25 weeks

How far along are you?

25 weeks and 5 days.

How much weight have you gained?

21 pounds. Sigh. No matter what I do—no matter how careful I am—I still put on just a titch more weight than I should each week. Going out to eat and celebrating birthdays and grand openings don’t help either.

How big is baby?

13.5 inches (more than a foot long!) and a little more than a pound and a half.  I think she’s supposed to start fattening up now. I mean, she’s been eating a ton of cheesecake so she better have a little cushion on her.

How are you feeling?

Great, considering the crazy business over the last two weeks! I feel like we’ve been running around non-stop. Busy all the time with work and class and church and friends. And usually when we have a long day, it takes me a while to recover. But other than being a little extra tired, I’m doing pretty well. Still down to one pill to keep from throwing up.

Oh and the hip thing? I’ve been doing some stretches now and then. Bending a little more carefully. Walking a little slower. And it seems to be helping.

Are you sleeping?

Not hardly. I’ve been plagued by bad dreams (and if we’re being honest, spiritual warfare). I woke up the other night gasping and crying because someone seemed to be peering through my 2nd story window while I slept. Creepy, huh?  I have a theory why all this is happening, but it’s all very unsettling to say the least. We’re praying a lot more before bed now, and that is definitely helping. But it feels impossible to get good sleep between the scary stuff and the frequent bathroom trips.

What are your current cravings/aversions?

The same mostly. I’m still in love with cream cheese frosting. I still hate vegetables. I mostly just feel like trying different foods. I even tried eating mushroom lasagna this week, and I normally I hate mushrooms. (It’s like eating rubber.) The experience was a total fail, but at least I didn’t throw up.

What’s new in the nursery?

Nothing really. We’ve been too busy with work to think much about the nursery or the stuff we need to buy.

What are you thinking about this week?

Pediatricians. We had our first class at the hospital this week, which gave some information about what questions to ask when you’re searching for a baby doctor. We haven’t really looked into anything. Any recommendations from you mothers here in Honolulu? We need to start interviewing soon, and I’d rather go with trusted physicians.

What are you missing?

Fitting into my jeans. Fitting into my maternity jeans.

What are you looking forward to?

Time at home with just me and my daughter once I’m on maternity leave. I’m looking forward to being done with the wondering stage and actually be in the figuring-it-out stage. Not that I’m ready just yet.

Random question: What will be the first thing you say to your baby?

It’s hard to imagine at this point what I might say. I know a lot of parents say, “I love you” or “Jesus loves you,” which is very sweet and entirely appropriate. I’m just not sure I’ll be in the state of mind to have the perfect words come out. I’ll probably end up saying, “Hi” and “We’ve been waiting for you, Tea.” And then I’ll get into the mushy stuff later. I’m more curious about what Brandon will say.