26 Weeks

At my appointment last week I had officially gained 20 pounds - I was 25 weeks pregnant (technically I should have gone to the doctor at 24 weeks but our last minute trip to California forced me to reschedule). I was happy with this, since I was convinced I would be over the 20 pound mark. For real, with Brandt I had already gained 40 pounds by now so 20 doesn't seem so bad.

I brought up the possibility of a VBAC again and my doctor seemed genuinely supportive of the idea. She said she'll check me at 36-38 weeks and if I'm in a favorable condition (meaning I've started dilating & thinning) she doesn't see why we shouldn't attempt it. She also says if I go into labor on my own than for sure she will allow me to continue laboring to try for a vaginal delivery. This made me feel a little better, although I'm still on the fence. Joe would prefer I schedule another c-section because he's worried about the risks and he also liked how "easy" it was to walk into the hospital and have a baby. Easy being a relative term.

I've had a rough few days and I'm not sure what's going on. I'm irritable and cranky and I haven't been sleeping well. I know this generally happens during pregnancy but with Brandt I never had the mood swings or sleep issues. Toward the end I was waking up 3-4 times a night to pee, but I always slept well once I went back to bed. This time I feel like I'm tossing and turning all night, which is really annoying because I know that even though I'm sleeping like crap right now, I am at least allowed 8-9 hours of uninterrupted time. Come October & November I will be getting 1-2 hours at a time, so I'm really hoping to enjoy as much sleep as I can now.

I also decided I need to take more time for myself. Like how the flight attendants tell you to secure your own oxygen mask first. Which translates quite well to my own world lately since I feel like I'm putting my needs last a lot. Of course I'm not saying I will neglect my son's needs by any means, but I honestly feel that taking care of myself first will help me be a better mom. So I got a pedicure today and I'm getting a haircut tomorrow. But it's not like I'm spending a ton of money on a spa day. My mom paid for our pedicures (THANKS, MOM!) and I'm going to the same place I went last time for my hair, so I'll probably walk out of there for less than $15.

I also think that not showering everyday plays a significant role in increasing my irritability and crankiness. But showering isn't always the most fun, since I have to time it right either when B is napping (which, let's face it, I have more important things to do during that time like lay down, read a magazine or go online) or when he's engrossed in some sort of TV program. The TV doesn't always work, though, so 50% of the time I end up sharing my shower time with a 2.5 year old. And he hogs the water. Although I can rationalize the lack of daily showering with the idea that my hair is building up it's natural oils so I'm not drying it out ... right? I feel best when I shower before Joe leaves in the morning, but it's just not practical right now. I go to the gym around 8:30 and then take Brandt to swimming lessons, so it seems kind of pointless to shower first thing in the morning. But for real, it's four thousand degrees outside so I really should make more of an effort to shower everyday. At least for Joe's sake.

I also picked a bedding set:

I didn't want anything too pink or frilly and I really liked the birds. I'm hoping that the yellow/cream color of the bed skirt and the bumper are nice colors and that the pink in the sheet & blanket isn't too pink. I tried to link the picture to a bigger picture, so if you click it hopefully it works. If not, sorry.

The jury is still out on names, and I think even once we decide on a name we will keep it to ourselves until she's born. We didn't name Brandt until the second day in the hospital and although it wasn't intentional to keep the name a secret (we honestly just hadn't decided), it worked out better that way. I think.

And for the record, I just got out of the shower.