24 weeks

I'm officially over the hill!!!... the pregnancy hill, that is. :) I swear I say this every time, but it is always true! I can't believe I'm already at 24 weeks. Where does the time go??

Everything is going well... We had a doctor's appointment this morning, in which she said everything is progressing wonderfully. We got to hear his heart beat, and she measured my belly for the first time. I guess we'll be sure to know whether this little guy is growing too quickly or too slowly before long!!

I don't really have any news to report since last time. I started taking in more water, and that's really helped out with some of the discomfort I experienced. It's also helped out with some of the dizziness/weariness I've felt, so that is a huge plus. I'm honestly wondering if maybe I was a bit dehydrated, but that's who knows!! All I know now is that the more water I drink, the better I seem to feel.

The biggest struggle I've had lately has been the weight gain part. From the very beginning, I told Rusty that I was going to just not care about it. I'm a fairly healthy person - we exercise and eat pretty good, most of the time - so I wasn't at all worried about gaining too much. I honestly didn't think my eating habits would change that dramatically, and for the most part, they haven't.

In the beginning, roughly my first trimester, I had an aversion to sweets. They didn't gross me out, rather I just found that I never wanted them. Let me tell you - I love sweets and I do indulge a little every day. The fact that I never wanted to partake in these little indulgences was surprising to me, but I went with it. Have no fears, though!! After the first trimester, my normal sweet tooth came back. The world is right once again...

Much to my surprise, my appetite hasn't been so large that I just eat all the time. I heard stories about some women that did, so I just assumed it was part of it. The hardest part has been making myself eat, sometimes. I've often been told (by that voice in my own little head), "If you're not hungry, don't eat!!" Pregnancy is not the time nor place for that. It's hard to overcome that idea and eat on a regular schedule, regardless of if I'm hungry or not.

Other than the early sweet aversion and struggling with the whole eating when I'm not hungry thing, my appetite has remained relatively the same. I still eat everything I used to - I don't have any cravings, nor do I avoid any specific foods. All things considered, I'd say I'm doing pretty well on my weight gain. I'm on track to fall in the normal range, as I should. I'm also extremely fortunate in that most of my weight has been in my chest and belly. My gluteous is a little more maximus, and I can hear some distant rumbles of thunder in my thighs, but it is nothing like I feared it would be... yet... :) I just pray that I'm able to keep this up and keep the storms at bay.

As far as my post-baby weight attitude... I keep telling myself, "It's a process!!" It's taking me 9 months to put this weight on - I can't expect it to fall off overnight. (If only, right??) I'm telling my self that I need to plan on losing the weight at the same rate I gained it. (It's discouraging up front, but in the long run, I think it will really be beneficial for my "goals" to approach it with a slow come/slow go mentality.) Besides... how great will it feel if/when I lose the weight quicker than expected?? (Hey - just because my goals are lower, doesn't mean my dreams have to be!!!)

My next appointment is my last 4 week appointment... yikes!!! That means it is time for the glucose test and my RHogam shot (boooooo!!!!). Oh well...

Here I am at 22 weeks:


Here I am at 24 weeks:


TTFN!