Adventures in Pregnancy: Week 25

Well, here I am, barefoot and pregnant.  End of post.

Just kidding!  It's been a couple of weeks since I did a dedicated post on growing a person inside my belly, so settle in for some chit-chat about the my last few weeks.

 A month ago (at 20 weeks), you couldn't even really tell I was pregnant from the front.  I was thinking to myself, arrogantly, "Purchasing those maternity jeans was such a waste of money!  I'll be able to get away with holding my regular pants together with a hairband throughout this process; how much bigger can I really get?"  Ha!

 At 21 weeks, we found out the churro is a boy, and I also tried to bring back above-the-waist maxi skirts.  Not sure if that's going to work until week 40 (!), but I am positive that this skirt is the absolute workhorse of my closet right now.  It's fabulous!

 Cravings include homemade brownies...

...and lots of waffles.  Also biscuits.  Those don't stay around long enough to photograph.

 How cute is the churro's nursery?  There is obviously a lot of work to be done still, but I absolutely love how it looks so far.  That light was JP's when he was a wee one, and the rocking chair was transported here all the way from Illinois by my mom; Haley and I were both rocked to sleep in it.

There are lots of cute little blankies and teeny onesies in the black baskets by the dresser, and we're going with graphic black and white prints on the wall.  It's good for baby's eye development, blah blah blah.

Now, at 25 weeks, the churro is 13 inches long from head to toe, and weighs close to 2 lbs.  His eyes are also open!
It's not as glamorous as I thought it would be: there are stretch marks on my tummy, my bellybutton is a mostly-outie at this point, I can't sleep more than 3 hours at a time due to the bladder situation at night, and only elastic and drawstring bottoms fit.
These hormones are starting to kick in like crazy: lots of tears at the season 2 premiere of The West Wing, when I locked myself out of our house yesterday for 1.5 hours without having eaten lunch beforehand, and even when the stroller we registered for arrived today from my dad (first registry gift and it's awesome!  Thanks, Dad and Karen!).
Running is getting harder, the churro sits on my sciatic nerve sometimes, and I stupidly find myself holding in my belly when shaving my legs, as if it will help me see my ankles better.  Note to self: you can't suck in a baby.
We went bowling a few weeks ago and, on my first frame, in front of some people I knew and some I had met a 5 minutes before, I released the ball and fell right onto my hands and knees because my center of gravity is just not what it used to be.  (I fouled that frame, but did go on to win.)

HOWEVER, I cannot get over how incredible it is to have a doctor's appointment and hear our son's heartbeat in stereo.  JP and I fall asleep with our hands on my belly so we can feel him kicking us and squirming around.  I look at my husband when he's folding up swaddling blankets and smiling because the churro is giving him internal high-fives, and cannot wait to see him as a father to someone we created together.  I can't get over that this is all happening inside of me.  What a crazy time.  15 weeks to go...