Viability Day!

I didn't post pics or do my weekly survey last week - oops. Oh well, lots of people have been telling me I'm tiny for how far along I am and I don't think the bell has grown too much, I guess I'm okay with that as long as baby is healthy. We have our 24 week appointment Thursday morning, which I feel pretty good about.

Speaking of 24 weeks, many women mark this as an important milestone of their pregnancy called V-Day or "viability day." Basically, most mark this as the week when there is a great chance that the fetus would survive if born. I just did some quick google searches and many of the references seem to point to Roe v. Wade and other abortion decisions.... So... without heading down that sticky path, we'll just say, that each day is closer to a healthy baby, and Momma and Daddy will happily acknowledge this milestone but request that baby stays put for some time to come.

How far along? 24 weeks :-)
Total weight gain/loss: Total net + 8. If I maintain this rate, I'll be within 2 lbs of my 25 lb. weight goal.

Maternity Clothes: Yes, I'm going to retire this next week - until after baby is born at least.
Stretch marks? Not yet, being very religious about my lotion - let's hope it's not false advertising.

Sleep: Still pretty good!!
Best moment this week: Surprising Mom in Tennessee to help her finish her drive home from Texas!

Movement: Getting VERY strong each day... I suspect I'm in the last few weeks of enjoying the little bugger not being in my ribs. In the last 3 days, s/he has discovered where my bladder is resulting in emergency potty trips :-)
Food cravings: Avocado

Gender: Still thinking boy... and I had a dream last night confirming this - guess we need to get more serious about a boys first name.

Labor Signs: Nothing. I refuse to change this answer for at least another 13 weeks.

Belly Button in or out? Still in, thank you to the one person who voted on week 33 for my belly button to pop on "Belly Button Watch 2009."

What I miss: Not having sciatic nerve pain.

What I am looking forward to: Finding out the result of team green after baby is born. Will we be buying cute velvet dresses for Christmas, or fun little guy sweater vests with Turkey's on them for Thanksgiving?

Weekly Wisdom: Did you know that when you're pregnant, your ligaments are loosening all over your body due to changing hormones? Well it makes sense, but unfortunately, the ligaments in your feet loosen too... My wisdom achieved - do not live in flipflops, as my high arches NEED arch support. (I'll take this moment to thank Vanessa and Allyssa for their educated diagnosis of early symptoms of planter fasciitis... I've been living in my sneaks over the last week and my feet feel SOOOO much better - thanks ladies!! I love having PTs as friends!)

Milestones: Baby developing obvious patterns for being awake and sleeping. Momma can feel every little movement now, inside and out.
Random Belly Touches: Lots of loving touches from friends and family. Grandma Lil felt baby right away last week when she first saw me, 2nd cousin Taylor also felt baby moving, my friend Kate nearly jumped out of her shoes when she felt a kick last week and this evening we saw baby's friend Evie at the store with her parents Melissa and Brian, Melissa gave baby a warm pat too. I'm sure I've missed others in there as well - especially since I didn't comment on week 23.

Shout outs to new followers: Amy from The Screaming Deal blog! Welcome Amy!

Baby Brain Moment of the Week: When I flew down to TN to meet mom to drive back with her, I planned on doing some work in evenings. So I packed up my laptop and my network token so I could get into the work network remotely. However, I have an older laptop and forgot to pack the charger, so lugging this thing down to the mid-west and back was about as useful as an electronic frisbee!

And without further ado - us at 24 weeks: