The Spraggins: 24 Weeks

To say that this last week has been rough is an understatement. I'm not usually one to be negative, especially about my life and kids but I also like to keep it real. This week has been trying. Two weeks ago today, Smith woke up with a fairly high fever. I want to say it was about 102.5 or so. I alternated Motrin and Tylenol all day which definitely kept it under control but he had a fever for 2 or 3 days. No other symptoms, just fever. We did lots of cuddling while Brother kept himself entertained. I am so thankful that my boys have each other to play with but can also keep themselves occupied if need be. By the weekend he was just about back to his normal self. Fast forward to the following Wednesday and Sanford woke up with a high fever. I thought, "oh its just the same little fever virus that Smith had. It'll be gone in a few days. No biggie." He was fussy and puny the rest of the week. By Sunday he seemed to be feeling better and I hadn't noticed any fever since Thursday afternoon so I figured we were in the clear. We went to church and he did fine but by that afternoon he was fussy again. No, not fussy, S C R E A M I N G. We ended up going to an urgent care that afternoon thinking he could possibly have an ear infection. I'm not one to take them to the pediatrician just because they have a fever for a couple of days but this just wasn't normal and I hated for it to go on any longer than it had to. He's always been my happy go lucky baby. Even when teething, neither of the boys was that pitiful. The PA looked in his ears and saw a "slight bulge" but no puss or redness and didn't feel like it was severe enough for an antibiotic. Although he had a slight fever (100.5), he had not had a fever for days so we decided it was probably just teething since he's cutting two of his top molars. I've been giving the occasionally Motrin and/or Tylenol but this child has been so stinking grumpy.
On top of the excessive meltdowns, the dogs have been being terrible. They have had countless "accidents" in the house, been super hyper, and just overall TERRIBLE. I am not one who would ever consider getting rid of my pet(s) because its not convenient but the last several days have made me reconsider that commitment. Y'all, its bad!
I feel so bad for Zach because he is slammed at work and being the only person from his company on this job, it all falls on him. He works so hard to make sure he does his job and does it well. Then he comes home exhausted and has a million things to do at home; cut the grass, clean the pool, build a fence, etc. And he does all of that on top of listening to me gripe and complain. I may not be good at showing it but he really is the best husband and daddy and I am so thankful for him.
Over the last week I have had several meltdowns (but not as many as Sanford). Today Sanford was 100x better which I was so thankful. Hopefully those stinking teeth will cut on through so my baby (and myself) can have some relief.

Okay, pity party is over for now. On to the bumpdate.

24 Weeks 2 Days

How big is baby? Baby center says baby is roughly the size of an ear of corn.

Total weight gain? LoL I added this because I was weighing pretty regularly but I haven't weighed in weeks. I know its bad so I just try not to think about it.

What is baby up to? Practicing Kung Fu. I don't think Smith and Sanford had enough room to move around a ton and plus, they stretched out his playground so he has plenty of room to move.

Started showing? My belly seems so stinkin' big. The same ladies at church who commented on on my belly last week were commenting on my belly this past Sunday again. I'm definitely more rounded this go round.

Maternity clothes? A must.

Stretch marks? No new ones. I'm still hoping to avoid new ones altogether.

Sleep? Its been better the last few nights. I had been getting hot most nights which I think was making me not sleep as well. The house we're renting here doesn't seem to be insulated very well because even though we keep the A/C set on about 73 (that's about as warm as either of us can stand it), our power bill is outrageous. Zach decided to put foam insulation in some of the windows to try to cut down on the heat coming through. Y'all, this SW FL heat is no joke. If it were up to him he would put it in all of the windows in the house but I am not having that. He put it in our bedroom window since we have blinds up and don't really need the extra light and I swear it has been 10* cooler in there. And the ghettoness is minimal since we have blinds cover it. Another plus is it keeps our room pitch black which makes daytime naps awesome :) Tomorrow Zach is planning to cover the sliding glass doors in the master bath because A) its probably the hottest room in the house and B) because the doors lead out to a terribly ugly little walkway area that goes to the backyard. It ain't pretty.

Best moment this week? I got some good deals on baby stuff! I got the (big) boys a bunch of clothes at Once Upon A Child for only $60. It included several name brand collared shirts for church (Polo, Old Navy, Gymboree, etc), a few pairs of cute dressy shorts (also name brand - GAP, Children's Place, etc), and a bunch of pairs of comfy shorts for them to lounge around the house in since its 100* and a whole outfit is usually out of the question. We also bought a ton of diapers from Target since they had a huge sale going on. We bought close to 3,000 diapers and 3,200 wipes for about 2/3 what we usually would pay. An added bonus was I found a cute baby blanket for Baby Boy that I've been eyeing for months but just couldn't justify spending $25 on it. I got it for $12.50. Score.

Miss anything? Probably mostly just my energy. Chasing the boys and dogs around all day paired with this FL heat wears on me. It definitely makes me even more grateful that we lived in NJ during the winter for my last pregnancy. I'm too hot natured to be pregnant in the summer. We'll have to keep that in mind for next time lol.

Movement? Constantly.

Food cravings? Sweets. I was thinking tonight about how theres not really anything particular that I can think of that I crave. Just as long as its sweet and unhealthy. Emphasis on the unhealthy.

Food aversions? It sort of depends on my mood. We have eaten BBQ several times lately and I enjoyed it so I guess I can take that off of the "aversion" list. I'm trying to avoid acidic stuff simply because my heartburn and indigestion has been pretty bad these last few weeks. I absolutely LOVE orange juice but have been trying not to drink it much because its the worst on my heartburn.

Symptoms? Sciatica which is a constant for me anyways but pregnancy always makes it worse. Especially if I do a lot of walking. I think just the fact that my stomach muscles are still so stretched out makes it harder on my back in general to hold the weight of a baby. My whole GI tract is all out of whack which makes me just feel like doodoo (pun intended). We'll just leave it at that.

Anything making me queasy/nauseous? I'm pretty sensitive to rank smells. Like I've mentioned before, stinky diapers are a lot stinkier these days, smelly trash/trashcans smell worse, etc. Just anything gross that usually wouldn't bother me bothers me now. Thankfully Zach's stomach has gotten stronger since my last pregnancy so he can step in and handle situations more often when I don't have the stomach to.

Signs of labor? None. Just already feeling that heavy feeling down low. Thanks to the boys I'm carrying a lot lower a lot sooner this time.

Rings, on or off? I haven't been wearing them for a while because they always break my fingers out but I (finally) cleaned my engagement ring and coated the underside with clear fingernail polish and wore it yesterday for the first time in months and guess what! No rash! Hopefully I can start wearing them again. At least when I leave the house.

Mood? Like I mentioned up top, the last week has been rough. It's included several embarrassingly tearful phone calls to Zach and to my mom but like always, I know this is just a phase and things can ALWAYS be worse. I have so much to be thankful for and shouldn't be complaining.

Looking forward to anything? Next weekend Zach is taking me to Tampa for the weekend. Zach's parents are coming down for a few days so we're taking the opportunity to get away for a bit. I'm a little sad to be leaving the boys but I know they will be in good hands and we need the break. Not having family around makes it difficult for us to have times to just be a couple so when we get a chance we have to take it. Plus, this will most likely be the last time we get to take a trip before Baby Boy gets here. I guess we can call it a babymoon. It IS rather embarrassing that the boys are 15 months old (on Friday) and I have never spent the night away from them. I'm looking forward to having some one on one time with my sweet hubby but going to miss my buddies.

23 Weeks vs. 24 Weeks

So I always see/hear people say "My belly has really popped this last week or two." I'm over here saying "My belly 'pops' every single week!" This gut is going to be outrageous.

24 Weeks (Twins) vs. 24 Weeks (Singleton)