26 weeks

How far along: 26 weeks

Total Weight Gain: scale at home fluctuating between 5-6 pounds. i'm on serious SMP (stretch mark patrol). i know i'm going to get them (i get a few from puberty & my mother has them) well on easter sunday i went to the restroom and thought i found my first one....and cried. yes. cried. hello hormones. turns out it wasn't one but i mean really! crying?!

Maternity Clothes: i finally bit the bullet and placed an order with old navy maternity earlier this week, 2 bottoms and a top. i didn't really need the top (most of mine still fit) but it was really cute and i know i'll need it eventually. also, i bought a really cute dress at gap earlier this week and just sized up to fit my belly.

Movement: moving around lots!

Sleep: about the same

Symptoms: nothing much to speak of

Cravings: anything COLD. its getting REALLY warm here and in the afternoon i love eating cold things (fruits, frozen yogurt, etc.) i've also been having a craving (this is weird) for a bologna sandwich i used to have when i was growing up. you know- the slice of bologna, kraft cheese (the kind that comes in plastic and tastes like plastic lol) and MAYO. I LOVE MAYO. all on white bread. so so weird i'm craving them i haven't had one in probably 15 years.

Emotions: still dealing with d's departure. blah. i did get to Skype with him for the first time yesterday which was really really really nice.

Best Moment of the Week: last night i went to a kickboxing class with some friends and had a GREAT time. it was nice to be able to break a sweat (of course i didn't overdue it and took the class at half speed) but i look forward to going back.

xoxoxoxo

Water for Elephants

i'm late to this party but my word this was an amazing book.

its unfortunate we already had baby h's name picked out because i loved the main character, marlena so much i would have named my daughter after her. like really. loved her.

i say this a lot but you absolutely MUST read this book. i'm so so so excited to see the movie this weekend (comes out friday). i saw reese witherspoon on the CBS morning show this morning and she looked adorable as always. perfect casting for marlena.

its an easy read- i finished it in 3 days by the pool in kauai (ahhh take me back!) and loved every. single. page.

xoxoxoxo

25 weeks

**excuse lovely photo booth quality**

How far along: 25 weeks

Total Weight Gain: at my appointment last week i was up 6 pounds, so probably 8-10 now

Maternity Clothes: almost there but not quite. still using the hair tie trick on most of my shorts, and most of my tops were looser to begin with so they still fit over the belly

Movement: moving around lots!

Sleep: about the same

Symptoms: i think i experienced my first bout with Braxton Hicks contractions yesterday :( slightly painful and they came in waves, i'm definitely questioning my ability to give birth naturally after feeling those! also i'm noticing i cant eat big meals anymore, i feel full very quickly and then get really uncomfortable when i eat too much

Cravings: carbs! pasta mainly

Emotions: its been a hard week, d left yesterday. i must say i've done better than i was expecting but still just really hard

Best Moment of the Week: yesterday morning before d left he told me that when i passed out early he put his hand on my belly and felt lyla kick for a good hour, makes me cry thinking about it especially now that he's gone but i think its incredibly sweet because that was his last time with her until he returns and she's a few months old

xoxoxoxo

kauai trip!

as many of you know d and i have been looking forward to our babymoon. it was really important to me because d is deploying for 6-8 months so it would double as some great quality time together before our relationship shifted to sporadic emails and time-delayed satellite phone calls.

we had planned on going to maui, but d has always talked about how beautiful kauai looked from the ship and that it was the one island he had never visited. when it came to booking the trip i decided to just go to kauai instead of maui. we're planning a trip to maui once he returns (probably next spring).

we loved kauai and i find myself daydreaming about going back these past few days. its definitely WAY less populated and busy than oahu, but that was exactly what we were looking for. while we spent a fair amount of time exploring the island, we also just hung out at the hotel/at the pool reading and playing words with friends (lol my new obsession).

a few snapshots from the trip:

d at wailua falls

kilauea lighthouse on the north shore

waimea canyon

tunnel of eucalyptus trees

d on the beach out the back of our hotel

xoxoxoxo

back from vacation & 24 weeks

we're finally back from vacation! i promise to write more as we settle back into our routine, but for now here is my weekly update:

How far along: 24 weeks

Total Weight Gain: eek i'm kind of scared to look! 3 weeks of vacation and minimal exercise probably has me at around +8-10 pounds

Maternity Clothes: don't need to wear them exclusively yet, but its definitely getting harder and harder to find outfits that are comfortable and look presentable

Movement: TONS of movement. i think i received my first punch this week :)

Sleep: same, go to bed around 9 and wake up around 7

Symptoms: heartburn started yesterday :( awful! i cant say i ever really had it pre-pregnancy but i definitely did last night after a smores poptart (lol) and also today after having some chocolate

Cravings: nothing really, but after being on vacation i am so sick of eating out! looking forward to making our meals at home this week. also i find that i need to eat every few hours now, much more often than before.

Emotions: d deploys very very soon so i blame my batty emotions half on that :(

Best Moment of the Week: when i came home from my parents d had already picked up the nursery furniture and set it up! i was thrilled because i was stressed he wouldn't have time to set the furniture up, etc. her room officially looks ilke a nursery and we both find ourselves just going in there to look around

xoxoxoxo

22 weeks

How far along: 22 weeks

Total Weight Gain: officially a gainer! up 6 pounds! i arrived to my parents house on friday and had access to a scale. i knew i gained weight in san diego (vacations are definitely my downfall even when i'm not pregnant). luckily this time i'm not stressed to lose it

Maternity Clothes: still only wearing a few maternity clothing items (the grey top is maternity, a brand called isabella olivier which I LOVE) but dont really need to yet. to be honest i've spent the past week or so in sweats lounging around at my parents house

Movement: still lots of movement :) i'm waiting until i can feel big kicks rather than just shifting and taps

Sleep: about the same. i've realized i cant sleep more than 8 hours at one time. very odd

Symptoms: my belly is starting to feel harder than softer, and starting to feel really stretched especially after a meal and a full bladder. to be honest it makes me a little worried if im already feeling stretched & tight :/

Cravings: like i said im at home with my parents so anything homecooked! moms maccaroni and cheese, dads breakfast plates, the millions of sweets my mom has laying around the house...

Emotions: very. emotional. probably scary for the people around me

Best Moment of the Week: when my parents got to see the baby bump & my mom got to feel her move. also, my mom and i went through all my old dresses and baby items from my childhood. baby lyla will be wearing a lot of my hand me downs because they're too cute. we also found the outfit i came home in, as well as my baptism dress she'll wear.

also my moms bible study held a sweet baby shower for me this week. i have to recap what we went through the past few weeks but they've been very supportive of baby lyla and spent many hours praying for her. i cried the whole shower (naturally).

xoxoxoxo