25 Weeks TODAY!

25 weeks today!!! At times I feel like the days will never pass but for the most part it is flying by...... sometimes a little TOO fast.  Overall, I really have nothing to complain about.  The things Ryan does hear me bitch about I'll explain now. (Just so Ry doesn't feel like he is the only one that hears about it).

1.  Sleep:  My sleeping schedule has gone to shit.  It probably doesn't help that I work the hours that I do and then come home and try to adjust myself to a "normal" schedule.  Lately, I can toss and turn till around 3am and sleep till 7am.  Naps have been my latest saving grace, especially when I am flying.  I can go in my room, shut the door and wake up 3 hours later without a problem.  When I am getting sleep, I'm up about every two hours to use the bathroom.  Everyone says that this is "preparation for when Michael comes".  Well if that is the case I guess I'll be a pro in about 15 weeks huh?  Oh, and whoever says that Tylenol PM works is full of crap.  I'll tell you what would help.... A bottle of wine:)

2.  Urinating:  OK seriously, I used to work a 12 hour shift at the hospital without peeing at all.  I counted 8 trips to the lavatory the other day.  Most of the times of which I think I peed a thimble full.  RIDICULOUS.  I am going constantly and so I hear it is going to get worse.  I believe I may invest in a leg bag and catheter for later in the pregnancy..... Just kidding, relax Mom!

3.  Broken Blood Vessels:  In the past two weeks I have noticed more broken blood vessels on my hands, lower arms, face, and chest.  Over the past week they have doubled in number.  While it doesn't bother me (they don't hurt or itch) it is just crazy the little changes that happen during pregnancy.

4.  Lower Back Pain:  I guess I wouldn't be normal if I didn't mention that I had it.  It is worse when I get out of bed in the morning or in the middle of the night.  I am best when I am up and moving. Can't take Motrin and can only take Tylenol.  Someone just spit in my eye cause that would probably help more than the Tylenol.

5.  Allergy to Bananas:  So about 6 weeks ago I had told Dr. Guzman about these crazy spells where I almost faint.  I get really lightheaded and almost pass out.  For the most part it only happened in the morning but 1 episode really caught me off guard while I was driving.  Luckily, I had Ryan with me who literally took the wheel and coached me over 4 lanes of traffic to the side of the road.  The episodes came on quickly and I felt fine within 5 min.  Dr. Guzman told me it was because I wasn't getting enough protein in my diet and too many carbs.  So I changed the diet and it still didn't seem to fix the problem.  It never happened daily or sometimes even weekly.  Then it finally clicked..... When I was in Yuma right before Christmas I got up, ate my morning yogurt, fruit of some sort, and half of a bagel and headed off to church.  And it started happening at church.  I could feel it coming so I darted out of there.  I refused to let myself totally pass out and wake up to snowbirds and ambulance crew over my head.  I went to the parking lot, sweat my ass off, vomited and headed back to base.  It finally clicked in that bananas were it.  Every time I ate a friggin' banana it happened.  So for now I have put my banana diet on hold and am sticking to grapefruit every morning.  I'm not sure if this is a true "allergy" or if it will go away after I give birth.  Funny enough I wonder if Michael is the one with the allergy and my body just responding to him.  Who knows.  I guess I will find out soon enough. 

6.  Congestion and Bloody Noses:  OK so I had assumed that I was getting a cold back in September, little did I know that this was one of the joys that some preggos get for the ENTIRE pregnancy.  I wake up every morning with a slight bloody nose and get more congested by the day.  Dr. Guzman said that a lot of women experience this in pregnancy.  Sometimes, he said, they are totally congested by the time they go into labor and are unable to breath through their nose.  I guess right after birth this goes away almost immediately.  i will look forward to breathing through the right side of my nose again!!

I think that is enough whining and crying for now.  It just amazes me how much change a pregnancy can cause.  These are all very petty and obviously could be worse but I thought I would share, none the less.

The best thing about being pregnant is feeling this little being grow, kick, and have hiccups everyday.  It is worth every petty complaint, ache, or pain I may have.  His movements are becoming more often and getting stronger and stronger.  I can almost predict a kick before it happens.  Michael is most active at night, after dinner, until around 9pm and then seems like he has the same sleep/wake patterns as me throughout the night.  I love that I can get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, crawl back into bed, cover up and feel this large KICK.  I always wonder what it means..... "Hey Mom, I'm trying to sleep here" or "Just wanted you to know I was awake too" or "Jesus Mom you pee ALOT".  Regardless, that feeling is one that has become comforting to me and always can turn my mood around.  Ryan even has noticed that the kicks are becoming stronger and even more noticeable.  Tonight he watched my entire stomach move.  I laugh as he says, "Kick your Mom HARDER"..... LOL I probably deserve it:)

I go back to the doctor on the 31st and will post the updates from that day.  Until then here are more pictures of my ever so expanding waste line!!!
XOXO!!