Cutter Double Time: 25 weeks.

25 weeks, 4 days

How far along: 25 weeks, 4 days

Size of babies: Rutabagas

Baby Update: Babies are beginning to exchange their long, lean look for some baby fat. They are growing more hair- and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.

Weight gain: +2 for a total of 32 lbs (I blame this heat- I'm starting to swell)

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks contractions- they mainly occur in the evenings- my belly gets as tight as a drum. Swelling of the hands- bye bye to my wedding band and engagement ring- see you post-delivery! My fingers look like fat little sausages- so not attractive. I'm also getting very tired these days- in fact, I could use a daily nap.

Movement: Hell yes! Nina felt the babies move today- I think it was Baby Boy who did all the kicking. As they are getting bigger, I'm feeling major body parts (bums and heads). My belly changes shapes as they move and it's so crazy to see it contort on its own.

Exercise: I successfully walked in the 4 on the 4th Road Race in Bridgton on July 4th! I must say I was quite proud of myself as it was a very hot day- but luckily, we stuck to the shade as best we could and I carried a water bottle with me so I was hydrated. My mom and I completed the race in 1 hr and 15 mins... not a fast pace by any means, but I'm just glad I completed it! I felt like a celebrity as the bump was proudly on display and I got a lot of cheers from well-wishers.

Sleep: I'm sleeping 8 to 10 hours on average.... still getting up for the bathroom breaks. Thank goodness for AC as I have it blasting every night- which pretty much freezes Adam, especially since the AC faces his side of the bed.

Food Cravings: Fresh strawberries with whipped cream

Appointment Update: Well, unfortunately I did NOT pass my glucose 1-hr test last week so I had to go back on Friday for the 3-hr test which required 12 hours of fasting and 3-hours of monitoring at the doctor's office along with 4 blood draws every hour. This time they made me drink an even sweeter version of that orange drink containing 100 grams of sugar instead of 50 grams. Ick. Needless to say, without any food in my stomach, and a jolt of sugar to the system, the babies were doing gymnastics in my belly. I downloaded a movie on my iPad and watched it while I waited which made the time go by relatively quickly. A big thanks to Aaron and Nina for watching Sofia for me. I should find out the results tomorrow and if I flunk this test then I will officially have Gestational Diabetes (boo!) and will probably be put on some kind of restrictive diet (think: counting carbs and grams of sugar... ugh!)

God Bless America.... land that I love... Well, I had a great 4th of July with family and friends. It was nice to have 5 days off as well. The weather was beautiful (although very hot and humid) but it made for some fun boating and swimming. Sofia has become a little fish- amazing the confidence that two days of swimming lessons gives a toddler. She's blowing bubbles, putting her face in the water, kicking her legs, and she even put her whole head underwater a few times. She wanted to be in the water all day every day.
We spent time in Bridgton and Auburn with both sides of the family and relaxed and enjoyed ourselves... and ate some lobster too!

Other News: The nursery is pretty much done! Baby Boy's crib bedding arrived (thank you Marney for placing the order with PBK and allowing me your wonderful discount). I just need to get the closet organized and go through piles of baby clothes but other than that- I'm pretty happy with the results. I did register online at Babies R' Us for my baby shower (August 3rd)... but I didn't register for very many things since the items that I need are pretty pricey. Definitely in need of some boy clothes and I will welcome any and all hand-me-downs!

Some photos from the weekend...