One of my favorite things about taking a weekly bump photo is putting them all together to see the progression. It’s time for a collage of the entire pregnancy! Here it is….
Beginning with….
4 Weeks Pregnant – January 2020
Ending with….
39 Weeks +2 days Pregnant – October 2020
……
Baby Eli is my 3rd baby. His pregnancy was full of ups and downs. The craziest year to be pregnant…2020. That is an understatement.
While my pregnancy was not always the best one, and the year of 2020 was the worst year yet, it resulted in the most wonderful baby boy I could have ever prayed for.
Eli is the sweetest and most precious son. Truly a gift from God. He is the blessing that came from the ugly year of 2020.
For us, because of that reason alone, 2020 is a gift.
Eli, you grew week by week in my belly during crazy times. We are so thankful for your sweet life. I love you, baby boy! -Love, Mommy
Now that I’m at the end of pregnancy, I am getting back on track with writing blog updates every-other week again. Well, hopefully. For now, anyway! It’s funny how each pregnancy has been a different level of motivation for writing pregnancy updates. With my first pregnancy, it happened every single week, on time, with a hand-drawn chalkboard art and all. With my second pregnancy, I again made it a huge priority, even though I had less time since I had a toddler underfoot…but I did do some things to make it a bit easier on myself. Third pregnancy….well! Let’s just say this: I’m currently 9 months pregnant, and even though I have taken weekly photos and written (somewhat) sporadic blog entries, I have yet to upload a single entry or photo to my actual blog! I am SO BEHIND! In fact, since early in my pregnancy, I started writing these updates and just e-mail them to myself, since I wasn’t planning to announce pregnancy until least the first trimester had passed. Well, that has turned into me getting to 36 weeks pregnant and I STILL have yet to upload the early entries (or ANY entries) yet to my actual blog. Making it a goal to work on that today. The joys and a realities of a 3rd time mom.
I wrote my last update right before I had my last prenatal checkup. At the checkup at 34 weeks, my belly is measuring 37 weeks, and baby was no longer breech at that time. My midwife called his position transverse, but his body was lying diagonally with his head down low by my left hip and his butt up high underneath my right ribs. She said this was progress in the right direction, but would not yet call that a head down position. She said I could stop doing the spinning babies inversion technique (like lying on an ironing board for 20 minutes a day!), but to continue seeing the chiropractor. I am pleased with the update that baby has made progress in moving towards the right position, but still nervous that he may not completely flip into a head down position. My next appointment is in a few days, and I will have an ultrasound to check baby’s position. Prayers that he is fully head down at that time, as I will be 36 1/2 weeks at that point. I am still technically on activity restriction, but will be officially cleared to resume my normal workouts once I am 37 weeks. I fully plan to take advantage of that, even if it means I will only get a few weeks of workouts in before baby is born. Better something than nothing. Especially since I will have to be on complete restriction for the first 6 weeks postpartum.
We took maternity photos at 35 weeks! I had Eric take them of me, and then brought the tripod so that he could get into a few of the photos with me. Winter helped out with that, by pushing the shutter button and telling us to “cheese!” I’m super happy with how they turned out! We will be doing professional newborn photography though, as that is something I want to leave to the hands of professionals. I’m excited to use Melissa Yocum, but not thrilled with the $600 price tag. But it’ll be worth every penny when we have those beautiful photos.
Sadly, I caught my first (and hopefully last!) cold of the pregnancy. The last cold I had was during Christmas last year, so that is a pretty good stretch without any colds! In fact, I distinctly remember when I was pregnant with Chloe that I had 3 colds during her pregnancy. I am sure that this pandemic very much has everything to do with the fact that I haven’t gotten sick….between all of the social distancing, hand washing, and germ management, I feel like NOBODY has gotten sick these past months. Now that both girls are back in school, I believe Winter picked something up and passed it to me and Chloe. Thankfully both Winter and Chloe were pretty darn minor, but I feel like I am on the struggle bus. The first two days I tried everything possible to avoid getting sick….drinking copious amounts of apple cider vinegar, swallowing fresh chopped garlic whole, elderberry syrup, the whole nine! Sadly, I just smelled heavily of garlic for two days, and still ended up with a full blown congestion and runny nose anyway. So, I am just HOME. When you’re sick with any kind of symptom during this pandemic season, that is your only option…stay home! So I am home and miserable. Hoping that I will be officially healthy and symptom-free by the time of my appointment next week, otherwise I’ll have to bump it out.
My age: 34
How far along: 36 weeks pregnant
How big is baby: the baby is the size of a head of romaine lettuce at approx 18 3/4 inches and 6+ pounds. It’ll be interesting to see what baby measures on my ultrasound next week.
Gender: Boy
Events of the past few weeks: We finished out the pool season with a bang…. Also, over labor day weekend, we helped my brother and sister-in-law do some unpacking in their new home (they just moved to CO from CA). We are back in the swing of school and after-school activities. Going to the chiropractor a lot. Took maternity photos.
Symptoms: Belly is huge, noticing that I occasionally waddle when I walk, occasional heartburn, belly just hurts. Over it!
Workout & Training Summary: Still just walking or doing the elliptical trainer. I also have been doing some super light weight upper body weights. Like 10 lbs! It feels good to pretend like I’m lifting weights a bit.
How workouts are feeling: Excited and anxious to start doing some “REAL” workouts again! This walking is for the birds!
Nutrition, Protein & Calories: Staying on track and hitting my goals! This week of being sick has been a little off, though….like mainly chicken noodle soup and popsicles.
How is my body changing: Belly is measuring WAY huge, like 3 weeks ahead. My body is still feeling overall small, but definitely noticing muscle loss.
Sleep: Sleeping very well, outside of this week. This week it’s just bad because of my congestion and runny nose. Hoping to kick this thing and get back to solid sleeping again.
Food cravings: None. Although I have eating multiple cans of chicken noodle soup this week, and realized I actually really like it!
Food aversions: None.
Movement: Baby is getting huge, so movements are mostly rolls or occasional jabs. It feels like an alien lives in my belly. Very active alien.
Best Moment of the Week: Mornings in bed with my girls. Every morning Eric brings both girls in my bed to lay with me for about 10 minutes before we get up. This is hands-down always the best part of my days. I love that they cuddle me and talk to me in these special morning moments.
What I’m looking forward to: Kicking this runny nose & feeling better. Also, looking forward to lifting weights again! So soon!
What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to: My belly aching and also not enjoying my raw runny nose.
What I miss: Being not pregnant. I am in the final stretch!
Next appointment: Monday, Sept 14 @ 3pm for ultrasound & appointment.
Bump comparison photos:
So crazy to see how different my belly looks at the same stage of 3 very different pregnancies!
Here’s a little look back at the baby’s growth over the past 6 weeks:
Welcome to 6 months pregnant! Six months just sounds so much better than five months. I know that sounds silly, but because my belly is pretty popped out, when people ask me how many months I am, saying “5 months” just sounds like such a long way left to go for how “big” my belly is. Anyhow, now I’m officially 6 months.
I have started experiencing some pretty extreme exhaustion in the past few weeks. I don’t know if I’m just getting to that later point in pregnancy, or if it’s the summer heat, who knows. All I know, is that I am so wiped out all of the time. It’s rough feeling this way, and it’s humbling to have to pick and choose what I’m going to exert my energy doing. I suppose I am just around the corner from being in the 3rd and final trimester, so perhaps this is just the way it’s going to be from here on out.
My age: 34
How far along: 23 & 24 weeks pregnant
How big is baby: the size of an ear of corn (23 weeks) and the size of a cantelope melon (24 weeks), approx 12 inches long and 1.3-1.5 pounds.
Gender: Boy
Events of the past two weeks: In the past few weeks, I have been at the gym daily, which feels amazing. I truly love having somewhere to go everyday. We also got to go to the Denver Zoo for the first time, as it reopened after 3 months of closure. The only thing I did not like about the zoo experience was that they were strictly requiring (and enforcing) mask wearing. It’s WAY to hot out to be wearing a mask on my face OUTSIDE! The whole mask thing drives me insane. And playgrounds are now open, so the kids and I have been hitting up the parks a lot lately. We also got our pool set up in the backyard, so the girls constantly want to swim now.
Symptoms: Belly feels huge one day, and then suddenly it feels like it shrinks again. Weird. But overall, belly is growing and big, while my body doesn’t feel big and growing otherwise, thankfully. Heartburn has reared it’s ugly head. I can literally get heartburn even if I haven’t eaten anything at all. Finally bought some Tums, long overdue. Extreme exhaustion and just feeling “wiped out.” Feeling slow and pregnant and big. Tired. No energy.
Workout & Training Summary: Been at the gym 7 days a week for the past 3 weeks now! On Sundays, my usual rest day, I just do a bit of easy cardio. Otherwise I’ve been sticking to my main schedule: heavy squats, 2x upper body, heavy deadlifts, high volume leg day, and a full body day.
Workout & Training details (both weeks were about the same, although the second week, I only did deadlifts at 135, not 185) Mon – Heavy squats (squats @ 155)Tues – Upper body lifting Wed – High volume leg day (mainly squats, did 155 lb squats) Thur – Upper body liftingFri – Heavy deadlift day, (deadlifts @ 185) Sat – Full body day, mostly all barbell stuff, squats, military presses, etc.
How workouts are feeling: Feeling strong, but also getting fatigued much quicker. I think I realize that I am going to have to start cutting down a bit on my heavy days…like maybe 135 for squats and 135 or 155 for deadlifts. Going really heavy isn’t feeling as good as it was before. I will see how this goes if I choose to go this route.
Nutrition, Protein & Calories: I have really been focusing more of healthy foods in the past few weeks, with an emphasis on getting my water in, vegetables and fruits in, and limiting sweets to only 1 day per week. I’m still also tracking (mostly, though some days I lose track), but this emphasis on cleaner foods is forcing me to get some more nutrients in my system for baby. I feel accomplished by going this route. The limiting sweets to 1 day per week is hard, but I’m using those calories on more nutritious choices in it’s place.
How is my body changing: Big belly, center of gravity has moved forward.
Sleep: We got our new king sized bed all set up! So much fun to have the extra room. Sleep is pretty well, minus a few really bad nights of insomnia, which is SUPER frustrating.
Food cravings: Turkey sandwiches. I need to ask my midwife her opinion on cold deli meat during pregnancy.
Food aversions: Meals. I just don’t feel like eating dinner or anything that feels like a “meal” lately. I’m struggling a lot with “nothing sounds good.” It’s annoying.
Movement: This baby has gotten a lot bigger and stronger, because his movements are insane! He does full rolling and acrobatics constantly. It’s crazy to see my entire belly jolt around.
Best Moment of the Week: Cuddling in bed in the mornings with my kids when they wake up. I have made it a daily requirement that they must come lie down and cuddle me every morning for at least a few minutes before they can go downstairs. It truly is the best part of my day each day. This, I will miss once we eventually get back to a school schedule again come August. (IF school does indeed go back, due to Coronavirus!)
What I’m looking forward to: Going swimming soon! The pools officially open in 2 days. Also I’m excited to go back to my old gym, 24 Hour Fitness. They officially reopen on June 22. I will likely continue at my little temporary gym, Balance, but am excited for the normalcy of 24 again. The only downside to 24 is that they will make you sign up for 1 hour appointments for working out, whereas at Balance I can show up anytime and stay as long as I like! So we shall see. Either way, looking forward to returning to my old gym.
What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to: Getting some energy back would be nice….but I think it may be gone.
What I miss: Feeling the energy of my old self.
Next appointment: June 24, 2020 at 10:30 am for a 24 week appointment.
Well, yesterday, at 22 weeks pregnant, I finally announced our pregnancy on Instagram and on Facebook. Wow, that is definitely a record for me to wait until 5.5 months pregnant to finally announce the big news. It feels good to get that out there. I had not originally planned to wait such a long time….but this pandemic has just made life so weird. I have felt off and mentally all over the place during much of the time, which just didn’t make me feel like sharing the news publicly yet. Now, it felt like it was about darn time, so it’s officially done. I did not announce the gender yet, but I will do that this week.
Also, in other big news, on June 1, we finally had the big anatomy ultrasound. Baby is so big and looks so healthy! She told me that he is measuring about a week ahead and already weighed 1 pound. It was sad that Eric still is not allowed to be at my appointments, due to coronavirus. Ugh! How sad that the dad cannot even see his own child on an ultrasound. I was able to facetime him, but it just doesn’t compare. I will have an ultrasound or two in the future, and I am hopeful that by then, he will be able to come.
Speaking of which, I will need a follow up ultrasound at 28 weeks pregnant to recheck the location of my placenta. As of now, I have a partial placenta previa, which means a portion of the placenta is covering the cervical opening. I had a low lying placenta with Chloe and it ended up moving as she got bigger. I am hopeful this situation can also be resolved as the baby grows. If I still have placenta previa in late pregnancy, a c-section is required, otherwise both me and the baby could hemorrhage and die. Praying that the placenta moves and we can avoid all of that!
My age: 34
How far along: 21 & 22 weeks pregnant
How big is baby: the size of a spaghetti squash (21) and the size of an ear of corn (22). At our ultrasound at 21 weeks, the tech said he was measuring ahead and weighed exactly 1 pound even, which was about a week ahead of schedule.
Gender: Boy
Events of the past two weeks: Douglas county (where I live) announced that gyms could reopen! I waited and waited and still saw nothing about my gym opening….so I bit the bullet and bought a month membership at a local small gym called Balance Fitness on June 1st. This has been a huge positive and life change for me, as now I have the ability to go to the gym every day! This is such a great outlet for me! It feels amazing to have somewhere to go, and I also love being around other fitness enthusiasts who are at the gym to workout too. Also, we found out this week that the pools WILL indeed open this summer (which I was afraid that might not be the case), but won’t open until June 22, and for 90 minute reservation only style. But I am looking forward to being able to take the kids to the pool this summer! Yay!
Symptoms: Belly feels like it’s getting MASSIVE! My energy has slowed down A LOT. I feel so exhausted again. Feeling much better in my body image, but just feeling like “how huge is my belly going to get?!”
Workout & Training Summary: Daily walks as well as 6 days/week workouts both weeks. It’s so exciting to be back in a real gym! Even having A/C is a huge blessing now that it’s getting hot. It’s nice to have access to a full gym of equipment again, including cardio machines and cable machines, which I haven’t’ had access to for months.
Workout & Training details (both weeks were the same, except the second week I didn’t do a 6th workout): Mon – Heavy squats (squats @ 155)Tues – Upper body lifting Wed – High volume leg day (mainly squats) Thur – Upper body liftingFri – Heavy deadlift day, (deadlifts @ 185) Sat – Full body day, mostly all barbell stuff, squats, military presses, etc.
How workouts are feeling: Feeling more exhausted, but also feeling SUPER motivated now that I’m in the gym
Nutrition, Protein & Calories: Tracking 1800-1900 calories a day, but now am shifting my mentality a bit. Rather than hitting my calories, I am trying to implement some more “healthy habits” and overall cleaner food choices into my life. I’m now limited sweets to only one day per week and trying to eating more servings of vegetables each day. I’ve also began drinking my greens drink daily as well. Just trying to be more aware of nutrients and fueling my body with healthy sources rather than focusing on calories and protein like usual. Still tracking, just trying to be better even.
How is my body changing: Huge belly! Boobs are still big, but don’t even look that big now that my belly has gotten so large!
Sleep: Sleep is great with the exception of a few nights here or there with insomnia.
Food cravings: Nothing really.
Food aversions: Beef a little bit. We had beef two nights and I was really feeling sickened by the smell.
Movement: Strong movements. The girls and Eric are both enjoying being able to feel his kicks from the outside.
Best Moment of the Week: Being back at the gym to workout!
What I’m looking forward to: Summer activities and feeling hopefully “normal” again to do some regular summer activities.
What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to: Feeling exhausted and wiped out. I feel so drained from this pregnancy. It’s humbling.
What I miss: Nothing right now. I’m just so happy to be back at the gym and feeling a bit more normal in that sense.
Next appointment: June 24, 2020 at 10:30 am for a 24 week appointment.
Here is a look back on my pregnant bumps at 24 weeks with Winter and Chloe:
I feel excited to say that time seems to be moving along a “taddddd” bit faster than it has been during this pandemic. It feels like I just sat down to write my update, and that was already 2 weeks ago. So that’s a good thing. Updates since the last time I wrote: I am feeling baby movements now. I started feeling them at the end of week 16, a few days before I hit 17 weeks. Now, at 18 weeks, I have definitely been feeling small movements daily.
My age: 34
How far along: 17 weeks & 18 weeks
How big is baby: the size of a (17 weeks) pear (5 inches & 5 ounces) and (18 weeks) bell pepper (5.5 inches and 6.75 ounces)
Gender: Boy
Events of the past two weeks: More of the same with the pandemic. During week 16, the state moved into a new phase called “safer at home” which slightly lifted a few restrictions from the “stay at home” order. From May 1st-May 26th, now some non-essential businesses can be open, but not much else has changed. I did jump in to a new thing this past week: I met up with a friend IN PERSON for the first time in two whole months. My friend and I met a few times to take walks together. It felt so refreshing to do something that felt so “normal.” Even as simple as a walk together.
Symptoms: Belly is growing. Having a hard time tying my shoes. Feeling pretty good, overall.
Workout & Training Summary: 6 days & 5 days workouts these past 2 weeks. I also went to the MAC to do the stairs incline twice last week, which was a fun way to mix things up. I just miss seeing other people. There is something really motivating about seeing others working out, rather than simply being alone.
Workout & Training details (both weeks were the same, except the second week I didn’t do a 6th workout): Mon – Heavy squats (squats @ 155)Tues – Upper body lifting Wed – Heavy deadlift day, working sets felt strong (deadlifts @ 185), second week I only did 145 lbs, I just didn’t feel like pushing it. Thur – Upper body liftingFri – High volume squat day (squats @ 135) Sat – Full body day (deadlift high volume day @ 135 lbs) –(didn’t complete this day the second week)
How workouts are feeling: Feeling strong, but feeling like my belly is starting to make some movements feel harder.
Nutrition, Protein & Calories: Have been really on track with my 1800ish calories. Feeling good.
How is my body changing: My friend who saw me in person was shocked at my boobs. Ha! My belly is also growing and getting higher as well. My dedication to workouts and staying on track with my food intake is definitely helping my body stay “lean” feeling. I have started wearing shorts more regularly in the past week or two, and I feel pretty confident even in shorts. Shorts are always something that’s hard for me, but esp when I’m pregnant and my body isn’t my favorite.
Sleep: Pretty good. Sleeping in without alarms is still a silver lining to quarantine life. This weekend, Eric and I slept until 11am both days. That kinda felt amazing.
Food cravings: Nothing really in particular. Eating very routinely the same things most days. Staying on track with my calories.
Food aversions: None.
Movement: Yes, little movements. I even could feel the movements from the outside a few times.
Best Moment of the Week: Mother’s Day was yesterday. It was a great day. Both of my kids made me feel special. What I’m looking forward to: Reopening life and getting back to do some normal things again.
What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to: Social isolation. I’m so over it.
What I miss: Community. People.
Next appointment: June 1, 2020 will be my 20 week appointment and anatomy ultrasound. I will be a tad over 21 weeks at that time. My last appointment was March 31, so I will officially be over 2 months between appointments due to this pandemic. As of now, Eric will not be allowed to attend the appointment, which is sad. But oh well. They said I could FaceTime him.
Here is a look back on 18 weeks pregnant with my two girls:
Happy 15 and 16 weeks to me! I think I am realizing that having an expectation for myself to write a weekly pregnancy update is not realistic. So, I will likely write my updates every two weeks. So this update I will be covering weeks 15 and 16. Last update, at 14 weeks, I hadn’t yet gotten the phone call & email with our NIPT results yet. So….drumroll…..we know the gender! I got a phone call from one of my midwives and she happily updated me that the genetic testing were normal and we were in the clear. That was great news to hear. She also told me that the gender results were in, and asked if I would like to know that information. I asked her to please email me the results, so that I could open it and find out with my husband and kids together. So…..as the four of us sat there, I scrolled down the email looking for the word “boy” or “girl,” fully expecting to see “girl.” I was shocked when I saw the words: “fetal sex: MALE.” I gasped and my hand flew over my mouth. We are all excited and surprised for a boy. Chloe was hoping for a boy, so she was extra thrilled. The girls have each given their brother a nickname. Chloe calls the baby Jimmy and Winter calls the baby Fernando. I love how much they already love their brother.
Also, we FINALLY decided to tell our immediate families that we are expecting. We hadn’t originally planned to wait to long to share the news, but with life being so different due to this pandemic, this is just how things went. We announced to each family over ZOOM calls. It was fun to see the excited responses of our families.
My age: 34
How far along: 15 weeks, 16 weeks
How big is baby: the size of an apple (15 weeks, 4 inches, 2.5 ounces), and the size of an avocado (16 weeks, 4.6 inches, 3.5 ounces)
Gender: It’s a BOY! I was shocked when I found this out. Excited, but shocked.
Events of this week: You know, just living that quarantine life. We are now 6 weeks into quarantine at the time of writing this at 16 weeks. We are taking a lot of walks, playing outside (when it’s nice), and lots of garage workouts. Staying at home. It’s the life. Also, celebrated Eric’s 34th birthday. We also told the pregnancy news to each of our families at 15 weeks. They were all happy. Plus, I think the fact that it’s a boy is exciting for everyone.
Symptoms: Not many. I have had a few times of heartburn, but not many. My belly is growing. At 16 weeks, there just isn’t any hiding it anymore. Feeling pretty great. Not tired, not nauseous, not hormonal & angry. Yay!
Workout & Training Summary: 6 days workouts both weeks. I have felt strong and healthy.
Workout & Training details (both weeks were the same): Mon – Heavy squats (squats @ 155)Tues – Upper body lifting Wed – Heavy deadlift day, working sets felt strong (deadlifts @ 185) Thur – Upper body liftingFri – High volume squat day (squats @ 135) Sat – Full body day (deadlift high volume day @ 135 lbs)
How workouts are feeling: I feel strong and I feel like my body feels mostly normal, but with a bump.
Nutrition, Protein & Calories: Sticking at 1800 calories mostly. Feeling happy I’ve been staying on track with my diet. On Saturdays I haven’t always been tracking, but still not a cheat day.
How is my body changing: Can’t hide my bump anymore. Otherwise feel lean and small.
Sleep: I got my pregnancy pillow and that has been nice. Sleeping in until 9am every day is also nice due to quarantine.
Movement: Still unsure if I’m feeling baby or digestion.
Best Moment of the Week: Telling our families the pregnancy news. We told them over Eric’s birthday weekend when I was 15 weeks pregnant.
What I’m looking forward to: Looking forward to going places. Like going ANYWHERE.
What I’m not enjoying/or not looking forward to: Groundhog day life. This is just getting long and hard and OLD.
What I miss: Normal life.
Next appointment: Not scheduled. I will call soon to make an appointment for 20 week anatomy ultrasound and appointment. Hopefully by then I will be able to get an in person visit. Glad to already know the gender and know that baby is healthy, though!
Here is a fun collage to compare the weekly photos from 4-13 weeks of this third pregnancy. What started as an innocent life at the beginning of 2020, ended in the beginning of a crazy worldwide global pandemic due to COVID-19. Who knew life was going to take such a sharp and sudden turn?!?
Baby Lute x3 