25+4

"To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will chance. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable."

C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

I forgot to post on Sunday so tonight will have to do.

I finally found a food that will make our bean move for me, but it only works before I eat it. If I put a cup of cold yogurt on my stomach, our little girl tries frantically to get it off. Using this tactic, I was actually able to show people other than Kevin her moves.
When I BIL felt her kick he said, "Weird. I have never felt a baby before. . . I mean, I have felt a baby in real life, but not one that is still inside someone since I'm not the type of person to randomly touch pregnant women I don't know," haha.

How far along: 25+4 weeks

Maternity clothes: I got some really cute maternity clothes from a lady who lives in the neighborhood, but I don't fit into them yet so I'm stuck in this too big for my clothes, but too small for maternity clothes phase which is rather frustrating.

Wedding ring on or off: On

Sleep: I have had a few rough nights recently due to tossing and turning, being too hot, or having a stuffed nose. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often and I still get plenty of sleep.

Movement: She's back to moving a lot again, thankfully. A couple days ago I got the biggest kick ever. It hurt and pushed my stomach out quite far. I wish I caught it on camera, but it took me by surprise.

Cravings: Nope.

Symptoms: Heartburn and it's hard to breathe when I'm sitting and reading aloud. 

Belly button in or out: In, but it seems bigger/more stretched out.

Sign of labor: zero, zip, nada.

Best moment of the week: That would be putting yogurt on my stomach today and watching the little lady try to knock it off. 

Size of baby: A zucchini! Roughly 1.5lbs and 13.6 inches in length. 

Hello, Baby Dolan!

Milestones: She's starting to put on fat. Her spine is beginning to form its structures as the blood vessels of the lungs start developing. Some small blood vessels are starting to form under her skin and when these fill will blood, our daughter's skin will take on a pink appearance. Oh, she also has fully formed fingerprints, her bones are continuing to harden, and her nostrils are starting to open!

Sleep: I haven't noticed a routine yet, but she seems to like to wake up when I wake up and consistently moves throughout the day. 

Favorite Foods: Nothing that I eat, but cold yogurt on my belly works wonders :) 

I woke up feeling smaller than I have since about week 22 and took some bump photos. Just a warning for those who don't like shirtless photos, I also thought I would try on the swimsuit I bought last year to see if it still fit so my bump is bare and I'm in a bikini top.

 Side view at 24+5 weeks pregnant

 Front view at 24+5 weeks pregnant. 

My upper bumps have grown faster than my baby bump, and more than I expected them to, so I doubt this top will fit much longer which is quite sad. I really love this swimsuit and was looking forward to spending the summer in it.

I also have some videos to share! They don't show her really big movements, but it's the best I've been able to capture on video so far and I'm happy with it.

and

Well, that's all I have for now. 

Over n' out.