26 Weeks

Weeks: 26 . . . 6 1/2 months down, 99 days to go!

Weight Gain: still at +6 lbs. from pre-preggo weight!

This Week's Cravings: Aside from my usual cran-grape juice, popsicles, and chocolate croissants, there hasn't been anything new added to the list. Boring week, I know :-)

New Maternity / Baby Purchases: This week, we purchased her carseat (a Graco SnugRide 22). I'm not too hot on the designs and fabric they use, so I've been perusing for a custom cover to have made for her. Also, thanks to my mom, we have the lamp that we wanted added to the nursery, right next to the rocker. It was such a pleasant surprise to find the delivery at our doorstep on Thursday! We have also finally found and purchased a matching ottoman for the rocker. We need one more item, an area rug, before her nursery is complete! Another few additions to her wardrobe are a new pettiskirt and ruffle-bottom bloomers. My mom keeps telling me to slow down on purchasing clothes and shoes for her, but let's be real: when you know you're having a little girl, how do you stop yourself?!

Moment of the Week: On Easter Sunday, we arrived at the church for the 9:00 a.m. mass about 15 minutes early, but the entire Basilica was PACKED. I mean like standing room ONLY. Not even kidding, there must have been 1000 people there. We didn't mind and moved towards the front standing crowd and situated ourselves there, the whole time thanking God that I wore flats and a comfortable dress that day. A few minutes later, an usher came up to me and said, "I have a seat for you over here" and led us to a spot where he had asked a family to squish together more to make room for me and J to sit. Needless to say, J and I were so very grateful to have a place to sit, especially because the service was a little longer that day. Other than that, I think that at this point, each moment that J feels her moving, especially when it's a particularly BIG jolt or kick, is a moment we truly enjoy and one that makes us look forward more to meeting her. We laugh together a lot when J has to assemble yet another piece of furniture {this time, the ottoman -- thanks, Ikea.} and say that we have never, ever known a child more spoiled prior to her being born. 

This Week's Pregnancy Cheat: There is this AMAZING lemon beer from Austria that we get from Cafe Mozart, the place where we had our wedding reception. We have gotten to know the owners / chefs fairly well, and when we had dinner there on Aubrey & Finley's birthday, they sent us home with a bottle. The other night, J shared some of it with the neighbors and allowed me to have a sip. I had forgotten how delicious it was and savored every drop of that sip!

Things to Look Forward To: This week, I have another appointment with Dr. Moore. On the same day, I will be taking my much-anticipated glucose test, which, quite honestly, I'm not dreading too much. I don't want to be overconfident, but I feel that I've been really good with my sugar intake, especially during this pregnancy. I remember my mom had gestational diabetes when she was pregnant with my brother, Ryan, and I saw how much work it took for her. On the same evening, we will be doing our Maternity Hospital Tour. Supposedly, it's a 2 1/2 hour tour. Seriously?? How big do they think this maternity ward is?!?! Aside from that, we have already signed up for our Childbirth Preparation / Lamaze classes. We aren't scheduled to begin the five weekly sessions until May 9th, though {I'll be 30 weeks along by then!}.

Sleep Pattern: I've noticed that within these past two weeks, signs of discomfort have slowly started to set in. Standing for extended periods of time give me back and side pains, I now get much more easily wiped out, I am tired and sleepy all the time, and most apparent of all, I go to the restroom about 15-20 times a day and another 2-4 times per night. Certainly, it makes it difficult to wake myself up and after using the restroom, put myself back to sleep right away. I think this erratic sleeping pattern is what has made me revert to taking naps in the afternoon again. The thing with it, though, is that instead of letting ourselves get annoyed by any aches and pains and discomforts, we are just thankful that we have reached this point in the pregnancy. Each day that comes where Camden is safely nested in my belly is another day that she is growing, developing, and preparing for her life outside of the belly, so we are thankful for being able to be right where God leads us everyday.

Things I'm Really Missing: This iced tea craving is mutating. First I thought it was just iced tea, any iced tea, but now I specifically want some Sweet Tea from McDonald's and some Thai iced tea. I feel like if I were able to take a day off and not be afraid of the masses of caffeine loaded into those drinks, I could load up on gallons of each!

We have 2 1/2 months to go -- 99 more days until Camden's due date! We were so excited to see our countdown calendar actually down to the double digits! Thank you for sticking with us and praying with us through this journey. We know that come July, our prayers of thanks will be overflowing.

The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song. {Psalm 28:7}