Week 24

How far along?  24 Weeks

Total weight gain? I'm gonna go with 17lbs

Maternity clothes? Yep, but I am happy that with a little stretching I can wear my non-maternity pants and shorts too..

Stretch Marks? No.

Best moment this week? The library...see below

Miss anything? Not especially.

Movement? Yes! It's the coolest thing in the whole world! I wish I could accurately explain it
Food Cravings: I've been on a bagel kick lately...and pudding. But not together.

Anything making you sick or queasy? It happens randomly

Worst symptom: I'm having more shortness of breath nonsense. Not fun.

Labor signs: Not yet.

Belly button in or out? In. But it's moving on out!

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time? Pretty happy, but ask my husband to confirm that.

Looking forward to: Decorating our home!

Baby girl is so cute, I can tell already! I try to picture her and I can see her little hands and little feet but her face is kind of a blur. I'm so excited to meet her! She's as big as a cantaloupe and although I can't accurately picture it, her face is fully formed!

Part of me feels like my belly should be bigger at this point. I mean, HELLO, I'm almost into my third trimester which is big news my friends! But at the same time, my belly can be somewhat of an inconvenience at times. The good news is, I'm almost in my third trimester and that means baby girl is almost here!!!!!!!!!

My birth classes are going splendidly although at our last class we talked about the pushing phase and watched a..hmmm.... disconcerting birth video. Don't get me wrong, everything turned out great, it's just the way she was screaming and crying...it was just, well disconcerting. I just keep sitting myself down when I practice some preggo exercises and relaxation and reminding myself that I can and will birth this baby without intervention and it won't hurt. In fact, it will feel good to do that work to meet my baby. The same way working out and being sore the next day feels good. I think being afraid of labor and thinking it will hurt will make it so.

"Believe me: if you are told that some experience is going to hurt, it will hurt. Most pain is in the mind, and when a woman absorbs the idea that the act of giving birth is excruciatingly painful--- when she gets this information from her mother, her sisters, her married friends, and her physician--- that woman has been mentally prepared to feel great agony."  

- Stephen King, "The Breathing Method"

I bet you didn't expect that to be by Stephen King when you were reading it. I bet you also didn't know that he is the father of several children born at home. I haven't read "The Breathing Method" but I've been told to wait until after I've had the baby. It is Stephen King after all.

This brings me to my next point. The above quote was quoted (that sounds wrong) in a book I'm reading called "Ina May's Guide to Childbirth" by Ina May Gaskin. It's one of several books recommended to me through my birth class. I got them at the library this week and I'm so excited to read them all. I'll let you know what I think of them when I'm done. Hey, if you're lucky you might even get a book review. 

On a side note, can I just say how much I love the library? I got a library card to the public library and it  just makes me so dang happy! The smell of the books, all the shelves and shelves each containing a world of their own..it's just my favorite.

That's all. Have a nice day!