Baby #2: (23 &) 24 Weeks

Baby #2 Highlights

How Far Along: 24 weeks (Need to catch up? Here’s 22 Weeks.) I skipped last week due to the holidays and craziness of life. You didn’t miss much.

I just realized the other day that this little girl is due the Thursday after Easter. I hadn’t realized that 1), Easter was that late this year, and 2) she was due so close to a holiday. Of course, since it’s a “floating” holiday, it probably won’t be that way every year, but still. We might end up with our own little Easter bunny this spring!

Size of Baby: About 12 inches or so from head to toe. All of the “measurements” these sites come up with crack me up. Because at this point, there’s really no way to know how big this baby girl really is.

Big Brother Caedmon: We had a great Christmas. He’s growing so much and is becoming such a big boy. He amazes me each day with how bright he is and how many things he notices that I either take for granted or just overlook. Getting to re-acquaint myself with the world through his eyes is pretty awesome.

He loves to give hugs and kisses to Baby Sister. He also insisted on sharing his “nite nite” with Baby Sister one day, and made sure I carried it under my shirt so she could have it.

Bizarre? Yes. But I still loved it. His nite nite is very near and dear to him, just in case ya’ll didn’t know. The fact that he was so adamant about sharing it was very sweet.

He also regularly asks if it’s time for Baby Sister to come out yet. I think he’s tired of all the waiting. I can identify with that, but I’m glad she’s nestled safely where she is for a while longer.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: The holidays were not kind. I stepped on the scale at the Doctor’s office the Monday after Christmas. It wasn’t good, ya’ll. I’d gained 7 pounds in a month. So couple that with the 8 I’d already gained, that’s a whopping total of +15 pounds since the beginning of this pregnancy. I was quite relieved when Dr. P commented, “Today’s not a good day to weigh – for anyone.”

I think I remember a 10-pound month with Caedmon around the same time in my pregnancy, so I’m going to go ahead and determine right now that this will have been the heavy month. I’m not going to starve myself or anything like that because a girl’s gotta eat. But all the leftover Christmas cookies and holiday yummies are definitely g.o.n.e. from our dwelling. And? As tempted as I was to make a red & white dessert (like this) for the Sugar Bowl, I refrained. But I did make some sweet tea. It was good.

And I’m going to go ahead and take the opportunity right now to blame this on the baby. With Caedmon, I didn’t crave sweets except for a few specific things. This baby girl must have a sweet tooth, because that’s pretty much all I want to eat. If I keep this up, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’s born with cavities. So we’re breaking the sweets habit. Or at least cutting back. For real.

Though for some reason, I have the strange desire to bake an apple pie. Anyone want one?

Maternity Clothes: Pretty much only in public. At home, I still wear my regular sweats & t-shirts.

Gender: Girl! We’re going to get another peek at her at my next appointment, and there’s a part of me that wants to have the ultrasound tech check again, just to make sure. Each time we had an ultrasound with Caedmon, we begged them to please make sure he was “still” a boy.

Movement: Yes! She’s starting to run out of room down low where she likes to hang out most of the time, so she’s moving up now and then. And since she’s getting bigger, her movements are more apparent. I sat on the couch one afternoon and watched my belly jump for a solid 20 minutes. I love it.

Sleep: I’m sleeping pretty well. Except that the dreaded sinus junk and cough is back, so that doesn’t help things.

Symptoms: Crazy dreams. Mild, occasional reflux. Just more normal stuff like that, nothing big.

What I Miss: Nothing, really.

Cravings: Nothing in particular right now.

Best Moment This Past Week: Getting to start on some artwork for our little girl’s room, and seeing Caedmon so interested in helping!

What I Am Looking Forward To: Getting to work on some organization this week and feeling like we’re getting back to normal…and getting rolling on some things for this girl!