The last time I hit 26 weeks I wrote this post. Now that we are almost 27 weeks I am looking back to see how I felt at this point with our first and am noticing some changes!

One thing in particular is a clear cut difference this time around: I don’t really care to be touched. With Harper, I wanted my tummy to be rubbed all the time. I wanted to sit and stare at Mt. Bump and watch it move all around. I even liked it when my coworkers would put their hands on it. I’m not against people briefly touching it and saying “awwww how cute”…but I don’t encourage it this time around. The only reason I can come up with, is that I feel like there’s a thick barrier on the front of my womb, well it’s a fact, I have anterior placenta. Baby just isn’t as close to the surface as I prefer. When he moves around, I feel it in my underwear areas instead of my stomach. It sort of makes me think people can’t really touch him properly. I also feel more uncomfortable in my lower belly. Either he’s further down, or the placenta is making me have the illusion that he his sitting really low and making me a little miserable. Who wants the most uncomfortable part of them to be touched?

I haven’t even let anyone else feel him move besides John, and I don’t even let that happen terribly often. You basically have to have your hand in my underoos to feel him moving around, and I’m not comfortable putting anyone else’s hand that far down my belly just to feel! They’ll have to wait until he turns face down and the kicks move up I guess!

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The second thing involves the cravings. I was really specific on what I wanted at 26 weeks with Harper. Fried pickles mainly. With baby boy, I can’t really pick out one specific thing that I would eat every day all day. I just want to EAT!!! EVERYTHING!!! I could eat all the time. No really, all the time. The only thing preventing me from eating sometimes, is when I’ve eaten SO much that I think I will throw up if I eat another snack. I eat until midnight.

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The one consistent is the back pain. I forgot how bad it was! Some magical spell cast over me in my 7-8th (?) month of pregnancy that took all of my back pain away. It was amazing. I kept thinking “this will not last more than a day!!”, but it did. It lasted after Harper was born! Well, minus those last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy. I need the back pain to go away soon, because I’m having front pain too! I only need one! I don’t know how to manage both at the same time! Tylenol OTC is a big brand, but it just doesn’t do anything for me! Tylenol 3’s are where it’s at, people. I can’t really take one without feeling guilty(even though they were prescribed by my OB) and nauseated though…so I get one every 2 weeks usually. The reprieve is awesome. (If I don’t feel sick that is.)

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Here’s to only having one sided pain instead of two sided pain!

XOXO

Bell

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 46,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 11 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

In North Carolina right now?

It happened a month earlier than last time…SOMEONE NOTICED I WAS PREGNANT IN PUBLIC AND ASKED!
It’s a general rule to never ask. But I had been waiting for someone to ask! Actually, the lady didn’t even ask, she just said so is Harper expecting a little brother or a little sister?
It’s the pregnant women who play around with the public by responding to these types of confrontations with “no I’m not pregnant” that ruin it for the ones who actually want to be noticed as expecting instead of a heavy beer drinker!
I spent the day getting my hair color fixed and paroozing a maternity store that I never knew existed. If you live in Alabama (which you probably don’t since half of my followers are in another country), you should visit the swanky stork in Homewood. If you’re not in Alabama, you can go to their website, but they’re expensive online. I was super disappointed when I wanted to give everyone the site name once I saw the prices online are double or triple what I saw in store. The dress I bought was 50$, but they have no dresses under 129$ online. Ain’t nobody got time for that. See the video reference below if you’re not from the south.

Anyways…here’s the dress, the hair, and the baby the day someone was confident enough to ask about my bump.

I think the hair looks better than it did… sometimes I look at it and think it looks great…then other times I will think it looks strange. I think it’s just a big change. I didn’t think it would be a big change since the red hair debacle of 2012.

In other news Santa stopped by our house to bring John a big giant crazy grill that has a gas section, charcoal section, smoker, and cooking eye. Santa also dropped a new iphone5 in my stocking! This early Santa stuff is probably not going to fly in about 2-3 years! Actually, in 2-3 years I’m not sure Santa can afford that sort of quality of gifts for everyone, so lets do this while we can!
XOXO
Bell

For those normal people out there, that’s 6 months and 1 week.

It really looks sooooo much bigger when I’m standing up…….but who wants to stand up? Not this girl.

Also, look at my hair. I paid someone to make it look like this. That sounds really rude. But it IS what I asked for. I asked for roots. Well, I asked for an ombre hair color job. If you’re a hair stylist, chances are you’re not an ombre expert…I get it. I used to work in a hospital, where I was expected to draw blood from people. You know what? I had to practice on someone. That’s right people, I stuck needles in patients with no idea of how to do it. Well, I had some idea, but not any real human experience. That’s how education works. I’m not upset the hair is a little off from what I asked for because the nice stylist offered to fix it tomorrow, and I’m all fine and dandy with that.

Here’s what I wanted it to look like compared to how it turned out:

Maybe I was just wishing the hair style would make me look as skinny and tan as Giulana Rancic.

Anyways…here’s what’s going on inside and outside of my body.

Size of the baby: He is about 1.5lb in weight, you might compare his size to a cauliflower now.  It’s crazy to think that in just 2 weeks he has grown a half a pound!  Probably more than that since I’ve been eating like a sumo wrestler.  Parents.com says my baby is making his first poop right now.  Lovely.

Weight gain: I’m big.  That is all.

Gender: Boy!!!!

Movement: Every few hours I feel him.  But since I have an anterior placenta, it’s such a strange feeling compared to what Harper felt like.  I feel him move, but the feeling is down LOW.  Like I’m getting kicked in my lady parts instead of my tummy.  I would describe it as if someone were to stomp on your foot, but your hand hurt when they did it instead.  Phantom like feeling.

What I miss:  I miss having Tom lay on my stomach every night.  If only I could find a kitten rental store in town.  And before you call me crazy, I saw a story on the news about a girl who rents out puppies!!!   So it’s real, people!!!!

Cravings: Lebanese cookies called ghraybeh.  My mother in law makes them every Christmas, and even though she puts nuts in them (which I don’t normally like), THE’RE SO GOOD.  She released her family recipe to me last week and of course I’m almost done eating my whole batch.  They’re buttery heaven.  The recipe calls for SEVEN sticks of butter.  SEVEN.  Not that it deters me from eating them.

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks contractions, extreme hunger, and amazing nails.

Best moment this week:  When Harper said “Mon-KEY”!!!  Oh, and finishing my Christmas shopping for John.  Now if I could just START on everyone else’s gifts!

Worst moment this week:  I have 2 worst moments.  1.  going to Harper’s year old check up for FOUR shots.  😦  FOUR!!!!!   2.  Realizing that I was completely caught up on the “Parenthood” series on TV.  I think it’s my all time favorite TV show.

Holding on to Fake Tom knowing she’s in the doctor’s office.

I must say after typing this out, my worst moments don’t even compare to what some people are feeling this Christmas, especially in the CT massacre. My heart hurts for everyone involved. I quit watching the news the day it happened. I was basically disgusted with the things I saw the media releasing. I feel like pictures of terrified students leaving the school are inappropriate to air to the world. Video of medical examiners entering the school broke my heart even more for some reason. I just kept thinking, what if you’re the victim’s family and you’re seeing these medical examiners going to be with a child you can’t even see yet. There were a handful of inappropriate things aired on the news that day, and I’m sure they’re still being aired. I’m disappointed that the police didn’t close that entire scene off from the media until the entire investigation was complete. I’m not “looking for someone to project my anger about the situation on”, I’m simply pointing out that they should know better, use more discretion, and be more thoughtful. They should say “would I want to see this footage if my child were in that school”?

I’m also curious about if the news of this tragedy is reaching my overseas followers…guys???

Hug your kids and enjoy your week with them!
XOXO
BEll

Me: Here’s some yogurt, baby!! YUM!!

Harper: yah yah yah yah…dadadadadadada….ahhhhhh!!!

Me: Hang on I gotta turn the meat over so it doesn’t burn, just give me a few seconds!!!!

Harper: MONKEY!!!

Me: Huh?  Did you just say monkey?!????!!!!!

Harper: MON-KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She’s never said a REAL word that’s not just a short cut word!

Here’s me shoving ANOTHER video down your throat, but I just can’t help myself!!!!

I die.

XOXO

Bell

Here is my second advent project for this Christmas!

You’ll notice that I’m a slacker and have only done the 12 days before Christmas instead of the traditional 25 for advents, but I just didn’t want to paint 12 more bags and make 12 more ornaments this year!  I will add the other 12 for next Christmas when we have 2 babies!  Plus, I started way behind on these advent projects so we would’ve had to open 12 at once just to catch up to the current date!

The theme is “hand made”……..so I personally rolled my own felt ornament out of roving…it’s the first one I’ve done, so I’m okay with it!

Here is Harper starting her book advent, actually she was catching up since I forgot to have her open one last night! Whoops! Looks like tomorrow we will have to put up THREE advent ornaments since I wasn’t able to get that together until JUST now!

I think the books are a hit!
Hope you’re having a good holiday season at your homes!
XOXO