I can hardly believe it – I’ll be 24 weeks pregnant tomorrow! It’s crazy to think that this journey is already halfway over, and that baby boy and I have made it through 24 weeks together – I’m so excited and anxious and am feeling so blessed to have the opportunity to be a Mama.

I’ve been writing letters to our little boy a few times a week since before we even conceived a child, and this week, I told our baby all about my trip this past weekend to Minneapolis. My parents, my brother and I traveled to Minneapolis to do some shopping for the baby and to see my cousin Kristen, and we had a wonderful time! What was surprising to me, however, was how tired and sore I was after shopping the entire weekend! I’m usually such a go-go-go shopper that I don’t even notice when I’ve been shopping all day, but this weekend was so, so different; after a few hours of shopping, my lower back began to ache, and after one day of shopping, I had a bit of swelling around my ankles! I think I pushed myself a bit too hard this weekend in terms of walking the outlet malls, IKEA and the Mall of America, all in the span of two days – what an interesting learning experience!

We heard our little boy’s heartbeat again on Friday at our regular prenatal appointment, and it was 140 beats per minute and strong. I love hearing the heartbeat – it’s so reassuring to know that the baby is a-growing and healthy in there! At my prenatal appointment, I found out that I had gained TWELVE POUNDS between my last appointment (just one month ago) and this appointment. For a girl who hasn’t really had any weight gain so far in my pregnancy (due to me feeling so sick for five weeks!), I think that my doctor was a bit shocked. It didn’t help that I mentioned my obsession with Cheetos, too, which prompted the doctor to recommend that I ration myself in terms of eating Cheetos – BOO! :) I know that Cheetos have like zero nutritional value, and I rarely eat them when I’m not pregnant, but it’s so funny to me that I’m susceptible to strange pregnancy cravings like Cheetos (and any other orange foods, like orange soda, mac & cheese, nachos, etc.). I promised my doctor that I would try to eat better this month, so here goes nothing!

Lots of love, Sara & Baby Boy