I figured its about time that I start keeping track of pregnancy milestones with Gianna. I kinda wish I'd been doing it all along, but I'm sure you can understand that this has been a difficult--although much welcomed-- journey thus far. I am learning each day what it means to truly have hope... HOPE that Gianna will come home with us and be a healthy little girl! For some reason, that's scary. But I know that true HOPE, the kind that only comes from God, is not meant to be scary at all! In fact, saying that hope is scary is an oxymoron in and of itself!! So... without further ado, here is the first of what will hopefully be a weekly update of pregnancy highlights. (Of course doing this makes me superstitous that I will go into preterm labor tonight. But AGAIN, I have to remind myself that God is not a superstitous God! I'm learning a lot about what God is and what I am not. Can you tell? Again, just a glimpse into my mind on this crazy journey...)
How Far Along: 26 Weeks
Size of baby: Gianna is about the size of an eggplant! She should be about 1 and two-third pounds, and 14 inches long. If that is the case, she's already bigger than Whitney was when she was born at 31 weeks!
Total Weight Gain: I'm going to guess about 15 pounds. As of my last appointment it was 13 pounds... but that was 2 weeks ago, and Chick-Fil-A has had free breakfast all this month. :)
Maternity Clothes: Still wearing a mix of everything, some maternity and some regular.
However, I finally outgrew my last pair of regular pants last week. Some wonderful people in my life recently blessed me with clothes to go maternity wear shopping, so I did a little bit today! I made a KILLING at Burlington Coat Factory! I bought two pairs of pants and a dozen tops, along with a pair of shoes and a few accessories for about $100! Talk about a bargain! I'm saving a little bit of the money for the very last trimester, if I am tired of everything. :)
Gender: Girl! Gianna Noelle
Movement: She has been moving quite a bit this week. Its not really consistent yet... like one day, she's moving a lot and the next day, just a little. But I almost always feel her a little bit at night, and she usually kicks me shortly after I wake up in the morning.
Sleep: Sleep is becoming elusive. At least falling asleep is. I toss and turn and just can't seem to fall asleep very easily. Benadryl helps when I get really tired, though!
What I miss: Nothing.
Cravings: Believe it or not, I haven't had hardly any cravings lately! Which is kind of disappointing because food always tastes better after you've been craving it!! I've been super busy lately and just eat when I can so maybe its because I just haven't had enough time to sit and think about what really sounds good!
Symptoms: Mostly all unpleasant... back aches, abdomen aches (that we now know are NOT my gall bladder), heartburn, and many unmentionables. But I'm loving them all!!!!
Best Moment of the Week: Feeling her kick more and more, and our nightly ritual where Sean talks to her.
Appointments This Week? No doctor's appointments, but I did my gestational diabetes test... I'm not too worried about it, but we'll find out the results in a few weeks, I guess!
What I’m looking forward to: Knowing where this baby will be born. So much in our life is in transtition right now and it really sucks. Right now, its looking like we will be Cinci with Sean's family, which will be GREAT to have family close. But I am really missing not being able to set up a nursery and be sewing things for her or painting things for her room. Instead, we're packing up everything. Not the most fun way to satisfy those "nesting" instincts that have definitely set in.
One Thing I've Learned This Week: I can't compare Gia's pregnancy to Whitney's. As far as I have reason to believe, Gia is healthy. Worrying about what could possibly be wrong is only making me crazier than I already am! So for today... I choose to trust my doctor and believe that Gia is healthy. (Even though I may feel like my belly hasn't grown enough or I'm not feeling her move enough. I'm not a doctor. So I can't think like that!)
Pictures from this week:
