Baby #2: 23rd - 27th weeks!

The last leg of 2nd trimester!!

• been pretty energetic lately without caffeine when I'm off, where do I get the energy from? no idea, but I sure do feel it at the end of the day when I'm absolutely out like a light by 930pm (even before Max is asleep!)
• despite the seemingly endless energy, my achy body tells me I have to rest though, so I have to stop once in a while...if not also go to the bathroom. give me 5 minutes or less every now and then and I'm ok to keep going (even Max understands this!)
• my biggest joint complaint right now is that my right foot can't support me in a tip toe. I used to be able to stealthily (?? is that a word) creep out of Max's room but now my right foot hurts and I'm stumbling my way out of his room and being too noisy for someone trying to sneak out. thank goodness he hasn't woken up to me leaving yet!
• since pre pregnancy, at 24 weeks I've gained 10lbs!!
• biggest sensational indicator of weight gain/baby growth has been first thing in the morning when I stand at first, and feel a heaviness in my legs and then when I sit on the toilet to void and feel a pressure down there (kinda similar to post birth pressure when it feels like about to have a prolapse, but not in the slightest bit as overwhelming)
• breasts are firm and massive
• I've got some increased skin sensitivities especially to my inner forearms bilaterally, they're often itchy and the right one has a worst rash than the left. maybe detergent related? exacerbated by my scrubs at work too...which makes me scratch...which makes the rash worse
• i've been extra sensitive to aerosol sunscreen spray too. worst culprit has been the pool where people just liberally spray the CHEAP stuff in the air, all over....and it becomes airborne. Lo and behold, I'm scratching almost instantly. I have noticed though that the more I scratch, the worse it gets...so I have some control over how long i want to "suffer" with the hives
• the best shoes for walking miles upon miles while 6 months pregnant are my Saltwater Sandals. What is it about these shoes anyways that make them so comfortable? i think for me it's because they're so flexible and lack any hocus-pocus that it basically mimics the movement of my foot (guessing here). The second best are my Birkenstocks most likely because of the arch support but it somehow isn't fully snug on my foot and I feel like compensating in some way. By 'best' though, I mean because I have no sciatica-like buttocks pain within a few hours of being out and needing to offload by doing pelvic tilts. The worst pair of shoes I have are my Frye oxfords which are fine while not pregnant, but just kill by right buttocks/lower back within a few hours

^^ 26 weeks and 3 days! this shirt is getting pretty tight ^^

• some moments of panic when I realized that I haven't felt the baby move yet. I'm trying to figure out some consistent ways as to how to wake the baby up...irrational fears keep you awake at night
• I've been told I'm "carrying high" and thus revealing it was a girl. Didn't really know what it meant till I saw a mom-to-be and she was carrying quite low and overheard her saying "baby brother" ...what a huge difference. However, in my case I think all my belly fat has just been pushed up because if I suck my gut in, my uterus is actually bulging at an appropriate area 
• so hard to get up from the floor to standing erect...so.hard.so.short.of.breath 
• Big Mac's from McD tastes really really really good. I bought this Kraft "burger sauce" that makes me feel like I'm eating a Big Mac, but with homemade burgers
• any pastry or cheese bread from Safeway gives me heartburn...blech
• at 26 weeks, the summer heat wave is just starting in Vancouver. At night, the fan is basically on level 2, I have no blankets on, and only sleeping in my underwear. Going to be a doozy of a summer while pregnant! 
• eating a watermelon just puts the bloat factor into overdrive and I become short of breath, definitely not binging on this fruit this year
• my biggest complaint with this pregnancy has been the chafing of my inner thighs when wearing skirts, dresses, and pants that I need to keep hiking up because they don't fit properly. Luckily, some online friends told me about BODY GLIDE And it's been absolutely the best dang new product that's come to my life this year. no chafing people! I bought the "ladies" one at Sport Chek, which all in all is really just a gimmick. The handy thing about it though is the size and it fits in my backpack in case I have a moment while out. It's worked wonders and has kept me productive for longer hours, especially when it's a scorcher out! 
• it really takes some effort walking up hill, even a small hill. I feel out of shape initially, but feel good as the day goes on and even surprise myself with how much I do. I wonder though if i'm doing too much? hmmm
• Coca Cola tastes really really good
• I wouldn't say I have cravings where I need to eat something NOW. But there are things I enjoy more than others (like Coke...did I mention this already? hehe)
• I passed by gestational diabetes test...YES! Did the test after my last night shift. I was semi-hungry as we feasted at 1130pm the night before with a mediterranean potluck. The 75g orange drink was the absolute worst thing i've ever drank...essentially pure sugar in a melted orange crush concoction with no fizz. Gag +++. To top it off, I spent the 2 hours at a super crowded lab when I should've been sleeping...or at least had some leg room to sprawl. thank goodness for the movie Gone Girl on my phone via Netflix!

• Obstetric Estimation of Gestational Age			26		wk
  Glucose Load			75		g
  Fasting Glucose			4.5	< 5.1	mmol/L
  Glucose 1h			9.3	< 10.0	mmol/L
  Glucose 2h			7.7	< 8.5	mmol/L
  			PATHOLOGIST'S COMMENT: Normal Glucose Tolerance.