24 WEEKS (CORN ON THE COB): Sep 11-17

Erp! I feel huge!

• Baby boy is 11.5 inches long, which is like a long ear of corn on the cob! Baby weighs about 1.33 lb, and will continue to gain about 6 oz. per week! 
• Baby has eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair growing on his head, but it is all still lacking pigment, and if he was born now it would be white! Interesting...
• Baby's skin is transparent until he puts on some more fat and fills out a little!
• If baby was born this week, with extensive medical care, he would be expected to survive... Amazing... Here's hoping he stays in here for another 16 weeks, but that is pretty incredible to me! I still feel like I have so far to go, but people actually have their babies this early sometimes, and they are viable... Wow! (I googled pictures of babies born at 24 weeks... Super emotional. They're so tiny, and all wired up to the hospital hardware, but... they're alive, and incredible. It's a strange feeling seeing what is actually bumping around in my belly right now. I wonder what he looks like... what will he look like?
• I am feeling pretty good... Starting to actually feel pregnant now. I have a harder time sitting up from lying down, or bending over to grab things I drop. It's still doable, but it is definitely more difficult than it used to be! 
• People are really starting to notice the belly. At agility I had a number of people ask me when I'm due, or something to that effect. Not that I need help believing this is real anymore, but it sure makes it feel like the real deal when strangers are asking about your growing belly!
• Running at agility was still okay. I got out of breath quicker, and maybe ran a little awkwardly (which I didn't notice until I watched the videos), but nothing too crazy! Maybe time to invest in a good sports bra though... a little more jiggling in that area than I would have liked... 
• The main negative symptom I've been experiencing is... (TMI)... constipation and all that goes along with that... It is horribly uncomfortable, and I can only imagine it will get worse. I will ask the midwives about it next week. I have a pretty high fibre intake, but will pick up some all bran or something to help out. Also I will continue to drink lots of water. The hormone Relaxin causes my large intestine to relax/slow down. This allows baby to absorb more nutrients from my food, but it also makes things sit in there for a lot longer and...ahem... dry out. (sorry.) I bought some Fibre Plus cereal and that seems to have helped for now! If all I have to do is eat some cereal that isn't honey-nut cheerios, I can handle that!! :)
• My energy has been fairly good. I don't get physically tired much quicker than before, but I definitely get "people tired" a lot quicker. 
• No major cravings, but I have my Gestational Diabetes Screening this week, so I have to try to eat well (or normally) so the results are more accurate! The screening wasn't actually too bad. I had an appointment at Life Labs and was in and out of there within 1 hour 15 minutes. I had to drink some juice that was very nostalgic. It reminded me way too much of the crappy orange juice they used to serve at New West CRC when I was little. Then once that was done, sit for an hour and then have blood drawn to check for levels! Quick(ish) and easy!
• I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I had started having Braxton Hicks contractions. These don't happen often, but I notice they happen more when I'm stressed (usually at work). My job is typically pretty low key, but the last few months have just been one thing after another, and I feel like I'm drowning sometimes. After having some more frequent BH contractions, and a bit of cramping and exhaustion I decided to play it safe and took a sick day last Friday. I will work on leaving work at work and hopefully alleviating some of the stress. Baby lets me know when things become too much. I only have to make it until December 9!!!
• Baby is getting big enough, and I'm becoming aware enough to be able to figure out how baby is positioned in my belly. Monday at work, baby was along my left side. His head is up, and his feet are kicking down. I can feel his back... I can imagine him curled up in there. He was punching me in the top near my ribs, and kicking me down low near my bladder. If I push on my belly, there is tons of resistance (solid) on the left, and almost nothing on the right... All empty on that side!
• This boy is definitely getting longer! On Thursday night I woke up a few times in the night-time, and every time I woke up on my side, I'd feel him kicking off both sides of my abdomen. Like he was stretching. It would be simultaneous punches on either side of my stomach. Felt so strange from the inside and out! Very strong too. He's an active one when he's not sleeping/growth-spurting!