33 weeks

30 weeks

So apparently I haven't done a baby update in awhile. Hello third trimester. If this baby arrives when Ezra did we have 5 weeks. Say what?!? I'm not really sure where the time went but I think I blinked and a month passed. I'm starting to feel the urgency to get things done. "Nesting" if you will. I'm on to every two week appointments until 36 weeks where I'll go weekly. Up until two weeks ago they let me do every 3-4 since I'm an old pro. 

At my last my appointment my midwife asked me, "How are you feeling?"

Me: "I feel really good. Although I  do either feel starving or nauseous,  have insomnia and can't get to sleep for a couple hours, hip pain, and serious pressure when walking. But, other than that I'm fine."

Midwife: "So you have every end of pregnancy symptom."

Me: "Hmmm… guess so?"

Let's be serious. I feel as pregnant as I look. Bending over is a joke at this point, and I'm not sure how you can have pelvic pressure and also be out of breath. Is this baby that big? But, I'm trying to soak up these last weeks of pregnancy. The midwife told me to prepare for a 38 week arrival. Or if the baby is going to surprise us, months. I don't see that happening though. If this baby will stay in long enough for me to get up a Christmas tree I will be grateful. 

32 weeks with baby 3

Ezra is starting to acknowledge the baby a lot now. He hasn't really cared up until this point. He is now saying hi to the baby and kissing my belly. Emerson asks me everyday if it's time for the baby to come out and has no shortage of name ideas.

31 weeks with Emerson
Here are some comparison shots. I was so tiny with Emerson!


30 weeks with Ezra

Little fuller the second time around.  Hopefully I'll get on it after this week and feel fully prepared for this baby's arrival!

25-27 weeks

I'll be officially 28 weeks on Thursday. So this picture might be a little out of date. According to all my pregnancy email updates the baby is about 2lbs and the size of a cauliflower. This baby actually measures on time, the first of all my tiny babes. I have felt pretty good other than being wore out by walking up the stairs and carrying kiddos. This baby seems to be pretty mellow and seems to hang out on the right side of my belly. Apparently the third time around there is plenty of room for the baby to choose a side. Emerson is becoming increasingly excited about the new arrival and keeps asking if it's time for the baby to come out. She's also convinced she is the one caring for the baby and it will sleep in her room. This could pose a problem later. I have done absolutely nothing to prepare for the baby's arrival but I'm starting to get the itch to get things in gear. I think November may be a mad rush to get things organized.

20-22 weeks

20 weeks

22 weeks

Here is an update on baby number 3. We have passed the halfway point and the baby has gone through a recent growth spurt. Clothes that were too big in the middle of July fit now and things that fit in July are now too small. I've started my starvation phase where I'm famished right before bedtime. So I have to eat a bowl of cereal or ice cream to hold me over until morning. Pretty much all food sounds good to me right now but recently banana pudding has a been a craving, as well as Utz ripple chips. I have been feeling pretty good but starting to feel the heaviness of my belly. Bending over isn't that easy anymore, or getting up off the floor. So picking up toys all day is no easy task! I've had occasional hip pain but still have had an easy pregnancy so far. Three weeks ago we had an ultrasound and the baby looked great. We decided to keep the gender a surprise this time around so we had to turn our heads a couple times. I kinda feel like it's a girl but I would say my intuition is not very good. Even though we have a boy and a girl I have zero newborn warm clothes. So the plan is to pick up a few warm sleepers in tiny sizes in a neutral color. Then I'll have a headband handy in case it's a girl. Emerson thinks she is having a sister so I let her get the baby a girly sleeper on consignment. She was excited I didn't have the heart to tell her no. Movement has finally picked up I can feel the baby a few times a day. Nothing as active as Emerson. But, I'm not sure that it's possible for another baby to be as energetic as her. I'm looking forward to the coming weeks where I can feel strong kicks. I'll also have to be on the lookout for maternity clothes as it seems the growth is not slowing down anytime soon. 

38 Weeks

Sorry for the lack of updates lately but Emerson has napped twice in the last two weeks. This being one of those days I can do a blog post. Weeks have flown by and I'm full term with 2 weeks to go. I've packed my bag and folded all his clothes. So for the most part we are ready. Mark and I have scheduled to do a full scale cleaning this weekend. Hopefully Baby can hold off a few days so I can finish up the edits for my last two photo sessions. I've literally edited over a 100 pictures this week, working feverishly in case we had an early birthday. Although I don't have any reason to think he'll make his appearance soon. He is lower but no signs other than that. I'm pretty convinced I'll go past my due date. I'm feeling very pregnant, and more uncomfortable than with E. But, of course I'm much bigger. I'm much more active too, chasing a toddler whereas with E. I was on bedrest at this point laying on the couch everyday watching movies. :) I'm trying to enjoy the last weeks of pregnancy, prepare for the little guy that is about to arrive, and prepare to be a family of four.

Maternity Shoot

A little over a month ago Mark took my maternity pictures. I think I was around 30 weeks so I'm much bigger now! But, I wanted to get them done before I got too big. 

We headed down to take a few at the farmers market in Durham.

I was so excited to get my sweater dress for about $6 at Old Navy on clearance. Maybe even less since my preggo brain is failing me. I love a good deal and it was $35.00 regularly. 

This is one of my favorites. I think I'll get this one framed for the house one day. I love the turquoise colors of the bench.

I've always envisioned having maternity pictures with Emerson kissing my belly and so happy. Well, she wasn't having it. Ha! Her attention span was just not there. 

Here I am coaxing her to touch the baby.

And this is real life. Her running away from me. 

Last but not least a vintage version. Thanks Mark for being my photog!

34 weeks

This picture is 33ish weeks but at this point you are just big so it can count for 34. :)  I'm feeling rather  large and everything feels very stretched. According to the internet baby is about the size of a cantaloupe. He's stretching out a lot in there and loves to stick his feet out. So I'm always feeling pointy little heels and if I push them he pulls them back in. He also likes to stick his behind out making for an interesting looking belly. I can't believe we could possibly meet him in 3 weeks. That's when I'm full-term. Crazy! I guess I should probably have some things organized but sadly I do not yet. Although I've been working on Emerson's Easter basket just in case I'm not in the position to make it for her. I've had some slight insomnia as it takes forever for me to get to sleep and if I ever wake up Little Guy is up as well. That might also be because he seems to have hiccups every night. I remember it maybe once or twice with Emerson but he has them all the time! I believe he has dropped some as my shirts seem to fit even less than before and on our short walk yesterday I thought for sure he just might fall out! I haven't had any specific cravings lately except I'm just starving. Although I'm looking forward to trying the Chic-Fil-A banana pudding milkshake sometime very soon. Sounds like a pregnant woman's dream.

32 Weeks

 

Wow, only 8 more weeks to go! I'm sure this next month will fly by and before you know it I'll be full term. How am I feeling? Well, pregnant. Very pregnant to be exact. I don't remember feeling like this last time, especially this early. My belly feels super heavy and I'm waddling all over the place. Muscles are pulling and stretching and I'm really not sure how there is room for 8 more weeks! After a week of being sideways, which is not comfy at all the by way, baby boy is finally head down. He is not as active as Emerson was but he likes to turn around and stick his behind out instead of kick a lot. Which makes my belly look very strange and lopsided. As you can kinda tell by the picture my maternity shirts are starting to not cover my belly. Who knows what will fit by April. I'm gaining weight pretty steadily now instead of the huge jumps I had before. I'll probably end up with the same gain as last time with E.  This week I've been craving cuban style grilled cheese, chicken nuggets with bbq sauce, and bbq sandwiches with coleslaw. Every week I have a harder and harder time chasing a toddler. Seems like everytime I have to speed up I get a braxton hicks and I have lots of pressure this time. But, I'm sure it's very comical to others to see someone with a big belly running down a two year old. She can usually outrun me easily. Hopefully in the next few weeks we can start to get things organized. Here is a sneak peak of the little guy we had done today. 

 Pretty cute if I do say so myself!

30 weeks

I'm trying to keep up with belly pictures now since we are in the home stretch. I do look a little rough in this picture but this is what happens when you run and back forth with a self timer 10 times trying to get a good shot while preventing a toddler from toppling your camera. One thing is for sure I desperately need a hair-cut/color make-over. Nothing like looking at pictures of yourself to get you to feel weird. Ha!  At least I have some new maternity jeans that fit great! For now at least. Back to baby facts. Not a lot new to report. No new cravings, just being hungry. Baby is still head up and flipping around so hopefully he will settle into the head down position in the next few weeks. According to my handy iphone app he is about the size of a head of cauliflower. Roughly 3lbs. But, with our kids we can assume a little less. Mark and I have resumed our hypnobabies childbirth studies. Just in the nick of time since it's a 6 week lesson series and then you want to leave some weeks for practice. I've washed most of Baby B's clothes and folded them. But, alas they are in the laundry basket since they have nowhere to go.  I'm working on him a crocheted blanket that is a lovely shade of aqua.  Oh and if you are keeping notes he could be here in 8 weeks if he comes when Emerson did. 

29.5 weeks with Emerson

Just for comparison this is Emerson's belly pic. Happy Thursday!

28 weeks

 So it's been a long time since my last pregnancy update. I'm 28 weeks today and officially in the third trimester. I didn't mean to change up my pictures with cutting off my head but I couldn't get the tripod back far enough and I didn't feel like switching out lenses. So there you go! I didn't look so great anyways. But, Emerson forgot to tell me my shirt was messed up in the back. Haha! Baby B. is about 14 inches long. He can now blink his eyes which we saw in the last ultrasound. I'm starting to feel just plain old heavy, along with some hip pain. Kind of feel like an 80 year old woman. Or what I can imagine it feels like to be 80. But, no back pain since I'm not behind a desk all day. So there is a silver lining! My skin is starting to feel like it might pop open and I'm completely bewildered how women carry 10lb children around. The most difficult thing has been picking up Emerson and how the weight pulls on my belly. Ouch! I've had a ridiculous craving for chocolate cupcakes this week. I can even taste them. I walked by some at Wal-Mart four times the other day before deciding I didn't need 6 cupcakes. Hello crazy.  Maybe I will get my hands on one this weekend. I'm on the every two week appointment and they are watching Baby B. closely to make sure he is growing well. I'm starting to get very anxious for his arrival. It's very different than with Emerson where I think I was in many ways scared of the unknown and wanted her to stay in as long as possible. Not that I wasn't excited but just nervous. Now newborns are no mystery and I'm really excited to meet this little guy. So 3 months seems like forever away! We got Baby B. tons of clothes at the consignment sale so I'm feeling much more prepared. He won't have to wear pink after all. Emerson was exposed to a newborn last weekend and did rather well. She didn't mind me holding the baby and wasn't really pushy at all. So fingers crossed she welcomes her brother with open arms. So this post isn't Baby B. heavy here is a picture of Emerson I ran across from November of 2009. Doesn't even look like her! Look at that buzz cut. I remember at this age, 7 months, she was pulling up and starting to cruise and I thought she was into everything. Ha! Now I know this was the easy age. :)

Emerson 7 months

24 weeks

I'm 24 weeks today but this is a 23 week picture. I thought I would use Christmas Eve when I actually dressed up a bit. I'm starting to feel rather pregnant. Waddling, hip pain, all the fun stuff. I'm measuring right on time which is very exciting for me. I never measured the week of pregnancy I was in with Emerson. I was usually two weeks behind. So little boy is growing! I feel like I haven't any planning for this little guy. Well it's not only that I feel like I haven't, I flat out haven't. I'm going to try to start collecting clothes in the next couple months and organize a few things. He did get a quite a few cute pieces of clothing for Christmas though. I'll have to adjust to get use to the blue! Since he won't have an official room in the near future I don't have to worry about nursery decor. Although I have some custom bedding in mind using Alexander Henry fabric. Four months to go! Seems like a long time but I'm looking forward to it.

21 weeks and 21 months

Sorry for the lack of updating. You know how it is with the holidays. Time just flies by. I'm starting to feel a lot better and I'm hoping it sticks. So I might have a  nice window of normalcy before I start to become uncomfortable. So far just some round ligament pains and feeling huge.  Below is a 21 weeks picture with Emerson for comparison. The only thing I really have been craving is Bojangles. Of course oh so healthy fried chicken would be my craving. I have an appointment next week so we'll see where my weight gain stands. Emerson also turned 21 months! I have to admit I forgot but I guess at this point we can just say she is almost two.

She has been quite a character lately and definitely shows me she is a full fledged toddler. Ha! She is definitely strong willed and voices her opinion. But, of course she now says please which means she can have anything she wants, right? Well at least in her mind. She still absolutely loves books. She is also is a girly girl wearing necklaces, and carrying around a purse and shows preference to different outfits. Emerson hasn't began eating vegetables yet which I had my fingers crossed would happen  before Christmas. But, she does eat tons of fruits. One of the biggest developments is napping and sleeping through the night! I have to admit I was really worried when I got pregnant that she would never sleep well. But, after a strong effort on the nap front we finally got into a routine and she naps 2-3 hours a day! As soon as that happened she began to sleep through the night most of the time. Of course sometimes we have an off day but I'm so thankful for the improvement. Both of us needed the rest and it's much appreciated. She wakes up happy and ready to enjoy the rest of the day and is cheerful when she wakes up in the am. Thank you God! She of course is saying new words every week and can repeat almost anything. Her new thing is saying my name. Not my favorite development but what are you gonna to do? 

In weekly updates yesterday we celebrated Mark's 30th birthday! Happy Birthday Mark! I made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from scratch. I think Emerson is going to give him a run for his money to eat them all.

18 weeks

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 18 Weeks

Size of baby: Size of a bell pepper

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 11 lbs

Maternity Clothes: My regular pants finally gave out. I have some great friends who were kind enough to loan me some maternity clothes. Now I'm loving the comfort!

Gender: ???

Movement: I'm feeling the baby move every

Sleep: Sleeping pretty good when Emerson sleeps well.

What I miss: 

Cravings: Bojangles

Symptoms: Some tiredness, nausea, and indigestion

Best Moment this week: Finding out the sex tomorrow!

16 weeks

Here is my poor attempt at a 16 week belly picture. It's pretty tough to get a self portrait without a tripod, in poor lighting, and in a tight space. So this is as good as it gets. I've not been feeling too great this week with a few days straight of killer reflux, indigestion, and heartburn. But, knock on wood I've felt better the last couple of days so hopefully it will stick. I've been feeling the baby move a lot more this week. Little flutters here and there. The baby is about the size of an avocado and will double it's weight in the next few weeks. So I'll will probably have to get on buying some maternity pants. 

 For point of reference here is me at 16 weeks with Emerson.

 And one last picture.

15 weeks

Since I'm feeling too lazy for a full out post I'll do a little survey. But, I must say I worked really hard to get this self portrait belly pic. Setting the camera on a picnic table and running trying to get my body in frame wasn't easy. I hope you appreciate the pretty background.

How Far Along: 15 Weeks

Size of baby: About 4 inches and weighs around 2.5 ounces. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Gained 7 lbs. Thanks State Fair!

Maternity Clothes: Just bought some maternity cords and I can't wait to get them in the mail. My regular clothes with the bella band are on their last leg. I've been loving my maternity jean skirt I got for $6 on clearance and my maternity layering tees. Super comfy!

Gender: Find out in November!

Movement: I don't think I'm feeling anything yet but I probably don't stay still long enough with a toddler to notice.

Sleep: Been a little restless at night. But, sleeping much better when Emerson sleeps all night!

What I miss: I miss turkey sandwiches and apparently only really want them when I'm pregnant. I could also kill some over easy eggs.

Cravings: Not really having many cravings. Got some Bojangles fries today and they were fantastic.

Symptons: Fatigue, indigestion, heartburn, and nausea.

Best Moment this week: Actually feeling like I look pregnant and not like I have a beer gut and scheduling our ultrasound. 

By the way Emerson turned 20 months the same day I started my 15th week! Be on the look out for new pics.

14 weeks

 Back to the weekly updates! Last week I had a nasty stomach flu so I was nowhere near capable of taking pictures let alone blogging about it. I'm starting feel pretty normal now. Still get tired mid-afternoon but I'm hanging in there. Yesterday I made Emerson take a nap with me at 4 o'clock and it was just what I needed! She is much more willing to sleep when I sleep as well. I haven't really had any significant cravings. I blame persistent indigestion and heartburn for taking the fun out of food. Although I gave into some fried pickles at the state fair last weekend but to be honest I would eat those as my non-pregnant self. Not sure of my weight gain so fair. My appointment for last week was rescheduled for this week. I like infected the whole office when I was there getting my iv. :( Seriously.

 Emerson decided to make an appearance. She isn't use to the camera not being pointed at her. Of course when I'm not trying to take her picture she has perfect eye contact. As you can see I'm sporting the bella band. I can't button any of my pants and I'm sporting some maternity tees I got on clearance for $2 at target. I've thought I've felt a few flutters but nothing too definite. But, it shouldn't be too long. I started feeling flutters at 16 weeks with E.

 Now to leave you with some cuteness. 

Pulling a book out that we read no less than 20 times today. 

Baby Bump

So I figured I would post some baby bump pictures before I forgot. Just an fyi I actually weigh less than I did pre-pregnancy with Emerson. But, of course all my muscles are stretched out from ahem....Emerson, and things are showing a lot sooner than last time. I still weigh less than my pre-pregnancy weight with Emerson but I'm already popping out of my clothes. Not really sure how that works out, but I've started wearing quite a bit maternity shirts and making a last attempt to wear my regular pants this week. I didn't wear maternity pants with E. until about 24 weeks. Not sure if that was because I didn't need to or because I was stubborn. :)

So here is my first picture. 7 weeks...seriously!

 Self portrait at 10 weeks, bloating subsiding a bit.

11.5 weeks. If you don't see a difference you might need your eyes checked.

For a point of reference here is Emerson in the oven at 7 weeks..

and 12 weeks. I'm pretty sure I'm already bigger now than I was at 16 weeks with her. Overall I'm starting to move into the feeling good stage of pregnancy. So far this has been quite different than with Emerson. With her I had a terrible couple weeks of morning sickness where I could only graze on food but felt better by week 9. This go around I've had killer heartburn/indigestion starting around the time I had terrible morning sickness with E. But, I've also had the nausea but it's been spread out and last longer. The worst week so far was week 10 and I even had some moments of nausea a couple days ago. It's really crazy how different it has been so I have no idea what to expect. I went in for a heartbeat check last week and was ecstatic to hear the heartbeat at just 11 weeks. 180bpm! I'll get a chance to hear it next week at my monthly check-up. We should find out the sex sometime in mid November and I can't wait! I'm not making any prediction as I was completely wrong last time. Which could mean I should just pick the opposite of my instinct. But, hopefully blogging will help me to stay on top of belly pics and keeping track of this pregnancy. Oh! My due date is April 20th. Spring baby. :)

Happy BFP Day!

A year ago today I found out I was pregnant with Little Emerson. It only took 3 pregnancy tests and somehow I was convinced they probably weren't that accurate. That was until I called the Dr. to ask for a test. Here is how it went. "Hi, I think I'm pregnant. Can I come in for a test?" Dr. office, "Did you take a home test?" Me, "Ummm, yeah. About 3." Dr. office, " Well, they are pretty accurate. Congratulations!" So word to the wise. If you have a positive pregnancy test there is a 95% chance you are pregnant. Especially if it is a digital test that spell it out for you. :)

This was my first baby bump "bloat" photo probably around 5 weeks. I remember feeling completely huge. Don't you just want to smack this girl? Ha. I do.

This is when I felt like I was starting to show to everyone else. Around 16 weeks. By then my bump was hard not just a bunch of squish.

Then by 20 weeks I looked like I had smuggled a basketball. Darn small torso. Believe it or not this was around the time I was most uncomfortable with hip, and round ligament pain.

By the beginning of my third trimester I was feeling heavy. This was around 28-29 weeks. This is my SIL I guess at about 19 weeks pregnant. One way to make a pregnant woman fell huge is put her beside someone who isn't as far along as she is. Haha.

By 34 weeks I was feeling pretty good thanks to regular chiropractor appointments. Unless I walked up a hill or stairs and I felt like my baby might fall out. Ha. We took my maternity pictures in a hurry because Emerson had already dropped and we were told she would be early. Little did we know that meant eviction. I miss that belly. It was a good armrest.

This is my last "official" belly shot. We took a few while waiting at the hospital. This is the night we drove to the hospital. I cried the whole way there. Very emotional night full of fear,

and uncertainty.

But, this little face made it all worth it. This past year has been a roller coaster full of change, and emotions. But, I'm so glad things have turned out the way they did. Emerson is just proof that God truly has a plan for us.