Pregnancy News

24 weeks

• How far along are you? 27 weeks (almost)
• Do you know the sex of the baby? Boy!
• Have you picked out names? Drumrooollllll.... His name is Sawyer Dustin Thatcher. Sawyer has been a favorite on the list our whole marriage. There was another name I was really liking but when I looked it up on the internet to check its popularity it was clearly rising...on the girl list. So weird. I don't feel like it's a girl name at all but I couldn't name our boy that and have him be this generation's version of the boy named Ashley.
• Movement: I started feeling him around 21 weeks. It is so weird. I feel like the description of butterflies/popping popcorn is not accurate at all. For me, it seriously feels like my internal organs are pulsing. You know when you smash a finger and it has its own heartbeat? That is how my bladder feels when little dude uses it as a punching bag. Yes, pulsing organs is a much better description.
• Belly button in or out? In but I don't know how much longer that's going to last.
• General Mood? Pretty good. Definitely tired but I feel like I've been tired ever since I hit my teenage years so I'm not sure that it's pregnancy related.
• Thoughts: I catch myself smiling when he wiggles now. I guess I'm feeling more affectionate. And then two seconds later I'm experiencing extreme anxiety about it all- everything we have left to do, actually raising a kid, going through labor and delivery. You guys, I'm terrified of labor and delivery. Utterly and completely terrified.
• Doctor Appointments: These are still pretty run of the mill. Babe's heartbeat is nice and strong. My numbers look good. All is well. This last appointment the nurse talked to me about the flu vaccine and TDAP shot. Usually I'm pretty indifferent to the flu vaccine. I've seen people that got the vaccine and then turned around to get the flu (though to clarify I am pro-vaccine in general..vaccines are good!). However, I figured I should do what I can to avoid sickness and help little man avoid sickness so I opted to get both shots. My body took the TDAP vaccine like a champ. The flu shot definitely left me with symptoms- body aches, fatigue, though nothing quite like the flu. The weirdest thing was my arm that I got the flu shot in was ticked. It was so sore and had a giant red swollen bump for days. Everything looks good now though. Up next: my glucose test. I'm kind of looking forward to trying the infamous drink.
• Baby: Baby has hair and can hear. He is longer than a ruler-about 13 inches and weighs a whopping 2 1/2 lbs. He apparently is comparable to the size of a head of lettuce. All of this according to the internet.
• Symptoms: Things are so much better than the first trimester I really can't complain. One symptom that hasn't been so fun is symphysis pubic dysfunction. I started experiencing that one around 21 weeks and even my doctor was surprised it started so early. It definitely makes walking hard (hello waddle), stairs are fun, and sleeping at night (particularly rolling over) is a chore. There's not much that can be done about it though so sucking it up it is. My shoes are also becoming limited in wearability. My feet have become too fat for at least half of them. Those that do fit, fit in the morning but by afternoon there's some definite spillage of feet flesh over the shoe's edge. 
• Cravings/Aversions/Eating: These change on a daily basis. Smells of foods seem to get me more than anything else right now. I've definitely been craving sugar but I don't feel like that's related to pregnancy. I've always had a sweet tooth. However, now if I want to eat a whole cake people are totally fine with it, no judgement (don't worry, I've actually not felt the need to eat a whole cake. I'm sure that would bring my nausea back). Pregnancy perk.