Week 26

Advice Request:

-This isn’t really advice as much as I think it’s just fun to talk about:  What was the strangest thing you craved during pregnancy? 

-We are registering next weekend, so if you anyone has any additional advice about that, PLEASE send it my way.  I still find the process very overwhelming since we are basically “guessing” what we need. 

How I am feeling: 

I am feeling really good overall.  This week felt like a long week and I was pretty tired, plus my eyes have been a little bothersome.  My left eye had a twitch for a while, which has now migrated to my right eye and my left eye instead was sporting a burst blood vessel for a few days.  From what I have read this is due to stress and lack of sleep.  I really don’t feel that stressed, but I know I am not having very restful sleep.  My lower back pain is still bothering me when I sleep, but I think it is getting better now worse, so that is a plus. 

I had a few cravings last weekend, which I happily indulged in!  After Darren and I left On the Snap where we had dinner and played pool, I really wanted a root beer float, so we went to the store to get some root beer (we already had ice cream).  And while I was at the store, I really wanted an angel food cake!  So I bought the mix and made one.  I have to say, angel food cake is SO easy to make (the mix and water…that’s it!) and it’s such a nice sweet treat with some cool whip and fruit.  It’s fat free, too ;o) 

Here is what I look like at 26 weeks:

Baby movement:

Because I have to sleep on my side, I have started sleeping with a pillow to support my growing belly.  The funny part is when I sleep on my side, baby girl is positioned all the way on my side so when she moves and kicks, it feels like she is on my hip!  It’s very weird!  This morning when I woke up and felt her kicking, I was actually freaked out how far over she felt and I had to get out of bed to look at my stomach!  She has also felt like she is sitting really low this week.  I don’t know if this is TMI or weird, but there were times this week when she would kick and I would feel like she was jabbing a foot or fist into the birth canal!  I know she’s not, but I am used to feeling her kicks on my stomach, not that low. 

Shout Outs

HUGE shout out to Chad S. for coming over last weekend and helping Darren paint the nursery!  Also to Michelle S. for letting us steal your husband for the day J 

Shout outs to everyone who has said I am “cute” this week also!  I don’t always feel cute pregnant, so the boost in confidence is really nice!

Nursery:

The nursery is painted!  I am so excited.  The light green came out so well and I am so happy with our choice.  It brightens up the room and already looks beautiful with some of the pink accessories we have and the beautiful dark wood furniture that we have.  We still have a ways to go with decorating, but the pictures below at least show the next step in this process.  I took these pictures at night, so the room looks a little darker than it is, but you get the idea! 

Favorite Names:

This is the question I am asked the second most (with “how are you feeling?” definitely my most frequent question).  We are still trying out Lilly.  I love the name and I love having a name for her when I talk to her, but I am so NERVOUS about this decision!  I think I am more nervous about the name than childbirth.  It’s such a permanent decision.  I just want to make sure it’s a name I want to say hundreds of times a day and that I will still love it.  I am guessing we’ll make the final decision in the next few weeks.

Labor and Birth:

I am getting excited for our birthing class which starts in two weeks.  I think it will be great to meet other couples who are going through the same thing and also to get some new and helpful information about coping with labor.  We are also going to be touring Wake Med Cary over our next track out in April, so I am excited to see what they have to offer.  I have heard great things about their facilities for women who want a natural childbirth. 

What I am reading:

I have been reading Baby Bargains and also Baby Gizmo after the recommendations from friends on this blog.  I am trying to get prepared to create a registry and these books have both helped me know what we need and then what particular products might be the best for us.  There are SO many baby products out there and it is so scary because it feels like every day there is a new recall on a product that is a new baby death trap!!!  No pressure on parents or anything…sheesh! 

I also just borrowed The Womanly Art of Breast Feeding by Diane Wiessinger.  I literally just picked it up last night, but I am very excited to learn more about breast feeding because I feel very strongly about breast feeding from the first moments of baby girl’s life until, well as long as it works for both of us!  I know a lot of women do not think breast feeding past a certain age is acceptable, but I don’t think you can put a number on it.

I am also proud that my husband is reading Husband Coached Childbirth by Robert Bradley (founder of the Bradley method of natural childbirth).   The very first night he read it, he was already marveling on how much he learned and how much Bradley’s method makes sense.  It’s great to both read the same book and be able to discuss our ideas about baby girl’s birth together.  Call me crazy, but I am looking forward to the experience.