26 Weeks

{Alternately titled: "This One's for You, Missy"} ;)

My good friend has sweetly asked, a couple times, to see some belly pictures.  And on our Skype dates,  my dad always asks to see the baby (Miss, you're not the only one).  I had yet to take any photos to commemorate this pregnancy, and it was time.  I had Brad snap a few photos yesterday afternoon, and prior to viewing them, I actually perceived myself as being not-so-big. Then I looked at these...

...and I'm rethinking my "I don't think I'm huge" perspective.  Whoa, baby!  Literally!

I acknowledge that I'm not a small person non-pregnant, but I certainly look larger than I feel!  Which I guess is a good thing...for both my back and my ego.  ;)  

Today I am 26 weeks along.  And I had to look at the calendar to be certain that is in fact the right number.  Just another way in which this pregnancy is quite different from my previous two.  I just don't keep track too much.  I have a general idea, but I certainly am not able to say "I am 23 weeks and 4 days pregnant" like I could the first time around.  There are certain things I remember about being pregnant with the boys that have me declaring that this pregnancy, thus far, has been the best I've had.  Reflecting back, the most vivid memory for me is perhaps just how BIG I was with Reed (at one point measuring six weeks farther along than I really was)...which is probably why I don't feel so large and in charge this time around!  There were a few other "issues" that I had during my pregnancies with the boys that have been non-existant with this one, so this third time around certainly has a lot more "normal" to it than the others.

Overall, I feel really good.  I have some occasional issues with the varicose veins running down the back of my legs (I have Reed and genetics to thank for those) and I am just now starting to have some noticable aches in my hips.  I am sleeping well, probably in large part due to being so tired by the time the end of the day rolls around, but I did have to introduce a second pillow several weeks ago.  It rests between my legs and keeps my hips a bit more square instead of rolling forward.  That, and I think I am slowly turning into my mother (a little joke, for those of you that know her!).  I do experience one to two contractions every day.  Not significant enough to stop me in my tracks, but enough to know for sure that I'm having one.  I haven't had any food cravings like I did with the boys (KFC, baked potatoes and cherry pie, I remember), although I was thirsty for milk and milk and more milk during the first trimester.  I do get a significantly annoying case of reflux with certain foods, so I'm careful to avoid those.  I have instituted a bedtime snack of cold cereal to keep the 3am hunger pangs away.

When I might mention to Brad about how I'm feeling, I am clear to state that I'm not complaining ---  I'm just stating the facts. :)  I have decided to enjoy and revel in as much of this time as possible.  Brad and I both intend on this being our last pregnancy.  While we both feel as though this won't be the end of growing our family (a story to share much later when we begin to contemplate how additional children might make their way into our family), we have been down a long road of pregnancies and loss (maybe another story to share, someday) and the fact that we are simply growing older, we are both comfortable in sharing that this'll be it for my child-bearing years.  It feels like such an adult-like decision to make, which is silly to say.  I am an adult, after all, it's just that there's a finality to that decision.  While nine and a half days out of 10 I would say that I suck at being a mom, I know without a doubt that a mom is exactly what God intended me to be.  So saying "no more babies" is a big deal.  But I find peace with that decision.  And like I said, someday we'll grow in numbers again, just in a different way.   

Baby Bear is looking good.  I am on an every 5-weeks schedule of appointments, which will change to every 2-weeks once I reach 30 weeks.  I last saw my doctor a couple weeks ago, and Baby measured and sounded great.  For a while there, Baby was the most active just as I was getting up in the morning and as I was going to bed at night; a trend I prayed would not continue outside of the womb!  Now, though, there doesn't seem to be much of a pattern to his/her activity.  Simply enjoying this time of flicks and kicks before they get so strong it feels like my insides are going to pop out of my belly button.       

I still have no natural motherly instinct as to Baby's gender.  I find myself referring to Baby as "she" much more frequently than "he".  That is because, I figure, it'll likely be the last time I'll be able to do so!  Some might say it's a girl because this pregnancy has progressed so differently than the boys' did.  I got together with my best girls a couple weekends ago for a girls weekend, whereby we attempted many of the old wives notions for predicting baby gender.  Of the 10 we found, we could only accurately perform three of them, and they all pointed in the pink direction.

Reed says if it's a girl, he's going to punch her in the face.

{To be sure, he still frequently hugs and kisses my belly and talks sweet baby words to his little sibling.  But he's also kind of a punk. ;) }

Obviously biology and genetics and how babies are made and, most importantly, God, has the final say in who this baby will be, and in 14 short weeks, we'll all find out.  For me, for right now, it really is the best kind of secret.