These are pictures of me taken in the same outfit every two weeks, from weeks 12 through 26. I will keep going through the end. 🙂

Marination Time: 26 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is one and two-thirds pounds this week, and fourteen inches long. The size of an English hothouse cucumber.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 18 pounds. I am starting to feel my weight when sitting in one position for too long. Cannot imagine what another 10-15 pounds will feel like on, but I know I will find out!

Maternity Clothes: Yes. New stuff being brought out this week! I love my warmer weather options and am even excited about the outfit I have on today to travel to Kauai.

Sex: Baby girl.

Movement: It was a weird week for movement. Two nights this week I was very short on sleep and she did not move very much which naturally made me concerned. I think my exhaustion plus stress in getting ready to be out of town just affected her. By yesterday she was back up to her usual antics, and then some. DM and I think she’s making up for being so quiet the past few days. I am still tracking her moves to make sure nothing is strange.

Belly button watch: Innie.

Sleep: The sleep I got this week was good, just brief. It really affected me and LB both, so I will be trying to avoid that in the future.

What I miss: Not much this week. I was too busy getting ready for our trip to be reflective on pre-pregnancy life.

Cravings: A funny story for this week. I have generally ate very healthfully during this pregnancy so far. My default is some kind of salad with grilled chicken for protein and a mix of veggies and color on any given day. Which sure, can get boring. On Wednesday this week we were set to get just that, and I totally backtracked and we ordered pub food. Granted it was still chicken in my sandwich, but I went for the one with pepper jack and bacon on it with fried onion strings on top, all on a pretzel roll. And oh yes, sweet potato fries. Mercy! At least I don’t have mega cravings like that often!

Symptoms: I am continuing to fight some swelling and I think that symptom will be here to stay off and on. Over the weekend we were to head to the Irish American Heritage Center Saturday night for some St. Pat’s festivities. I had been on my feet getting stuff done around the house for about 8-9 hours and got in the shower to get ready to go, when lo and behold I look down and my legs and ankles are looking huge! So much for those plans. The rest of our night involved me sitting with my feet up and having a little “I thought this wouldn’t happen to me” pity party. Ha!

I also had some swelling on one or two other days this week, which was not necessarily predictable. Sometimes it happened at the end of the day, but twice I woke up puffy in the morning. Weird. I’m drinking water more than ever before now and with the exception of my pub food night, trying to watch the salt (which honestly should be happening anyway, even if salt/sour things are where it’s at for me during this pregnancy). The water also should help with my other new pregnancy symptom this week – first noticeable Braxton Hicks contractions. I got some belly tightening with a little pain, even, for the first time on Saturday evening when it was clear I overdid it. The pain was so fleeting but it got my attention. Since then, no pain at all, but now I’m attuned to the belly tightening sensation for sure. So far, this has been an every other day thing and very brief – maybe only one or two instances when I feel that way. It is awkward at work and sometimes happens right before I need to visit the ladies room. Today though, as we have been traveling, I think it definitely has been correlating to the movement/activity of going through the airports. I’ve had at least four but am counting on this being out of the ordinary for this stage of pregnancy. Water and putting my feet up help me relax that feeling fairly quickly.

Best Moments this week: We had a great time on St. Patrick’s Day with DM’s friends. There were at least half a dozen babies/little ones at our celebration at Chief O’Neill’s, and there will be two more in the mix next year. DM put the crib together this week and moved my grandmother’s over 100 year old rocking chair into the nursery. It is coming along! Also we could not be more excited to get away this week for our trip to Kauai. We are bringing work and lots of baby gear and “birth” related reading/tasks to do while away (don’t be jealous), but we will at least be in an awesome place while reading. And one more “best” moment – this week was one of my best friend’s birthdays, and while we were out to lunch to celebrate, she shared that she is pregnant and due at the beginning of October. We were with another best friend that is due the beginning of August. So, my two bridesmaid best friends will have babies within three months of our Little Bean – I can’t believe it!! All part of our “master plan” – ha!

Here is a picture of us on St. Pat’s, followed by a picture of DM putting together the crib in a freshly painted nursery. DM also painted the dresser as well – we just need some fancy knobs to go on it and it will be ready to go. One last sappy comment before signing off – DM has amazed this pregnant lady very much of late with the speed with which he has tackled nursery projects and honey-do’s…not that I would have expected less, but I have to brag on him for a minute or two!! 🙂

Marination Time: 25 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a rutabaga (this makes me chuckle).

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 18 pounds. I almost threw my coffee at my monitor at work this week when “The Bump” sent me an email about “losing my post-pregnancy pooch.” RUDE. I’m just nearly six months along and already they are trying to bait me with lotions/potions and products to rid my body of the evidence of growing a human. Seriously – these companies have awful timing with their email campaigns. SCARE TACTICS.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. I’m ready for warmer weather and wearing my cute dresses and tanks in a week in Kauai and after that in Chicago…COME ON SPRING!

Sex: Baby girl.

Movement: Lots! We had brief 24 week appointment at the midwives this week and when trying to catch her heart beat on the doppler she was moving all around – silly bean. Heartrate was good and steady in the upper 140s/low 150s.

Belly button watch: Innie. This week I have officially moved to “soccer ball” status in terms of belly shape – I like it!

Sleep: Tired, still. I must be tossing and turning more than I think at night. I have a lot less upper thigh pain/stiffness by sleeping propped up compared with sleeping on my side with a pillow between my legs, so for now, I’m like the Queen of Sheba propped up on my pillows at night. Poor DM can’t really spoon me that way.

What I miss: Being able to caffeinate to get through the afternoon or slumps during the weekend. I am actually looking forward to having her on the outside just so I can have a little coffee to power through sleep deprivation (sad, but true!!).

Cravings: Meh, I did not crave too much this week. I really enjoyed some garlic and paprika spiked hummus at Trivia with friends on Tuesday night, but there was nothing I.had.to.have. this week.

Symptoms: I sported high heels for a two hour happy hour work event on Monday this week, and stood the whole time. My legs did swell a tiny bit that evening/the next day following this little experiment. Interesting! The work event was cool – it was a happy hour for attendees of a major healthcare executives conference and Mayor Rahm Emanuel spoke.

Best Moments this week: An excellent night out at Chicago Cut steakhouse over the weekend. DM finished painting the nursery – it looks awesome. Pics to come later! Another good visit with the midwives for the 24 week appointment. She let us know that birthing in a tub is an option, and I did not think that it was at Prentice, so that is something to think about. And I connected with our doula this week for an initial introduction and to get things rolling there. I think we will be happy with our choice to use her.

Marination Time: 24 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is just over one pound and twelve inches long, about the length of an ear of corn.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 17 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Yes.

Sex: Baby girl. We think we have two names that we’re between, and will wait to meet the little lady before giving her her moniker. The scare tactic emails from BabyCenter and other sites at this stage of pregnancy are not helpful – e.g. “Baby Naming Pitfalls to Avoid” – aren’t there enough other ways in which we’ll inevitably screw her up in life?! Naming her should be fun! (Though I get it, naming her “Apple” is probably a no-go).

Movement: Lots, everyday. She even gave DM a couple of courtesy kicks when he returned home from business travel this week (she rarely cooperates!).

Belly button watch: Suspicious tugging around the navel this week after a huge meal… hold on, innie!

Sleep: Tired again this week. Side sleeping is not my thing, so I’ve done some sleeping propped up in bed. I usually wake up after about six hours to go to the bathroom and then catch a couple more hours after that.

What I miss: My waist – ha! 🙂 But seriously, I did not miss too much of anything this week.

Cravings: I actually wanted something sweet this week, but only because I was in range of a World Market where I knew I could buy the good European stuff. I may have demolished a package of honey filled thin waffle cookies (Dutch Stroopwafels)… random, right? Baby was happy, I was happy. Otherwise still passing up cookies/sweets in favor of salt/cheese. I’m trying to drink a lot more water than usual, which for me, means any water at all. Instead of 64 ounces, I’m doing well with 40 on purpose, and trying to increase it. I’ve just never been a big water drinker but know it is very important to be on top of, especially once I get to the third trimester.

Symptoms: BabyCenter says LB grew about four ounces this week, and I’ve been feeling a bit of an energy drain. I’ve had a lot of work to do, so did not get to work out during the weekday evenings like I wanted (I’m a weekend warrior, if nothing else). I’m glad today’s Friday, and looking forward to my workouts and “me time” coming up this evening and over the weekend to hopefully put some spring back in my step! I need to keep active with 16 more weeks to go!

Best Moment this week: We had a great time in Indiana with my parents last weekend. I hit up a Zumba class with my mom, and we enjoyed a leisurely dinner out, watched a movie together, and made great progress on going through some baby clothes and toys that had been kept from my childhood. I threw out a lot, also, which was therapeutic in “making room” for LB. I just need to channel that into my own house now as we go through stuff. Her nursery was formerly used for storage, so we have some work to do.

HOLY COW – It is March and we have four months to go! (Whaaaat?!)

Marination Time: 23 Weeks

Size of baby: Baby is eleven inches long and the size of a large mango.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 16 pounds.

Maternity Clothes: Yup! Despite the fits and starts and pending returns coming back on the credit cards, my maternity wardrobe is in full swing and I’m enjoying coming up with new combinations of the pieces.

Sex: Baby girl

Movement: I can see her under my skin – weird! It is reassuring when a meal gets her going, though.

Belly button watch: Innie.

Sleep: Still so so tired this week. LB and I must have been in some sort of more serious growth phase this past week because I cannot live with less than 8 hours’ sleep. I realize this is normal for a lot of people to get, but I’m normally in the 5-6 hours a night camp to balance work and teaching and life stuff, so needing more sleep is no bueno!! Throw in a bunch of baby/nursery projects on my mind to try to make headway on in the next couple of months, and I’m a pretty crabby camper these days. I find myself wishing for caffeine, or legit vacation time.**

**Time off for attorneys is not really ever time off – see point #6 in this article. Now don’t get me wrong – I worked hard for this profession and make a decent living, but as my pediatrician friend put it best, “It’s like you’re always on call then, huh? At least we rotate call, and my shifts are my shifts.”

Anyhoover, back to LB.

What I miss: I’d rather have a glass of beer, wine or cocktail over any other indulgent snack or sweet I could think of this week. I’m still not needing/wanting sweets with this little lady, and while I will eat them sometimes as like an “oh I guess I can since I’m not really having anything else extra” – it just doesn’t do it for me. I miss the ritual of unwinding with a drink. Unfortunately, a cookie does not do it for me (and frankly I can do without the sugar buzz and acrobatics such fare creates in my uterus). Again, this coming from a girl who had a lot more chocolate when not pregnant than while pregnant now – it is odd.

Cravings: Carbs some, but mostly I’m dreaming of seafood this week. DM and I will be enjoying some with my folks in A-town this coming weekend. Also, while I have not wanted sweets so much lately, the fact that I’ve enjoyed Fig Newtons from time to time while being knocked up deserves another mention on the blog. I probably had not had a Fig Newton since college, and then, a few weeks back, all of a sudden that sounded like a nice treat in a sea of other sweets that just did not sound good. So, we have twin pack Fig Newtons that I take to work with me for a snack maybe once a week, like I’m in second grade. And that’s been sort of fun.

Symptoms: Mega grouchy this week due to another month end and feeling like I just cannot get enough sleep.

Best Moment this week: This week was kinda “meh,” but we are looking forward to time with my parents this coming weekend and going through my old baby clothes and toys in Indiana. Also, DM and I did have an awesome date night at Boka and seeing Argo last Saturday night, before Argo won Best Picture at the Oscars on Sunday. We are doing a pretty decent job of making dinner reservations at some top bucket list restaurants in Chicago, and have been trying to keep an eye on movies, musicals and other events we’d like to make it out to in the next few months before baby arrives. In all, it was a great weekend last weekend, even if I’ve had a case of the grouchies!