There have been a lot of thinking on my part about this pregnancy, but I haven't had the time or motivation to write it all down, so here I am trying to capture some of my thoughts after about a month's hiatus.
I am now around 24 weeks pregnant and feeling pretty good. Mostly I am tired from lack of sleep, but usually my pregnancy sleepiness hits around 1:30 or 2 and really makes me tired so I like taking a nap around then for an hour or two (or three...if I can get away with it).
As for some other symptoms, I have recently started having lower back pain and some of it I'm sure has to do with me carrying around Tay all the time still (she's now around 32 pounds!) but some of it is definitely sciatica pain that comes with pregnancy. I had some of it with Tay, too, so it's a familiar kind of pain...ugh. My hands and feet are also now constantly hot...which doesn't help at all now that the weather's also getting extremely hot, day and night. The fact that our AC units in our new apartment aren't functioning well also doesn't help...especially when I try to sleep at night. People have started saying that I just have this great pregnancy glow these past few days, but I think they are just mistaking my constantly sweaty skin for the "glow"...or maybe they're just trying to be nice. I am showing significantly in my belly, of course, and there also has been quite a bit of growth in my behind and cheeks as well. Welcome back, chipmunk cheeks. Will there be photos? Maybe. I haven't decided. I probably ought to get some taken of the belly at least for posterity. I feel huge already, and I am not looking forward to getting even more huge as the summer progresses, but what I AM looking forward to is seeing all my family in a few weeks at Calloway Gardens! I'm sure I'll be sweltering there, too, but at least I will just be relaxing and spending some fun time with family and friends on wonderful-looking resort grounds...:) Another thing I'm looking forward to...finding and buying some summer maternity clothes! There just isn't much selection here, and all my maternity clothes from when I was big with Tay are winter clothes since I had her in March!
Ah, another big development in the pregnancy is that we have decided on this little angel's name: Shinah Riley Ryals! Jeff and I had been talking about possible names for her for a while, and we finally agreed on Shinah, which means "beautiful faith" in Korean, and it is like her big sister's name in that Tay's first name is Shingil, which means "a path to faith" in Korean. Her middle name is just a name we had always both liked and we had contemplated between the names Riley and Raegan before choosing Riley. I'm not sure if it's normal to announce the decision of a baby's name already, but we did the same with Tay, so here it is. She will be called Shinah Riley Ryals.
Riley is quite the active one. We can already see her wiggling, jiggling, and kicking around in my belly...enough that you can see it from the outside. Tay felt her kick for the first time and now she refers to my belly as "the baby." She seems to be most active at night time right before I go to sleep, which doesn't help me fall asleep, but it's a nice way to drift off to sleep as I feel her kicking around in there. She doesn't seem to have a regular awake and sleeping period like Tay did, though, because most of her movement is sporadically throughout the day. She'll be really still for a bit, and then she'll be really active for about 10-15 minutes. Sometimes her movements will go on for almost an hour, at which point it feels like my insides have become all jumbled and I get a little nauseous...:)
My eating habits have not improved...I am trying to curb my appetite, but all I crave these days are sweets...and anything chocolate. Disturbing. I did have a hankering for watermelon, to which Jeff brought home a huge DELICIOUS watermelon. We've eaten half of it (perfect for this stifling weather, too!) and I imagine I'll prep the rest of it for eating tonight. I have also loved the taste and smell of cumin and chili powder as well as any and all kinds of salsa, so Mexican/southwestern dishes have been my foods of choice lately. Luckily, I found a GREAT and easy recipe on smittenkitchen.com for Southwestern pulled brisket, which I've already made two weeks in a row. Guess what's for dinner tonight? :) What I love best about it is that the prep takes about 20-30 minutes, and then you throw it all in a slow cooker for 8-10 hours (I usually do this overnight or prep it first thing in the morning) and dinner is ready for two-three days! The delicious smell that fills our house as it cooks is just...::sigh::...I love it...and so does the rest of the family, including Tay and Riley. Looks like it will be a staple at my house for a while.
My next doc appointment is scheduled for 15 June, and it will be for my glucose screening. Not looking forward to drinking the orange stuff, but hopefully all will be well and I will not be gestationally diebetic.
Ah, another thing to note that I didn't mention before is that I tried Zumba for the first time a couple weeks ago! It was a GREAT class and I felt absolutely ridiculous (mainly because I'm not super coordinated) and because gyrating hips and I don't get along so well, especially in public in front of giant mirrors...and with a giant belly. hahahaha...it provide much amusement, though, for me and everyone else in the room, I'm sure. :) Definitely want to go back, but need to find a class time I can make on a regular basis...I will definitely try and make that part of my post-baby routine, though - awesome workout.
I'm still debating whether or not I should merge this blog with the currently blog I keep for Tay...I like the separate blogs for now, and I think the entries may get too long if I merge them, but maybe in the future, I'll merge them to simplify...we'll see. If I feel motivated, I'll post some pictures of the bump and some of the ultrasound pics.
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