Look at that Belly Grow!!

24 weeks

Well it's been a busy couple of weeks that's for sure! We are in full organizing and painting mode getting our house put together since remodeling and getting ready for the new baby. Saturday was a fun day in St. Louis shopping at Ikea. Got a lot of fun stuff stuff to help organize the kids rooms, the craft room, and the office. Jude's room is now complete except for a few decorative pieces. The craft room is complete as well minus pillows, curtain, etc. We are now painting the trim and ceiling in the girls new room which was previously the playroom. I am so excited to see this room come together! Once that is complete we will paint Daphne's old bedroom and get it set up as our new office and study. The extra spare bedroom downstairs becomes our work out/playroom for the whole family housing my elliptical, weights, the kids basketball goal, trampoline, slide and other fun and active toys. I promise to get pictures up as soon as we have everything complete and ready. Of course that could be summer ha! 

Baby and I are just dandy! I am feeling her move more and more each day and I just love it. My favorite thing about pregnancy with all three! She's often active when I am of course a little more settled and relaxing. The bump keeps getting bigger and making things a bit more uncomfortable. I notice I just get sore quicker with too much work.  My workouts are great in the mornings and making me feel more positive about myself. I can run forever but the push ups and planks are really getting more and more difficult! I have quite the sweet tooth with the pregnancy and that needs to end....glucose screening is coming up next week. Yikes! Jeff and I finalized a name list and there are a couple that I love! Or at least starting to. I've had a tough time getting attached to a name this time around. Right now I'm taking turns writing the  names down on stuff around the house with the other kids names. I guess I am thinking that will help me choose! Next week I have an appointment with Dr.Ott and my glucose test!

25 Weeks

For some reason 25 weeks makes life with a new baby start to feel even more real. My panic mode is setting in and that's a bummer for my hubby. :)  I have us on a deadline to get the inside of the house done in the next couple of weeks. He's been a very good sport about it all and putting in the extra work to help my visions come true! Needless to say all this extra work is definitely putting a strain on my body. Between working out, running, painting, moving and organizing my body kind of hates me right now. I'm gonna go with it all being a good thing in the end by making me stronger for labor and delivery right?? I also need to begin thinking about maternity pictures and getting outfits altogether, and on top of that Easter is slowing approaching us along with Jude's Praise Kids performances and the start of T-Ball. I might be a little crazy the next month or so! My number one goal is to try and plan a little baby moon for the husband and I in May. We need that time away for sure! 

I had a doctor's appointment last Thursday with Dr. Ott for just a normal check-up. All is well with weight, blood pressure, and baby's heartbeat. Pretty boring appointment overall but I will not complain about that. I did do my glucose test that morning too. The drinks have never bothered me too much except for the extra burping...lovely and lady-like! They had fruit punch this time so I chose that over orange and it was a good choice. The reason I do not like the screening is due to the fact that I have to go hours without eating beforehand. I know, I know you are supposed to eat as normal but let's face it....most people do not pass doing that. Good news is that I did in fact pass so no extra testing for me. I've been pretty lucky to have passed with all three pregnancies.  My next appointment is April 10th. I will have a growth scan check with the high risk doctor, a regular check-up, and my TDAP shot. 

Little Firecracker at 25 weeks!

Daphne at 24 Weeks!

Jude at 25 Weeks!

Miss Daphne was 17 months old last week...already!!!

My little lucky charms for sure!!

How far along? 25 Weeks and 4 Days

Size of baby? Our sweet little girl is the size of a head of cauliflower. My belly is starting to prove that too!

Total weight gain: 16 pounds

Stretch Marks: Nope. 

Maternity clothes? Maternity shirts for sure but still cannot do the pants. I have to pull them up way too much. Looking forward to spring and summer. Maternity shorts and dresses fit me much better. 

Symptoms: Definite heartburn and food not settling well. I have discovered that too much dairy just makes me feel sick. My body is pretty sore from doing too much and I do wake more often just being uncomfortable. 

Sleep: Still wake up on my back and that makes me so sore.

Movement: She can be a little mover when I have time to sit still and really feel her. Jeff got to feel her move for the first time and see my belly move yesterday at church. :)

Wedding Rings on or off? Still on and loose. 

Miss Anything? My body not being so sore.

Bellybutton in or out? Definitely out and Daphne loves to push on it!

Food cravings: Nope although I do prefer to stick with just pretty plain food such as toast, bagels, and fruit. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really although I still prefer to not eat seafood.

Gender: Little girl.....and I'm pretty sure I have a name picked...maybe I'll share it the next post!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I can be super happy and then I let the stress of my to-do list get to me and I'm moody. 

Best Moment this Week: Feeling all the movement from our little firecracker, Jillian and her kiddos coming to visit, enjoying the new swing set from Papaw and Mimi.


Looking forward to: We are on spring break this week so we are taking it easy giving me more time to get things done around the house. We will also be spending a couple of days back home with grandparents. Not only is this great for the kids but necessary for me as I know it will make me relax for two days! Spring!!!!! Nicer weather, landscaping, home shows, Easter...I love it all! 

Half Way!!

20 Weeks

Daphne decided to quit nursing a couple of weekends ago at 15 months. Same as Jude. It's a sad moment to "lose" my baby but at the same time I am happy to have a few free months before nursing our next little one. For Valentine's Day Jeff decided we needed to celebrate the fact that I could finally have dairy. Let's be honest....15 months without dairy is WAY too long!!! We chose to go to Deliggi's where we love their Fettuccine Alfredo. I must say it was fantastic. Afterwards we went to Dairy Queen and shared a brownie blizzard. Let's just say that was a little too much dairy for this Mama. I felt pretty awful afterwards, and have quickly discovered that I can only handle dairy in small amounts right now and I am okay with that. I wasn't a huge dairy fan to begin with. If I want pizza I can have pizza now (yea!!!). I'll just remember to keep it to a slice at a time!

I can feel Little Miss moving a bit more often but even then I have to be sitting very still. I learned that a piece of licorice got her moving one night so I may try that again. Quite the sacrifice for me! :) I wish I could feel her more as I always get nervous, but I know my placenta is anterior and it is still kind of early. We see the high risk doctor this week and I am ready to get it over with it. I'm excited to see our Firecracker again but am just praying for positive words that our band will hopefully not cause too many issues. 

20 Weeks with our Little Firecracker

21 Weeks with Daphne

22 Weeks and Doctor Appointments

We met our high risk doctor February 23rd when I was 21 weeks along. It was a bit worrisome of an appointment but overall my outlook was pretty positive. I knew God had us. A good friend of mine volunteered to babysit the kiddos for us so Jeff and I could do this appointment alone and with focus. Thank goodness she took them too! We there for 2 and a half hours! Crazy!!! It took me 20 minutes alone to fill out all the paperwork. The ultrasound was the huge and major portion of the appointment. I am not kidding you when I say that I was in this ultrasound for close to an hour.  An hour of having my belly poked and prodded. Needless to say my round ligaments were sore and I REALLY had to pee by the end of the appointment. I think Jeff and I may have our hands full with this little firecracker! :) She was not the most cooperative at wanting her pictures taken. She was curled up in a little ball most of the time with her head tucked down. This meant no facial pictures and no profile picture. The lack of a profile picture was the problem; they really wanted one apparently. It took two techs and the doctor at trying to get her profile and in the end our little firecracker won out! She refused to get in the position they wanted. She was moving around like crazy and always turning and jumping but would never be where she needed to be! Looks like we may have a stubborn little one on our hands!! We did get the adorable picture below though of her hand and ear. :)

In the end we definitely got good news from the appointment. Her growth is on track and she looks great. Her femur even measured out normal this time around. We also found out that I do not have a band across my uterus...yea!!! However, I do have a circumvallate placenta. What's this you ask? This is where I have a curve to my placenta. The issue this may cause is a slower growth rate for the baby. So we will just get extra ultrasounds to keep an eye on our little firecracker. Nothing new for us! It was interesting because at our 20 week ultrasound with Daphne we were told I had the same placenta. I had another ultrasound at 24 weeks and they said I no longer had a curve and maybe the angle just changed or looked different. We found out from our high risk doc that a circumvallate placenta does not go away. So there is a chance I had it the whole time with Daphne and they just didn't notice it again. Could that have caused her smaller size? Doubtful. Docs seem to believe I just genetically have small babies. So here is to praying that our firecracker has normal growth! :)

As for me I am feeling pretty good. Running and working out every morning makes me feel much stronger and just plain better about myself. I have managed to continue a 30 minute program and still on level 6 while also continuing work outs like push ups, planks, and leg lifts. Gotta keep these muscles intact!! I have noticed that with this pregnancy I am so much more worried about my weight and just do not feel as positive with how I look. I feel guilty anytime I eat too much or something that's not great for me. I am not sure if it's because we were not planning this pregnancy so I didn't have the mindset prepared for weight gain. I am not sure if it's because I got a little extra thin with Daphne's allergy problems. I am not sure if it is because my belly just seems to be growing at a faster rate which means my weight is too with this pregnancy. Maybe a little of all three?? Of course, everyone has their opinion on how big I am. It really starts to make me doubt myself and how I look when all I hear is how big my belly is. Then I see the weight continuously going up on the scales and I just freak out. My fantastic hubby tells me that I am ridiculous and worried for nothing. I am not gaining weight much anywhere else besides belly and that's just how I carry. Always have. Dr. Ott even said I was perfectly normal and to ignore everyone's comments. So here is to the needed prayers for peace of mind and acceptance for how my body is changing. In the end this is happening because I am growing another little person. This is amazing in itself. I know there are women out there who would give anything to have this chance. Anything to have their weight going up the scales. Anything to have a belly that no longer fits in normal clothes. Anything to have an outie belly button. Anything to have the possibility of stretch marks. Anything to know that after the baby is here you will always have the extra skin hanging. All these signs are just signs of love and a true and beautiful miracle from God. To all those who believe my belly is huge......that's ok....I have a baby in there....I am growing this baby.....a baby from God for Jeff and I to love....So let this belly grow!!!!!

What's Next??

I have an appointment in 3 weeks for a check up and glucose screen. Never enjoy that overly sweet drink but bring it on! I also have a high risk appointment, regular check up and tdap shot scheduled for April 13th. 

22 Weeks-Yes, lots of belly

23 Weeks with Jude

Baby girl at 21 week ultrasound

Coraline loved hugs from Jude at her 1st birthday party!

She loved giving kisses to Daphne too....Daphne not so much :)

Sweet cousins

How far along? 22 Weeks and 1 day 

Size of baby? Our sweet little girl is the size of an ear of corn or a coconut. At our ultrasound she was specifically 14 oz. last week.

Total weight gain: 13 pounds...too many..ugh

Stretch Marks: Nope. 

Maternity clothes? I just wear some maternity shirts because they look better on my belly. My maternity pants are still too big and look baggy.

Symptoms: Moodiness for sure...or maybe it's just not feeling positive with myself right now. Needing to use the bathroom more, round ligament pain, fullness already with eating, discomfort when sleeping sometimes, bleeding gums...overall I can't complain at all.

Sleep: Still wake up on my back and that makes me so sore.

Movement: I feel her consistently now throughout the day. Particularly when I get sometime to just sit without interruptions. 

Wedding Rings on or off? Still on and loose. 

 

Miss Anything? Cute clothes, more energy in the afternoons

Bellybutton in or out? Already out...didn't take long!
 

Food cravings: Nope.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really although I still prefer to not eat seafood.

Gender: Pretty baby girl!!!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I've been more moody here lately. I am very happy to be having another baby. But we have a lot going on in our lives right now so I think I am just carrying extra stress.

Best Moment this Week: Definitely see our little firecracker squirm everywhere in her ultrasound last week! It was also nice to our master suite remodel completely done!


Looking forward to: IKEA shopping trip next weekend with the hubby and getting our home all ready and organized for 3 kids. I am also super pumped that it is March and spring is right around the corner. I love spring!!

Tiebreaker!!

 16-17 Weeks

The past couple of weeks have just flown by!! We have stayed busy with birthday parties and finishing up our master suite remodel. Luckily for this mama we have had a few warm days this month of January so we have enjoyed some walks and outside playtime to keep us away from the winter blues. The positive point of being pregnant in the winter, is that I am definitely never hot. On the downside it's hard to keep as bubbly and active when it is too cold to be outside. I am so much happier when my days are filled with walks, picnics, parks, and NOT bundling up just to run errands! 

I have been feeling pretty good overall just lacking a little bit of necessary energy for the afternoons. I have started working out in the evenings instead of the mornings as I just tend to do a better job. I am cooking healthy meals consistently again although I have noticed that I have a major sweet tooth the past couple of weeks? Could this mean girl??? Too bad I do not believe in the old wise tales... :) My belly is definitely rounding out more but I am pretty sure I am carrying a bit higher possibly than I did with the first two. All my clothes still fit and button but I feel as if they just do not look as good. This means that maternity clothes shopping will happen in the next week or two.

In the most exciting news of all, next week is our tiebreaker!! Will the girls or the boys rule the household?? :))

Chinese Gender Predictor: Boy (It was correct with the first two)

Heartbeat: Who knows?? All three of my kids have had similar heart rates.

Carrying: I carried low with both Jude and Daphne. This one seems a bit higher but not much.

Beauty: I broke out more with Jude. Didn't at all with Daphne and I haven't much with this one either.

Nausea/Heartburn: Had about the same amount of sickness with all three. I had heartburn in the first trimester with Daphne but not with Jude or this one.

So really what are we having??? As you can see there is no way of predicting!!

17 Weeks with Little Firecracker!!

17 Weeks with Daphne in May of 2015

 

17 Weeks with Jude in July of 2012

18 Weeks...And The Gender is.......

On February 2nd we headed to our ultrasound as a family of 4 ready to see our soon to be 5th member! Jeff continued not wanting to know the gender. I of course am way too type A in the area of planning to not know. Jude was so excited to see if it was a boy or girl (boy he was hoping). In the end we of course had to know!! :)  So will it be the boys or the girls overruling this family???? 

 

Profile at week 18

Little face

Adorable Foot

That's right folks....those are ovaries!!

Looks like the girls for sure! Our sweet firecracker is an adorable baby girl. Just look at those sweet pictures! It's exciting to have another girl as she and Daphne will be so close in age. Hopefully they will be best friends! Poor Jude was disappointed that he wasn't getting a brother. He is just the sweetest boy though as he made the comment, "Daphne needs a sister." I think that proves he will be the perfect big brother to two little sisters. :)

Baby Announcement...a little tricky to complete this shot!

Our little girl looks perfect and is in the 39th percentile for her size with a heart rate of 153. Only concern was her femur size at the 9th percentile. Daphne's was at the 7th and she ended up being perfectly fine. Dr. Ott thinks it could just be genetic and we are not going to worry about it. I do seem to have little babies after all. My placenta is anterior which is why I think I was not sure on movement there for a while. This past week I have felt her move quite a bit more. Even as I type this I feel her kicking my right side!! The main concern with this pregnancy (there of course always seems to be a concern) is that I have a band across my uterus. What does this mean? Well, it might be a band of scar tissue stretching across. We won't know as much information until we go see a high risk pregnancy doctor. That's right. I have to see a high risk doc now. This band can cause issues with a baby's growth and limbs but Dr. Ott says the odds are usually low for that happening and her concern is limited. So we are going to stay positive, pray, and ask for prayers. I guess the good side of all of this is that we get to see our sweet girl even more with another ultrasound!

18 weeks with our little girl

  

Didn't have an 18 week picture with Daphne so 19 weeks will have to do.

Jude at 19 weeks

 

Family Time at Fischer's

Halloween outfits for Daphne and her baby sister for this year! So fun to match already. Plus we used these as a gender reveal announcement with family.

Little Minnie Mouse hat bought specifically for our firecracker!

My Babies!

How far along? 18 Weeks

Size of baby? Our sweet little girl is the size of sweet potato. She actually measured at 8 ounces today.

Total weight gain: 8 pounds

Stretch Marks: Nope. 

Maternity clothes? I can still wear my jeans with belly bands and a lot of tops. My smaller sized maternity tops I can wear now without them looking too big. However, my maternity jeans are still way to big on my bottom!

Symptoms: In just the past 3 days I have been getting heartburn..boo. I had it with Jude in the 3rd trimester, Daphne is the 1st, so now I guess it makes sense to have it in the 2nd :). The rest of my list of symptoms include: allergies and sinus pressure, discomfort when sleeping, sore breasts, increased need to pee, still a little more tired than normal. Despite all this I do feel good.

Sleep: I keep rolling to my back while I sleep which makes me sore.

Movement: I can definitely feel her moving when I'm actually sitting still.

Wedding Rings on or off? Still on and loose. 

 

Miss Anything? The necessary energy with two littles already at home.

Food cravings: I had one craving for Chinese this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No, I'm doing pretty good.

Gender: Sweet girl!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy when not overly tired.

Best Moment this Week: Seeing our little during our anatomy scan. She is beautiful and perfect and quite the mover!


Looking forward to: Valentine's Day date with my husband!

15 Weeks!!

15 Weeks

The past two weeks have seen major improvement for this Mama! When mommy is happy everyone is happy!! It give me great pleasure to say I am not longer nauseous, the smell of food does not turn my stomach, and my energy levels have picked up quite a bit. This is all fantastic for my family as I can now cook actual healthy meals again and I no longer pass out in the middle of afternoon. Tough when you have two little ones at home to get a decent nap too! My belly is huge compared to my other pregnancies and my weight gain is more as well. I'm sure the two most likely correlate (hoping). I guess this is what happens with a third pregnancy especially so close to the last one. I still work out everyday and am resuming a more healthy eating style so hopefully that weight will stay under control! In the past week I dug out old maternity clothes which are unfortunately, for now, all spring and summer. My winter clothes from Jude's pregnancy are all a little too big. So it looks like a shopping trip will be in order!! I secretly can't complain! :)

15 Weeks with our Little Firecracker

15 Weeks with Miss Daphne. I totally miss my long hair!

Doctor's Appointment

I had an appointment with Dr. Ott on January 5th . A simple check up to make sure baby and I are doing fine and dandy. The day definitely did not start as planned to say the least. Snow blew in that morning and Jude's preschool was canceled. So here I was needing to head to my appointment with two kids and snow coming down. My thoughts went as followed: We are so going to fall from the parking lot to the building for sure.  Ugh! We are going to annoy every person in the waiting room. Please be on time Dr. Ott...please be on time.  How am I going to pee in a cup while holding Daphne on my lap?  How do I keep two kids from destroying the doctor's office? Is there enough room for Daphne and I to both lie on the table at the same time? I know Jude is going to fly right off that spinning chair as he always does!

Luckily none of these thoughts became reality as my  husband was kind enough to be late for work and go with us. He may not realize it, but it was a serious blessing to have him there. Health wise I am doing great, yea!! As we waited to listen for baby's heartbeat, as always, I was nervous. Even after 3 kids this never goes away. Dr. Ott stayed very calm letting me know that it can take a while to find the baby's heartbeat at 14 weeks. I knew this. But with Jude and Daphne the heartbeats were instantly found. This 3rd little one was being a little turkey for sure. It took minutes to find the heartbeat! It was awful! Dr. Ott was great and kept smiling and talking to Jude the entire time, but even she admitted that she was beginning to get nervous. Jeff was even starting to worry and that's saying something. Finally on my right side the heartbeat came though! It was beautiful and perfect. My conclusion is that this little one is either going to give us a run for our money (hence hiding while searching for heartbeat) or just be totally and completely chill (hence relaxing very still in a very cozy spot inside mommy). I'm gong with the latter.....:)

Life with the Littles

Preschool has started up again since Christmas break and both littles are in Kindermusik this semester. It is fantastic to be back on schedule. Jude was thrilled to be back in Kindermusik and Daphne was a blast to watch for her first time there. Lots of giggles and smiles. We've spent the past week stressing where to send Jude next year for Pre-k. Keep him where he is which is great but a long drive, or move him to a preschool here is Newburgh which I also think would be great and a closer drive. Let's hope we made the best decision! Lastly, construction is still going strong in our home as we remodel the master suite. The downstairs is an absolute disaster and will take us days to clean. However, we are going to have a beautiful bedroom and bathroom by the time it is all said and done!!

We've spent a lot of time with friends the past two weeks as well reminding us how loved we are!!

Fun with our besties!!

Celebrating a new year with friends!

How far along? 15 Weeks

Size of baby? Our little firecracker is the size of a navel orange!

Total weight gain: 6 pounds

Stretch Marks: Nope. 

Maternity clothes? I'm still managing to somehow button all my pants but I am beginning to push it....looks like belly bands are in my very near future!

Symptoms: allergies and sinus pressure, discomfort when sleeping, sore breasts, increased need to pee, still a little more tired than normal

Sleep: I toss and turn for sure.

Movement: Sometimes I think I feel little flutters...

 

Wedding Rings on or off? Still on and loose. 

 

Miss Anything? Not being out of breath my entire work out!

Food cravings: None at all.

Anything making you queasy or sick: No, I'm doing pretty good.

Gender: Just our little firecracker, but we find out at our next appointment!

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy when not overly tired.

Best Moment this Week: Best moment last week was hearing our sugar baby's heartbeat. Best moment this week was definitely Kindermusik classes with my littles! Oh, and Jude just says the cutest things! He swears up and down that the baby in mommy's belly is a boy and we are naming him Jude! No talking him out of it either. We are going to have one disappointed little boy when a.) it ends up being a girl or b.) it's a boy we are NOT naming it Jude!
 

Looking forward to: Our construction being complete and finding out the gender on February 2nd!!