Baby #2 BUMP REPORT – 23 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 23 – June 27, 2015

We went camping this weekend. It was fun to spend time with friends and enjoy the fresh air and outdoors. We bought a new tent that is much bigger than our old tent. That way it can hold a pack ‘n play, air mattress and still have plenty of room. The first night we were so excited to sleep on an air mattress, but were left very disappointed as the air slowly released throughout the night. We called it our sinking ship! VERY uncomfortable to sleep on a deflated air mattress. The second night we decided to forego the faulty air mattress and sleep on the ground….let’s just say my hips are hurting today! We really enjoyed spending the weekend with friends from small group.

In the past few weeks (especially this week), I notice DAILY how much my belly seems to be growing. It is incredible…it’s almost like it gets bigger overnight. My belly button is on the verge of popping out, which didn’t happen until 30 weeks last pregnancy. In addition to noticing visually the growing belly, I am really FEELING those growths too. I feel like I’m slowing down and just “feeling more pregnant.” It feels like I have a bowling ball attached to me! Carrying Winter is getting to be more challenging.

As far as working out goes, I am pleased to say that I’m maintaining a high level of fitness between strength training, circuits, and running. Running is only happening one or two days per week. But I’m happy to still be regularly running, even if it’s not my main form of exercise. I don’t want to think too much into it, but my right foot has been giving me a lot of trouble since a little over two weeks ago. I have had to change my stride/gait when I run to compensate for my hurting foot. Eric says I should get it checked out at the doctor, but honestly I’m afraid of what they are going to say. My fear is that I’ll have to give up running or give up exercise, which is not something I want to do. This weekend it’s been bothering me even more, I’m beginning to think it’s either a sprain or a stress fracture. Neither option is good. Perhaps I’ll get it checked out soon. I just pray that it’s a minor sprain.

My age: 29

How far along: 23 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a grapefruit (11.5 inches and 1.1 pounds)

Gender: Girl

Events of this week: Went to the splash park, had an IKEA lunch date, met with several friends to go to the pool, had our small group where I shared my testimony, went to the zoo, and spent the weekend camping.

Symptoms: Increasing belly size, tired (though not as tired as last week), feeling slower and heavier.

Exercise/Activity: I exercised 5 days this week: 2 days running, 2 days of strength or circuits, and 1 day hiking while camping. See above for ailing foot condition.

Sleep: Sleeping decent, though I get up usually once a night to pee.

Maternity clothes:  Yes.

Stretch marks: No.

Belly Button: In, though for not much longer. It’s pretty flat.

Food cravings: Smoothies, swiss cheese.

Food aversions: I FINALLY ATE CHICKEN! I don’t think it’ll be back in my regular diet, but I can now say I don’t hate the thought of it anymore.

Movement: Strong movements daily. I can see and feel them from the outside. This all seems to be happening much quicker.

Best Moment of the Week: Camping trip.

Worst Moment of the Week: None.

What I’m looking forward to: Spending time outdoors enjoying the summer (pool, splash parks, etc).

What I’m nervous about/praying for: My foot. I really hope it’s a minor issue and it goes away on it’s own. I really don’t want to go to the doctor in fear that they’ll make me stop exercising.

What I miss: Having a healthy foot!

Next appointment: Monday, July 6th at 9:40 a.m.

Here’s proof of my ever-growing belly the past few weeks:

Comparison with 1st pregnancy:

23 Week picture baby #2:

Baby #2 BUMP REPORT – 22 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 22 – June 20, 2015

22 weeks means that the baby is now one pound and 11 inches.  Dang, it really takes the baby a while to reach that one pound mark, but then she’ll be two pounds within a few more weeks! I feel like she has hit a growth spurt recently because my belly seems to have really grown a lot lately. In fact, I have started to “feel” more pregnant. My body feels a bit of the aches and pains that I wasn’t noticing before this week. When I workout, I have been wearing my Gabrialla maternity support belt when I run for several weeks now, but I am now feeling the need to also wear it for my other workouts too. Moves like jumping jacks don’t feel comfortable unless I’ve got it snugly on there supporting my belly. I think this means there has been some big growth lately. I am feeling that way. Also, I have been told that I’ve “popped” more suddenly.

My sleep is also starting to go down the toilet. I am having trouble getting comfortable at night, leaving me restless and tossing and turning. At this point my body still wants to sleep on my back, but I know that I better cut that out soon since it’s not the safest practice. I wake up on my back a lot. That is probably contributing to my feeling of being exhausted all the time.

It’s like I have suddenly hit a wall in the past week. I feel more tired. It could be that the heat has finally set in and perhaps that’s what is slowing me down and making me feel lethargic. I’m still doing great at eating healthy and exercising daily, so I know that is only positive for me….yet I am feeling SO TIRED all of the sudden. I need to get my energy back!

Winter is so adorable. She grabbed the Ipad the other day and was trying to find the video we took a few weeks ago of us using the dopplar to hear the baby’s heartbeat. She said, “baby, baby!” until she found the video. Also, Eric said that the other night she was in our bedroom and saw the dopplar on my nightstand and grabbed it and said, “baby!” Yesterday we were playing in her bedroom and she suddenly ran away. About two minutes later she ran back into the room with the dopplar in hand and said, “baby, baby!” So then we listened to the baby’s heartbeat. She really is going to be a great big sister.

Here’s proof that this baby has done a lot of growing in just the past few weeks!

My age: 29

How far along: 22 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a spaghetti squash (11 inches and 1 pound)

Gender: Girl

Events of this week: Went to the park several times, worked on some Father’s Day crafts, went to the splash park, went on a walk and let Winter play in the creek, went to a mom’s night out.

Symptoms: Increasing belly size, feeling a bit more achy, a bit of sciatic pain in my right side, exhausted and ready to nap all the time, hot with this HEAT!

Exercise/Activity: Exercises 5 days again this week.  I feel great, but since I’ve been more tired, I’ve really had to force myself to get myself active and moving. Yesterday I got a nice good run in on the treadmill, all of the other days were circuit training (cardio and strength).  Having to wear my maternity support belt ALL the time when I exercise now, not just for running. Also, I did decrease my pace a bit…I typically run at 6.0 mph on the treadmill, but I bumped it down to 5.8 mph since it feels a bit more comfortable.

Sleep: Can’t get comfortable, tossing and turning. Waking up on my back a lot.

Maternity clothes:  Yes.

Stretch marks: No.

Belly Button: In.

Food cravings: Mixed berry smoothies from Einsteins. Swiss cheese.

Food aversions: Chicken.

Movement: Feeling stronger movements all the time. I can regularly feel her from the outside now too.

Best Moment of the Week: Spending time outside with Winter and Eric.

Worst Moment of the Week: None.

What I’m looking forward to: Next weekend we are going camping with several couples from our small group. We just bought a new tent that can house a pack n play, an air mattress and our dog (with PLENTY of extra room to spare), and I can’t wait to try it out! Last summer when we camped we made do with our tiny 3-man tent, which meant there was no room to use a pack n play. Now, with this giant 8-man tent, we will have tons of room to spread out–it even has two separate rooms! I know that Winter will have a blast going camping and being able to run around outside and play in the dirt all day long for an entire weekend.

What I’m nervous about/praying for: Hoping to get my energy back.

What I miss: Feeling more energetic.

Next appointment: Monday, July 6th at 9:40 a.m.

Comparison from first pregnancy at 22 weeks

22 Week Picture

Baby #2 BUMP REPORT – 21 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 21 – June 13, 2015

Swirls, twirls and curls….we are going to have a house full of GIRLS! We are so excited to have found out that the baby is a healthy girl. We would have been happy with either gender, but I was really hoping for a little sister for Winter. Since the two girls will be exactly two years apart, I am hopeful that they will grow up as best friends and playmates. I am close with my sisters and hope for the same experience for my daughters. Plus, let’s be honest, it will be SO NICE to reuse all of Winter’s baby things and clothing, especially because all of the sizes will fall in the same seasons since we are having another October baby.  Well–that is, unless this baby turns out to be a giant or exceptionally small. We couldn’t be more happy for another girl.

On the ultrasound she looked great and is measuring right on track. She appears to look very similar to Winter’s ultrasound, as much as you can really tell from looking at a 2D ultrasound. Same round head, button nose, chubby cheeks. I hope they look alike since Winter is so adorable!

There was only one slight “concern” noted at the ultrasound. “Concern” might not even be the right term. More like something to watch for as the pregnancy progresses. I already knew my placenta was anterior, on the front of my belly, but now I have what is called a “low lying placenta.” This means that the placenta is down low and in close proximity to my cervix, though not covering or touching it. My midwife said it’s 16 mm (1 cm) away from my cervix. She said that typically as the baby grows, the placenta will continue to grow upward and away from the cervix. She was not concerned, but she said it’s something to be noted and check again later in the pregnancy. Because of this, we will have a follow up ultrasound at 28 weeks just to make sure things move in the right direction. If for some reason my placenta would be any less than 15 mm away from my cervix, there is the possibly of needing a c-section for safety purposes. I’m praying that a c-section isn’t necessary as I’m really hopeful to have a 100% all natural drug-free birth experience.

My age: 29

How far along: 21 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a carrot (10.5 inches and 12.7 ounces)

Gender: Baby girl!

Events of this week: Had our anatomy ultrasound, got pedicures with a few mom friends, babysat, pet sat for two dogs, went swimming at a friend’s pool, went to Tiny Town, went to an outdoor concert at the park, hosted a play date, had small group, went to my women’s bible study, went out on a date to see Jurassic World on opening night, and went to a BBQ/movie at church.  Busy week!

Symptoms: Growing belly, feeling really great overall.

Exercise/Activity: Got 5 days of exercise this week; two days of running and three days of workout DVDs. In my workout DVDs I skip a lot of the ab exercises and instead do cardio in it’s place (like jumping jacks, etc). Feeling really strong and fit! Signed up for a local 5K at the end of July when I’ll be 27 weeks pregnant.

Sleep: Pretty good, minus trying to force myself to sleep on my side. I wake up on my back.

Maternity clothes:  Yes.

Stretch marks: No.

Belly Button: In.

Food cravings: Mixed berry smoothies from Einsteins.

Food aversions: Chicken.

Movement: Yes. Eric felt the baby from the outside last week too!

Best Moment of the Week: The ultrasound!

Worst Moment of the Week: None.

What I’m looking forward to: Enjoying the summer days with Winter now that the weather has been great. We have a baby pool in the backyard that she uses nearly every day. I love being outside and so does she. Over the weekend I sported a bikini so I could get some sun while she played. I normally wear tankinis while pregnant, but I figure in my own back yard no one is looking!

What I’m nervous about/praying for: Nothing.

What I miss: Nothing.

Next appointment: Monday, July 6th at 9:40 a.m.

Comparison with my first pregnancy:

A look back at the entire week by week pictures so far:

And finally, this week’s pic on it’s own:

 

It’s a GIRL! “Big Sis to a Little Miss”

Baby #2 is a girl! We are thrilled!

Baby #2 BUMP REPORT – 20 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 20 – June 6, 2015

This pregnancy is already halfway done, really? Wow. That went fast. I can ask for time to just slow down a bit, as I’m in no rush to get this show on the road. 20 weeks marks a special time…the ultrasound is coming up! Within a few days we will know whether there is a boy or girl growing inside my belly. We are really excited to see the baby on the ultrasound. Last time we saw him or her was in mid March, so much has changed since then. It will be fun to see! Eric and I both want a healthy baby, gender doesn’t matter. Eric has no strong feeling but I feel like it’s a girl. We will know very soon!

My age: 29

How far along: 20 weeks – HALFWAY MARK!

How big is baby: the size of a banana (6.5 inches and 10.5 ounces)

Gender: Unknown – find out on Monday!

Events of this week: Recovered from a cold, went to the splash park, went to the dentist, had a few girls’ days and nights, and went to a baby shower.

Symptoms: Feeling great, occasional hip flexor pain/ligament stretching.

Exercise/Activity: I exercised 5 days this week, and I feel accomplished and great. I’m over my cold and regaining my strength. I bumped up to the next level in my workout DVD and I have to do some of the modifications because of pregnancy. I’m really proud of myself to sticking to healthy diet and exercise these past weeks. It’s become a natural habit now.

Sleep: Sleeping well overall, minus having to hoist myself from side to side.

Maternity clothes:  Yes.

Stretch marks: No.

Belly Button: In.

Food cravings: Swiss cheese and berry smoothies.

Food aversions: Chicken.

Movement: Feeling the baby moving every day. It’s getting more noticeable.

Best Moment of the Week: One night we listened to the baby’s heartbeat on our home doppler, and Winter was loving it.  She was “dancing” to the beat of the baby’s heart.  It melted me.

Worst Moment of the Week: None.

What I’m looking forward to: Ultrasound!

What I’m nervous about/praying for: In addition to finding out the gender at the ultrasound, we also find out if the baby is healthy or not.  Praying that everything is good!

What I miss: Nothing.

Next appointment: Monday, June 8, 2015 @ 10:30 a.m. – ultrasound day!

Here’s a comparison of 20 weeks with last pregnancy.  I feel like my belly is sort of leveling out and not as “big” as it was in comparison in my earlier weeks.

How I do my chalkboards – PicMonkey Tutorial

“How do you do your chalkboards this pregnancy?”

I’ve been asked by a few people how I’m doing my chalkboards.  It’s no secret that I’m a busy mom.  In my first pregnancy I used Chalk Ink markers to draw pretty handwritten chalkboards to mark each week of my pregnancy.  This time, I have a toddler, which means I don’t have time to spend 45 minutes to an hour every week drawing a chalkboard.  Instead, I found the idea to add text to my chalkboard using a photo editor, which is much simpler.  I stand next to my blank chalkboard and snap a photo.  Then I upload the photo to PicMonkey.com, which is a free site with a lot of cool fonts and shapes.  I did upgrade for a small free to the deluxe version since I get the premium fonts.  It’s super simple and it is much quicker than drawing the boards each week.  There’s the secret to my cute chalkboards…sans chalk! 🙂

1. Take a photo next to a blank chalkboard.

2. Upload the photo to http://www.picmonkey.com, a free website.

3. Add text, numbers and shapes to the chalkboard to design it in a way that appeals to you.

4. Crop photo & upload it to your blog.