25 Weeks 2 Days

Just a little update on the Cliffster this week (from babycenter.com):

Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. His weight — a pound and a half — doesn't sound like much, but he's beginning to exchange his long, lean look for some baby fat. As he does, his wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and he'll start to look more and more like a newborn. His hair is probably recognizable now (in color and texture), although both may change after he's born.

I also read that this week, his nostrils are unplugged (they've been plugged to this point) and that his permanent teeth buds are growing high up in his gums. Little Cliff is still active as ever, and I've noticed he's awake more now than he was a few weeks ago. Especially when I'm trying to go to sleep at night....must be preparation for a few months from now!

OB Appointment

Good news from the doctor today....I only gained 2 pounds in the last month! My total is up to a whopping 8 pounds through 24 weeks. She said I needed to gain at least 12 more pounds by the time Cliff is born, about a pound per week. I think I can handle that! Everything else is looking good: Cliff's heart rate was in the 150s and my blood pressure is normal.

I go for my glucose screening next week to test for gestational diabetes. I have to drink a glucose mixture (that I've read/heard does not taste good!) and then exactly one hour later have my blood drawn. Apparently only 5% of pregnant women develop gestational diabetes and if you do develop it, it normally goes away after delivery. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'm in the 95% that doesn't get it!

I asked what I could do about my legs cramping up at night and she said stretching normally helps, along with additional exercise. So it looks like Brinkley and Nuke will be going for longer walks....they'll be thrilled!

July 4th

Happy belated July 4th! We had a very relaxing time in Gatlinburg, TN with my family....as relaxing as it can be with 5 kids ranging from ages 1 to 10! :) Just kidding, it was great to spend time with everyone, and we got to enjoy the pool and water park in the hot weather. Here's a picture of the whole Booe family right before we left last week.

Things are going well with Baby Boy Engle. We've started referring to him as 'Cliff' for now....and no, that's not what we're naming him! Since we're keeping the name a secret, we wanted to be able to call him something instead of just 'he' or 'him'. A few months ago when we bought the baby name book, the cashier randomly pointed to a boy and girl name and jokingly said that's what we had to name our baby. Cliff and Rhoda were the winners. And my mom informed me last week that Clifford is a Buell family name, and that maybe we should stick with that.....hmmm, we'll see....

Anyway, Cliff's been moving around quite a bit lately! This past weekend I was able to see my belly move when he kicked and so was Brad. They had a little game going on where Brad would push on my belly and Cliff would kick right away....it was pretty cute:)

My next doctor's appointment is on Thursday, so I'm hoping they aren't going to tell me that I've gained a ton of weight this time! I feel huge, but Brad keeps reassuring me that I'm pregnant, not fat. My belly has started to pop out a little bit over this past week though....it's a weird feeling! I never thought it would feel heavy like it does, almost like my muscles are sore, but just around my belly. I've been reading that the baby grows a lot faster now than it did up to this point, so it makes sense that I'm starting to grow faster too. I can handle that, but I'd love to get rid of the leg cramps in the middle of the night! Here's the latest belly pic at 23 weeks, 4 days:

Cliff and I watched 5 of Brad's baseball games this weekend in the Denver wood bat tournament. It was pretty hot, but I made sure I had lots of water and snacks - followed by lots of trips to the port-a-potty (YUCK!). The Wolfpack played really well and made it to the championship game, but didn't end up coming out on top. No home runs for Brad this time, but some big hits and RBIs. I even got a little riled up when some of the fans for the other team were running their mouth at our team....I couldn't believe it when I started yelling back at them! If it's bad now, I wonder what it'll be like once little Cliff starts playing sports?! I better learn how to control it....but I guess I've got awhile to figure it out!

More news later this week after the doctor's appointment.....