25 Weeks--And Happy New Year!

Hello, everybody!

Since my last post:

The hubs and I finished up the fall semester, we had Baby Girl's 20 week ultrasound, Christmas, a trip to St. George with my side of the family, and New Year's! Those are the big things, anyway. :)

The 20 week ultrasound went perfectly. Our little girl was exactly where she should be, growth wise. She was absolutely perfect, which put a lot of my worries to rest. She is definitely still a girl, and we have come up with a name that we feel pretty sure about. :) It's not really a secret, so maybe I'll post about it soon.

Christmas was wonderful! We got to take some time off work to make sure we could spend time with all of our families. My mom confessed that it's a lot more fun to buy presents for the baby than for us. That made me smile. I think it's more fun to buy things for her, too!

The day after Christmas, my parents and siblings drove down to pick us up and we all headed out for a getaway to St. George! It was snowing like crazy when we left, so it took quite a bit longer than usual to get all the way down there. We did see a pretty awesome sunset through the snow, though.

We had such a good time! One of our first outings was to go visit some really neat Anasazi "cave" art. I put it in quotes because there weren't any caves to talk about. There was some pretty cool art, though.

Originally we planned to go up to the Grand Canyon, but it turns out that the North Rim is actually closed during the winter. After driving two hours and finding that out, we took some time to go down to the Vermilion Cliffs. It wasn't quite as cool as going to see the Grand Canyon, but we still enjoyed it. The cliffs and the huge bridges that go between them were pretty impressive. Here are some pictures!

We also took our first family trip to Zion's, which was absolutely gorgeous!

They all kind of look the same now that I'm posting them. I guess it was just too beautiful to capture on camera. :) Other than our outdoor adventures, we spent some time hanging out around the condo, went to the St. George temple and tabernacle, and went swimming in the condo's indoor pool. Over all, it was a wonderful vacation! We got home earlier this week, and we've just been trying to get our apartment back to pre-holiday shape! School starts Monday!


How far along: 25 weeks 4 days
Size of baby: Rutabaga (13 1/2 inches from head to toe!)
Total weight gain/loss: I'm only down two pounds from pre-pregnancy weight! I'm getting there!
Stretch marks: A few have popped up.
Maternity clothes: Yes, sir! They are MUCH more comfortable, and they make my bump look cute instead of hiding it! Kid to Kid is my new-found favorite for maternity clothes. I got a lot of good stuff from the "good" brands for cheap! That equals happy me!
Baby-related purchases: To be honest, we're trying to stay away from buying too much before my baby shower. After that, we might go a little more crazy. So far I'm doing my best to be content with just putting stuff for Baby Girl on the registry for her shower. :) She did get a lot for Christmas last week, though!
Gender: Girl!
Movement: All the time! I still tease Austin that she's going to be silly like him. :) She moves enough that he and other family members have been able to feel her bonk around a little bit. We love it!
Sleep: Not so good. The heater is on almost constantly, which has really dried out my nose. I wake up a lot from not being able to breathe through my nose and having a cottony dry mouth. Yuck. I am still having tons of weird dreams, which doesn't help. Austin's gotten to the point where he can tell I'm having one and wake me up so I can get back to restful sleep. I also tend to wake up on my back a lot, which always worries me.
Belly button in or out: The top half is out . It is one funny looking thing. It sticks out all the time, and you can even notice it through looser outfits.
What I miss: Sleeping like a log, the big appetite I had for a while there, and the fall weather. I'm feeling the cold a little more than usual, maybe because of those pounds I lost.
Cravings: I'm not sure I've had any worth talking about. The holidays have turned me into one big sweet tooth (just like my hubby), so I've been splurging in that department a lot more than usual. Ranch is still a favorite, and I just had to have Pizza Hut the other day. It was probably the most delicious food I've ever eaten.
Symptoms: Back pain. Lately I've started to get these little charlie horses in the middle of my back. Ouch! Other than that, I make frequent bathroom trips, and I really look pregnant! My coworkers are all getting lots of enjoyment out of telling me that I finally look pregnant. I have had a little bit of what reminds me of morning sickness over the last little while, combined with lack of appetite. It's much milder than before, though.
Worries: Along with my lack of appetite and very slow weight gain, I have been concerned that the baby isn't getting all the nutrients she needs. I'm working on that all the time. Since our house is currently packed with baby things from friends and family, I'm also a little nervous about finding room for everything!
What I look forward to: Baby shower! Austin's surrogate mom talked to me this week about hosting one for me sometime next month. I can't believe how soon our little girl is coming! I'm also really excited to finish up with work and school so I can just be home with our little one. Just a couple more months!
Celebrations: This is probably kind of silly, but we were really happy when we made it to 24 weeks. I had read that babies can survive outside the womb (with lots of help) after that point, so it was a really exciting milestone for us. She's really going to come and be ours! Since the 24 week mark was on Christmas, it was kind of a double celebration. :) What better day to celebrate that we're getting the best and biggest gift of our lives?

Thanks for reading!

Malia