24 Weeks!

**Warning: super long post ahead.**
Baby Ferg is officially 24 weeks old today.  And he/she is growing strong.  The month since my last post (I apologize for my delinquency) has been filled with many exciting things.  This baby is a wiggler and every day is filled with bumps and nudges and sometimes it seems complete 360 degree rolls.  I guess there's still enough room in there for all that fun.  Thankfully, she (random pronoun) is fairly quiet at night.  Although I think I've been disrupting her sleep when I've gotten up to go to the bathroom the past couple nights because I feel a very definite kick under my left-side ribs as I roll over to get out of bed.  She definitely enjoys using my organs as trampolines and doesn't neglect any of them, bladder and kidneys included.  Earlier this week I didn't feel her until around lunchtime and I was trying not to be worried, but since she's always so active I was a little concerned.  I went to eat lunch with Tim at his office that day and apparently the tuna sandwich got her moving.
Speaking of food, I've had a relapse of all-day sickness for the past week or so.  It's a little discouraging, but I take comfort in the fact that I can really eat whatever I want right now.  How many times in your life can you say that?  So I munch on Life cereal, grapes, goldfish crackers, chocolate-covered raisins, strawberry jello, potato chips and dip, Spaghettios, soup, chocolate ho-hos.  And lemonade.  Tons of lemonade.  That's pretty much my 8am to 4pm menu lately.  I cook a decent dinner and have a pretty good appetite then.  Pizza is back on the menu now, thanks to the Zantac doing its job.

Baby Ferg bump

I'm still able to wear the vast majority of my 'normal' clothes.  Most of my pants need to be either pinned or fastened with a hair tie.  I was given a lot of maternity pants, but they're still a little too big.  Everyone at our church was so excited to see me in one of my maternity sweaters a couple of weeks ago.  (Ok, not everyone.  The Pastor didn't make me stand up in the service or anything.)  I don't feel too big yet, but my tight pants are a reminder that it's coming.  It might be my naivete peeking through here, but when I stop and think about it, it's pretty amazing how the body changes to accommodate the little one.  I mean, just the skin.  It stretches and stretches and then snaps most of the way back after the baby is born.  Not to mention the organs and what they have to do.  It is truly amazing.  Continuing on with the 'body' theme, my nails are growing super fast now, which is nice.  My ankles have just started to give me the indication that I've been on my feet for too long. 
Our work on the nursery is starting, albeit slowly.  I realized that we have to find a place for all the stuff that's in there right now, so I have to clean up 'that' part of the basement to move it there, but we need to organize first and then find a place for all of that stuff.  So....a trip to IKEA is scheduled for Monday.  Yay!  We love that store.
We've been tossing some names around and have 99% settled on a girl's name, but still haven't found a boy's name that both of us love.
My last doctor's appointment was January 23 and went well.  I actually had lost two pounds, but my doctor wasn't concerned.  She called the baby 'a little parasite' right now, just taking what she needs from momma.  I'll see her, well, one of her colleagues on the 28th.  I have to schedule a diabetes screening test after that.  I feel very blessed that everything is going really well so far.  The nausea is annoying, but it could be a lot worse. 
My new goal is to update every Saturday, as Baby Ferg gets one week further along.  Unfortunately the pictures are somewhat scarce now, but as the nursery develops and as my belly develops I'll be sure to post more.
Thanks for following!