bébé numéro deux | 24 weeks
progress & countdown: 24 weeks down & 112 days to go.
baby size: as long as an ear of corn.
food & drink: welp, we are becoming pretty much paleo around these parts. eggs and chicken and fish and grass-fed beef with piles of veggies and plenty of fruit. dairy and sugar and carb-y stuff leaves me feeling kind of heavy and blah so, here we are. you gotta give the little man what he wants! a typical breakfast is some kind of smoothie or coconut yogurt with fruit and nuts and coconut meat and lunch is usually eggs or turkey or chicken or fish with a pile of veg in raw/salad form. dinner looks a lot like lunch but with more pizzaz and roasted veg. hey, go with it, right? i may be stepping up the meat intake but at least i am not binging on ice cream pints and all the cheese and bread as i have been known to do during pregnancy...so, you know.
bump stuff: the bump is super obvious now. it is bigger each morning (or so it seems) and morphs into crazy shapes throughout the day. things have been pretty pleasant and smooth around here. so much so that there are moments when i almost forget that i am pregnant...brief moments. and then, i move in a funny way and there is a bump in the way! or i am sitting still and get punched and kicked from within. riiiight...there is a foot-long person in there. gotcha. and p.s. why does foot-long sound so incredibly huge? craziness. if he is anything like elinor (who knows) then we have about 7 inches to go and about 5 more pounds to gain. yikes. we'll see! i have a feeling that this little fella will be a bit bigger than his sister...
highs: a busy and productive and fun weekend with our family and more. checking stuff off the list and enjoying this season of life.
lows: nothing really.
new developments: baby is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. and yes, i feel that growth. that puts him at just over a pound! baby is also almost a foot long. long and lean these days, but the body will start to really fill out and plump up from this point on. yay for baby chubs! his brain is growing quickly now and taste buds are continuing to develop. baby's lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree as well as cells that product surfactant, a substance that will help air sacs in the lungs inflate once he hits the outside world. his skin is still thin and translucent but that will start to change soon. busy, busy boy!
meaningful moments & hormones & feelings: i am feeling eager. ready to get closer to june. ready to meet ridley. i am so ready to have a newborn in the house again. i am looking forward to experiencing those magical days with a new little life. it is such a wild but wonderful time and i am excited for it to be here. i know the next few months will fly by (um, it is already MARCH after all) and i am trying to pace myself with projects and such, but i want june to be here! yay for a new baby!
superficial stuff: trying to keep up the belly butter to keep those stretch marks away. and i am forcing myself to plan little moments of respite or pampering for myself so that i can recharge. simple things like a face mask or getting a pedicure or enjoying some restorative outdoor yoga or listening to music. just moments that are carved out so that i can feel rejuvenated and tip-top. it is a challenge for me but i am working on it.
looking forward to: meeting with our midwife this week. it is always fun to talk baby and hear that heartbeat. plus, i only have one more 4 week appointment after this before we move to the 2 week schedule! that means that things are getting real, people. and i am only three weeks away from the THIRD TRIMESTER!