24 Weeks!

Here is my bump at 24 weeks!

I was under the initial impression that our boy was fairly gentle with his kicks and only moderately active. At 20 weeks he cooperated very well during the ultrasound and a few weeks before that I had started feeling the first pings and kicks movement. At first it felt like popcorn and was very faint, but definitely the baby! Over the past few weeks, he has become extremely active. He now does huge kicks, somersaults, and enjoys pushing all over in my stomach. Nate and I can now just sit back on the couch and see him move all over from the outside of my stomach! I love it. Although he especially likes resting and kicking my pelvis which can get uncomfortable.,,

He doesn't move all day and seems to have developed a pattern. He moves most after meals and at night when I sit down to relax. I read in a book that's really normal. You always hear about babies moving the most when Moms lie down at night because the swaying and rocking of your stomach when you're running around during the day usually puts the baby to sleep. Then when you sit down and finally relax the baby wakes up! Ironic right? Given how strong his kicks already are, I am slightly concerned about when he gets bigger. But mostly I love feeling him move because it reassures me that he is growing and developing away!

I get weekly emails from babycenter.com (which I love!) that tell me about the exciting things happening in the baby's development. A few weeks ago I read that my baby can now hear noises outside the womb, including my and Nathan's voice. Last week I was making some frosting with a hand mixer and as soon as I turned on the mixer I felt him leap and kick really suddenly! I think the loud noise of the hand mixer (which was right near my stomach) startled him and woke him up! Poor thing. But so cute and cool that he could hear the noise!

At my most recent appointment eveything still looked good and healthy. The ultrasound pictures were all normal after review and the baby's heartbeat was just where it should be. As far as how I'm feeling - I have been great! I know it sounds crazy, but I actually love being pregnant. Strangers are nicer to me, I get to register for things at Baby R'Us, and nobody can judge me for eating every 2 hours at work.

I haven't been seriously sick or naseous at all. The only things are that my feet and hands have been getting more swollen lately. My ring is quite the squeeze to get on these days and I will probably have to get a fake one soon. Also sometimes if I've been overdoing it, running around a lot I'll get cramps. I still have trouble sleeping. When I sleep it’s only for an hour or two before I have to wake up to go to the bathroom, roll over to shake out my sleeping arm or throw off the covers in a heated fury. Sometimes I forget that my body looks completely different and catch a glimpse of myself in a mirror or window during the day. It surprises me how big I am!

I can't believe this month I'll be in the third trimester! It seems like the 1st trimester dragged on, but the 2nd trimester flew by! And the more I think about it, the more excited I am we're having a boy!