25 Weeks

How far along: 25 weeks 

Size of baby: Approx 13.5 inches and 1.5 pounds

Gender: A girl! Carson Ruby Huddleston

Maternity clothes: Mostly maternity clothes now. My friend Heather is awesome and let me borrow her maternity clothes, which quadrupled my wardrobe. 

Weight gain: 7.5 pounds. 

Movement: Yes, lots of movements. I feel like the types of movements changed this week to more of a rolling motion. Her new favorite spot is under my left ribs.

Sleep: Still pretty good. I'm warmer now and move around a lot, but feel rested in the morning.

Symptoms: Tiredness, uneven skin

Best moment this week: I passed my full glucose test! Sean and I also had a fun date night on Sat that I appreciated.  

Lately...

A girlfriend of mine posted something similar on her blog, so I'm copying her idea. :) 

I'm loving: animal crackers (16 of them are only 120 calories), baby kicks, Sean's helpfulness around the house recently, elastic waist pants.

I'm recommending: This video -- Pep Talk from a Kid President, he's so cute!

I'm reading: too many e-mails, not enough books. Sean did buy me Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller for Christmas and I want to dig into it. It's about connecting your career to God's plan for your life.

I'm watching: The Bachelor, the same short maternity workout on YouTube over and over (any recommendations out there for maternity workouts you enjoyed?)

I'm cooking: not a whole lot. Tonight, though, I'm making pasta with my co-workers delicious vodka sauce -- maybe she will guest post her recipe soon. :)

I'm pondering: Whether to re-cover an older glider/rocker or buy a new one. Real deep around my mind today, people.

I'm planning: A Valentine crafting party with some girlfriends -- we will make homemade cards and decorate cupcakes. I'm really looking forward to it!

I'm dreaming: about holding a sweet little baby girl in just a few months. It hardly seems possible and I most often feel ill-equipped to become a mother, but I know God will give me the grace I need in the moment.

I'm excited: To start on her nursery soon. I've got some good ideas, I think. Just need to get the motivation to execute them...

I'm hoping: The daycare option we really like works out. It's at a church just down the street from my house, but it's only from 8:30-2:30 (changing my current work schedule) and follows the school calendar, so we will need a sitter/nanny during the summer and long breaks.

I'm procrastinating: About having a maternity leave discussion with my boss. I don't even know where to begin or what I will want after Carson makes her arrival.

I'm struggling: With discipline, personally. My schedule has been a little crazy for the past couple of months with work, moving, being a chapter advisor to the college girls (Phi Mu), etc. and I haven't been great about prioritizing my time.

House Tour

A couple of weeks ago we moved into another rental house. Our previous house was great for us, but only had two bedroom and had tons of stairs, so a one-story house was on the list before baby arrives. The new house has been really good so far because it's very close to Sean's work. He drives back forth a lot between the school, clinic and home so the move is saving him about an hour a day of driving! 

Rental homes are kind of tough -- you want to make it your own, but not invest too much because it doesn't belong to you. Sean did do some work on the front end to this house to fix things that were glaring to me (ie: removed wallpaper in a bathroom, changed the kitchen faucet). If we owned the house we would do more work, but we don't, so we won't. :) 

Here's a picture tour of the new place - Wyatt is in almost every picture b/c he follows me around. :) 

New-to-us sectional couch.

I really like the new rug -- It's from TJ Maxx

I sewed some new pillow covers for the sectional.

Dining area -- I also sewed the valence in this room.

From the living room looking towards the bedrooms.

Guest bathroom.

Canvases for the bathroom. :)

Guest bedroom.

Looking into our bedroom. It's pretty big, so we moved our other couch into here.

Sean built me this headboard and I love it! I'll do a blog post on that soon.

Another view of the master.

Master bathroom.

Master closet. Having some extra space helps keep me motivated to stay organized!

Deck and a big backyard for Wyatt.

Not pictured: bedroom that will be the nursery (it's currently empty) and the 4th bedroom that is our craft room/office. It's quite full and not organized yet. 

24 Weeks

How far along: 24 weeks 

Size of baby: Approx 12 inches and just over 1 pound 

Gender: A girl! Carson Ruby Huddleston

Maternity clothes: A mix of maternity and non-maternity now -- the wardrobe is starting to get more limited. Most sweaters, leggings, etc. still fit fine, but many shirts are too short and unless the non-maternity pants sit really low, they won't fit.

Weight gain: 7.5 pounds. 

Movement: Yes, lots of movements now. She seems to be most active a couple hours after each meal.

Sleep: Still the same -- last night I had trouble falling asleep b/c my mind was racing, but generally I fall asleep quickly and feel rested in the morning. 

Symptoms: Tiredness, some irritability (probably related to one another)

Best moment this week: We did have a doctor appt this week and the heartbeat was strong. I did, however, fail my initial glucose test so I had to take the longer 3 hour test yesterday. It really wasn't too bad, but I didn't feel quite right for the rest of the day. 

23 Weeks

How far along: 23 weeks -- we should meet her in about 4 months!

Size of baby: Approx 11 inches and just over 1 pound, about the size of a large mango. 

Gender: A girl! Carson Ruby Huddleston

Maternity clothes: A mix of maternity and non-maternity now. Some of my tank tops/shirts are too short to fit over the bump. I did buy a pair of maternity jeans (in pic) for $15 at Old Navy that are comfortable to wear. 

Weight gain: Around 6 pounds. This week I have felt ready to be more active -- previously I wasn't very motivated, but I found a video or two online I think will help.

Movement: Yes, lots of movements now. She seems to be most active a couple hours after each meal.

Sleep: It's pretty decent, but I still need lots of it. I do toss a little bit to find comfy positions but fall back asleep quickly.

Symptoms: My face has been breaking out, which is no fun. The only other symptom is that I'm pretty worn out by the end of the day.

Best moment this week:Getting settled into the new house. I'll post pictures when it doesn't look like a tornado went through.