24 weeks + update on Richard!

So here I am at 6 months! I cannot get over how fast this pregnancy is going! On Sunday I will have only about 3 1/2 months left!!!! Holy COW! I am really REALLY excited to say the least. To plan for that big day in 3 1/2 months we are all signed up for child birth classes that start a week from tomorrow!! I know it sounds early but the next 5 week course after this one lands me with the last class a couple days before my due date and in case he comes early (since he is considered full term Jan. 17th) I wanted to be as safe as possible by doing this earlier class.

But things have been really good! Lately I have been noticing:

--More hip/back pain (which makes sense seeing as I am always growing and the extra weight is an extra strain on my back & hips. I am SOOOO thankful that Richard will give me really good back/hip massages whenever I want)

--Also as my belly gets bigger it's harder to bend down to get something because my belly gets in the way

--More acne (I have NEVER had any real acne before so any acne is more...I guess that's a perk of dry skin)

--My eczema has...let's say...flared (I'll just say it's never been so bad. Thank you pregnancy)

--My bladder "capacity" is diminishing with a growing boy (and makes for 5+ trips to the bathroom during the night)

--My appetite is CRAZY big

--I am way more sleepy and 11-12 hours of sleep a night is just about right

--My belly button is ANYTHING but an innie and is showing through my shirts

--I crave anything sweet but try to stick to the healthy things like fruit even though its really hard sometimes! (like last night we were heading home from walmart and I NEEDED something with ice cream so I got a small Oreo blizzard...at least it wasn't bigger!)

--My emotions are a little insane (sorry dear)

--Dreams that are a little too real and a little too weird

--William is getting bigger because his kicks are almost hurting and now totally visible through clothing! Some of his kicks are so hard they startle me and his early morning aerobics keep me up sometimes. I have also gotten a couple ribs & bladder shots but they haven't gotten to the hurt stage yet. They have been uncomfortable though like when the bladder shots make me feel like I have to go to the bathroom even though I just did.

Among other fun things! But YES I still love being pregnant. So on the topic of the last bullet point, I have to add a story. On Sunday I was relaxing in our rocker recliner and William (YES THAT IS HIS NAME!!! hehe and yes we are calling him "William" rather than "the baby") started moving around like crazy so I lifted up my shirt to watch his gymnastics (like I said before you can see them through my shirt but they are more fun to watch looking just at my belly). He was moving so much that my whole stomach was moving and jumping and writhing! It was so cute!

Here is a belly picture from today at 24 weeks 2 days!

And looking down...good-bye toes!!

So I had my 24 week appointment today and everything looked PERFECT! My weight gain is right on (haha and you thought I would give numbers!) gaining a pound a week and just where it should be, my uterus is measuring right on as well at 24 cm (it is supposed to increase by a centimeter a week) and William's heart rate is according to the doctor "really strong and perfect"! Here is another cute story: as the doctor was measuring his heart rate with a hand held device called a Doppler, William started kicking it really hard and he didn't stop until the doctor finished! It was almost like he was saying "I dont think so! This is MY space!" and I couldn't help but giggle. I think it's neat that I can already see little things about his personality and he definitely seems to be a feisty little active guy! I asked about the fact that I feel like my uterus is already making it hard to breathe when I sit down and he said that since I am a smaller built person, that is just my lot in life! This is the one time I wish I had a longer torso or was taller! I still have 16 weeks left until my due date but 13 weeks until he is full-time (at 37 weeks)! This will just get worse as I grow more! ahhh. I realized as I was leaving that my next appointment in November is my last monthly appointment and then I will be going every 2 weeks!! Wow!

So here is the official word from babycenter.com about this weeks developments:

"Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces (or 6 according to whattoexpect.com) since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon."

So our little boy William is getting bigger and bigger and we are falling more and more in love with him!

In other news I just wanted to update everyone on Richard's seminary student teaching. He is LOVING it!!! One of the full-time teachers got swine flu (YIKES) and was going to get a substitute for his two classes. But Richard offered to take over his classes so he has been teaching 5 classes for a week now!!! Just to give you an idea of how crazy that is, the other full-time teacher told him that he has no idea how he is able to do it. Richard says that teaching seminary is like snowboarding (something he LOVES to do): You have a blast doing it and its awesome, but you come home really drained from a good hard days work. So teaching 5 classes is like that times two. But he has LOVED it and it has been really good for him. Without going into details or specifics, he is doing really well!!! I wish I could give more details, but Richard's modesty won't allow it! :) We pray that this works out for him, because it would be SUCH a blessing for Richard to have his dream job become his career. But if it's not Heavenly Fathers will, he is just SOOOO incredibly happy to have this opportunity to teach his kids until April!

So...life is GOOD!!!!