Pregnancy #2: 24 weeks

I feel lumpy and blah this week. 

This has been one of the first weeks I've thought I looked better and smaller in the weekly photo from Lizzy. Anyway, compared to 24 weeks with Lizzy:

How far along: 24 weeks....which means it's viability week (i.e. 50% of babies born at 24 weeks survive--incredibly, I think next week at 25 weeks the statistic jumps to a 70% survival rate).

Size of baby: A cantaloupe (The Bump) or an ear of corn (Baby Center). In other words, 10.5 to 11.8 inches and about 12.7 to 20.8 ounces.

Weight Gain: +2 pounds from pre-pregnancy weight. I had a different nurse than usual at my OB this week, and discovered that apparently, she is counting from my lowest weight, as she said, "Oh...you've gained 11 pounds...that's not too bad." {cue mini internal freak out from me} Personally, I think that's silly--I don't know about you all, but if I've lost weight due to being sick, practically as soon as I look at jello or chicken broth, I gain that weight right back. So yeah, for my own sanity, I plan to track from pre-pregnancy weight rather than first-trimester-sick weight.

Symptoms: Still heartburn. Every week, I find myself thinking 'I've GOTTA pick up some Tums!' Also, I'm starting to find myself pretty uncomfortable and just big at times...which is kind of scary because I've got 16 weeks to go!

Exercise:Yes! Still on the elliptical. Not super intense, but I'm sweating, which I think is good. Today was difficult--I only made it 15 minutes, and totally felt like I was slogging through mud the whole time. It wasn't fun, but I'm feeling super motivated to exercise after watching my sister-in-law Renee and how amazing she looks and seems to have recovered after her pregnancy, which I know she attributes to exercising this time. I definitely got a later start to exercising, but I'm hoping that even at this point, and even at a fairly low-intensity level, it'll make things easier post-partum.

Clothes: In this week's photo, the shorts are maternity, the tank is an old Target Long & Lean tank (not maternity).

Cravings/Aversions:Nothing specific that I'm indulging in.

Movement: Yep! Lizzy got to feel a kick while snuggling on the couch watching TV the other day, and she was thrilled.

Worries: Right now they're mostly at bay--I did ask my dermatologist's nurse about the mole on my boob that  I was freaking about, and she took a photo and said she's going to have me come back in 2 months to check it out again. That calmed me down, 'cause even though I didn't see the doctor herself, I know she probably looked at the photo yesterday, and would have called to take it off right away if she was concerned. I'm so thankful for her and her awesome nurses.

Now, the only other thing I'm stressed about is that OHSU has apparently decided to send us to collections even though we've been making a payment every month. So that's awesome. I'd always been told they can't do that as long as you're making a payment, but apparently they can, at least here in Oregon. The lady on the phone said that I was being "uncooperative in paying the minimum required amount" and had "refused a payment arrangement". I about lost my shit--because the bottom line is that OHSU took a look at Justin's income from last December (which I've explained time and again is light-years away from his current income), did not consider any of our other expenses and/or debt, and decided how much we can pay. And for us, that number is unrealistic no matter how much budget tweaking we do. So we pay what we can every month. Some months, that's not a lot, and some months it's more. But we make a payment every months, and that doesn't seem to matter to OHSU. All that seems to matter to them is that our account must be paid off in a certain number of months, or we're apparently sent to collections. Regardless of the balance, regardless of the procedure. And now I'm trying not to stress about it, because we're doing the best we can, and there's nothing we can do differently.

PSA: Wear sunscreen. Do skin checks regularly. Because skin cancer is expensive, even with insurance.

Milestones: Her lungs are developing, including cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help air sacs inflate once she's born. Also, her skin is becoming less and less translucent.

What's Different This Time: Still no name. Also, I'm generally going to OB appointments by myself this time, which is kind of major for me.

Best moment of the week: There were lots of good moments--despite my little rant about OHSU, it's actually been a really good week! Lizzy felt the baby kick, we got to hear baby girl's heartbeat via the doppler on Tuesday, and the mole I was worried about on my stomach came back definitively not melanoma. There's good all around :)