Tractors & Tutus

Mr. Cool with his new Spiderman shades

One of her favorite parts of going to the mall with daddy

Little stinker took his pants off then tried to put them back on...he almost had it but ended up with both legs in the same hole.

Dinner with Grandpa Bob at the diner isn't complete without dessert

Mellany's photography

So proud of her new pony necklace

Playdoh is always better with friends

Last day of the session for gymnastics. Johnny is definitely a proud little brother!

Our A/C went out last week and no one could get here to fix it until the morning. So we spent the night in our nice cold basement. The kids had so much fun during the slumber party!

We had a rainbow in our back yard during a rain storm the other day....can you see it?! I think this was the first time both John & I had seen the end of a rainbow. Mellany was in heaven!

Spending time on Saturday with daddy...inspecting cars is tough work, watching Beauty and the Beast and smearing pudding during lunch!

Post-church playtime!

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

26 Weeks

How far along: 26

Symptoms: Weight gain, swelling in my legs and hands, ligament pain

Maternity Clothes: Pretty much all of my clothes are maternity. There are a few t-shirts and pants that I can fit into but the selection is slowly diminishing.

Sleep: Sleeping awesome!

Movement: Yes, lots of movement....strong movements! He is starting to kick in a wider area too, like up in my ribs some and further out on my sides.

Food cravings: Tyson Chicken Patty Sandwiches and Watermelon

Aversions: The cheese and fish section at the grocery store....it is awful! Normally I am able to avoid it but this week I wasn't able to....I thought I was going to lose my breakfast!

Labor signs: No

Best moment: There wasn't really a stand out moment these past two weeks. Just your typical couple of weeks

Emotions: Emotions are pretty good.

What I miss: I still don't really miss anything....just enjoying being pregnant as much as possible.

What I'm looking forward to: I'm still really looking forward to getting things set up for this little guy and deciding on his name.

What I'm most nervous about: Passing the glucose tolerance test.

28 Weeks

How far along: 28.....3rd Trimester!!!

Symptoms: Weight gain, swelling in my legs and hands, ligament pain, face breakouts, sciatic nerve pain down the left side of my back/upper leg

Maternity Clothes: Pretty much all of my clothes are maternity. My regular shirts look pretty silly and I've got like 4 regular pants that I can wear.

Sleep: Sleeping has been hit or miss, depending on how often I have to potty or if I've had a limb fall asleep. Rolling over isn't quite as easy as it was.

Movement: Baby boy is moving all the time. His movements have now progressed into "rolls" and longer moments of "pushing". Just the other night you could literally see my belly moving from side to side (as long as I wasn't laughing) and both John and I were so amazed....definitely a pregnancy perk.

Food cravings: S'mores

Aversions: Nothing this week

Labor signs: No and it can stay that way for about 12 more weeks.

Best moment: Mellany's love of feeling the baby move. Almost every morning she wants to see if she can feel baby brother. She is constantly talking about how she can't wait for him to get here and that she wants to help feed him and hold him. I really can't wait for those moments either.

Emotions: Emotions are really pretty great...no crying or meltdowns and no anxiety either

What I miss: As my belly grows larger and larger I am beginning to miss the ease of standing up and sitting down. Even at the gym when doing body pump, movements are getting to be a little slower

What I'm looking forward to: Deciding on a name, going through baby clothes, hanging things up in his freshly painted room and getting everything ready to go for him. The kids and I traveled to KC recently and while we did that Virginia and John painted a major portion of the house, including the baby's room. They also moved around some furniture including the baby's furniture so now I'm really excited to get things rolling.

What I'm most nervous about: Passing the glucose tolerance test. I've only got a few days left before the dreaded test thank goodness. I am so ready to get it over with.

28 Week Dr. Appt:

Weight Gain: +18 from initial visit

Dilated: No

Effaced: No

Blood Pressure: 108/70

Heartbeat: 133

This was the dreaded glucose tolerance appointment. I had to fast for 12 hours prior to the appointment (torture for a pregnant mama!) and then once I got to the doctor's office, the poking began. They do an initial blood draw for a baseline and then have you drink a glucose drink that tastes like pure sugar with a little orange soda flavor, within 5 minutes. After that, they draw your blood twice more. You get the results in a couple days and no phone call is a good thing; thank goodness that I passed!! 3 out of 3 is a success in my book!!

As far as the visit with Dr. Sinnott went, everything looked great and he was really happy with how the pregnancy is progressing. Blood pressure was good, he is very happy with my weight gain, the baby is measuring right at 28/29 weeks and while I'm a little bit swollen, he wasn't concerned about it at all. I did tell him about the newest pain I've been having down the back of my left side and he confirmed that it was pain from my sciatic nerve. This is really common in pregnancies, though I've never had it before. He said it could go away at any time and it could also get more severe just depending on how baby is positioned and how I position myself while sitting and laying down. I'm really praying it doesn't get more severe because it is pretty awful the way it is! I also received my tdap injection at this appointment (4 total times being pricked with a needle!) and made the rest of my appointments for this pregnancy. At this point I will begin seeing Dr. Sinnott every 2 weeks.....which means we are getting SUPER close to meeting our little man!!!

Just a little nesting at 29 weeks....trying to go through all of Johnny's old clothes to get ready for the new baby and I realized that our hangers needed to be organized. Doesn't everyone organize their hangers?! lol

29 weeks with a couple of other pregnant mamas at body pump and our instructor. (The mama next to me in the blue is due the day after me-September 24....what are the odds?!) I really love body pump and am so thankful that I can continue it throughout my pregnancy. I think it made a huge difference when delivering Johnny and I'm hoping for the same result with this baby. Not only does it help with delivery but I have so much more energy on the days when I've been in body pump (or at the gym in general) and I will take every ounce that I can get lately! I may not be able to run at this point but I'm still active and that's what really counts in my opinion.

30 Weeks

How far along: 30

Symptoms: All of the same symptoms

Maternity Clothes: Living in maternity clothes daily. My pajamas and regular workout pants are loose enough that I can still wear them but other than that, I'm in maternity clothes.

Sleep: Some nights I sleep like a rock and others I can't go to sleep to save my life. Either my legs are restless or I'm just not getting comfortable or baby boy has decided it is play time....other nights I can't even figure out a reason why I'm not sleeping--even when I'm exhausted!

Movement: I'm able to feel little man really pushing out on my belly in specific spots with his hand or foot, etc. That particular spot becomes really hard almost like you can feel a bone trying to push through....it's so crazy but so awesome! He has also been getting hiccups frequently throughout the day. You wouldn't be able to feel them from the outside but I can feel them low in my belly.

Food cravings: Nothing new

Aversions: Nothing this week....I'm thinking that the aversions stage is long gone....besides the cheese and fish area at the grocery store, I usually do pretty good!

Labor signs: I have had a couple braxton hicks contractions but nothing as far as labor pains. I had to do some research to make sure contractions at this point were normal because I didn't remember them happening this early in the past, but they totally are.

Best moment: This past week I hit a major nesting phase and started going through Mellany and Johnny's current clothes as well as Johnny's old clothes to see what we would have that might work for baby boy. It was just such a surreal moment to be going through all the clothes and putting them in the closet and dresser, and deciding on what we might need to get to fill in gaps. It was definitely a "real" moment that he is coming soon! I also ordered a box of diapers to start stockpiling for his arrival.

Emotions: I realized that my emotions may be a little out of "normal" when John tried to give me a friendly scare and I started crying. I didn't know he was home so when I felt him breathing on my neck standing behind me I pretty much lost it--throwing a girl punch or two along the way. :/

What I miss: The ease of playing with the kids. Even though I really don't think they notice, I'm just not as quick as I was even a couple weeks ago and playing on the floor with them (or even outside) is getting more and more difficult to do.

What I'm looking forward to: Deciding on a name!!

What I'm most nervous about: I'm not really feeling nervous about anything. I passed the glucose test and that was a huge relief of nerves so now its just smooth sailing from here....right? Let's hope!

Celebrating 6 years of marriage by camping with the kids....being in the camper is definitely different while pregnant...sitting at the table and maneuvering my way around just isn't as easy when 18 pounds heavier

30 Week Dr. Appt:

Weight Gain: +19 from initial visit

Dilated: No

Effaced: No

Blood Pressure: 126/77

Heartbeat: Nurse practitioner didn't say

I saw the nurse practitioner at this appointment because Dr. Sinnott was out. My appointment was scheduled for 9:15; I arrived at 9:00 and was in the room by 9:10. I didn't see the NP until around 9:50 (and I think that's only because I had told the nurse that I needed to potty....I'm pretty sure the NP forgot I was in the room...I had been in there after the nurse left for about 30 minutes) and she was in my room for about a total of 2 minutes and even lied to me about why she was running behind......talk about trying to keep my hormones in check!! If there's one time you shouldn't be late, it's with a 30 week pregnant woman!!

Either way, baby sounded good, blood pressure was good, urine sample came back normal....so we're still on a good path!