Pregnancy Week by Week 22-24

Weeks 22-24 (Month 5)Baby Size: Papaya
How I feel about being pregnant: It really is amazing. I feel healthy, energized, beautiful and excited. The baby is definitely growing a lot, and I feel lots of movement during the day and at night.
Symptoms: With the baby's growth, I'm growing too! Lots of days I have lower back and tailbone pain by the end of the day. And, if I make any sudden adjustments at night, I sometimes feel like a muscle is tearing in my stomach... so that's real fun! ;)
Food Cravings: I'll be honest - nothing too crazy! Other than my Crispix -- which I mentioned yesterday. But I really am not eating anything out of the norm, and I honestly don't eat much more than I did pre-pregnancy. The only real difference is I've had a couple random days where out-of-nowhere I am STARVING and have to eat that very second or I feel like I could pass out.
What I'm most excited about: Continuing to work on the nursery. I really love, love, love this room of the house. The paint color is so fresh and serene... I am ready to get a comfy glider and ottoman in there so I can spend more time in there reading and stuff!
Something I've done to prepare for baby: Whew - we've gotten a few major things taken care of. We now have our infant carseat, bassinet, crib and mattress... all the major things we'd NEED to take a baby home. We also have more newborn clothes (thanks Molly and James) than we know what to do with.
Special moment: Painting the nursery with our families was really special. It was a labor of love - but I'm glad we did it together, and with my mom and Chad's dad. It was sweet to have grandparents help make that room so special. Also, it never stops being amazing to me and Chad to feel our baby move. We love those couple hours at night where he's bouncing all around. I love (despite how uncomfortable it can me some times) when he presses his head/back/butt against me because I know it means he's stretching out... and I think it's so sweet. Chad's a big fan of J's "double kicks" - where he'll give me a good one-two punch.

I have my next doctor's appointment on Monday morning. It's a normal check-up, but I have to do the (groan) 1-hr glucose challenge where I have to chug this syrupy sweet fruit punch concoction and then get my blood drawn to see how my body is handling the sugar -- an indication of gestational diabetes. Normally this wouldn't be terrible, but the idea of chugging a sugar-filled drink first thing in the morning (for a girl who doesn't drink sugared beverages - coffee or anything) is not really appealing. Hopefully I pass the test!