Bumpdate: Week 26

Here I am, in my final hours of my second trimester and it feels so surreal!  We celebrated Christmas this week and we are days away from celebrating 2015 - the year I see my daughter's face!

Size of the baby: An eggplant, approx 9 inches and 2 pounds.

Total weight gain:  15 pounds

Maternity clothes:  Nothing maternity but I received some nice pajamas for Christmas sized up to accommodate my belly.

Gender: Our baby girl.

Nursery: Progress stalled the week of Christmas but we have a plan in place starting with painting the walls this weekend.  I'm hoping to get a crib mattress by the end of the week so we can go ahead and get the linens out.

Sleep:  Great! I wake up a few times in the middle of the night but I can fall right back to sleep in a few minutes.

What I miss:  Festive cocktails would have been nice but I tried some nonalcoholic wine on Christmas Eve that wasn't terrible.  It's not wine so I would never tell someone to uncork a bottle expecting wine but it was better than no option.  I also missed a good cheese tray, my husband baked some brie so I could enjoy it and we changed our Christmas Eve dinner from our usual mussels to shrimp for safety.

Cravings:  Orange juice.  Halos.  Our peanut butter balls and my mother in law's haystacks which I have been gobbling by the handful.   I was out of cinnamon gum this week but I wouldn't turn it down, ever.

Other symptoms:  Reflux, oh dear God it's awful.  I'm taking 3 zantac every day and still occasionally have to use tums.  I've mentioned before that I'm carrying low so I get some lower back pain and pressure on my lower belly, mostly at the end of the day.  Santa brought some Mama Bee foot lotion and body oil in my stocking and I certainly would not turn down a foot and leg massage though I haven't had any real swelling.  Leg cramps are happening several times a week and a leg rub is both painful and helpful.

Best moments:  Christmas!  I had two busy days at work before we could start our holiday but the vacation has already been fantastic. We had the very best Eve and a happy Christmas Day that I will likely post later in the week.  Our girl has been active and I think she is fond of Christmas music!  Even though she isn't here yet we still received a few gifts for her.  My mom wanted to set us up for the big guy in red next year with a mug and plate for milk and cookies and a quilted pillow book of The Night Before Christmas.  My sister in law gave us a set of newborn onesies and a little pink bear that my nephew insists the baby will love.  My mother in law had a hooded towel monogrammed for us along with a little mermaid doll, a book, and a BlaBla Kids mobile for the nursery.

I will likely not make it to midnight on New Year's Eve but we have made some low key plans.  I'm working that day and I didn't want to shorten anyone else's evening or be a total buzzkill if I fall asleep.  It's going to be great to have two long weekends in a row and we plan to get a lot of nursery items ticked off our list.