Baby Guin - Month 6

February 28th

Happy 23 weeks and happy 5 months!! I can't believe how fast February has gone by and how much this little boy is growing and moving. Because of work and traveling out of town, I wasn't able to make it to my own church ward for about a month, and so this Sunday I shocked quite a few people by how big my belly has gotten. One girl apparently missed the memo that I was pregnant, and asked "What?? You're pregnant! When did this happen??", haha! :)

Little Boy is bouncing around like crazy, and every now and then when he gets into a bigger kickfest, I can see my belly move around too. Though he's very good at not kicking as much when Josh is around, much to Josh's annoyance, haha! He is now just over a pound in weight and is about 11.5 inches long, or the size of a large mango. Since he still doesn't have hardly any fat on his little body yet, Baby Boy's skin is still pretty transparent and has a reddish tint to it from his blood vessels. His lungs are also starting to produce the very important surfactant, which helps mature his lungs in preparation for breathing after he is born. His hearing is also continuing to improve and he is starting to recognize my voice, and startling from loud noises.

I'm finally pretty much over one of the longest cold I've ever had, and I'm hoping I can avoid getting sick again. Though I have this horrible sounding cough that's lingering around and makes it sound like I've been smoking a few packs a day... Being sick and pregnant is not fun at all! Also, church was pretty rough again this week, and I had to get up and move around several times during the meetings to get a drink to get my blood flowing. 

We can't wait to see this little guy in just 4 short months!! :)

March 7th

Happy 24 weeks! For some reason, I feel a lot of comfort reaching this point in this pregnancy. Heaven forbid it should happen, but if I were to go into preterm labor, Baby Boy has a much higher chance of surviving with each week that passes. And 24 weeks seems to be that mental number that I feel is "safe", but we definitely want this little guy to stay inside as long as possible!

Baby Boy just keeps moving and grooving the days away! I tried to get a video of my stomach moving with his kicking, but he seems to have a sixth sense of when I pull my phone out (like his puppy brother Link) because he'll stop moving for a little bit until I put the phone down again. He's also still being a bit of a stinker with letting Josh feel him kick, but since he's kicking for longer periods of time, it's been easier for Josh to catch it at the right moments. Last night, for instance, I went to sleep before Josh. Often what Josh does when this happens is he puts his hands on my belly just to see if he can feel Baby move at all before going to sleep. Usually he doesn't feel anything, but last night, Josh said Baby Boy was dancing around for a good 5-10 minutes. I was blissfully unaware of the dance party going on in my belly, and so it made me really happy that Josh got to have this one-on-one moment with our son :)

Little Boy is now about 12.5 inches long (the size of an ear of corn or an eggplant) and weighs around 1.25 pounds. He's starting to figure out what is upside down or right side up, and his lungs are getting stronger and bigger as he's practicing breathing by breathing in amniotic fluid. His cute little face is fully formed, and while we doubt he will have much of it, the hair on his head is currently white because it hasn't developed any pigment yet.

I've been feeling pretty good this last week, and I actually motivate myself to go out into the cold to go to the gym and walk on the treadmill. The sooner warmer weather can get here, the better, because I really want to go out on more walks outside with Link and be a little more active. I still eat all the time, but now my cravings have switched to more sweet stuff than salty, and so I've put my KitchenAid to good use making muffins and brownies. (I try to give some away, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat more than my fair share of them.) My first Braxton Hicks contraction made its sudden  appearance on Sunday after church (which was ironic because at church, I was thinking about what that would feel like). It was pretty short and wasn't painful, but definitely took me by surprise!

Sorry for the longer post, but we just love this little boy so much already, and every new thing is so exciting! Talk to you next week!

March 15th

Happy 25 weeks (and 1 day)! I actually took this picture on Sunday because I got this cute maxi dress from Olive Ave and was super excited to wear it to church :) It was a good thing we took it then, anyway, because I wasn't feeling 100% yesterday. But my belly is getting huge, and according to my pregnancy apps, my uterus is now the size of a soccer ball! Thanks to this soccer-ball sized belly, I experienced my first unwanted comment about my belly. We were at Ross looking at some maternity clothes, and the lady in charge of the dressing room asked how close I was. When I told her that I was 25 weeks, and so still had 15 weeks to go, she said, "Oh... You poor dear." Thanks lady. Just wait until June, and then we can talk about how big my belly is, haha!

We had our next doctor's appointment on Monday and it was pretty short and sweet. Now that I'm feeling Baby Boy move around every day, the anxiety that would come with previous appointments wasn't there because I know both he and I are doing well. It definitely made Josh and I wish we didn't have to drive down to Idaho Falls for the appointment, but oh well. We like our doctor :)

Little Boy is now about 13.5 inches long, the size of a cauliflower, and weighs about 1.5 pounds. Not much is new for him, just more growing and moving, but I was finally able to get some of his kicks on a short video to send to our family. Sometimes his kicks are just a couple of thumps, but other times we can feel his kicks all over my belly.

As for me, I've been doing pretty good, just still battling the heartburn and leg cramps. A few weeks ago, I decided to cut back on my dairy intake because I was noticing increasing issues if I had too much (boo for no more ice cream!). Since then, my stomach issues have gotten much better, but the leg cramps increased because I wasn't replacing that calcium very well. So I've now added some Lactaid and a calcium supplement to my diet, so hopefully the leg cramps will disappear soon, and also hopefully this lactose intolerance will disappear so I can enjoy some ice cream again!

We still have moments where we're shocked by the fact that we're having a baby, and the other day we were looking back at less than a year ago when we were struggling in the middle of infertility treatments and test. We just feel so blessed that we have this sweet little boy joining our family, and that in the grand scheme of things, we didn't have to wait too long for him to come!


March 21st

Happy week 26! If I look more tired this week, it's because I am. The cold that I thought had gone away has come back with a vengeance this weekend, and so I've been coughing up my lungs for the past few days. Hopefully it goes away soon (and stays away)!

Baby Boy is as healthy as can be, though, and his kicking and punching is increasing in both frequency and intensity. I've had a few kicks that have made me jump just from the surprise of how strong this little guy is getting! He now weighs about 1.75 pounds and is around 14 inches long (the size of a bowling pin or a scallion). His eyelids have been fused shut for the past few months while his retinas have been developing, but they should be opening soon, so he can now react to changes in the lighting around me.

Besides the horrendous cold, I've been having more of the usual complaints: leg cramps and heartburn. I think both have been aggravated by this cold, so I'm trying to stay on top of getting better and drinking enough water to combat these nasty side effects. But I've been trying to stay active as well, and Link has definitely enjoyed the fact that we've been able to go on more walks around Porter Park after dropping Josh off on campus in the mornings.

It's crazy how fast March is flying by, and we're steadily getting closer to June!!


March 28th

Happy week 27 and happy last week of the second trimester! Did it seem like this trimester flew by, because it sure felt like that to me! Less than 3 months now until this sweet little guy is due!!

This little guy now weighs about 2 pounds (so double what he was a month ago), and is now around 14.5-15 inches long, making him about the size of a camping lantern or cucumber. He's getting stronger all the time, and as fun as it is, he's also getting long enough that he's pushed up against or kicked my ribs a few times, which is not very pleasant. Josh and I went to see the new Beauty and the Beast movie Friday night, and we decided we have a budding Disney fan because as the movie was going, Baby Boy got more and more active, especially during the song "Beauty and the Beast". I tested my theory again a couple of days later by playing the soundtrack from the movie on my phone, and sure enough, when the "Beauty and the Beast" song came up, Baby Boy started kicking like crazy! :)

I think this crazy cold is finally starting to fade *fingers crossed*. I still cough out of nowhere, but it's so much better than it has been. My belly keeps getting bigger and bigger, and a part of me is a little nervous to see just how big it's going to get by June, haha! My uterus is about the size of a basketball now (compared to the soccer ball it was just a couple of weeks ago), and so I've long since lost sight of my toes when I look straight down. I've also noticed that my belly looks smaller or bigger at times, depending on where Baby Boy has decided to move to. Speaking of moving, I really felt him move around a few times this week and it is the weirdest feeling! It's almost like this strange crawling feeling, and a part of me is fascinated, and the other part is just weirded out, haha!

This has been a busy trimester, but we're so excited to be almost to the final stretch!! :)