26 Weeks: Head of Lettuce

25 weeks...a little over

26 weeks

Please ignore the formatting...I can't figure out what is wrong with the font and spacing on this post.


How big is baby: Baby is the size of a head of lettuce this week (13.6-14.8 in and 1.5-2.5 lbs).  Baby's eyes are forming, and will soon start to open.  Eyelashes are now grown, too.  Baby's getting his/her immune system ready for life on the outside by soaking up your antibodies.  Baby's taking breaths, too. They're of amniotic fluid, not air, but it's still good practice.

Weight gain/loss:  I'm a little nervous for my check up next week...let's just say that I ate way too much during all of this weekend's festivities.   

Stretch marks: No. I had a small freak out the other day when I thought I saw a ton forming on the bottom of my belly, but they were just indentations from the elastic waste on my PJs.  Thank goodness so far!

Sleep:  Ok, but getting worse.    

Diet/Cravings/Aversions:  Fruit. I haven't had watermelon in a week and I'm starting to go through withdrawals.  I have about 5 lbs of blueberries I bought this weekend so I might be passing up on watermelon for a little bit while I get through these babies.

Exercise:  Walking, biking.  

Gender: We'll find out in October!  

Movement: Still everyday!    

The belly:  Definitely there.

What I'm spazzing about:  Nothing really this week.

What I'm loving:  We set up our crib!  We got it last week before going on vacation and were so excited, we put it together that night...well Aaron put it together that night :)  It looks awesome in the room.  Now we just need the glider, and we have all of the big pieces of furniture so we can figure out the room configuration.  Now I just need to buy frames and order my Etsy prints :)

Symptoms:  Sore hips at night.  Still more heartburn.  Starting to get more uncomfortable just in general all of the time.  My back starts to hurt when I sit too long.  But then I get uncomfortable when I stand too long.  No win situation people.  I'm a little worried about what the next 3 months will bring since I know it can only get worse :(

What I'm looking forward to:  My doctor's appointment next week.  Getting our glider in the next week or so.  Making it to the third trimester in a few days.  That just seems crazy to me that I'm almost already there.  These last three months are just going to fly by considering work is getting really crazy with our October 15 due date.  I've been starting to have dreams where Baby is actually here and I'm not pregnant anymore. But let's just stay inside and cook a little longer :)         

Best moment of the week:  Spending so much time with family and being able to have a few days of relaxation :)  And of course, the surprise visit from my BFF!!! 

Calzones

These were so easy and so good!  My friend Andrea gave me this recipe back in 2006, I think.  Tonight was the first night I actually remembered to make them :)  I used two loaves of bread thinking that I wanted leftovers and not knowing how much Aaron would eat.  If you can tell from the picture, one was the size of our dinner plates.  So we definitely have plenty of leftovers :)  If you only want this for one night, one calzone was plenty for two people, in my opinion.


Recipe (adapted slightly)


- 2 loaves of frozen bread (I used Rhodes)
- 1/2 green pepper, diced
- 1/2 onion, diced
- small can black olives, chopped
- 6 thin slices of salami
- shredded, mozzarella cheese
- pizza sauce
- olive oil
- minced garlic


Preheat oven to 325 degrees.


Stretch the loaves into two, ovalish shapes (make sure to flour your surfaces well).  Brush olive oil onto the dough and sprinkle with minced garlic.  Spread pizza sauce onto dough.  Place remainder of ingredients in middle of dough (salami, green pepper, onion, olives, cheese).  Cut 1 inch strips on both sides of dough.  Fold in and braid the two sides of the dough.


Place each calzone on cookie sheet.  Cook at 325 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

24 Weeks: Cantaloupe

How big is baby: Baby is the size of a cantaloupe this week (10.5-11.8 in and 12.7-20.8 oz).  As I mentioned before, apparently, during these weeks, they start to measure the baby from head to toe.  Previously, the average size was measured from crown to rump...that's the reason for the range and no change from last week.  But cantaloupe??  That's a pretty big fruit I think.        

Weight gain/loss:  At my appointment last week, I think I was up a total of 14 lbs. so far.  According to What to Expect When You Are Expecting, I'm still in the normal range.   

Stretch marks: No.

Sleep:  Still sleeping well minus my one bathroom break in the middle of the night.  Baby has decided on certain nights that having a dance party at 2am, 4am, or 5am is a great idea.  I usually am able to roll over and fall right back asleep after I have a short, "quiet" conversation with Baby :)  

Diet/Cravings/Aversions:  Fruit.  Pizza.  I decided to change it up a little bit and bought strawberries, blueberries and cherries for the beginning of the week.  But don't worry, I have a watermelon on the counter, and I'll be cutting it up in the next day or so.  And I got my pizza fix twice this week.  Pizza on Monday and tonight we had homemade calzones.  They were amazing!  I'll post the recipe soon.

Exercise:  It's finally cooled off a little, so I can walk outside again.  

Gender: We'll find out in October!  

Movement: Aaron got to feel the baby even more this week.  I can definitely see the kicks poking out now sometimes when I look down.  It's so nice to finally have a daily reminder that everything is ok.  I read somewhere today that baby feels most active between weeks 24 and 28 while baby is still small enough to move around like crazy.  After week 28, I guess baby starts to run out of room.    

The belly:  Bigger and bigger it seems.  My clothes from Old Navy finally came!!  I have a client meeting at work tomorrow.  I'm not quite sure yet what I'm going to do since my suit jackets only match my pre-pregnancy pants.  I'm hoping that the bella band is still an option.

What I'm spazzing about:  Nothing really this week.

What I'm loving:  We ordered our crib!  It should be here in the next week.  We are out of town next weekend and then in Grand Haven with family for a few days so I don't think we'll put it together for a little while.  I'm just excited to have it!

We decided on the car we are going to buy as well.  We are going this weekend to see what the dealer has and test drive them.  I'm slightly stressed about trading in/selling my car, but we'll figure it out.  I'm hoping the trade in value is decent and we won't have to weigh the option of trying to sell it on our own.

Also, we have our appointments set up with two, potential pediatrician's.  Both came highly recommended and the people I talked to on the phone were super nice.

Symptoms:  Sore hips at night.  Still more heartburn.  I really do think I've been feeling braxton hicks contractions here and there at the end of the day.  I've read that it can be normal this early.

What I'm looking forward to:  Spending time with family over the next few weeks.  My sister and her boyfriend are coming in from Denver and staying with us on Sunday.  Then we are going to a Tigers game with my parents on Monday.  We are spending the following weekend with my family, and then we are headed to Grand Haven that Sunday to spend a few days with my in-laws.          

Best moment of the week:  Crossing even more off the list!  I am a total list person.  And the great presents that Beeba sent the baby :)  She ordered a cute sleeper/hat outfit and toy from our registry (there was a bit of a mixup on the outfit but Buy Buy Baby was great about fixing it).  She also sent a soft baseball toy that can be clipped on to the car seat bar or stroller.  She is a HUGE Tigers fan so she said it was a must.  Thanks again Beeba!  

23 Weeks: Grapefruit

How big is baby: Baby is the size of a grapefruit this week (10.5-11.8 in and 12.7-20.8 oz).  Apparently, during these weeks, they start to measure the baby from head to toe.  Previously, the average size was measured from crown to rump...that's the reason for the range and no change from last week.        

Weight gain/loss:  Not sure from last week.  

Stretch marks: No.

Sleep:  Things are going a little better here.  I've finally figured out a few good positions with my body pillow that seem to be helping.  

Diet/Cravings/Aversions:  The usual. Fruit.  Pizza.  I am eating SO.MUCH.WATERMELON.  I guess it could be worse :)

Exercise:  YMCA.  It has been in the high 90s/100s here so walking has pretty much been out of the picture.  I've been trying to make it to the Y a couple of times a week.

Gender: We'll find out in October!  

Movement: Aaron finally got to feel Baby T!  The little stinker only gave him one good jab, but at least he got to feel something :)  Baby will move around like crazy and as soon as one of us puts our hand on my belly, the movement almost completely stops.  

The belly:  Definitely there!  I ordered a few maternity tops from Old Navy last week.  I'm just waiting for them to arrive now.  My weekend shirts are long enough that they still work, but I have very few work shirts that can stay in the rotation.

What I'm spazzing about:  Nothing really this week.

What I'm loving:  Getting more and more crossed off from our list of things we need to do before October.  We ordered our glider on Sunday.  We found a store in Ann Arbor that sold the line so we went there to test it out.  LOVE it.  And it will be a good living room chair too once we are done having kids.  We made a day out of it and went to Zingermen's Deli for lunch and hit up IKEA on the way home.  We found a small lamp and a few storage bins at IKEA for the nursery.

I'm so happy that Aaron got to feel a little poke too :)  

And we also (well I started a while ago, but Aaron finally jumped on the boat) started discussing names.  We came up with separate lists and we compared and actually have a few in common.  I was convinced all of his would be completely off the wall, but they were actually really cute (there were just a couple that I nixed right away).  Unfortunately, he did not like my top girl name :(  He said it reminded him of a porn star name.  What?!?  I won't say the name just in case I can get him to change his mind (we want it to be a surprise).  

Symptoms:  Sore hips at night.  HORRIBLE heart burn last night.  I have no idea what I ate that caused it, but it was bad.  I took tums which did nothing.  I finally just had to walk around and stand up trying to wait for it to pass.

What I'm looking forward to:  My doctor's appointment tomorrow!  I can't get enough of hearing baby's heartbeat :)  We are also ordering our crib this weekend (I think).        

Best moment of the week:  Aaron getting to feel the baby kick :)