24 weeks

Every time someone I know makes an announcement that they are expecting, it seems like the pregnancy flies by in the blink of an eye.  One day I hear they are pregnant, and before I know the obligatory newborn photo is showing up on my facebook feed.  I think to myself "wow, that baby is here already?!  How can that be?"  I assumed with being the one who is pregnant, that time would not move so quickly.  I was wrong.  Every week seems to pass faster than than the one before it, and suddenly here I am at 24 weeks (25 tomorrow!) leaving us with only 15 weeks (give or take) to go.  How can that be?  Wasn't it just recently that I was nervously preparing for our eight week ultrasound, hoping and praying that there was a healthy little peanut with a heartbeat in there?  That wasn't really 16 weeks ago was it??  If the next four months go by as fast as the last we will be holding this little guy in our arms before we know it  :)

At 24 weeks the baby is the size of a cantaloupe, measuring in at 10.5 to 11.8 inches and weighing around 12.7 to 20.8 ounces.  He is growing steadily, gaining around 6 ounces every week!  The once see-through skin is gradually becoming more opaque and is developing a new pink glow, due to the small capillaries that have recently formed.

24 weeks + 4 days

Physically, I am still feeling great overall.  In the past week I have had some small discomforts, but a vast majority of the time I still feel pretty normal!  I started to notice that my belly (more on the inside than out) felt like it was really starting to stretch in the last week, but that only lasted a day or two.  Maybe Sprout was going through a growth spurt??  Something else that has started in the past couple of weeks is a slight difficulty when standing up from a squatting position.  It feels like my legs are weaker, or that I am holding something quite heavy.  It's such a strange sensation, cause I really don't feel like I am very big or have gained nearly enough weight to warrant this symptom!  Unfortunately I have also having some back pain on and off for a little over a week, but it's hard to say if that is related to the pregnancy or not.  I have an injured disc in my back that has been flaring up occasionally for the past two years, pregnant or not.  I am hoping it's temporary and I can get back to my usual self soon.  Stretching exercises seem to help so I have been doing those when I think about it...  Fortunately I have still managed to avoid a lot of other pregnancy symptoms commonly experienced at this point - no swelling, leg cramps, or stretch marks (not even the linea nigra yet.)  And my belly button is still kind of flat, but I am expecting that to pop out at any minute, hehe...  Current food interests these days include sweet potatoes, kale, coconut or soy yogurt, and "tomato toast" which is toasted gluten-free homemade bread topped with veganaise and sliced tomatoes, YUM!!!

24 weeks + 3 days

The jeans I am wearing in these photos are Target brand maternity jeans that I scored for just $2 at a baby & kids consignment sale last weekend.  They are a little big on me right now but I figure I am not really getting any smaller these days...  I also found some super cute clothes for Sprout and a few other maternity things at the sale.  This sale was great - it was like a massive yard sale with only baby stuff and all in one big room.  I was in heaven, ha!

Next up, a delicious vegan/gluten-free yellow curry recipe, and hopefully over the weekend I can finally finish up and post a new pattern I have been working on for the etsy shop.  Oh yea, and the 25 week update too!