Baby Update - 24 Weeks

Today is a big day for baby Marron and a day of mixed emotions for me. The baby is 24 weeks today and that means we have made it to viability. Woohoo! I am very happy that we have made it to viability, but as excited as I am to meet him or her, I want the baby to stay put for the next 14 weeks or so.

My belly is getting bigger. Yikes!

According to The Bump, the baby is about the size of a cantaloupe. It is about a foot long and between three-quarters of a pound and a pound and a quarter. Since I was measuring almost 2 weeks ahead at my doctors appointment this week, I have a feeling that our baby is probably in the larger part of that range.

The baby has been really active lately and that that makes me happy. Last night my husband got to feel the baby kicking for the first time. I have been feeling it for about 6 weeks now, but the thumps are getting a lot stronger and more frequent.

We still haven't found out the gender and the longer I go, the more I feel like I don't really need to know. It is funny because, both my sister-in-laws and a couple of my coworkers want to know really badly. Not knowing the gender does make me stress less about not having a nursery together when the baby first gets here.

At this point, I have gained about 10 pounds, which given all the cake I ate for my birthday and Easter I am pretty happy about. That said, I am starting to feel much bigger. It is harder to roll over and my growing belly is pulling on my lower back when I sleep. The further I get into pregnancy the more pillows I use. Last night I figured out that a pillow under my stomach helps my back. I think that brings the total pillows I am sleeping with each night to 5 and I still wake up several times.

I am staying relatively active and getting to the gym or walking about 3 times a week with a couple of other active days in there. Some weeks are better than others, but I am okay with where I am at. I really miss running and I am already drooling over races for the fall, but haven't committed to anything yet.

This week we are looking at daycares and I am going to start prenatal yoga. It has gotten too hard to modify the classes at my gym, so I figure I will give it a try at a real yoga studio. I am also doing a lot of research and trying to start putting together my birth plan. My big goal is to avoid a c-section, but at this point, I think I would like to have a natural birth.

Any tips for sleeping better while pregnant? Any suggestions for my fall race schedule? Any tips on how to get the baby out naturally?