Baby #2 BUMP REPORT – 27 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 27 – July 25, 2015

The baby is now over two pounds and more than 14 inches. This marks the last week of the 2nd trimester, the home stretch is around the corner. Wow. I’ve enjoyed this 2nd trimester and hopefully the third will treat me well too.

I called around and finally found a chiropractor that accepts insurance and treats my Pubis Symphysis Dysfunction. I had an appointment with him on Thursday and he is confident that he can get me in working order. After an examination, he adjusted me. My pubic pain is lesser and I feel better overall. I return for another appointment next week. I am grateful that I can get some help for this issue. So far I’m happy with the result of my first adjustment. Chiropractic care during pregnancy is only positive, so I look forward to getting treated regularly.

On Friday I got a real treat. One of my good friends offered to take Winter for the day so that I could get a “day off” and do whatever I wanted. It was so nice! I went to see a movie, got a manicure, went to the mall, and overall enjoyed my day. It was much needed and very refreshing!

Today I ran a 5K race and it went pretty well. The course had ZERO flat areas, it was either uphill or downhill the entire time. My foot didn’t give me any trouble, neither did my pubic bone give me any pain. I wore my maternity support belt. I ran the majority of the race but did take walking breaks on some of the uphill portions. It felt great when I would occasionally pass other runners. I heard one lady sigh really loud as I passed her.

Eric and I celebrate 7 years of marriage on July 26. We are going to spend one night away in the mountains to celebrate!

My age: 29

How far along: 27 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a head of lettuce (14.5 inches and 2.2 pounds)

Gender: Girl

Events of this week: Went to a surprise birthday party, went to the movies, went to the park, went swimming at the pool, had a “day off,” had a girl’s night, ran a 5K, went to a jewelry party, and our friends from small group had their baby girl.

Symptoms: Pubis Symphysis Dysfunction, growing belly, mild heartburn and got my first Braxton Hicks contractions. Started to feel the urgency to go to the bathroom frequently now–with there only being a trickle….so annoying!

Exercise/Activity: 5 days of exercise! One of those being my 5K race that I ran today. Feeling good about working out, although I did pull a muscle in my back while lifting weights the other day.

Sleep: Decent sleep because of my pillow cave. Up a lot to pee.

Maternity clothes:  Yes.

Stretch marks: No.

Belly Button: Out.

Food cravings: Swiss cheese.

Food aversions: None.

Movement: Lots.

Best Moment of the Week: Our friends FINALLY had their baby girl 9 days overdue!

Worst Moment of the Week: None.

What I’m looking forward to: Seeing our baby on the ultrasound on Friday.

What I’m nervous about/praying for: Hoping for good results on the ultrasound. We are looking to see a bigger spacing between where my placenta is compared to my cervix than at 20 weeks.

What I miss: Nothing.

Next appointment: Friday, July 31 @ 8:00 am – checkup, 28 week ultrasound & glucose test.

Pregnancy comparison:

27 Weeks Pregnant with baby #2:

Baby #2 BUMP REPORT – 26 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 26 – July 18, 2015

At 26 weeks, the pregnancy is already 65% complete…it’s going so fast! She will be here in approximately 3 months, how am I already 6+ months pregnant?! The baby is the size of a cucumber, weighing it at almost 2 pounds and 14 inches long.

We went camping as a family (just Eric, Winter and I) this weekend and had an enjoyable time. We bought a new air mattress because the one we had on our camping trip a few weeks ago had a leak. That one got thrown away since it gave us such a terrible night of sleep! The new air matress held up great and Eric, Winter and I all slept fantastic this weekend! (Winter slept in a pack n play in the tent.) It was fun to go camping with just the three of us, even if it did pour rain for a good 45 minutes on Saturday afternoon. Winter was frightened by the storm, but that just meant I got to cuddle her for a while (I loved that)!

I’m back to running and feel so grateful to be doing so. My foot is holding up great. I plan to run my 5K race next weekend!

This week there has been a major baby boom. I’ve known of 8 friends who have given birth within one week! Wow! And I have several more friends who are currently due or due within the next week or two. I guess 9 months ago there must have been a major blizzard, if you know what I mean. 🙂

My age: 29

How far along: 26 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a cucumber (14 inches and 1.9 pounds)

Gender: Girl

Events of this week: Celebrated with friends at a couples baby shower for their baby boy, met with friends to walk, dressed up at a cow to get free food at ChickFilA on “cow appreciation day,” went on a date night, had some play dates, completed more sewing projects for the nursery, celebrated birthdays with our life group, went camping.

Symptoms: Growing belly, slight heartburn, and a new symptom….(sorry if TMI) pubic bone pain! It’s like I get lightning strikes to that area that are super painful, especially if I shift from side to side or pick up something really heavy. It’s called Symphysis Pubic Dysfunction. I looked it up and it seems to be related to the fact that the hormone relaxin is loosening my joints and can cause this symptom. It’s actually very uncomfortable, and I have never experienced this with my first pregnancy.

Exercise/Activity: Logged my 5 days this week. I am proud to say that my foot has recovered enough that I’ve been back to running! I completed 3 runs this week and lifted weights 4-5 times this week. My calves feel SUPER tight when I run. I experienced tight calves much earlier in my pregnancy last time, so I feel grateful that it started up so much later this time.

Sleep: I’m not sleeping the greatest, but not terribly. I am 100% getting up nightly to use the bathroom at this point. At least once, if not more.

Maternity clothes:  Yes.

Stretch marks: No.

Belly Button: Out.

Food cravings: Swiss cheese.

Food aversions: None.

Movement: Moving like crazy.

Best Moment of the Week: Camping with my family this weekend. It was fun to see Winter enjoying herself so much.

Worst Moment of the Week: None.

What I’m looking forward to: Our ultrasound in less than 2 weeks!

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

What I miss: Nothing.

Next appointment: Friday, July 31 @ 8:00 am – checkup, 28 week ultrasound & glucose test.

Comparison of pregnancies:

26 weeks with baby #2:

 

Nursery Pinspiration – Baby Girl #2

I have been busy working on the nursery. It’s coming together really nicely. I don’t have any pictures yet, but I hope to post pictures once it’s complete. We have the crib set up, curtains hung, crib bedding. I bought a sewing machine recently, so I’ve made a changing pad cover, teething rail guard, no-sew crib skirt and a blanket that all match. I’d like to make a few more things. We have no wall art yet. Here is my inspiration for baby girl #2’s nursery. I decided to go with a navy theme with hot pink accents.

Here are some pins that have been my inspiration…

Navy and hot pink nursery

Love the navy crib skirt with hot pink sheet

Elegant combo of navy and hot pink

I love this pink stripe with the baby’s name over the crib

Cute navy crib skirt with a hot pink border

I want to make a pillow just like this

Hot pink flower ball & navy/pink wall art

Would love a hot pink and navy pennant banner

Teething rail guard to match the crib skirt, this pink is too light

Baby #2 – BUMP REPORT – 25 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 25 – July 11, 2015

My belly is the size of a soccer ball this week according to my sources. Baby girl sure seems to get that memo since she is kicking like a soccer player in there. We have officially chosen her name, though we won’t share what that is until her birth. If your guess is “Spring,” “Summer,” or “Autumn,” I can tell you right now, you are wrong! Believe me, I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asks me that…I’d be rich! Haha. I’m a good sport though. I do like the names Summer and Autumn, but with Winter already in our family, I’d never use one of those names. Though it may drive my friends crazy, baby #2’s name is top secret for a few more months! It’s fun knowing that we have chosen her name. Eric has started praying for her by name, and Winter can even pronounce her baby sister’s name fairly well (is that a hint?).

I am ecstatic that my foot is feeling majorly improved. I took the doctor’s advice and have been wearing good sturdy shoes nearly all of the time (even when I’m at home inside). This has made a big difference. I think my shoe essentially acted like a cast or brace to keep it from continuing to move around too much and worsen. I’ve been walking like a crazy woman and lifting weights like it’s my job, so my body is not feeling deprived of exercise. In fact, all this strength training is helping me stay lean. With my foot feeling SO MUCH better, I hope to add some running back into my exercise routine soon, as I have a 5K race coming up that I’d like to run. The race is in two weeks.

We suddenly have had big progress in baby’s nursery. Because Winter is such a great sleeper, we want to keep her in her own crib as long as possible. We bought another crib for the baby and changing table this week and set them up. Having those items made me excited to start working on the decor of the nursery, so I bought fabric and began working on some projects. I also bought a sewing machine so that I can sew items myself. This week I sewed a teething rail guard, crib skirt (no sew skirt, just like the one I made for Winter’s crib) and diaper changing pad cover. We also bought curtains and crib sheets. The room is coming along nicely and I am so excited it’s coming together. I will post more about the nursery down the road as it comes together.

There are many of my friends who are also pregnant this year, and some of the due dates are coming up now that it’s July. There was one girl who had her baby this week and another who is due this week. Seeing others having their babies is making this feel all the more real for me that I’ve only got a few short months left until we have ours. Crazy! Time, slow down!

My mom is a nurse, and she was telling me about a little one year old baby she was caring for this week who was born prematurely at only 25 weeks! He was due October 25 of last year. That would be like my baby being born now! Wow. I’m grateful that God has given this baby a good safe place to grow, and I hope to be blessed to carry her to 40 weeks. It’s amazing knowing that if she were born now, she could survive though.

My age: 29

How far along: 25 weeks

How big is baby: the size of a cauliflower (13 inches and 1.5 pounds)

Gender: Girl

Events of this week: Watched the fireworks with friends, went to church, set up the baby’s crib, went to story time at the library, saw a movie at the theatre with Winter, went to the zoo, went on a few walks with friends, had bible study, went to FAM night at church with our small group, going to a baby shower tomorrow.

Symptoms: Belly is growing.

Exercise/Activity: I exercised 5 days this week. My muscles are getting strong and toned from all of this weight training. Since my foot is starting to feel so much better, I am going to attempt adding running back in this week. I’m signed up to run a 5K race in two weeks.

Sleep: Decent, no complaints.

Maternity clothes:  Yes.

Stretch marks: No.

Belly Button: Partially out.

Food cravings: Smoothies, swiss cheese, cherries.

Food aversions: None.

Movement: She is kicking and moving like crazy. Sometimes I lie in bed and wonder if she’ll ever quiet down.

Best Moment of the Week: Getting the baby’s crib set up and started to work on the nursery projects.

Worst Moment of the Week: Seeing Winter so terrified of the fireworks on 4th of July.

What I’m looking forward to: Running again.

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

What I miss: Nothing.

Next appointment: Friday, July 31 @ 8:00 am – checkup, 28 week ultrasound & glucose test.

Comparison with first pregnancy:

25 weeks pregnant with baby #2:

Baby #2 BUMP REPORT – 24 Weeks

PREGNANCY WEEK 24 – July 4, 2015

Happy 4th of July! Tonight we will watch fireworks with friends. Since we didn’t watch them last year, this will be Winter’s first official time watching a fireworks show.

My 24 week appointment went great. The midwife measured my fundal height for the first time, which was exactly 24 centimeters. I am fairly sure I always measured slightly under with Winter, but I’m not surprised that I’m measuring the full length this pregnancy. In fact, I am surprised I wasn’t measuring AHEAD with how huge my belly feels! She said that my weight gain and size looks perfect and on track. My goal is to stay within the 25-35 pound recommended gain, though under 30 is my true goal. I’m up 18.5 pounds at 24 weeks, so we shall see where I end up at 40 weeks. As long as I continue working hard through healthy eating and exercise, I am not worried…I know I can reach my goal!

I also saw my PCP this week for an annual physical (for wellness health and also for insurance benefits). At my appointment, I expressed concern about my injured foot. She did an examination and she feels that it very well could be a stress fracture. Because I’m pregnant, she would like to avoid taking an x-ray if possible. She recommended that I not run or do any high impact movements as this could worsen my condition. I also and supposed to avoid wearing flip flops or going barefoot–instead I’m supposed to wear good supportive shoes. I’ll continue following the RICE method (rest, ice, compression, elevation). She said if my foot isn’t starting to feel better within 2-3 weeks, to come back for another check. I’ve been still exercising, but trying to walk, lift weights and do low impact cardio exercises. All this strength training will keep me nice and toned!

My age: 29

How far along: 24 weeks

How big is baby: the size of an ear of corn (12 inches and 1.3 pounds)

Gender: Girl

Events of this week: Went walking several days with girlfriends, went to the pool, had several doctor appointments, went to the library, spent time with a college/high school friend who visited, went to Garden of the Gods, went to Manitou Springs, watched an outdoor movie at the park, went to the splash park, celebrated 4th of July.

Symptoms: Growing belly, feeling great overall.

Exercise/Activity: 5 days of exercise completed this week. As I mentioned, my foot injury is limiting my cardio. So I’ve been doing strength training circuits, walking and any type of low impact cardio that I can.

Sleep: Pretty good. Found a happy place with arranging my pillows around me.

Maternity clothes:  Yes.

Stretch marks: No.

Belly Button: I can’t really say 100% in anymore. Part of it is now poking out. This didn’t happen to me in my first pregnancy until 30+ weeks.

Food cravings: Fresh cherries, swiss cheese, berry smoothies.

Food aversions: None, though I still don’t really desire much chicken.

Movement: Moving like crazy. Visible from the outside too.

Best Moment of the Week: Having a good checkup with the midwife.

Worst Moment of the Week: Finding out my foot is indeed injured.

What I’m looking forward to: Healing my foot and getting back to normal life.

What I’m nervous about/praying for: My foot…I just want it to cooperate and get better.

What I miss: Walking without limping.

Next appointment: Friday, July 31 @ 8:00 am – checkup, 28 week ultrasound & glucose test.

Winter wanted to take a picture with the chalkboard just like mommy! Too adorable.

Comparison of first and second pregnancies

24 weeks with baby #2