29 Weeks!

I am so excited to officially be in the 3rd trimester now! We decided to ring in this special celebration by visiting Florida and Disney World...where there is a lot of walking...where there is a lot of heat...sounds a bit crazy, huh?! I cannot tell you how many looks I got walking around this pregnant in Disney World. Not to mention the reminder from other tourists that I look like I am due much sooner than what I am (yes, I carry big and all belly). Oh, well! There were many kind people who gave up seats for me or told me how brave I was to come to Disney this far along. Then of course there are others who pushed me around in crowded lines and knocked me into strollers (yes, people are that rude). Aside from those who have an obvious lack of consideration for others, the trip went surprisingly well with a pregnant woman and a toddler. We both surivived the long drive without upset, it never got too hot while we were there, we both managed to get up early and arrive at that parks before they opened, and we stayed until way past our bedtimes! I was pretty impresssed with the both of us! :) 

Ok. So...I did have a minor meltdown at Magic Kingdom. In my defense it was 11 o'clock at night and I had been on my feet for 15 hours. :) Poor Jeff had to take the brunt of my irritation. He was a good sport though!

Jude joined me for the picture this time!

 

His first trip to Disney World shirt...thanks to Jennifer Robeson!

I had a doctor's appointment the day before we left for vacation. It was a long morning of appointments, and my mom was kind enough to take off work and join me to watch Jude. I had my glucose test and all came back fine. I had another anatomy scan and our little pumpkin is now in the 34th percentile, so we are making progress! She was just precious in the pictures. Already sleeping with her mouth open and covering her face with her arms. As far as my size goes, my uterus measures larger while our little girl measures smaller. Am I surprised? No. One look at me and you can tell how huge my belly is and it just doesn't match up. I was reminded again this morning at Wal-mart that I look much further along than I am :). Doctor says that it is fine and nothing to worry about. I go back this Friday for another check-up. 

In other news, we are now home and ready to begin our little girl's bedroom. We have most items we need. Just need to get the paint color ready. My sister is throwing a baby sprinkle next weekend for a few people to celebrate our little pumpkin. I'm happy that we will have memories and photos celebrating her upcoming arrival just as we have Jude. Our maternity photo session is scheduled for next week as well. I have all of our outfits ready to go. I am so excited to do this shoot because Jude will get to be a part of it as well! Lastly, we ordered our double stroller (after much research and debating). I think we are going to like it! Anyone need a single Britax stoller? We have one for sale!

Meet our Joovy Caboose VaryLight Stroller!

How far along? 29 weeks and 1 day

Total weight gain: 18 pounds

Maternity clothes? Yes, definitely!

Stretch marks? Nope!

Sleep: Not too bad. I do feel pretty sore in the mornings when I wake up though.

Best moment this week: Family vacation in Florida, of course! Being with Jude and watching his reaction to everything at Disney World was just priceless! We even bought our little pumpkin cute outfit and toy.

Miss Anything? I missed being able to ride comfortably in a vehicle this week! I also missed being able to enjoy the roller coasters :(.

Movement: Lots of it!

Food cravings: No.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Symptoms: Round ligament pains and getting tired more quickly. Plus my belly is just growing off the charts!

Belly Button in or out? I am really working on an outtie this time!

Wedding rings on or off?  On and still loose.

Labor Signs: No thankfully!

Looking forward to: Decorating our little pumpkin's bedroom along with maternity pictures and our baby sprinkle next week!

26 Weeks!

I cannot believe how close the 3rd trimester is already in sight! Pregnancy goes so quickly and that really does make me sad. I truly do enjoy being pregnant (minus my 1st trimester sickness) and nothing beats feeling your baby move inside of you. Well...holding her for the first time will beat that....but the movement is something special! There is not a lot to report since my last post, but I wanted to keep these consistent with about every 2 weeks so I could see how much I am changing throughout the pregnancy and just take a moment to really love what I am going through right now. 

Moments to remember: I have definitely popped even more in the past couple of weeks and maternity clothes are starting to become a blessing. Our little girl's movement is becoming more consistent and occurring more often. I feel great overall. I do have my days where I am very sore, but I more than likely only have myself to blame for that! I still continue to run in the mornings which I believe helps me a lot, and Jude and I almost always take one walk a day. 

In preparing for our little girl's arrival, I spent an entire day shopping for her bedroom. I already knew I was using old family quilts and just had to build around it with matching colors and the vintage look. So far I am pretty happy with what I have found. We also bought Jude a new quilt set for his full size bed. Cannot believe we will be transitioning our little guy to a FULL size bed! He is growing too fast :) I also spent several days going through a friend's baby girl clothes. What they say is true....It is so much more fun to buy clothes for a girl! However, no one mentioned how stressful it was! I wanted everything. That is not in the budget. Sigh.


We made a huge step towards transitioning to a family of 4 this week with the purchase of our new van. We of course had to get a Toyota Sienna. I always remember saying that I would never be one of those moms who drives a van; should have known that would come back to bite me the butt! Actually I was very excited about getting a van and chose that over a larger SUV with many reasons behind that. 
1. Fuel economy is better.
2. It is more cost efficient.
3. I am borderline OCD when it comes to organizing and needing space. That includes the vehicle. No matter how much I loved the Subaru, it was feeling a bit cramped for me with just one child let alone two. 
4. Jeff insisted we get the Limited so it is of course loaded with everything. I am much more of a simple person. I would prefer my vehicle just be able to run smoothly and get me from point A to point B, but Jeff swore that I would love everything the Limited would have to offer. 
The conclusion so far?? I am TOTALLY overwhelmed by it all :) I still like the simple. However, there are so many convenient features to the Limited that I know I am going to appreciate it all when hauling around 2 kids. 

On a side note: I also extremely appreciate my husband for putting in all the hard work to find the perfect van for us. He also spent his first day off in forever yesterday cleaning the van and making it perfect. I am very lucky!

This summer has been such a joy so far with Jude. He is so much fun now even though he is a complete handful. He talks my ear off daily, always wants to play, still wants to cuddle, and is very honest about his feelings and wants! One very special moment for me this past week was when he put his arms around me and told me I was his best friend. Cry! So sweet! He continues to tell me this about once daily. I will truly treasure his statement as I know he means it now. I also know that it will not last forever and I will be wishing in my heart that he still did see me as his best friend.

26 Weeks with our little girl

25 weeks with Jude

 

Excited about fireworks!

No longer excited about fireworks...

Playing at the Western Roundup

Making mama proud!

Aww! Cousin love.

Learning early!

How far along? 26 weeks and one day

Total weight gain: 15 pounds

Maternity clothes? I am truly enjoying my maternity clothes for the summer because of all the heat. Way more comfortable!

Stretch marks? None that I can tell yet!

Sleep: I seem to be sleeping more through the night overall.

Best moment this week: Feeling her move so much more! I have also enjoyed getting some items purchased for her such as clothes and bedroom decor. Getting our van was exciting too actually.

Miss Anything? My summer wardrobe maybe..

Movement: I feel her multiple times throughout the day.

Food cravings: Nope!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope!

Symptoms: Heartburn as eased up a ton (knock on wood), round ligament pain, extra tired

Belly Button in or out? Pretty much in.

Wedding rings on or off?  On and still a little loose.

Looking forward to:Getting started on her bedroom along with the playroom and Jude's room. Also cannot wait for our trip to Florida!

Celebrating Our Little Girl!!

It is official! Our little family will be welcoming home a baby girl this fall. A lot of different emotions came with this knowledge, and in the end we are over come with joy knowing that God has chosen us to be parents to this precious little girl. Deep down I was thinking it would be a girl; a lot of heartburn, a worse 1st trimester, and way more exhaustion all led to that feeling. Despite this "feeling" I could not come out and say it was a girl because I have ALWAYS known I would have boys. As long as I can remember I have always had a feeling I would be the mother to a couple (few) little boys, and I was happy about that. Changing that thinking to having a little girl in our family was just not possible! I have to laugh though because God has once again proven that He has His own plans and I am so thankful for that. There is such a blessing out there to having one of each. I honestly get the best of both worlds this way! Yes, I have my little boy with all of his hugs and kisses and loving on mommy (anyone who has a son knows that special mom/son bond). He loves his trucks and trains and playing sports, and I cannot wait until he is old enough to be cheering him on in the stands. He is a handful and rowdy in ways that I was not prepared for coming from a family of all girls! I love it regardless. Now I get to look forward to a very different kind of bond with our daughter. I know there will be more fights, annoyance, and exasperation along the way with having a daughter. I clearly remember my teenage years :). In the end though I will have this daughter who will come to me for advice and a shoulder to cry on all her years; that is the special mother/daughter bond. Jude will most likely start turning to his dad as he gets older, but I know I will always have her. I will get to help her dress up for her very first dances, help her plan her wedding (if she is willing), and be there for her when she starts her family knowing exactly what she is going through. Only having sons I may have missed out on these experiences. Yes, I may get some help in the wedding, Yes, I will still get to be a grandma to his babies. In the end though I know it will be a bit different being the mother-in-law in his picture. With all this said, I know how truly blessed I am to experience the motherhood of both a boy and a girl. I must have the confidence that God has given me all I need to be the best mother to both of them.

Sweet little face

I am adding a few pictures from our gender reveal party. Needless to say we did have some excited guests as she will be the first little girl in our families. I am pretty sure Jeff is still trying to adjust his mind around having a girl as well (although I think deep down he is pretty excited about "daddy's little girl"). Currently we have had two ultrasounds performed since finding out we are having a daughter. She is growing well and is healthy and we could not be more thankful for that. My placenta was now found to be normal and her femur lengths have now evened out. Lots of prayers and leaning on God helped me through my worries and fears that she may not be developing and growing as needed. With all that said she is still small! Only in the 21st percentile. Once again she is healthy...HEALTHY.  I will still have another growth anatomy scan when I go back in 4 weeks just to be sure she is still growing as much as she needs to be. Here is what I try to keep in mind:

1. Jude was a small baby. I imagine she will be too.
2. Jude's due date kept being pushed back further and further because he was small. He was still very healthy.
3. Nothing wrong with smaller babies right? They sure do make delivery at tad bit easier :).
4. I have nothing to worry about for God is with us. 

How far along? Exactly 24 weeks today

Total weight gain: 12 pounds

Maternity clothes? I am in the in between stage. My maternity clothes are still a little too big but my regular size pants are not buttoning. Belly bands work although I am not the biggest fan of them.

Stretch marks? No.

Sleep: What mom needs sleep???

Best moment this week: Getting to see her again and knowing that we are both healthy. Jude telling the ultrasound tech and doctor that he is having a little sister! :)

Miss Anything? Being able to pick Jude up knowing I will not be sore by the end of the day.

Movement: Quite a bit and all day long.

Food cravings: No.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Symptoms: Just the daily heartburn and exhaustion! Plus round ligament pain and back pain.

Belly Button in or out? Still in.

Wedding rings on or off? On.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy most of the time! I don't necessarily ever feel moody....just really tired.

Looking forward to: All the summer fun planned with Jude and getting our playroom organized upstairs so we can then start on her bedroom.

20 Weeks! Halfway through!

I have now hit that 20 week mark; the mark that I seem to look forward to the most. Yes, it is the halfway point. Yes, I do often feel much better during this part of my pregnancy. Yes, my belly actually looks pregnant now so people are no longer guessing whether it's a baby or just fat! Besides all of these great milestones during pregnancy, my favorite by far is knowing the gender of our little pumpkin. Boy or girl? He or she? Prince or Princess? Tractors or Tiaras? As you can see, I had many sayings picked out for a potential gender reveal party! We received the news  of our he or she last Friday with our anatomy scan. The answer came quickly as this little one was moving, turning, and wiggling the whole time. Now that we know the gender I am excited to really begin planning. We have another bedroom to get ready and decorate :) One of my favorite things to do!

Right now the gender is our secret. But no worries! We have a small family gender reveal party planned for Sunday and then we can announce!

19 Weeks this time around

19 Weeks with Jude

The anatomy scan went well overall. The baby seems to be growing fine and all parts are there and working. So far our pumpkin is in the 33rd percentile for size which I am not too surprised by. Jude was only a 6 pound baby full term and stayed in the 30th percentile for size until he was 15 months old.  The main concern (which doctor said she was not all that concerned) is that I do have an abnormal placenta which can cause our pumpkin to possibly not grow as well as he or she should. This is all leads back to the questioning we were given by the doctor on how small our first baby was since this one is in the 33rd percentile. Jeff helped to calm me a lot through the news and made me realize that 1. Our baby is just fine and will probably be on the smaller size like Jude. 2. Even if there becomes a problem, God is with us and knows the plan for our pumpkin AND that is ALL that matters!

I know that Jude is going to be an amazing big brother. He loves on so many other kids, especially the younger ones. Sharing is something we are still working on....:)
He is definitely going through a stage right now (at least I'm praying it is only a stage) where he wants mommy ALL the time! He does not like to be left anywhere without me. That includes church, friends' homes, with family..... anywhere. We scream! I mean he really screams and cries and that face gets so red! I am chalking it all up to the fact he senses that the baby is coming and it will all pass. We shall see....
On a positive note, Jude's peanut allergy has gone down! Yea! I'm seriously thinking he could outgrow this by elementary school. Fingers crossed! Of course, we also know he has a minor sesame seed allergy and chickpea allergy. No hummus or peanut butter in our house! Poor Jeff.....

The warmer weather has helped to brighten our moods and home, and had kept us very busy!

How far along? 20 Weeks

Total weight gain: I have gained 8 pounds.

Maternity clothes? No! I'm still squeezing into pretty much everything. A couple of jeans require belly bands.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Symptoms: heartburn, heartburn, and more heartburn!

Sleep: I'm always tired! Like last time, I do not sleep well at night.

Best moment this week: Knowing if our pumpkin is a boy or girl.

Movement: This little one moves a lot! I have felt movement for a couple of weeks now.

Miss Anything? Energy.

Food cravings: Like last time, no cravings.

Anything making you queasy or sick: I still cannot stand the thought of hummus.

Gender: Find out soon enough!!

Looking forward to: Planning everything for the new baby.

Ending the 1st Trimester!

It's so crazy to believe that I am already 12 weeks and will begin my 2nd trimester soon. I have to admit that I am REALLY looking forward to it! With Jude I got my energy back and felt so much better in the 2nd. I am in desperate need of that energy...my house needs cleaned terribly ugh! Weeks 9 through 12 have found me still battling with nausea off and on along with heartburn. Eating makes the nausea go away, but then it often brought on heartburn and just making me feel sick in general. Quite the endless cycle. This week has been better so I feel like I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Unfortunately, this week has brought about my allergies and sinus issues. I had problems with Jude so I was expecting this. Claritin seems to help!

I had my 12 week appointment today all is well. I am healthy and the baby's heartbeat was 166. It was in time with my heartbeat so it was pretty neat to hear and brought a huge smile to my face. It's so easy how you can forget how special that moment really is. I am so blessed that God chose us to be parents again so I can experience this for a second time!

Jude is keeping me on my toes and from napping too much. He repeats that there is a baby in mommy's belly but we are pretty sure he has no understanding of it at all. I'm really enjoying this time with him where I can focus on him before baby comes. I know what a change it will be! Thanks to him I have found a wonderful group of friends that have been so willing to help me out and check on me. I know for a fact that God placed them in my life intentionally.

In other news we celebrated Easter over the weekend and Jude was quite impressive with his Easter egg hunt. He was pretty good at sniffing them out and would proudly exclaim, "I found egg!" His favorite part was opening the Easter eggs as he would shove as many as the candies possible into his mouth. This is tough on mommy since I have tried so hard to keep him away from candy. :) After Easter Jeff and I met with a developer to discuss the possibility of buying land in the Haubstadt area and building in a few areas. It's a big decision but an important one for our family! 

10 Weeks and showing

Our pregnancy announcement for family. Look at him chessin' it!

Sweet boy opening his Easter basket

Easter Egg Hunt

Shoving as many Tootsie Rolls as possible into his mouth!

13 Weeks

How far along? 12 weeks

Size of baby? Our little pumpkin is currently the size of a plum!

What's going on with baby? Our pumpkin has almost all of it's organ systems fully formed!

Total weight gain: I have gained 2 pounds but it feels like more. My belly is definitely protruding more this time around!

Maternity clothes? Nope. Still wearing all my same clothes.

Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat and of course any moment with Jude!

Symptoms: queasiness, heartburn, allergies, fatigue

Sleep: Oh sleep....I wake up quite often. It could be from the urge to pee, eat, sinus pressure, not able to breathe...

Miss Anything? Eating and not having heartburn.

Food cravings: I'm not craving anything particular. I just prefer very plain things and DO NOT want to cook. I eat toast, English muffins, waffles, apples, and crackers and cheese daily.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Feeling hungry makes me queasy. The thought of cooking sets my belly off. I find raw meat and hummus to be disgusting!

Gender: Right now it is just our little pumpkin!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am happy just tired.

Looking forward to: We have a lot going on right now. I am looking forward to getting our home reorganized and finished, all this nice weather to be outside, and our 16 week appointment in May.


A little on Jude:

Age: 2 years and almost 4 months

Size: He is 36 inches tall almost and 32 pounds.

Loves: Playing ball, trucks and cars, eating, Mickey Mouse, Paw Patrol, our dog Luna, being read to, going bye-bye, playing outside, riding his bike

Dislikes: Standing up and dancing during small group time, sharing his own toys, going to bed when daddy is not home, water in his face or eyes

New changes:That wavy hair is becoming more and more curly...hard to control! His vocabulary and sentence formation continues to grow and surprise me all the time! He loves to ask, "What's that?" He is beginning to recognize many of his letters from the alphabet and can spell his own name when asked. I love how he is even beginning to clean up after himself and helps me with daily routines.

Week 8

We are at 8 weeks now! I have been waiting for this week as we had our first appointment! We got to see our baby for the first time with our ultrasound. It was pretty much a blob. :) You could however start making out the head from the body, along with where organs were forming, and little feet and hands. It was very different to see the baby at this stage since with Jude we didn't get too see him until 20 weeks. The heartbeat was 179. Doctor teased that was a sign of a girl! My blood work was all great, and I really liked our new doctor. My next appointment will be in 4 weeks. 

How far along? 8 weeks

Size of baby? Our little pumpkin is currently the size of a kidney bean !

What's going on with baby? Our pumpkin has webbed fingers and toes poking out, eyelids almost cover the eyes, breathing tubes extend from the throat to the lungs, and the tail is just about gone!

Total weight gain: In the mornings I still weight 126. In the afternoons I weigh 127.

Sleep: The past two nights I have almost made it all through the night sleeping!

Miss Anything? Not feeling queasy!

Food cravings: I just really wanted some Pop Tarts this week. So I splurged and I love it! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: This past weekend was pretty rough. I slept most of Sunday not wanting to eat at all. Thankfully since this my nausea is come and go and hasn't been as harsh. As long as I eat every couple of hours, I notice that has helped too.

Gender: Right now it is just our little pumpkin!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am happy. I can be moody when not feeling well.

Looking forward to: Feeling better!

7 Weeks!

Week 7 of pregnancy has arrived at full force! I am already nauseated and it lasts throughout most of the day. Ugh! I can't stand to open the fridge, cook, or just think about most food in general. In order to feel better though, I have to make sure I am eating frequently. So small snacks and meals it is for a while! I have tried pregnancy pops for the first time. First of all, they are sour and I love that! Second of all, they work wonders while I have one. Then once they are gone I feel sick again :(  I am so lucky that Jeff is so supportive and doesn't mind that I can't cook sometimes or our meals come from a box (I can't believe I am cooking meals from a box).  I find myself still needing to take an hour nap every afternoon when Jude does. This is not good. My house needs cleaned. Terribly! With all this being said, I still could not be more excited that we are expecting our second child! I'll take this blah feeling any day as long as I know we will meet our little pumpkin in the end. Thankfully Jude is keeping me busy and that helps me to feel a bit better off and on.

Currently at church we are doing a study on the family. I find this to be so appropriate for us right now! As we prayed for God to help us grow our family and to see our prayers being answered, I find that it is the best time to really study His word and know how He wants family to work in the home. It forces me to look at myself closely has a wife and a mother. Sometimes I do not like what I see. This is a good thing though. A realization like this helps me to better myself in these areas. It's not easy! But I have learned in the past year that studying God's word, prayer, and relying on Him can make all the difference!

Life with Jude is still exciting! We are keeping busy this week with Dr. Seuss activities. He's always so much fun to watch explore and play. This week we have been working on identifying words that are important to Jude. So far Jude can recognize: truck, mom, dog, cow, ball, and Jude. It's a start. Plus out of no where he recognizes the letter o.

How far along? 7 weeks

Size of baby? Our little pumpkin is currently the size of a blueberry!

What's going on with baby? Our pumpkin has hands and feet emerging now and has doubled in size!

Total weight gain: I gained one pound last week. I've lost it again as of this morning.

Sleep: I need an hour nap each afternoon just to function. I'm having a hard time sleeping all through the night. I end up waking up with a stuffed nose and a queasy belly. I keep ending up on the couch!

Miss Anything? Not feeling queasy!

Food cravings: I am loving Mexican food again. Luckily we have Taco Bell, Taco John's, Taco Tierra, and a bunch of other restaurants to help with that craving!

Anything making you queasy or sick: My poor belly is queasy almost all day long. I am okay to eat and I never actually get sick. I just do not want to cook or open the fridge. Right now I can't stand the thought of hummus or eggs.

Gender: Right now it is just our little pumpkin!

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am happy. I can be moody when not feeling well.

Looking forward to: We are looking for new office furniture this week. We are changing things around the home to make room for new baby. Doctor's appointment is next week!! On a side note it looks like we are going to Orlando for vacation in July. Definitely excited about that. Although being 28 weeks preggo at the time could make things a little different!