How far along? 24 weeks.
How big is baby? A little bigger. I dunno. A foot-ish and more than a pound and bigger than my hand, apparently:
Total weight gain: +12 pounds. Feels like way more the way my body is reacting to it.
Updates: 24 weeks is touted as “viability,” so that’s cool. Survival rates are still pretty low at this point, but it does give me a little comfort. I did have ANOTHER stupid scare where they were worried I was leaking amniotic fluid, but it turned out I just need some antibiotics. I will spare you the details. In other news, one-hour glucose tolerance test Tuesday! I failed this last time with Gabe, so I’m hoping I don’t have to do the 3-hour. *shudder*
Anxious about: Labor and delivery and if I want to go sans-epidural again. Easier sounds SO NICE. But, then you hear stories about stalling labor and then adding Pitocin or it not working or only working on one side and ACK. A few hours of pain sounds okay.
Excited about: Not moving? Being able to look at the future without so much up in the air is very nice. I’m also excited about the cold ending, but that’s unrelated to pregnancy. GO AWAY, WINTER.
Feeling: Pretty good aside from a little nauseous when I’m hungry in the morning. Also, achy and big and cumbersome, but I know this is nothing compared to what’s coming! Ah, being 5’1″ and pregnant.
Exercise: Yep. I should do that. (Not doing much. At all. I did go swimming last weekend, hoping it would solve all my old lady aches. It did not.)
Sleep: Involves many pillows. And much turning. And some hip pain. OLD LADY.
Movement: Lots of action up near my ribs, which is crazy high! Being so petite means there’s not much place to go in there. Gabe gets to feel the baby at least once a day and I take such delight in his delight!
Food cravings: Nothing special – just enjoying eating! :) (I would kill for a s’more, though.)
Misc:
- We have discussed names for almost no minutes. Naming a human being is about 2% fun, in my experience. PRESSURE.
- I feel guilty that I’m enjoying this pregnancy 1000 times less than Gabe’s. I’m less comfortable and I’m more anxious. Guilt is rarely helpful, so I try to tell myself to shut it.
- Gabe asks me “Does da baby like this?” all the time. About what I’m eating, what I’m doing, if he pinches my belly, if we’re listening to music, etc etc. The other day he sang to my belly, “I love you baaaaby” over and over in his sweet little voice. It’s the best part of this pregnancy by far, how much he loves this baby already. (Though it doesn’t keep me from fretting a just a bit about the transition from his point of view!)
- Speaking of Gabe, he has named the baby Gabey (not like Gabby, like Gay-Bee). We were walking through Target today and he was like, “Do you like Gabey?” “Uh you? Yeah. Of course.” He pointed to my belly and said, “No. Dis Gabey!” Gabe and Gabey. That won’t be confusing AT ALL, right?
23 & 24 weeks with Gabe (rereading it felt eerily similar to how I feel right now!)
(Listening to the baby, then “pinching the baby” and seeing if he can feel it. Heh.)
Yay for 24 weeks! You look great!
I was so much more anxious about labour the second time around – I knew what to expect! But it ended up being SO much better – faster and easier, all around! My fingers are crossed that it will be the same for you!
Oh, and Topher and I made s’mores for a snack today :) We roasted mini marshmallows over a candle (and by we, I mean me, because he’s three and would probably catch himself on fire …)
I can’t believe swimming didn’t help- I swear that was like the miracle cure for me. Not that I still didn’t have old lady aches- I swear my back will never recover!
In other news, i think you should have the epidural :) I was at 8 or 9 cm before I got one (just because i progressed so quickly) so things were pretty damn painful (though I can’t claim to know what natural birth is like!) and it was the best thing ever. Seriously. The next morning I woke up and wanted it back. Of course, it’s your choice- just wanted to give you my happy story about it. If I have another baby I would definitely do it again and I would not be nearly as scared of labor this time.
Anyway, you look great and I just LOVE Gabe’s love for the baby- so adorable. If the name thing stresses you out, I say you go the route of letting Gabe decide haha. It’s totally fine to have a Gabe and a Gabey, no?
OMG Gabe is the best! Yay 24 weeks!!!
I obviously have nothing to compare it to, but I looooved my labor WITH epidural! I got lucky in that it was completely pain free but I could still feel pressure…and I was able to feel enough in my legs to be on my hands and feet at one point. I also reallly didn’t want pitocin and basically mentioned it to the nurses every time they came in and thankfully I didn’t need it and progressed fine on my own!
Whatever you end up doing, you get a sweet baby at the end, so yay!
That sounds EXCELLENT. See? If I could be guaranteed to have that experience (and no pain at the site!), I would so do it!
I got a wonderful epidural too! It didn’t hurt at all to place it, I still had plenty of feeling and movement in my legs (I was able to prop my legs up on a bar to push and had great strength). I was at a 4 when I got it, and refused pitocin. A few hours later I was fully dilated and ready to push. I feel like it helped me relax through transition which made it easier for me to dilate. Whatever you choose in the moment will be right! Good luck mama!
I wanted to add to Natalie’s comment and say I too had a great experience with an epidural. I realize it doesn’t always work 100% for everyone, but I didn’t really feel any pain while receiving it, and it made it SO much easier to relax before pushing. I would definitely get one again!
I failed the 1-hour glucose test once and failed the 3-hour glucose test twice. Color me lucky. I’m pretty sure I would’ve had to do it yet again, but my little G decided to arrive early. I’m convinced he was saving me from having to take that test another time!
Oh, and Gabe and Gabey is kind of like parents who name their kids after themselves. You know, like John and John. Not confusing at all. ;)
LOVE that he pinches the baby to see Gabey can feel it (and love his name for the baby, too!). He’s going to be an awesome big brother. (this make you laugh, one of my friends is pregnant with her second and her little girl keeps calling the baby Fluffy and insists that will be the name for her baby brother!)
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