24th Week Journal...

How far along? 24wks today (wow, time flies - we're starting the 6 month)
Total weight gain/loss: At official check in from the doctor, I'm about 17-18 lbs gain.
Maternity Clothes: Wearing a mixture of both maternity & non-maternity shirts & sweaters, but the pants are mainly maternity for comfort sake
"Morning" Sickness: Knock on wood - nothing in a while
Signs of Pregnancy: (Same as last week) Very dry skin (along my face, fingers, belly, legs & ankles), headaches & backpain, leg cramps, but no signs of swelling! I do have to say that since I've been using new lotion all over right after a shower, the dry skin is getting better and the Tums at night are definitely helping with leg cramps.
Stretch Marks: Nothing new...
Sleep: GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR - I really do not enjoy sleeping anymore. Most likely because I'm not really able to. My back is always in pain when I sleep on either side. My shoulders, shoulder blades, and upperback go into spasms. It's comfortable on my back, but the doctor said it's not good to spend so much time on your back. I don't remember the last time I actually slept through the night.
Best moment this week:
*We picked up all of Alexander's furniture, such a relief. Thank you to Dan's parents for their donation to the furniture
*Alyson came over to help pick up the furniture and she delivered a whole mess of goodies for the baby from her & my mom. You two really need to slow down!! Save it for Christmas. I was telling Dan's mom at Thanksgiving that Alexander really didn't have a lot of clothes... well they made a liar out of me because now he has a TON! But they're all so cute and he's going to be the best dressed little boy since Christopher (afterall Alyson, Mom & I did supply Christopher with his wardrobe the first year or so).
Worst moment this week:
Finding out that our pack & play and bassinet are now discontinued items. I don't know if we should pick out new styles or not...guess we'll wait a bit longer to see
Movement: He really has started to move around A LOT. He has his phases: 6:30-7:30am, multiple times during the day and then after 9pm. I also get this sensation in my abdomen that I know when & where he's about to kick so it's fun to put my hand there and feel it
Food cravings: Nothing specific this week...
Gender prediction: No guessing anymore - it's a BOY - Alexander Christopher
Labor Pains: N/A
Belly Button in or out? Still In
Wedding rings on or off? On - still a bit loose
Weekly Wisdom: If anyone has any wisdom for back pain, I'll gladly take it.
Milestones/Fun Moments:
*Started, what I believe to be, Braxton Hicks contractions. They're so random and sometimes I can't tell if they're BH contractions or the baby moving
*Alexander's first strong episode of the hiccups as he kept thumping up & down
*Dan built the closet in our bedroom, with help from Steve, so now he won't be without a closet when we get Alexander's room ready (I've decided that since we have everything, I'll be okay to work on putting the room together, after the room is painted of course, right after Christmas)
*Picking up all of his furniture
*Confirming with Gary about coming over to help paint the room