My life as a soon to be mother of a boy :): 24 weeks!

I'm late posting this Blog! Ahh so sorry, I haven't had a chance to post, I have been spending my time (when not student teaching) reading the hunger games, I just started it this week and wanted to get it read before Saturday date night with Zach who is taking me to see it! I finished it Wednesday night (So good!).. and then forgot about my blog! Zach has his first Saturday off and I am so excited to actually be able to spend all of Saturday with him, and so pumped to see the movie!

Back to baby talk! Here's me and my lovely baby bump :)

I am officially 6 months pregnant!! WHOA! Where has the time gone? Only 15 weeks to go! (109 days from today!!)

This week the baby is the length of an ear of corn. So crazy, I do feel big but he must be very curled up in my belly because my belly definitely isn't the length of an ear of corn!

Baby Powell has gained 4 ounces just since last week, and is about a foot long.. he is growing so fast! And – best of all – the baby is now considered “legally viable” by my sources and would stand a fair chance of surviving if he was born premature. And while a baby born this early will most likely have complications, he has a good chance of survival. Not that I want him to come out any time soon! As much as I want to shower my baby in kisses, I want him to stay put until his due date and get big and strong!! Also According to my sources At week 24, baby’s progress isn’t just about internal stuff, it’s about his looks too. With pinker, more opaque skin, he’s looking more and more, well, like a baby.

Movement: The movements and kicks I've been feeling seem to get stronger every week! I've been feeling the baby a lot more lately and higher in my belly especially at night! I am feeling lots of KICKS! Kicks are an everyday occurrence now, and I love every single one of them. I used to only feel him during the evenings but this week he has been active throughout the day and night, moving all around. It absolutely never gets old, and I catch myself staring down at my stomach all the time watching it jump around and bounce when he is super active.

I feel like my stomach is B-I-G, and it's crazy since I still have a ways to go. By the time I am in my third trimester I am convinced I will probably look like an elephant. But I find my growing belly sort of amazing each day, I definitely don’t mind it. I have embraced the belly whole-heartedly.

I’m still walking 3 miles every day (okay you caught me... not everyday, I have missed a couple of days from being too exhausted! But I am trying to walk almost everyday and for the most part succeeding!) I'm Crossing my fingers that I can keep it up until the end, even if I have to walk very sloooooooowly.
Last weekend I went to the park with Tess, and actually decided to try jogging... something I would never do if Zach was with me! He is such a worry-wort, whenever we walk he never lets me jog, he's scared I'm bouncing the baby around too much, but I've read that it's fine as long as you don't over-do it and take breaks. Sooo I decided to give it a try, it's been so long since I've jogged/ran, and I did, and It felt SO GOOD!! Wow I had no idea that I would feel great from running, I had forgotten how good it makes me feel. But of course I didn't run long or fast, just a short little jog, I probably looked so slow and wobbly running like a penguin but I didn't care it was great! I may start incorporating a few short slow jogs every so often while I walk. (I know Zach will protest though!)

The dogs love going on walks with us! They wanted to be in the picture today too!

Symptoms: Now for the fun part where you get to read my complaints! Ready for the whining and complaining? Well ready or not here it is!:

Well this week was my frist week student teaching at school every day (minus today), and as much as I absolulty love it and would much rather be teaching than in class, my body was not used to it! I – for one – am freaking exhausted! Not just because of teaching but with everything else going on in my life right now. Plus, we had parent-teacher conferences this week too, so I didn't get home until later which threw my evening routine off. So this week i've been tired and cranky, and neither zach or I have had time to go to the grocery store this week, and little things like us not having any cookies, is ticking me off. Poor Zach, my hormones make me impossible to deal with sometimes. When I think back on it now, making a fuss about cookies seems so ridiculous! What is pregnancy doing to me!? It's funny just last week Zach was saying how lucky he is because I've still been for the most part acting like my normal self through all of this.. not this week though. I have been a mess.

Oh I have experienced something new this week: Trouble getting out of bed in the morning while laying flat on my back. ha ha :) I feel like the kid Randy from a Christmas story when his mom wraps him up in a huge coat with tons of layers underneath, and while walking to school he falls in the snow on his back and can't get up, until his brother, comes and helps him. Yeah thats me. When I get stuck flat on my back trying to get up. haha.

Anyways just doing normal tasks is really starting to wear me out. Bending over is becoming VERY difficult. I can do it still, but it really is not comfortable at all. I’m totally at the point where I have to sit down to put my shoes on for sure. Also, I get shortness of breath easliy now, which is another reason why I can't really jog long, and I have just an overall heavy feeling. And my weirdest symptom so far.. My belly itches like crazy! I read that it's from the skin stretching, I keep smearing on the coconut oil and lotion but it always starts itching. ahh. Very annoying! My next rcomplaint is my constant need to pee. Seriously it's getting out control. I feel like I peeped more just this week than I have all year! (that may be a slight exaggeration lol), I always have to go! I go, and then have to go again. I think he was jumping on my bladder this week. Anyways, that's something else that's only going to get worse! Oh and sleeping, I guess I'm getting used to sleeping with a belly, and getting up all the time at night isn't so bad now since i'm getting used to it, it's just very annoying. Oh and backaches. Yup still got them. Okay okay I'm done complaining now.. really I don't feel as bad as it may seem, I actually feel great and am happy, I'm just dealing with a few pregnancy symptoms.. no big deal!