29 weeks + baby boy growth update

How far along? 29 weeks 

Total weight gain: 10 pounds

Maternity clothes? I've began living in maxi skirts and dresses lately, I'm needing to invest in some cute tops to go with them. David has given me a complex lately that I only like and wear things that are in "boring" neutral shades, and now I've realized that is about all I wear so I'm on a mission to add more color. Not that I'm sure I want to draw any more attention to this big ol' belly!!!

Sleep: ehhh. It's ok. I'm sleeping so I can't complain.

Best moment this week: by far seeing our baby boy at our ultrasound appointment I mean I could do that all day! 

Miss Anything? Bending over has officially become a little bit of a chore. Really this past week I feel like this belly have doubled in size out of no where or over night. I can't imagine what the next few weeks entail.

Cravings: No real cravings I would say- but I have my regular routine with food right now.  Cereal in the morning, smoothie around lunch or whenever I pass the McDonald's. I am pleased to announce that I didn't have a chicken sandwich at all this week.... The craving may have passed, and I may or may not be a little sad about it. I found myself buying rice cakes at the grocery store this week. I was never a fan so I don't know what that was about.  

Symptoms: Heavy belly.  Sitting, laying, standing- all have become slightly uncomfortable.. 

Looking forward to: SUMMER! With these beautiful evenings David and I hang out outside just about every evening and watch the dogs run around in the yard and we just dream of adding our little one this July to the outdoor summer mix, sleeping on a blanket I am sure but apart of slow evenings and nightly sunsets with us!

BABY BOY UPDATE

We went for our monthly ultrasound today and it may have been the best one yet! Our little guy went from the 48th percentile to the 62nd percentile in a month! We won't let a 2 vessel cord stand in our way of growing!! ;) Your prayers-seriously, their felt and working! Thank you to all those that remind us of your prayers for him because it is an extreme blessing to our heart. He is now measuring a week ahead! I'm hoping that means we will meet him a week earlier, but I know that is probably not the case! 

Our little one now weights approx. 3lbs. 1oz. and we got to watch him stick his tongue out, immediatly after I said to David "I don't know, now I think that's your nose." We could have watched him all day long. He was wiggling and opening his mouth and drinking up the fluid around him.

I had my glucose tolerance test last week, in which I passed. My other blood work showed my hemoglobin and iron to be low so now I am on an iron supplement in addition to the prenatal vitamins.

28 weeks.

How far along? 28 weeks

Total weight gain: 9 pounds

Maternity clothes? All the way.

Sleep: I've started to cat nap in the afternoons l when I sit for long periods of time. I found myself skewing for an hour the other day after work, totally unplanned and I was mad at myself when I woke up. I am hoping this doesn't start creeping up on me again. 

Best moment this week: I'm pretty sure it has to be this amazing weather! We went to my parents this weekend in the beautiful weather and has summer food. Bbq ribs, potato salad, and asparagus! Did my pregnant self good. Maybe this should of went under the cravings section....

Miss Anything? I sort of thought for a half a second I would be totally fine in regular leggings I had- but um yea, thats a negative, nothing stays up over this belly. So, while I thought I was missing my pre-pregnancy wardrobe.. I'm perfectly fine without for the next 11 weeks or so:) 

Cravings: FRUIT.  Chicken sandwiches. I saw a lady the other day with a strawberry smoothie and I immediately began coveting it. I don't know if it's cravings or this gorgeous weather making me crave all this summery goodness.

Symptoms:  I get winded really easily, it seems, whether I'm eating or going on our evening walks. With the nice whether we have increased our walking, our road is a hill so we're looking into starting the flat bike trail down the road and we will save the hill for when I'm trying to induce labor in late June. Bending over occasionally makes me light headed.  BUT - really, I don't have much to complain about at all.  Everything during this pregnancy has been pretty low maintenance all together and I appreciate that, baby boy.  

Looking forward to: Third Trimester!  We have arrived! These last weeks are pretty jam packed and I and really looking forward to all of it. We have a short list (David would say long list) of projects that need done before baby so we have been working to get those done each week. 

27 weeks + the name game

How far along? 27 weeks 

Total weight gain: 9 pounds

Maternity clothes? While I was dreading the shopping trip to Motherhood...again. I never regret it once I'm home and I have the pants to put on. I have been able to make my no maternity tops work but pants not so much. I hate trying clothes on, I'm the person that guesses and returns. With Motherhood being a 40 minute drive trying on was important, I was sweating and wanting to cry but let me say HELLO COMFORT! So worth it! I got some things to hold me over for spring. I'll go back again when I'm needing shorts. So I'm sure that there will be more sweating and more wallowing with my fat self on that trip as well. 

Sleep: I have good nights and bad, mostly good! I'm getting tired more like in that first trimester- ready for bed before 8pm!  Now with daylight being a little longer I was hoping it would trick my body into thinking it was earlier.. Not quite! Getting comfortable is a challenge. I feel like I can navigate this belly just fine during the day but at night when it comes to turning from side to side I feel like I'm moving a bowling ball around.

Best moment this week: Anytime I feel him move - it is the best.  He's been flip flopping a lot- and the best is getting to share that with David he gets so excited to watch or to feel him move.

Miss Anything? Nah.

Cravings: Still loving chicken sandwiches, carbonated anything, cereal, peanut butter and jelly is new this week. Chips ahoy and milk is also a nightly snack, I rotate between that and popcorn. Something came over me at the store recently and I bought a 24 count of popcorn and I got home wondering why I did that. It just seemed so appealing at the store.  Also fruit mostly strawberries and bananas and ice cold water. 

Symptoms: I actually noticed some heartburn today... Hmmm maybe baby hair?! 

Looking forward to: I think about the day I will meet our little guy multiple times a day. The little details of his face, his tiny feet, and the smell of his baby head.  As I approach my last trimester, all this is becoming more real. We're also looking forward to our dr. appt at the end of this week. It's always comforting and reassuring. So we will have a mini update next week and and then an ultrasound update the next! Yay!

THE NAME GAME

We are so enjoying hearing all of your name guesses for our sweet boy. Except none of you have gotten it yet! 

When we found out we were pregnant, David and I had already been discussing names. We actually had/have an enormous powerhouse of a name list in the notes section of my phone.  It has been a running document, so to speak, of names I/we have come across over time that struck our desire and heart strings for naming future bab(ies).

When we heard our top boy name for the first time, it was perfect for this sweet boy before we ever realized why. What else made it perfect was that no one else we knew had it! Since then I have had actual nightmares of people stealing our name, like I actually came up with it myself. Clearly I don't have the copyrights to the name. Recently I heard of someone (mind you I don't know this person personally) that named their little boy something super similar in my opinion and I admit I was irritated. Keep in mind it's not the same name, pronunciation or spelled the same, just similar. I am crazy? I full on admit it. 

Up until the excitement of this baby boy, I had never ever, ever, ever, e v e r  shared my name list with anyone. Maybe a random one here and there but no one has seen the master expect David. I keep acting like it is some official special document, but hey I feel like I worked hard for our names and for David and I to agree on names is rare!

Back to our little guys name (no I'm not going to tell you), we had shared a few names here and there at the beginning of our pregnancy but, everyone had their opinions, thoughts, and expressions that I didn't care to hear at all one bit - and basically it hurt my feelings, and I am allowed to have those.  

Names at the top of my boy list being called 'interesting'

Names at the top of my girl list being called 'boyish'.

Or they were just given awful nicknames right from the getgo.

This was all before we actually knew what we here having yet.  I was already over the name selection before it even had a chance to get started.

Our sweet boy has a name, and it is perfect. His first name and its meaning are so precious to us and initially we were going to go with a different middle name than we actually decided on first. After we found out we were having a boy. We knew they meaning of his first name was special and we found a middle name we loved that had an even more perfect meaning for him, what he means to David and I and also how special he has been in our walk with the Lord. We pray for him by name and call him by name, and talking to him by name.  It sticks.  It is precious.  It is perfect.

Honestly, I don't care if you hate it.  When it came to naming this sweet boy, I am the one that has to love it, and I completely understand if not everyone loves our decision. But once this sweet boy has arrived.. I double dog dare you to tell me you hate it.

It is the number one question I get these days- "Does baby boy have a name?"  Yes, yes he does.  

He is SO special to us.  Literally our miracle baby.  The baby we didn't know if we ever would have. The baby that happened on God's timing, and we are so very thankful and his name reflects that perfectly.

We CANNOT wait to share his name with you all though but not for another 13 weeks or so, that is.

disclaimer: 

This is my way of expressing our reasons for not sharing our baby boy's name before he is born, and in no way am I attempting to offend anyone.  :)

26 weeks.

How far along? 26 weeks 

Total weight gain: 7pounds... I haven't got on the scale this week, if I don't have a doctors appointment I try to avoid the scale at home. I was informed by my OB at my last appointment that I've not 'gained very much weight.. most women have gained over 20 pounds at this point.' I am eating - but sticking mostly to the healthy stuff, which is mostly likely part of it. Plus I'm not 'eating for 2' since that advice is totally bogus. My belly is making me feel enormous everywhere.

Maternity clothes? All day. I'm starting to have to get creative with my wardrobe. This weekend we switched out our fall/winter clothes for our spring/summer clothes just in time for a little April snow storm. I didn't even unpack the shorts I had to avoid depression later on when I know they won't fit me. 

Sleep: Sleep is great when I'm actually sleeping but I've been waking more and more throughout the night with our active little guy kicking away.

Best moment this week: Attempting to pinpoint the best moment of my week is getting tough.  The days run together.. We had a really busy week this past week. It seemed like David and I were going in opposite directions every day. It was nice to slow things down on Friday for a quick chicken sandwich dinner at Wendy's. Wow I think that was the highlight, being with my guy is just the best whether it's Wendy's or something fancy.  

Miss Anything? Im missing the speed at which I can do things. I so enjoyed waking up Sunday morning to a clean home after cleaning on Saturday. Normally I have David's help when I go on a whole house cleaning spree, but like I said we were in opposite directions all week. What normally takes me 4-5 hours to do with his help. Took me all day, I'm talking 8am-9pm I was finally done. He did start help me at about 7pm. I had to take too many breaks! Haha.

Cravings: cereal, ice cold water, strawberries, chicken sandwiches, pretty sure I had a chicken sandwich 4 out of 7 days this week and I'm not picky I don't care where it comes from. 

Symptoms: I'm becoming so full after eating small amounts of food. It's this big belly just getting in the way.

Looking forward to: I feel like summer is fast approaching and I am thrilled about that. I am looking forward to work slowing down as summer begins and getting ready for this little guy. I am way excited.

This week I have been so taken back by this pregnancy and experience from the very beginning. My morning drive to work is some of my favorite prayer time and I had to wipe the tears away before I walked into work as I was praying for our sweet boy who we never knew if we would even have. A few times I've started to complain about how much of a chore it is for me to just roll over in bed or how tired this little one is making me and the Lord quickly puts my heart into perspective and reminds me what a privilege I have. The thoughts exit faster than they come and praise remains even longer. My heart cannot wait to see his sweet face and to just know my little boy! I'm so jealous of how the Lord already knows my sweet boy, knows every fiber of his being, knows his hair and eye color, and knows HIM, every detail!