Good morning from the Charlotte airport. I am on my way to NYC for the 2018 BlogHer Health Conference and we are delayed a bit due to snow in New York. Would you believe that this is my first time in my nine years of blogging that I’ve attended a blogging conference!? I figured it was a good time to change that with a baby on the way. I’ve been trying to squeeze in a few work projects/trips in before he comes.
I always think I’m not going to have anything to share doing my pregnancy recaps weekly and so close together but then there are so many things that come up over the course of the week. It’s been fun for me to document this journey and I can’t thank y’all enough for following along.
26 WEEKS PREGNANCY UPDATE
Love this week’s food comparison – KALE! Baby boy is in the 13.6-14.8 inch range and anywhere from 1.5-2.5 pounds! He’s growing! 🙂
Baby milestones:
- Eyes are forming and will soon start to open although the irises of the eyes have yet to develop color
- Eyelashes are grown too!
- Immune system is developing by soaking up my antibodies
- Taking breaths of amniotic fluid to practice breathing
- Brain waves are developing and one of the ways that baby is starting to respond is through movement or an increased heart rate when stimulated by noises
HOW I’M FEELING AT 26 WEEKS PREGNANT
Weight Gain/Body Changes: I’m such a broken record but still hovering right around 15 pounds. Crazy that I’ve been stuck here for a while because I gained it so quickly. Although my weight is staying the same for now, my belly is growing for sure!
Workouts/Workout Modifications: Workouts were SO good last week. I felt super strong and focused. Here’s what I’ve done since my last update…
- Three, 1-hour walks
- Three, 3-mile runs (one outside, 2 on the treadmill with speed intervals thrown in)
- Taught one cardio strength class
- Two solo gym strength sessions
- Two hot yoga classes
I made it to Metro twice in the last week to lift on my own, which has been such a treat and a great way to mix it up! Head over to Instagram to see the details on the workout above.
Symptoms: just the same Braxton-Hicks contractions that I’ve been having for the last month or so but they’re very random and not regular.
Sleep: is good once I get to sleep but it takes me a while to get there. Luckily, baby boy has moved up far enough off my bladder that I don’t have to get up to pee as long as I go right before bed. Fingers crossed that sticks around for a few more weeks!
Food Aversions/Cravings: guys, food! Ahhh. I feel like I’m moving in reverse when it comes to food. In the first trimester I ate pretty much normally but now I want ALL the simple food and carbs.
By the time dinner rolls around I have ZERO interest in cooking and just want simple comfort food. Sunday night was sourdough toast with mayo, an egg and cheese.
And last night was grilled cheese and avocado.
I have managed to eat salads for lunch the last couple of days so at least I’m getting greens in there. FYI – I got tons of requests on my IG story for what was in this mix. It was a Whole Foods Asian chopped salad kit minus the dressing that came with it, add avocado, kalamata olives, a can of chickpeas, pistachios and Tessemae’s Zesty and Creamy Ranch.
Maternity Clothes: still wearing a ton of my normal clothes but packed a bunch of maternity stuff for this trip to NYC!
Movement: it is the most amazing feeling ever to have him moving regularly. I’ve definitely noticed patterns in his activity. Around 11 p.m. -midnight is party time and then he’s always up and active when I wake up in the mornings and stays that way until about 10-11 a.m. He seems to sleep most of the afternoon/evening. I love to stay in bed in the mornings and feel him move for a little while. He also tends to get the hiccups in the mornings! 🙂
Fun Shares: the coolest thing that has happened over the last week is that people I encounter out in the real world are commenting on my belly and pregnancy. Just in the last week I’ve had the following experiences…
- Walking out of the bathroom at Home Depot and having the woman who was walking in say to me, “hey little mama!”
- My nail technician asking me about the baby and my pregnancy.
- The TSA agent making a joke with me today as I was going through security that I had “twins in there” when I walked through the body scanner. Haha. NOPE.
- A male flight attendant saying the nicest things to me as I boarded the plane today about my bump and letting them know if I need anything at all during the flight.
It’s pretty awesome to reach the point of pregnancy where others can tell. And it totally doesn’t weird me out or bother me at all. 🙂
Accomplishments: I finally have progress to report!
Over the weekend I completely cleared out the disaster of a room that will be his nursery. It took many hours, lots of boxes and lots of trips up and down the stairs but it’s done! Also, all of my clothes were in the closet in this room so I went through them and separated them out into donate and keep and then reorganized the two master bedroom closets to fit everything. YAY!
I spent several hours online researching cribs and nursery furniture and I think I have it narrowed down to a couple of favorites. I also worked on my baby Pinterest board to nail down my ideas for the nursery and decor.
Finally, I went to Home Depot and Sherwin Williams to pick up paint samples because that yellow is NOT going to stay! (it was painted this color when we moved in) If you have any favorite warm whites/creams to share with me, please comment below! I’m going to keep the nursery really neutral when it comes to paint colors because the room is so small. I want to keep it light and bright to help bring in light and open it up. I will add color with wall decor/bedding/rugs/etc.
The fire to get all this done was in large part due to hitting DOUBLE DIGITS on Saturday! My Glow Nurture app told me there were just 99 days to go. Gosh, it seems like it was just telling me 200+ days.
I am super eager to make progress on the nursery and to clear space in my home to welcome baby boy.
Next up: a few things on my radar…
- register for hospital tours and any other classes I decide to take
- create a Target registry (my Amazon registry is done)
- make an appointment to meet with a pediatrician (I have a few recommendations)
- hire a painter for the nursery and a big den overhaul I’m working on
- order nursery furniture
- figure out a closet organization system for nursery closet
- clean out side attic and a few other closets in the house
QUESTIONS
Was your nursery gender-specific or pretty neutral? Did you theme your nursery?
Any favorite soft white/warm white paint colors? (no gray tones)
Talk to me about breast pumps. Another slightly overwhelming thing to figure out!
