Still waiting...

39 weeks 6 days

I don't know if it's my "advanced maternal age" or third baby or what, but I'm very impatient for labor to start.  I have so much pressure in my pelvis and bottom, and the baby keeps getting on a nerve in my legs that basically dead legs me from the inside- it's painful. I had some swelling in my legs and feet the week after super bowl, but that's all gone away.  I'm going to blame that on all the salty, but delicious, food I had at the Super Bowl party we attended. TMI warning...................................... I lost my mucus plug on Sunday, so i'm really hoping that means i'm close. Besides just being uncomfortable, I'm not too keen on baby getting super big.  Natural childbirth is great, but i can attest it's harder the bigger the baby!  I know I shouldn't be impatient since what awaits me won't exactly be easy either, but at least it will come with a snuggly baby! Next appointment is on Wednesday- my official due date.  I'm ok if I don't make it to that appointment...

We've been enjoying a crazy warm "winter" and this weekend was sunny and upper 70s!  I took the kids to the park Saturday morning and met my sister, niece, and grandmother there.  I think the kids spent most of the entire weekend outside, and it was great!  I even did some sunning on the patio with them. I know come July and August we'll be paying the price for this super warm winter, but it sure beats being cooped up in the house. I had the garden bug bad yesterday, but resisted buying any plants, since I'm sure we'll at least get a blackberry winter before Spring truly arrives.

Final Countdown to Baby #3

I haven't posted in several weeks, but baby girl did turn in a head down position by week 37.  I did everything in the book to get her to turn: guided meditation, inversions, hands and knees, music on low belly, ice packs on upper belly, and even an hour of handstands in the Ole Miss pool.  I have no idea when she actually flipped, but she did!

I'm now past week 38, so just waiting on her arrival.  Yesterday she was measuring about 8lbs, and I've made it to 3 cm.  I'm hoping she'll come this weekend, but since Sullivan came 3 weeks early and Evie a week late, there is no telling what this one will do.  I feel relatively good. I'm awake for a few hours most nights around 3:30 am.  I've got swollen ankles/legs/hands- which I don't think I've ever had before.  I've had lots of contractions or braxton hicks over the last week, but nothing regular yet.

I don't have any pictures from this week, but this is more recent than the last I posted. This was taken at JA Charity Ball.  It was a fun event, and we even attempted a little dancing.

Maybe next post will be after baby's arrival!

Turn, baby, turn!

At my weekly OB appointment last week, baby #3 was head down and looking great. This week...totally had flipped to breech. I've never had a baby flip on me this late in the game, and it's making me a nervous wreck! At my doctor's recommendation, I've been trying  inversions, hands and knees poses, playing music for low belly, flashlight and Daniel talking down there, etc.   Due to my "advanced maternal age" I get an ultrasound every week now, so we'll see next Wednesday if she's cooperated.  She had hiccups early this morning, so from that, it appears she's still head up.  If she doesn't turn by week 37 (2 weeks!), my doctor will attempt an ECV at the hospital.  This can sometimes cause labor to start or break water, so really hope we don't have to go that route.  Glad it's a least an option to try if she doesn't cooperate.  I'm going to be so disappointed if I end up having to have a section after 2 natural childbirths, so say a prayer for my baby girl to turn please!

33 weeks

Christmas, birthday, new years!

Another Christmas break has come and gone.  This year we stayed on the road from the 23rd to the 1st. It was fun, but exhausting! Here comes lots of pics.

We started our trip in Ocean Springs with Daniel's family.  The kids enjoyed spending time with their Nanna and their Martin cousins. Evie's currently outnumbered on the Martin side, but with baby sister and a new baby GIRL cousin coming soon, next year will be even!

Spreading the Reindeer food.

Kids all nestled snug in their bed...

Sums up this Christmas for Evie: pink and princess 

On Christmas Day, we loaded back up to go to Mobile to stay with my older sister and her family. I got basically no pictures while there other than from Evie's 3rd birthday celebration.  My awesome sister ordered her cake from Publix, and it was so cheap and so delicious! I love a low-key family birthday. Evie told me she wanted a pink, sparkle birthday, so I ordered her party dress and we got a pink cake...done and done. She was very proud of both. My little three-nager just seems so grown up, but she's still an excellent snuggler and hugger.

modeling her new kicks from Mimi and PawPaw

with her Mobile cousins

After two days in Mobile we loaded up again to head to Seaside for our annual New Years trip with friends.  As usual we had a little bit of all seasons while there, but started the trip with warm and sunny temps for some beach time. It cooled down the second half of our trip, but not cold enough to stop our walks, bike rides, and beach time. 

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Sullivan drew a portrait of his stuffed "Froggy" while at lunch at Bud and Alleys.

Having a N.A. beer for sunset.

Enjoying hot chocolate/lattes on the coldest day.

Baby #3 just about prevented my jacket from zipping. 

Looking forward to what 2017 brings. Lots of changes coming our way!

Almost Christmas!

We've been keeping busy during this Holiday season. We celebrated Gigi's 93rd birthday November 19th. Anna, Julia, Evie, and I drove her over to New Albany for the day to visit and have lunch with her first cousin, Beulah (on the left). I just realized that this photo contains two sets of very close first cousins! I sure hope Julia and Evie are still having lunch together in their 90s! 

Sullivan finally lost his first tooth! He pulled it himself at school. If you lose your tooth at school, you get a nifty tooth holder necklace, so I fee certain he planned it this way. He hasn't left the tooth for the tooth fairy yet, but he did leave her a note last night to explain that he will eventually. Daniel says he wants to save up his lost teeth and get one big pay out. We'll see how that works out. 

We decorated for Christmas over about a 2 week period. I love this time of year, and I look forward to having a lazy weekend morning to just drink coffee and stare at my tree. 

I've officially reached the third trimester, although I don't have a photo to document it. Maybe i'll remember to take one tonight. Daniel was out of town for my OB appointment this week, but my Mom went with me. We got to have a sonogram and check out our newest baby girl.  She kept covering her face with her hand, so the picture on the top is the best the technician could capture. I definitely think she looks like Evie (bottom pic)! 

We've been slowly making some changes in preparation of Evie and new baby sharing a room. Below is the current arrangement in there to allow for the two of them to share a room. Still a bit of decorating to do, but it's coming along. I plan to paint the twin bed headboard as well. Can't believe we are in the final stretch! I'm feeling good. I've been taking iron to help with anemia, and it has some side affects...hoping it helps with the restless leg syndrome I've been having. Every pregnancy has definitely been unique. No major food cravings that I can think of. Sleep is so-so. 

Happy 7th Birthday Sullivan!

Happy 7th birthday to my Sullivan! We celebrated this weekend with a party at Pirate Adventures (jumpy place and arcade). He's very in to dinosaurs, so requested a t-rex cake, and my cake lady came through, as usual. Sweet Shenanigans makes adorable and delicious cakes. I don't care how amazing a cake looks, if it doesn't taste good, what's the point? Evie is succumbed to the cold we've been passing around the last week, so we'll be having a family birthday dinner at home tonight. Sullivan has requested his favorite, pasta alfredo! 

So hard to believe it's been 7 years since my first baby was born! Sullivan has his first loose tooth this week, and is getting so tall all of a sudden!  He's reading on a 4th grade level, and is full of trivia knowledge. He loves learning about dinosaurs, bugs, and reptiles. He 's recently gotten in to the pokemon cards thing- apparently that's what the boys on the playground are playing. He still likes to come cuddle on occasion, so we try and enjoy those moments while they last. His best friend is still Jackson Robinson. We are still working on riding a bike without training wheels. My little perfectionist doesn't like it when he can't do it immediately. We've got to get out to flat land more often to practice. All in all, we've been incredibly blessed with a smart, stubborn, handsome, and sweet son.

We took a quick weekend trip to the Coast to help with a family event, so Evie and I took a brief detour to the beach one afternoon to look for dolphins. We plan to hit 30A during the holidays, and I so hope we have a few days of good weather to really enjoy the beach. 

The weekend before Halloween we travelled to Cleveland for my 20 year high school reunion. It was a great time, and I'm thankful for our class president and vp for always organizing these events. Although we were missing quite a few, it was very nice to catch up with those that were able to come. 20 years?! I think we still look pretty good. 

Daniel has all the official Halloween photos, but my kids were Elsa and The Flash this year. outdid themselves with another great candy trail. We did our usual houses in the neighborhood, and that was plenty for us. I may get flack for saying this, but bring on Christmas! I'm ready for Christmas decor, music, food, and family time! 

In baby 3 news, for the first time EVER, I passed my 1 hour glucose test! I won't have to do the horrible 3 hour GTT at all this pregnancy!! Yay!!!! I was so shocked to have passed it. Next appointment will be my last monthly appointment, and we'll get to peak in at baby girl again. Other than the cold I've had, I've been feeling really good.

If you build it, they will come

Poor third child, I'm already so behind on updates! No belly pics prior to 20 weeks...oh well. I am finally feeling great! Love this part of pregnancy. So, I pretty much look full term, hence the title. That's just the way I roll...space gets big and then baby grows to fill it. Makes for lots of those fun comments like, "are you sure you're only blah weeks". Yeah...pretty damn sure.

20 weeks

22 weeks

Ok, so it's still pregnancy, so not everything is perfect...I take daily prevacid for the acid reflux, flonase for the nasal congestion, and a fiber filled diet. :)

My next appointment is my first glucose test, so wish me luck. I've never passed the 1 hour before, so I'm not holding my breath. I HATE the 3 hour test though. Ugh.

Baby #3

So, as you all probably know from facebook or real life, I'm totally and completely pregnant with #3. It's very hard to catch up on many months of not talking about it, so I've continued to put it off. This sweetie was a bit of a surprise to us, so it definitely took a little bit to get used to the idea. My mommy brain instantly went in to overdrive about logistics...we don't have a another bedroom, paying for another child in daycare, the physical and mental demands, the fact that I'm 37 (well, 38 now).


How we found out:
I was at work on June 15th and suddenly looked at a calendar and realized I was on day 28 of no monthly visitor. TMI, but I'm every 24 days like clockwork, so that was a pretty big red flag. I went home at lunch to take a pregnancy test and boom...

Daniel was in a meeting, so I couldn't reach him to tell him, but I was freaking out, so I texted Corinne. Unfortunately, she was at a funeral, so I had to wait on her to call me back to. My phone has since been wiped, but I wish I could share that text conversation. I went back to work, somehow, and had to wait until Daniel and I got home that evening to tell him. Thankfully, his first response was excitement. Of course in a bit, he got hit with the, pardon my French, "Oh shit, 3 kids".  All it took was that first OB appointment hearing that sweet heartbeat and seeing our little baby to help us realize the blessing we've been given.

How we told the kids:
We waited until after my first appointment to tell my kids on my birthday. We bought Evie a "big sister" book and bought Sullivan a book and taped the ultrasound picture to it. I would share the "big reveal" video, but it was a complete bust. Evie can't read and Sullivan didn't get it. They were excited once we finally explained what was going on, but definitely no million youtube hits video evidence. Evie for weeks before we told her and maybe even before we found out we were pregnant, kept looking at family photos and saying, "mommy, daddy, Sullivan, Evie, sister". Even creepier than that, when I ask her what we should name the baby, she said, "Gabby". When I asked why this weekend, she said, "Because I see her on the ceiling and I talk to her and she said her name is Gabby". Ummm, don't want to piss Gabby off, but I don't think I'll be naming this one Gabby.


Gender Reveal:
Due to my advanced maternal age, which the medical community now calls "elderly", we decided to do the genetic testing via a blood test. You get the option to learn the gender through this test, so we went for it. We are too old and tired and boring to do a big gender reveal party or neat gimmick, so we got a phone call on a Friday afternoon with the results. It's a girl! Sullivan's response when we told him, "I'm moving out". Evie was thrilled, of course. It never occurred to her that it would be anything other than a sister. Kids are creepy.

How I've been feeling:
HORRIBLE. Constant "morning sickness" until about 15-16 weeks. Don't know if it really went away or the terrible cold I got masked it. Follow that a week later with a stomach virus. Follow that with some lingering problem that keeps me sick most nights. My doctor had me come in for Iv fluids and new meds last week. I'm on zofran and diclegis and sucralfate currently to try and help. I'm very ready for the part of pregnancy where you feel good and want to eat all the time. The thought of most food makes me ill still. I had actually lost 2 pounds at my last appointment. Boo. "Gabby" needs to get it together! Ok, done complaining for now. :)