24 Weeks + baby update

banner / little dovie 

shift dress c/o white plum

How far along? 24 weeks 

Total weight gain: 12 pounds- after my OB appointment yesterday, I have only gained 2 pounds over the last 4 weeks.. but I can assure that it isn't due to the lack of food intake!  I don't step on the scale that much outside these OB visits..and I should probably get better about that.  I have never been one to weigh myself regularly at all. 

Maternity clothes? Most of the time. Ok, all of the time.. except I can get away with non-maternity dresses (like the dress I'm wearing above).  

Speaking of the dress I'm wearing- amazing isn't it?  Non-maternity, but sizing up did the trick for covering this belly.  

White Plum is so generously giving my readers a discount off your entire purchase through 4/10/2015!  Use code AMBER24WEEKS for 24% off!  Love it!

Back to more clothing talks..I can still wear most of my non-maternity lounge yoga pants and tee shirts around the house.. but nothing worth wearing in public - you are welcome.

Sleep: You ever wake up and forget where you are or how long you've been asleep.. yea.  I do that every night.  Sleeping so, so well - such a huge change from my pregnancy with the twins.  My only complaint about sleeping this well is the pain of a full bladder when I wake up every morning around 5am to pee. 

Best moment this week: I went in for my regular OB check and getting to take a peek in on our sweet girl with a surprise sonogram:)  Don't you just love that? 

Miss Anything? I can't say that I am actually missing anything in particular.. I know my twin babies are missing the comfort of laying in mama's lap.  Not so much these days.. They attempt to sit in my lap and the belly pushes them out- literally.

Cravings: Blow pops.. like always.  Sweet Kelly brought me a few and I about kissed her on the mouth.. I was out of my regular stash and nearly made a special trip to the store just for a bag of the beloved pops. I'm also still totally digging the idea of sandwiches (huge sub sandwiches, actually.. so, um, Kelly if you want to stuff one of those in your bag next time..that would just be dandy), oatmeal, greek yogurt (THIS one is my favvv), and fruit - of course.  I don't see any of the above changing from now until the end of this pregnancy.

Symptoms: After getting a humidifier for the bedroom to run during the night, I must say the congestion I've complained about has hid itself away.  Braxton Hicks have started - much earlier this go round in pregnancy (I think I started getting them around 26 or 28 weeks with the twins). No other complaints - except for this belly is large!  

Looking forward to: The warmer weather these days has me looking forward to the fun my sweet family and my very pregnant self will have over the next few months.  I havent brought myself to slipping into last year's bathing suit.. but I'm sort of dying for some Vitamin D and color to my legs.  Everything is safe within the four fence posts of my backyard- right?  Also- Easter is this weekend and we have some fun Easter-y things planned for the girls.  Have I mentioned how much I love holidays?  If I thought I loved them before kids- the feels have immensely increased since having them! 

24 weeks / twins

b a b y g i r l 

update

Monday marked 24 weeks along for growing this healthy + sweet baby girl.  With that 24 week milestone came a regular OB check up with Dr. Walsh.  I always get weirdly excited/nervous about these check-ups.. not for any particular reason but for the mere fact that this is all about her.  No one else.  We are talking baby for the next hour or so - and I love it.  It also helps that I could have a serious BFF relationship with my OB and her staff.  Visiting that office multiple times a week while pregnant with the twins made it easy for both Jordan and myself to fall in love with those people.

When I arrived, we went through all the normal routine items- urine sample, weight check, blood pressure.. and then my favorite part (aside being able to see her sweet little nose on the sonogram monitor) getting to hear her heartbeat.  

143bpm.  Healthy baby girl.

Realizing that I'm 24 weeks- the nurse asked if I wanted to go ahead and do my glucose testing (usually done between 24-28 weeks).

Sure - why not?

I sucked down the orange sugar water (really.. it tastes like flat Sunkist to me), and patiently waited for Dr. Walsh to come in for a visit.  I love seeing that woman.  There is always joking, laughing, and life-talking with her.. just so enjoyable.  How often do you get to say you have that kind of relationship with your doctor?  It speaks volumes to her bedside manner and her ability to be an amazing doc.

Going through the normal chats about baby girl and whats been going on in the last 4 weeks, I mentioned my concern about the Braxton Hicks that have already started.  She reassured me that is ALL normal and totally fine. After heading into full blown preterm labor with the twins at 26 weeks, I was super nervous the first time I noticed my belly tightening.  That familiar feeling became a great reminder of the two babies I once had in my belly. 

Last thing- Dr. Walsh always measures my belly (fundal height measurement) to determine fetal growth.  Up until this point, my belly has been right on track for gestational age.  At our 20 week appointment, baby girl was measuring 1 week ahead based on the sonogram measurements, so I expected it to be a little off (on the larger end) because of this.

After three attempts to measure my belly - all three times with raised eyebrows - Dr. Walsh helped me to a sitting position and laughed as she said- "you are measuring a tad on the larger side."

"Whats a tad?"

"Which measurement do you want?"

She laughed and said "..you are measuring 27 weeks, my dear.  Lets see what Dixie's (the sonographer) load looks like right now.."

I basically danced down the hall when I heard the news that I was getting a sneak peek at my girl.  

 All measured just the same - she is measuring about 25 weeks along, but the amniotic fluid around her is very generous - most likely causing the increase in my belly and the 3 week size discrepancy.  I had this same thing happen when I was pregnant with the girls.  It isn't necessarily a bad thing to have a lot of amniotic fluid - I would rather have a slightly larger belly over having low amniotic fluid - but after googling 'polyhydramnios' (why do I do that to my pregnant self..) I'm glad for the proactive OB that I have.

After reviewing the sonograms, Dr. Walsh wasn't concerned with the baby and all looked well - but she is having me back in the office to start my visits every 2 weeks just a little early.  I have another sonogram scheduled in 2 weeks, and then again two weeks after that:)  

I cannot say that I'm complaining at all.  

I have zero symptoms of polyhydramnios:

I feel her move all.day.long.

I have zero swelling (anywhere - my wedding rings remain loose and comfortable).

I could pee every 4 minutes.

Her heartbeat is always loud and clear.

I don't have diabetes (that I know of.. yet.)

Of course the most googling will ever get you is the extreme cases.

But, I was actually questioning this belly size just a bit.   

 ..already with the belly self abilities.  

After Jordan watched me waddle in from the backyard last week and casually mentioned that I still had a long way to go to be sporting a belly like that.. I figured there had to be something going on in there that made this belly protrude in this way what seemed like pretty early.

Although it was under random circumstances that I was able to see this baby girl - It totally made my entire week.  I imagine what she will look like all the time, and the thought of getting to hold her is overwhelming for this mama's heart.  The excitement of having a new baby in this house never gets old.

Having another little girl means more bows, more dresses, more baby dolls, and more girly things.

Her hair accessory game is strong.. and this is just the new stuff.

What is not pictured is the plethora of goodies I have stowed away from when P&J were tiny babes.

Seeing this baby girl in hand-me-downs of the twins' will well my eyes in tears.

This is going to be so much fun.