milestones

Today I pass to very important milestones- First, it is our 4th Anniversary! Yay for happy marriages! )I will be posting more about that on the family blog) - but today is also an important milestone for baby Lunt too, as I am now 24 weeks along which means my pregnancy is now considered "viable." This means that if something should happen and the baby needs to or tries to come out, he is developed enough that he actually has a chance at survival. Of course, we want him to stay in there and cook quite a while longer, it's just nice to know that if something should come up, he is big enough that the hospital staff could keep him alive.

On to my weekly update! I remembered to jot down little things that I wanted to document on the blog, so this week will give you a much more in depth look of a week in the life of pregnant Tarin.

We will start with this morning, since it is fresh in mind. I had what I like to call a pregnant girl problem. I woke up sooooooo thirsty but also nauseated. I know if I drink water- I will throw up for sure, but I am thirsty for water....sigh....I really really really really hate throwing up- so I opted for some graham crackers and room temperature apple juice. Sometimes I feel like I have the eating habits of a toddler.

Another event from this morning- I had to text my dad to see if he could stop by on his way to work to change the bottle on the water cooler for me, since Nathan forgot to do it before he left for work. Before this big ol' gut I could do it by myself, but the bottles are too heavy for me to safely lift now. I am pretty sure if I tried I would strain every muscle in my back and belly.

So now, on to my list!

First thing I wanted to talk about this week is kicking. I feel this little guy moving around and kicking me every day now- and when he does it- it's a like a kung fu marathon in my uterus; when he is active, he is really active! I love feeling him move- inside and out. He never cooperates when Nathan tries to feel it though. We have tried a couple times, when Xander is kicking really hard, but Nathan still isn't sure that he has really felt anything. He'll feel it sometime soon though, because I have seen my tummy move with some of  the baby's more powerful punches.

A new thing that the baby did this week was found my bladder. Yeah, that was not cool little baby! I was just laying there, minding my own business and all of a sudden he either punched or kicked directly into my bladder like 4 times in a row. I litterally exclaimed "Woah!" when it happened, and of course,moments later and I had to get up and pee. I hope that doesn't become a habit for him, because as much as I love for him to be moving around, that particular action is quite unpleasant for mommy!

Next stop on my list, new pains! Yep, two new pains arrived this week. First I have discovered "Sciatica of Pregnancy-" see diagram below.

Let me just tell you, sciatic nerve pain is no joke. Shoot! This is something I definitely talking to Dr. Tutt about at my next appointment to see what can be done. My lower back, hip, and sometimes my bum hurt almost every day. It helps to limp a little sometimes when I walk, but limping when you're pregnant looks a lot more like a waddle. 

I also had my first real round ligament pain. For those who don't know what that is- the round ligament is one of the many ligaments that help support the womb- as the womb get bigger this ligament can become strained causing round ligament pain. It's really common during pregnancy. Up until this past week I had some round ligament discomfort, but walking through Walmart with Nathan the other night I had PAIN. It only lasted a few seconds but dang, it hurt. I have also experienced it a lot at night, when I attempt to roll from one side to the other. Oh, and when I woke up and needed to blow my nose a couple days ago, I pretty much screamed out in pain. My sciatic nerve and round ligament are telling me that the next 16 weeks may be long ones.

Next we will move on to a cooler, happier topic. Since I am pretty obviously pregnant now- people that I don't even know are being way nicer and more courteous. People hold doors for me, and offer to reach things up high or down low. I arrived at a single stall public restroom just behind another lady and when she saw the baby bump, she insisted that I go first. I thought that was so nice!

In other news, I wore a maternity dress when Nathan and I went out for date night. I bought it because it looked insanely cute on the hanger. Well, I put it on and while I think it looked pretty cute from the front, when I turned to side, I felt more like I was wearing a tent! I was really kinda looking forward to finding some cute maternity dresses to wear for the last part of pregnancy, because they are so comfy and easy to move in but I don't want to look like I am wearing a tent! Maybe it's just the style and material of this one dress, I really hope it is.

I also decided this week that I need to stop weighing myself. It stresses me out. I am just going to let the doctor worry about weighing me. I haven't gained a ton- I am up like 12 lbs I think- the number on the scale is just so high! I don't like it. When I think about it in terms of how many pounds I have gained, it doesn't really bother me but when I see the number on the scale I freak out. Plus, I have been retaining a bunch of water, so a lot of that is just water weight. Which reminds of something that I thought was pretty funny earlier this week. Most days my feet and ankles swell- not every day, but often enough that I am used to looking and down and seeing fat puffy feet. Well, I was talking to Nathan and happened to be standing, leaning against a wall in the bedroom- in a way that I could actually see my feet and I looked down and them and thought to myself "Dude, my toes look so skinny today!" and this thought made me, like, insanely happy- and when I realized how happy I was about skinny toes, I felt like an absolute weirdo! Haha

And on to my last topic...I realized this week that I only a few short weeks away from being in my 3rd trimester. Just as I becoming more and more aware that there is actually a baby inside of me, growing and moving around, I am also realizing that it's not that long until that thing is coming out and I am actually going to have a child. Not gonna lie, sometimes I have little mini panic attacks because I feel so unprepared- like the nursery isn't set up, we don't have hardly any baby stuff yet, we haven't taken any birthing classes or toured the hospital. Then I remind myself that we still have time for all that. My baby shower is still over a month away- I have time.... but time flies! It's a vicious circle! 

I will end this post with the view I have when I look down. Where I used to see my toes, now I see this: