Week 26: In which Ziggy takes up karate and I turn into a cow

Yesterday I was officially 26 weeks, and in honor of this milestone, Ziggy became quite the little martial artist, flipping, rolling, kicking, punching, poking, jabbing, you name it! It was quite entertaining to feel and watch my belly all day long. His movements were not only a lot more frequent, but also sometimes really strong. It never hurt, but sometimes the force did surprise me! I hope this means he will be a natural at karate. AC can't wait to introduce him to his new passion, especially since he was denied the chance to even try it as a kid. Ziggy's being a lot quieter today, so maybe he tuckered himself out. Poor little guy!

In other news, it appears that I have started to lactate! Ok, maybe leaking would be a better term. A few times I've noticed there were small, clear but slightly milky beads of liquid on my nipples, and today, when I tried squeezing my breasts, even more came out! I figure this is the colostrum. I actually find it quite exciting. I hope this means I will have a good milk supply.

I don't really have any expectations for how I want my birth to go (other than that I have to have an epidural or pain medication when requested!), but I know that I definitely want to breastfeed and will be really disappointed if for some reason I can't do it. My mother, who is certainly not the type to glorify or sentimentalize child rearing, always fondly reminisces about breastfeeding me and how much she loved it. So, I am hoping it's a similar story for me and Ziggy. By the way, my mother breastfed me exclusively for 14 months and hand-expressed the occasional bottle when she needed to be away or to relieve engorgement while working full time (as a professor though, she did have a much more flexible schedule and worked mostly from home).

So, I am going to hold off on buying a pump and all that various paraphernalia until I'm sure I'll actually need or want it. Personally, the idea of pumping doesn't appeal to me at all. It seems like a lot of work, what with washing and disinfecting all the bottles and equipment. I may rent one from the hospital first to see if I even like it or can get much milk that way. I know some women hate pumping and/or can't actually produce much milk with a pump, so I'd rather try it out first before plunking down all that money.

Anyway, all in all a good week as far as pregnancy goes. I can't believe there's only a week (or two, depending on which pregnancy calendar I refer to) left of the second trimester! Third trimester here I come!