24 weeks

Here we are 24 weeks! Only 16 left :) This past month has been a real testament to how much you can do if you just put your mind to it. Now, my body & mind are crashing. It has also been a testament to how much I turn to eating when i'm stressed. (Whoops). 

After finishing my month on Trauma in San Antonio I met my mom & grandmother at the Canyon Lake retreat for 3 days. It was great catching up and I now have a new favorite domino game (mexican train dominos, we played at least 3 full games in 2 days). My mom took my weekly picture for me. 

At least my big belly makes my legs look thin! Bailey is definitely getting stronger. The previous video i posted of her "kicks" are nothing compared to how much she can make my belly move now. After a very quick trip to Houston to take a board exam, I'm now back in Lubbock and could not be happier to be home. The house was a mess, but Bailey's room had a beautiful new floor (courtesy of my hubby) and was empty and ready for us to begin filling it in. Micah got to feel & see Bailey kicking within just a few hours of me being home. It was great. 

Ethan (my almost 6 yr old nephew) spent a night at the timeshare too. The day he arrived I was wearing a tight-fitting purple top (the one i have on in my 23 week picture) and he decided to draw a picture of me to give to me. I saw it and thanked him but couldn't quit laughing. Apparently my nephew thinks my boobs have gotten bigger too! This is his drawing, completge with boobs and a baby-belly.

As of now it has been less than 2 weeks since I submitted my residency application and I now have 3 interviews scheduled! This is before i've even told them I got AOA too! For now I'm just booking them at the earliest dates given so that I can hopefully go on as many as possible without worrying about being put on bedrest or getting pre-ecclampsia etc. So for now I'll be in Temple, Tx at Texas A&M on Nov. 3rd, in Methodist hospital in Dallas, Tx on Nov. 8th, and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville on the 18th. 

Summary:
Fruit this week: Cantaloupe
Weight gain: 18-20 lbs (AHHHH!!!!, ok, I will not panic...i will not panic...it was the stress of being gone for a month i'm sure it will slow down at this point...)
Milestones: Micah felt Bailey kick and move and I made it back to Lubbock in one piece.
Cravings: I've really wanted pulled pork for the past 2 nights...

Bailey kicks

Ok, by far this is the coolest part of my pregnancy. Already love this little girl with the her rapid kicking. I know it is just going to get stronger and I get another 4 months of this! How amazing is this process?

You have to look REALLY closely (it helps to enlarge the video) and focus more on the left (where her feet are). Around 20 seconds are the most prominent kicks.

(side note around 10 seconds i sigh/breathe kinda big so that is me not her, but all the little fluid like wiggles are her)

23 Weeks

So I probably should have titled this entry "23 Weeks + a really good dinner" since that's really the belly you are seeing. It was slightly smaller this morning but after a very stressful week I treated myself to a dinner at a local place that serves crepes. I got one called 'The popeye" its a crepe with spinach, chicken, and mozzarella with a hit of pesto sauce. SOOOOOOOOOOO good! I may or may not have had a "mini" custard for dessert too :)

Micah and I are constantly blessed in our life and tonight was just another reminder. Since I've been gone so long a few couples at church invited Micah to join them for dinner tonight so he wouldn't have to be alone again. Then my sister in law had gotten a TON of nearly new baby girl stuff from a friend who was looking to give away a bunch of her old baby stuff. It's like I just had a miniature shower. We now have a baby bathtub, a cute boppy with a plush velor pink cover, tons of developmental toys, bottle carriers, a baby carrier to wear, etc. etc. 

I only have 1 more week in San Antonio. (does a happy dance!) The city isn't that bad, but I'm exhausted from this rotation, both physically and emotionally. I miss my husband and dogs and life back home. I can't wait for Micah to be able to feel Bailey kicking. This week I was even able to SEE her kicking when i was laying down at night. It made me smile so big, hard to believe she's that strong already. 23 weeks is a big milestone medically.

Lastly, I wanted to share my disappearing belly button. At the end of the day (when i took this picture) you can see how tight it is becoming. Sometimes i'm suprised by just how round my belly already is. Hard to believe i still have 16 more weeks to grow! 

Weeks: 23
Fruit: Grapefruit
Milestones: Could "SEE" Bailey kicking this week. Also will be my last week on an away rotation. And i submitted my application for Residency today (i'm applying to 19 programs total, so we will just have to wait and see where God sends us.)
Food I'm craving: Spinach and "whole food" type stuff. 

22 weeks

Holy Baby Belly Batman!  Sometime during my 80 hr work week my belly exploded! (ok not really, but you get the point). I've gone from "hmm... wonder if she's pregnant" to "geez, when is she due?" 

My belly button is holding on by a thread. If I've just eaten and i pull my skin a teensy bit it becomes 100% flat or even slightly pooched out. 

I went to my nephews soccer game on Saturday and the first words out of my sister-in-law's mouth were about how much my belly has grown in just 2 weeks. I was like... umm.. yup :) 

I think the belly is partly related to my relationship with taco cabana breakfast burritos (who else is open at 5:00 am?) but it is also partly related to how quickly BAILEY is growing ;) I've gone from feeling "flutters" to oh my gosh how can something that weighs barely a pound kick so hard? I learned that my adrenaline affects her too. I was working on friday night (a 24 hr shift of course) and at about 2:00 am we were getting slammed so I was pumped but apparently so was Bailey. she was kicking and punching the crap out of me for about an hour or so! 

"Work" was pretty exhausting this week. I think I pushed myself a little too hard. Between last monday and this morning i worked over 84 hrs. Finally at 4:00 this morning the resident (who knows i'm pregnant) told me that it was ok and for me to go home to sleep in a real bed. I may or may not have been falling asleep sitting in a chair with a patient blanket on me at that point ;) It was quiet so they didn't really need me so I gladly listened and went home. 

I had a weird craving for chocolate cake last week at like 8:00 am. I made it to noon till I finally gave in. My sister-in-law couldn't stop laughing and even pulled out a camera when she saw my "dinner" saturday night. (this was in between my two 24 hr shifts). I had a plum, then a fiber 1 bar, and then chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream  and a Big red :)  

Weeks: 22
Fruit: Papaya  (hmm wish i knew how big that was lol)
Cravings: Chocolate cake
Other stuff: I love my husband and I miss him SO incredibly much. I really NEEDED to do this away rotation for so many reasons and I really do think my career & life choices will be better because of it, but at the same time it is so hard to leave him for this long. He's doing great and is still supportive though. He has cleaned out his office (HUGE TASK!) and even put in a BRAND NEW TILE FLOOR for Bailey's room! I'm so blessed to have him. I cannot wait to get back to the Beautiful sky's and Fall in Lubbock, and for him to be able to enjoy this part of the pregnancy with me. (as i'm pretty sure he could easily feel Bailey kicking from the outside now). 

21 weeks

Wow, time is flying by! I'm already 21 weeks & 4 days. Decided to take another pic of my belly laying down to compare to the previous two. So thankful for my rapidly expanding belly!

21 w 4 days on the left vs 19 wks 2 days on the right.

Definitely staring to round out into a true baby belly! (although if you notice the left side still pokes up higher. I'm not really sure why either because she has been laying head down with her body on the right. I feel all of my "kicks" in that upper left corner too, so i don't think she has flipped)