25 Weeks

How far along? 25 weeks
Baby is the size of a cauliflower!
I started filling in my typical weekly update post, but almost instantly became bored with my responses. Instead of doing what's expected...I'm changing it up.









Dear Baby Girl,

I can call you that now because everyone knows. Your family celebrated together this past weekend at our house; we had gyros, cookies, and taco dip (there was more food, but seriously, after taco dip does anything else really matter?). I have to tell you how wonderful your dad was with getting the house ready for guests. Yes, I did most of the decorating and planning, but he did ALL OF THE CLEANING! While I stood in the kitchen cooking some of the snacks, he ran around the house vacuuming, wiping windows, organizing rooms and clutter, cleaning bathrooms (both toilets!), folding laundry, and so many other things. When my feet started hurting, he gave me his cushy sandals to wear around. Any time the dogs needed to go outside before new people arrived (Olive still pees when she gets too excited), your dad took the lead and made sure every guest was greeted by the crazy ball of dog fur outside where she could pee without worry. He didn't get annoyed with me when I asked him to change his shirt to a blue one because I was wearing pink. He swept the pink confetti into the trash after the party popping craziness, and then swept it up again after your cousins spilled their plastic bags of confetti all over the floor. After everyone left, instead of heading straight to bed, he helped me take all of the decorations down and washed the dishes. I love waking up to a clean kitchen (thank your grandma Lazarescu for that). You have the best dad; we are so lucky to have him in our lives. Especially you...because you know, you wouldn't exist otherwise. FYI. Welcome to basic biology.


Baby girl, we love you. We are excited to meet you in 15 weeks! Every time you kick me I'm happy because it shows me that you are growing and active. You like to kick me after lunch and about 10 minutes after we lay down in bed. Last night you were kicking away after I ate some Christmas cookies. Maybe it was the extra frosting I slathered on each cookie that made you do jumping jacks!

I have to warn you...you're our first baby, and we have NO IDEA WHAT WE'RE DOING! Your dad and I have ideas of how to raise you, and we talk about hypothetical situations often. However, we are human and will make many mistakes as parents. We know that our perfect visions of the future are works of our imagination and not reality. I hope you can sense our open hearts and minds as we hold you that first day in the hospital. If not, we promise to show you that as often as possible as you are our dream come true. Our baby girl...teach us patience, share our laughter, forgive our errors, and make mistakes along with us while we work to be the strongest family we can be. As your dad always says, "Teamwork makes the dream work." Or something like that.

24 Weeks

How far along? 24 weeks
Baby is the size of a cantaloupe!
Total weight gain: 13 lbs, pretty sure it's all in one area. All of the books say I'm at the point of carrying a basketball, and my back is feeling it every day.
Maternity clothes: Two pairs of maternity jeans, sweatpants, sweatshirts, and t-shirts. That is my uniform.
Stretch marks: I thought so, but now I can't find them. Is that my superpower? I can disappear stretch marks!
Sleep: I look forward to sleep so much...I will cherish every second of it before the baby comes. Oh wonderfully-warm bed, please never leave me.
Miss anything? I miss not feeling bloated and having control over my body. Being able to bend over to pick things up off the floor without feeling like there's a road block in the form of a belly. Having a back that doesn't ache every day.
Best moment this week: Finishing the painting of the house, building the crib and dresser, starting to organize the nursery!
Movement: Every day there's movement, and Billy finally felt it kick really hard! Four times in a row. I think it was ticked off about something.
Food cravings: Macaroni and cheese shells (the cheap boxed kind).
Food aversions: Not really into baked goods right now. Other than that, bring me all of the food.
Gender: Billy and I know! We'll be having a gender reveal party for our immediate family this weekend.
Labor signs: None.
Pregnancy symptoms: Do I really have to list them? Let's bring back the heartburn, the need to vomit if I don't eat within 45 minutes of waking up, back pain (did I mention that already?), belly, and a state of impatience filled with joy.

Emotional state: Feeling anxious about the level of discomfort that's going to come as my belly grows since I already feel like a balloon ready to pop. I've been checking the chart for fetus viability multiple times a week and have been wanting to get to 24 weeks for that 50% chance of survival if it was born now. It may be morbid, but now every week adds about 10% to the chance of survival, so I can finally start to get excited about Billy and I actually getting to have, hold, and keep this baby. The fear of loss is very real, and it's not something people talk about a lot.
Looking forward to:  Excited for the holiday season and Hallmark movies. Dreaming about the long weekend (five days).

23 Weeks

How far along? 23 weeks
Baby is the size of a grapefruit!
Total weight gain: 6 lbs, but I haven't weighed myself in a while. It's probably about two tons by now.
Maternity clothes: Two pairs of maternity jeans, sweatpants, sweatshirts, and t-shirts. That is my uniform.
Stretch marks: Yup, noticed the first couple over the weekend.
Sleep: What is good sleep? I don't remember anymore! Tossing and turning much more than usual. My wonderful students remind me every day, "You look tired."
Miss anything? I miss not feeling bloated and having control over my body. Being able to bend over to pick things up off the floor without feeling like there's a road block in the form of a belly.
Best moment this week: Going to the extended family holiday party and playing party games. It was really nice seeing everyone again, and it's interesting to see all of my cousins taking care of their own babies now.

Movement: Every day there's movement, but now I'm thinking the baby is targeting my bladder. Right now I can feel it karate kicking it into submission.
Food cravings: Macaroni and cheese shells (the cheap boxed kind).
Food aversions: Not really into baked goods right now. Other than that, bring me all of the food.
Gender: Billy and I know! We'll be having a gender reveal party for our family in two weeks.
Labor signs: None.
Pregnancy symptoms: Last night I yelled for Billy from the bathroom, "Come here! Hurry, it's an emergency!" "What is it?" he asked. "My belly button is missing!" It's weird to miss something you always took for granted...I'll see you again belly button, one day.
Emotional state: Wanting to get the nursery put together after this weekend's last painting adventure. Feeling anxious about the level of discomfort that's going to come as my belly grows since I already feel like a balloon ready to pop.
Looking forward to:  Excited for the holiday season and Hallmark movies. Dreaming about next week and the long weekend (five days).

22 Weeks

How far along? 22 weeks
Baby is the size of a papaya!
Total weight gain: 6 lbs...haven't weighed myself this week, so really...who knows.
Maternity clothes: Two pairs of maternity jeans, and my comfy sweatpants and sweatshirt at home every night.
Stretch marks: Not yet, but this belly is growing.
Sleep: The past couple of nights are the first times I've noticed I need to lay on my side in order to be comfortable. Laying on my back feels too heavy now, and I like having extra blankets between my knees and under my belly for support.
Best moment this week: Having the house painted by some absolutely wonderful people. The CC awards banquet where we received a running stroller and adorable onesie from the team. We went on the birth suites tour at the hospital. So happy that the staff and policies of the hospital align with what we want from our birth experience. Super nice rooms.
Miss anything? I miss not feeling bloated and having control over my body. Being able to bend over to pick things up off the floor without feeling like there's a road block in the form of a belly.
Movement: The baby likes to kick me after I eat something, when I'm laying down, and when I'm driving.
Food cravings: I'm just hungry. All of the time. Feed me.
Food aversions: No. Bring me all of the food.
Gender: Billy and I know! We'll be having a gender reveal party for our family in three weeks.
Labor signs: None.
Pregnancy symptoms: Belly. It exists. It's growing. Be scared.
Emotional state: Happy and excited that we're past the halfway point. I really want to start organizing the nursery, but that probably won't happen until Thanksgiving break.
Looking forward to:  Excited for the holiday season and Hallmark movies. This week and next weekend are really busy, so looking forward to some quiet time. Looking forward to the weekend: seeing my athletes in a play, visiting family in La Crosse, and relaxing on Sunday.