Goodbye, Second Trimester

26 weeks

I am almost done with my second trimester, and it has gone by so fast! I am sure the last trimester will go much MUCH slower, though. Good thing it will be summer and I will be able to go to the pool and garage sale my brains out.

• Baby J has become very active lately, this week it is the ribs on my right side and the bottom left of my belly - at the same time. This boy likes to stretch! Also, when he is awake and most active, I can feel distinct heel/toe movement and elbows and knees sliiiiiiding against my tummy. Last Sunday he kicked so hard it startled me, and I accidentally yelped in the middle of Stake Conference, oops!
• My brother moves out of the nursery tomorrow morning and I am SO excited to get the baby gear moved up there and set up the baby's room! If all goes according to plan, the room should be complete by the end of the month.
• I have started to gather adorable little boy clothes from garage sales and clearance racks. People keep saying that you get loads of newborn clothes at your baby shower, so right now I am picking up mainly 9 months and up. 
• I asked my OB yesterday what I should be working on right now, and he said to start reading up about pre-term labor signs and just become familiar with labor/delivery. With the technology these days, I could have my baby tomorrow and he could still survive. That's unbelievable to me! I knew that was the case, but I look at my belly and think, I have so much farther to go! I told my OB, "Good thing I live so close to the hospital, I can just waddle over, if I have to." He didn't think that was funny.
• I am officially out of all maternity pants. Most of my shirts are still working (for now). I found a pair of "fat pants" that I bought just one size too big on accident last year, and they actually fit! But I am still considering them maternity pants. The thighs and butt fit great, but the waist is too tight, so I will probably add a belly band, like I did that one time. 
• Michael gets more and more excited every day for Baby J. I find it so sweet because this was a surprise pregnancy to both of us, and 5 years earlier than we planned. He was so stressed about finances and our goals in life when this all started (and still worries about it,) but now he doesn't seem to mind so much. He tells me everyday how beautiful he thinks I am, and how proud he is that I'm not taking that "eating for two" thing too seriously (the doc told us yesterday that my weight gain and other measurements are exactly where they are supposed to be.) It feels good to be appreciated :)
• I have not had any stranger-belly-rubs yet, thank heavens. I am totally comfortable with friends and family and even ward members touching my belly (which still doesn't happen much), but I am NOT ok with strangers in the grocery store. I am not sure if I will just be nice and give the crazy old lady her moment, or if I will be sassy and walk away. And maybe it will just depend on my mood for the day (heaven knows I have been a little crazy with my hormones lately). 
• Speaking of which, I was on the phone a few months ago with my grandma and I was telling her my symptoms (back when I was still in my first trimester) and I told her I felt like a teenager going through puberty, only much faster. My body is drastically changing shape, I'm outgrowing clothes by the week, my appetite fluctuates and is quite picky, and my emotions are through the roof! Grandma couldn't stop laughing.

This isn't really baby news, but I don't care. I printed up a calendar this week from now until August, my due date, and organized all the crafts and things that need to be done between now and then. This keeps me busy with at least one thing each day, and helps me prioritize what needs to be done sooner than others. I also organized each month to work on a certain room in the apartment. This month it is the nursery. Next month it is the living room and July is the dining room. You see, I have no decor to put up in my apartment because our first (and most recent) apartment didn't require allow much space for it. Now that we have doubled in square footage it looks pretty sad. We don't even have a dining table! So I plan to find everything at yard sales this summer and put together my sad, empty apartment. Hopefully it will all be in place, and to my liking before Baby J gets here. Wish me luck!