24 Week Update

I'm now in the midst of week 24 of this pregnancy. I still count the days as if this was my first baby. Each week is a hill to climb and I'm so proud when I finish climbing it.

24 WEEKS:

MORNING SICKNESS:
Things are still going so well although I do still get morning sickness. I get it every evening, but not usually before then. Thankfully it isn't too much more than a queasy feeling or that feeling you get right before a tummy ache. There are days that are worse than others, but I still have yet to be half as sick as I was in previous pregnancies. So grateful!

CRAVINGS:
I'm craving plain unsweetened chocolate right now. I give into those cravings all the time using a drop or two of maple syrup or stevia to sweeten. As I write this, however, I'm currently eating cacao nibs mixed with unsweetened peanut butter and about a tablespoon of unsweetened cacao powder with more than a drop of honey to sweeten (about a teaspoon). Maybe I'm getting my sweet tooth back?

BABY'S MOVEMENT:
Cecily is kicking like a pro these days - usually at night while I sleep, of course. Sleep isn't as sweet as it used to be--but considering I am not dry heaving at night like is my usual, I can handle the kicking a lot better this time around.

HEARTBURN:
Heartburn definitely happens in the evenings if I've eaten a high fat meal, and of course, my dark chocolate concoctions don't ever help with that. I'm convinced the heartburn is worth it, though - that bittersweet richness always hits the spot!

PAINS AND ACHES:
Braxton hicks happen only a few times a week, which is a lot less than normal for me, I'm hoping this is a good sign that maybe I won't get as many throughout my third trimester too? But part of me just thinks I'm not getting as many because I'm not as active.

EXERCISE:
This pregnancy has been the least mobile for me. I ran up until week 8, but due to a lot of passing out spells and colder weather, I switched to walking right around week 9 - getting in a few miles here and there when I could. Then severe weather and numerous flu bugs hit and I gave up even that. I feel completely out of shape. You should hear me huffing and puffing when I walk up the stairs holding Capri! While I've kept up with a few yoga stretches and some squats and arm weight workouts, I really haven't been very consistent or disciplined. The day of writing this I got two good 2 mile walks in and didn't get winded, so maybe there's hope for me now that the weather is nicer.

WEIGHT GAIN:
I'm at the same weight at this stage as I was with Capri's pregnancy, which is not necessarily good, since I gained too much weight with Capri, too, but at least I'm no worse than the last one.

FATIGUE/SLEEP:
While I do get pretty tired and never felt a surge of energy that I'm always told you're supposed to feel in your second trimester, I can't say that I'm any more fatigued than I was with other pregnancies, and am glad that for the most part I can keep up with at least the amount of energy needed to get through the day. As for sleep - I'm more uncomfortable due to my size and the baby's kicking, so I sleep a little restlessly, but at least I get sleep at night!

EMOTIONS:
Recently my hormones have been causing some intense mood swings. I find myself very low just about every few days. On those low days I just crave alone time and tend to wallow in a lot of self pity feeling like a failure in every aspect of my life. It's oh so dramatic and oh so embarrassing (which is perhaps why I want alone time when I go through this).  These low points are probably the hardest part about this stage of my pregnancy. I don't remember battling this kind of depression as much in previous pregnancies, but maybe Chris would remind me otherwise. Or maybe I've just struggled because of our dark days of Winter. Thankfully I never wallow long and on my normal days I feel pretty disgusted over my low days and am confused why I ever sunk that low.

So there's the update. Something I can look back on for future pregnancies or can read to Cecily one day to remind her of what I went through to bring her into the world.