Early morning Camden moment

This is a picture that Mark took of me standing in the dining room looking out to the back yard. Camden was kicking and I was watching him. It was such a precious moment.
26 weeks and 5 days pregnant

September, already?

I can't believe that it's already September!

I am turning 26 on Wednesday and it struck me the other day that it has now been ten years since I turned 16. I can't believe it. Really. How did the time move so quickly?So, on 9/9/09 I'll be more than halfway through my 20s. :)

Mark has now started working nights. It's been a difficult adjustment because I miss him at night. I definitely don't like sleeping alone. I've been piling pillows next to me so that I can pretend not to be alone. Baby has been coming in and sleeping in the bedroom with me at night. I can't think of a better protection than a 65lb+ Pit Bull-Labrador mix. Let someone try and creep up on me. He'll be on nights indefinitely. Walmart is going to a 4 co-manager system. 2 on days and 2 on nights to help keep the store running. Rumor is that they may even get a hefty pay raise (fingers crossed!). It's not too bad, I suppose. He works for 4 nights from 7pm-8am and then is off for 4 days. So, he'll have more free time.

I'm posting my 25 week picture. Pretty noticeable change from the 24 week picture. Camden is definitely "popping." I didn't gain any weight between 24 and 25 weeks, but I think that this is because I ate the same number of calories and Camden actually grew, so he took some of my fat stores. It looks like I'm going to need to increase the number of calories I eat to ensure that he and I each get enough of what we need. I bought walnut-sized green grapes at Sam's club the other day and have been snacking on those...yum.

I hope that everyone is doing well. :)

24 Weeks

We had the 24 week appointment today. Camden's heartrate was 150 beats per minute, down from 158 at the last visit. Weight gain stands at 22lbs. Next month's appointment is the glucose test (YAY...not) to test for diabetes.

Here is the 24 week belly picture. It's grown so much in the last month. It's unbelievable. :)

What a miracle.

That's one energetic fetus

Last night, as Mark and I were laying in bed reading, I noticed that Camden was being very active. We pulled up my shirt to see if we could visibly see his antics. We did :)
My stomach was popping like popcorn. It's been a neat experience for Mark, because I can feel it all of the time and now he can see the evidence that his son is becoming stronger every day. He's been able to feel him too for a couple of weeks, but to actually see huge kicks and bumps is a new experience for him.
School has started back and I have to say that it's been the best start to a school year thus far. The kids are already great and because I'm now into my 5th year of teaching things are going much more smoothly. I can walk in in the morning without being completely prepared and without stress figure out what I'm going to do. Can't wait to see how things go with the AP exam in May :)

Back to School Shopping

I've come to the realization that back to school shopping is not nearly as fun when you're pregnant. I'm now officially in my 6th month of pregnancy and am having some slight issues. Issue #1. Regular clothes don't really fit. I've been lucky enough to find some non-maternity shirts that should last for a good bit of the final 17 weeks of pregnancy, but I'm sure that I'll need more in a few weeks. Issue #2. Many of the maternity clothes out there either look like they are mad for old ladies or young frumpy ones. Issue #3. I can find cute maternity clothes at Motherhood Maternity, but their small sizes (which is what I need) don't actually fit my breasts any more. I haven't grown enough anywhere else to need a medium, but the smalls are made for smaller breasts. Issue #4. I'm cheap. I can't imagine paying a lot of money for something that I'm only going to be wearing for a few more months.
Aside from those clothing issues, I'm also planning my return to normal clothes. Camden is due on December 15. I'm giving myself until Summer to fit back into my old clothes. That's 6 months. This means some serious work. Hopefully, I'll be one of the lucky ones and will shed the pounds quickly with breastfeeding and healthy eating. To lose 30lbs between May 2008 and January 2009 only took healthy eating and a minimal amount of walking, so we'll see. I'm ok if my hips spread and those old jeans don't fit, but I'm already tired of my tummy sticking out further than my breasts and it's only been that way for a few weeks. Thus far I've gained about 21 lbs. This is certainly more than the weight that most of those advice about pregnancy websites recommend, but my doctor says that I'm on track. She expects a gain of about one lb per week, in which case I'm 2 lbs behind. Ha, I'm sure that I'll make that up in the last weeks of pregnancy when Thanksgiving and Christmas are upon us. Love love love the foods from that time of the year.

I swallowed a cantaloupe

So, within the last week Camden has grown incredibly. I know that it's not just me eating and getting fat because my belly is hard...especially when I wake up in the morning dehydrated after peeing 4 or 5 times. I've also been having sciatic pain that runs from the right side of my lower back to the back of my right knee. It's been an unpleasant few days with that. I can't bend over or pick anything up easily. My belly continues to expand and fewer and fewer of my shirts are fitting, but I'm still feeling mostly ok. We ordered Camden's crib and it should be here sometime in a week or so. It's a convertible crib in Espresso stain. Mark really liked the dark stain. I was indifferent to crib color, so we agreed relatively easily. It's a 4-in-one converting crib...Crib, training bed with rails, toddler bed without rails, and then full bed. We got the bedding last week from http://www.babysupermall.com/. It was the same bedding that was sold at a large retail store, but was $50 cheaper, plus we got free shipping. I was really excited to get such a deal. No I'm just washing baby clothing that we've received as gifts. We're pretty much set on 0-3 month clothing :) Everyone loves to give tiny baby clothes and they are so sweet! I can't wait to see our sweet boy in them.

Camden's Crib: The Delta Canton 4-in-1 and below that, Camden's Bedding: Cocalo Creme Brulee 6-piece nursery set.

Busy weeks ahead

The next few weeks will be very busy for me! This upcoming week I have the AP World History Institute at the University of Arkansas from 8am-430pm. My goal is to become a better AP teacher. Hopefully, I'll learn some new tools and new techniques to help my students in the years to come. Yay for lifelong learning! :)
Friday morning, I'm leaving for Caruthersville. My Grandmother has been ill and my mom and I are spending 8 days back home with family. I'll be gone from July 31-August 8. The good thing about this trip is that I'll be able to attend my cousin's son's, Hayden, 5th birthday party! I haven't been to one of his parties since he turned 1. I'm happy (plus, I'll get to eat some cake!). I'll miss Mark, though.
I'll return in the evening of the 8th and then on Monday the 10th, I have to be at the High School from 9am-noon. I'm helping with some of the Small Learning Community Planning for next year. Tuesday is free and then staff development begins on Wednesday! I can't believe that my summer is already almost over.
I also can't believe that this pregnancy is half-way through! I'll be 20 weeks pregnant on Tuesday (July 28th). That's 5 months! I can't believe that it's gone by so quickly. 20 more weeks (give or take a couple) and Baby Camden will be here! It's so exciting, but also scary! This will also probably be the last time that I travel to Caruthersville before Camden is born. I definitely can't travel home for Thanksgiving (since our due date is December 15). I'd HATE to give birth in SE Missouri...seriously hate it. I just feel more comfortable giving birth at Washington Regional where my doctor is and where my mom works. Mark and I will try and travel home with Camden in January (weather-allowing). We'd love to introduce our little boy to the family :)