grow baby grow

opps, its been a few more weeks again baby. I'm 24 weeks and 3 days pregnant with you. You have put your travel miles in! We all went to Hawaii and had a really fun time seeing sea turtles and snorkeling with tropical fishes and eating lots of pineapple. I had a hard time eating much food at a time and had horrible heartburn while we were there so maybe you will have a lot of hair or maybe you are just smashing my stomach.
On the flight back I did not feel good...it was like my entire abdomen swelled up with so much pressure. I was really uncomfortable and thank god we had a few hour lay over in Texas or I may have exploded. It started right up again when we got on the second airplane.
I was thinking about going to Denver in August to see your grandma and Jenny but I don't know if I can handle the plane again and the altitude.

You are growing fast now! I've popped so they say and look pregnant. More and more each week. We had yet another ultrasound and you look perfect according to the ultrasound tech. But you are LONG and weigh a bit more than "average" because you are so tall. You seem to have picked up your daddy's genetics, not moms. That's ok I rather you be tall than short and suffer the teasing I faced growing up. Its hard for your little mom to have a big baby in me though. Sometimes when you kick I already feel like you don't have enough room inside and are trying to pushing your way to make your room bigger. Your growing so fast that I have to grow really fast which means my muscles and ligaments in my abdomen are having to stretch fast and wow does that hurt sometimes!

I am really lucky though so far I'm not covered in stretch marks (I slather on lotion multiple times a day) I'm not ballooning up with weight...you are not a big fan of junk food...or much food in general so I'm not gorging on food or really experiencing cravings aside from fruit. I don't have any strange skin things going on (yet) just some little varicose veins on my tummy. Maybe that will all change as I get bigger faster.

Sometimes you are in a position that makes it really uncomfortable to sit or lay down and I have to tell you to move or roll over. sometimes you kick or punch so hard that I can see my stomach jump!

I read a book that was supposed to be funny and tell me about the first 9 months of your life. The book made it sound like EVERYONE hates their baby every moment of their first four or five months. I cried after reading the book and it has made me really afraid. But the lady also seemed to have never been responsible for kid and not have a very realistic view of dealing with kids or babies and she wanted to seem perfect all the time. That's not me. I have a really hard time believing I will hate every moment of being with you. I most worried about trying to feed you and get a little sleep so I don't go crazy. Both your mom and dad love to sleep so maybe you will also? Maybe maybe:)

Linda and your autie Adrian have warned me that sometimes it will feel like I'm feeding you nonstop and that it will be hard and maybe hurt for the first few weeks. They said I should try for at least four or five weeks and it will get easier. They are both going to skype with me and help me figure out how to feed you so even though they are far away we won't be all alone. I really don't want to feed you formula for a while if possible. If I could help you not have my allergies and get sick all the time I did as a little kid and teenager and adult then I will work really hard to make sure you have have the best immune system possible.

fly away baby

wow we have been really busy the last 4 weeks. I'm 21 weeks and three days pregnant with you now. We had a gender ultrasound and discovered you are a boy! Were we surprised! The idea is sinking in and I've started getting you a few little outfits. Be warned you will be dressed as a stuffed animal or in duck related items for the first few months of your life. You dad and I think this will make you less frightening to care for at first. You might worry because you come out about a week after Halloween so you may end up wearing a lot of baby Halloween costumes.

Don't ask me what your name is yet...that is a point of debate and confusion for us. I don't want you to have a name that leads you to get picked on in the future and your dad wants something cute and slightly originally. Don't worry I shot down both Albert and Elmer. You can thank me later.

You are a big boy inside of me. Long and a big bigger than typical even though I am still pretty small. I do look pregnant now though. Depending on how you are lounging around in me I look more or less pregnant. My tummy is getting smashed up higher and after I eat sometimes I look REALLY pregnant but then it goes away.

We have been busy traveling. We went to Denver to see your Grandma and visited our friend Linda and her little girl. You moved around a lot when we were at higher elevation but I did not feel sick or even have a hard time breathing. Then a few days later we took you to Reno to visit your great grandma and watch your uncle and dad play craps while mom fretted about loosing money. I don't think you liked the loud noises of the slot machines and I did not like all the cigarette smoke. You were kicking and punching pretty hard for those three days and now your movements seem more relaxed again. In two days we are taking you to Hawaii so you can swim with fish and sea turtles! You are one lucky baby!

Right now I feel pretty good. I have my energy back but do need a hour or so nap each afternoon and need plenty of sleep at night. You have me eating fruit non stop. Strawberries cherries and raspberries in particular. I have lost my desire for fast food which is very strange for me but has keep me from getting big so maybe you will be a healthy eater. I do get heartburn at night though and I can no longer eat chex mix as it makes me burn up!