Today I am...25 weeks pregnant.

Week 25 is the week we crossed things off our To Do list. Big things! Like registering at Babies R’ Us and buying a new car! Yeah, it had to be done. My car was 10 years old and John’s car was 13 years old. His car had to go and, in the grand tradition of becoming parents, we bought an SUV. Well, a crossover as they like to call them now. It’s a Hyundai Santa Fe and I love it. I can’t believe that one day there will be a car seat in the back. Right now I’m being super strict about even taking a beverage in it which is somewhat funny considering that in 4 months, a little baby could be throwing up all over the place. I’ll be damned if those leather seats won’t look nice for the next 4 months though.

Registering for the baby showers was fun too. Like our wedding registry, the only way to motivate John was to give him that scanning gun. Everything is more fun with a scanner. We scanned this and that and picked out some cool things. None of those crib bedding sets because I didn’t really want something that was too matchy-matchy. And those sets really only come in pastel colors which is not my style. (And a nursery is for the mom, not the baby!) Who knows what we’ll get but it was fun.

And now for the current stats:

How far along: 25 weeks

Baby Development: The little guy is growing more hair which may account for the heartburn. Or it may be an old wives tale. The newsletter tells me he’s the size of a rutabaga but I don’t even know what that is. I just assume he’s getting bigger.

Baby Movement: Some, I can feel him more and more.

Water Intake: Oh yeah. It’s happening.

Best Moment of the Week: Realizing that I haven’t had a single cold or sniffle the entire time I’ve been pregnant. That’s rare for me.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Everything. Down’s syndrome is a popular one.

Symptoms: Hasn’t been too bad besides the heartburn. That’s why I have a bottle of Tums at work.

Sleep Quality: I hope I’m not bothering John too much. It’s been okay.

Food Cravings: The pumpkin pancakes at our local breakfast. The best pancakes I have ever had in my entire life. Topped with cinnamon butter. Yum!

What I miss: Being able to order something in a restaurant besides water. No soda, no iced tea, no wine, no cocktail. Argh!

What I’m Looking Forward to: The next time we get to hear the little guy’s heartbeat.

Trying to get done before baby: We really want to redecorate the guest room before he comes. Obviously not a priority so not sure if this a crazy nesting thing. We’ll see.

John's POV: "Since the boy announcement, it's begun. Getting stuff. There's a lot of practical stuff that a baby needs. Important stuff. Sterilized stuff. But I'd say we're operating on a 10 to 1 ratio of cute to practical. And the cute is pouring it on. Because you're not going to buy your newly pregnant friend nipple cream. You're going to get the onesie that reads 'Mommy's Little Rock Star'. Because as I've told Lisa many times already, you can't stop people from buying cute shit."

Today I am...24 weeks pregnant.

I’m smack dab in the middle of the second trimester and I have to tell you a secret…. This hasn’t been that bad. Truly! I really thought it would be worse. I’m not overly exhausted at the end of the day. Certainly no more than usual with my stressful job. I’m not sick, not having weird cramps, not getting hemorrhoids, not having terrible aversions to food. In fact, there are quite a few good things. I haven’t gotten sick with a cold or cough or flu even though everyone at my work is sick. My nails have never been longer. My hair is pretty damn thick and luscious (or so my husband tells me). My skin is clear and free of acne. So what’s everyone complaining about? Sure, I’m sure the third trimester will kick me in the ass, but right now, I’ll take it.

(Sarcastic shirt courtesy of Kelly.) Now on to the stats:

How far along: 24 weeks

Baby Development: He’s a foot long, or about an ear of corn. Mmm…corn…

Baby Movement: Definitely. Nothing crazy like my fellow 24-weekers, but he’s in there.

Water Intake: Not a problem. As long as I have a disposable cup, lots of ice, and a straw, I’m good.

Best Moment of the Week: Indulging in a prenatal massage at my house. Pure bliss for my aching back.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Is the little guy moving enough?

Symptoms: See annoying paragraph above. But I definitely still have heartburn and an achy back.

Sleep Quality: Seriously, no back sleeping? Are you sure?!

Food Cravings: Chinese Fried Rice

What I miss: Not having to stretch at my office once a day. But it does feel good when I do it.

What I’m Looking Forward to: Registering next week!

Trying to get done before baby: I really do have to sign up for all of these baby classes. Just trying to decide which ones.

John's POV: "I know there's a point where Lisa is going to have to get a hair cut that's more conducive to avoiding vomit and feces and the kung fu grip of a 1 year old, but we're going to let the hidden magic of pregnancy glamor up her lioness mane a little longer."

Today I am...23 weeks pregnant.

This week was super quiet. Not much to report on the pregnancy front. I’ve always been a super heavy, great sleeper but that skill is dwindling I’m afraid. It’s due to being forced to sleep on my side. Inevitably I wake up in the middle of the night on my back and freak out because I’m not supposed to be on my back. So back to my side I go. Or, more often, John pokes me in the middle of the night and says “you’re on your back”. To which I reply with a grumpy grunt and roll to my side.

I’ve been getting a little more tired at night but nothing alarming. During the day I am having sciatic pain. Before I was pregnant, I had heard the term but didn’t really know what it was. Now I do. A serious pain in your very low back. Okay, more like pain right above your butt. It hurts though. I find that the only thing I can do it kind of adjust myself in my office chair and cross my legs a certain way. The internet also recommends getting on all fours on the floor but, guess what? It would look a little weird if any of my 300 person crew came walking into my office to find me on my hands and knees on the ground. So I suffer through it.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, the stats:

How far along: 23 weeks

Baby Development: The little guy is a large mango which is fine except that I don’t particularly like mangoes.

Baby Movement: Yup. He’s kicking me a bit though I’m hoping he’s not a soccer player.

Water Intake: That’s the one pregnancy guideline I’m following.

Best Moment of the Week: Pretty much just hanging out with John. He’s been the best pregnancy partner ever.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Sometimes I have nightmares about worst case scenarios but I tried to remain positive.

Symptoms: Sciatic and back pain.

Sleep Quality: If you’d let me sleep on my back it’d be great!

Food Cravings: Steak.

What I miss: The time of my life when I didn’t know what heartburn was.

What I’m Looking Forward to: Fall. Cooler weather, pumpkin muffins, and a month closer to Christmas!

Trying to get done before baby: John and I are toying with the idea of a babymoon but we’re just so busy. We’ll see what happens.

John's POV: "It was kind of a quiet week. I think we spent most of the time coming down from the high of finding out the gender. It's kind of another round of 'hey, everybody...' but this time the sentence finishes with 'we're having a boy' as opposed to 'we're pregnant'. The father/son thing is starting to sink in for me."

Today I am...22 weeks pregnant.

This past week was a doozy. Only because we finally got to confirm our own feelings and find out we are having a boy! Truthfully, it wasn’t very surprising because, from the start, I’ve known it’s a boy. Just had a feeling. Then John’s mom predicted boy (as she had predicted a girl correctly for her daughter). Plus, I just wasn’t sick enough for a girl. And my face wasn't all broken out (old wives' tale about girls). The great part of the anatomy scan appointment though, was finding out that he looked healthy. Spine looked great, heart looked great, brain looked great. We were overjoyed. And then at the end when the doctor said, “go buy some blue stuff”, we couldn’t have been happier. Time to put away those girl names we love and settle on the one and only boy name we like.

And on to the important business:

How far along: 22 weeks

Baby Development: They tell me he’s the length of a spaghetti squash. How did he get so big? His eyes have formed and he’s getting tooth buds.

Baby Movement: Yup, I can feel him moving around. Even got him to change positions at our ultrasound by doing jumping jacks.

Water Intake: Definitely 8 glasses a day.

Best Moment of the Week: Seeing the little guy on the ultrasound monitor. Hearing that he was healthy.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Not any this week, now that we know we won’t have to deal with a teenage girl.

Symptoms: More heartburn. And a dull ache below my left breast. Could that be him just hitting me there?

Sleep Quality: No mattress or pillow will make this any better.

Food Cravings: Eggs, always eggs.

What I miss: Having more than 8 shirts to wear.

What I’m Looking Forward to: Looking at baby boy stuff!

Trying to get done before baby: I feel like we should be going out more, seeing more movies. So next up, “The Social Network”!

John's POV: "There was no way Lisa was leaving that doctor's office without knowing what the kid was packing. The doc sort of thought he saw a scrotum (his word of choice), but wasn't 100%. The kid was covering up. He's already super stubborn like his parents. But Lisa wasn't going to lose her first battle of wills with her child. Mama was determined. The doctor excused himself and Lisa leapt from the exam table and started jumping up and down in teh air to get the lil' trickster to show his cards. Damn if it didn't work. The doc cam back post-jumping jacks and saw the scrotum (again, his word) and we're off to the blue store."

Today I am...21 weeks pregnant.

This week we attended Brian and Marah’s amazing wedding up in Mendocino. It’s probably the last big trip I’ll take before the baby so I was determined to have fun. The flight wasn’t bad and I even survived the subsequent 4 hour car ride. Mendocino was freezing so I found that I had to buy tights/nylons for my dress or I would freeze at the outdoor wedding. Do you know how many maternity stores are in Mendo? Zero. How many clothes stores? Two. I bought the biggest pair of nylons they sold and managed to pull them on over my expanding belly and thighs. The wedding was a blast. Everyone had their doubts about me going home early, not getting on the dance floor, not being on my A game, but they had nothing to fear. I danced the night away and stayed later than 90 percent of our friends. All this without the aid of cocktails! John was very proud of me. Sure, I got home at 12:30 and immediately sunk into bed with some achy feet, but it was worth it. I mean, check out this sassy couple...

Now for the stats:

How far along: 21 weeks

Baby Development: He’s as big as a carrot but I HATE carrots. And so will he if he has any sense.

Baby Movement: Kicking me for sure and he even has quiet and active times of day.

Water Intake: 8 glasses? No problem.

Best Moment of the Week: Going with John to the Hollywood Bowl to see the Pavement/Sonic Youth concert. Our little one’s first concert and it was a LOUD one. During one particularly rocking song, I tried to cover my belly so he wouldn’t get hearing damage.

Current baby/pregnancy worry: Labor and how painful it’ll be.

Symptoms: Itchy and scratchy skin. I’ve always had dry skin but this is insane. I could scratch all of my skin off my legs if John let me.

Sleep Quality: Not too terrible. I’m tired enough to sleep through the night.

Food Cravings: French fries.

What I miss: At a wedding with 100 drunk people and having to dance? Yeah, I missed alcohol then.

What I’m Looking Forward to: Our anatomy scan this week!

Trying to get done before baby: We really should fix our doorbell. And that side gate. And that light that flickers. And that other thing. Yeah, we should get on that.

John's POV: "Lisa was a super trooper this week. First, the concert, which was a long walk up a steep hill to see three bands that she had moderate interest in (as she did this for her husband) and then the short plane ride for a long car drive to a wedding where she outworked all the non-pregnant ladies. (I guess she just wanted it more.) The concert was especially fantastic for me. I think I'll always look back with a little indie rock pride that the baby's first concert with ears was a couple of the seminal bands of my lifetime. Hopefully he comes out humming 'Teen Age Riot' or 'Summer Babe'.