Twenty-six Weeks

This week: Wolverine Baby is fourteen inches long and weighs 1.67 pounds.  That's about the size of an English hothouse cucumber or the weight of a head of lettuce. (By the way, I had no idea what an English hothouse cucumber was, and neither did Ray.  He remarked, "She's getting into vegetables we don't know!")

Development: This week, she's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is good practice for her breathing when she's born.  Her immune system is starting to develop as she soaks up antibodies from me, and her eyes are starting to form.  She'll start opening them soon.

Are you craving anything? I really wanted protein this morning.

Is there any food that turns you off? Not today.

How do you feel? Really tired and very sore.  My hips and lower back ache pretty much all the time now; my movements are far less than graceful; and my feet and ankles are now slightly swollen by the end of the day.  Yesterday in the gym, I realized I wasn't able to do any sort of movement that really contracted my abdomen without having some pain.  This was really frustrating, but I'm going to reach out to other CrossFit Moms and see what they did to work out abs as they started to get larger.

How is your sleep? It's okay.  I feel like I have to do a three-point turn to roll over, but I am getting decent sleep, so that's nice.

Most surprising thing you've noticed or experienced:  When I got home from prenatal yoga Monday night, Ray was on the phone with his Aunt Donna.  He was telling her how the pregnancy is progressing, and he said, "She's really starting to get big."  I found myself smiling at this, and that was completely surprising.  I've really struggled with having zero control over my body since getting pregnant, so I think I expected to be hurt or angered by that kind of statement.  However, Ray said it with a smile and excitement, so I think it felt like an exciting thing than a criticism, so maybe that's why I was okay with it?

Something you're surprised you haven't noticed or experienced: Based on how giant I've been feeling these days, I'm surprised I haven't found five million stretch marks.

Favorite/most comfortable article of clothing: A Gap Maternity tee shirt.

How is Ray doing? Excellent.  There are not words to describe how grateful I am to have him here.