cozy contemporary: baby bump: 25 weeks

How far along: 25 weeks.

Size of baby: Head of cauliflower.

Maternity clothes: With the cold weather here, my winter coats aren't exactly fitting this year. They fit but they don't zip up. I've started wearing Ehren's large winter coat which I'm swimming in. Oh well, it keeps me and the bun warm.

Weight gain: I should be gaining about a pound a week from now on. It's weird to be semi okay with gaining weight. It's such a backwards way of thinking! I just have to remember it's not all fat, it's extra blood, placenta, boobs, etc. Ugh. Being a girl is hard sometimes, especially when you're particularly hard on yourself.

Stretch marks: Nope.

Sleep: I'm wanting to be in bed at 8-8:30 and can barely keep my eyes open at 9:30. I really can't complain as I am on my feet all day and haven't been taking naps when I get home. I sleep hard and have no problem getting back to sleep with all the bathroom trips in the middle of the night. Cozy has been more cuddly in bed; he's always sleeping against me or on top of me and always has his little liver head draped over my leg.

Exercise: Sure.

Best moment of the week: There were multiple best moments this week.

1. I was at work doing some therapy with this cute little 87 year old female who was pretty ornery. She talked a lot and was full of personality. We walked in the hallway and she made it known to everyone she walked by that she was doing great and that she's ornery. When we got back to the room, she again said that she was ornery, then proceeded to violently tickle my baby bump. I asked her, "are you tickling my baby?" and she said, "Yes! And I'm going to pet her, too!" and then she began petting my belly. And then all of a sudden, she got serious and started to gently rub my belly. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes and told me she was going to pray for my baby and me. I literally started crying then and there. I think when someone tells you they have/will pray for you, it's the biggest compliment. She made my day and I will always remember her.

2. Ehren, my sister, and I drove up to Omaha this weekend to visit our cousins and participate in the "Ugly Sweater Run". It was so good to see our cousins as Thanksgiving/Christmas isn't the same anymore. We had some great quality time making cookies, shopping, veging out, and of course the Ugly Sweater Run.

Movement: I didn't really feel her much for a couple of days, which of course worried me, but then all of a sudden as we were pulling into Omaha she started going nuts. (Probably because I had to pee really bad and my bladder was crowding her). She's now in full force, acting like she's trying to escape. I love it!

Cravings: I seriously eat just about anything and I feel like that's a luxury in a pregnancy. Especially when with a group of people trying to make a decision on where to eat. I get excited about any type of food.

Gender: She's a she.

Belly button in or out: It's out and in full force. People are noticing, too.

Wedding ring on or off: On.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope. Except for maybe really frustrating KU basketball games?

What I miss: Boring weekends at home. I love the holidays and spending time with family but there is nothing like a weekend at home!

What I am looking forward to: Weekends with family and holiday parties. As much as I love being at home, there is nothing like being with family!

What I am not looking forward to: Getting bigger and not feeling comfortable in my own body. I know it will give me guilt since my body is doing what it needs to do to create a human, but it's still hard to deal with. I'll just avoid full length mirrors from now on :)

Labor signs: Nope.

Symptoms: Just lots of movement.

Nursery: We got some furniture in the mail! We got the crib and the side table that will go next to the glider. Eeeek! I want to put it together but we won't until the tail end as it won't fit into the nursery through the doorway. We will have to put it together in the room and I don't want to do that before we've done all the painting and building.

Emotions: Like I said earlier, I'm having a hard time with body image. I look in the mirror and don't see my usual self and that's really hard. It's also hard on Ehren as he sees something completely different than me. I hate hearing the phrase "you're not fat, you're pregnant". Yes, I know that's true but it also means "you're fat because you're pregnant, not because you're slacking off at the gym and eating junk". I get really down about myself until I feel her kick me. Then the pregnancy light bulb instantly goes off and I think, "I don't care what I look like! I'm making our daughter and my body is doing what it needs to do in order to create life!"

My cousin who had her baby on Thanksgiving was not able to come to Omaha but she sent lots of pictures and videos. Harper is just so cute and perfect and I get this stupid grin when I look at her. It's amazing to see the first great granddaughter and I'm so happy for my cousin and her husband. What is surreal is that when I look at her I have to remind myself that I will have one of "those" too! I can't imagine how I'm going to feel about my own when I feel that way about my cousin's baby. Ugh. Humans are capable of so much love and I can't wait until my love tank is even more full than it already is.

Week in review:

We have a family message board on Facebook called McLovin because our family is made up of McCauleys and McCunes. This is where we communicate, share funny videos, and of course new pictures of the newest great grandchild. When we got out of the car in downtown Omaha, the first thing we saw was this store called "McLovin". We had to get a photo. And post it on McLovin of course.