23 Weeks

I am now past my 23 week mark and moving on to 24. It is crazy how fast time goes. Here are the latest updates:

Sorry about the makeshift self portrait...I'll try to get a better one to match the others soon.

Sick? I haven't been sick as in morning sickness in over a month! I did get a cold back in February and felt one coming on last week, but I think I've fought it off. I haven't even needed to take Unisom for weeks now. 

Weight Gain? Well, it finally started. The baby has shifted around and is gaining weight like crazy (even though I don't feel like I look terribly bigger than my last photo, I can definitely feel it). In the past month I have put on another 8 pounds putting my total in at +9.5 pounds. I don't feel bad about this at all, especially since last week's Fit Pregnancy e-mail said that "you have probably gained about 15 pounds at this point". (Btw, I love Fit Pregnancy. They have great advice, good suggestions for eating even if I don't always follow them, and they have been pretty much spot on with any weird pregnancy things that have happened week by week.)

Cravings? I have started craving sweets again, which I'm not sure is a good thing considering I didn't really gain weight when I detested chocolate. I don't want a ton of sweets, but something each day. Lately it has been smores, so we bought the fixings for them and I've made one in the microwave after dinner the past few nights. I also still love pickles and pasta. 

Gender? We have had it confirmed 3 different times now that this boy is definitely a boy. My parents were in town last weekend and my mom and I completely raided the infant clothing section at JC Penney. This boy is all set for newborn size clothing and I have several things in each size from 0-3 month up to 6-9 month. Even though I have a growing pile of baby clothes, I don't have nearly enough in each size. It is crazy how many clothes you need for a baby. 

Name? I am pretty sure we are set on a name. I really like the name Bradley, but neither Bryce nor our family members have really jumped on board with it so I'm pretty sure Bryce and I have decided to stick with our original name. So, Jacob Thomas Nielson will be the one gracing us with his presence in July. I'm glad we've decided, especially since I want to make some name-specific things for the baby's room. 

Sleep? I have been getting good sleep still. I have needed a little less sleep lately, maybe a good 8 hours a night, but I've found that the less sleep I get, the more I want a nap in the middle of the day. I have really gotten my energy back lately and am feeling really great. 

Crazy Cool Things? I know last time I said that I can feel the baby move/kick, but I discovered last night while I was sitting on the bed its not just feeling him move anymore, its seeing him move. It was totally crazy, so I went downstairs and sat on the couch with Bryce and said "watch my belly". About 30 seconds later the baby gave a nice big kick right in the middle of my belly and Bryce said "what the?!?" It was quite hilarious. 

Crazy Weird Things? I have had a lot of stretching pain all across my belly. It usually happens once a day or so. Its definitely different from the round ligament pain I was feeling before. I guess this is just what happens from here to the end when the baby is just getting longer and fatter. Everything's gotta stretch! Also, I have a bit of a weird belly button. It is an innie-outie, meaning I have an innie, but also have basically a ball of skin inside my belly button. My mom says I have it because my umbilical chord was really big when I was born. Anyway, I have been worried about it popping out because of its weirdness factor. It hasn't yet, but I suspect any day now it will. Any time I flex my abs the innie part of my belly button goes flat and the outie part sticks out. It totally freaks Bryce out. Haha.

Other Updates: We got the results of my blood test back and there is no active infection going on. This was a HUGE relief because that means they can rule out any serious complications/diseases that the baby could have had. At this point, they are not worried about the cyst/calcification because it is an isolated spot. I go back to the perinatologist in about a month and they will ultrasound the baby again to make sure the spot isn't growing. Even if it is growing, all they can/will do at this point is ultrasound him when he's born to make sure the spot isn't blocking anything (like his bowels or any major blood vessels leading to his liver or kidneys) and will likely do some blood tests to double check that its not something else. The amazing news is that whatever this spot is should not affect his in-utero development. Thanks for all of the prayers and support.