24 weeks

How far along:  24 weeks  (2.12.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 16 lbs

Maternity clothes:  yes... just maternity shirts.  maybe i'll break out my maternity skinnies this week.  my belly is definitely growing!

Sleep:  this has been the week of bizarre dreams.  like probably the most bizarre dreams of my entire life have been happening this past week.  and i seem to have multiple weird dreams each night, so honestly, i wake up feeling kind of weird and disoriented because they felt so real despite being so crazy.  but really i can't complain.  i get a lot of sleep and never wake up in the middle.  i've been sleeping from 10-8... give or take.

Best moment this week:  monday.  my doctor appointment and costa vida lunch with honey and warm weather and sweet kids.  it was perfect.

Movement:  it's increasing in frequency and power.  i'm feeling more and more even when i'm standing up.  and when i'm sitting down at night, this babe is always going crazy which is fun.  it hasn't gotten painful (except when she lodges herself low and right in my belly) so it's still just awesome.  i love it.

Food cravings:  i'm doing pretty great with eating i think!  this week, i did better about making meals and about eating at regular times.  i'm also doing better at asking myself questions before i eat.  am i eating because i'm bored or tired or no reason at all?  it's helped.  in weeks before, i would find that i'd just make myself a bowl of something and while i was eating it be all "why am i even eating this?! i'm too full to finish, but i guess i'll try so it doesn't go to waste."  i typically eat cereal for breakfast right when i wake up (in bed) and then make scrambled eggs on toasted french bread for lunch.  sometimes i'll eat again around 4 when the kids are up from nap/quiet time and get a snack.  and then i eat dinner at 6.  i have noticed that this past week, i've had more "i have to have that right now" moments which is fine when i think about chocolate chips because i can get a handfull from the kitchen and be done... less fine when i see a commercial for something on tv for something i'd have to prepare or buy.  so i try to limit my exposure to areas where i might see a food that is unattainable to me.  i'm also noticing that i don't want to eat large amounts of food in one sitting, but i'm getting hungrier more frequently than what i used to.  so when i do get hungry before it's time to eat, i try to just make sure i'm only getting a small amount of food that won't give me a stomach ache if i feel obligated to finish it. 

Symptoms: i still sometimes feel nauseaus at night, especially if i forget to take my sleeping pill and find myself awake at 11pm.  other than that, i really haven't been experiencing any pregnancy symptoms.  i'm just in that sweet spot and it's wonderful!  although i will say that i'm more emotional than normal and i cry much more easily when i'm sad about something... but at least i'm able to recognize that i'm emotionally unstable.  identification and admission is half the issue, right?!

Gender:  my head has been stressing out about what if this baby turns out to be a boy.  i feel like the ultrasound pictures weren't as clear this time as they were with abigail or brady so i wonder if the ultrasound tech was too relaxed and didn't investigate enough to really be sure it's a girl.  irrational?  yes.  but i won't be having any other ultrasounds this pregnancy so there'd be no way to know if there was a mistake until this kid is actually born.  i mean, my cousin got a surprise last march when his baby boy, john, was actually born a girl.  they had boy everything... stroller, carseat, clothes, blankets, you name it.  so, they were in a bit of a shock that day (and let's be honest... for several days to come) and i'm just thinking that if it happened to them, it could happen to anyone.  

What I miss:  nothing.  ; )  i'm loving being pregnant.  

Milestones:  it's a big deal... this is what most doctors consider the age of viability!  
Theme: the week of super weird and crazy dreams like i've never experienced before.
What's different this time around:  with abigail, i remember having a special thing for cupcakes... especially if they were professional ones with big, gorgeous icing on top.  and i was obsessed with fruit.  this time, my wants and cravings are so random and inconsistent.  sometimes i'm obsessed with pringles or licking roasted peanut shells or A1 sauce or whatever, and sometimes i can't even handle teriyaki beef or stuffed pepper leftovers because it tastes too salty for me.  sometimes i just want tons of candy and sugar galore and sometimes i can't handle an entire cupcake.  i'm still loving salads though (with ranch... creamy poppyseed, my usual favorite, is way too sweet for me)... which i'm pretty sure i didn't have with either previous pregnancy!

Extra:  i had my 24 week appointment on monday with dr. walker.  she's great and i really like her still.  the lady at the front desk didn't give me my orange glucose drink before my appointment because i was technically only 23.5 weeks along but dr. walker rang for it during my appointment and had me drink it then so i wouldn't have to come back later in the week to do the blood draw.  she asked if i had any questions (i actually didn't!) and was like "really? no questions at all?!" and all i could do was just shrug my shoulders and tell her everything this pregnancy was going along just like the two before and that i was feeling great and everything was wonderful.  then she told me my blood pressure was great, weight gain great, belly measurement was great, etc. etc. and that she wished everyone could have pregnancies like that.  i went ahead and scheduled my next appointment for the wednesday after we get back from brazil.  i was going to do that monday because i've been doing all of my appointments on monday mornings but i think since we get back the night before, i'll want that morning to go grocery shopping and do laundry and whatever.  and i might be tired from the flying.  anyways... it's on the calendar and only a month away!  pregnancy is going so fast right now... i hope things slow down a bit in the next several months so i can keep enjoying things a while longer!

23 weeks

How far along:  23 weeks  (2.5.14)

Total weight gain/loss: 14.5 lbs... the pounds are packing on fast

Maternity clothes:  yes to maternity shirts, but not anything else.  right now it's just a game to see how long i can go before i turn to maternity g's and jeans.  also hoping i won't be too big to cram my belly into my swimsuits in a few weeks when we go to brazil. 

Sleep:  not bad at all.  i always sleep through the night and have actually been sleeping until my alarm goes off at 8:17 or whatever i've set it to.  i get a lot of sleep and some afternoons i'm fully energetic and some i seriously can barely stand on my feet or keep my eyes opened. 

Best moment this week:  this morning... getting my printer to finally work!  i can do hard things!

Movement:  the kicks and punches have been so much stronger this week!  the other night, i was sitting in bed watching tv with honey and the kicks were strong.  then honey turned off the tv and listened to a conference talk on his phone and holy crap was this baby going absolutely nuts in my belly.  so strong, the thumps were reverberating like banging on a drum.  they were all around my belly button too which was unusual because i normally don't feel movement there (and my doctor and the ultrasound tech have both confirmed that's where my placenta is) so i wonder what the deal is with that.  also, she's still lodging herself down low sometimes (on the right side still, of course) and it's still really really uncomfortable like i have to pause what i'm doing and just not move because it's kind of painful like a contraction.  i seem to be noticing that less and less frequently though so maybe it's decreasing in consistency or maybe i'm just getting more used to the ones that aren't that bad so they don't really register to me.  either way, the movement is in full swing.  i love it.

Food cravings:  i love the idea of eating, but it frequently doesn't hit the spot.  especially meal foods.  i'm still loving sweets though and there have been random things (like the cherry flavored lifesavers they handed out in primary on sunday while i was subbing abigail's class) that tasted really good to me when ordinarily, i wouldn't have cared for them.  i got a salad when we went to texas roadhouse on friday night and ate every bite of it because it was so good.  it was just the regular side salad but it had tomatoes and boiled egg, and ranch and i was loving it.  pregnant eating is just really different than regular eating.  also, i have a greater desire to eat, even if i'm not hungry and even though the food very frequently isn't satisfying.  i think i'm just always on the hunt for that moment when it perfectly hits the spot.  like the lifesavers, and the salad, and the other day when i had a few otter pops from the freezer that i'd found from who knows when, or that handful of chocolate chips, or the pringles from sunday night.  or even the roasted peanuts that they have out at texas roadhouse... i seriously never ever eat them but when we were there on friday, after i finished my meal, i wanted one.  well, specifically, i just wanted to lick the shell.  i could have gone through a whole bucket... just licking the shells... not eating the peanuts.  that's weird pregnancy stuff for me.  it's so not my norm.

Symptoms: nausea at night is bugging the crap out of me.  it's probably been more nights than not and it comes on around 4 o clock.  it's normally not horrible, but has gotten a few times to the point where i've felt like i could very possibly throw up.  it's enough that i still have a barf bag at the bottom of my purse.  several nights i've laid in bed and just had this weird traveling tennis ball through my esophagus/right side of my chest and behind my ribcage sort of feeling.  i googled it to see if it was heartburn because i'm not experienced in heartburn and i know it's common in pregnancy, but everyone said that feels like, surprise surprise... burning.  which this did not.  anyways, so weird.  but also weird that it was normally accompanied by me semi throwing up repeatedly in my mouth.  pregnancy is so glamorous.  several times, i've needed/wanted to sit down... just because.  and once (on monday morning sometime) i almost passed out.  that is seriously such a horrible, horrible feeling.  all of those sensations in my body.  but i made it to my bed actually before things got worse and after five minutes i was feeling fine (although still pretty cautious because it's always a scary feeling to get over).

Gender:  my excitement about this being a girl makes it hard to me to even imagine if this was a boy or that it could have been a boy.  we haven't discussed names anymore, but the more i think about it, the more i'm stuck on the one we'd been considering around thanksgiving.  i'm still not 100% on a middle name though.

What I miss:  not being able to eat whatever i want without gaining weight.  i'm still eating whatever i want but i'm gaining at least two pounds a week and i have mom guilt about the sugar i'm consuming because i'm sharing my body with a child.  i saw a picture of my skinny self (i was 11 weeks along i think) when i was importing honey's pictures from his phone to my computer and i was astonished at my lack of a belly.  i know i had a belly then (it popped at 8 weeks) but it wasn't apparent with what i was wearing and it seemed foreign to me that my belly was ever smaller than what it currently is.  when i'm pregnant, it's just hard for me to fully wrap my head around the "no belly" concept while simultaneously having a hard time believing how huge my belly really is.  i seriously pull up my shirt to look at my belly and am completely blown away by its size!  our bodies are amazing to be able to do this.

Milestones:  i think my baby is probably over a foot long and a pound heavy... that's amazing!
Theme: the week of... i'm still getting fatter
What's different this time around:  ehhh, i dunno.  i'm still shocked that my weight gain has been so similar so far across the three pregnancies!

Extra:  i'm at the sweet spot of pregnancy right now and it's wonderful.  not too big, not uncomfortable, not sick... just fat and happy.  abigail's preschool teacher just told me today that she didn't know i was pregnant.  ha.  whoops.  glad you noticed.  i love feeling this baby move all the time.  it's so amazing.  i'm doing a pretty good job right now at checking in with myself emotionally since i know i can be emotionally unstable (i almost cried on the phone today when i was explaining my printer problem to the canon tech support guy) and it's working well.  abigail has two hours of quiet time while brady naps so i get that time mostly to myself to read or get stuff done or just lay in bed doing who knows what.  it's helping my patience although i miss my friends and family because that's the time of day when i would normally talk on the phone to people.  i'm still feeling that nesting feeling of wanting to get my life in order before this baby comes and that's part of it... instead of talking on the phone, i'm researching online about minivans and infant carseats and how to organize whatever happens to be on my mind.  i'm trying to be a better mother to abigail though.  she's been so on my nerves lately (she's being normally normal and average, i'm just really irritable because i'm pregnant and irrational) and so i've been having to make a more concious effort in that area.  i've also found that when christopher is super playful, that bugs the crap out of me.  luckily, i can just calmly explain to him that it's not him, it's me, and i just need him to calm himself and take things down a notch.  he's been really good at not getting offended by those sorts of comments.  like last night when i told him i needed us to start cuddling and falling asleep in the middle of the bed instead of my side of the bed because then he's asleep and i'm trapped sleeping on two feet of space.  "honey, it's not that i don't love you or that i don't want to be close to you, i just need more space now that i'm pregnant and i toss and turn so much at night... i don't want to have to wake you up and tell you i need more space.  so let's just cuddle right here and i'll still have adequate room after you've fallen asleep."  really, he's a champ.

2.5.15 at 23 weeks pregnant

2.5.15 at 23 weeks pregnant

i really should have put on some makeup today.  i swear i'm not that tired or beaten down... that just how i look without mascara.  ; )

22 weeks

How far along:  22 weeks  (1.29.15)

Total weight gain/loss:  12.5 - 13 lbs

Maternity clothes:  i love them.  i love long shirts to cover my bump.  jackets are starting to look funny on me because of the gus gus sort of fit.  pants are still regular... i haven't had to go maternity on jeans yet.  i use the bella band with my target skinnies but everything else i can still button.  but i feel my belly starting to get constricted on my jade jeans.  everything else is still fine.  

Sleep:  not bad.  i even have had a few pretty normal dreams.  like the one where i was at an upscale ice cream shop and was with a group of people, including emmy, and i kept getting in the wrong line and changing my mind and wasn't able to make a decision on what flavor and mix ins i wanted and emmy kept trying to help give me directions on what to do and... eventually i woke up, without ever succeeding in getting my ice cream.  ha.

Best moment this week:  not sure.  with the exception of wednesday, it's all been good.

Movement:  just same as last week

Food cravings:  it's still hard for me to get excited about eating meal foods although i like sweets just fine.  ; )  but for the last three days, i've been feeling nauseous again at night... starting around four or so.  so, i don't love food, but i'm still recent enough to the vomiting that i'm so grateful for how awesome i'm feeling these days.  as far as food that i neeeeeed.  sugared cereal.  when i wake up, it's all i can do not to jump out of bed and get a huge bowl of frosted flakes with whole milk.  sunday morning, i was about to walk out the door for church and suddenly realized that i HAD to have chips ahoy cookies dipped in milk (i normally pour a little whole milk in a creme brulee ramekin and let them soak that way) and knew it would only take a second so i could do it.  well, i guess honey had already eaten the last few and thrown the package away.  i seriously went into panic mode.  luckily, i was able to find some of those individually packaged cookies from our christmas junk food candy stash.  i shoved those in my purse and was eating them on the way to church and during relief society.  ooooo so nice.  give me sugar.  lots and lots of sugar. 

Symptoms: nausea, headaches, backaches, fatigue, irritability, a bad temper...  ; )

Gender:  my greatest joy of having a girl is that abigail gets giddy about a baby sister.  i'm so excited for this little girl.  although a little annoyed that i'm still experiencing morning sickness at 22 weeks... i mean, come on.

What I miss:  not a lot.  probably the only thing is that i feel myself being irrationally angry sometimes and i know it's from being pregnant but it doesn't make it any easier to snap out of it.  for the most part though, i feel wonderful and have a lot of energy and motivation.  but if i sit down, i'm going to get sleepy real fast.  ; )  i've taken a nap or two this week but that's all.  and only for an hour or less.

Milestones:  i'm actually getting into the mindset of being a mom of three.  i gotta brace myself!
Theme: the week of semi nesting?  in my head at least.  i made a list of a million things i want to accomplish and get in order.  carrying that out has proven more difficult, but the excitement and motivation is there!
What's different this time around:  with both kids previously, the morning sickness was gone and i loved food.  this time, i'm still working on that part.  i'm amused though that my weight gain has been so consistent between the three pregnancies.  hopefully that means i'll still end up at something normal at the end, even though i've been gaining multiple pounds a week lately?!

Extra:  i'm so anxious to get my house in order and figure stuff out sooner than later.  something about the new year happening makes june seem a lot closer than it seemed when it was december.

1.29.15 at 22 weeks

1.29.15 at 22 weeks

21 weeks

How far along:  21 weeks  (1.22.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 11 lbs - i've been 126 pretty consistently the last several days

Maternity clothes:  yes... shirts.  i've been wearing pretty much only maternity shirts lately or regular shirts that have the gathering on the sides.  maternity shirts definitely make me look bigger than non-maternity shirts, but at least then i look big and pregnant, not smaller but beer bellied.  i bought a black bella band from old navy this week and have worn it once.  i borrowed and used one pretty much every day when i was pregnant with abigail, but with brady i didn't have one and got along fine.  so this time i wasn't planning on getting one except that it was half off and only $8.50 and in the size and color i wanted so i just went with it.  i tried it out one day with my super small target skinnies (i ditched those during brady's pregnancy when i was just single weeks along) and it worked really well.  much better than the borrowed one i used to use, but i think this one works better because it's an extra small and is super snug and secure.  sooo, here's hoping i don't have to wash and wear the same pair of maternity jeans every day later in pregnancy since i can use this on my regular jeans and have some more variety.

Sleep:  pretty horrible.  mostly because i came down with a horrendous cold and can't take anything for it.  so i've been up blowing my nose every hour of the night and doing my best at attempting to sleep sitting up (so i can breath).  also, i think it's because my cold has kept me half awake and messed with my sleep cycles, but my pregnancy dreams have been beyond bizarre this week.  like i couldn't even begin to describe them because they are so weirdly intricate and so far off from anything resembling reality or normal life.  the plus side, i slept through the night (11:30 to 7:30) so i think i'm getting better!  i had several nights of a stabbing sore throat and then several more nights of congestion so bad i couldn't breathe and gagging/coughing when i would sneeze or blow my nose (because i was so stuffed up) so just regular congestion is a welcome sight!  the best news through it all though is that my days haven't been too horrible.  not sure if that's just because i'm comparing them to my nights which are so much worse, or what... but really the days have been totally manageable and i haven't wanted to die.  

Best moment this week:  i don't think there's been just one moment, but honestly, the whole week has been just great!

Movement:  just the same that it has been.  i'm feeling stronger and more frequent quicks and punches though.  thankfully, a few less rolls this week and i'm getting better about focusing on something else and not thinking about how uncomfortable it is.

Food cravings:  eating has been great. is that obvious by my weight gain as of late? ; )  i'm wanting more variety of foods lately and more and more often lately i'll sit down to eat something and it will taste better than anticipated (whereas i used to make a meal, take one bite of it, and be completely repulsed) which was super great when i was eating french dip leftovers from our freezer and spaghetti leftovers from our fridge.  we've been eating out a lot (because jan and feb are just like that for us and we've got a lot of gift cards and other stuff going on) so that's probably also contributing to my weight gain.  friday night we went to outback (i got french onion soup and a steak and mashed potatoes) to use our last outback giftcard and i've got to say it again... texas roadhouse is so much better than outback!  the bread, the salad, the steaks, the serving sizes, etc.  i do like that outback has french onion soup... but everything else is better at texas roadhouse.  anyways... we'll be back to those gift cards for the remainder of the year so no worries for my pregnant, steak loving self.  sunday night we went to the hilliers for dinner (so we could have a family history lesson after) which was delicious and i got off easy only needing to bring a salad (romaine, mandarin oranges, craisins, and pecans with poppyseed dressing) and kelsey made a deliciuos chocolate fudge and reese's peanut butter cup cake.  monday afternoon was mlk day and the boys went skiing and then to the office while klaudette, kelsey, and i (plus kids) went to red robin (since johnny carinos is closed now... so sad about not getting a wedge salad) and i got the turkey blt with avocado on a croissant and it was wonderful!  it really hit the spot!  monday night we went to seasons 52 for a work dinner thing with stacy and her husband and then brent, klaudette, bri, and kelsey and while it was good (they make what's in season and everything is under 450 calories), i would have loved a good 2000 calorie dish from cheesecake factory.  ; )  anyways, i ordered the shrimp pasta and honey got the salmon and we shared... both were delicious.  anyways, i've been doing very little cooking and a lot of eating out and my belly is growing exponentially as a result.  also, i normally only like cold cereal during summer months when it's warm outside and virtually never eat it during the winter.  this past week... oooo i've been loving cold cereal!  it's my first thought when i wake up in the morning.  i've loved cookie crisp, life, and frosted flakes.  maybe next week i can like something with a little nutrition in it?  but don't worry, i'm still eating tons of eggs... just normally for lunch now since breakfast is all about the cold cereal.

Symptoms: nausea has been almost non-existent this week and only at night.  other than that, pregnancy dreams, and thinking about food a lot more than usual, i haven't been experiencing pregnancy related symptoms.

Gender:  my goodness, i'm so excited to have a little baby girl!!!  i need to go through those bins of clothes from abigail in the next month or so.  there are SO MANY little girl clothes and i know we don't need them all.  also, i've noticed with my kids that i would much rather repeat a favorite outfit than put them in things i love just for variety.  does that make sense?  so i need to get rid of dated, stained, worn, etc. clothes that i know i won't put on my child and give them to someone that will appreciate and make good use of them.  that'll be a big job though.  i'm also trying to think of ways to transform brady's nursery into something that looks girly again.  also, i'm so wishy washy about the future bedroom setup for our kids and if i really want abigail and brady to share a room.  i wonder if i could put a crib in abigail's closet and keep all else the same... she's the deepest sleeper and a better listener than brady.  hmmm i wonder if that would fit...

What I miss:  not worrying about my weight.  i know i'm technically on track as i have bee with my previous two pregnancies, but for whatever reason, i can't get that through my head, and i already feel myself beginning to wonder (as i did both times before) if i'm gaining too much too fast (it always comes in spurts) or eating too much unhealthy food or a not balanced enough diet.  the guilt and worry that comes with knowing your food choices are affecting another human.. one that is developing inside of you.  all of that being said, my food choices are never influenced by these thoughts... it's just the thoughts and worry themselves.

Milestones:  being on the other side of 20 weeks.  i'm worried at how fast the next few months are going to fly by so i'm trying to just soak up all the wonderfulness of being pregnant and enjoying my two kids.
Theme: the week of i think my belly popped even again... it's really huge to have so many weeks to go.
What's different this time around:  with both previous pregnancies i'm pretty sure i was decently consumed with thoughts of food by now... this is looking to be the same.  

Extra:  i'm thinking we should get a minivan before this baby (instead of before our fourth as we'd previously planned) so i'm looking into that.  i also feel like i'm somewhat nesting already but i can't tell if it's actually that or if i'm just wanting to get organized and get my life in order because it's the beginning of the year, or mostly likely, because i don't feel like crap anymore and am anxious to get my hands on a good organizing project.  anyways, i need to sort through girl stuff, research minivans, research and buy a five year food supply for five people, keep thinking of the different possibilities to configure three kids into two bedrooms, and eventually tackle the basement mess that somehow happened when i was experiencing a few months of morning sickness.

1.27.15 at 21 weeks 5 days

1.27.15 at 21 weeks 5 days

20 weeks

How far along:  20 weeks  (1.15.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 8.5 lbs

Maternity clothes:  yes, but still just the the maternity shirts that i feel comfortable wearing when i'm not pregnant.  my belly is definitely big, but there are still a few shirts that i'm not quite bit enough for yet.  i haven't needed any maternity pants or anything.  i bought a bella band at old navy this week because it was half off and only $8.50.  i used one all the time during my first pregnancy (borrowed along with other maternity clothes) but gave it back and didn't have/use one at all during my pregnancy with brady.  i think it'll be nice to have, especially at the end of pregnancy to give length to shirts when i need it.  

Sleep:  not great and not terrible.  it's been hit and miss, especially since i've been experiencing some congestion the last few nights and the last two nights have been a crazy painful stabbing sore throat.  but only between 7 and 7 so luckily the days are fine, but it has made for a couple rough nights.  the best part of sleep the past few weeks though has been that my dreams haven't been out of control.  

Best moment this week:  monday morning!  finding out that we're having a girl!!!

Movement:  just the same as it has been.  lots of kicks and strong flips and rolls down low with a preference for this girl lodging herself on my right side.  i feel virtually nothing around my belly button and the ultrasound tech confirmed that that's exactly where my anterior placenta is.  i'm kind of glad for this anterior placenta because, as i think i've mentioned before, the flips and rolls i feel down low are already painful and really uncomfortable and have been for weeks, since the beginning of when i started feeling them.  so crazy.

Food cravings:  i wont lie... i'm pretty good at eating these days.  i've still been feeling sick at least 50% of the evenings lately but it hasn't been horrific.  but i'm feeling great during the days and eating whatever i feel like.  i'm still kind of picky but it's not a problem.  lately, i've been loving scrambled cheese eggs on toast/biscuits, greek yogurt with blackberries and honey, and ummm steak.  medium rare please.  we went to outback on friday night and i was in love with my steak.  i could probably eat a medium rare steak every day if that was an option.  so delish.  i also really loved the chicken parmesan with bowtie pasta that my mil fed the kids and i for lunch monday after my ultrasound.  i just told honey we need to go to outback again on saturday... i was going to suggest tomorrow night but we're going to the temple.  k, the countdown begins... 48 hours until my next glorious steak.

Symptoms: nausea, backache (i can tell i have a backache that is separate from the regular sharp back pains i've been experiencing the last two months), intense sense of smell.  shout out to weird dreams, headaches, etc that are semi normal and semi pregnancy related.  

Gender:  my guess was right!  we're having a girl!!!  we knew it and we're thrilled!  i may have gone shopping at old navy the very next day and picked up a few things.  ; )  other amazing news?  liza is also having a girl!  this is more perfect than what i have time to put into words right now.  

What I miss:  nothing.  i'm so content... i love being pregnant.

Milestones:  i had several friends at church notice my pregnancy.  shannon and kelsey kept commenting on how could they not know.  i think most people at church just found out this past sunday or the one before unless they were one of the few people i'd talked to about it.  when we found out on monday, we posted on facebook that we were expecting a girl this spring.  woohoo!  now it's really public information!
Theme: the week of being sure it's a girl!  i've been calling this babe a "she" for weeks, but now it's nice to really know for sure.
What's different this time around: i'm not entirely sure.  i think this is the part of pregnancy where i'd say things are the most similar across the board.

Extra:  i'm really really loving my pregnant belly.  i like being skinny, but there is something so insanely fun about having a belly.  i hate getting dressed (this has been true my whole life) and picking out what to wear.  but i have been experiencing extra motivation in the mornings lately at the thought of putting on a form fitting, belly flattering shirt.  ; )

1.15.15 at 20 weeks

1.15.15 at 20 weeks

and then i retook them because i remembered what christopher said several weeks earlier about how cardigans weren't great for my weekly belly shots...

1.15.15 at 20 weeks

1.15.15 at 20 weeks

two big sisters

last night, honey had a super bad headache so i put the kids to bed by myself.  as i was tucking abigail in bed, she excitedly told me "mom! there's going to be two big sisters!" and i was all "what do you mean?" wondering if she was considering the two to be her and myself.

"well me and this baby girl when she grows up!  we're both going to be big sisters!"

and while i knew that was most likely correct, all i could think to say was "yes... but it could be a boy."  i've been doing this in my own head for the last two days too, getting myself prepped for whatever news came our way.

well, it wasn't necessary.

there's going to be two big sisters.  ; )

abigail and i were both pretty confident and hopeful that it would be a girl.  and even in the ultrasound when the tech got to that part she asked us what we thought.  i said "well i've thought it's a girl the whole time" and she asked christopher what he thought and he said "well, actually we've both been guessing it's a girl."

but don't get me wrong that i would have been at all disappointed with a boy, because there would have been many conveniences in having two boys in a row (like how i could just keep out all of those baby clothes of brady's that i still haven't packed up and taken to the basement...) and it would be so fun to see brady play with a little baby brother.  but here are a few of my thoughts about this being a girl.

first, i've had my guess from the beginning that this was a girl because i've been super sick like i was with abigail.  i know they say it's a wives tale that you're more sick with girls, but just based off of my two previous pregnancies where with abigail i was sick from day one and vomiting til 15 weeks and with brady i got sick around six weeks and it faded by 12 weeks and never even was bad enough to make me throw up... well, this pregnancy has been far far far more like abigail's than brady's.  i felt sick even before i got a positive pregnancy test, spent over a month in bed, and threw up as late as 16 weeks, with some close calls even at 18 weeks.

second, from the beginning, abigail has wanted this baby to be a girl.  it makes sense though.  i already have a boy and a girl... but abigail only has a boy.  since she only has a brother, she's been really really wanting a little sister.

third, abigail was a summer baby and brady was a winter baby.  so it's convenient to have another girl summer baby.  technically she'll be born in spring... but she'll be in all those baby clothes during the hot summer months so we're good.

fourth, boy names are impossible so it's a relief not to have to come up with a boy name this time around.

So here's one big sister. 

And here's the other big sister.

Two big sisters. 

19 weeks

How far along:  19 weeks  (1.8.15)

Total weight gain/loss: 7 lbs

Maternity clothes:  maternity shirts are definitely more flattering to my belly, but i'm happy to wear regular shirts too as long as they're long enough.  it's so easy right now to dress the bump, but holy cow do i dread trying to find something to wear on sundays.  this would be easier if it was summer and i could just throw on a different maxi skirt every week.  

Sleep:  my dreams really haven't been that bad lately.  i'm still taking my unisom each night and i love how it knocks me out.  the other day i took it right before we put the kids to bed.  then i was reading my book in bed and literally could not keep my eyes open.  it was 8:30 on the dot.  ; )  last night i woke up around 3 for no apparent reason.  i went to the bathroom just because and then it took me a bit to fall back asleep.  not at all bad though.  i try to fall asleep on my side but i know i move around a ton while i sleep and spend a good amount of time on my belly (with one leg up to prop up my belly a bit) and i always, without fail, wake up on my back each morning.  i think i sleep on my back for the last hour or two and always have memories of feeling my baby kick.  it's a mostly sleepy, but somewhat awake dreamy sort of state where i'm aware of the sun rising and that i'm on my back and i have my hands on my belly to feel by baby.  i really love it.  also, i've been waking up around 7:30 lately but some mornings as late as 8:30.  i always wake up feeling well rested and excited for a new day.  hallelujah for this!  i'm positive this is the most sleep i've ever gotten on a regular basis, especially at such regular and consistent hours.  even as an eight year old, i stayed up later than this and got less hours.  but this whole getting at least 10-12 hours of sleep and waking up naturally and well rested at 7:30am?  a 100% new concept for me... i never thought this was actually attainable by a real person.

Best moment this week:  i can't say that there's been one moment or thing in particular, but it's been a good week.  

Movement:  i'm loving it.  even though so much of what i feel is terribly uncomfortable...  it's the same as last week.

Food cravings:  i have probably eaten several pounds of sugar this week.  it's not that i crave it so much as i just think about it and it's already there at my fingertips.  i finished off the box of see's chocolates, finished the box of enstrom's toffee, and start to finish downed the box of my mom's chocolates... which i felt really bad about last night when honey asked where they were and looked so heartbroken when i gave him the look that they were gone.  he was incredulous.  "how did you already finish them?!  it was nearly full two days ago!!!"  i still feel bad.  anyways, food is starting to sound super amazing to me, but when i think about it, i just want it right that second... not in an hour or two.  we went out to texas roadhouse on friday night with my mother in law and nate and mark and my steak was to die for.  so was the corn and honey's potato soup that i ate all of and even mark's salad that i finished off for him.  we went out monday afternoon to chili's (we met honey to go to the visa place for pictures and paperwork and stuff and thought we'd grab a little lunch with a giftcard) and i got a chicken alfredo pasta that was wonderfully creamy.  they messed up and added cajun seasoning when i'd asked them to leave it off but i ate as much as i could handle anyways (mostly the outside and underneath noodles with no spicyness on them) but the server was so apologetic about it and offered to bring me something else.  i asked for a small salad (salads have sounded sooo appealing lately (but only with crunch lettuce... not spinach salads like i normally prefer) and it was great.  and she ended up not charging us at all for my pasta so that was a pleasant surprise.  and that night, honey and i went out for a VIP night at a bad daddy's (burger restaurant chain his clients are doing) opening in aurora and i chose a create your own burger.  it was great.  i did a regular burger and bun with white cheddar, pineapple, and bacon... with lettuce and tomato and a special sauce.  the sweet potato fries were good but didn't taste a whole lot like sweet potato.  the snickers shake sample they brought was good but i didn't like the chunks of peanuts.  the strawberry lemonade was great.  but the very weirdest part of the whole night was that i was craving wings so we chose that for our appetizer.  and i ate two of them and loved it even though they were so spicy, my lips were about to burn off (i have zero tolerance for spicy).  there was just something about the tender, saucy chicken with crispy skin and cool and creamy dressing...  it wasn't necessarily a pregnancy craving (i would have survived just fine without wings), but it's definitely something i wouldn't have eaten had i not been pregnant.  there's only one place i've ever loved wings and it was this restaurant we went to a few times when honey was selling alarms in pittsburgh.  at no other time have i really desired wings.  anyways...that was a lot of eating out for us (it was all free with giftcards and VIP credit otherwise we wouldn't have) in a short amount of time, especially considering we'd just gotten back from costa rica where almost all of our meals were eaten out, but it's nice not to cook or clean up and even nicer to see a whole slew of options, pick one, and be able to eat it within ten minutes.  y'know what's been absolutely amazing lately?!  eggs on toast.  that is hands down, the most delicious part of my day.  every day.  i think about food and eating all the time and i know it's only going to get worse.  also, my body doesn't ever feel full for satisfied.  i just have to tell myself to stop my meals after a normal amount of food because i know seconds or thirds isn't going to help at all.  i'm not necessarily hungry all the time... my body just feels like it needs to be eating all the time.  as i've been writing this post, i've been eating costco sugared mangos and baby carrots with hummus.

Symptoms: occasional nausea, occasional headaches 

Gender:  i'm going to be floored if this is a boy.  i'm excited at the possibility of getting to dress up a little girl (since abigail has major clothing preferences and chooses most of her outfits) again, but having a boy would be so wonderfully convenient and so fun for brady so i'm kind of torn.  it'll be a win either way.

What I miss:  being able to stand up straight in the morning and being able to bend over and/or pick up my kids without trouble.  this doesn't have anything to do with pregnancy (i think it's an inflamed disc in my back or something?) but i definitely miss it.  it's been going on for almost two months... holy cow.  in my head during the day, i feel like i'm bending over weird because i'm pregnant and have a big belly, but then i have to remind myself that it's actually just because i'm in so much pain and soon enough things are going to get really tricky with my mobility...

Milestones:  the last week of not knowing what we'll be having!  hopefully...  ; )
Theme: the week of constantly stuffing my face with chocolate and sugar
What's different this time around:  i still get morning sickness if i'm not careful.  so i'm being super careful about taking my vitamins and unisom/b6 every night.  

Extra:  i'm trying to work through the clutter and mess that has built up the past several months and it's kind of overwhelming.  there are piles of misc papers, toys, etc, in my bedroom, bathroom, closet, kitchen island, laundry room, etc.  everywhere i look, there's crap!  and now i'm trying to undo months of neglect.  yesterday i cleaned out my car (it's never been that disgusting ever ever ever) and did a few loads of laundry.  i felt accomplished except that i looked around and realized how i'm just barely scratching the surface.  sigh.  so i'm trying to press forward while i'm feeling good!

1.9.15 at 19 weeks 1 day

1.9.15 at 19 weeks 1 day

18 weeks

How far along:  18 weeks  (1.1.15)

Total weight gain/loss: +6.5 lbs... add an extra 5 if i weigh at night.  ; )

Maternity clothes:  my maternity shirts, for the most part, are more flattering than regular clothes.  they accentuate my belly without making it look like a gut.  still doing fine with my pants.  as far as church clothes go, i can still fit into everything, but almost nothing looks good.  i just look weird and fat.

Sleep:  it's been better i think.  maybe because i've been so tired after busy days in costa rica?  my dreams are still ultra bizarre but are never pregnancy related.  

Best moment this week:  probably just being in costa rica with everyone.  i was enjoying the company and my kids and just being pregnant.

Movement:  just loving it.  baby likes to sit low and on my right side.  that's almost always where i can feel the knots.  i'm feeling lots of thumps on the inside but the kicks aren't powerful enough to feel on the outside really... but it's really easy to feel baby's back or head or whatever when it's pushing out or situated like that.

Food cravings:  eating has been weird since we've been traveling.  it's been really great not having to think about preparing food or cleaning up dirty dishes and whatever, but sometimes it's just hard to eat other people's food.  i love scrambled eggs, but it's always a struggle for me to eat them when they're prepared by someone other than myself and especially the way they were prepared in costa rica.  chunky but slightly runny and if it had cheese, it was chunks of partially melted cheese mixed in.  and not cheddar... the colby jack sort of stuff that melted differently.  we did the hotel breakfast buffet every morning that we were at playa flamingo and i normally had scrambled eggs, fruit (the papaya wasn't my favorite, but i normally ate whatever watermelon, pineapple, and canteloupe they had available), an order of pancakes (loaded with butter and syrup), juice (normally starfruit), and a bowl of frosted flakes (or corn flakes if that was all they had).  i ate a ton at breakfast because i was normally feeling my best, and we typically went light on lunch and heavy on dinner so i needed something to really sustain me.  oddly enough though, i never felt full... i would just keep eating for however long i could find options of acceptable things for myself to eat.  dinners were whatever i could handle from our menus.  authentic places we ate at, i normally ordered shrimp or fish (which always comes with rice and beans) and other places, it was always just whatever i thought i could handle... pasta, burger, pizza, etc.  pregnancy makes me a picky eater (at this point at least) because i can look at something and be all "oooo shrimp pasta with a super creamy sauce!!!  oh, served on spaghetti noodles?  i could handle penne, fetuccinne, angel hair, etc, but just not spaghetti noodles.  i'll order a cheeseburger instead."  one place we ate family style of rotissere chicken that was served with tortillas and rice and beans, etc.  i can't handle corn tortillas... so i ended up just mixing it all on my plate and eating it with a fork.  the good news of it all was that i was really able to increase my eating this week, maintain a well balanced diet, and put on a few pounds.  also, apparently my morning sickness is still very much alive and well... i found that out when i ditched my vitamins/medicine for three days and was fearfully clutching a barf bag more often than i would have liked...

Symptoms: nausea (although not much if i keep taking unisom/b6), headaches (only sometimes), big belly (all the time)

Gender:  my gut still says girl.  i can't help calling this baby "she" and if that's truly the case, we might already have her name picked out.

What I miss:  nothing really.  i'm in that pregnancy sweet spot for the most part.  i still kind of wish i was skinny again or that i was a little bit bigger so i didn't look so awkward, but really, i'm absolutely loving where i'm at.  oh wait, just kidding.  i miss being able to go in hot tubs.  we went to two different hot springs locations while we were in costa rica and i couldn't go in the truly hot pools.  had to stay in the ones that were more bath tub temperature.  that was hard on me.

Milestones:  it's starting to click in my head that we're going to have three kids.  i'm trying not to panic.  ; )
Theme: the week of pregnant in costa rica
What's different this time around:  i'm still having to take unisom and b6 or else i feel sick.  both previous pregnancies, i was done with morning sickness at this point.

Extra:  honey's sister, steph, is pregnant with her first and due exactly a week after i am.  she's not showing.  at all.  when we were hanging out with the matarittas on sunday, the mom looked at our bellies in awe as she tried to make her brain realize that we were due a week apart.  her eyes got all big and she said [in spanish], you're going to have a BIG baby!!!  steph just started laughing and relayed the message to me.  ha, yup, i know i'm huge for how far along i am.  thank you for that.  ; )  

1.3.15 at 18 weeks 2 days

1.3.15 at 18 weeks 2 days

17 weeks

How far along:  17 weeks  (12.25.14)

Total weight gain/loss: +4 lbs? just guessing because i didn't have a scale. 

Maternity clothes:  yes.  just shirts though.  i probably wouldn't have broken them out already except for the fact that they're already in my closet because i wear maternity shirts as part of my regular wardrobe. 

Sleep:  it's hit and miss but really not bad.

Best moment this week:  saturday!  celebrating christmas and feeling my baby move!  but a shout out to wednesday, our first full day in costa rica, just lounging on the beach.

Movement:  i can feel my baby!!!  i can feel light kicks on the inside but i can really really feel my baby's body parts from the outside of my belly.  it happened on saturday the 20th (when we celebrated christmas day) and i felt a shift in my stomach that was sort of like a contraction because of the pressure.  but when i reached my hands down to feel, my belly was soft all over except for a really hard spot the size of a clementine.  the best part was that chris was right there to feel it so we got to experience it at the same time.  so that was my moment of realization that what i've been feeling is actually real.  i had to feel it with my hands to actually believe it all.  so since then, it's been internal thumps and external knots.  so exciting!

Food cravings:  i just eat because i have to.  it's been a struggle but i'm surviving just fine.

Symptoms: nausea, weird dreams, headaches

Gender:  my guess is still girl.  especially since i just threw up again last friday night.  

What I miss:  not struggling so much to eat.  it's annoying that my body requires food so frequently.  i wish i could just take a pill every so often instead of having to actually eat meals and stuff.

Milestones:  i had my first stranger ask me when i was due!  at 16 weeks, 6 days... on christmas eve.  i was wearing my v neck halter swimsuit, which i think helped.  also, for some reason, the guy kept acting like we were bff, so go figure he was asking me personal questions...  ; )    
Theme: the week of moving right along.  pregnancy is speeding up!
What's different this time around:  at this point in my pregnancy with abigail and with brady, i was done throwing up and being sick.  this time around, i can feel good and then just suddenly get a horrible headache and feel super sick/throw up.  first trimester is long gone... i want the sickness to be gone too!

Extra:  i'm shocked at how uncomfortable it is when my baby rolls around in my belly.  i seriously went from feeling nothing to feeling some pretty significant pressure in my low belly.  i won't lie, i'm super nervous about how this will progress.

12.25.14 at 17 weeks

12.25.14 at 17 weeks

16 weeks

How far along:  16 weeks  (12.18.14)

Total weight gain/loss: +3 lbs

Maternity clothes:  yes... but only because i wear maternity clothes as part of my regular wardrobe.  dressing for sunday is already feeling limited, but my pants and shirts during the week are all still totally fine and should last for a while to come.  i wore my really skinny target skinnies the other day for the first time in months and they cut into my love handles but not so terribly that i couldn't wear them all day... just that they weren't as comfortable as my other pants i've been wearing.

Sleep:  holy cow with the crazy dreams!  i don't even try to remember them anymore... so so weird.  still taking my sleeping pill and going to bed as early as i can.  i've started being more sleepy when i wake up during the morning though and even took a nap this afternoon... which i haven't done in months and months.  it wasn't restful (airplane sleep) and left me out of it for an hour or two.  

Best moment this week:  my little outing with brady for his birthday morning.  spoiling a child and experiencing things through their eyes is wonderful.  it lifted my kind of down mood this week.  

Movement:  just the same as what's been going on.  i think some of them are probably real kicks but i can't differentiate enough to know what's real and what's not.  but it's getting exciting because i should be able to start feeling it within the next two weeks for sure!

Food cravings:  i hate eating most of the time.  i can eat scrambled eggs on toasted french bread which is nice (for a while, i couldn't handle bread because of when i overdosed on toast for a week straight) and i can eat toasted french bread with butter if it also has sister stewart's delicious blackberry jam on it.  but just looking at toasted french bread with only butter on it, makes me almost gag.  and i'm still hit and miss about other things that resemble bread so that's weird and interesting when trying to find something acceptable to eat.  i've been binging on christmas treats at christmas parties and stuff we've gotten from people.  bring on the chocolates and toffee and sees candies!  also, my most consistent "i can eat that!" food lately has been cheese.  so i've also been devouring crackers with cheese spread (only club crackers... the wheat in ritz is a no go) and the harry and david sharp white cheddar and gouda that he brought home last week.  also, the harry and david pears and apples are delightful.  tonight on brady's birthday, honey and i went to the ballet (i know, we ditched him again) and i realized i'd forgotten to eat dinner (I'd also forgotten to grab my coat), so on the way home, i was begging honey for taco bell (needed a tortilla because of the aversion to bread) but it was far away so he offered me wendy's and arby's since they were closer.  and i'm all "i could do a regular sandwich from arby's, but only if it has sauce.  and i could do french fries, but only the ones from wendy's or mc donalds, and chicken nuggets, but only from wendy's, not anywhere else... and they had to have honey mustard sauce, and i could do soft tacos or a burritto from taco bell, but only if you make them supreme because whatever i get from there has to have sour cream, lettuce, and tomatoes, or else i'll gag."  he was partially amused (i think it brought back memories for him of my pregnancy with abigail) and ultimately said i needed to make the call.  i chose taco bell.  looking back, i think wendy's would have been better.  ; )  

Symptoms: nausea and headaches every afternoon that last until i go to sleep, increased fatigue, still occasionally feelings like i'm going to faint/pass out, crazy pregnancy dreams, widespread food aversions and random cravings, pure laziness, large stomach...

Gender:  my gut still says girl, just because of my symptoms, but a boy would be great because he would have at least three boy cousins really close in age to him!  we'll have to see what liza is having...!

What I miss:  not feeling so crappy for the second half of every day!  and being able to eat food like a normal person instead of being so weird and picky about everything.

Milestones:  i hit 16 weeks!  i've been so weird about this in my head because 16 weeks (for me at least) is when things start to get real!  like i can't believe that i actually finally hit 16 weeks!
Theme: the week of feeling apathetic sometimes.  i have an on and off pity party about this.
What's different this time around:  with abigail, i still wasn't feeling great... like this time around... and started experiencing some pregnancy cravings, but still had a lot of my aversions.  also, second trimester is supposed to be the "burst of energy" that everyone loves.  with abigail, that was when the extreme fatigue set in (and didn't let up until she was born) and i'm starting to feel bits of that right now (although i hope i'm just being paranoid and looking into it too much).  today, i took a nap for the first time in months.  abigail and i were reading books in bed and i just couldn't handle it anymore and had to lay down and sleep for a bit.  also, i slept through my alarm on sunday morning and was late for church because i didn't wake up til 8:45.  it's really nothing major right now... but it's just something i haven't been experiencing until this point.  

Extra:  i'm so excited to have hit 16 weeks!  i feel like i was just at 11 weeks and these last few weeks were a bit of a blur!  i'm loving my big belly sometimes and other times, i'm hating it because it looks like a disgusting gut.  but i don't miss being skinny, i'm just ready to look a little less lush and a little more pregnant.  technically i'm still skinny, but just not my big belly.  i told my vt companion, charees, and she was all "i was wondering..."  i asked her if it was because of my big gut, but she said it was because it looked like i'd been losing weight... which must have been true because i was getting a lot bigger in my belly without putting on any lbs so it must have been pulling from my face or legs or something.  but i think i'm at a good start now to gaining weight so hopefully that'll change!  this week i've been kind of sad that i'm still feeling crappy in the evenings.  since i've been feeling almost normal in the morning, i thought that would apply to my whole day.  not the case.  i still get a horrible headache every afternoon and feel sick and hungry and depressed and apathetic.  i think it was sunday night that i looked over my calendar of events for the week and felt super depressed that i wasn't excited for anything.  they were all things that i would typically be really happy about (celebrating brady's birthday, going to the ballet with honey, celebrating christmas eve and christmas with our little family... even dental and vision appointments because i like to check those off the list) but kind of just wanted to skip.  then honey handed me three christmas cards and a pen and asked me to write in them for three friends while he would do the other friends and then he would deliver the cards and chocolate later in the week.  i handed the cards and pen back to him and told him i just couldn't do it.  and then i laid down on the sofa right there and closed my eyes and quietly cried for the next hour or so.  i know it wasn't logical, and thank goodness i realized that, but it was still hard.  the happy part was that i knew i'd feel better about life in the morning, but in that moment, making a birthday cake and wrapping presents and celebrating christmas just seemed so difficult.  luckily, for brady's actual birthday morning, i was feeling excited and great and had an awesome time with him.  but nights (and some days) are still pretty difficult.  i'm trying to get excited about costa rica right now.  i'm mostly just over christmas (i know that sounds horrible because it was my only happy thought a mere month ago) but i am excited to just hang out with the hilliers.  just gotta make sure the packing anxiety doesn't get to me too bad in the next few days.

12.19.14 at 16 weeks 1 day

12.19.14 at 16 weeks 1 day