Week 24

Yesterday I had my 24 week appointment.  This was another very quick appointment.  They checked my blood pressure, weight, and listened to the baby's heart beat.  I was really glad about my weight.  Let's just say I went a bit food crazy at the beginning of my pregnancy, so now I'm focusing on making sure I stay within the recommended weight gain allowances for the remaining weeks.  I did really well this past month, so I'm glad my hard work and restraint paid off. 

One new thing they did was measure my belly from top to bottom.  I'm not completely sure the significance of this, but I'm pretty sure the number of centimeters your belly measures is supposed to be about the same as the number of weeks along you are.  For me, it was right on par.  My belly measured 24 centimeters, and I was exactly 24 weeks along on the day of the appointment.  I guess this means that at the end of the pregnancy, my belly should be measuing about 40 centimeters...  Yikes! 

Overall, everything looked great.  Next appointment, I'll take the glucose test to make sure I don't have gestational diabetes.  I've heard the glucose drink is not very tasty, so that will be an interesting experience.  I'm praying hard I don't have gestational diabetes- mainly because I know it's not good for me or the baby, but also because I am NOT a happy camper if I am not allowed free reign to eat lots and lots of carbs.  Carbs and I are good friends. 

I'm still working out 5-6 times a week, and in general, enjoying it. Using the elliptical machine feels just about normal to me, but running became a lot more difficult right about when I hit 20 weeks. If I go slow enough, it's fine, but if I go anywhere above a really slow jog, it's not pleasant at all. So, if you see a pregnant lady jogging really really really slowly, possibly also with an impatient dog, it's probably me! I'm going to keep it up for as long as I can; hopefully it will be for many more weeks. 

To sum it up, at 24 weeks, I'm defintiely feeling large, but overall, doing great.  I need to post a new belly picture soon, so hopefully I'll get that done this weekend.