This week was still stressful, but better than last week. I had to take it easy for a lot of the week, instead of getting the amount of work done that I'm used to, but it was good, I know for our baby.

How Far Along: Recapping week 25 (Picture taken at 25w 6d) 

How I'm Feeling This Week: Between continuing to feel like a hungry, hungry caterpiller, and Mildred having her way a few days in a row, it made for an interesting week! Overall, I'm doing very good because the baby is still in me and growing.

Braxton Hicks Contractions: Mildred the Angry Uterus was a pill this week! For four days in a row I could only accomplish tasks until noon, and then from then on for the rest of the day I had to lay down to keep the contractions under control. It was  a little tricky since our 3,2, and 1 year old toddlers needed me to do things for them every few minutes. 

Aversions: None this week! 

Pregnancy Symptoms: 
•bleeding gums when I brush 
•vivid dreams 
•dark hair on my belly 
•light heartburn
•darkened areola
•bigger breasts (not as fun as you'd think!)

Doctor/Midwife Appointment: None this week.

17P: Had my sixth 17P shot this week. The shot this week went really well. I had no discomfort, no muscle pain, and no itchiness. These shots are for progesterone, helping my horomones balance better to hopefully carry this baby to full term (37 weeks).

Weight Gain So Far: Again, just like last week, I was very hungry this week! This baby must be growing a lot right now. Between 24-28 weeks pregnant it is completely normal to be very hungry, and this next month is where most women gain the highest number of pounds in the pregnancy as the baby is doing some major growing. After week 28, my appetite and my weight gain should slow down a bit. 

I upped my calorie intake last week, since I'm at the end of the second trimester and should be consuming more calories to accomodate the speedy growth of our baby. I'm eating about 2,250 calories each day, and I'm using the My Fitness Pal app. to help me keep track of my eating habits. 

If you'd like to see my diet, you can look me up and I'll add you on my friends list. I'm listed as horseopeaceranch. 
For the second trimester I'm supposed to add only 300 extra calories to my regular diet each day, which translates to about one banana and a glass of milk. None of this "eating for two" business!

Starting Weight: 119 lbs. 
Last Week's Weight: 132 lbs. 
Today's Weight: 133 lbs. 
Goal Weight Range For This Pregnancy: High: 154 lbs. Low: 144 lbs.

Food Cravings: Peanut butter is still a craving, going 2 weeks strong now. Nick bought me a peanut butter milkshake one night, that totally took away the craving...until the next day. I've been eating peaunt butter on sandwiches, slathered on bananas, on toast for breakfast, stirred into homemade yogurt... You get the picture. 

Also, I've wanted raw carrots every day. Surprisingly not with the peanut butter though. I like having a carrot or two per day, usually as an afternoon snack. And, I consequently have been wanting some carrot cake, which is highly unusual for me, as I don't care to have carrot cake more than once every 10 years. Literally. It's not a dessert that ever tempts me. As if the craving for carrot cake wasn't unusual enough, I've been wanting to make the carrot cake myself (which, with all the baking I've done over the years, I've never made a carrot cake). Without nuts or raisins. AND, I want the carrot cake WITHOUT frosting! Isn't the point of eating carrot cake, having the sweetness of the cream cheese frosting?! I tell you, pregnancy cravings can be so specific!

Regular or Maternity Clothes: All maternity bottoms now, but regular sized shirts.

Nick surprised me with a pair of shorts he found on clearance at Old Navy! They are so incredibly comfortable, outside of the fact that I haven't worn a pair of shorts since I was probably 9 years old and therefore my legs are hilariously, glaringly white. But I love that he thought of me! What am I saying?! He's always thinking of me and surprising me. He's trying his best to be sure I'm comfortable.

I think some of my shirts are going to get stretched if I continue to use them, so I ordered a few brand spanking new maternity shirts that were on clearance from Walmart's website. This is a big deal for me as, 1.) I haven't bought clothing from Walmart since I was in my teen years, and 2.) I'm usually so cheap that I won't pay more than $3 for a shirt (which probably explains why a lot of my shirts are wearing out after only 1 year of use). But, I got 4 shirts for around $25 and I still consider that a pretty good deal.

Starting to Show: Yes. No mistaking it now.

Boy or Girl: Nick has known for about 5 weeks now. I'm still content to wait until the baby arrives to find out. While I feel like we are expecting another boy, there was a moment this week when Nick was adamant that we not change the girl name we've had picked out for the last 4 years. Which makes me think that maybe this house will see some pink after all...

Baby's Chance of Survival this Week: 50%-80%. Last week the statistics were only 40%-70%. Good news!

Baby Movement: This baby loves to be a part of our lives already. He/she will squirm around when anything or anyone touches my belly. He/she is especially active around 9pm at night, doing all sorts of rolls and acrobatics. It's becoming quite entertaining to watch.

Size of Baby: No wonder I was so hungry for the second week in a row. While the baby gained a little bit, he/she also grew about 1 1/2" longer!  The baby now weighs around 1 1/2 pounds, close to the weight of a rutabaga, and is almost 13 1/2" long.

What I Did to Prepare for Baby's Arrival: Nothing this week. If I don't start preparing in earnest soon, this baby will be here and I won't be ready. Then again, I probably won't be as ready as I'll want to be anyways. Too much "life" happens to get in the way sometimes.

Pregnancy Thoughts this Week: I'm thinking more and more about having to give birth again. It's not something I can plan too much, as it'll never happen the way I think it should, and babies come in their own timing. Hopefully, at our next ultrasound in a few weeks, my placenta will have moved enough to deliver naturally. As of our last ultrasound, the placenta was lying low enough to be a partial previa, which would mean a c-section for me. Since I haven't had a c-section yet, I'd like to keep that record going.