2nd Trimester!

Baby is growing!! and so is Mommy! 

The 2nd trimester energy boost is a lie! haha. I would say that I have not been AS tired as before, but I definitely would not call it a BOOST. I am thankful for a bit more energy though! I've been shameful at cooking this entire pregnancy. We've eaten out more than I care to admit. It's just SO hard with everything going on! 

We had an appointment at the 13/14 week mark and I had to do my glucose test- which I passed with flying colors!! So excited about that again! and so very thankful :D My headaches/migraines have gotten worse this 2nd trimester and the doctor put me on extra vitamins to help them subside. The hardest thing about them is when they come, they come on SO fast. and they've been debilitating. John has done an amazing job and has really picked up the slack for me in almost all areas- parenting, cooking, cleaning. He's been a rock and I cant imagine how people do this alone!! I started keeping better track of things around 18 weeks, so here goes: 

Week 18: 

This is when my headaches really picked up :( The exciting news though is this is the first time John was able to feel the baby moving! I feel him a lot! and it started at week 15. My placenta is on the backside this time and it's exciting to feel so much movement! Even more exciting John can already feel the baby!!

                             

Week 19: 

We got to find out the gender this week!!! I'll post a separate thing about that, but YAY!! This week I was not sleeping well at all, had really dry skin, super vivid dreams, and it was the first time this pregnancy that I gained weight!!! So YAY for me! haha :D 

                             

                             

This weekend we were also in Kiawah with John! Jim and Jane came with us and Savannah got to have lots of beach and pool time! It was so much fun taking her this year where she got to explore so many more things on her own! I'll share more about our fun adventures in another post :D 

                             
                             

Week 20: I think this picture is on John's camera, so I still need to pull it off. But this weekend was a BUSY one! We spent Saturday celebrating a neighbor's first birthday in the AM and Quinn's first birthday in the PM! Then Sunday was an even bigger day for us! We  spent the day sharing the fun news about our new little one! 

Week 21: I also need to find this weekly picture still. lol But this week was ROUGH. My pelvic bones started to shift. WAY earlier than last time and it was incredibly painful.SO SO SO painful that I even called my doctor to chat with them about it. Of course it's normal. THANK GOODNESS it only lasted a few days! Other than that, my headaches started to go away! YAY! I had more energy this week, my appetite grew, AND I was able to eat Chinese! LOL :D  OH! and ALL the baby movement. This little one is a wiggle worm!

We had a play date with Mason on Saturday and then we took Savannah to the pool for the first time weekend! We joined the YMCA not too long ago and have been super excited about taking Savannah to the pool. SHE LOVED IT! 

                                           

Week 22: I was feeling great this week! Sleep was still hard to come by and I had Savannah on my own for most of the week since John was out of town for his annual meeting, but otherwise I was feeling pretty good and baby is moving like crazy!! My crazy summer started June 1, so we were in the full swing of crazy at work, so my exhaustion level was especially high. My grandma Brinn was also in North Carolina, so we took a quick day trip to visit her in Jacksonville. Mom and Sherry came with me and it was nice to have someone in the back with Savannah to entertain her for the 2 1/2 hour ride. 

                             

Happy Kiddo! had to send daddy a picture because she looked so stinkin' cute in my sunglasses!

                             

                             

Chris, Britt, and Beau met us in Jacksonville! Savannah LOVED playing with Beau!

                             

Amber played with Savannah most of the time, they had a lot of fun!

                             

Lovin' on grandma!

                                         

Week 23: This week I seemed to have a bit more energy, which was good because I had to travel to Athens, GA for a site visit for work. Traveling while pregnant is exhausting. When I got back, it was SO nice for both John and I to be home for a little while! We spent part of the weekend starting to clean out the nursery (which is filled with over 10 years of our junk!). 

                             

Week 24: This week is probably the most energy I've had since I got preggers. It was a welcome relief to all of us. I was so much more productive at home. It helped that one of my sites was on their break and so my phone wasnt ringing off the hook 24/7. We spent the 4th of July at the Kinlaw's house. We had a play date in the am, put them down for naps, and then did pool time after! The Klings came too and we smoked some ribs and bbq. It was really nice!

                             

I didnt get many pictures, but here's them playing in the pool :D

                             

This is the only pic I got of all 3 of them. Of course none of them are looking. haha

                             

Savannah was exhausted after her big day! She wanted to cuddle with her baby brother. 

So sweet!

                             

More 4th of July shenanigans were had at the Johnson's House. 

And Savannah got to pet a lizard!                             

                              

Week 25: This week started off in a place where I could only have dreamed about! I LOVE sunflowers! So John took me to the sunflower fields!! I still need to get all the pictures off John's camera, but here's a couple :D 

As far as pregnancy this week, my bones started to shift again and sleep was really hard to come by. I just cant get comfy! Otherwise, eating most foods is still hit or miss. Although I will say my sweet tooth has picked up. haha Also, Mr. Wiggle Worm is still dancing away in my belly!!

                              

                              

                              

                              

Week 26: This weekend was rough. I had to make a last minute trip to UGA for work. Crazy work stuff and travel within 2 weeks made this mama really tired. and sore. Savannah also developed another double ear infection and a sinus infection. :( When I got back I ended up having to stay home with her because she was so sick. I never mind the extra baby snuggles, I just hate she felt so bad! We've learned over these last few ear infections that one of her first symptoms is goop coming out of her eyes. If she happens to get another ear infection in Aug, we'll be talking tubes. I'm not sure if I want that or not. I want her to just stop getting sick all together. lol. Little man is doing great on the inside. He's super wiggly and moves non-stop. I fear for us when he makes his debut. lol

                             

Cuddle times with a sick Savannah

                             

We were home for 2 days and Savannah started to feel much better on the 2nd! We decided to join Krystal, Mason, and JJ at the library! Our first trip was a huge success!

                             

Such a big girl

                             

Putting puzzles together and being mischievous! 

                             

Week 27: Feeling pretty good over all! This pregnancy has been pretty easy. I've been really exhausted a lot but otherwise, I dont have too many things to complain about. I am starting to feel quite huge. lol and Little man is just as squirmy as can be! I feel also tons of hiccups all the time- which I dont think I really felt with Savannah, so it's a pretty new sensation and it's so neat! I did get concerned I might have a UTI this week and had some cramping. I ended up going to my doctor 2 days before my appointment, but everything was fine! They let me go ahead and do my glucose test so I didnt have to come back just for that- which was super nice! I passed again! WOOT!

We started out the week finishing cleaning out the nursery- talk about nesting! My mom came over and watched Savannah for the day so John and I could work. We got the entire room cleaned out! I couldnt believe it!! We also went to Claire's 2nd birthday- so much fun! John had to go to Fayetteville to get our stuff out of his grandma's barn since she is selling her house, so he didnt get to come with us. But, it was nice to have that trip knocked out. John left for Kiawah mid-week and I was on single parent duty as my programs wrapped up for the summer. 

                             

Before we cleaned the office out for the nursery...

                             

                             

After!!

                             

Claire's Birthday!

                             

Climbing UP slides, instead of sliding down them...lol

                             

Telling Claire Happy Birthday and thanks for having us!

                             

1st Trimester!

Another baby!! We are having another baby!! This pregnancy has been drastically different than the last! For one, I have a toddler to chase around and WHEW she's exhausting! I have not had time to even think about blogging. But I wanted to at least start blogging some because there is already so much I had forgotten about my pregnancy with Savannah! I KNOW I wont remember after the baby is born, so my memory now will be better than later. haha :D 

I feel like this pregnancy has FLOWN by. I dont even know where all the time has gone! Chasing a toddler around for sure! but also it just seems like life is moving at warp speed. The first trimester was exhausting. I was incredibly fortunate to not really get any morning sickness! HUGE change from Savannah where I threw up every day a lot of the day for 9ish weeks. I threw up a handful of times (I think these were mostly related to being overheated) and I did get nauseous some, but it wasnt bad at all. It was actually very weird. I expected to throw up if I got nauseous, so I would get up and run to the bathroom, but nope. Nothing. The exhaustion was on a whole new level. Again, probably because I had Savannah to take care of on top of being pregnant. You're already so exhausted in the first trimester with all the hormone changes that adding chasing a toddler too made it that much worse. I couldnt just go lay on the couch whenever I wanted this time. To be fair though, John did an amazing job of helping out extra and did encourage me to take it easy. But easier said than done! lol. 

Since my pregnancy timelines are almost identical (due Nov 7th with Savannah and due Oct 20th this time) it's been interesting to see the differences and similarities. 

Similarities: 

Food aversions/apathy- I pretty much stuck to cereal the first trimester, couldnt eat much Asian food, and forget Mexican food. bleh! 

Exhaustion- just MORE tired this time

Food cravings- Sweets!

Acne

Heightened sense of smell

Vivid dreams

Differences:

Food cravings- SPICY! this time

Headaches/Migraines A LOT this time

Heat- I get overheated MUCH more quickly this go around

All the heartburn last pregnancy, not much at all this time

Morning sickness- super sick last time, not much at all this time

Boobs are not sore this time

Since some of the larger symptoms were so different- I thought for sure it was a boy from the beginning. John still wasnt sold, so he voted girl the entire time. I asked John if he would be sad if it wasnt a boy and he told me "No, having Savannah has been amazing and I'm way less scared of girls now. It would be completely fine and I'd be just as excited." SO SWEET!!! He did also say that he's more nervous finding out the gender this time because it means we are either have 3 kids or could be done with 2 depending on what it is. lol. He needs to prepare mentally for 3. haha He cracks me up. 

All of our 1st trimester appointments have been perfect! The baby has a strong heartbeat, I'm doing great and baby is growing just like the baby should! 

Here is our 11 week ultrasound :D

                                           

I also did a terrible job at taking weekly pictures at first, so I have a few but I didnt really start until later on. 

                             

                             

I popped WAY earlier this time! I've also gained very little weight! YAY! :D 

I shared with people at work pretty early on- I was scared I'd be sick like I was last time and they would all find out. So,I shared with a handful of them. I was super excited to tell Michael! He shared with me a few weeks prior that him and Loa are expecting again! It's so weird how our timelines have been so similar. Our daughters are 13 days apart and our next babies will be 3 months! It's so fun to have someone at work going through the same things. We've definitely become great friends since having our daughters and I'm thankful to have such a good friend at work :D 

Anyways, here's to the 1st trimester being over and getting some energy back in the 2nd!

We're EXPECTING!!!!

Now that I'm about 28 weeks along, I've finally found some time to blog! haha. We are over the moon excited to share that we are having another baby! Life has been a whirlwind and it's all I can do to keep up! 

Here's our update!

John and I started trying pretty soon after Savannah was a few months old (I know, we are crazy). It was really important to us to have our kiddos as close as we could get them. We really want them to be good friends.  Again, I know we sound crazy but we've both seen it work out great the closer the siblings are- the better friends they can be. We ended up trying for about 9 months before we got our positive test. I'm not going to lie, it was hard. I know that's not fair to people who have experienced loss and have tried much longer, but a small sample of that was hard enough. Trying each month and getting SO excited it might be the month- every month- it was draining. I talked with my doctor about it and since I had no issues getting pregnant with Savannah (it happened super fast the first time!) and I had an easy first pregnancy, they were not concerned yet at all. I was still breastfeeding and my doctor mentioned that breastfeeding might be the reason I couldn't get pregnant. The month we weaned (because Savannah was ready- NOT because we were trying) I got pregnant! So I even though I was ovulating, I guess breastfeeding still prevented me from getting pregnant. All in all though- God's timing is perfect and He knew the little one He wanted us to have. The last month we tried, John and I swore we wouldn't get excited that month- like we had every other month. It was just too exhausting. I just continued to chart and did my best to put it out of my mind. I will say- I was pretty good at it. Better than I thought I would be anyway. The two week wait every month is always the hardest, but we both did our best to not have any "what if's" or symptom spot. It also helped that John was out of town and Savannah kept me super busy.

The weekend we tested, my mom and sister came to spend the night on a Friday. John was gone and help was appreciated! I was SO tired that night that I fell asleep around 8pm. I just assumed it was from a busy week of taking care Savannah by myself. We spent Saturday hanging out with Savannah and then John came home that night. I told John that night that I wanted to test in the morning. I had been super patient, but I couldnt wait any longer. The next morning, I got up and went to take a test.....and didnt have a good one!! HOW?! I only had a cheapo one. So, we still took it and there was the faintest line! So, what did we do? Loaded Savannah into the car and went to CVS. We bought one of the tests that says "pregnant" or "not pregnant" and went home. We took it annnnnd! Savannah is going to be a big sister! 

John and I had plans to go to a concert that evening, so we were planning on meeting the Kinlaws at State to drop Savannah off for them to babysit. Of course we decided to share the news with them asap and even though it wasnt creative or planned, we just showed them a picture of Savannah holding the pregnancy test. Mason even gave Savannah a kiss he was so excited! 

Walking his little girl on campus

We were a bit more patient sharing our news with family this time. Last time we rushed around the day we found out and I wanted it to be different this time. We called a friend up and had her make a shirt for us that said "Big Sister" and made her swear not to tell anyone. lol. I had lunch plans to see my brother that week and I really wanted to tell him in person. John and I agreed if we could get them to come over for dinner the next weekend, I'd wait. If not, I could go ahead and tell him. He wasnt sure when they would be able to come over next, so I went ahead and told him at lunch. He jumped out of his chair he was so excited :D He said he'd make it work for them to come to dinner and we had a whole plan so Britt didnt seem suspicious. haha

Then, I KNEW Jim and Jane would be calling and asking to see Savannah the next weekend too. It had been awhile. Sure enough, they called that week and asked if they could come over. Of course we said yes and they planned to come hang out. Jim and Jane got to our house a little before Savannah's nap and we played some. John had decided he just wanted to tell them, so we waited for the right time. Jane always likes to go over everyone's schedule to see when we might be able to spend some time together and John thought it would be a good time when she brought it up. Sure enough, after Savannah went down for a nap, we all sat around our table and ate some lunch. Towards the end Jane started talking about our calendars and John went over his busy schedule and slipped in there that in October he wouldnt be travelling anymore for awhile so he would be here for the birth of our baby. The look on Jim and Janes faces was priceless. Jim automatically goes- whose baby? Jane goes WHAT?! We've been here for 45 minutes and you're just telling us?! haha. 

Swinging! This girl LOVES to swing!

Going for a walk with Grandma and Grandpa

Chris and Britt came over that afternoon for a visit after our little plan worked out to get them there and we had put the shirt on Savannah. We also put her hoodie on. Chris and Britt took her outside to swing when they got there (she begs us to take her!). When they came back in, I told Britt that she could probably take Savannah's hoodie off inside since it was warm. So she did. Then perfectly she goes, let's read your shirt! It's cute!. Then she read it and her face LIT UP and she might have cried a little. It was perfect. 

The next weekend my mom had planned to come see Savannah with my sister- so that worked out great too! My sister ended up cancelling, but my mom still came. We put Savannah in her shirt and it took what felt like forever for my mom to notice. haha. We finally had Savannah stand up in front of us and I pulled her shirt down. It STILL took her some time, but she was finally like- wait, what does that shirt say?! 

All of these fun things and I forgot to take pictures! I dont even think I got a picture of her in her big sister shirt! MOM FAIL! lol

Over time we shared the news with some close friends and then after our first appointment, we shared with the rest of our family. Both times sharing that news has been so fun. :D It took us FOREVER to post on social media. We waited so long that we decided to just share the gender when we shared the news. So here is what we posted:

I still cant believe I'm pregnant and we are having another baby!! Savannah seems to understand that there is a baby inside of me. She hugs my belly, kisses it, tries to give the baby her paci (sticks it in my belly button). It's super sweet. She's going to be an amazing big sister. If I'm being honest, part of me is starting to get a little sad that my time with just Savannah is almost over. I can give her all of my attention now and I'll miss that. I know when the baby comes though, she's going to LOVE having a sibling. She's already so great with JJ- Mason's baby brother. I also know I'll adore this new baby, it's just still hard to wrap my mind around most days!! 

39 weeks!!

October 31st!

Happy Halloween!!

Our baby is the size of a pumpkin today! How appropriate!! Usually, I pick the animal that my app gives me, but the pumpkin is too perfect for Halloween :D  Baby girl is doing great! Just hanging out in there for now still :D She is considered full term and can come any day now! OR still take a few weeks. We'll see what happens! I'm very excited and nervous about this! Trying to guess when and how she will come is fun :D

How's Mama? I'm good! Tired! But trying to soak up every minute of being pregnant while I can. Sleeping is getting very hard, so I am very grateful to be working from home these days! I'm peeing like crazy, heartburn is woah, and I'm still have Braxton Hicks and maybe some real contractions every now and then. Nothing crazy yet! She moves like crazy these days and it's really fun to watch my belly dance! Everyone keeps saying that I must be ready, and I am SO excited to meet her, but at the same time I'm happy keeping her to myself for a little bit longer :D 

How's Daddy? Super busy at work still! He's trying to get in as much last minute stuff as possible in case the baby comes on time.He's been super helpful at home too and loving on the belly :D

This Week: Monday night we sat out on the front porch and handed out candy to all the little kids! We didnt ever have a ton of people, which was kind of disappointing! We did have one little kid who saw Carter through the window (he was inside) and the baby wanted to play with him so bad. He wouldnt leave the window! haha. His mom had to come pull him away. It was cute. 

The rest of the week, a lot of the stuff we ordered started to come, I washed all the diapers, and made some freezer meals. I finished getting our bags packed and wrapped up things at work in case I didnt make it back on Monday. 

Thursday, I had another doctor's appointment. John was running late, so he actually missed the entire thing :( He was SUPER bummed out. He walked in right as we were finishing. :( The appointment went well! I met another new doctor and he was also amazing. I am happy with any one of these doctor's being on call when I go into labor. I still hope it's Dr. Yoon since he's my favorite, but they are all wonderful. I heard the heart beat again and everything seems to be going really well. I was still 3 cm and 70% effaced, BUT she had dropped some! We are in -1 station now. Just need her to come on down. Usually they would have scheduled me an induction date at this appointment, but my doctor was so certain she would come that he didnt want to. I was like- umm they told me that last week too....haha. He was like, she's so far down that there is a good chance your water will break first too! So that should be interesting! If she doesnt come, I have another appointment next Thursday and we would try to schedule induction for Monday the 14th. So my guess would be right! haha

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So, I never got around to finishing this post or publishing it before baby girl came! The doctor was right and Saturday afternoon my water broke! More on that in the next post :D 

Some thoughts...

I am going to have a daughter soon. I cant even wrap my mind around that thought. A daughter. A child. John and I are going to be parents. Wow. I feel so incredibly blessed. In my journey to get pregnant and during my pregnancy I've met and read about so many women who struggle to get pregnant and stay pregnant. My heart breaks for them. I cant imagine what they are going through. I'm sure like me they have wanted their entire lives to be mommies. Sometimes, I wonder why I am one of the lucky ones? But most of the time I just try to enjoy each and every minute of my pregnancy, even the tough moments. Who knows if I'll be able to have another? All I know is that God answered our prayers and has given us an incredible gift that I hope I never take for granted. I hope I can lead my baby girl to Jesus and she can love Him with all of her heart and share Him with others. I have such big dreams for her. I cant wait to meet her and see her grow. I'm already crying as I write this- I dont know how my mama heart is going to make it the rest of my life! :D

As I think about how exciting our lives are about to become, I cant help but think about all the wonderful people that have helped us to this moment in our lives. Then that leads me to think about my daddy. There are no words for how much I miss him. There are no words for how much I want him to be a part of this journey of mine. Of everyone that is excited for our little girl to be born, I know he would have been the most excited. He was head over heels for all of us growing up and I know he wanted a grandchild so bad after we got married. I can picture him now making fun of my belly and poking at it. I can picture him holding our baby girl and taking her for rides in his wheelchair. I can hear him telling her all sorts of stories about me when I was little. I can hear him telling her all kinds of jokes. I can see him giving her all of the hugs and kisses. The fact that I cant hear or see any of this for real, brings me to my knees in tears. Oh how I wish he was here.

Going through this part of my life without him has definitely been the hardest. I would love his advice, hear his side of how pregnancy was for him and mom, hear how it was to raise his babies. I want him to hold my hand and tell me I'm going to be fine delivering this little girl and afterwards tell me how good of a job I did. I want to be able to share this with him so bad. I want to be able to share her. I just want my daddy. 

I am so thankful that John is such a great man. I know without a doubt this little girl is going to love him so incredibly hard. I know without a doubt that he will be everything to her that my father was to me. Every little girl should have that in their daddy. I'm just grateful that my dad and John were and are above and beyond what is expected of a father. Of a daddy. Of the first love of a little girl's life. 

Daddy, I miss you so much. 

I am so thankful for a daddy who loved me this much: 

Look at the two of you dancing that way

Lost in the moment and each other's face

So much in love, you're alone in this place

Like there's nobody else in the world

I was enough for her not long ago

I was her number one, she told me so

And she still means the world to me

Just so you know

So be careful when you hold my girl

Time changes everything, life must go on

And I'm not gonna stand in your way

I loved her first

I held her first

And a place in my heart will always be hers

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

And I prayed that she'd find you someday

But it's still hard to give her away

I loved her first

How could that beautiful woman with you

Be that same freckled face kid that I knew?

The one that I read all those fairy tales to

And tucked into bed all those nights

And I knew the first time I saw you with her

It was only a matter of time

I loved her first

I held her first

And a place in my heart will always be hers

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

And I prayed that she'd find you someday

But it's still hard to give her away

I loved her first

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me

I knew the love of a father runs deep

Someday you might know what I'm going through

When a miracle smiles up at you

Yeah, I loved her first