I am quite possibly turning out to be a flake when it comes to blogging! I know it is a time-consuming activity (which was originally the point) and so I typically find that I have more pressing things to handle. So, with that said, I have passed the Praxis 1 test (all 3 parts!), am taking my first of 2 Praxis II Tests tomorrow in Mobile (Family and Consumer Sciences), and then I will be studying like a mad woman for my other Praxis II Test (Elementary Education) that I am taking on January 3rd! So all through the Holidays I will be studying... sorry visiting family! But once those 2 tests are over I am home free until June! I can focus all my insane baby-momma energy on Elli-Anne Goley!
Speaking of that little goober, she is a total mess! I can feel her kick like crazy all the time (Well, until Dusty puts his hand on my tummy to feel... then- NOTHING! Probably pretty frustrating for him...). She has 2 favorite spots to let me feel her. One is my right upper side, distinctly close to my ribs, but not quite painful yet. It feels like she taps me with a little hand saying, "Momma, hey feed me" or "Momma, I love those cookies, popsicles, calories galore!" And then the other favorite kicking spot is my lower left side belly. She usually moves there when I am laying in bed before I get up or when I am stretched out on the couch. This is usually indicating nothing in particular other than she likes to shake her groove thang!
If you have followed my short updates on Facebook, then you know I have quite a few sayings racking up for how Elli loves to move. This was called to my attention last week and so I looked back and some of the things I have said to describe her make me laugh! So here are a few, just in case you didn't catch them the first time:
"We got a kickin chicken on our hands this morning! Elli-Anne is on a roll! ♥"
"OK two things: 1- My sweet husband let me sleep in today because I was up half the night with Kung Fu Panda (Elli-Anne)... It was awesome (sleeping in!) 2- Elli-Anne obviously loves my morning cereal. She was kicking like a fool right in my right side. You could see the jolts clearly so I tried to post a video... but no she is shy! What a turd nugget!"
"Elli-anne is having a dance-dance-revolution-off in my belly! insane!"
Those weren't really the super funny posts but they do make me laugh... The super funny ones are when I am describing how fat she is making me! I mean come on people! Last week she was the size of a cauliflower, now a head of lettuce! Massive.
Everything is starting to really pick up and change fast! I am gaining weight like a champ- or a fat, lazy, hungry person... either way. I am 26 weeks and have gained like 23+ pounds! And luckily I don't own a scale because that number is really off my last appointment at 23 weeks... haha! Not so funny though, are the stretch marks sneaking up on me! They started out looking like teeny, tiny veins on my side stomach... Then they started growing a little and getting darker... I went into total freak-out mode because with stretch marks, you can't fix them! They have to come and fade out. I was not about to surrender my stomach... hips, fine; butt, oh well; my stomach? forget it! So I started obsessively putting on baby oil, lotions, body butter, etc. every time I go in the bathroom (which is like 4,763 times a day!). The tiny vein-like marks haven't gone away but they haven't gotten any bigger or darker. There are new ones though. If I can keep them at bay they may just go away once my tummy (hopefully) shrinks back down one day.
She has really picked up on her activity and she is getting stronger everyday! The updates I receive from all kinds of baby websites tell me she is adorable now (2.5 pounds or so- the size of a head of lettuce!) and just fattening up, adding the finishing touches on her little details- like eyelashes! She is breathing amniotic fluid now, practicing for the real thing! That blows my mind! She is also soaking up my antibodies, working on building her immune system- so I am being a total germ-a-phobic!
Another change I must mention is how much nesting I have been into. I have been "directing" (you could call it bossing) household furniture changes, room decor improvements, etc. as well as decorating for Christmas, organizing pantries and cabinets and making lists for more and more projects I want to accomplish before March! Now, Elli is helping me out some with the whole nesting thing- she makes me make cookies (by the dozens!) & devour them, occasionally cook dinner, and keep groceries stocked and laundry done. All of these things I might normally loathe, I am actually enjoying now! It is calming to organize your entire kitchen, break your back baking cookies for no reason and then follow that day up with a round of sweeping and dusting... Weird huh?
Pregnancy Brain is real; Let me just start with that. The most annoying change has been the subtraction of many of my brain cells. I feel like I am a total stoner some days. I will say something that is perfectly normal to me and then Dusty will just look at me and laugh. He likes to point out that I: A. make no sense whatsoever, B. am a total space cadet, or C. am a hormonal lunatic. Sometimes all three! It is pretty silly to be me some days!
I look forward to exiting the 2nd trimester after next week and start having parties and sleeping less and getting even bigger! Mostly just the parties though... Our next Doctor's appointment is December 27th and I am doing the glucose test (fingers crossed, no one will know what a terrible junk-food-aholic I am and my results will be fine- no special hardcore diet, no worries!). After that I think we are getting close to 32 weeks, which starts your bi-weekly appointments! Talk about the home stretch! But for now (101 days to go), I am looking forward to spending some much-needed time with our families over Christmas! (Before we move into baby shower month!)
Thanks for reading! And be looking for a post soon about Elli-Anne's "Project Nursery" as I near the end of testing I will be finishing up in there!
