Belly Pic: 26 weeks

I have less than 100 days until my due date! I'm still feeling pretty good, although I'm pretty exhausted if I don't manage to sneak in at least a quick nap while hilltot takes his nap. Swelling has commenced (I can poke my lower legs at the end of the day and leave little dents) but it's not painful yet so I haven't broken out my fancy medical-grade compression hose. Whoo-whee, I can't wait until those come out! Although I don't know how consistent I'll be about wearing them once the weather gets warmer.

I've also hit the stage of pregnancy when my pants won't stay up unless I'm wearing those sexy over-the-belly full panel maternity pants. Even though the under-belly styles look better and are more comfortable when I first put them on, they start to feel too tight and my belly pushes them down so that I end up with my pants hanging halfway to my knees. I know this look is cool with teenage boys, but much like the midriff-baring issues I had earlier (before I finally gave in and got out my maternity clothes), I don't think a pregnant mom in my 30s can pull it off.

After a very slow start with the whole weight gain thing, I'm going like gang-busters now. However, I'll be doing my second glucose tolerance test (the 1-hr GTT) at my next OB appointment in 2 weeks. Even though I passed it the first time (at 11 weeks), I doubt I'll pass it this time because the placenta has had a lot more time to mess with my insulin receptors. So that means I will likely go back to my strict gestational diabetes diet, blood monitoring, and insulin shots in a few weeks. That also means I'll stop gaining weight as quickly because I won't be able to eat anything I like for at least 2-3 months. In preparation, I am making sure to thoroughly enjoy my last bites of noodles, bagels and cupcakes.

In more exciting news, I scheduled maternity pictures for June! I didn't have professional pictures done when I was pregnant with hilltot and I regretted not having them. Plus, I know the best photographer around, so I'm taking full advantage of her Mother's Day special. She did such a terrific job with hilltot's one-year photos (click here and here for a few samples), so I'm really looking forward to see how she manages to make this belly look good.

Speaking of which...here's the 26-week belly!