Week 24: 2/3rds of the way (at least!)

24 weeks has been a milestone in our heads since the beginning of this pregnancy.  At this point the babies have greater than a 50/50 chance of survival if they are born (but lets pray that they wait a lot longer!).  We feel like we can now breath a (little) sigh of relief that we've made it this far and now I just need to hang on for another 12 weeks, if possible.  That means we're 2/3rds of the way through the pregnancy!  It's a little scary to think that they could be born at 32 weeks, or sooner, which would mean only 8 weeks to go!

The last couple of weeks have been uneventful.  I've been staying busy with many different things, but really nothing baby related besides some reading and trying to check a few things off of my "Baby To do" list.  The thing I've been spending the most time on is the contract work, which is good as I've been making progress on the project and I've actually been asked to work on a second project.  Although at times the work overwhelms me a bit, it does give me a sense of accomplishment and helps me to focus on something other than babies for a few hours a day.

I really haven't had any food cravings during the pregnancy, except for maybe the food I'm eating as I write this: Kraft Mac n Cheese.  It is so sad as I know it's not really healthy and in recent years I had decided it wasn't really that tasty, but something about being pregnant makes me want comfort food so I have eaten a few too many boxes of this stuff.  I also stop at McDonald's randomly, which is really strange as I usually do not eat fast food as I think it's bit gross.  Both mac n cheese and McDonald's gives me a lot of calories (and fat) per serving, so maybe my body is trying to tell me something with these cravings :).

My weight gain has decreased slightly in the last couple of weeks from 3 pounds a week to 2 pounds a week, which I am happy about as I definitely feel I have enough fat stores to help feed three babies once they are born (and for them to grow off of for awhile towards the end of the pregnancy if I can't consume enough food).  I have gained about 46 pounds and my goal was 60 total, so I am over 75% of the way there.  Hmmmm, 75% of the way with the weight gain and only 67% of the way with the pregnancy.... sadly, I might pass my "goal" weight which was really a max weight in my head...

My major nemesis lately has been HEARTBURN.  It's awful.  I try to avoid foods that give me heartburn toward the end of the day as it doesn't really impact my day until I try to sleep, but bland foods like Cheerios and milk result in heartburn.  I try to time my eating with bedtime as it is supposed to help to wait a couple of hours after eating to lay down, but that's really hard when you're pregnant since you're hungry all of the time.  Last night was actually the first night I was able to pretty much just lay down on my pillow without having my head propped up a couple of feet, and I think it was due to the fact that I took a Pepcid and a couple of Tums after my last snack of the night.  I don't like to take meds too often if I can help it, but sometimes I just need to sleep.

I FINALLY found a pool and swam / aqua jogged (walked) on Friday and Monday, and I've been wishing I started this months ago as it feels much more like a workout than walking outside.  I've been hesitant to swim as it meant 1) I have to find a pool I'm comfortable with which is always an intimidating process, 2) I'd have to get a maternity bathing suit, and 3) I didn't feel like it was worth paying money to splash around for 30 minutes.  Last Friday was Micah's off Friday and I told him I really wanted to swim, and he was excited to go with me.  He called the pool on the Air Force Base and figured out I could get in with him since he works on base (and later we found out I could get in alone too since I have a long-term guest pass from friends that live on base), so we went!  It is so much easier to do something like that with someone!  Yesterday I met him at the pool during his lunch hour, and I think we're going to start doing this a couple of times  a week as long as my body can handle it.

One funny story from the pool.  When I got there yesterday I was standing on the deck thinking Micah might walk in soon and an older lady walked up to me and said, "You look like you're about ready to pop!"  I told her hopefully not since I'm not even 24 weeks, but I'm having triplets.  She thought that was so great and then one of her (Asian) friends approached and said, "You're having a boy!"  I told her yes, and two girls (Asian women always think they can predict the gender by how someone is carrying).  They both proceeded to rub my belly simultaneously and oooh and aahhhh about triplets.  After my swim I went into the shower to rinse off and the first Asian woman walked in and told her naked friend (a third woman) who was showering that I was having triplets (at least that's what I assume as it was in Chinese), and then her friend turned to me and told me how great it was, etc.  We continued to have a conversation about triplets while she showered, which was funny and a bit awkward.  But it made me laugh and made me miss my triathlon swimming days a bit as there are always old women at public pools, and for some reason many of them are usually Asian.

Now for the pics.  Last week I almost forgot to take a pic so I didn't take the time to make myself look less tired and put some jeans on, so please forgive me for not looking my best :).  I feel like I look pretty tired in all of my pics, though, as today's 24 week pic was taken this morning right after I got dressed...

 

 

 

 

 

Week 23

Week 24