Pregnancy Journal Update: Week 24

Hey everyone! It’s that time again! Yay! I love Pregnancy Update day. Keeping this little journal is a lot of fun for me, and I know it’ll be great to look back on when Baby Jack has been born and later on when he’s older, and thank you to everyone who has emailed, messaged and commented giving feedback, and letting me know that you are enjoying the journey as much as I am! I know that I find blogs like this useful, and hopefully there are those of you out there who stumble upon this one and find it useful as well.

Anyway, as you may have noticed, I skipped last week, week 23, in my journal updates. Sure did. Yep. Honestly, I just wasn’t feeling like enough change had happened, and frankly, I really didn’t feel or look any different at all. Basically, there wasn’t enough noticeable change to really warrant an update, so here we are, a week later!

First of all, oh my gosh! Time is FLYING BY. I can’t believe I’m already at the 24-week point, which puts me rights smack dab in the middle of my – get this – SIXTH MONTH. SIXTH. MONTH. SIX MONTHS PREGNANT. That’s so absolutely out of this world to me. I feel blown away. Like I mentioned in previous posts, it really STILL feels like I JUST looked at that first ClearBlue test. Dang.

And I’m going to just jump right in and say it’s the weirdest feeling ever to feel my little baby move and squirm in my belly. It really is just the strangest but coolest sensation ever of life. Ever. As I’m sitting here typing this Pregnancy Journal update, I’m watching my tummy move with Baby Jack’s movements. Yep. I can SEE him move now. So basically take the awesome feeling of him moving and multiply it by a billion-trillon. Such a miracle.

Anyway, let’s just get to the questions, shall we?

How pregnant am I? 24 weeks began on Saturday, December 6, 2014

How big is baby? Baby Jack’s growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at about 1 1/3 pounds. Since he’s almost a foot long (about the size of an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he’ll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing “branches” of the respiratory “tree” as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. (Thank you BabyCenter.com)

Thank you BabyCenter.com

Weight Gain: I’ve gained 16 total pounds since July when we found out we had a bun in the oven.

Body & Changes: The biggest changes during the past two weeks: slight increase in belly size, increased heartburn, both in severity and in consistency, increase in fatigue and lethargy, increase in hunger, increase in back pain, and an increase in the being short of breath. I also started getting leg cramps at night while in bed, which is pretty rude. I think it’s also pretty rude that WATER GIVES ME HEARTBURN. Ugh.

I have started to feel like the task of doing simple things has become more difficult for me, because my range of motion has gone down, and my shortness of breath has gone up. Combined, these things are really uncomfortable and weird. As is the increase in forgetfulness. I don’t remember much of anything anymore. Super frustrating.

Clothes: I’m pretty much wearing ONLY maternity shirts & pants, or just cozy sweats. I can’t wear my old jeans comfortably any more, and I’ve said it a few times already but I feel like the maternity shirts just LOOK better. They’re more flattering and hug my brand new curves in all the right places.

What I’ve been eating: What HAVEN’T I been eating? Seriously, that’s the better question. I love ALL the pasta, but most especially pasta with broccoli, garlic, basil and marinara. I just want all the broccoli… Why? I am in LOVE with broccoli right now… I could just eat a whole bunch of broccoli if and only if it were sauteed quickly with garlic… It just sounds OUT OF THIS WORLD. My mouth is watering SO HARD thinking about BROCCOLI. So random… And the TWIX!!!! Twix bars are especially delicious. Like, I just want to eat Twix bars and spaghetti for the rest of my life. K Thx. Also, I’m still on a cookie-kick, but the cookies need to be Chewy Chips Ahoy! None of the others will do. I mean, I guess the Christmas sugar cookies we made for Thanksgiving were an OK supplement while we were out of the chewy ones, but luckily, I restocked today. In fact, I just finished up a bowl of spaghetti, and I think I’ll go grab a few cookies. Because this is all I eat. Lord.

Any Movement? Lots and LOTS!!!! I love it so much.

Sleep: I actually have been sleeping pretty well recently. I only wake up 1-2 times a night to use the bathroom. I am really happy about this new development, however I don’t really wake refreshed. I just feel so, so tired, all day long. No energy. EVER. Whomever wrote the books saying that with the 2^nd trimester comes a burst of energy was a mean person… I’ve been patiently waiting.

Emotions: I cry a lot. Just ask Michael. I’m crying right now, actually. I’ve cried at least 10 times today. We watched a few episodes of House, which sent me off. My husband guessing the gift I got him for Christmas made me cry. Looking at Marcus and Karen and how just CUTE they are… Yep, that made me cry too. But the biggest tear-jerker of the week? Somehow, a “news” event from 1996 crossed my path on the internet this week, and I died inside. A mommy cat named Scarlett saved her baby kittens from a fire. She walked through flames 5 times in order to make sure each of her babies were safe. UGHHHHHH!!!!

“On March 30, 1996, Scarlett and her five kittens were in an abandoned garage allegedly used as a crack house in Brooklyn when a fire started from undetermined causes. The New York City Fire Department responded to a call about the fire and quickly extinguished it. When the fire was under control, one of the firefighters on the scene, David Giannelli, noticed Scarlett carrying her kittens away from the garage one by one. Scarlett herself had been severely burned in the process of pulling her kittens from the fire. Her eyes were blistered shut, her ears and paws burned, and her coat highly singed. The majority of her facial hair had been burnt away. After saving the kittens she was seen to touch each of her kittens with her nose to ensure they were all there and alive, as the blisters on her eyes kept her from being able to see them, and then she collapsed unconscious.”

I’m crying again. Lord.

Purchases: A new pair of maternity jeans and 2 shirts from Target on Black Friday afternoon – The deals were too good to be true, and I loved the way the jeans fit. They’re big, and baggy, but they’re so cozy and comfy. I’m SO used to wearing skinny jeans that I forgot that there were any other kinds. And these other kinds? Heaven.

I also made some MAJOR purchases at Ulta this past week, and I’m wondering about doing a haul and/or some reviews when everything comes in. My favorite products so far: Lorac Pro Palette eye shadow palette, Benefit Hoola bronzer, Benefit They’re Real mascara and Nars blush in Orgasm. My husband also got started with a new facial cleansing regime using Anthony products, also from Ulta. We are just all over these products these days, and yeah, a review/photo session with them sounds like a mighty fine idea. What do you think?