32 Weeks

I'm a bit late with this one...I'm actually 32 weeks and an extra 3 days but better late than never! We are officially in the single digits for weeks left. What?! That's crazy to me and it just feels more and more like he'll be with us before we know it. 

If you're wondering why it looks like he's blowing bubbles, that is actually his umbilical cord. But gosh do I love this little profile!! 

This week baby boy is the size of  a cantaloupe, which based on my belly feels about right. At our most recents doctor's appointments he has been doing great! Everything looks on track and he's pretty much in the middle-ish percentile wise. We'll check on his growth again next week but he continues to be a healthy boy and we're thrilled. 

Symptoms: I'm not sure what else I can say about acid reflux. It is the absolute worst and every time I think I have it under control, it flares back up. But we trek on, try all the approved OTC options, pop a Tums when needed and watch what I eat. One of the biggest culprits seems to be sugar and I can't tell you how upsetting that is because I love all the sweets. After cutting it out altogether for about a week to test this theory, which turned out sadly to be true, I've really been keeping it limited to give myself some relief. Besides the reflux my main other symptom is tossing and turning all night long. I just don't seem to be able to stay asleep for the long haul at this point. I'm so fortunate to be home during the day right now and be able to nap as needed. 

Bonus Story for the Month: What is the deal with the oversized style of clothes these days? I bought the shirt I'm wearing in this picture from the regular aisles. I repeat it is NOT maternity. AND it is in my regular, pre-pregnancy size. And somehow it fits a 32 week pregnant belly with room to grow! I can't imagine how it would fit someone who wasn't pregnant. 

Favorite Moment of Weeks 29-32: We have a dresser in the nursery now AND a rocker so things are really coming together. I've finally been able to organize some of the piles of baby things we have and there is nothing sweeter than sitting in that chair imagining rocking a little baby boy. We also had some of the best friends in town just this past weekend which while not directly baby related was definitely a highlight of the last few weeks! We took not a single picture of the 4 of us but I swear they were here. 

What I'm Looking Forward to in Week 33-36: We have one more shower, being hosted by my mom, sister and aunt and I'm so looking forward to it! I'll get to see some friends from my South Carolina days plus some family that I haven't seen in a while so it will be a special time I know. My sister is kindly stopping at my house on her way to our parents so she can drive me there (and back) which is just lovely of her. 

Back in the Groove

Things have been a bit chaotic around here so blogging just didn't feel like it was in my realm of possibility. But the weekend gave us some time to regroup and get settled and I'm feeling good on this Monday morning! 

Thursday, two of my aunts and my grandma drove over from Knoxville to take me to lunch! What a fun part of living close to family! One of those aunts lives pretty far and was down visiting grandma. Since I don't get a lot of opportunity to see her, she decided a lunch date was in order. It was a lovely start to the weekend!

A few posts back I shared that we had a plumbing situation in our kitchen that we were having repaired. The repair went well but then began the much too long process of dealing with the leftover water damage.  We are so grateful we were able to have it fixed and it wasn't more expansive but nevertheless, we spent a full 7 days with fans and dehumidifiers running in the kitchen and plastic sheets blocking it off. This meant a few things. One- the kitchen wasn't really usable- let's be real, if I can't get to the sink I'm not going to be cooking/using dishes. Two- the noise of those fans was so much louder than I anticipated when they said they'd be placing them in there. But after a week of eating out and spending as much time outside as possible, they were able to take the fans away on Friday.

Here is where I am extra thankful for having a super handy husband that knows how to do all the things. He was able to get started right away putting up new drywall on the area we'd cut, getting it sanded down, repainted and then rehanging the kitchen cabinet. Now that did not all happen Friday, but I'm just so glad we didn't have to wait around till Monday for someone to come in and do it for us, since he's so capable himself. Saturday, while the drywall was busy drying we ventured out on a double date which was so fun! We got to try somewhere new and my friend and I introduced the hubby's and we all had a blast. 

Sunday morning, hubby finished sanding and painting the drywall and while the paint dried we went out for a delicious lunch that was capped off with this ginormous milkshake. This cute little restaurant by our house has the most impressive milkshake menu. While they do have some straightforward milkshakes- just a milkshake with whipped cream on top- they are known for their more impressive creations that have basically a full sugary meal on top. So we shared the chocolate cheesecake and were not disappointed at all. 

Afterwards we headed home with very full bellies and got the cabinet rehung which meant I could finally clean up the kitchen! Everything that had been in that cabinet and under the sink etc had been spread out over the other counters for the last week and it was making me crazy. Plus with all of the work being done, everything was covered with a layer of drywall dust. It felt so good to clean and put away after a week of mess. 

We also did some baby things over the weekend too! And by we I mostly mean hubby. We installed the carseat bases in both cars. While its still several weeks until we'll be needing them, we both agreed having them in was better than scrambling if baby boy surprises us early. He finished sanding down an old dresser we're repurposing for the nursery and got the first coat of paint on it as well. He also set up the pack n' play which is going to be a sort of downstairs baby hub so we're not trekking up and down to the nursery all the time. 

It's so fun to start to see things settle into place and imagine the baby being here in those spaces in what I'm sure will be no time at all. I'm 30 weeks so we're really on the homestretch to meeting baby boy! I've got a running 3rd trimester to-do list that I made this weekend and I'm ready to start getting things marked off the list!

Am I the only one who puts things on a to-do list that I've already done just so I can give myself a head start with checking things off? I hope your weekend was filled with things that make you happy like a clean kitchen and yummy milkshakes. Happy Monday everyone!

Hey Third Trimester

We had a weekend away that began Thursday so my blog got away from me. I am not usually up and going so much for 4 days in a row so it wore me out, but was definitely worth it! In theory that's our last little getaway before we become a family of three, so it was good to make the most of it. I'll be writing about that trip later this week but for now I am due for a pregnancy update. As of Saturday I am officially 28 weeks which also means I am officially in my 3rd trimester. 

The home stretch people! Meeting our baby boy is on the horizon which is so exciting, and only a bit overwhelming when we think of the still to do items on our list. 

According to my pastry calculations this week baby boy is the size of a "Couronne Bread". I will save you the google and tell you it is a bread that has been shaped to look like a crown. If you're more into fruits and vegetables then baby boy is either a head of romaine lettuce or a coconut (assumably a pretty large one based on the other items). No matter which item you measure him with,  both hubby and I have determined that he is growing quickly and so it my belly! Whew, in the last week I've just started to feel extra large in the belly department. And a bit like a turtle that's stuck on its back when I try and get off the couch.  He was in the 61% at our last appointment and as always was moving all around. I can tell he is going to be a busy little guy. 

Symptoms: This months symptoms are a continuation of the acid reflux, although I seem to be getting that somewhat under control which is a huge blessing. And the general aches and pains of growing a human- some backaches and rib pain.  But again, with the chiropractic care I'm getting the pain has been manageable and for that I am grateful. As I move into the 3rd trimester I'm thinking some of my fatigue may show it's face again but I don't mind having an excuse to nap :) I still love being pregnant and am grateful on a daily basis that things have gone so smoothly for me so far. 

Funny Story of the Month: I don't really have any cravings at the moment, so I'm trading that section of my update for a funny story about the moment I realized my belly was bigger than I thought. As I mentioned we were away for the weekend- we spent a few days on the Bourbon Trail with my parents and my aunt and uncle. I realize that seems an odd place for a pregnant lady to vacation but it was great! I'm not a bourbon drinker anyways so I didn't mind having an excuse not to taste. One morning, the ladies were strolling through the downtown shops while the guys were at a tasting. We went in the cutest home boutique and looked at all of their beautiful things. I noticed there was a very large staircase in the middle and asked if they had a lot more upstairs, I wanted to know if it was worth climbing the staircase before heading up. The kind owner told me that they have a few things up there but not too much but that I was welcome to still climb the stairs if I thought it might help get labor going! What?! No thank you, I'm actually due in June not March so I definitely do not want labor to begin as much as my belly may disagree. I got quite the kick out of that. 

Favorite Moment of Week 25-28: We had our first baby shower which was so fun! We got so many lovely things and got to spend time with lots of our loved ones and it was overall just a glorious weekend celebrating our baby boy. And hitting the 3rd trimester! That feels huge and exciting and like a big milestone for sure. Oh an for those that read about my gestational diabetes test, I am thrilled to announce everything came back fine so it was worth the yucky experience of doing the test. 

What I'm Looking Forward to in Week 29-32: Starting to get things organized and ready for the baby! Our nursery is now full of all kinds of fun baby things and it's time to start nesting, sorting, organizing and getting everything ready for our little man. Hubby is helping me get a dresser set up and then we'll be ready to roll in terms of getting things organized. We obviously don't have everything yet but it will be so fun to make a dent in it and start to feel the reality of his arrival 

A Day at the Doctor

I've mentioned it a time or two on here but pregnancy has treated me very well so far and I've had pretty minimal complaints for the most part. But unfortunately last Thursday I did the 1 hour screening for gestational diabetes and did not pass...bummer. I knew it as soon as I saw my doctor's office phone number pop up on the screen, because my doctor had told me if all was good I would just get a patient portal notification with the results. Failing the 1 hour meant  I would need to complete the 3 hour screen. 

So that's where I spent my morning today and I have some thoughts.  

First of all, fasting. The one hour doesn't require any fasting but the three hour requires that you fast leading up to it. The actual requirement was fasting after midnight for my 8:45 appointment. However, I'm an early eater and I don't eat close to bed due to my reflux so my fast started when I finished dinner around 7pm. Spoiler alert, I did not get to eat lunch until almost 12:30. That's a long time for a pregnant lady not to eat. SO I think they should figure out a solution to this because boy was I feeling pretty hangry when I walked out of that doctors office today. 

The first step in the screening is a fasting blood draw- to get a baseline I suppose. Unfortunately, having had my blood drawn on Thursday, that arm/vein was still bruised and when she tried to use that vein she was unsuccessful. So I got a second stick in a different vein on my other arm- no big deal. Except as it turns out that would be the only vein that would cooperate for all 4 blood draws. I've never had repeated blood draws before but I've decided that veins don't care to be stuck over and over like that and by draw number three I was pretty uncomfortable. 

Now the gluco-crush you drink for this screening is basically hummingbird nectar. I mean honestly, it's probably too sweet for the hummingbirds even. But drinking it on an empty stomach? Not exactly pleasant. Oh and drinking it in only 5 minutes? For my 1 hour I had 15 whole minutes to drink it and even that felt like a lot of sugar in a short amount of time. But 5 minutes? I practically had to chug it. And again, I do not recommend chugging any beverage on an empty stomach particularly one that is practically pure sugar. But we power through. 

Following my drinking sprint, I was taken to the room where I would set up camp for the next few hours. And one of my oh so kind nurses brought me a Zofran for nausea. Because what would be worse than completing this long screening once? Getting sick in the middle of it, being sent home and having to complete it again! The hours passed and at 10, 11 and 12 I returned to the lab for my additional blood draws only to finally be released a little after that to satisfy my growling stomach and await my results. 

I'm always very grateful for modern medicine. I'm grateful there is a way to detect GD and address it if that's what my baby and I need. But I would just like someone to figure out a slightly more pleasant way to do it. Maybe one that involves less needles and  less tummy grumbling? 

This month I'm linking up daily with Two Writing Teachers as part of their Slice of Life Writing Challenge. Thanks for visiting!

Week 24

I'm only 2 days late with this so that feels like a win! I turned 24 weeks this past Saturday and according to my pastry calculations baby boy is now the size of a demi baguette- excellent! If you're more into the fruits and vegetables comparison then he is about the size of an eggplant. Or my husband's personal favorite...I found that my registry tool offers a size comparison and it shared he is the size of a Mr. Potato Head. No matter which way you look at it though, he's definitely growing! 

At our most recent doctor's appointment which was closer to 23 weeks he was measuring in at around the 56% for growth so right nicely in the middle of things and right on track it seems. It's always so good to get to see him moving and grooving on the ultrasound and hear that little heartbeat. My next appointment, I get to look forward to doing my glucose test (she says sarcastically).  But overall I'm feeling good and baby boy is growing like he should so I really can't complain. 

Symptoms: This past month my symptoms have been pretty consistent with what I shared at 20 weeks but just more. So more aches and pains particularly in my hips/back/sciatic. However, I have started seeing a chiropractor- truthfully something I was a bit skeptical about but honestly it has already made such a difference! So I think I'm officially a believer in chiropractic care, especially if it helps me get some more sleep at night. My other main symptom is acid reflux. For any of you who suffer from this when you are not pregnant I cannot tell you how much sympathy I have for you at this moment. It is just the worst. I am considering buying stock in Tums and probably Pepcid as well. I'm hoping adding the pepcid in will help and I'm trying to pay attention to what I eat to cut back on things that aggravate it but as I told my husband, the other day it seemed to be caused by me drinking water sooo we'll see how it goes! 

Truly overall, pregnancy has been wonderful to me and even though there are definitely some less than pleasant parts to it, I really love being pregnant! 

Cravings: I still have a very serious fruit craving and still really love clementines. So you can imagine my disappointment at the news that apparently citrus fruit aggravates reflux. So I will be attempting to cut back on the clementines and satisfy my fruit cravings with less acidic fruit. But honestly I could eat fruit all day. No other super strong cravings or aversions really, still waiting for the desire to put pickles on my ice cream. I've also been really wanting baked goods lately...maybe satisfying my pregnancy sweet tooth, maybe just wanting to wear fun aprons, who knows? But I've made some date energy balls, birthday cupcakes for hubby and  banana muffins all in the last few weeks. 

Also I just have to mention that this apron belonged to my grandma- she sent it to me recently and I love it! I have several hand me down aprons from her and they're some of my favorites. 

Favorite Moment of Weeks 21-24: I'd have to say our babymoon. It was what I was looking forward to most in my last post and it definitely lived up to my expectations. I wrote a post about it here if you want the details but it was just so sweet to have some time away before we welcome baby and the busy hustle and bustle that I know will begin well before he arrives. 

What I'm Looking Forward to in Weeks 25-28: The first thing that comes to mind is we have our first baby shower scheduled during that time. Some kind and thoughtful friends are hosting a couples shower for us coming up and I'm so excited. It means seeing a lot of people I don't get to see very frequently and I'm very excited to celebrate my boy! The other thing I'm looking forward to is starting to get the nursery in order! We received our crib this week and my in-laws will be in town next week and my husband and father in law are going to set it up. I can't wait to start to see things come together.

Halfway There!

We made it to 20 weeks which means we are halfway to meeting our baby BOY!!! That's right, we're having a boy! I mentioned in my hodgepodge post Wednesday that hubby and I had found out the gender on the 20th and I'm excited to share it out loud now! 

Week 20: Baby boy is the size of a Belgian endive- the vegetable sizes are a bit all over the place in my opinion but nevertheless he is growing and we are thrilled! 

As I mentioned in my last update post, I am not good at weekly photos. I said I was going to do better however you'll notice I do not have a week 17, 18 or 19 photo soo I'll keep working on that! But baby boy is popping in week 20 :) 

Symptoms: Pregnancy continues to treat me pretty well! I will say that this past month I have had quite a bit more hip pain and some sciatic pain. So sleeping isn't as easy but luckily I'm not working now so I am able to rest during the day as well. I also have pregnancy induced acid reflux which is no fun but I'm hanging in there! 

Cravings: I eat a lot of clementines. Like I've eaten 4 today so far. I also still tend to crave things like chips, french fries etc. I'm pretty good at controlling myself and not going overboard, but every now and then hubby opens our pantry to find some odd impulse buy that I couldn't resist at the store. Like a bag of just the "rye toast" pieces- the kind that come in chex mix. And while I don't think it's a craving- ice cream has always been a favorite and continues to be one in pregnancy. Mom and I split this delicious milkshake when she visited this past week. 

Favorite Moment of Weeks 17-20: This is a split answer for me. 1. Definitely finding out the gender was such an exciting moment! Hubby and I found out at our anatomy scan- we didn't do anything special or surprising just let the doctor tell us and it was a really special moment. We both had kind of been feeling like it was a boy but there is that moment as our doctor was getting closer to that section of the scan where I was wondering if my intuition had been off. We also had the joy of telling our immediate family that evening. We told them via a family zoom call- where we popped a balloon filled with blue confetti for them to see. Did I record it? No. Did I take a picture of the excessive amount of confetti all over my floor before hubby swept it up? Also no. But I can assure you it was festive and exciting for all involved. My nephews reactions were my favorite- they both had said they thought it would be a girl baby and were a bit disappointed by the blue butt I think they'll be exited once our little man is here! 

My second favorite moment of this month has been feeling my baby boy move! I have been waiting so expectantly for those first few flutters and it has been so fun finally getting to feel him moving all around. He's always been wiggly at every ultrasound so now to feel all that it's really exciting. Hubby has even gotten to feel a couple kicks as well which has been fun. His excitement remains one of the sweetest things to me about this season. 

What I'm Looking forward to in Weeks 21-24: We're taking a "babymoon" if all goes smoothly travel wise so that will be a much needed rest for both of us and we're excited to be able to take one last vacay as a couple before being joined by our newest family member. And I'm excited to be inching my way closer to baby boy being here!

Week 16

I will not be doing weekly pregnancy updates but I am hopeful to do monthly ones! So this is a little update on me for month 4 of pregnancy (i.e. the last 4 weeks of my life). 

Week 16: Baby is the size of a...Dill Pickle! One of my absolute favorite things is checking on my app Saturday mornings when I wake up to see how baby is changing that week. It tells me the fruit/vegetable or my personal favorite the french pastry it is the size of. For those interested, in the pastry side of things it is this delectable looking dessert. 

I usually tell my husband the fruit/vegetable of the week because he is not up on his french pastry terms but my mom and I (both lovers of all things sweet), enjoy knowing the pastry size too. 

I did manage to take a week 16 photo...I try to remember a weekly photo but it is a struggle! However, you're in luck this week!

I think I've definitely "popped" as they say. Although, I have felt that way for quite a few weeks! I have also definitely received some suspicions of twins but my doctor assures me there is just the one. 

Symptoms: Overall pregnancy has been good to me! I was lucky during my first trimester to pretty much skip the whole morning sickness thing. I had about a week or 2 that I felt pretty nauseous and ate an excessive amount of saltine crackers but never to the point that I couldn't function somewhat normally. My main first trimester symptom was excessive tiredness. Now perhaps it was also related to moving during this time but I did a lot of resting, laying on the couch, and napping during those early weeks. Now that I'm into my second trimester (yay!!), I am still feeling pretty good! I have more energy, although I still don't turn my nose up at plenty of rest and an occasional nap. My main symptom so far for this month has been some added aches and pains. 

Cravings: Not really one thing in particular at this point but often find myself craving different things throughout the week. I mostly crave salty things although I did insist on cookie dough ice cream the other day so my sweet tooth isn't totally gone. But I haven't yet experienced any of those strange pregnancy cravings you hear about- there's still time though. 

My mom got me this adorable bowl and I think its the perfect ice cream bowl...I also use it for other things but I imagine whoever made it pictured pregnant women eating ice cream out of it for sure. 

Favorite Moment of Weeks 12-16: My most recent doctors appointment which was just before 14 weeks. I was expecting just a check up and to hear the heartbeat BUT then was pleasantly surprised to discover I would also get to see our little peanut as well. Nothing is as exciting as seeing that baby pop up on the screen! Our baby moves and wiggles a bunch which is so fun to see during an ultrasound since I can't feel it just yet. 

What I'm Looking forward to in Weeks 17-20: I have two things here. Finally feeling the baby move! It should be soon and I can't wait! And then of course...finding out the gender! Hubby and I both were positive we wanted to know the gender so we've been eagerly anticipating the appointment where that would be possible. Speaking of my hubby being excited about this next appointment, I would just like to say that he has been to both of my other appointments as well and I love that he is so excited and wants to be part of all the moments with me. 

We will be sharing the gender news with our family first but then rest assured, it will be part of my next update as well! 

Big News!

If you follow me on social media then you already saw my announcement but hubby and I are expecting a bundle of joy this coming June! 

We are beyond thrilled with the news of our growing family and it has been so fun to share the excitement with our loved ones the last several weeks. We discovered we aren't great secret keepers when it comes to something that is so full of joy. 

I found out the Thursday before my cousin was getting married, just before leaving for a 10 hour drive from PA down to SC for the festivities. And because we had begun our relocation at that point hubby was already down south waiting for me to arrive. Which meant, it was just me when I found out. I was in a bit of disbelief, and cried happy tears and said a prayer of the utmost thankfulness to the Lord for an answered prayers. And then took a selfie so I could show hubby my initial reaction. 

Then I had to somehow keep that secret from him for the 10 hours of driving, where I talked to him on the phone 3 different times. I was so excited to tell him but definitely wanted it to be in person. The interesting thing was, we were staying the night at our close friends' house so we weren't exactly going to have much time just us for this announcement. But I had a plan. Earlier in the year I had found a shirt that I wanted to use to share the news with hubby and I packed that with me. It says "She's eating for two, I'm drinking for three." I knew he would get a kick out of it. So as soon as I arrived, I asked hubby if he would mind carrying my suitcase up to the guest room for me . He said of course and as we walked up the stairs I let him know I had brought something from home I thought he would want. So in our friends' guest room I pulled out the shirt and tossed it to him, giving him a moment to read it and process what it meant. His reaction has obviously been my favorite and it was simply the best finally getting to celebrate that moment together.

Ok this isn't actually right after I told him, its from the next day but I assure you we were riding a joy wave the whole weekend! 

But we decided we wouldn't tell anyone else just yet, we'd give it a week or two since it was so so early. Not to mention, this was my cousin's weekend and I didn't want to spoil it. However, it turns out its much harder to hide this information that one would think. Particularly if the people around you are aware you're working on adding to your family. So when I decline the pre-dinner cocktail, said no to the oysters at dinner and offered to stay sober and drive us home so we wouldn't have to Uber our friends we definitely suspicious. And by suspicious I mean they totally knew but were willing to pretend they didn't. Whew! One night down without spilling the beans (ish).

But then it was wedding weekend, surrounded by me entire immediate family and much of my extended family. When I asked for juice instead of a mimosa while the bridesmaids were getting ready, there was a hubbub of chatter from the other room about what that might mean. And a knowing smile and comment from my aunt. But I stayed strong and said I had nothing to share- it wasn't my day! But my cousin pulled me aside shortly after to tell me she was so excited for me and I knew there was no hiding it then- I do not have a poker face. So we exchanged hugs and excitement and my cousin became the 2nd official person to know about our bundle of joy. 

Well after that, I called hubby and told him we had to tell people- there was no way I couldn't tell my sister and parents. After all sister was also with us getting ready and mom and dad would be there shortly. And of course if we're telling my parents, we're also telling your parents and let's call our friends back and confirm what they already know. So with me in the parking lot of the wedding venue and hubby downtown killing time at Fall for Greenville, we facetimed our families to let them in on the news. Cheering and a few tears all around! 

This is my most recent belly picture. I'll actually be 14 weeks tomorrow so I'll have to take an update. Also, I'm pretty sure that's not all baby and is probably mostly cheetos. 

The bean spilling didn't end there and by the end of the weekend that whole side of the family knew/ But you know what, that's ok- those are our people and I think its good for your people to know all the excitement. 

So here we are...almost 10 weeks later and it's officially our in the world. We've seen our little munchkin and heard the precious heartbeat and spend most evenings talking baby names, or baby gear or baby questions while we relax on the couch. And I'm not sure there's anything else I'd rather do.