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!

                             

38 Weeks!

October 24th

Baby girl is the size of a Pomeranian this week! She's probably around 7lbs and 19 1/2 inches (again all guesses at this point!). She has an eye color now, but it could change during her first year. Still really cool to think about what color her sweet little eyes might be :D She's packing on more fat and is rolling around good in my belly even tho there isnt much space left. lol

How's Mama? Doing pretty good :D I'm definitely more tired, but working from home has helped dramatically with that. Not having to commute is amazing. Monday night I went grocery shopping and oh man. I think I had a real contraction. I couldnt walk through it and it was painful. At my appointment on Friday, they ended up confirming that I probably did have a contraction!! I am 3cm and 70% effaced now! My doctor was pretty shocked and excited at the same time. He laughed when I told him I thought I had had a contraction- he was like just one? lol I was like yep. He almost didnt even check me! But I asked him to since I had started to dilate. I think that's why he was shocked. haha. He's great. He did seem to think baby girl might come this weekend!! We'll see!! Other than the continued braxton hicks contractions and some real ones, I still have lots of heartburn, my hips hurt a lot when I sleep so it's hard to get comfy, and I'm peeing all the time. haha. My belly is HUGE! My belly button is half in and half out- I think it's cute :D I still feel beautiful and am soaking up every last bit of pregnancy I can :D I'm gunna miss this bump!! 

How's Daddy? Well believe it or not, I think this was his busiest week yet! He came home late every night :( I know he is SO ready for a break. Since he worked so late every night, I tried to get as much done around the house as I could. I even surprised him and cleaned his office! You couldnt even walk in there and now it's definitely MUCH better! Not how we want it, but it's clean and that's great for now :D. We started to watch Black Mirror every night as our unwind show- it's incredibly intriguing and very well done. I highly recommend it. It's been nice to snuggle on the couch each night and watch TV with him. 

This week: This week was busy each night with me working around the house and John working late :( At least we got some relaxing in together each night. I had John pick up some more milk one night- and y'all we are in MILK RANGE!

Friday night we went on a date! Thinking it might be our last date night thanks to my doctor! We went to Mellow Mushroom- our favorite! and then checked out the Raleigh Beer Garden- it's a REALLY cool place and it's HUGE. We'll definitely go back some time :D 

                                                

Saturday, my in-laws who are some of the best people ever came over to help us around the house one last time before baby comes. I actually left to get my hair done (it was the last appointment I could get before little girl arrives). My mother in law pulled weeds in my flower beds, while my father in law painted our kitchen ceiling. They were both still at it when I got home. John was doing random little things around the house and I started to sort the baby laundry I had been doing all week. She already has too many clothes. lol. Jane finished outside (I felt SO bad, she got eaten up by fire ants.) and helped me sort and organize clothes and diapers. John cleaned out the closet and the entire room felt so much better and more organized. Jane also cleaned my oven! Next, we worked on the wall. We got our chevron stripes in!! It took forever to put them up. They were a LOT of work. I think they look much sharper than paint would, but you need to have some real patience if you decide to go this route. I ended up watching while they all put the wall up. I was super exhausted and John and I were going to argue. lol. I am so thankful for all of their hard work. It was so nice to be able to knock some big things off our list.

 LOVE!

I love love love how it turned out! It's exactly what I wanted!!! The company I bought the stripes from measured wrong :( So they are a little short, but you cant tell. I was upset though because we paid extra for the extra length. I need to see what I can do. I love more than anything how much John loves me and does whatever he can to make my vision work. He's the best husband and father in the world. 

Sunday, John and I went shopping for all the baby things we still needed. How does someone so small, require SO much. Like, seriously? I had some awful contractions while we were out shopping, so it ended up taking much longer than we had hoped. Hopefully, it's a sign of things to come soon! Although, I'll be happy if she stays in a little longer. I'm not quite ready to not be pregnant. I'll miss her in there and really miss my bump! I also would love a little more time to do a few more things :D 

35 weeks!

October 3rd

Little girl is the size of a Mini Lop Rabbit! So adorable!! She's between 18-19 inches and between 5-6lbs these days!  Most of her organ and skeleton development is complete and she's growing stronger and stronger each day!

How's Mama? Much less tired thanks to the extra iron! It also might have something to do with IT'S MY BIRTHDAY WEEK! :D I have started to have even more Braxton Hicks contractions and some of them are INTENSE. Whew-y! I have also started to have some cramping. We had a baby appointment ON my birthday, because hearing her little heartbeat is the best present! I also had my first cervical exam! I'm still not dilated at all- which at this point is a good thing. She is head down though! We are measuring ahead of schedule, so they have ordered an ultrasound for next week. I cant believe my appointments are every week now! Luckily, they are not worried about anything, just wanna check her out on screen. Other than that, I'll share about my birthday down below. It was a great week and I'm feeling pretty good :D

How's Daddy? The best hubby in the world! Our week was INSANE and he still did his best to make my birthday week so special. He even came to have lunch with me one day :D Other than that, he's pretty slammed at work and when he can, he's been bringing stuff home to knock stuff out. I think he's super worried about being out for so long and falling even further behind.

The week: HAPPY BIRTHDAY WEEK! haha :D Monday and Wednesday were filled with baby classes after work. Monday was a bringing home baby class. We learned how to bath, dress, swaddle, and care for the baby. We got to try on carriers and learned a lot about car seats. It probably didnt need to be as long as it was, but I'm glad we went. Wednesday, was our regular labor and birth class. I had started to get concerned about my Braxton Hicks being so severe that I actually asked my instructor about it. She was a doula for 20 years, so I figured she might have an answer. I was trying not to be too paranoid and call my doctor. She told me is sounded normal. Everything always ends up being normal (thankfully!). 

Friday, was my actual birthday! We had our appointment so we both got to leave work early and beat the traffic home after our appointment! That in itself is an awesome birthday present. haha. That night we had plans to go to State for some Howling Cow Ice Cream!, meet up with friends at Raleigh Brewing Company, and then went to dinner at H-Street Kitchen. It was AWESOME! John kept doing everything he could to make my day special and he sure did. I *thought* we had agreed on no gifts, but of course he surprised me with some. He knows my love of scarves and got me the two I wanted for nursing :D He also got me the Rogue Chocolate Stout I had on my birthday last year on our epic road trip- I'm super excited about having it once she comes out. I know he knew how much I was missing our trip and how special something like that would be. :D He's the best.

Erin made me the cutest shirt!!! 

I wore it Friday to work in support of the big game the next day :D

Howling cow! Yes, that is a sundae. No, I do not care what you think :D  And yes, it was before dinner. It was delicious!

 Dinner!

 Love all the people in this picture :D

 And this little cutie!!

 I'm so lucky to have the best date for life:D

 31- AH!

Saturday we slept in and it was game day! I forgot to mention that all week we had our eyes on Hurricane Matthew. He was coming up the coast. The forecast kept changing dramatically (as it does). One day it was going to his us hard, the next we were going to have light rain. Because of this we didnt prepare as well as we should have. We were fine, but hindsight is 20/20. We had tickets to an all day concert festival in Clayton, but it was cancelled, just in case. We were bummed. It did mean we could watch the game Saturday though. The game was at noon game and we had a last minute offer to go to the game! It was Carter Finley's 50th Anniversary and we were playing Notre Dame. If it hadnt been POURING and the wind wasnt ridiculous, we would have gone. But we turned the tickets down and opted to watch it on the couch. lol. It was a very fun game to watch- the field was soaked from the rain and the players were sliding all around. A little after half-time, we lost power. We figured it would be out for a little while, but it didnt come back on. John was SUPER bummed, he really wanted to see the end of that game. Next we lost internet and cell service. Womp.  After sitting around our house for a bit, we decided to make a Target run and just get out of the house. We walked around Target some, picked up a few things, and then went across the street to Carolina Ale House for dinner. We got to watch some football there and turned what was kinda a crappy day into a fun date :D We decided to head home and feed the puppy and then come back and go to the movies. When we got home I realized that we should have gone by the movies to see if they were even open. We couldnt call them, so we just went back up to White Oak- we didnt have anything to do anyways. Of course they were closed. On our way home, there were firetrucks and police in the road of 40. In the short time that we came and went, a river had started to flood 40 and you could barely drive through it. Crazy. We ended up going to bed after we got back- it was late anyways.

Sunday we slept in some and then found we were still without power, internet, or cell service. So we decided to go run some errands. The rain had stopped and it was a gorgeous day. John had said for my birthday weekend we could do whatever I wanted, that mostly got killed by the weather, I was really sad we couldnt do the concert Saturday. I was totally up for returning baby stuff on Sunday though  (we got a ton of doubles) and going to At Home to look at decorations for her room! We drove all the way up to North Raleigh and stopped for lunch at Twisted Fork. Of course I had to pee when I was leaving Twisted Fork and unfortunately found that I was bleeding some. It freaked me out. I ran out and grabbed John and got him in the car. I tried to call my doctor but their lines were dead from the storm. John was doing his best to calm me down, but I was in freak out mode. He finally had the great idea of trying to call our Labor and Delivery instructor, Toni. Somehow I had her phone number in my email and called her. She was SUPER helpful. She told me to call the hospital and see if I could ask a nurse there about it or if they could get in touch with my on-call doctor. After talking to the hospital- we were going in to get checked out. I started balling. I wasnt ready for this. This was not how the day was supposed to go. We got all the way to the hospital and my doctor called!! She ended up telling me that a cervical exam (like I had on Friday) could cause bleeding and all the other symptoms I was having and that I didnt need to worry or go to the hospital. PHEW. So,bless John. He turned around and we went back to North Raleigh to exchange baby stuff.

Let me stop and say that John is my rock. He was totally calm and in control the entire time, which was exactly what I needed. I know he will be everything to me in the delivery room when the time comes to have her. I love that man more than you can imagine.

So, we went to Target and Babies R Us and then headed to At Home. Y'all, I didnt spend ANY money in there! It's usually worse than Target for me. I want all things. haha But I showed some self control and decided that it was too hard to decorate her room  until I had all the bedding done and the right color teal decided on. After shopping, we decided to head back home. We ended up hanging out with the Kinlaws for the rest of the night. We made some food and played a board game. We kept calling Duke Progress Energy to see if they had any updates (We could make calls every now and then, but couldnt text or really receive any calls). We called around 9pm and they finally had an update! They said that power would be back on by 11:45 Sunday and then I hung up the phone as we celebrated! Around 11pm I called  again to see if there were any changes and we listened to the whole thing this time. The whole message said 11:45pm Sunday Oct 16. A WEEK FROM THEN! Talk about crushed hoped. lol. We went home deflated. We had contacted our respective supervisors that day while we were out to let them know we might not be in to work or late if we could make it work. Not exactly how I wanted to spend my birthday weekend, but John made it awesome anyway :D. Next time, we know to prepare a little better for the power being out for so long!