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Can you tell this is our fourth child. Poor little baby … I barely have Jude’s baby book filled out. Maybe I should do that before Baby Mouse arrives.

How far along? 26 weeks when I started this post … now almost 27!

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Picture by Seth, my 6 YO. 🙂

 

Total weight gain/loss: I’ve gained about 13 pounds total since getting pregnant. Since I was above my target weight anyway, I’m fine with that!

Maternity clothes? I discovered by reading Old Navy reviews that the weirdness I talked about in the last update (tight legs, loose hips) is common for those pants. DRAT. I do NOT want to buy more maternity pants. I also got another Stitch Fix (my affiliate referral link) in the meantime. Meh. I need to do a post on the ups and downs I have with them. My last fix with no guidance was great. This fix, with very specific guidance and feedback, was awful. I’m fed up enough that I’ve stopped the automatic shipments for a while.

Stretch marks? The marks I already had on my legs are turning purple again. Yay. At least I know they’ll fade. Meanwhile I’m moisturizing the heck out of my skin after every shower. I’ve also braved the Rodan + Fields Foaming Sunless Tanner (I’m an independent consultant, so yes that’s my link). The added color helps disguise the marks a bit. Sigh. I will be sort of sad to be done having babies, but NOT being done with these stretch marks.

My Preggo Pale legs with Rodan + Fields sunless tanner
My Preggo Pale legs with Rodan + Fields sunless tanner … a little better!

Sleep: I love my pillows. My husband loves my pillows … I keep having to push him off! I told him that I keep punching him when I turn over because he’s on my pillow, and it’s a total accident … for now.

Best moment this week(s): We had another ultrasound around 24 weeks, and we have another stubborn family member. Baby Mouse was holding onto his/her feet most of the time, lying transverse across my belly, and generally making life difficult for the ultrasound tech. It was pretty funny, actually.

Movement: Mouse has very quiet days then super active days, which I’m guessing are a cycle of growth spurts and busy baby time. S/he is definitely still able to turn some flips in there, though. Some of the movements I feel seem like little tiny waves and pokes, which seem to be more than I remember with the other three.

Food cravings: SALSA. Waking up in the middle of the night, needing fresh salsa. Which is sad since I’ve been told to lay off the carbs … not because of weight, but because my amniotic fluid levels are borderline high.  Apparently carbs make the baby pee more, which leads to more fluid. Who knew?

Anything making you queasy or sick: Meat still isn’t my favorite. Now that I’ve been watching my simple carbs (sugars, white grains, etc.) for a few weeks, having anything higher in those makes me sick. Handful of M&Ms = tons of nausea and regret. Boo.

Gender prediction: Still think it’s a girl! And I want to know so I know which of these adorable Orla Kiely baby blanket sets to buy. I want them ALL.

Orla Kiely Baby at Target. I DIE.
Orla Kiely Baby at Target. I DIE.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On and loose, but the warmer temperatures have made my hands swell a little. In about a month I will have heating pad hands.

Feeling all the Feels or Just Some of the Feels? I’ll be honest – March has been a hard month. My grandfather passed away unexpectedly at the beginning of the month, which has been very, very hard. Our sweet nanny has had her own family sadness this month, and she’s needed to be out for a bit. We saw that our old house (sold when I was pregnant with Jude) was on the market as a rental. I (stupidly) looked at the listing pictures and … they didn’t change anything. My colors, my CURTAINS in most rooms, and my nursery that we created when I was pregnant with Seth. I was desperately sad about not having that, either, especially because I didn’t get to create a nursery space in our new house while pregnant with Jude … we were in a rental when he was born and moved to our new house when he was 8 weeks old and my maternity leave was almost over. All of these things, the stress and emotions, plus a heavy workload are making me feel very drained and emotional now at the end of the month.

Weekly Wisdom: Don’t look at listing pictures of your old house when a) you loved your old house, b) you haven’t been out of it long, and c) you don’t feel fully at home in your new house. Just don’t.

Milestones: We are swiftly headed to the less-risky third trimester! If Baby Mouse was born after this point but before 37 weeks there would still be lots of challenges but larger chances of survival. I try not to stress about these things, but reaching the 27/28 week milestone makes me feel significantly better.

Pregnancy Fitness: YOGA! I signed up last summer/fall for I Run 4 Michael, a program that matches runners with buddies who have special needs. We run in honor of our buddies, sharing the victories, the highs/lows together. I got my match last week and I’m so excited to have her to consider in my intentions in yoga practice and my accountability buddy as I start running after the baby is born.

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Yoga belly in my For Two Fitness yoga tank.

 

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Jude likes to help me “do the yoga” when he’s up in the mornings.