24 weeks! Wow! Can't believe it!

So, I figure if I've made it this far wearing my regular pants, I can make it another week or two. Yes, I'm going to attempt the impossible and not start wearing maternity pants until I make it to the 3rd trimester. It's so close (according to some books it starts at 25 weeks, according to others it starts around 28 weeks), so I think I can do it. I'm okay wearing my regular pants for the first 10 hours of the day while I'm at work, but by the end of the day I'm ready to put my PJs on!

Sweet Pea's kicks are getting stronger and stronger. It's such a wonderful feeling. One kick the other night was really strong. I had my laptop resting on my tummy and she gave it a really hard kick, almost sending it toppling off. It was so neat to feel that.

It's starting to seem like it really might happen - I might actually get my baby to take home, care for, and love forever. So hard to believe - even as everything seems so perfect, I still fear something going wrong. I'm almost in my 3rd trimester but there are still things that can go wrong. I know people who have lost their babies at this point, just before birth (at 37 weeks - they never got a reason), and right after birth (from a bad infection). I'm reading the book The Belated Baby. Seems like others who have been through infertility also have the same feelings that I do. However, Sweet Pea has hit a really big milestone - according to my baby books, she's viable! Yes, if she had to be born today, there's a better than 50% chance that she'd survive!!!

I got Sweet Pea registered for day care. Whew - one more thing crossed off my list. I actually had my choice of centers. I did get her into the one at the school I'm currently teaching at (with the people I've known forever and the nice teacher-friendly summer discount) however, I didn't end up choosing that one. I got offered another job teaching Early Learning, which is really my first love (3 and 4 year olds, with full teacher pay for only a 4 hour program for the students - the rest of my day will be spent in meetings, home visits, and planning. Hopefully having that extra time during the day will lessen the amount of work I have to do outside of my normal hours and give me more time at home with Sweet Pea). Early childhood education (regular and special education) is what I got my undergrad degrees in many, many years ago and I've regretted leaving my preschoolers all the time in the last 4 years since I've switched jobs. Also, my new school is just minutes from my house, so I wanted a day care that was closer to work and home. The day care that I went with is a facility that is less than 3 years old (but the owner and several of the care givers were at another location for several years before that), has marvelous reviews by fellow educators, they use the same curriculum that I'll be teaching, and it's only 4 minutes from my driveway to theirs! They have 8 infants and 2-3 adults in the infant room, then move them up to the next room around the time they start walking. This day care will be a little more expensive because I have to pay for the summers even if I don't bring her to day care, but I think not having to commute an hour a day for day care (especially in the winter) will be worth it! Plus, it might be nice to have the option of using day care a couple of days a week during the summer to keep her in a routine so it's not too much of a shock when I have to go back to work in the fall. I'm sure it'll still be hard to drop her off on that first morning in late August (during the hour long tour and interview, I forgot to ask them how many times I can call that first week without annoying them :), but I feel pretty good about my choice.