23 weeks!

23 weeks!

I'm going to apologize in advance; this post might be a little shorter than usual, b/c I am tired!! I think my body is still adjusting to this whole work & school thing... In addition to working & going to class, I've also started putting in some extra hours at work shadowing my administrator, which is part of my "internship" for my masters program. It's a big time commitment, and is going to be exhausting, but will definitely be worth it when I'm done w/grad school in December, just before baby girl g arrives (did you hear that baby girl, no arriving early! well at least not early December!!) I'm sure I'll be regretting saying that one day...!

This week the websites say the baby is now about the size of a large mango, and weighs just over a pound! It's so interesting the difference between how big I perceive my bump to be, and how big (or small) the baby actually is right now! Although I think you'll all agree, based on the picture above, the bump is definitely growing!! Baby girl g is becoming more & more active, and at different times of the day. I used to only feel her moving in the evening when I'd lay on the couch, but I'm definitely noticing her moving around more during the day lately. They say you can tell what your baby's sleep pattern will be like after they're born from the times of day they're moving around in your stomach, so maybe we'll be lucky and get a baby that actually sleeps at night! ;-)

I've still been feeling good overall, just a little more tired than usual. I don't know if it's just in my head, but I almost feel like I'm slowly but surely losing my "2nd trimester energy" and sliding down into the exhaustion of the 3rd trimester. But technically I have 2 more weeks before I'm officially in the 3rd trimester, so I'm going to make the most of it while I can!! I haven't had many crazy cravings, but I'm definitely eating more sweets than I used to! I try to only have one "treat" a day, and lately my favorites are mini snickers ice cream bars and frozen cokes!! It's amazing how many places besides 7-11 sell frozen cokes, however I still think 7-11's are the best!! I was lucky enough to have my friend give me some of her old maternity clothes this week, which helped to expand my somewhat limited wardrobe. I did a little more damage maternity shopping this afternoon too, and invested in some work shoes with a lower heel that are a little roomy. I also found a great deal on a cute red winter coat. I'm not sure if I really need a winter coat, or if I do how long I'll need to be wearing a maternity coat before the baby comes... but with Michigan's crazy weather it's probably better to be safe than sorry! And it was such a great deal at the Motherhood Maternity outlet I couldn't pass it up! I also found a few cute new tops, one of which you can see in the picture above! :-)

I think we are finally nearing the finish line for our baby registry! We decided to just stick with one store (Buy Buy Baby) for the registry to keep it simpler. We've narrowed our furniture down to two choices, I think we found some bedding at Pottery Barn Kids that we both like, and we still need to pick out a monitor and a jogging stroller. But otherwise that registry is packed! It's amazing how must "stuff" you need to add one tiny little person to your family!! We haven't physically begun to prepare the nursery yet, and are still debating on whether to paint the room a neutral color or go all pink, but hopefully we can figure it out sooner rather than later so baby girl has a room when she arrives!!

So I guess this didn't end up being super short after all... but now it's definitely time for bed!

<3

h&d&minig