26 Weeks

Whoa belly!  I am quite large and in charge now.  Nothing like being 26 weeks pregnant and looking like you're 30 weeks.

Baby Girl is the size of a head of lettuce!  She is about 14 inches and weighs just under 2 pounds!
She has grown pretty little eye lashes and although her eyes are still closed, they'll be opening soon.  She's getting her lungs ready by "breathing" in small amounts of amniotic fluid.

How far along? 26 weeks!

Maternity clothes? It's what I live in now except for gym shorts and sorority shirts (but we're going to have to move up to Andrew's Marquette shirts soon)

Stretch marks? not yet

Sleep: sleep has gotten a little better, not tossing and turning as much because of my hips.  Now I get up at least once or twice to go to the bathroom.  Andrew has been sleeping in the loft for the past week to see if it improves his sleep at all.

Best moment this week:
spent the weekend with family in Lutsen, MN.  It was great to see my aunts and uncle and grandparents and spend the weekend with Sam, Lauren, and my parents.  It was also a plus that Andrew had to take off two days of work.

Miss Anything? not crying at the drop of a hat and not feeling completely overwhelmed (although I don't think that is going to go away any time soon)

Movement: This little lady loves her bouncy house!  She likes 5am, after our morning walk around 9am, 3pm, 7pm, and usually when I lie down on my side to go to bed.  If I stay up late enough, she likes 10pm too.  Her favorite time is after our morning walk, all the other times are just little jabs.

Food cravings: We got some watermelon in our CSA box this week and that was pretty tasty

Exercise:
We did some hiking in Lutsen this past weekend and went canoeing for about an hour that was a good arm workout.
Walking: The girls and I have been walking about 4-5 miles every morning.
Prenatal Pilates and some ab exercises on the stability ball.
The Bar Method Prenatal dvd 

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope

Gender: Pretty little lady!  

 Labor Signs: nope

Symptoms: No hip pain to report of this week and the back pain hasn't been awful.  I have started to get Braxton Hicks contractions though.  Nothing painful, just a really hard belly usually once or twice a day.  Oh and super exhausted all the time

Belly Button in or out? in, still waiting for it to pop out

Wedding rings on or off? on

Happy or Moody most of the time: Super Moody.  Or we could say emotional, nervous, guilty, overwhelmed, stressed, crying at least 3-4 times a day.  Poor Andrew.  He has been such a trooper and will stay the extra minute at home in the morning to give me a hug as I sob while he leaves for work.  I'm having a hard time not contributing financially anymore and feel really guilty about it.  I also worry about whether or not I'll be able to handle life with a baby.  It's one thing to babysit for a few hours and it's another to be responsible for another human being 24/7.  I stress about all of the things we still have to purchase, everything we still have to prepare, how I'm going to handle taking care of a newborn and two dogs, how the dogs will handle life with the baby, etc.

Looking forward to:
I'm going to see my coworkers/friends from last year this next week.  I'm excited to be around adults for a few hours and not just dogs.
Andrew and I are hoping to go to MKE for the day next weekend to do some baby shopping and maybe head to the zoo.


Dear Baby Girl,
 
Your mama has been having a rough week, but you have been enjoying your little bouncy house in there.  While I am so excited about you, you are throwing my hormones and emotions all out of whack.  I cry on a daily basis.  Thankfully, you start moving around and make my belly bounce and it always makes me smile.

We have been walking a lot with your big sisters and you seem to enjoy it.  You always move around a lot when we get home.  I'm thankful that I can still walk as far as I can and I hope that we can keep it up until at least October.

I bought fabric for your curtains this week and your Gma Marcia will help me make them in a few weeks.  Your bedroom is slowly coming together.  We still need to get a glider and a book shelf, oh and a mattress so you actually have something to sleep on.  Details, details.

I can't believe how big you're getting!  I can tell where you are in my belly now.  You like to sit really low which tends to be pretty uncomfortable when I need to be up and walking around.

Your daddy is very excited to meet you!  He loves his little girls so much (your big sisters) and he is so in love with you already.  He's already wrapped around your tiny little finger.  Your Uncle Sam is already preparing for your middle and high school years when he'll have to keep the boys at bay because you will, undoubtedly, be beautiful.  Both of your grandpas are already smitten with you.  There is no doubt that you are one loved little girl.

Love always,
your mama