26 weeks

25 weeks

WOW! It's been a long time since I posted about this pregnancy. My thought was to post every time I had a doctor's appointment, but I missed my last one, so that's why it's been so long. 

So today I had a check-up and everything looks good. At around 18 weeks I went in for the big mid-pregnancy ultrasound and she said everything looked normal there. However, she did notice a small hemorrhage behind my placenta. Nothing to worry about as long as I don't notice any bleeding. And, I kept my word and told the ultrasound tech not to divulge the gender! It actually wasn't that difficult not finding out. Honestly this pregnancy has been going by pretty quickly so I don't think it will phase me having to wait 3 more months to find out. 

I also had my glucose screening today for gestational diabetes. Not super fun, but not as gross as I remember it. The screening consists of drinking a super sugary beverage, waiting an hour, and then getting your blood drawn to see how efficiently your body processes the sugar. I haven't had any problems with the last 2 pregnancies, so I wasn't anticipating any this time around. Good news! Literally as I'm writing this post I got an email from the doctor that my tests came back normal! So, no diabetes for me!

How far along?: 25 weeks 6 days

•Total weight gain: 15 pounds! Slow down there buddy!

•How big is baby?: The size of a cauliflower (13.6-14.8 inches, 1.5-2.5 pounds) 

•Maternity clothes?: I don't really have a lot of maternity clothes, but I definitely don't fit into pre-pregnancy pants anymore. I'm relying on leggings and stretchy shirts right now.

•Movement: Tons!

•Stretch marks?: Not yet, but I have a feeling I might get some this time because I'm getting bigger faster than in the past

•Sleep?: I usually wake up once in the middle of the night, feeling uncomfortable, but I'm able to fall back asleep fairly quickly. 

•Symptoms?: Slight heartburn at night

•Food cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary, but I just want to snack all the time.

•What I miss: Clothes :(

•What I'm looking forward to: I don't think there's anything pregnancy related that I'm looking forward to that will happen in the near future. From here on out it's basically just regular check-ups.

•Best Moment this week: My amazing neighbor (shout-out to Alex!) offered to watch the kiddos during my doctor's appointments. But since I missed last month, today was the first chance I had to take her up on the offer. It was so amazing! Probably not as amazing for her, although hopefully Sterling wasn't too cranky. Sterling usually screams the entire time we're at my check-ups (maybe he thinks we're there for him?), so it was so nice to not have to bring the whole gang this time. 


I also wanted to use this post to write some things that I want to remember that have happened recently. On March 1, my older sister's birthday, I got a call from my dad that my older sister passed away the night before. WHAT! Alicia was only 28 (turning 29 the day I got the call). I literally couldn't breathe when I heard those words. All I could do was sob into Greg's arms. And I mean loud, ugly sobbing. Her husband of about 2 years, Scot, discovered her on the night of Feb. 28. She went down for a nap, and left forever. I cannot imagine what went through his mind. Obviously an autopsy was done since this was extremely unexpected, but we still haven't heard any results. 

The next few days were full of tears and lots of phone calls with my parents. My siblings, my parents, and I (and my kids) flew out to Colorado 3 days later to see Alicia before she was cremated. That was hard. I knew I needed to see her for "closure" and to really believe it, but I almost didn't want to see her. I half-believed that it wasn't true, even after seeing her. I kept expecting her to open her eyes the entire time we were there. And I will never forget the look on my brother's face when he walked into the room. He literally fell onto the couch when he saw her. I think it was hardest on him (after my mom). 

We all flew to Georgia the next day to prepare for Alicia's memorial service on March 7. It was so amazing how many people came. There weren't even enough seats. So many people loved Alicia, which doesn't surprise me because she was such a people-person. Everything was so bitter-sweet. I was happy to be with my family, because I don't see them very often, but I hated the circumstances. 

Throughout all of this, my dad's father (Papa) was in the hospital because of kidney failure and liver disease. He'd been in the hospital for a while already, but he had been getting a lot worse. We didn't even tell him about Alicia because we were afraid he would just give up on living. On March 13, Papa passed away. The kids and I were able to extend our trip so we could attend Papa's burial. 

I'd never had anyone close to me pass away. Until now, all my grandparents were living. And then, within 2 weeks, 2 people so precious to me left this Earth. It is comforting to know that Alicia and Papa are together though. He was so goofy, I can only imagine his shocked face when he saw her. It's also comforting to know that I will see them both again. This life is short in the grand scheme of things, but it will still be hard without them.