25 Weeks: Returning to Normalcy

Obviously, I fell way behind in my pregnancy “journal” thanks to my lovely appendicitis. I guess I could’ve made more of an effort to keep up with the weekly photos during that time, but let’s see… the first week (week 23), I was in the hospital on an IV drip, and couldn’t even get out of bed by myself (and um, wasn’t even wearing pants). The second week (week 24), I was home, but was wearing pajamas 24 hours per day, wore no makeup, and only showered every other day at best.

Needless to say, I didn’t feel much like posing for belly pics.

I do have a 22-week photo to share that I never had the chance to post. I took it on the day before I woke up sick, which started the whole appendicitis ordeal.

22 Weeks Pregnant

And here I am now:

25 Weeks Pregnant

At this point, I am feeling OK in my recovery. Still somewhat sore, still somewhat weak. I can eat completely normally now and not pay for it with horrible gas pains, so that’s good at least. My incision has healed, but man, it is ugly. About 4 inches long with lovely staple marks running like train tracks down each side of it. It feels bumpy to the touch, and the tissue underneath it is hard (scar tissue?). I’m nervous about what’s going to happen to it when my stomach grows and stretches as it will inevitably do over the next ~15 weeks. But I also know that there is really nothing I can do about it, so… I’m trying to let go of the worry and just hope that my body will do what it has to do.

Oh, and on an unrelated side note: It is absolutely NOT warm enough here to be wearing sleeveless tops. I wore a big, flowy, open sweater over that tank top today, but when I wore it in photos it disguised my belly and just looked weird from the side angle, so I took it off. :)

I am feeling a lot of baby movement these days. I forgot how weird it felt. Even after I had Nora—up until I got pregnant again, in fact—I would feel what I called “phantom kicks,” and it always made me slightly nervous because I was thinking, Ohmygod, I better not end up one of those women on “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.” But now that I’ve experienced real movement again, the “phantom kicks” are sooo not the same. When the baby really gets going in there, it is actually a little bit uncomfortable… sort of like the feeling you get in your stomach when you ride a rollercoaster. And it absolutely keeps me away if I’m trying to sleep.

Speaking of sleep… *sigh* It’s not great these days. I am up once a night to pee, which isn’t terrible (yet), but I have a really hard time getting comfortable. During my pregnancy with Nora I became a back sleeper for a lot of the time, but at this stage it is uncomfortable to sleep on my back. I spend every night rotating from side to side with a body pillow between my knees, and it’s just not conducive to great rest for me. My sleep issues started with the appendicitis and were exacerbated by my time in the hospital and the pain I experienced. It just hasn’t gone back to normal since then.

Overall, I am suddenly feeling BIG. I know I’ve got a long ways to go still, but my stomach is definitely there now. I am acutely aware of the fact that I’m pregnant now, if that makes sense.

I say nightly prayers with Nora, where we go through our immediate family members and individually bless them. “God bless Nora, God bless Mommy, God bless Daddy, God bless Grammy…” etc. etc. We’ve now added “God bless the baby in Mommy’s tummy” to the list. :) Nora will remind me if I forget, too. It’s really cute.

I am so freaking sick of my wardrobe. Most of my real maternity clothes are SUMMER clothes, since by the time I was this pregnant with Nora, we were into early June. We just need the weather to warm up so I can wear all of that stuff! I do need to do a little bit of shopping, though. I need another pair of work pants, for sure, and a few new tops would be nice. I just need to find the time/energy to shop a little.

Speaking of time and energy, we’re trying to get back on track with the projects we have on the list for pre-baby. We’re starting with Nora’s (well, the kids/guest) bathroom. I’m hoping I can will myself to start some work on it this weekend, because otherwise I’m going to start to panic a little. Too much to do, too little time.

15 weeks to go.