m having fun with it!

That’s all the updates (or at least the time – I could go on and on) that I have for now. I’ll probably check in again in a month or so 🙂

Coming Up

The upcoming weeks will be quite busy, as well. We’ve got our glucose test in two weeks, my mom and dad visit at the end of July, and my friend, Katie, is throwing me a baby shower here in Colorado at the end of July!

We’re also determined to at least order our nursery furniture this month, and hopefully have it all put together by September. We’ve got a budget set — now it’s just ordering everything while staying within said budget 😉

XOXO

Paige