29 Week Bumpdate

Size of Baby Andrew: About 16 inches tall and just under 3 or so pounds. 

Feeling: So good! This week I've felt awesome. The ouchie symptoms have been way way down and I have been so much more comfortable this week! 

Fitness: I've been trying! I did some push ups (it was hilarious to feel just how atrophied my muscles are), squats and lunges, and doing stairs. 

Sleep: I've been more tired this week for sure. Trying to carve out more hours for sleep and also giving myself more grace (and coffee- haven't had much in the last 2 years!)

Best Moment From Last Week: Having my baby shower. It was so magical to get to spend the evening with so many of my favorite ladies and get to celebrate Andrew coming! And putting away and sorting all the clothes and gifts into the nursery was such a joy. We are almost ready for you, little guy!

Movement: So wiggly! He is most consistently active while I'm reading in bed before I go to sleep each night, but lots of cute little wiggles all day. 

Cravings:  Oh man- I made this Pad Thai with spaghetti squash this week and I cannot stop thinking about it! It was AMAZING! So we will be having it weekly from here on out :)

Total Weight Gain: 19-20 pounds. Staying really focused on eating healthy the last few weeks but this little guy keeps growing for sure! 

What am I looking forward to this week: We are having a home weekend this coming weekend. No outside plans, chill expectations, and I can't wait! We've had a few really busy weeks in a row and need the rest time. 

Milestones:  Glucose test is done! 

Fashion: I think this is going to be a summer of tank tops and pony tails. 

How is Daddy and Evelyn? We have had a really hard and challenging week of parenting Evelyn. But it brought to light some changes Joe and I needed to make and it has brought big changes in Evelyn's obedience and her heart. So we count that as a huge win! 

28 Weeks: Welcome to the Third Trimester!

I don't realize how far forward Andrew is until I stop and take these pictures- lol!

Size of Baby Andrew: At our ultrasound the tech said he looked about 2.25 pounds- Right on track!

Best Moment From Last Week: Getting to see my sweet boy on Wednesday. He is so cute!! I got to bring my mom and it was so special to get to share that with her. 
And then this morning I got the call from my doctor's office that my placenta previa has FULLY RESOLVED so all limitations are gone!! I can travel, exercise, pick up Evelyn, have a vaginal birth, the whole deal!

Feeling: Heartburn is way down, and achy hips are way down too! Siatic pain is sporadic but intense. I'm so glad we are officially on the homestretch. 

Fitness: Well... I just got cleared for all exercise again! I don't know yet what I'm going to feel up to doing, but I'm excited this week to give some things a try!

Sleep: The last week to ten days have been rough. Between colds, achy legs and Evelyn waking up more than normal, I have been zonked. BUT Evelyn and I slept hard through the night last night. I woke up happy and rested and it has me in the absolute best mood ever!

Movement: All over all the time! He is seriously a mover and shaker

Cravings:  Cheddar cheese and almond flour crackers. It's really hitting the spot!

What am I looking forward to this week: Baby shower! With some of the complications, we decided to have it pretty early and I'm so excited to get to celebrate sweet Andrew tonight! This boy is so loved and has been prayed for for years. He's such a miracle!

Milestones:  Officially 3rd trimester- YES! Home stretch for sure now

I have lost my feet!

Fashion: I've been pretty casual but I'm trying to remember to wear all my cute stuff too. Only a couple months to wear those pretty dresses. So I will be a no-ashamed church outfit repeater this summer!

How is Daddy and Evelyn? 
Evelyn has twins growing in her tummy named "Treehouse" and "Treehouse". It's hilarious!

I am so thankful for Joseph's hands to massage out my legs when they ache, his arms to give me lots of hugs when I'm teary-eyed or overwhelmed, and his hard working self. He is putting in some serious hours right now so that we can have a little more time (and less to no overtime) once Andrew is here. 

27 Week Bumpdate

I love a good hair day!

Size of Baby Andrew: About 2 pounds and 14 1/2 inches tall and he is opening and closing his eyes now! 

Feeling: Thankful. Honestly I am so thankful to be carrying this sweet boy, and it is also really hard. Physically, I'm working through the siatic pain that comes and goes, restless legs at night, and lots of contractions these days. Fighting a cold-type thing too so I'm super tired today, but even so: so thankful and so joyful. 

Fitness: Windy evening walks are my happy place

Sleep: Sleep is mostly going good. I struggle with insomia really bad during pregnancy so I take Unisom and it has been an absolute game changer. 

Best Moment From Last Week: It's been a really simple week over here. Nothing crazy, but I did make a solid plan for some meals and snacks and things to make over the coming weeks and freeze. I froze quite a few things with Evelyn and it helped so much. I know we will have help, especially at first, but I'm looking forward to having a good back stock of things for the especially tricky days during those first couple months of getting our new rhythm. 

Movement: In the bath yesterday, I watched as my stomach actually was moving from Andrew moving in there. I don't remember that happening much (and definitely not this early) with Evelyn!

Cravings:  Soups and smoothies.

Total Weight Gain: 16 lbs

What am I looking forward to this week: Ultrasound in 1 week! Can’t wait to see my boy again 😍 And we are having a birthday party for my niece's first birthday this weekend. It will be so fun to have a big family party!

Milestones:  Last week of second trimester! It has felt incredibly quick since I felt so sick so far into it, but I’m glad to be on the home stretch of seeing our boy soon!

Fashion: I know I've talked about hair a bit already, but I love how easy my second and third day hair is! It's fun to feel cute with such a quick getting ready time.

How is Daddy and Evelyn? 

Evelyn learned how to ride her bike this week. She LOVES it so much! It melts my heart to see her wild joy for something

Joseph has been so so helpful with massage to help me sleep in comfort. Thank you Sweetheart!!

26 Week Bumpdate

I feel like I’ve really popped the last couple weeks! It’s cracking me up lol 😆 

Size of Baby Andrew: About 14 inches long and a pound and 2/3 😊

Feeling: Heartburn has gone way down this week (so thankful) but the siatic nerve pain is new and so INTENSE. I’m doing what I can with lots of foam rolling and stretching and walking, but this is something I will be thrilled to see go away once we are on the other side of birth. 

Fitness: It seems like the more that I move, the less the siatic pain is, so I’m moving! Doing yard work, cleaning the house, and taking walks -either with Evelyn or by myself after she goes to bed for the night. These evening walks by myself are becoming my absolute favorite. It’s so good to decompress and pray and enjoy the almost-summer evenings!

Sleep: I bought a pregnancy wedge (Toys R Us clearance- score!) and it has been really comfortable to help relieve a little pressure from my growing tummy when side sleeping. 

Best Moment From Last Week: Memorial Day weekend was so fun! We got to celebrate my Grandpa’s 80th birthday in a big way and my brother Caleb and his wife Brittany were in town from Iowa. It was such great quality time with everyone. Plus we got a lot of things done around our house on Monday. 

Movement: So much movement! It’s amazing- very different from Evelyn. And either I’ve really started feeling his booty or (way more probable since I though the same thing with Ev until told otherwise), we’ve starting having good practice contractions/Braxton Hicks.

Cravings:  Holy cow- I know this is a pregnancy craving because I haven’t thought about this food in about a decade, but Manicotti. It hit me a few nights ago and sounds so good! Plus side to being gluten free, things like this are harder to give into! Staying the course and thankful that it takes some extra effort to make things like this happen (which usually means I can say no by the time it comes around again)

Total Weight Gain: I forgot to check today and instead of waiting until tomorrow when I remember (and that possibly going on for a few days), I’m just going to rain check this one until next week. 

What am I looking forward to this week: We have a pretty simple week ahead of us. So I'm looking forward to picking some strawberries with Evelyn and my mom and then knocking a few more tasks off of my nesting list. 

Milestones:  Every week as we get closer to 28 weeks my heart feels lighter, knowing that viability keeps getting better and better! These are things I never really thought about when I was pregnant with Evelyn but between the Downs diagnosis and the placenta previa diagnosis, every week of not bleeding is a huge blessing! 

Fashion: I got my hair trimmed up this week and it feels so fresh and cute! 

How is Daddy and Evelyn? Joe is cranking out some major things off of our list of to-dos before baby comes! It’s so fun to accomplish each of these things (cleaning out a closet, or organizing the laundry cupboard, organizing the garage and sorting the backpacking gear, etc) So thankful to be getting these things done together! 

And Evelyn and I are having a really fun time soaking each other up. She finished a month of swimming lessons this week and we are ready for pool time this summer! It has been so fun to watch her become more and more brave in the water. I have my gym membership for 2 more months, so any afternoon that it's warm, you'll find us swimming!

25 Week Bumpdate

Size of Baby Andrew: About 13.5 inches and a pound and a half

Feeling: So much better! I went to see my chiropractor Thursday and my body doesn’t ache nearly the same way! 

Fitness: I’ve been slacking on getting my walking in, so I’m refocusing on that this week 😊

Sleep: I have been doing better about getting off screens earlier in the evening to help get me settled into sleep sooner. So far so good! 

Best Moment From Last Week: We hosted a graduation party in our backyard for Joe and it was so fun. It was how I always pictured our home- full of all the people we love, relaxed and easy. After our massive backyard project last year, it was so nice to just do a small bit of spring freshen up for it to look great! 

Movement: All over, all the time. I LOVE it. 

Cravings:  I think I’ve been doing a good job of keeping this in check. Things that are extra delicious are still fruit and cold smoothies or popsicles. 

Total Weight Gain: Still 13 lbs 

What am I looking forward to this week: Hello 3 day weekend! We have quite a few smaller things planned and all are going to be so fun! 

Milestones:  I had another OB appointment this week. Starting at my next appointment, I’ll start going on every other week! 

Fashion: I love that my "pregnancy hair" has come in these last weeks. It's amazing how it looks good without needing to wash it as often!

How is Daddy and Evelyn? Evelyn has realized that baby Andrew isn't wearing any clothes in my tummy. She thinks it is so silly that he is naked in there! lol!

And Joe is just incredible. I can't wait for him to get to hold our little guy.

24 Week Bumpdate

Size of Baby: This section is probably not going to be super accurate from here on out. Babies with Down Syndrome tend to be on the smaller side, so we’ll see! About 13 inches and 1.5 pounds

Feeling: Uncomfortable. How this guy is sitting or how I have braxton hicks contractions or something is so different than with Evelyn. I'm beyond thankful and grateful that I can carry this pregnancy, but it's not as comfortable as I remember with Evelyn.  Also I caught a cold last week which left me wiped out. Being sick while pregnant is worse than everyone jokes about! 

Other symptoms: heartburn, pregnancy brain, and insomnia

Fitness: Walk walk walking! And stretching and foam rolling. And I got a go-ahead to attempt a bike ride and it went really well! 

Sleep: A little insomnia this week, but I'm used to that with pregnancy. Taking it in stride! Also naps are delicious

Best Moment From The Last Two Weeks: Joseph passed his test!!! He's an official journeyman! And we picked our little guy’s name: Andrew Paul Wright 😊

And this week it has been such a joy and breath of fresh air to have Andrew’s diagnosis be fully in the open. I’m so glad I can speak freely about all that I’m learning and that God is showing me. 

Movement: So much! This guy really moves. It's interesting the locations of movement- either very low or on my right or left. It's seldom at the top (where I felt most of Evelyn's movement)

Cravings:  Strawberries. Blueberries. Mangos. Watermelon. Keeping it balanced but man this fruit is hitting the spot! Also ice water. And this delicious grain-free granola I got from Costco last week. 

A funny food “aversion” is plain water. I’ve never not liked the taste of plain water before and I’m finding I want a little something else (either carbonation, a squeeze of lemon, just something). I’ll be buying limes and lemons this week for sure! 

Total Weight Gain: 13 lbs

What am I looking forward to this week: More and more sunshine. The forecast is looking so dreamy in the mid 70s. Spring is here!! 

I’m also looking forward to cranking out some of my pre-baby to do list. 

Milestones:  I think I finished our baby registry which feels so good! Can I just say how fun it is to have second babies? You already have all the big stuff so the list is smaller things. It feels so freeing and simple!

Fashion: I’m loving shorts and tanks! And I borrowed a nice big hat from my mom to help protect my face while outside and on walk. And this is the dress I mentioned quite a few posts back. I feel so beautiful in it! 

How is Daddy and Evelyn? A hilarious development with Evelyn: because of my placenta previa, I have a lot of limitations of what I can pick up or carry. And I have a couple food sensitivities naturally. So I hear Evelyn playing this week, pretending that she has a baby in her tummy, and hear things like “Oh I can’t pick that up. It’s too heavy for my baby” “Wheat isn’t good for me and my baby” “My belly is too big to carry that to my room” etc. Its so funny! 

And Joseph is just amazing as always. So sweet to give me massages and lots of extra hugs and encouragement as things are getting uncomfortable. 

22 Week Bumpdate

Size of the baby: Approximately 11 inches long and almost a pound

Feeling: Not nauseous!!!! Only one day of this last week did I feel sick. That means 6 days of feeling good! Happy dance time! 

Fitness: Walking and doing swimming lessons with Evelyn 

Sleep: Doing well this week! 

Best Moment Last Week: All the sunshine and Joseph having his last night of class!!

Movement: Whenever I change positions, like lay down, he has to resituate himself. It’s so precious! 

Cravings:  I definitely had a popcorn craving last night. 

Total Weight Gain: about 9-9.5 lbs

What am I looking forward to this week: Heading you our best friends’ house for the weekend! 

Milestones:  I’m about to start researching support tanks or support leggings or something. This belly is getting HEAVY in the evening. 

Also I am really feeling the nesting desires kick in. I have a big white board list of things I want to get done and organized these next months. It’s so fun to already have a few things checked off. 

Fashion: I did a big sort through of all my maternity and non maternity clothes this week. It feels so good! I’ve got them boxed and easy to find (one box is the things I’ll wear that first month-6 weeks postpartum and the other big box is everything else) and all the maternity things hung and folded and easy to find and wear! 

How is Daddy and Evelyn?  We are doing a big celebration week this week for Joseph! He takes his journeyman test on Tuesday and then we have graduation dinner on Thursday evening!! He has been in his apprenticeship for 4 years and we are all so excited that the evenings of class are OVER!!!!