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!!!!

21 Week Bumpdate

Size of the baby: About 10.5 inches long and 3/4 of a pound

Feeling: Huge. And a bit emotional this week. Not in the quick-moving mood swing kind of way, but more in the raw heart, deep feeling kind of way. 

Fitness: Walking! And being very conscious of sticking to my doctor’s orders. 

Sleep: It’s really been getting better. I’m waking up more rested and sometimes even before my alarm. 

Best Moment Last Week: Spending a pampering night away at the Oregon Gardens with my sisters who are also pregnant. We are all due within just a couple weeks so it was extra fun to talk about all things pregnancy and baby, eat food we didn’t have to cook, and get a heavenly massage! 

Movement: All the time! It’s so fun 😊

Cravings:  Ice water. For real, it’s delicious

Total Weight Gain: 8.5 lbs

What am I looking forward to:   Actually nailing down a name. We are still “trying some on” from our short list. 

Milestones:  I wore a bikini to the water park. It’s always been a fear of mine that I would wear one thinking I looked pregnant but really only looked chubby. Overcame that fear! 

Fashion: It was so fun to bust out some of my shorts and tank tops this past week when it got warm. Can’t wait for more sunshine and warm weather around the corner! 

How is Daddy and Evelyn?  Joe checked off our biggest and trickiest pre-baby to do: repairing our floor (one had come unhooked in the middle of our kitchen.) It was very time consuming and I’m so thankful that it’s not on our minds anymore! 

Evelyn counts the baby in wherever we go. If we say “Let’s go to the park, all three of us” She pops in “And baby brother!” Or “All FOUR of us, mom!” As if I would forget him at home or something lol!!

19 (and a half) weeks- Better late than never!

It's a BOY!

Size of the baby: Six and a half inches long and about half a pound.

Feeling:  Dare I say it yet again... still on and off nausea. Whomp whomp

Fitness: I got a whole new batch of restrictions from the doctor to keep this little guy and me healthy... So my options are walking and water aerobics. lol! But I'm giving water aerobics classes a shot and it was way more fun than I expected.

Sleep:  Between my potty breaks and Evelyn's, an uninterrupted night is a remarkable thing. 

Best Moment These Last Weeks: Absolutely finding out that we are having a little boy and seeing his heart beating so healthfully!

Movement: So much! It's the most when I lay down- like he is re situating himself

Cravings:  More comfort foods (I have enchiladas and chicken alfredo on this week's menu plan- I don't think I've made these more than once since we've gotten married lol!) as well as fruit in plain yogurt, especially mangos. I'm drooling just thinking about the ripe mango I have in my fruit basket!

Total Weight Gain: 7 lbs

What am I looking forward to:  Picking a name. I know he'll have one before he's born, but going from a short list to actually deciding is harder with a boy name than a girl name for us. 

Milestones:   Working on our baby registry. It's really freeing to see just how little we need. Second babies are amazing!

Fashion: I'm so glad I got a maternity sweatshirt. I feel cute when I'm lounging that way. 

How is Daddy and Evelyn?  The night we had our little gender reveal party, Evelyn was kissing baby brother goodnight when she sat straight up and said "Mom! We should get some pink balloons so we can have a baby sister! One of each!!" It still has me cracking up :)

17 week bumpdate and nursery reveal

You all, we made it through a very hard emotional week this week. 2 years ago on this week, we lost our baby Emily (we were 7 weeks so it is just a feeling it was a girl) over Easter. And this year I honestly didn’t think it would be as hard as last year (First anniversaries seem to be the worst) but with being pregnant, I have had to lay my fear of history repeating itself at the feet of Jesus daily. I have sat in our nursery, rocking this baby, praying strength and life and hope into this tiny person late into the nights and first thing in the mornings.

Parts of grieving miscarried babies are short lived, some things come in waves especially that first year as your roll through your intended due date and watch bellies grow that should have been parallel to your own. But there are also these out-of-the-blue, unexpected moments that take the wind out of you. 

There is also beauty, too, in the grieving. Like this painting. I have to share it because it brought me to ugly-cry tears thinking of meeting Jesus and then getting to meet our 3 children. That is a reunion I truly long for. Heaven is an even sweeter promise with my babies there.

And He has been so faithful to bring joy and peace as this week has gone on. We have walked through times of deep mourning, but this? This is a time for dancing. A time for joy. Our jubilant celebration year!

Size of the baby this week: A pomagranate this week :) 

Feeling: Heartburn- that’s a new one! It's not terrible, but I’m hoping it’s short lived. And nausea is coming more under control as I’ve drastically cut back on cardio exercise (that seems to be the trigger) 

Fitness: Cutting out the cardio for now is a little sad (I love my dance class!) but I’m walking and lifting and taking a yoga/Pilates fusion class. My body feels good and I’m even getting a little sore sometimes. 

Sleep:  I'm actually starting to wake up before my alarm and feel rested. Hallelujah! 

Best Moment Last Week: Getting to hear this sweet baby’s heartbeat again! Especially in light of this week of remembering, it was such a reassuring sound.  

Movement: I'm feeling baby move every day this week. It is SUCH a joy in the moments when I'm really still and quiet to feel them in there growing.

Cravings:  Super simple, but I've had a ham sandwich yesterday and today for lunch and it hit. the. spot!

Fashion: I am choosing to only wear what makes me feel pretty. Some days that's still pretty casual, but I'd rather feel cute than sloppy. Saying yes to a smaller but more confident maternity waredrobe. It's so freeing! 

How is Daddy and Evelyn?  Evelyn watching our Dr get the Doppler out to hear the heartbeat: “Why are you putting juice on my mommy? What is that clear jelly?” 😂 All the imaginary friends have babies in their tummies too. Such a fun time! 

Joe and I are having fun planning out summer camping a hiking trips as well as making landscaping plans for the front yard. We aren’t sure how finished it will get this year, but making it a priority after years of focusing hard on the inside feels really good! 

And about the nursery:
November 2016 I really felt the Lord prompting me to start creating the space for our baby. We were praying and believing for this child with everything we had. It felt like the practical application of faith and also a prophetic act of obedience. So I painted this mountain mural wall that month. Once we had Evelyn switched to her big girl bed in January 2017, we moved over the rest of the furniture and decorated. It has been an incredible place to pray in and to remember the words we felt God speak over this child, especially when my mind had started to doubt or forget. This is a baby that was promised over 2 years ago. It's incredible to know that a real little person, our miracle baby, will be sleeping in this crib in just a few short months!

16 week Bumpdate

Size of the baby: A dill pickle this week

Feeling:  More cramping this week, still the nausea, and another time baby moved! 

Fitness: Trying to find my groove of moving without knocking myself into a couple days of nausea. It’s tricky! 

Sleep:  It’s still hard for me to get to sleep at night but I’ve been sleeping deeper this week and needing fewer naps. Yay! 

Best Moment Last Week: Spending a super fun weekend with my parents while Joe backpacked in the snow with his brothers 😄

Movement: I felt a little “knock” on Saturday 

Cravings:  Fruit popsicles and smoothies. Cold and divine! 

Total Weight Gain: Still about 4-5 lbs

What am I looking forward to:  I have an OB appointment this week and we’ll be scheduling our ultrasound soon. I can’t wait to see if we have a little girl or little boy in here! 

Milestones:  95% of maternity shirts don’t fit. Lol! Fully into the maternity ware drone. 

Fashion: True statement: I wear my Nikes 90% of the time. So comfortable! Also, I’m being more choosy this time around. If it doesn’t make me feel pretty, I’m not going to mess with it. I’d rather wear fewer things and feel comfortable and cute. 

How is Daddy and Evelyn?  Joe is doing great and working so hard with such a happy heart. Evelyn right now is pretty sure that babies come out laughing and giggling. I'm trying to adjust her expectations for just how little babies respond those first few weeks :) 

15 Week Bumpdate

Size of the baby: An orange this week

Feeling:  Still getting a handle on the insomnia, nausea (it's been back a bit this week), and I think some siatic pain (thankfully daily foam rolling seems to really help this!)

Fitness: Still moving! I'm starting to get more looks and smiles as I do my workouts in the weight room, but I feel really proud that I'm sticking with it.

Sleep:  My internal clock is set later. I want to sleep in later and its hard for me to settle in before 9:30/10. Working on honing in my habits to help get some more hours of sleep!

Best Moment Last Week: Evelyn and my mom and I all took an afternoon trip the beach. It was GLORIOUS and filled my heart so much!

Also! I spent a whole day finding somewhere that isn't an hour away that will do our 20 week ultrasound and is fully in network with our insurance. Some long hours on the phone with insurance and different offices but I think we figured it out!!

Movement: I felt a little movement one night this week!! 

Cravings:  Fruit popsicles and smoothies. 

Total Weight Gain: Still about 4-5 lbs

What am I looking forward to:  Evelyn and I are spending the weekend with my parents while Joe goes snowshoeing/backpacking. It's going to be a fun weekend for us all!

Milestones:  Baby movement for the first time!!

Fashion: True statement: I wear my Nikes 90% of the time. So comfortable!

How is Daddy and Evelyn?  Joe is doing great and working so hard with such a happy heart. Evelyn right now is pretty sure that babies come out laughing and giggling. I'm trying to adjust her expectations for just how little babies respond those first few weeks :)