July 21, 2009 - 25 Week Update

Attack of the belly rubbers!!

Those of you who are or were ever pregnant know exactly what I'm talking about! :-) Those of you who will be pregnant someday - your turn is coming! Even though I'm just about the most touchy-feely huggy person alive, I always thought I would have a difficult time having complete strangers rub my pregnant belly, as the majority of expecting moms do. The truth is...now that it's finally my turn to experience pregnancy, I really don't mind it at all! I think about how long and difficult it was for us to get to this point that I'm so touched and excited for someone, even a perfect stranger to show their excitement for us too! This past week it seems as though I have extra popped out! I have seen/felt an increase in tummy touchers as a result! Neighbors, church members, women in the cereal aisle, etc. It's been really exciting to appear to be "really pregnant" to the outside world now! For years I wondered, "what would it feel like?" "what would I look like?" and just an overall curiosity about what pregnancy would be like, that now that I'm here I just want to savor each and every minute of it! Don't get me wrong, it hasn't always been or always is rainbows and butterflies - refer back to the 1st trimester blogs for examples!! :-) Pregnancy for me is such an amazing gift that thankfulness is constantly spilling out everywhere! Thankfully for my OCD it's not a mess I need to clean up! :-)

This past week was a super busy one! Garrett went to New Jersey to watch our nephew Easton play in the USGA Junior Amateur golf tournament. We are so very proud of Easton. I know it meant so much to Garrett to be there for him. While Garrett was away, I was the preschool group leader for our church's vacation bible school. I had a blast! I had between 12-16 3, 4 and 5 year olds. It was incredible to experience God through their little eyes and hearts. Children truly are life's greatest blessing. It was funny how my belly was just about at eye level for them and so many times I would turn around too quickly and at least 2 or 3 little ones would literally bounce right off as they ran into me. Spending time with them made me excited to start back to school. Although it's not always easy and never stress-free, I am so blessed to be a teacher. With the risk of sounding super cheezy... I've always felt that my first job in life was to be a mother, but if I can also be another mother to 20-25 children each day...wow, what a gift!

With that said, as I wipe my tears and blow my nose....:-) this week has officially ruptured the hormonal floodgates! Hike up the pants everyone! With Garrett agreeing, I've been really quite mellow throughout the pregnancy thus far, give or take a few "rare moments" here and there! lol :-) The 6th month seemed to have brought with it a surge of heartfelt emotions. I was folding laundry the other night when a Wal-Mart commercial of a mom taking her son to his first year of college came on. I LOST it completely! I can't even begin to go down that road of imagining Hudson has a little boy let alone a college freshman! Insert dagger in heart right about now! I'm already gaining such a deeper appreciation for our moms and dads as I can better relate to all that they have been through for us! God bless all of you mothers and fathers for living and surviving through all of those milestone moments! I can barely make it through an ultrasound...Lord knows what will happen when he's born, or his first steps, or his first day of school.....ok...need to breathe! Tissue break!

On a different note :-)...my cravings have shifted this past week! I think our local grocery stores will be happy to have a fully stocked shelf of pickles for the first time in months as I have moved on to a new shelf! Lately, I have been all about corn and beets! Any kind of corn has been so delicious! Sweet corn, creamed corn, corn of the cob corn...you name it....I've been eating it! Beets too! I have recently been introduced the world's greatest beets! I highly recommend them!

I've always been big on most veggies but it's been kicked into overdrive! Who knows what will be next!?!

Hudon's been enjoying the veggies so much that he literally did a flip the other day. After Izzy and I went on a long walk we came home, had beets and a pbj and then laid down on the couch for a few minutes. He started kicking away so I rolled up my shirt to see him move and I could see his legs move the whole way across my belly! I wish I could have caught it on video! It was the most amazing thing ever! Garrett has been able to feel him much more now and is able to "see" him move around. I surprised Garrett the other day with a little "pre-season" football gift!

I have a feeling that football season will never be quite the same at our house from now on! :-)

The other night we went with our church's youth group to Freestyle Amusement Park! I think we had just as much fun as the kids! I couldn't really ride anything, but Garrett was able to ride with the kids and I assumed the "mom post" and held everyone's things and took pictures! :-) It was a beautiful day that ended with a beautiful night of fireworks! Hudson moved and wiggled the whole time with each bang! Here are some pictures Garrett took!

This is a picture of me "kissing" a cute little snake at the park! I named him Snuggles due to the constricting he did around my neck a few seconds after this was taken! Don't worry, I bathed in sanitizer immediately following this "animal planet" moment!

Eggplant Parmesan Anyone!?!

Let your spouse put an ear to your belly -- he might be able to pick up baby's heartbeat (no stethoscope required). Inside the womb, the formation of tiny capillaries is giving baby a healthy pink glow. Baby's also soaking up your antibodies, getting the immune system ready for life outside the womb. Eyes are forming, and baby will soon perfect the blink -- perfect for batting those freshly grown lashes.

The weekly pregnancy emails I get crack me up so I'll keep sharing them!

Your Pregnancy: Week 25

At this point you're pretty much swollen all over. What started as just a "boob thing" seems to have spread from there, down your torso and out your limbs. This is definitely contagious. But even if sausage fingers and toes aren't your idea of womanly, remember that you are indeed a reproductive goddess. (You could try asking your friends to bow before you as you enter the room, but you'll probably have to settle for peeling your own grapes.)Wondering what's up with your body, your baby and your life this week?

"Why don't my shoes fit anymore? Am I pregnant in my feet, too?"

Your BodyPregnancy leg cramps are not your ordinary run-of-the-mill leg cramps. Nope, a pregnancy leg cramp will often have you leaping out of bed screaming at the top of your lungs. Leg cramps can be caused by a calcium deficiency, so be sure to get enough calcium. Even if you're lactose intolerant or have dairy allergies, there are still ways to get enough calcium in your diet that don't involve eating a 2-gallon drum of ice cream (although that does sound fun). Believe it or not, there's calcium in almonds, fish, broccoli and tofu. While they come with the territory of pregnancy, there are ways to avoid leg cramps, like warm soaks and massages. Sometime between Weeks 24 and 28, you'll get your glucose screening test to check for gestational diabetes. You'll have to drink this really syrupy, sugary soda drink, wait an hour, and then have your blood sugar levels tested to see how your body handles the sugar rush. If you get to do it at home, put the drink in the fridge to get it nice and cold. It's much easier to stomach when it's chilled. Some OBs may even let you skip the sugary soda in lieu of something just as sweet, like pancakes smothered in syrup. Hey, it's worth asking! Your baby is getting ready for pat-a-cake! Baby's hands are now fully developed and he spends most of his awake time groping around in the darkness of your uterus. Brain and nerve endings are developed enough now so that your baby can feel the sensation of touch. That doesn't mean he can feel it when his father pokes your stomach, however, so tell him to knock it off. Other highlights include: Your baby's arms and legs have grown to almost the proportions they will be at birth, which is still sort of short. So don't be alarmed when your newborn's arms barely clear his waist. Baby's nostrils, which have been plugged up until now, clear out (like he's taken a super-dose of Sudafed) and he can practice breathing through the nose. The structures of your baby's spine are now made up of 150 joints, 33 rings and some 1,000 ligaments. Can you believe you're growing something that complicated inside of you? The capillaries, the teeniest blood vessels, are now forming in your baby's body, giving his formerly translucent skin a pink glow. The blood vessels in the lungs also develop this week. You'll see how well that worked out when your baby gives those lungs a workout while you're on line at the bank in a few months. Your baby weighs about a pound and a half and is about 13½ inches long—roughly the length of one of those recorders you played in elementary school music class. Who's up for a round of "Hot Cross Buns?"