25 weeks Baby Rials 2.0

Maternity outfit: Top - Liz Lang Maternity from Target, Shorts- Gap Maternity

Today I turned 26 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 25th week with this babe! 

Baby: Size of cauliflower, weighing in at 1.5 pounds and 13.5 inches!  Baby is enjoying a new sense of equilibrium - and now knows which way is up and which is down.  Baby is plumping up and growing hair (no heartburn, so it'll be interesting to see if this is really true)

Mama: This has been a tough month for us, hence the minimal updates here on the blog.  I was sick, then Charlotte got a stomach bug ON HER BIRTHDAY, poor girl.  We had to cancel her party which we were thankfully able to rescheduled to this weekend.  

I've been having stomach pains.  Not like my skin stretching, but my muscles... really uncomfortable.  In fact they were so bad Friday night I called the nursing off-hours line as I was tearing up and doubled over in pain. 

Turns out, I'm actually having contractions!  They think it's from dehydration, and although I'm drinking the same amount of water I usually do, since it's already starting to get warmer here in AZ and I've increased my activity, I should also be increasing my water intake to 120 oz per day!  

Needless to say the bathroom and I are best friends.  Since I started drinking more water and taking it a bit easier, the painful contractions have gone away.  The did advise if I had 4-6 that painful in one hour to head to the hospital as it might be pre-term labor. 

A little comparison of me pregnant with Charlotte on the left and new babe on the right

Friday we headed out on a family date night to the Diamondback baseball game.  Charlotte did REALLY well and loved seeing the team's mascot and dancing to the songs in between innings. 

The best way to watch any sporting event in my opinion!

Physical Health: Non-existent this week, although I worked out 5 out of 7 days last week. With my belly pain I'm taking a bit of a break to listen to my body.  I plan on incorporating some gentle prenatal yoga this week.

Maternity outfit: Top - borrowed Motherhood Maternity, Shorts - Gap Materntiy

My normal day to day look - leggings and a tank.  Tank - Liz Lang Maternity from Target

Charlotte and I also took a trip to the Phoenix Zoo.  She had some birthday money left and we decided to feed the giraffe's, she LOVED it!

Mental/Emotional Health: Yet again, this week has forced me to SLOOOOOWWWWW down, listen to my body, and thank my lucky stars for an amazing husband. He has been absolutely amazing helping out, especially with dinners and prepping and planning for Charlotte's party.

I had a real scare Friday night with the pain I was in.  I've talked to quite a few other moms and contractions are in fact normal if you're dehydrated, which makes me feel a bit better.  I'm nearly 3 years older than I was when I was pregnant with Charlotte, and although I'm in better shape, eating better, and exercising, each pregnancy is different and I need to keep that in mind.

I've also started to get a bit anxious again about delivery but trying to keep in mind that I really need to focus on the NOW and be patient with the process.  Accept that whatever is going to happen will happen when it comes to delivery.

21 Weeks Pregnant

 We have hit 21 weeks!  I can't believe how fast this pregnancy is going; I'm continuing to feel great and have been much more active this week.

We continued our tradition of going to northern Arizona to cut down our Christmas tree with our good friends Mike and Tanya Byrne.  There was much more mud and snow then we expected there to be!  Jeremy's jeep was completely covered in mud by the time we left, he loved it!  After we found our perfect trees we continue the tradition with dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant in Payson. I'll post pictures next week of our tree and home decorated for our annual Christmas party.

Baby update:  kicking like crazy, and now other people are able to feel the kicks as well, which I absolutely love!  Goal this week:  eat better!!!  Other then that, everything is normal and going well.

The boys searching for the perfect tree

We found the perfect tree!

Mike found the perfect tree for him and Tanya

The guys hauling the trees back to the Jeep

Our trees on the roof of the dirty jeep

 We also went hiking this weekend.  What a difference in the weather, huh?!  Jeremy and I have been hiking and mountain biking the San Tan Mountains in the southeast valley for a couple of years now.  Between school work and life I haven't been to the mountain at all since becoming pregnant.  I was excited to finally head out for a morning in the fresh air.  We hiked a fairly hard uphill that kicked my butt!  Boy was it a lot harder then I thought it was going to be.  Jeremy was a trouper though, and took lots 

A little outtake from today's shoot for your pleasure :)

of breaks with me, allowing me to catch my breath as often as I needed.  We started out the hike in jackets, but I worked up a sweat and was peeling off my layers as the elevation increased.  We passed quite a few hikers who gave me very nice compliments, keeping my spirits high and focused on the prize...getting to the top!  Jeremy was able to take some beautiful pictures.




I also added a little gem, Jeremy though he was being funny with this outtake of me putting on some chapstick.