24 Weeks.

How far along: 24 Weeks

Size of Baby: a cantelope.

Weight Gain: +16. I'm still on track!

Symptoms: None really! Or at least, nothing new.

Clothes: Mostly maternity at this point! Belly is growing well!

Cravings/Aversions: Oreos. They have been delicious this week. I wanted them for breakfast today, but it was also the day of my glucose test - so I was avoiding sugar. Sean had them for breakfast instead, leading me to call him "an insufferable human being". I was bitter. 

Movement: Yup! Pretty steadily now. Sean has felt Bee a couple times, but not all the time. And I SWEAR I saw my belly move with a kick on Thursday.

Worries: I have lots of to dos - we're still working on the shower (though, I've grouted half of it which means we're close to done!!), so Bee's room hasn't been started. I also need to call to schedule a hospital tour and birth classes. From what I've looked at, I'd love to take a Bradley class, but we'll see. 

Milestones: Baby's skin is officially pink, because Bee developed capillaries! 

Best moment of the week: I switched to night shift. Can you believe how much you get done when you get a solid 8 hour stretch of sleep? I know this is teasing me, but it's SO nice to not have to get out of bed before 8 am.  

A Quilt of Many Colors.

One of my favorite possessions is a crocheted quilt. My grandmother gave it to me (her mother had made it) and it's beautiful, ornate, and a little piece of her that I can keep forever. I always dreamed of my grandma giving my first baby a crocheted blanket as well, but as she's no longer around, that's not possible.

Which leads me to ask my readers for a favor. 

Any of you that crochet, knit, or would like to learn - this is for you. I want to make a blanket for the baby - but I want it to be fun and full of life. I'm asking you - if you would - to crochet a 5 x 5 square.

My goal is to get a bunch of squares, crocheted by people who love us, and join them together into a blanket. It will be a blanket of stories, a blanket of love, and a quilt of many colors. I'm asking for you to pick your favorite color - or any color that tickles your fancy - and crochet it with any pattern. It can be difficult or easy, it doesn't matter to me! The ONLY thing I ask is that you border it with a requested color (so it can have SOME uniformity). The border can be thick or thin though.

My inspiration:

(Source: Purlbee)

So what are the "rules"?

1. The center can be any  color. It can be pink, blue, black, white, gray, yellow, or even the camoflage yarn that changes colors as it goes. 

2. The finished square should be 5" x 5". But it needs to have a border. So many sure your colored area is only 4x4 - 4.5x4.5. Small enough to add a border around. 

3. You can use ANY pattern. If you've never crocheted before, go for a simple one. If you're an avid crochet-er, go for something more advanced. Let's give baby tons of textures! 

4. Please Please Please border your square with this yarn. It's available at Walmart, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby. Or online here: Buy it - White 4600 Just make sure it's white!

After you've finished your square, please send it to me! You can email me at afbacher@gmail.com for an address, or DM me on twitter @ahealthymama (or if we're Facebook friends, just message me there!). I'd like to have all of the squares by December 1st, so I can join them together before Bee gets here!

And, if you're so inclined, you can always make more than one! 

I am married to an ATTORNEY.

Back in July, Sean took the Missouri Bar Exam. Without passing it, he can't be a practicing attorney. It's basically the end all, all or nothing, last section of law school. It was an 18 hour exam over two days in Jeff City.

And it was stressful.

On Tuesday, we found out he passed.

PASSED. 

You have no idea what the size of the weight lifted off us was. I'm so excited. I'm married to an attorney. He can actually practice. He can be hired as an attorney. The feeling of relief is incredible.

And I am so. so. so. proud.

23 Weeks.

How far along: 23 Weeks

Size of Baby: a large mango.

Weight Gain: +14. I actually lost a pound this week. But, I've had a cold all week, and it's hard to eat when you can't taste anything. 

Symptoms: My feet are a little poofy at the end of the work day. Thank goodness for compression socks! I need to pick up another pair or two.

Clothes: I stumbled on a maternity clothes consignment fair this week, which is a good thing since the number of shirts from pre-pregnancy I can still wear is definitely under 10. Last Friday I probably tried on 4 shirts before I found one that fit! 

Cravings/Aversions: Nada. It goes along with the head cold for sure. 

Movement: YES! I've felt 3 or 4 kicks this week. It was the single greatest feeling ever. I still rarely feel Bee, and definitely need to be actively paying attention to my stomach though. 

Worries: Well, we're tiling our shower this week, and once that's done I can officially get the nursery started! So it's just a matter of getting it all done. I hate that I have to go from appointment to appointment for the most part to hear Bee, since I don't feel baby. Argh. 

Milestones: There really aren't many this week. All of my baby apps just talk about how I can supposedly feel Bee moving up a storm. They should have an option to turn those off if you have an anterior placenta. Cause it just frustrates me. 

Best moment of the week: There's a TON of good moments this week. I switched to a later shift, which means I work 9:30-6 (normal hours?!). Sean passed the Bar Exam. We're finally tiling the shower, which means it's starting to look like a bathroom again. 

Tyler Stage.

Today marks a very important milestone for Baby B. B is officially 22 weeks, 6 days old.

Random? Yes. But today, we are at Tyler stage.

Tyler is Sean's cousin. 8 years ago this August, he was born - at 22 weeks, 6 days gestation. 17 weeks early. 1 lb, 5 oz. And 12 inches long.

You guys, he's like Harry Potter. He's the boy who lived. Fetal viability (legally) isn't until 28 weeks - at which point there's a 90% chance a baby born will live. The earliest baby to have been born and survive? 21 weeks, 6 days. Just a week ago. Neo-natal units aren't even required to provide services to a baby under 24 weeks.

It amazes me. It amazes me that this tiny baby inside me, the baby I haven't even felt kick yet (damn you anterior placenta), could be born. And could survive. It wouldn't be guarantee, but it could. It makes this pregnancy all more real.

Also. I know what this baby looks like. On the outside. These are pictures of Tyler - then, and now. He has a few developmental problems, like cerebal palsy and very bad eyesight, but he's a smart, alleckly 8 year old now!

22 Weeks.

How far along: 22 Weeks

Size of Baby: a spaghetti squash!

Weight Gain: +15. Remember that big jump I called? Yup. Right there. 5 pounds. IN A WEEK. But in all reality, I'm right on track for weight gain. I just don't follow a pattern :p

Symptoms: Honestly, it's been a pretty good week. I've noticed having more problems bending over and stuff, but that's to be expected!

Clothes: Well, I'm still in maternity pants and regular shirts. But the number of regular shirts I can wear is getting smaller and smaller. I think I'll be scouring the clearance racks for some maternity shirts this weekend.

Cravings/Aversions: Not too many. I've had a couple of random cravings (like, mozzarella sticks on Monday), but nothing steady throughout the week.

Movement: Still nope. Still frustrating. 

Worries: Just getting the nursery done. I know the kid won't be in there for a while, but I just want it done! I'm de-wallpapering right now. 

Milestones: Baby can feel the sense of touch. Now, if only Bee would let me feel a kick!

Best moment of the week: We bought tile for our shower. And baby officially has the nickname of Bee. Get it? Baby B, Baby Bee? Ah we're so clever! :D We also officially hit Tyler Stage this week - post coming up tomorrow about it!

21 Weeks.

How far along: 21 Weeks

Size of Baby: a banana

Weight Gain: +10. I hit double digits this week folks! Oh, and I've been STARVING all week, so I expect a huge jump next week...

Symptoms: Still super tired. And my back is starting to hurt. I think I need to talk to my doc about recommending a prenatal chiro next time I go in.

Clothes: For the most part, I'm still in maternity pants and regular shirts. I did, however, order maternity work shirts. Definitely going to need them soon!

Cravings/Aversions: OMG french fries. We drove past McDonalds this week, and I HAD to get fries after that. It was a little ridiculous. And poptarts. They've been sounding sooooo good. 

Movement: Still nope.

Worries: I fear that I'm going to explode with gas. Seriously. I can't help it. Also. I need to start worrying about the nursery. Time to get started on that!!

Milestones: Baby is learning to swallow. And is supposedly moving up a storm in there, but I wouldn't know :P

Best moment of the week: We got new people starting at work, which takes a huge load off me. Also - we're mostly unpacked! And we started a shower demo. We like to tackle everything at once ;)

Living in Limbo and Other Tidbits.

I feel like I’m living in limbo.

We moved this past weekend. Everything. All of our families came out, our friends came out – and together, everything was moved. We’re slowly unpacking our lives, but to be honest, it’s so chaotic around here. Living out of boxes? Not fun. It sucks. But I feel like we have so much stuff, and it’s just not coming together.

We’re “bed sitting” for a friend – she didn’t have room for her king sized bed frame so we’re using it. But it won’t fit in the bed room. The damn thing is so huge we can’t get the four poster footboard (that is all one piece!!) through the doorway. So it’s chilling in our hallway, blocking us. The friend actually built it from scratch, and she’s going to come over next week sometime and “fix” it. Which might include cutting it. I’m not sure – we’ll see what comes up!

One of our showers is unusable due to leaks. Well the other one leaks a little, but I’ve hung shower curtains along the sizes so it works for now. THAT will have to change. We’re hoping to get Nick out to help us demo the leaky shower – I’m pretty confident about tiling and everything, but I don’t want to accidently rip out something we need or come across a drastic leak. Or maybe Sean will just demo the whole thing on his own. 

We won’t have internet until Tuesday. Our friend Kevin is moving in with us and is being awesome and bringing his Time Warner. Or at least until Google Fiber is installed. So. If you're looking for weeks 19 and 20 on the pregnancy update front, look here: (19 Weeks and 20 Weeks)

Oh, and my car is getting a new transmission as we speak. Thankfully I have an awesome lifetime powertrain warranty, which covers it completely. But, until then, we’re sort of a one car family. I’m driving a panel van to and from work (though not every day).

I also need to sign up for that garden planning website. I have no clue about gardening, but our new house came with one! It’s a small plot, but it’ll be enough to (hopefully) grow tomatoes, onions, peppers, and spinach. I had hopes of growing zucs, but apparently that’s a rather large bush! XD Eventually we want to change it into a keyhole garden, but since that will involve buying things like a wheelbarrow and shovels to move dirt…ugh. 

Now that we know what Baby B is, we'll be registering soon! I've been researching like crazy what I want...for all you mamas out there: what was the best thing you got and couldn't live without?!

Adios for now! Pics of the house will come this week - promise!