baby #5: 26 weeks

(Written July 17th)

Baby’s size: The apps say about 14-14.5 inches tall and around 2 pounds. This is about the same size as a bowling pin!

Maternity clothes?: Um, yes. Honestly, I am feeling kind of huge these days. I remember feeling on the smaller side still when I was pregnant with Eve at this point, but my belly is looking more like it did with Nella. It’s crazy to think that I still have 14 weeks of growing left to do.

Gender: Our baby boy! We all love him so much already.

Symptoms: A little belly soreness, but I’ve been trying to keep up with the stretching and yoga, which helps so much.

Sleep: Sleep has been better this week! I’ve been taking huge naps and still sleeping pretty soundly at night. The amount of sleep I seem to need is unreal, but I’m trying to give my body what it needs. I finally had a “giving birth” dream, but it was pretty peaceful, so hopefully that’s a sign of good things to come!

Movement: He’s wild. His movements feel so much like a (giant) goldfish just splashing around in there. Or, maybe like butterfly wings. If he were a girl, his nickname would surely be Butterfly, haha.

Cravings: Chocolate-chip cookies, but here’s a new one for me… raisin bran?! Totally weird but so delicious.

What I miss: Sometimes, pregnancy feels like this huge battle with your body just to keep up with daily life. I guess I just miss it feeling a little easier.

Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nausea wrecked a couple of my days this week. It was so intense that even sitting in an upright position made it worse. Because I was so sick with Eve, part of me just accepts it, but there’s still a part of my brain that really struggles with not being able to do the things I want to do. Resting is more mentally challenging than anything else.

Belly Button in or out?: Well, I’d say it’s officially flat. I had kind of a funny moment this week where I spilled some conditioner onto my belly in the shower, and I went to make sure none got in my belly button, but there wasn’t because it had just rolled on past where my belly button used to be. Haha.

Exercising?: Ran 26 miles (longest run was 7.33 miles); walked 4 miles. Best average pace this week was 9:53 min/mile.

Mood: Nesting has definitely already kicked in. It’s crazy, because part of me feels like I still have sooo long to still be pregnant, but then my brain is telling me I need to get all these things done right now. We’ve hung up new pictures, I’ve been doing some organizing, and Michael has started refinishing the deck. There’s still so much I want to do.

Best moment this week: We celebrated Evie’s 2nd birthday! I keep looking at the pictures and videos because I just loved having such a special day just for her. Birthdays are my favorite.

Looking forward to: Michael is planning to start painting the deck this weekend, and we also promised the girls we’d do tie dye! I’m really looking forward to seeing how both of those things turn out!

Big sisters: Without fail, every time I get home from a run and take my support belt off, Eve asks, “What’s that?” It’s so funny that she’s so amazed by it every time.

Comparison: 26 weeks with Kaya; 26 weeks with Kaelyn; 26 weeks with Nella; 26 weeks with Eve.