Pregnancy: 3rd time around

So, I'm hoping my 3rd child will forgive me for being lame when it comes to documenting this pregnancy or taking pictures...and decent ones at that. :)

I am currently about 19.5 weeks pregnant. We have an ultrasound on the 7th and should probably find out the gender.

This pregnancy has been weird for me. I have felt AWFUL, which is starting to subside although I have nausea here and there. I have felt like I have been living in a black hole of "existing" for several months and am now feeling like a normal (though pregnant) person again.

I DO NOT hardly ever feel this baby move. It was alarming at first because I felt my other 2 earlier than average (Nora we felt from the outside by 16 weeks). I found out that my placenta is in the front and blocking all the jabs and kicks for now. I do feel reassuring kicks every once in awhile.

I am sleeping better...HALLELUJAH! And, am not desperate for naps every day. I have gotten some energy back which is good because we have a lot of stairs in our new house and I am constantly going up and down with a 30 lb. toddler on my hips that needs to be held 24/7.

Here's hoping for an uneventful and relatively easy 2nd half of pregnancy. :)

 17.5 weeks

19.5 weeks

12 Weeks

How many weeks: 12
How I am feeling: Crummy with a side of Zofran and Zantac. :) I was throwing up, but started taking meds last week and am still feeling sick, but not as bad. Struggling to sleep due to insomnia, sickness, and acid reflux.
Looking forward: Can't wait to be in the 2nd trimester and hopefully start feeling a little better!
Gender Prediction: While unconfirmed (obviously) I think we are having another girl!
Heart/rate: 160s
Thoughts on pregnancy: Excited to have finally had our first appointment, saw my midwife who delivered Nora (yeah!), and am hoping to feel some movement in the next couple of weeks!

And it is all summed up like this....

My camera is broken, my day to day life is haphazard and non-structured (living with family), I have been super sick as I slowly work my way through the first trimester of pregnancy....and such is my life.

I luckily have a few pictures of the kids on my parent's camera from their first snow since we've been in Kansas and our family's Christmas together. But as for actually making any memories and then documenting them, I've been pretty out of the loop. Growing a baby is tough work and this one has been the roughest adventure for me yet.

Thank the Lord for medication. I finally gave in and called my midwife the day I turned 11 weeks (still haven't been in to see her yet) and pleaded for help. I was tired of puking at night, not sleeping, and struggling to swallow. I let go of my fears and am now taking anti-nausea medicine, Zantac, and melatonin. Amen and amen. I am an actual human being again and it is wonderful. Not that I feel amazing or am actually sleeping blissfully through the night, but oh to feel like a person again is wonderful!

I will be 12 weeks next week when I go to see my midwife and I am super excited to hear the baby's heartbeat for the first time.

Labor Story

This is for only those that are interested and willing to hear the details of Nora's birth.

On Sept. 9th, I woke up feeling like I had a crampy backache. Had contractions off and on all day until I went to my midwife appointment. She said I was 4.5 cm dilated and 70% effaced and stripped my membranes. Contractions got a little bit more consistent a few hours later and we sent Aidan off to his grandparent's for the night just in case. We took a walk and contractions came every 3 minutes, but then slowed down when we came home. This was very similar to my experience with Aidan and was very frustrating because I never went into labor on my own and I didn't have any way of knowing if something would really progress. Took another walk later and then called it quits and went to bed around 11 pm because contractions were pretty much gone. I was super frustrated because my midwife was on call that night and then would be gone for a week. We scheduled an induction for the following week, but I was afraid that I might not make it until then and I really wanted her to assist with the delivery. Woke up around 1:30 am with what I thought was a contraction, but then slept off and on until about 2:30 am when I suddenly had contractions 10 min., 5 min. and then 3 min. apart. I got up and walked around, got a drink of water. Contractions remained at 3 min. and were getting strong. I decided to wake Seth up at 3:00 and called my midwife. She said to come to the hospital. We started packing and I called my parents. The pain started to pick up quite a bit, but was still manageable. Left for the hospital sometime around 3:30, arriving just before 4:00. We were diverted to a different hospital because they were full (kinda a bummer) so I had to do most of my paperwork again while in active labor (frustrating). By the time we got to our room, I was at 7cm. It took four tries to get my IV line in which was a huge pain, but after that was done, I was able to get in the jacuzzi tub. Let me just say.....amazing. I was seriously doubting my ability to make it through the delivery, but once I got in the tub, I felt so much better. Well, not really, but it made it more bearable. Progressed super fast in the tub and started to really feel a lot of pressure. My midwife came in and checked me and told me I was complete and ready to push. I got out of the tub and started pushing. 9 minutes later Nora was here. 5:27 am. Just about 1 1/2 hours after arriving at the hospital. The pushing was super intense and painful, more so than I remember with Aidan and I was a little less calm. It was quick though and I pulled her out and held her immediately. She was super alert and started sucking her thumb almost right away. I feel so blessed that my midwife got to be there for the delivery and so happy she came when she did. Can't believe I made it through another unmedicated delivery, but I am so in love with my baby girl.

Hugeness.

Some days it is hard to believe just how huge my stomach has gotten. I am so ready for this baby to be here! I have a midwife appointment today, so we'll see what she says. One more week max til they said they'd break my water. So, hopefully it will be before then, but if not, it will be over soon.

3 centimeters

So, I am dilated to a 3. That's nice. It means nothing, but somehow gives me a peace of mind.

Had an absolutely splendid morning. I decided to go to a garage sale down the street just for fun. And, boy did I hit the jackpot in boy's clothes. I got 16 shirts, 4 pairs of pants/jeans, a cute old navy jacket, 3 set of pj's, and a pair of Nike shoes for Aidan. I spent $12.50. It was amazing! The clothes are in great condition and most all of them are from The Children's Place or Old Navy. I was so thrilled and so blessed by that great surprise of a find. It truly made my day.

Took my little A-man to the library. He was so sweet and fun and we read lots of books.

Midwife appt. went well. Baby is coming soon (that is so relative, but whatev).

Aidan took a 2 1/2 hour  nap today which was totally awesome.

Made a huge pot of potato soup to freeze for after the baby is here. Yummy!

Went to Chick-fil-a with Seth's parents for dinner. Fun treat for us all.

Worked forever on the blanket I am making for baby girl tonight. I was going to post a pic, but I think I will post it tomorrow with (hopefully) a pic of the sweet little diaper cover I am almost finished with. 

We packed our bags

But, unfortunately, my flirtation with labor came to end around 1 am.

Had such strong contractions last night, and they started coming every 3-4 minutes for about 2+ hours. I even took a bath and laid in bed for awhile to see if they would fade. They didn't, I called the midwife. Decided to wait another hour or so before going to hospital. With that, my labor got shy and ran away. This annoys me greatly because I had this pre-labor junk for weeks upon weeks with Aidan. However, nothing quite as uncomfortable, painful, or prolonged as last night.

After a night of very little sleep, I was rather grouchy today.

We had a little playdate with some friends, Aidan took his new routine short nap, we played, I made waffles, got smoothies from Smoothie King, took a long walk, long shower, and now ready for bed.

Tomorrow is my midwife appt. and we shall see what she says.

I need to just focus on enjoying these last few days or weeks of waiting.

Must crochet. :)

Joy comes in the morning

I started to write about how irritating these pre-labor contractions are getting, but I didn't feel like hearing myself complain.

Instead, I am focusing on the joy that the Lord brings. What joy is available to me!

Parenting has been tough lately. House selling has been tough. Packing has been slow. Baby has been low. (Now I'm writing a song.)

But the Lord is the strength and joy of my life. I just forget that sometimes. I tend to become too distracted with the minor details of life and forget to focus on the bigger picture. He is above all and knows all. He sees my struggles. He knows my pain. His hands are reaching out to me.

So, as I wait for this waiting to be over, I know that His joy will come. What reassurance I have in that.

Dear Baby Girl

Today was a long day. It is now 11:15 pm and I am just now sitting down to write you this letter. Your daddy is on his way home from South Carolina and I am afraid I will not be able to wait up for him.

I have been thinking about you a lot lately. Wondering what in the world you will be like, look like, smell like, etc... I love looking at your little clothes and imagining your soft baby skin. It is truly getting hard to wait to meet you because I am just so excited about you.

You've been very still in there today baby girl, but you let me know you are there, waiting to meet me too, with your little hiccups and feet pressing against my side.

Today, I finished getting some of your things ready and it was fun. I plan to pack our bags for the hospital this weekend, just to be prepared. I also managed to walk to the park with your big brother and carry him part way home. You made it a little difficult to do so, but I managed well enough and just had to deal with an achy back for the rest of the evening. It probably didn't help that I scrubbed the bathroom and baked cookies after Aidan went to bed.

Sweet little baby, I have now shaved and painted my toe nails (to the best of my ability) and am ready for your arrival. I know that it may still be a few weeks, but at least my feet look fresh and pretty. I made you a few headbands tonight too and I can't wait for you to try them.

Tomorrow is a big day for me because we have someone coming to see our house, the house you will never really know. It is kinda sad because this will be the home we bring you to, but only for a short while. You will start your life in South Carolina, a new place for us all.

I want you to keep growing healthy and strong and come when you are good and ready...just don't make me wait too long. :)

I love you,

Mom

Scattered

So, I'm at a loss for a good subject as I've been doing this blogging thing like every day now and am so not creative.

Plus, for some reason, my brain has withered away to nothingness on account of the baby I carry in my womb and I cannot for the life of me remember simple things....Like, for instance, taking a diaper with me to Aidan's Dr. appointment just in case he had peed like 5 gallons into the one he had on and I looked like I neglect my child.

My child is so funny though. Even if his mother does forget to change his ridiculously full diaper before taking him to the pediatrician. When the doc came in the room, he said, "Listen to my heart," followed by, "Check my ears." When asked what his favorite food was he said, "Candy!"....and "Broccoli." For the love child. You don't eat either thing that often, but at least you said something healthy after an enthusiastic vote for candy. He also managed to spill a bunch of water, fall off the table, and eat half the sucker stick along with the sucker. He did great getting his shots though. So brave and so sweet. He even said he'd go back again.

I tried my hand at sewing again today, but got a little stuck while trying to figure out how to put a zipper into the lining of the purse and just gave up and took a nap. It was a great idea!

The rest of the day was pretty blah and humdrum. I mean, we ate food, talked, I went to Wal-mart again to find some sort of diaper my child won't pee out of in the night (Aidan woke up for the 3rd time in a row absolutely soaking wet).

My mom and I started watching a sad movie about World War II and smuggling children out of the ghetto. I was crocheting a blanket for the baby so I could try and distract myself from crying too much, but it just plain got to me and we opted to turn it off and go to bed.

Seth gets home tomorrow night. Can't believe the week without him is almost over. It went by so much faster than the last time.

I felt really uncomfortably pregnant today. Hoping for some renewed energy tomorrow.

254 days down

I have been pregnant just that long. Pretty crazy, huh?

Well, today was quite the busy little day.

Woke up super early to Aidan, soaking wet again. Mom helped me change sheets and I made him get back in bed. He complied and stayed in there for another hour or so. I trudged back to bed and fell fast asleep, waking to find a completely fed child contentedly reading books with Mimi. Yippee!

Got a nice long shower. So nice. So refreshing. So private.

Took off to Wal-mart and then my  midwife appointment. Appointment went great. No cervical check, but good conversation and such. My group B strep test came back negative so that was good.

Ran home to check on things and make myself some lunch. Sat in silence. Uploaded pictures to blog.

Then I treated myself to some slow browsing of the aisles at Joann Fabrics and Hobby Lobby. I don't remember the last time I did that, but it was heavenly. I picked up a bunch of super cheap, super cute fabric remnants and some other crafty supplies and headed back to my mom's house.

We went to the Farmer's Market, then came home to eat our fresh veggies. Aidan had a few meltdowns at dinner.

Took Aidan to the park after dinner and then he was shipped off to bed early.

I decided to get my sewing machine out and try to finish a purse I am making. Being my very first sewing project, and being rather new at this whole thing, I had quite the time of it, but accomplished a few things before throwing my hands up in the air and calling it a night.

So, now I sit.... 254 days pregnant and still a very horrible seamstress. We will have to remedy both these things.

Goodnight.

Let's live it up till labor begins....

Aidan was up early again this morning....soaking wet. So, I stripped the bed and started the laundry with my eyes half closed.

Breakfast was like usual. Found some cute yoga pants my mom bought me for my birthday. Decided to wear them even though I don't like tight pants on my pregnant self. Wonderfully comfortable choice, everyone who sees me is just gonna have to live with it.

Got ourselves ready and headed over to play with our dear friends Davis and Susan. The boys really love to play together so it is always a good time. Since it was so nice out today we took a walk to the park.


Sweet boys sliding and holding hands....cuteness.

     

After a great walk, I left Aidan and went for my 1 hour prenatal massage that I received for my birthday (yeah, like 3 months ago). It was so nice and relaxing and I'm glad that I got it in before little baby girl gets here. Susan was so gracious to watch Aidan for me and even try to feed the monkey some lunch.

Picked him up after I was done, got him down for a nap, and made myself a nice little lunch while watching 27 dresses. I picked the movie up from the library the other day figuring it would be cutesie and whatnot, but oh well. I watched for a little bit while I finished my lunch and completed some sweet crocheting projects. Pictures of those will have to come later as well due to my ridiculous internet issues.

Then I hit the hay. Got about 30 minutes of rest before I heard a banging on the door. Our laptop arrived. Yay! We will have no room for an office or anything when we move, so we purchased a laptop with a nice little webcam so we can skype with the family and they can see how cute our kids are and miss them all the more.

Aidan woke up and things got seriously crazy. 

Picking up the house/packing to go to my mom's/trying to keep my child from destroying things pretty much sucked the life out of me.

Aidan threw a bunch of paper towels in the toilet and flushed. PERFECT. We just had a major clog in our main drain which coughed up a huge bunch of nastiness into our laundry room and required some professional and somewhat costly assistance. Now I think I know why.

Drove to my mom's. Aidan smashed grapes in his carseat.

The weather was more than perfect so we went for another walk after dinner. So nice if I didn't have a big ol' baby pushing down in my pelvis. Contractions while walking in nearly perfect weather kinda take away from the nearly perfect weather.

Finished the evening with a bowl of ice cream and some tv watchin. I like going to my parent's house because they have cable or satellite or something like that and I can watch whatever ridiculous show I want. Tonight's choice: I didn't know I was pregnant on TLC. What craziness.

Well, time for bed.

Here we go!

So, first day of baby blogging countdown.

What did we do?

Firstly, Seth left the house at 4am to catch his flight to Columbia, which set me on a weird pattern of sleeping and waking. Then, Aidan woke up at the crack of dawn, ran into my room, and said, "get up" in his bossy little voice. We made breakfast, I showered, and then took off for Mita's house. I dropped Aidan off and drove to the hospital for my meeting with the maternity coordinator.

Can I just say....I think I am going to like this hospital much better than the one I delivered Aidan at? I mean it's pretty much all just assumed at this point, but it seems like a great place to give birth.

Got done with my appointment, dropped some stuff at the library, picked up Aidan and some boxes. Boxes. For packing. Oh yeah, cause I am like totally going to pack up my whole house and move to South Carolina with a newborn and 2 year old. I need to really get moving on this stuff.

Ate some delicious eggs for lunch....and chips and salsa. Naptime was much needed. After naptime, Aidan helped me bring in the boxes and set up his new little drumset in the bathroom.

Aidan sang the Veggie Tales theme song for awhile while he played away on his drums. Then, we listened to Coldplay and "danced." Dancing for me has gotten a little awkward/difficult, but I held him and swayed. I figured if I started bouncing maybe the baby would come, so I just kept my grooving to a minimum.

We made a quick run to Whole Foods before dinner and then ate leftovers from the other night. Then, we had a fun little playdate with Oakley (the sweet little boy I watched for almost a year) and his momma. The boys had fun together especially now that Oakley has started walking. They left close to 7pm.

I cleaned up the kitchen, talked to Seth, picked up toys, and got the little booger face in bed.

Sweet little booger face.

Once the boy got off to bed, I started utilizing those nice boxes and packed a couple of them. If I do that every night I could pack like 14 boxes in a week.

Anywho, that's the scoop of the day. My back is a little achy, I just had a big contraction, and totally used the bathroom, got in my p.j.'s and washed my face while waiting for my pictures to upload. I thought about having my 3rd bowl of cereal too, but the pictures loaded just in time.

Now, I think I'll climb in bed with a glass of wine, my Bible, and my latest crocheting project and see how long I last.

Pics to come soon of all the craftiness I've been doing. I'll probably have to eat like 10 bowls of cereal while I wait for them to load though.

Goodnight all!

36 weeks and counting

I feel like I am getting huge all of a sudden! Baby girl has dropped down lower and is definitely head down and ready. Just how ready, I don't know though. Gained 17.5 pounds so far and feeling pretty good most of the time. Had an icky sinus infection this week that I'm still trying to get over. Looking forward to holding my little baby soon and sleeping without so many pillows. Still having lots of contractions off and on, but I know that means absolutely nothing sometimes, so I am patiently waiting these next few weeks. 

Planning to blog every day until she comes and take lots of pictures. I really want to get a lot done before she is here, so we are going to be as busy as possible until she decides it is time. 

The countdown to baby blogging begins....

It's a new day

We had a successful trip to South Carolina and found a place to live. We decided to rent a 2 bedroom apartment for the time being as we wait for our house to sell. It is definitely going to be an adjustment for us, but I am looking forward to the challenges and the newness of it all. I felt very melancholy when we came back to our house here in Kansas, but I know that God will open new doors for us in SC.

Our house is officially on the  market and we've had NO ONE come by to see it yet. Blah! It is nice to have the incentive to keep the house clean and picked up, but I really wish the fruit of my labors would pay off a little. Praying that the house will sell in the next couple of months at least.

Baby girl is starting to work towards her big debut. Spent an evening in the hospital last week getting monitored for contractions and had to get a shot to stop them. I am currently on a medication to keep them at bay and have not had any more long episodes of contractions since, but getting several good ones a day (by good, I mean nice and painful). She has moved down into position and they said she is really low. Already dilated and effaced a little bit, so it will be interesting to see what the next few weeks hold. I am supposed to be taking it easy, and am doing so as much as possible, at least for the next couple of weeks.

Seth is working in South Carolina all week so I am home alone with the little boy and the big belly. :) Trying to keep busy, not too busy to cause any labor, but busy enough to keep us distracted. Starting to feel the weariness of the final few weeks and ready to be done with this pregnancy. Thankful for feeling good up until this point though.

Well, that's that. I am going to work on some fun crocheting projects this week when I find some time and maybe do some other fun crafts too. I know that once the little girl arrives I won't have time to devote to such things. I should probably start washing up some of her clothes too.

Does this shirt make me look fat?

Here's the baby belly at 32 weeks! I feel like I am getting so big, but still measuring a lot smaller. I was measuring a month small at my last midwife appointment, but they think she's just going to be a little baby. I may have a sonogram at my appt. this week if she's still really behind. I have gained 14 pounds total at this point and I am still feeling relatively good. I am starting to get a little more uncomfortable and can't be out in this summer heat for very long, but I have a lot of energy most days and can do a lot of things. Still not getting up at night to use the bathroom which is awesome and I am sleeping pretty well most nights. I have had some sciatic pain this last week some, but nothing constant. I am so blessed that this pregnancy is tons better than my first. At this point I was on bedrest with Aidan and it was a total drag. I felt huge and miserable. The Lord has been so gracious.

More news coming soon about our near future. There has been a lot of stuff happening this past week and I haven't been quite ready to blog about it yet, but should have an update in a couple of days. It has definitely been an interesting week.

The belly grows...

First pic was taken in Branson at 26 weeks. Second pic is 27 weeks. 

How Far Along: 27 weeks, 1 day

Size of baby: About 2 pounds, 14 inches
Total Weight Gain: 10
Maternity Clothes: I can still wear most of my regular clothes. I have a few maternity things that I love, but the summer makes it so much easier and the low weight gain has helped too.
Gender: Girl! 

Movement: She loves to move at night for about 10 minutes before I go to sleep and will move throughout the day when I am sitting.

Sleep: I have been getting great sleep still. Started using extra pillows, but no getting up to pee in the night at all this pregnancy! 
Symptoms: Big belly, moving baby, started to feel anemic, but taking iron helps a lot. I am slowing down a little I think, but trying to just enjoy these last couple of months. 
Food Cravings/Aversions:  Love to eat anything sweet, especially ice cream! I crave snacks, but nothing really major. I like my carbs as well and have been baking a lot lately.    
What I am looking forward to: Meeting this little baby girl!

Belly Pics: 23.5 weeks

Pregnancy Update

So, I am officially 21 weeks pregnant today.

Wow. It seems weird to think that I am already in the second half of this pregnancy. The 2nd trimester has been pure bliss for me and I am starting to have this naive idea that it will remain this way.

At my 20 week appt. with my midwife everything looked great. We found out that we are having a girl and were absolutely thrilled. Also, found out that I do not have placenta previa after all (huge relief). Baby is head down right now, good heart rate, and I have upped my total weight gain to 3 pounds.

Things I am happy about right now:

Not feeling huge yet
Not getting up to pee in the night at all yet (I do on occasion anyway, but it was a 2-3 times a night deal with Aidan)
Not wearing maternity jeans yet or even my bella band
Having a little girl
Feeling energized to get through my days
Being able to stay up late and get up early
Not feeling sick anymore
Having no major/minor complications at this point

Crazy Fast Update

Aidan is finally over the horrible never-ending sickness of last week. I washed his sheets more that week than ever before! He finished it all off with a nice ear infection and is still taking some antibiotics for that. Glad it's over though.

We started working on brick patio in back yard and hopefully will get some more work done on it this weekend. So ready to have that project finished!

I am doing a shoot for a music video for the band Leeland. I got asked to do the shoot last week and we've had a couple days of filming so far. Today we are doing another quick shot after the little one wake's up from his nap. This will be the first time I am taking him with me, so that should be interesting. The stylist is coming to my house for makeup and hair, so that will be nice.

Seth is in South Carolina for work and gets home tonight. So excited! He is pursuing a new job working with his company that would require a relocation. He is currently on his 3rd week of a trial period. We still have a little while before we agree to anything, but it would definitely be a nice promotion for him.

And, I am planning a quick trip to AR tomorrow that is still in the works...trying to decide if I can swing it all.

Oh, and I had a random sonogram yesterday that did not completely reveal the sex, but gave us an idea. Also found out that I have placenta previa (again). With Aidan it was only partial and resolved itself by the 3rd trimester. This time they say it is complete which could be quite problematic. Praying for some good news at my midwife appt./diagnostic ultrasound on May 5th (6 days!).