24 Weeks!

A couple pics of me at 24 weeks = 6 months! The photos are courtesy of my lovely photographer bff, Moe. Aren't they good?!

I had a great time in St. Louis visiting friends and celebrating Lauren's wedding shower and bachelorette party! We had SO much fun and I think it is safe to say she is the best bachelorette of all time :)

I was also surprised by friends with a sweet little baby shower for Emma! We got SO many adorable little things! I am dying of all the cuteness and things people have been giving her! I love that I am having a girl because lets be honest - you can't put boys in ruffle butts, tutus, or huge bows. I will have to take pictures and do a blog post about all the cute things.

Josh and I went out of town this past weekend so we were able to go shopping and bought Emma her first outfits at the gymboree we passed! I was trying to be reasonable and not buy everything I wanted, so I asked Josh for his opinion on what we should purchase. He said "ALL of it!". I was amazed. That little girl must have him wrapped around her little finger already. We also purchased emma's first binky and sippy cup at Cabela's. Can you guess the design? PINK CAMOUFLAGE. Hahaha. They are really cute though! We also got some cute socks and a stuffed chocolate lab for Emma at Cabela's.

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 24 weeks

Size of baby: I am not sure, a cantelope maybe?

Total weight gain: Not sure, plenty enough

Maternity clothes: a good mixture of maternity and regular

Gender: GIRL!!

Movement: I feel her wiggling/fluttering around. Almost like the low part of your stomach is churning. I should feel kicks, and I think I feel some really light ones sometimes. I found out why they are not stronger, which I will explain in a second.

Sleep: Sleeping great. Totally used to sleeping on my side now, it is not so bad. And when you are a really tired pregnant woman, any sleep position will do!

Symptoms: Just very hormonal emotional. I had a few breakdowns last week. Back pain.

What I miss: Running, not going to the bathroom every 30 minutes.

Cravings: I eat a ton of pickles

Best moment of the week: Purchasing cute things for Emma with Josh :)

I also was hugging Josh this week, because we are big huggers and embrace a lot. He says "man, I can totally feel your belly when you hug me now!" HA. I guess that means I am getting real big.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting this precious baby girl! The holidays, visiting friends and family.

We had another ultrasound yesterday because they wanted to sort out my placenta issue. The actual doctor (he's a maternal fetal med specialist) did the ultrasound this time. Apparently I have more placenta pieces growing than they had originally thought. Josh and I didn't really know what questions to ask, so we didn't ask many. I asked if I could still have a normal vaginal delivery, and he said yes. They assured me that in most cases, this situation turns out just fine and it is not entirely uncommon (although the more pieces you have growing, the more uncommon it can be, like me) The worst case scenario: the placenta around Emma will stop doing its job and she will stop growing, or it will start detaching too early. I may be put on bed rest, or they may have to take her out early. I am supposed to watch for bright red bleeding. They need to keep a close watch on her growth so I will have an ultrasound in 4 weeks, and I imagine after that I will have an ultrasound every two weeks. All those extra placentas do have one benefit: Extra cushion in my belly! Her movements do not hurt or wake me up at all! The doctor did say that I may start cramping a bit though and was surprised some of the pieces haven't caused me cramping already.

My next "regular" OB appointment is December 2, right after Thanksgiving, and it is the one where I have to drink the nasty drink for gestational diabetes testing. After that appointment, I will see my regular OB every TWO weeks! I can't believe the time has already come! I feel so unprepared. We haven't even begun putting together Emma's room, and we need to finish setting up the house. I haven't read near enough books on labor/delivery, newborn care, etc. I am VERY stressed out to the point where last week I would just start crying for no reason. Tasks that used to be so easy, like the cleaning the house, are very hard now and give me SO much back pain. My back muscles must be weak. Josh's momma sure made him scrub toilets when he was young, but I have him so busy on putting house stuff together that we just have no time to get it all done. He can't do it all; I can't do it all. We need help! I have asked my mom to come visit in January so hopefully she can at least help me organize and keep the house clean for a bit. I am open to other visitors as well :)