Tayls of Life, Love, & Babies: 24 Weeks

24 weeks....6 months.....moving right along! I'm feeling really good. Our little boy is growing and I'm starting to notice my belly getting in the way a bit but all is well.

How far along?: 24 weeks 5 days
Total weight gain: 13 lbs. With 16 weeks left I'm on track to gain 29. It would be great to stay under 30, but staying under 35 is my main goal.
How big is baby?: About 1.7lbs and 9 inches long
Maternity clothes?: Yes, all bottoms (except skirts) and most tops.
Stretch marks?: Nope
Sleep?: Good. I started sleeping with my body pillow again because the belly is getting heavier.
Best moment this week?: At 24 weeks they start to consider the baby "possibly viable" if something were to happen. Not that we want to think about that, but it's good to know we hit that milestone.
Movement?: A week or two ago I started noticing that I could see his kicks on my belly. He is still always kicks so low.....it feels like he kicks straight down all the time.
Food cravings?: Strawberry mini wheats cereal and greek yogurt
Labor signs?: Nope. I'm still thinking I might have a braxton hicks every once and while, but nothing too noticeable.
Belly button in or out?: In
What I miss: Not too much. My lap is starting to get smaller so holding/dealing with Gabrielle is getting a little harder.
What I'm looking forward to: Starting to get the nursery together!

I had another doctor's check up and my BP is still low (but fine), baby boy's heartbeat was 142 bpm, belly measured right at 24 cm, and I haven't gotten too fat :) That's about it! The doctor went over all of our ultrasound results and everything looks really good. He was about 45th% for weight, about 30th% for femur length, 65th% for one head measurement and about 45th% for another. The doc joked that we would have a short and stocky guy...haha. But that is fine if it's the case. We are hoping for another happy, healthy kid. With all the things that can happen that is all you can hope for.

So far Gabrielle has named her brother "ba ba ba bouncy". She wants to give him her reject yellow B. She told me we needed to go to Target to buy him a carseat. She knows where brother's room it, that he is going to sleep in the crib, and that he has a dresser that matches hers (she thinks that's pretty cool). I have to keep reminding her that she can't climb and push on my belly all the time and she says in a sad voice "Is brother sad? Is he crying??". Haha, already teasing him. And she is really getting into telling everyone that she is going to have a brother. Let's hope that enthusiasm lasts.

A couple of weeks ago, however, she asked me "what's brother's mommy called?" (the way she asks me what kid's parent's names are). Hmmmm......so she definitely hadn't gotten the concept. I explained it to her and now she will randomly tell me "you're my mommy and you're brother's mommy!" so I think we're good. For now. Until he comes home and her life is really turned upside down. Not that I'm trying to be negative, but I am really anticipating the first 1-2 months to be pure horrible. Going though labor and having a newborn is pretty much the hardest thing ever....and add an active/needy/spirited then three year old to deal with 24/7 on top of that. I'm thinking it's going to be pretty bad, but I think after those first few weeks it will be wonderful. It may not be as bad as I'm thinking, but I honestly have no hopes of this going well at first. Just my opinion.

I think it will be fun having "one of each". We get to experience the best ~~and worst~~ of both worlds. When you have your first baby your have no idea what you're doing, period. Now, we know/are used to parenting a girl (and a total girl she definitely is). She is gentle, generally well-behaved/easy to discipline, and has over-the-top drama. We're used to that combination. Not sure what we will do with a possibly rambunctious, destructive boy but we will figure it out! I'm hoping being raised the same way Gabrielle was and having an older sister will give him a good nurturing side, as well as his "manly side" of course.

I'm still getting used to the thought of having a boy and it's exciting! Like I said before...boy clothes were pretty disappointing, but I've found some really cute stuff! I hope he is on track size wise, because I've been hitting the summer sales for him. It's really fun to find the "diamond in the rough" as I call it. Adorable boy stuff among all the frogs and basketballs, haha. Here are a few things I got recently....