Third Trimester with Baby #2

This pregnancy has truly FLOWN by! Maybe it's because I didn't go on bedrest with this baby, or because I have a toddler who keeps me SUPER busy and I don't have time to think about being pregnant!!!

I'm not gonna lie though... these last few weeks have gotten tough being so pregnant with a toddler. It's gotten hard to keep up with him, clean up, and then not feel bad about not being able play rough with my little man! Bending over to pick up his toys is even hard!

Here are my third trimester details...

How I feel:
Well I don't feel TOO bad... I am a little more tired lately {but I am trying to keep up with a 2 year old}, it's harder to sleep, and I think I just feel BIG.  People keep telling me I'm not that big for 37 weeks pregnant... but I feel like it. This bump is just always in the way :)  But really, when I think about how I felt last pregnancy, I think I'm doing pretty good for 37 almost 38 weeks pregnant. I am feeling her move a LOT more than in my 2nd trimester, but she really doesn't have much room anymore, so any tiny movements I can feel.  She doesn't move as much as Caycen did when I was pregnant with him.

Cravings:
ok... so I think I still crave things I see on commercials.  I saw a Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercial the other day and you better bet that I had me some to eat the next morning :) I haven't eaten Cinnamon Toast Crunch since college!!! haha! But it sure was good... I'm also back in a chocolate donut kick, wanting them for a snack or something sweet after dinner. Other than that, not too many cravings.

Body:
My stomach has gotten SUPER tight! I feel really big... I have gained about 30 lbs total so far... hoping I don't gain too much more.  I don't really have any swelling this time either, which is great. I pray that I don't swell like I did when I was in labor with Caycen.  Here are some pics of the 3rd trimester belly growth:

30 weeks

35 weeks

37 weeks

here is a comparison of 37 weeks with Caycen vs. 37 weeks with Gracie June:

I think I poke out about the same, but Caycen was definitely a lot more of a curve and Gracie is more at a point in the middle of my belly! It's fun to see the difference :)

Best Moment:
My best moment in the 3rd trimester is probably my 36 week appointment where I got to see our sweet little girl in the ultrasound one more time before she makes her appearance into the world. She was just precious. They measured her to be about 5 lbs 12 oz from the ultrasound. I'm so excited to actually be able to hold her!

Worst Moment:
TOUGH... probably anytime that Caycen wants me to play on the floor with him and I just can't move around the way that he wants me to. I feel horrible when I can't play with him and give him, especially since his whole world is about to be rocked.

Well, this may be my last "pregnancy" post before giving my delivery story... being pregnant a second time has definitely gone by fast, but it's been a challenge {especially toward the end} having a two year old to chase around at the same time.  We are planning that this will be our last baby {we think 2 is a great number for us}.  I think I've said this before, but I'm just not one of those girls that absolutely LOVES being pregnant... nope... not me at all... so I look forward to bringing this baby into the world and I am so excited for her to meet her big brother!!! I just know he's going to LOVE Gracie June!!!

Hope you enjoyed all of my pregnancy posts :)

Pregnancy Update - Packed and Ready

So I decided to do my final update on the third trimester before I deliver.  I have been debating on when to do this post because every day I feel like I could go into labor that day... well I haven't gone into full fledged labor yet, so I figured I might as well go ahead and post while I feel up to it. 

Right now we are playing the waiting game... I am 38 weeks and 5 days today.  Who would've thought that I'd make it this far after going into preterm labor at 33 weeks?? Well my due date is on the 20th, but we have our next doctor's appointment on Tuesday.  I will be 39 weeks at that point and my doctor says that we can induce on either Wednesday or Thursday (hoping for Wednesday), if he's not here by then (hoping even more that he will come before my doctor's appointment).  I know a lot of you are going to say "no Amy, don't induce, it's horrible, you have long labor, you want to wait for him to come by himself, you will probably have to get  c-section if you induce, dot dot dot"... Well, I hate to say this, but it's my decision and I've already made up my mind... I have read so many negative things about getting induced, but I've heard lots of positives also.  If you've been pregnant before you may understand how I'm feeling right now... I am SOOO ready.  At my last appointment I was almost 3 cm dilated already so my doctor told me that if I were to be induced it should WORK pretty quickly since my body has already dilated to 3 by itself.  Who knows, I may be even more dilated by the time I go in to be induced.  I know a lot of people keep telling me "you say you're ready now, but you'll be wishing he were still in you when he comes"... Hopefully I'm not wrong but, I'm pretty sure that I would rather be tired and not getting any sleep from having a newborn, than tired and not getting any sleep because I'm in pain... but that's just me thinking here, I could be wrong.

Ok more of the update:
How I feel:
Well most of the third trimester I have been on bedrest, but felt pretty good! They say that the third trimester is usually as bad as the first, but it hasn't been too bad for me... other than preterm labor, everything else seemed to go pretty smooth.  That is, until the last couple of weeks... ugh! I am miserable!  I try not to complain TOO much, but I know Chance gets his earful of it.  The main thing is that my back has been KILLING me!  It hurts no matter what I do; stand, sit, lay down... it just plain hurts! Doctors say it's mostly because your hip bones are opening up to get ready for delivery.  Well, last Tuesday night my back hurt so bad that I was up every 30 minutes during the night walking around the room in the dark trying to get the pain to go away!  I was also getting really bad cramps in my stomach, which I would have thought were contractions, but they were lasting for like 5 to 10 minutes at a time (contractions are supposed to only be about a minute during active labor), then they would go away for about an hour and come back... I was MISERABLE! And poor Chance didn't get any sleep that night either because I was moaning and groaning, walking around, getting in and out of bed... I felt so bad for him!  The next day I went for a LONG walk and the pain eased up some, then started to come back, but it never got back to the pain I felt during the night.  I called my doctor just in case and they told me to come in.  My GREAT friend Martha came and picked me up and went to my appointment with me.  They hooked me up to the stress monitors to see if I was having contractions, and I was, but they weren't very strong contractions.  They had me hooked up for about 20 minutes and I had about 4 or 5 small contractions during that time (which I couldn't even feel).  They said the back pain was most likely labor pains.  They checked me and I hadn't dilated any more so they said I was good to go home.  Pregnancy is so confusing!

At this point in my pregnancy I am having continuous back pain; it hurts my stomach to bend down and tie my shoes or even try to put socks and shoes on; my hands, ankles, feet, legs, and pretty much everything gets swollen about 50 times a day; I get cramps in my lower abdomen (that apparently aren't contractions); I get shooting pains in my wahoo because the baby's head is so low and hitting my pelvis and nerves down there; and I feel like an emotional wreck (although I have kept my tears in and I've only cried maybe once during this trimester and it was just a little pout I promise!)!!!

Not trying to scare anyone who is pregnant or anything... but gosh this last part is uncomfortable!!!!


Body:
Well, my tummy just keeps getting bigger and bigger!!! I'm pretty sure that's the only thing that keeps changing other than the swelling. 

A few more pics:

34 1/2 weeks

36 weeks

37 weeks

I didn't take a picture for 38 weeks, but I will make sure to take one for 39 if I make it to Monday, and of course I'll take a picture on the day I go into labor (whether it's before Monday or after). 

Best moment:
hmm... this is a hard one... this may be a little weird, but hearing the doctors say they can feel his head was kind of a great moment... I knew that he was lodged head-down and ready to go at that point.  The doctors told me that because of how low he is, it is not likely that he will move out of position and become breached.  That was VERY EXCITING to hear.


Packed and Ready:

Well, I figured I would also let you guys know that we have been packed an ready pretty much since I went into preterm labor at 33 weeks... I have changed out a few things here and there or added some things that I hadn't thought of, but we have BEEN ready.

Caycen's diaper bag

I will give you the overview of what we packed for the hospital:

We made sure to pack his door hanger and a paint pen to write with (this will hang on the outside of the door at the hospital), his baby book to do his foot prints, some baby wipes, diapers, and a burp cloth.  I know that I may not use the wipes, diapers, or cloth, because they give you this stuff at the hospital, but I want it in there just in case.

CLOTHES- everyone loves baby clothes!!! Well we have an outfit for his first picture, an outfit for taking him home, and another one just because I might use it.  Of course we have some socks and a couple of little beanies (Chance's cousin actually made the green and blue one for us! Isn't she talented???).

And we have a receiving blanket and a little passy (which he might not use, but another just in case). 

 Now for what we packed:

In the big suitcase we have our clothes.  We packed Chance a couple of outfits, some comfy shorts and t-shirts to sleep in, and some underwear.  For myself there are some comfy t-shirts, tank tops, shorts, a going home outfit, nursing bras, underwear, and slippers. 





This is our toiletry bag... we packed travel sized shampoo and body wash, face wipes, nursing bra pads, nipple butter (haha), toothbrushes, toothpaste, hair ties and bobby pins, deodorant, phone charger, and anything else that may be needed to keep ourselves clean :)

We have the boppy pillow in the car already, which will be used for nursing. 

I may even bring one of my own pillows to sleep with.

And of course we have the camera packed so we can take TONS of pictures!!!!! I wonder who is going to be shooting these pics for me...  We will be bringing our camcorder also, but haven't decided if we will use it yet.

Well, I think that's about all we packed... hope I'm not forgetting anything!

I hope you enjoyed my pregnancy update and packing list... feel free to leave comments and advice! I'm hoping my next post will be my delivery story!!!

Love y'all!~Aimes 

Pregnancy Update

So, I haven't blogged in a while... I don't really know what my excuse is... I haven't done much or been too busy.  But anyway, I thought I would update everyone on the pregnancy.

I am 37 weeks as of yesterday! WOOHOO!!! I made it to full-term!  Since I have been on bed rest I have read a lot, watched some t.v., played Golden Eye (haha Chance is so proud of me), checked a lot of blogs, done a lot of laundry, and taken TONS of naps! I finished two books "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue" by Emily Giffin.  The two books go together and they are great! I definitely like "Something Blue" a LOT better though!!  I can't wait to go see the movie with my besties!  I am now reading the third book by Emily Giffin "Baby Proof".  So far it's looking pretty good too.

Now to the pregnancy... While I was on strict bed rest, weeks 33-36, I couldn't get up except to use the bathroom or take a shower... man that stunk!!!  I didn't have anything really going on at all during those weeks.  At week 36 they took me off of the Procardia, the medicine that was keeping me from contracting.  About 2 days after getting off the medicine (Wednesday), I started feeling sharp pains, almost like a knife going through me, down in my wahoo (sorry I couldn't come up with a better word).  The doctor checked me and said that the baby is VERY low and is probably hitting my cervix which is causing the pains. Then the next day (Thursday), I started feeling the sharp pains along with cramping in my lower abdomen.  The pain and cramping only lasted about 10 seconds and wasn't very consistent, so I knew I shouldn't call the doctor.  I tried timing them and they would be 8 minutes, then 10, then 8, then 20, then an hour... I was confused, but decided to wait it out and just see if they got any more normal.  I waited out for two days.  Then on Saturday morning I started getting a constant cramping, headache, and felt very nauseous... so I called the doctor on call and he told me that was "normal"... ugh!  I was so confused though, because when I went into preterm labor I had the cramping, I went in, and they told me I was having contractions and dilated a cm!!! How can this be normal?? But whatever, I guess I will have to deal with it. I have been "dealing" with it since... My mom also called a close friend of the family who is a midwife and she says that I'm just having really strong Braxton Hicks contractions, but I heard that those don't hurt... I guess everyone is different.  Well today I have my doctor's appointment and I am anxious to hear what she has to say.

I feel like I have had a pretty easy pregnancy, except for the preterm labor and all, but this last week has been horrible! I having been sleeping well at all, I get up every hour to use the bathroom, my feet and hands keep swelling, I had proteinuria (good think my blood pressure was normal because then it could have been preeclampsia), I have had the shooting pains and cramping for almost a week, and I am READY for him to come out!!!  No doubt, this is the worst part of pregnancy for me! 

Ok something positive... I have the greatest family and friends EVER!!!!! My mom drove down on Saturday "just in case" I was going into labor, my in-laws have been feeding us almost every night this past weekend, my friends have constantly been checking on me, some of my co-workers brought us dinner one night, and even my family has been calling and emailing me to say they were thinking of me!  It's so nice to know that I have sooo many supporters! 

Now for those of you who have had babies, I need your feedback... what are your labor stories?? Were there signs before you started going into labor? How many weeks were you when you went into labor? How long were you in labor? Did your water break?  Did you have to been induced, was it natural, or a c-section?  How much did the baby weigh and how long was he/she? Did you do anything trying to make yourself go into labor and did anything work?

I can't wait to hear every one's stories!!!! You can either leave a comment here, leave a link to your blog with your story, or even leave me a comment or message on facebook!! I'm sure everyone else would love to hear your stories too! :)

Well, my appointment is at 4:00 today, so I have a long day of waiting to see what the doctor says... Will you please do me a favor and PRAY that this little man comes soon??? Thanks everyone!

love ~Aimes

Journey of Pregnancy Third Timester

Hey guys! I figured it was about time for an update on the third trimester.

So far the third trimester has been a lot like the 2nd.  Not too much of a difference except that my belly just keeps on getting bigger.  I do feel Caycen kicking me CONSTANTLY.  He is going to be a very active boy!!

How I feel:
Well, I am almost 33 weeks, so you can say I feel big!  I am starting to get tired again, which is most likely because I'm not sleeping very well... I just can't get comfortable! I roll around constantly during the night, I get hot then cold, and it doesn't help that Sugar has to sleep right under my feet!  I have been tired during the day at work and it's really hard when you're having to stand all day and work with 2nd graders. 

I have had a lot more heartburn lately! Before I was pregnant I NEVER had heartburn... now during the third trimester, it's pretty much an every day thing. I can't wait for that to go away!

I have heard that whatever your first trimester was like is what your third is like... well I guess that doesn't apply to everyone because I haven't been sick at all... yet... I did end up getting morning sickness during the first trimester and so many people have said that I would have it in the 3rd because of that... but nope, no morning sickness.  I hope I'm not speaking too soon!

So, other than being pretty tired and the heartburn, I don't feel too different... but hey, I still have 7 weeks to go :)


Body
Well, my belly is for sure a LOT bigger this trimester!  I am loving my maternity jeans and Chance's t-shirts! haha! Poor guy, I hope I don't stretch his shirts out!  I still don't have any stretch marks on my tummy, so I'm grateful for that... hopefully it stays that way!  My feet and ankles have started swelling off and on, mainly when I get hot or stand for long periods of time.  The doctor told me to elevate my feet while I'm at work... I don't think she realizes that as a 2nd grade teacher you don't get much opportunity to sit and elevate your feet...

Here are a few pics from the 3rd trimester so far:

26 weeks

27 weeks

28 weeks

29 weeks

30 weeks

32 weeks

What I'm eating
Well, the same old thing... still don't feel like I'm having any cravings... BUT, I do feel like I get hungry and a lot more irritable if I don't eat now.  And though I'm not craving anything all the time, when someone suggests something to eat and I get my mind set on eating that, I have to have it! I'm not good at changing my mind after I have decided I want something specific.  I am drinking a lot more milk lately, mostly for the heartburn!


Best moment so far
The best moment so far in the third trimester is definitely just being able to feel Caycen and watch him move across my stomach.  During the 2nd trimester I started feeling him kick and could see it, but now it's a lot more movement and you can definitely see it a lot better.  I can actually feel body parts and everything!  I love it when Chance plays his guitar and Caycen just rolls around and kicks me like crazy.  It's sooo amazing to see my stomach move from this itty bitty baby inside of me!


Well, that's my update for now... I will be updating again probably right before Caycen comes (or maybe after if he comes earlier than expected). 

Thanks for reading!!! I love hearing your comments and advice, so leave me lots!!!!! :)

Love y'all,
Aimes