26 Weeks!

Today I am 26 weeks, and also exactly 6 months, pregnant :)  Time has been flying lately!  According to our baby countdown that my cousin and his wife gave us, there are 97 days (give or take!) until Abby arrives!  How exciting :)  Here is my 26 week picture:

This week Abby is about the size of a head of lettuce:

26 week survey:

How far along: 26 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: minus 9 pounds...still ok with it!
Maternity clothes: Yep, everything.  
Stretch marks: Nothing new this week.
Sleep: Just ok.  I believe I'm experiencing pregnancy carpal tunnel because my hands keep going numb all the time.  This especially happens at night and wakes me up a lot. 
Best moment this week: Tigers are going to the World Series!  That was very exciting to watch and experience with my husband :)

Movement: Movements are getting bigger!  I still love feeling her move.  That is the very best part of pregnancy (and might be the only part I'm truly enjoying)!

Food cravings: Morning sickness has been back in full swing AGAIN, so carbs have helped a little.  Peanut butter seems to help too.
Gender: Still a little girl!
Labor Signs: None.
Belly Button in or out: Still in for now.  
What I miss: I miss PTL (Party Time Liz, my fun alter-ego) this week...

What I am looking forward to: Getting together with friends for the MSU - U of M football game this weekend. 
Milestones: 26 week dr appointment went great!

I had my 26 week checkup on Monday and that went great.  My blood pressure is still great, and the doctor finally measured my fundal height (which I had not had done yet) and I was measuring right on.  Abby's heart rate was 152 and she was super active during the appointment.  She kept trying to kick the Doppler away when the nurse was finding her heartbeat!   The nurse just kept laughing and talking about what an active girl we have :)  I talked to the doctor about my morning sickness again, but really there's not much to say.  I thought for SURE it was gone because I went a week and a half without getting sick, but then since last weekend I've been sick 4 out of the last 6 days.  I think I need to just get it in my head that I'll be sick my whole pregnancy, and I need to be thankful that at least it's not every day and that I can keep some food down.  It's just no fun at all!  Other than that, it was a pretty uneventful appointment.

I think I'm having what can best be described as an Identity Crisis lately.  I miss the old me...a LOT.  I feel so boring and un-fun these days.  It's not even just the drinking that I miss - although I do miss it - but I also kind of like not drinking too.  I just feel stuck in limbo right now.  I guess I AM stuck in limbo really, because I'm not who I used to be but I'm not yet who I'm going to become either.  I'm hoping that how I'm feeling is normal, and I know that becoming a mom is going to be a MAJOR adjustment.  It's something that I want so, so badly...and yet I feel like right now all I can do to prepare for her arrival is research and worry.  I'm doing far too much of both these days.  I worry about the stupidest things!!  This morning I actually started looking up whether there were any documented incidents of cats smothering babies in their cribs in the middle of the night.  I'm a crazy person!  I worry how the cat will adjust, how our marriage will be affected, if I'll be able to have a vaginal birth or breast feed like I want to.  I worry that I'll fall asleep while nursing her and drop her onto the hard wood floor!  I worry that I won't be a good mom, or that something will go wrong during birth.  I know in my heart that I just need to CHILL out, but that's hard to do.  I don't think that men go through the same thing when preparing to become a parent.  I have this constant reminder INSIDE OF ME that my life is going to drastically change in just a few short months.  For someone who already has obsessive compulsive tendencies, knowing that she's growing in there makes me think about her all the time.  Perhaps I should start reading a new book series or something to distract me from my crazy, hormonal thoughts!

This weekend while Dave is tackling the leaves in the yard, I am finally going to paint Abby's closet so that I can get all of her new clothes sorted and organized.  Then, as I've been saying for months now, it's on to making her baby quilt.  I finally took the fabrics out of the bag they've been in since I bought them, so it's a start!