23 Weeks

Hey! Guess what? I am 23 weeks, and finally to the "beer belly" stage. Give it another 3 weeks or so and I may actually look pregnant... by my 3rd trimester (27 weeks). Let's just say I am definitely over the whole awkward stage, where my jeans all fit but my shirts are struggling and I just look like I ate too many donuts when I wear maternity shirts. I am grateful though because I should make it till the end of the semester (two weeks) without having to buy maternity work clothes. Let's be honest, I did not want to have to drop $60 on a pair of maternity dress pants that I would wear for 3 weeks. 

Cravings/Aversions: I am still going through the liquid sweetness phase. I look forward to my strawberry post-workout protein smoothies on the days I lift. But really, I get overly excited about it driving home from the gym- it's kind of sad. We went to Costco a few weeks ago and bought a few ginormous bags of frozen fruit and we are almost out! The other day I saw a picture of my nephew drinking a Slurpee and I almost started to weep because I wanted one so badly. Robert just kind of looked at me and laughed, and I realized how truly pathetic I am as a pregnant woman. Goodness. 

Books: I finished up The Happiest Baby on the Block and didn't love it, despite all of the rave reviews people gave me. There were definitely things I liked about the book, but I feel like I could sum those up with the "5 S's". (Swaddle, side position, sushing,swinging, and sucking). I didn't really care for the rest of the book. I am now reading the handbook for our birthing class, because we don't read the whole thing for class and I find it absolutely fascinating. It's Prepared Childbirth- The Family Way. 

Exercise: My exercise routine has stayed the same. Actually, I take that back. Instead of my normal 35 minute, 5 mile run followed by about 35-40 minutes of weight lifting, it has now turned into a 2.5 mile run, bathroom stop, 2.5 miles, bathroom stop, 15 minutes of lifting, bathroom break, and if I am lucky I can usually hold it until after the last 25 minutes of lifting. Running outside will be near impossible in the next few weeks. But, I still feel great! I honestly think keeping up with workout has been the most beneficial thing for me. I am not really anymore tired than usual, and it's one of the few things that has been keeping up my self confidence lately as I go through the wonderful beer belly and clothes not fitting stage :)

Concerns/Excitement: Robert finally felt this little guy kick! He is always the most active at night when I am getting ready for bed and on Sunday it felt like he was practicing kick boxing so I was hoping Robert would finally be able to feel him, and he did. It was a really neat experience- Robert was pretty excited. 

Baby: Baby boy is still unnamed. We know his middle name will be Wixom and his last name will be Davis. At least we have 2 of the names picked! We are trying to narrow it down to two names and then name him after he is born and we actually see him. He is the size of a spaghetti squash and weighs just over a pound. Baby now has the ability to hear my voice and sense light. 

26 Years

Today my dear husband turned twenty six! Of the three Wixom girls that live here in Rexburg  (the only family that we have in Rexburg), two were going to be gone today. Natalie was headed off with her adorable son to Vegas (and then off to California. I'm a little jealous :) and my other sister was headed off on a canyoneering adventure. Top that off with our birthing class tonight, we were limited with time and family and decided to celebrate the big day yesterday so that way we could actually party!

We held the festivities at my sisters house, which meant I needed to bring everything from my house over to her house. Naturally candles for the cake were forgotten. Luckily her husband just turned 27 and her son recently turned 1, and so we were able to get creative (even if the 1 made it in backwards). And in all reality, it's just the taste of the cake that really matters (although, aesthetics are rather important in my book). I made a mint ice cream cake for Robert, and mmmmmmm it was delicious. 

Sadly I forgot my camera so I didn't get any other pictures. All in all, it was a wonderful evening. Birthdays were always a pretty big deal when I was growing up, so I was glad I was able to help Robert-o celebrate. And apparently 26 is now a pretty big deal, too. Last year he qualified for cheaper rental cars and this year he is having to get his own insurance. So three cheers for turning 26!

20 weeks

I am officially half way done with this pregnancy! I am starting to think that the second half of this pregnancy is going to go much more slowly that the first half. Granted, we also didn't find out till we were about 5 1/2 weeks along. I still feel like it looks like I have a beer belly; I don't think anyone on the street would ever guess I was pregnant at this point in time. I am also starting to think that pregnancy isn't going to look the greatest on me, oh dear! I guess I should just count my blessing that all my pants still fit perfectly, even my work dress pants (which is what I was most worried about). 

Cravings/Aversions:

I still don't have any major cravings, mostly just prefrences. I am still loving my smoothies every morning. The other day Robert opened a box of Honey Nut Chex and I thought they were the greatest thing that I have ever tasted, even though I have eaten them before. Let's just say the box didn't last too long. The other thing I have been really wanting is Papa Johns pizza. I am not sure if it's because I know we don't have one in Rexburg, but everyday, at some point in the day, Papa Johns pizza sounds like the most delicious thing I could ever eat. The sight of turkey still makes me sick. 

Books:

I finished Bringing up Bebe, and loved it! I didn't agree with everything that the author had to say, but it was hands down, one of the most interesting baby/parenting books I have read. She brought in a lot of science into the book and I just ate it all up. I would highly recommend it to anyone. I am also starting the infamous Happiest Baby on the Block and have heard wonderful things about it, so I am excited to see what it has to offer. 

Exercise:

I am still exercising 6 days a week, which has been great! My routine has pretty much stayed the same; running 4 days a week, roughly 20-25 miles/wk and then lifting 3x/wk. I think the only hard thing has been having to drop my lifting weight so much. On Saturdays Robert, Layne (my little sister) and I all lift together and I usually get one scolding from Robert telling me to be careful. I think its mostly because I still don't feel "with child" so it's hard to remind myself that I should be taking the lifting a little bit easier. 

Concerns and/or Excitement:

 Robert and I  start our birthing class this Thursday! We are both pretty excited, and have heard wonderful things about the class and teacher. I am mostly glad that she makes the husband come so that way we are on the same page :). 

Baby:

Baby boy is the length of a banana, measuring 10 in from head to heal and weighing 10.5 oz.  I finally felt this little boy move! I think I had been feeling him for about 2 weeks, but didn't recognize it because it wasn't the "butterflies" or "goldfish feeling" that people had described. It definitely felt like something inside me was giving me a little nudge.