28 Weeks! Third Trimester!

So, since the 3rd trimester technically starts at 27w3d, I called myself 3rd trimester last week – but this week is definite!  Yay!

Every single week makes me a little happier because I’ll be honest – I’ve been deathly worried this entire pregnancy that this baby would come way too early.  Every week brings me a little closer to his lungs being ready on their own!  They’re already making surfactant (what he needs to breathe!) so his lungs are getting closer and closer. 

How far along: 28 weeks! (+1 day today!)

How big is baby:  The size of an eggplant! 

Weight gain/loss: Whew.  +19lbs as of this morning.  Thank goodness that Cookie Cake Dessert didn’t kill me this week.  Because someone ate the entire pan…..

Stretch marks: Same as before.  Think I spotted a new one.  Gag.

Maternity clothes:  Most definitely.  My medium tops are too small, officially.  I spent all day yesterday pulling and tugging at it trying to make it cover the band on my pants.  Forget that – movin’ up!

Sleep: Not too shabby.  I keep reminding myself that even this uncomfortable sleep is 100x better than the sleep I’ll be getting when he gets here.  So in that perspective – my sleep is fantastic!  Ha!

Food cravings or aversions: Cookie Cake.  Lots and lots of cookie cake.  For meals, not dessert.

Gender: BOY!

Movement:  Lots of kicks and jabs.  Less rolls – I think he’s running out of room!  He hiccups ALL. THE. TIME.  I’m talking, 4-5x a day.  And they last for a long time each time!  I know he’s head down at least..ha!

Belly button: Flat. Stretched. 

What I'm loving:  That my next appt has an ultrasound!  I *LOVE* getting to see him!  It will most likely be my last one before he’s born!  That is so crazy!

Also, his bedding should be coming in a couple of weeks and I can actually get started on his room.  Things are finally coming together!

What I miss: My hips not hurting while I sleep.    They ache so badly.    

What's different this time:  I’ve had a lot of ‘pains’ that I’m never sure are something to worry about or not.  I apparently did a terrible job of knowing with Amelia which ones were something to worry about and which ones weren’t since I got checked with her at 34w and was dilated.  So I constantly wonder if I’m dilating early again with every cramp and pain.  I think I’m going to get checked sooner this time so I can know if I need to be taking it easy.  My goal is to keep this baby in my tummy through 37 weeks!  I want him to be full term! 

With my little helper…eating jello. 

Cookie Cake Dessert

This is an extremely rich dessert.  I love it with all of my heart.  A friend’s mom gave me this recipe when I was in the 4th grade. I started adding 1 box of pudding mix several years ago to make it even more moist.  It is so wonderful!

You need:

1 box white cake mix

1 (small) box instant vanilla pudding mix

2 large eggs

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Lots of semi-sweet chocolate chips (Have fun measuring that…)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Mix everything together and PRESS into a greased and floured 9x13 baking dish.  I just use Baker’s Joy to spray my pan.  Bake for 17-20min or until toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy with a big glass of milk and possibly an insulin shot.

 

FYI:  You press this into the pan because it’s not a cookie dough consistency.  It uses your hands to mix and press.  It should take some elbow grease to mix it up.     It’s like a super duper moist cookie with a cakey texture.  Just try it.  You’ll enjoy it. 

27 Weeks!

How far along: 27 weeks! 

This is from the site that I read every week:  “(At least according to the books I’ve chosen to listen to — some mark the beginning of the third trimester as week 27, while some make you wait until week 28. Look, we’re all big and lumpy and ridiculously cranky, let’s get this final trimester STARTED.)” 

I’m with her. 

How big is baby:  The size of a rutabaga…?  He’s approximately 2lbs and 15in long…

Weight gain/loss: Whew.  +18lbs.  I gained 19lbs total with Amelia.  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA. 

Stretch marks: Same as before.

Maternity clothes:  Couldn’t fit in my regular clothing if someone held a gun to my head.

Sleep: Has been horrible.  I finally figured out that part of the problem was that I wasn’t getting much support under my belly, regardless of the pillow.  We took the 4in thick memory foam mattress topper off the bed last night, and I slept SO. MUCH. BETTER.  Thank goodness.

Food cravings or aversions: Craving cookies.  Lenny’s Sandwich Shop cookies, to be exact.  Or a Target cookie.  But since we (sadly) have no Target, those are out of the question.

Gender: BOY!

Movement:  He has officially woken my child up from kicking/punching her while she slept in my arms.  Amelia was asleep on my chest and tummy today and apparently he did not appreciate the sister taking up his space.  So he kicked and jabbed and punched until she finally woke up.  Already!

Belly button: Flat. Stretched. 

What I'm loving:  Um, still getting a decent night’s rest?  Ha.  Knowing what lies ahead makes me appreciate even somewhat horrible sleep.

What I miss: Breathing easily.  Walking without a waddle.  My bladder holding more than an ounce.   

What's different this time:  I don’t remember last time.  Ha!  I think I’m bigger, but the general hugeness seems to be leveling out with the other 2 pregnancies now.  I’ve heard that you get bigger faster, but in the end you don’t really end up any bigger than before.  Not sure if that’s true or not.  We shall see! 

I’m exhausted.  All the time.  I’m so, so, so, so, so tired.  Did I mention that I’m tired?

I’m also getting kind of anxious.  I don’t know why.  I think I’m just nervous about him coming early unexpectedly so it’s making me anxious about the entire labor & delivery thing.  Not scared or nervous, but just anxious.  I think about it a lot all of a sudden.  I reply Caroline & Amelia’s births in my head several times a day.  Hope this one is more like Caroline’s birth…HA!  Hers was a piece of cake!

I totally flaked and forgot to take a picture tonight.  I’m actually about to go get in the bed – so maybe tomorrow?  We’ll see.  Just imagine me looking rather large.  That’s pretty much it. 

To Do List

This is my before Walker gets here to do list: 

(I realize that you are completely uninterested in this, but lists help me and I’ll never look at it again if I just make a word document or write down on paper.) 

• Find paint for nursery
• Get bookcase for girl’s room
• Finish cleaning out nursery and closet
• Wash Walker’s clothes and organize by size
• Order crib bedding
• Order swing from Amazon
• Put double stroller together (*shoutout to my amazing parents!  Thank y’all so much!*)
• Pack hospital bag
• Make hospital bag list
• Order fabric for Walker’s curtains
• Pre-register at hospital & work out new insurance stuff
• Shampoo carpets and living room rug – this is urgent. Ha!
• Order Angelcare monitor – going for peace of mind this time.
• Get pelvic girdle belt
• Pray pelvic girdle belt helps
• Clean all breastpump stuff
• Make Walker’s curtains
• Make girl’s “Big Sister” shirts (Have made 1!)
• Make Walker some shirts/onesies/gowns
• Get girls a (small) “present” from Walker
• Find Walker’s coming home outfit
• Plan Caroline’s birthday party (having it in late June/early July – we’re only doing a family party again this year.)
• Have Caroline’s birthday party
• Make Caroline’s 3 year video

I’ll be 27 weeks tomorrow!  That’s 8 weeks/60 days/1440 hours from when I had Amelia at 35 weeks.  I feel the need to be totally ready by that point (or before, if possible) because her crazy whirlwind birth has me paranoid for this one.

This has really snuck up on me because I just always feel like I have plenty of time to get all of this done.  Maybe I can actually get something done this week!

Pictures!

26w2d

Excuse how homely and generally yuck I look.  It was taken at 10pm and we had just come back from town and put the girls to bed…long day! HA! 

Just because I can’t resist, look at this adorable face…

She’s the most social of all seven puppies.  She ADORES Caroline (or really anyone who will give her some lovin’) and I couldn’t help but snap some pictures of her.  And seriously, look at that tongue! HA!

Amelia said she didn’t need her picture taken. 

26 Weeks

How far along: 26 weeks!

How big is baby:  The size of a head of lettuce!   

Weight gain/loss: Haven’t weighed in several days.  I have no desire to.  Even my curiosity can’t make me do it after that trip to Texas de Brazil.  I ate SO. MUCH. FOOD.

Stretch marks: Same as before.

Maternity clothes: Without a doubt. 

Sleep: Not bad, but not great.  My pelvis is KILLING me lately.  It makes simple things like rolling over, getting in/out of bed incredibly painful.  

Food cravings or aversions: Lots of cookies.  Lots and lots of cookies.  *sigh* 

Gender: BOY!

Movement:  This kid is a mover!  He moves all the time.  I don’t think he ever really sleeps.  Either that or he just jabs and kicks in his sleep – which would make sense…that’s exactly how his oldest sister sleeps.  I felt my first rib kick the other day.  I also felt hiccups for the first time yesterday!  

Belly button: Flat. Gross.

What I'm loving:  Feeling a foot slide across my belly is a really cool feeling.  It’s so strange to think that’s actually my baby in there!

What I miss: Walking without pain and bending over normally. 

What's different this time:  My pelvic pain.  It was painful with Caroline and even more painful with Amelia.  But it is out-of-this-world painful with Walker.  I found one of the most painful things to do is to walk up an incline.  I’ve always read about being careful when walking up stairs when you have this pain, but no one ever mentioned a steep incline.  When we went to Texas de Brazil, we walked through the Peabody Hotel and went up a super long inclined hallway.  I honestly considered having someone go get me a wheelchair.  Instead, I just took really, really small steps and held up the entire group because I was so slow.  Rolling over in bed, putting pants on while standing up, walking for very long at all, and lifting anything remotely heavy is awful.  I keep wanting to say excruciating, but I guess it really isn’t excruciating…but it’s not just ‘painful’ either. 

I finally got on the ball this week with preparing.  I made a list of things to take to the hospital, ordered Caroline’s twin size bedding for her AWESOME bunk beds, ordered Walker’s bedding, and Judd & Uncle Austin put Caroline’s bed together! 

*Shoutout to Uncle Austin for being super cool.*

It really is a cool bed.  It makes me want to be little again so I can play in it.  When I get her room situated, I’ll post a pic and do the reveal of the bed and everything else.  She and Amelia will be sharing a room soon – anxiety.  Ha!  I really enjoy Amelia being confined in a crib and she has never once tried to climb out, so I’m considering keeping her in a crib for a while longer.  If I do, I’ll borrow my mom’s crib from her house and put it in Caroline’s room.  That way I can still set up Walker’s room. 

Well, I’m going to attempt to maybe go soak in the bathtub and see if it makes my pelvis feel a little better. 

No picture tonight – so sorry.  I really will take one tomorrow, even if it’s just in my bathroom mirror.  Ha!

25 Weeks!

Yay!  We reached Viability Week!  If Walker were born this week, he would most likely, with a lot of medical intervention, survive.  I’m breathing a small sigh of relief.  However, let’s hope he keeps baking for at LEAST 12 more weeks! 

How far along: 25 weeks!

How big is baby:  The size of a cauliflower?  That’s an odd one. 

Weight gain/loss: +15lbs.  Definitely made up for the lack of gain last week.  Those trips home complete with steak, Target cookies, and lots of fast food really do me in.

Stretch marks: Same as before.

Maternity clothes: Without a doubt. 

Sleep: The only bad part is my pelvis.  It really hurts to roll over.  I hate this dumb pelvic pain. 

Food cravings or aversions: Craving cookies.  Craving Mexican.  Craving ice cream.  Just general things that are not great for you. 

Gender: BOY!

Movement:  Very much!  I can feel him moving up into my lungs, too. When I sit down, I have to lean back and take deep breaths because I feel like I’m not getting enough air! 

Belly button: Flat. Gross.

What I'm loving:  Reaching viability week!  Making progress (in my mind) on what I’m going to do with his nursery.  Passing my glucose tolerance test today.  Yay!  Just for the record, I prefer the orange flavor drink.  I’ve had both but couldn’t remember which one was worse.  Definitely the fruit punch.  Yuck.  (Also, note to self:  Next time, schedule your appointment for the afternoon…not the morning.)

What I miss: Not waddling.  I’m not even really waddling because I’m that big, but more because my pelvis hurts when I walk and for some reason, adding a little waddle doesn’t hurt as badly. 

What's different this time:  My WEIGHT GAIN!  I have been packin’ on the pounds the last several weeks.  If I keep this up I’ll gain a lot more weight than I really want to by the end. 

I can’t believe that this trimester is almost over.  In some ways I’m glad, but in other ways, I’m on edge.  I feel a lot of worry starting to creep up about having him too early due to Amelia’s early entrance into the world.  I know worrying won’t do any good, but it’s in my blood I guess.  I have braxton hicks contractions some, but not a ton…maybe even less than last time.  I usually don’t worry about them and just try to drink some (more) water and put my feet up for a few minutes.  It’s hard to sit without getting up though when 2 little girls constantly need something. 

I REALLY want to carry him to full term!  I would actually love to reach 40 weeks with him.  (Remind me that I said this when I complain nonstop because I’ve had to carry him for 40 weeks…ha!)  Regardless, we’re going to keep a close eye on everything and pray for the best! 

I’m sorry I don’t have a picture.  I could get up and take one right now, but both my kids just went to bed and I’m exhausted.  I’m already on the couch, feet propped up, cookie in hand – and I have no intention of getting up to take a picture.    Maybe I’ll post one tomorrow.  Have a fantastic night! 

Nursery Progress (or lack thereof)

Well, there’s really no progress to speak of except my ideas. 

I’m in love with this picture.

I absolutely adore the bold, bright colors.  As I scoured Etsy for the thousandth time, I found several people who make handmade crib bedding using these exact fabrics!  I’m not sure what color I would paint the walls in Walker’s room since it only has 2 very small windows.  I’m afraid a grey this dark would make the room really dark and I’m going for bright!  But maybe a lighter shade of grey?  Obviously, Judd would shoot me before he’d allow me to paint the ceiling, so I’m going to have to settle for the cute bedding and bright accessories.  Anyway, I’m considering copying this nursery since I’m too uncreative to come up with my own unique idea.  My sister really got all of the artsy fartsy genes in our family.  I try, but I’m usually just copying something I found on Pinterest or somewhere else on the world wide web. 

I will attempt to make the window panels myself since you can actually do that with stitch witchery and I wouldn’t ever even have to thread my sewing machine…which is great since I probably wouldn’t be able to find it under all the junk on my desk. 

We have carpet in his room so I’m unsure about the rug.  How do y’all feel about rugs over carpet?  I used to feel like people would think I was hiding a big stain or something under the rug but I’m starting to come around to it under the right circumstances. 

Okay, so what do you think?  I asked a few questions in this post but I’m too lazy and it’s too late (it’s midnight!) to go back and find them all so go read over this post again and make note of the questions/suggestions.  I’ll post my 25 week post later!  My gestational diabetes test is at 9:30am (in just a few hours!) so I should be feeling nice and sickly all day.  Wish me luck!

24 Weeks!

How far along: 24 weeks!

How big is baby:  The size of a grapefruit!  On a different ‘size’ note, my uterus is now about the size of a soccer ball!  That’s cool!

Weight gain/loss: +11-12lbs.  The same as last week.  Thankfully.

Stretch marks: Same as before.

Maternity clothes: Considering moving into my larges on some of them! AH!

Sleep: Not bad.  Waking up to move the pillows stuffed around my body stinks, but other than that, it’s pretty good!

Food cravings or aversions: Just food.  I’ve craved a lot of soft serve ice cream this week.  But really, I just love food.  Mexican food is also delicious!

Gender: BOY!

Movement:  Lots!  Some are painful, others are just downright cool.  I love to watch my belly move from the outside. 

Belly button: Flat. Gross.

What I'm loving:  Just carrying my baby?  Ha.  I’m really not ‘loving’ or ‘hating’ anything right now.  Just kinda…goin’ through the motions.

What I miss: Not having pelvic pain when walking, rolling over, putting on clothes, or doing anything that requires my lower half to move.

What's different this time:  My pelvic pain is getting kinda uncomfortable to be only 24 weeks.  But other than that, I guess it’s all just the same ole’ same ole. 

Not much interesting to say this week.  This week flew by and I can’t believe in 3 weeks I’ll be going into my 3rd trimester.  It really blows my mind!  Actually, this whole pregnancy has flown by so far.  I bet it starts dragging a little bit towards the end though. 

This is me…in all my glory.