Pregnancy Update

I'm just over 23 weeks now and thought I'd post about my pregnancy this 4th time around since I'm about halfway. My due date is Sept. 2nd--the cut off for schools here is Sept. 1st, so it will be interesting to see when I actually deliver. The pregnancy is going well so far. The first trimester I felt nauseous almost every night at 10pm, so I would usually head to bed and sleep that off. Once the second trimester began, the nausea went away. I had a scare about being exposed to fifths disease but found out I was immune to it.

We found out on April 21st that we're having our 4th boy! I completely expected it. With baby #3, I was positive it was a girl and then felt disappointed to learn it was a boy. Maybe because I didn't want to feel that disappointment again, I have felt this was a boy from the beginning. I even had a dream that I delivered a boy a week before the gender ultrasound appointment. The only one that was really disappointed about the gender was Carter who thought it just made sense that we should have a girl since we have enough boys. Carter and Bryson are obsessed with babies and have been for the last year, so it will be fun to have another baby in the house again.

One thing I don't like to give up even though I'm pregnant is my running. I'm still running 16 miles a week--3 miles 3 times a week and 7 miles on Saturday. It helps keep my weight-gain in check; I also think it helps with my pregnancy, labor, and delivery. I've received comments each pregnancy about how I carry small or people are surprised I'm as far along as I am. I think my running has something to do with this as well. My times have gone from 8 - 8:15 pace miles on my long runs to a 9:30 pace. It's frustrating to lose all I've gained in my speed and then to start from square one after I deliver. Obviously a new little baby is worth it!

The hardest part about pregnancies for me is the weight gain. Some women can pull off pregnancy still looking stylish and cute--I don't feel like I fit into that category, and I hate the way I feel about myself as I put on weight. So I doubt I'll take more pictures after this one! :) My current weight gain is 14 pounds--my goal is to gain 25 pounds, which I'm not on track to do. I enjoy eating too much!

22 weeks