Third Trimester... a recap

Obviously I am not pregnant anymore, but I never got to post the rest of my bump pictures! I stopped at my second trimester update at 27 weeks thinking I still had a good 10-12 weeks to publish the next leg of the journey before I went in to labor. Well I went in to labor at 34 weeks (and I didn't even get to take an official bump picture beforehand)! Warning: PHOTO OVERLOAD. So, just to have it here....

Dup loved putting her head right on my bump! It was so cute!

I went in to preterm labor at 31 weeks, but we managed to stop it! This was my contraction screen in triage. I actually went in because I couldn't get my kick counts (or feel him move). They hooked me up to a machine and instantly got the heartbeat but saw I was having contractions. I only felt some cramps on my left side and never would have guessed. They said I wasn't feeling Will because I was contracting. I was told to stop all exercise except walking and to take it easy.

This was the last picture I got pregnant. It was the Sunday before I went in to labor! We went to New Bern with my dad, brother and brother's girlfriend Halie for dinner and got this shot!


We had also done my maternity pictures the Saturday before I went in to labor! Talk about cutting it close!! Four days. My friend Kayla took them for us, as she had done the pictures in my blog header and when my husband returned from Afghanistan I knew she'd do an amazing job, and she did.

Ok, I know doing the survey is silly but just to wrap it up...


What Fruit are you? N/A

Due date: August 5, 2016 

How far along: 11 weeks post partum!

Next appointment:  All done, post partum included

Gender:  It's a boy!

Total weight gain/loss: Ouch. I gained 65lbs this pregnancy! It was insane. I lost 40lbs already but still have 25lbs or so of baby weight hanging around. Sigh.

Exercise: Back to weight lifting, yoga, and walking, but with a newborn it gets spread around. Add moving and everything else and yea... I need to refocus.

Stretch marks: In my last two weeks of pregnancy I got giant purple tiger stripes across my belly and on the tops of my thighs. Sigh.

Swelling: Almost back to normal. I was super swollen after labor and have slowly gotten it down. I can fit in my engagement ring again but the wedding band is still too snug,.

Maternity clothes:  Sadly still wearing maternity jeans and some shirts. I have lost weigh, but not enough to fit in my pre-maternity jeans :(

Belly button: Never popped, back to normal.  

Sleep: I have a newborn :P

Food cravings:  Gone! I still want sugar a lot though.

Symptoms:  Thankfully gone.

Movement:  No more, I do miss it sometimes.

Labor signs: Water broke on June 28th and Will was born the next morning

What I miss:  Sometimes I do miss being pregnant, but I love having our Little Man!

What I'm loving:  Being a mom!

What I'm looking forward to:  Seeing my baby boy learn and grow

Best moment this week:  Will smiled at me, this huge gummy smile, and I just melted!

News:  We are moving in less than two weeks!

Milestones: Almost three months old!

Words of wisdom: It never goes as you plan. Just go with it.

Second Trimester

How are we in the third trimester already? Some days I feel like I have been pregnant forever but for the most part it really has flown. 90% of the time I love being pregnant, I am honestly healthier and feeling better now than I have for the past two years or so and you can't hate that! This post will be a little less photo heavy than my first trimester post since I already did a halfway there post when I was around 20 weeks. The photo above is from the Dining In Ryan and I went to at the end of April that I have yet to blog about. I have that post and our sixth anniversary post and... yea, I have been a terrible blogger. Eep.

Here come the pictures!

What Fruit are you? I believe this week my Ovia app said I was a coconut but the graphics app I use says eggplant.

Due date: August 5, 2016 

How far along: 28 weeks exactly

Next appointment:  May 16th for OBGYN, next scan June 10th

Gender:  It's a boy!

Total weight gain/loss: Oh this is terrible. I kid you not when I say I gained about 35lbs. And I still have three months, and these are the three big growing ones. Yikes.

Exercise: This I have been good! I weight lift 2-3 times week, do prenatal yoga 1-2 times a week, and try and walk the Dup whenever the weather cooperates. I work out more now than I did pre-pregnancy!

Stretch marks: I always had them, but no real noticeable new ones yet. No purple ones anyway.

Swelling: Lots: Yea, that is happening. I now wear a Qalo rubber ring two sizes bigger than my original wedding band and my arms and legs can swell at times too.

Maternity clothes:  90% of the time. I do still fit in my pre pregnancy work out clothes, like my soffee shorts and huge tshirts, but those huge tshirts are starting to get to the not fit over the bump phase and won't last much longer.

Belly button: Very shallow but still innie.  

Sleep: I usually get up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom and occasionally wake up because I am just a bit uncomfortable.

Food cravings:  Cheese, strawberries, nutella, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches!

Symptoms:  My legs will feel crampy at night or in the morning, occasional tiredness, increased appetite, some swelling, and lots of visible veins!

Movement:  I love feeling Bean kick! I have anterior placenta so Bean has to kick a lot harder to be felt, especially by people placing their hands on my belly. Ryan has finally felt him kicking since about Easter but not enough for my liking.

Labor signs: I think I had Braxton-Hicks contractions once or twice but not positive.

What I miss:  Crossing my legs comfortably and sleeping through the night!

What I'm loving:  Feeling Bean kick and that the weather is finally warming up but not too hot.

What I'm looking forward to:  Our baby shower(s), being a bridesmaid in Carrie's wedding, going to New Jersey, Bean getting bigger, and of course his birth!

Best moment this week:  I deadlifted my bodyweight. I couldn't lift that big of number even pre pregnant, so I was pretty proud. And finally getting a burger from Jeff's, my favorite burger place. Craving satisfied!

News:  I passed my gestational diabetes test (woohoo!) and we are officially done with our baby registries! We are registered at Babys'r'us and Target, in case people were wondering :P

Milestones: 3rd Trimester!

Words of wisdom: I am open to any y'all have!

I cannot believe we are 2/3rds of the way done! Our little Bean will be here in about three months. Absolutely crazy. Keep cooking little guy, we cannot wait to meet you.

Halfway There!

I cannot believe I am halfway through my pregnancy! I was so scared for most of the first trimester that I would miscarry that it was hard to just relax and enjoy being pregnant. Once we cleared that first hurdle, my thyroid leveled out and I started to feel so much better. I wasn't so bone achingly tired all the time, the nausea faded, and I am actually in the stage where I really enjoy being pregnant. I can go without the waking up many times a night thing but beggars can't be choosers. Some photo updates...

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am so not a fan of the 20 week picture. My husband refused to stand up to take it! Unflattering angle!

When I was about 17 weeks pregnant my friend had her baby shower so I got to pose alongside another pregnant lady! Kristin was about 25 weeks along at this time and she had her shower early so she could be in the state with her family and still travel! Her husband is stationed in Texas. I didn't know I was having a boy yet (as is Kristin) but a lot of people thought I was having a girl because of these pictures since I appear to be carrying higher than her. Just goes to show you every pregnancy is different!

During this time I was also acting in a local community theatre production of A Time to Kill playing Judge Olga Noose. Fortunately I got to wear a baggy judge's robe and sit behind at the bench most of the play, so most people had no idea I was even pregnant! The weekend the show went on I was maybe 19 weeks along.

Of course a major highlight was our anatomy scan right as I hit 19 weeks. We got to see how much our Bean has grown and our tech was wonderful. She gamely turned off the screens to inspect the gender area and wrote down the results in an envelope for us to do our gender reveal that weekend.

On to the survey!

What Fruit are you? According to the Ovia app I am a baby bok choy, the What to Expect app says banana, and my Baby Pics app says pomegranate. Geeze y'all, can't you compare notes?
Due date: August 5, 2016
How far along: 21 weeks 4 days
Next appointment: April 15th for scan at Maternal Fetal Medicine, April 21 for OBGYN
Gender: Baby Boy!
Total weight gain/loss: I have officially gained close to 15-20lbs. I know I am supposed to, but it still wigs me out a bit to see numbers that big on a scale!
Exercise: Lots of walking. Now that the weather has warmed up the Dup and I try and go for walks daily.
Stretch marks: No new noticeable ones yet.
Swelling: I officially cannot wear my rings anymore. It was actually traumatic getting my husband to get my wedding band off after a walk one night. My hands swelled so bad and I nearly threw up when he finally got the thing off my finger, man did it hurt! I also may have started to go into shock. Yea, I will be a peach in labor! It honestly took close to an hour with ice, string and other things and my husband finally just yanking the hell out of it. I now wear my wedding band on my necklace and a giant fake ring I got from a Diamond Candle a few years ago that now fits. 

This was my poor finger not too long after we got the ring off. At least it wasn't as red but it swelled like that for a few days.

Maternity clothes: Yes. I still fit in some old shirts and a stretchy pair of work pants or two but majority of my wardrobe is maternity.
Belly button: Normal but I think starting to get shallower.
Sleep: I wake up between 1 and 4 times a night, usually to pee. I am trying to sleep on my side since I am supposed to, but I keep waking up on my back!
Food cravings: Blood oranges, I have at least one a day! Also still loving sweets but trying to be smart.
Symptoms: Still a little tired sometimes, occasionally a leg cramp or two, hunger... the usual.
Movement: Yes! Bean started moving noticeably for me right before my show! When I was on stage a few times I had to fight to stay in character because that was when he decided it would be a good time to move around. Ryan finally felt him officially kick for sure during this past week. Last week he kind of thought he might have, but a good kick last Saturday night was definite.
Labor signs: None yet thankfully!
What I miss: I did kind of want a drink the other night, but that is so rare it even surprised me!
What I'm loving: Feeling official kicks and movements from Bean. It is wonderful!
What I'm looking forward to: Having the bump be a bit more pronounced and then of course eventually meeting the little stinker.
Best moment this week: Seeing Ryan's expression when he finally felt a good, hard kick from Bean.
News: It's a boy! Thyroid levels are normal, things look good.
Milestones: Anatomy scan, Halfway point, official kicks, Finding out the gender
Words of wisdom: I am ready for any that people may want to share.

First Trimester

The Monday before Thanksgiving was when I decided to finally take a pregnancy test. All month Ryan kept saying he had a good feeling that this was our month and I finally started to agree with him. What tipped me over the edge was that I was lying in bed that morning, watching a youtube video of Pentatonix singing a Star Wars tribute at the American Music Awards when something unusual happened.... when the orchestra joined them I started crying! Even though my period wasn't due for another two days I decided to test and sure enough....

Positive! Once again I went nuts, jumping up and down and yelling and scaring the dog. Ryan was at work so I texted him asking if I could bring him lunch. I was bursting to tell him! He agreed so I grabbed some Panera and drove to meet him at work. It was freezing out so I was sitting in the car waiting for him (like last time, ironically) and he was waving at me to come in to the office. I told him no and to come and sit in the car for a second and my smart alec husband goes, "Why, are you pregnant?"

Yes! I didn't plan on videoing it or anything like last time but it was funny and very typical of us (see our engagement for an example) regardless. He was so excited and there were tears on both ends. We called both our parents that day, but kept it pretty quiet from everyone else for a bit. I went to the doctor the next day to do their test and I overhydrated! Imagine my surprise when the hospital calls and says my test was negative! So I went back the next day and we got our positive. Whew. Over Thanksgiving we told Ryan's grandmother and sister, but kept it quiet from everyone else for the most part. Over the next few weeks we let our very close friends know but after our previous loss we didn't want to get too excited too soon.

I didn't even start progress pictures until week 8 because I didn't want to jinx anything! Week 5-6 was brutal regardless and I ended up in the ER unable to keep even water down, but luckily I started vitamin b6 and have been ok for the most part since. Thank you pregnancy pops and drops too!

We told my (extended) family about my pregnancy a little earlier than we would have planned, but being we were in New Jersey for Christmas and able to tell them in person was too big an opportunity to pass up. To tell my 93 year old Poppy and 90 year old Babci in person they were going to be great grandparents again was wonderful. Poppy had tears in his eyes and it was so special for Ryan and I to do... so we told them early!

I feel like in the early pictures I look so so exhausted! I was sleeping 9 to 11 hours a night and still tired. Combination first trimester and thyroid for sure.

Week 10 was when I had my first official appointment with a midwife. At around week 8 I met with a nurse but it was just the preliminary sort of appointment. This time we got to actually see our Bean (the nickname has stuck for now!) and hear the heartbeat. I cried the entire time and Ryan had the goofiest smile... it was amazing. We had quite the surprise with the thyroid diagnosis at this appointment but we got the ball rolling on that treatment within 24 hours. I am so thankful for my midwife for that.

Bean was moving around like crazy. In the above one you can see Bean is kind of waving at us, but we also saw so much movement and flipping around. Plus we saw the thumping and pumping of the heart.

And here was the transition to maternity clothes. I can still fit in my pre pregnancy clothes but buttons and zippers are not comfy when you're bloated! The below outfit is a pregnancy top and pregnancy leggings and I loved it.

Dup usually loves to be close and rest her head on us, but I couldn't resist this picture. I was working on my lines for a show I am in and she snuggled right in. Sometimes I think she knows I am pregnant, other times she practically knocks me down and I roll my eyes and forget it!

Weekly Pregnancy Survey:

What Fruit are you? I believe this week my Ovia app said I was a beet but the graphics app I use says lemon.

Due date: August 5, 2016 

How far along: 14 weeks 3 days

Next appointment:  March 7th

Gender:  Unknown so far!

Total weight gain/loss: About 7-8 pounds... officially the heaviest I have ever been in my life and we got a ways to go! 

Exercise: Um... I have to walk really far from my car to the new library branch I transferred to? When the weather is nice we take the Dup for walks but it has been cold and rainy here lately.

Stretch marks: I always had them, but no real noticeable new ones yet.

Swelling: My fingers look a little swollen around my rings but nothing major

Maternity clothes: Maternity jeans are my new favorite thing! I have a few shirts and a pair of leggings too

Belly button: Normal  

Sleep: Starting to get really uncomfortable. I wake up at least once a night to pee but my back has been bothering me lately so I do lots of tossing and turning, even with my big body pillow

Food cravings:  Mango has been the big one! I love fruit... watermelon, starfruit, berries. All good! I also love French fries but try to not have them often. Pancakes from Cracker Barrel have won my soul over too.

Symptoms:  It is hard to tell sometimes if it is my thyroid or pregnancy sometimes! I get super hungry every now and then and have some major fatigue still. Skin has been breaking out and my chest has grown like crazy. I occasionally get some cramping but nothing bad or worrisome.

Movement:  I thought I felt a flutter once but it could have been gas :P

Labor signs: None yet thankfully!

What I miss:  Not too much, but I did want eggs benedict the other day and research said that was a no due to the runny eggs. Bummer.

What I'm loving:  That I am starting to have a slightly noticeable bump that isn't just bloating. Soon I will actually look pregnant and not just chubby!

What I'm looking forward to:  The bump short term, and feeling Bean move... and long term meeting Bean!

Best moment this week:  Lounging in sweat pants all day to watch the Super Bowl. I was a comfy and happy pregnant lady!

News:  Anatomy scan scheduled for March 7th. Officially classified as a 'high risk pregnancy' due to my thyroid.

Milestones: 2nd Trimester!

Words of wisdom: None yet really.

So we are a third of the way there! I will try and not bore you all with too much pregnancy stuff, but I am pretty excited and do want to document this for our families. Thank you so much for all the well wishes (and good thoughts and prayers)!