26 Weeks and Another Comparison

26 Weeks with Baby #2 (left) and 26 Weeks with James Thomas (right)

Holy. Moses.

When I gain weight, it definitely goes right to my face! I am a Dudding, through and through!

We have been terrible about taking belly photos with Baby Girl Engels. We get home from work after picking James up from daycare, and it's go-go-go. I think we have taken an 8 week, 12 week, 19 week, 22 week and now this 26 week photo. That's it. With James Thomas, it was every week. With this one, it's every month, if we're lucky.

As a teacher, you have to get the obligatory school photo each year. Last year, I had a school photo taken 4 months after I had James. In getting these obligatory photos back, you receive four little photo stickers. I didn't know what to do with them, so I posted them around my classroom. One of which is stuck to the back of my piano, where students stand during lessons. Almost every lesson, students are telling me how different I look. One lesson, I mentioned that the photo was also taken about 20 pounds heavier (give ten pounds or so...). She replied, "Good for you!" to which I laughed and pointed out it was also a few months after I had given birth to James. Then my students chorused (like the pun there?) that I look so much "different" now and they really like my hair etc. etc. Yeah. "Different" is a nice word for "better."

I didn't realize it until I put these photos side by side just now. Incredible what a few (15) pounds can do for a girl. Not that I'm watching my weight, but I definitely DIDN'T watch my weight with James. Include the fact that I ate out all the time, I packed on the pounds (45 to be precise). This time around, I'm much more active, and am still looking at minimal weight gain (10 from my lowest to my current weight). So needless to say, the above photo proves that the belly is the same, but the face is definitely tell-tale of the difference between this pregnancy and the last!

Now, onto the update!

How far along? 26 Weeks! I can see the light at the end of this second trimester tunnel!
Maternity clothes? I have always been uncomfortable in clothes that do not fit right, and a lot of my maternity clothes from my last pregnancy are too big. The jean skirt in the above photo is way too big on me. My favorite pair of jeans from my first pregnancy fit my hips, but not my butt, so it looks like I have saggy-butt-syndrome. So I found $75 in my car the other day, and used some of the cash to buy a pair of colored jeans (because we can get away with wearing those to work!) and a new white shirt to go with them. Right now, I'm between trying to make the clothes too big for me work, along with my non-maternity dresses. Beyond that, I hate wearing the same thing too many times, as it makes me feel grubby. Maybe that comes from working retail and always having an overflowing closet (much like I do now...). I can easily not wear the same thing for over two months with the pre-preg clothes I have now. Not so much with the maternity clothes, and it drives me nuts.
Weight gain? Not much!
Stretch marks? Nope! But the tummy's a-stretchin'!
Best moment this week? This past Saturday Eric and I were in poor shape. I was not feeling well at all and Eric had had some sort of stomach bug on Friday, so we were exahusted. Needless to say, we didn't leave the house. With James, we need to leave the house, because (as we found out quickly), he gets bored and begins to act out. It was hell. So Sunday, we carted him around while we tried to find new snow boots for him (we LOST his others! Doh!). I looked everywhere, and finally went to the next town over to hopefully find some at some stores we don't have here in a-town. Found some. The last ones on the shelf. For $30. Color me shocked, but I bought them as we needed snow boots for him! After he woke up from his nap, we took him outside and played with him. No TV all day. No time spent in the basement playroom. No whining. No time-outs. It was a great day. Then we enjoyed the Superbowl while James watched some TV on the tablet. Then he told he was ready for bed and viola, best day ever. However, it might be a toss-up between Sunday and today, which was a snow day that allowed me to read an entire book, front to back, without any interruptions. It was awesome!
Miss anything? Having no part of my vaginal area hurt. Be it the cramping, the groin muscles, the pubic bone etc. It has not been fun. The other day a co-worker asked me how I was doing and I said, "Well, my vagina doesn't hurt today, so I'd say it's a good day."
Movement? You, little girl, freaked me out the other day as you didn't move hardly at all. Then the next day, you hardly moved. Just little, sloooow movements every once in awhile. Today, you're back and have been dancing around in my belly, so we're all good!  
Food cravings? Pineapple pineapple pineapple. I have been eating it nonstop. Every day for lunch. A bunch of us eat lunch together, and one woman in that group said to me, "Do you eat anything else for lunch?" Nope! I usually have a big breakfast, find some chocolate or a snack around 10:00, a huge can of pineapple at noon and a snac when I get home. Delicious!!! 
Anything make you queasy or sick? Sometimes, I can hardly handle changing James' diapers. I've always been able to handle it, but with this pregnancy, something about the smell of a diaper, even if it's not poopy. Kind of bizarre.
Labor signs? Nope! The cramping has also eased up a bit, which is awesome. Possibly because I have actually allowed myself to slow down.
Symptoms? My vagina hurts. I got a huge zit on my face for the first time in years - the red kind that won't head out on it's own, deep under the skin and hurts like hell? Right on my cheek. Weird, but I guess that's what hormones do to you!
Belly button in or out? Oh my, it wants to come out!
Linea nigra? Nothing.
Wedding ring on or off? On, although I noticed the other day that my hands were a little swollen, so the ring was a little hard to twist around with the weird habit I have of twisting my ring with my middle finger and pinky finger.  
Happy or moody? Generally happy, I'd say. It's been a good week.
Looking forward to: The next few weeks being over with. We have a ton of things going on at school with the Iowa Assessments, Conferences, and then beyond that, I have a ton of other things. Taking Select Choir to a competition, judging a show choir competition, baby appointment etc. It will be a hectic few weeks, but I'm looking forward to March already!