Week 24 - 16 weeks to go!

Countdown: 9 days till the end of classes, 22 days till Graduation, 27 days until I move back home, 80 days till my 22nd birthday, 84 days till my baby shower, 112 days till baby arrives! So probably the most exciting things this week were feeling my first rib kick and deciding to try to go to graduate school while back home waiting on my commission.  The rib kick felt so weird. I could swear I poked the little foot to get him to stop…maybe it was a fist. Either way, it was pretty cool! Going along with that, now I can really see my stomach moving around and shifting in shape as the baby moves his arms, legs or whole body. Sometimes I can see a big lump on one side of my belly if his leg is sticking straight up or maybe he’s pushing his butt or head against me. It can get kind of uncomfortable, but it’s making this so much more real to me. It’s one thing to know or say that you are pregnant and not have gotten bigger or not yet feel the baby, but it’s a whole other thing when you can literally see the baby moving around inside of you.  On the school side of things, after talking about it with my mom, and in a kind of snap decision, I decided to take the GRE and apply to a graduate school program back home and attempt to get my masters in criminal justice. As of right now, I’m only applying to one program, and since the due date for the application is in mid-May, I’m now taking the GRE in 10 days! Yikes. I’m all signed up, have an online program, ordered a book and DVD and finished all my other school work. Now I need to just buckle down and study my butt off so I can do well on this. If I get accepted to the program starting in the Fall, I’ll be a part time student working on an advanced degree! I never thought I would ever even consider grad school, but now it’s something I really want to do. After all, I think that this will be the time for me to do so before my future in the Army begins and becoming a working mom becomes more demanding. I’m so happy I have the support of my parents in this because otherwise it would be virtually impossible. All I need to do now is ace the GRE and get accepted to this program. Fingers crossed! If it doesn’t work out, I can always try again at a later date.  The weather was absolutely gorgeous out this whole week, and I was able to lay out & enjoy (virgin) cocktails with my girls (the Lauras) :) We made amazing pasta salad, got ice cream, laid out in the sun, went out for dinner and drinks...so great! It's awesome being able to just hang out with your close friends and have a great support system all around you.  Here is a link to the recipe for the pasta salad. Not going to lie, possibly one of the most delicious things I have ever made. And it was SO EASY to make! Definitely worth a try!  So yummy! allrecipes.com/Recipe/Creamy-Pesto-Pasta-Salad-with-Chicken-Asparagus-and-Cherry-Tomatoes/Detail.aspx?prop24=etaf    How far along: 24 weeks Total weight gain: 9 pounds-ish Maternity clothes?: Yup. Finally was able to takeout some long dresses and maternity shorts for the gorgeous weather! Stretch marks?: Nothing! And I finally received my amazing Mustela anti-stretch mark cream which smells awesome and is apparently very reputable as actually working for the majority of people who used it. Belly button, in or out?: Half in, half out…kinda. Sleep: Still sleeping awesome, but my back has been killing me recently. Cravings: Raspberries. Yum! Showing yet?: Yup Happy or Moody?: Happy/Anxious Movement: All the time..and this week I felt my first rib kick! It wasn’t painful this time, but I’m sure as he gets bigger and stronger, the kick will get more powerful and painful. Can’t wait… Best moment this week: Completing the last of my research papers. So close to the end! Things I miss: Being super tan. Gotta slather myself in sunscreen now so I don’t burn or get the dreaded pregnancy sun spots on my face that apparently never go away. Gender: BOY! Looking forward to: Graduation and going home! Due Date: August 11th How your baby's growing: Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long , about the size of an ear of corn, he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.