23 Weeks!

 (Christmas Edition!)

Thankfulness: I am so thankful for family. We've had the wonderful treat of celebrating the holidays twice this past week, with both sides of the family, which has been wonderful! It was our niece and nephew, Meagan and Matthew's, first Christmas, and was so special to be a part of that. 

How Far Along?  23 weeks. Only 1 week to viability, which is exciting, though hopefully Evan keeps cooking for a lot, lot longer.  

Size of the Baby? A grapefruit (some weeks it seems like the fruit it getting smaller). Confusingly, the measurements that go with today's picture are the same as last week, so I've got nothing to go on here. He seems to be getting bigger, though, since I've been feeling more consistent movement lately. He should definitely be over that 1 lb mark by now and closing in on a foot long!

Sleep? The since that night of beautiful sleep, things haven't been great. Consistently, I've been up 2-3 times a night, and then choppy sleep for the last couple hours until finally up around 6-6:30. Dreaming of better nights ahead. 

Eating? Fully indulging and enjoying the holiday eating. I did make the apparently bad choice to have a fruit smoothie (just fruit and apple juice) that made me feel incredibly sick for about an hour, and have had a few days where my stomach has been off, but for the most part, I've been able to have some really delicious food. Once the holidays are over, we're back to real, healthy eating. 

Exercise: Eh...not great, not horrible. I got in two yoga sessions (one my real class and one on my own), a gorgeous hike in Kings Canyon, and a run/walk around a very nice creek. So, all and all, I'm pretty happy with that. I've also tried to do at least a few yoga poses every night to keep my hips happy and sciatica at bay. The run/walk did alert me to the fact that my pelvic area is starting to stretch out, so I had to be more careful not to overdue it. I'm not sure how much longer any kind of running is in the cards for me. 

Best Moment? There is too much to count. Seeing our niece and nephew and how much they have both grown is definitely at the top of the list. Getting to celebrate Christmas with all of Ed's family for the first time also ranks really high. Cuteness wise, hearing my other niece talk about "Baby Evan" just melts my heart every time. She likes to ask if he's sleeping and if he's still in my tummy. So, so cute!

Milestones: Actually starting to get baby products! Ed's family gifted us with a pack-n-play, car seat bases, a diaper bag with some towels, body products, diapers and wipes included, and lots of clothing (some that are too small for our nephew, now). It's so exciting to start feeling prepared for our little one's arrival. Only 4 weeks left until 3rd trimester!!

Mommy Update: Overall, I've been doing pretty great. I've definitely been a little more tired than I'd like, but much better than I could be. I feel very thankful for my relatively smooth pregnancy. I'm starting to get more lower back pain, but am working to keep that stretched out. I've also been more teary  lately, but not necessarily sad, so I'll take it. 

In non-baby news, I've really been enjoying my gift from Ed - a Kindle paperwhite - and have really be loving doing a lot of reading over the break. Right now I'm working on "Fear of Flying" (for book club), "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" (recommended by our midwives), and "Little Women" (perfect for the holidays). 

Baby Update:  Evan should be starting to register (and respond to) sounds in the outside world, so we've been playing a lot more music for him. His lungs are also starting to prepare for breathing. Evan's eyes are completely formed and he's starting to look more like he will at birth. Over the next few weeks, he will really start to gain fat on his body and fill out!