26 weeks

So today I'm at 26 weeks, and I can tell I'll be getting into the 3rd trimester soon. All of the things I've read refer to the 2nd trimester as the golden age of pregnancy. You typically are over the "morning" sickness and you aren't so big that you're uncomfortable. For the last few weeks, off and on, I've noticed some swelling in my feet. I thought maybe I needed to limit my sodium, because I realized I was eating things with quite a bit of sodium, so I thought maybe that was causing me to retain more water. But even today, my feet were swollen. I know it's normal, but now I'm starting to get nervous about just how big I'll end up getting. Most people say with a girl you gain all over. Great. I've also been hearing from more people lately that they think I am pretty big for how far along I am. This was all of a sudden, as for a while I was hearing how small I looked. I know everyone's pregnancy is different, but I do try to compare when I see others' pictures. But I guess all that matters is whether the baby is healthy, right? But I'm also starting to feel just slight discomforts. I feel like it's the beginning of all that you hear, and everyone's ready to get the baby out of them. Well, we'll just see what happens.

I'm almost finished with work for the summer. I go in on Monday, which is my last day. Then I'll be able to focus more on preparing for Emery. I have a lot to look forward to in the summer. There are a couple of showers planned, I'll be having a couple more sonograms, I've scheduled a maternity shoot with my brother-in-law, and we'll be going to the beach for a weekend with Jason's family. But best of all, my sister and nieces are visiting from Germany. She'll be here for one of my showers, and I just can't wait. Last summer she was trying to get here, but ended up only in town for a couple of days before she had to go to Texas for a wedding. But this time, they've bought a ticket rather than fly space available, so it's pretty much certain. So that will be nice to be out of school and get to hang out with them while they're here.

I'm also hoping to get a little more exercise in over the summer. I keep saying I plan to live in my parents' pool. It just sounds so refreshing, especially considering how hot it will be this summer. I keep hoping I can keep my weight gain to a reasonable amount. So far I have, but this week, I've noticed the numbers are starting to creep up a little higher than I'd like. Here is my 26 week belly.

26 weeks

I guess it really isn't that big after all. I have been getting on the elliptical, but not as much as I probably should. It's just when my feet swell, my shoes hurt them, and it's not that comfortable. That's another thing about the pool. I keep reading that swimming is a good exercise when you're pregnant, so I'm looking forward to that.

I'm still enjoying feeling Emery move. I usually feel her the most when I'm laying in bed, but lately I've been feeling her at other times, too. Jason finally felt her, too. Well, when I pointed it out, he said he'd been feeling that for a while now, so I guess he just didn't realize it was her when I asked if he had felt her.

So we have been doing more house renovations. Well, really, Jason and his dad have. They painted the house, put in a new door, and are putting in new windows. They've done most of the rooms' windows, the last one is our Florida room, which has 9 windows. But it looks really good. I'll have to post more when all of the windows are in, but this is the idea.

I am thankful for a handy husband and the help of his dad. They've done a good job!

Oh-one more baby-related thing. We take our childbirth prep class on Saturday. I'm kind of looking forward to it, just to know more about what to expect when the baby is born. So that's where things are right now. All in all, pretty good!