25 Weeks

{1.30.15}

How far along? 25 weeks
Total weight gain? So stepping on the scale wasn't so bad this time around! Only gained 4lbs in the last 3 weeks, which is nothing at the rate I've been going ;)
Maternity clothes/Movement? Here and there. I honestly find a couple outfits each week that are comfortable and wear them over and over. Ha!
Cravings? Cherries/cherry flavored things still. It's like when I was pregnant with Claire, strawberries tasted better than ever. This time, it's cherries. Yummm. Candy. A milkshake one day (it's weird because I would not have eaten ice cream, but a milkshake sounded amazing. Pregnancy is weird). Real healthy stuff : /
Anything make you queasy or sick? Nope!

Sleep? Still great :)
Best moment this week: I have serious "preggo/baby/toddler/mom/whatever you want to call it" brain and can hardly remember what I did last night! We went to Chattanooga Sunday to celebrate Cooper's 2nd birthday and had a lot of fun. Claire had a blast and was asleep within 5 minutes of getting in the car :) Later we went to the circus. I'll just say I won't take her back anytime soon. She wanted to see elephants and nothing else...and the elephants are only maybe 15% of the show. Yikes. I also had an appointment this week and things are going great. Made adjustments to insulin to help my blood sugars, checked her heart rate (strong in the 150s), and measured my belly and it was right on schedule. We also scheduled my next ultrasound in 3 weeks, so I'm already excited to see her again! :)
Gender? Baby girl
Labor signs? No, no, no. Hoping for none of that until April 26th or later!
Symptoms? Memory loss. Ha! Normal pregnancy hunger (and by that I mean I am hungry about 2 hours after I eat. You know, like a newborn.) Still get weepy pretty easily, but I think it's improved!This has been going on a while, but I always forget to mention it. My sense of smell is definitely heightened. I smell EVERYTHING!

Belly button in or out? Working it's way on out. Depending on the day it's in a little bit or flat. But the top is always out. A random lady even pointed it out at the circus. Thanks?
What I miss: Sleeping in any position I please. Lying on my back makes me feel faint, lying flat on my stomach is obviously out of the question ;)
What I am looking forward to: We are getting a dresser this weekend to put in our room, move some of my stuff into to make more room for baby's clothes and necessities! Then hopefully on our way to converting the guest room to a guest room/playroom and Claire's room into a shared room :)
Milestones: I am definitely at the point where I am obviously pregnant. This week I have had more people say "Oh! What are you having?" and just being nicer in general- getting doors, taking my cart, etc.

Poor Claire. Someone took her paci away (it was her dad) ;)

Snow!

Saturday we had our first "real" (actually stuck to the ground) snow! It started falling late Friday night. I went back and forth between waking Claire up or not because I knew she'd be so excited. I finally decided to wake her up, but she wasn't having it! She barely opened her eyes and kept snoozing. When I woke her up in the morning I said "Claire, there's snow outside! Do you want to go play in the snow?!" She popped up and said, "Snow?!" and was out of the bed running to look out the living room window :) She started to put her hat and boots on before I could even start to help her. Before long, we both had on our layers and headed outside. She LOVED it and was so excited to see snow (she is still talking about it and asks everyday if it's snowing. If I say no, she'll say "raining?" :). She ran around, picked it up and threw "snowballs", but mostly wanted to eat it :) She had such a good time and I hated that it melted so quickly. Hoping we get at least one more snow this winter, even though I am so looking forward to Spring and warmer weather. But I always say, if it's going to be cold, it might as well snow! Right?! :)

24 Weeks

{1.23.2015}

How far along? 24 weeks 
Total weight gain: I go back to the doctor next week, so we will see! I don't feel like I've gained much since the last visit and haven't been as hungry, but I also won't be surprised if I've gained several more pounds ;)

Maternity clothes? Still about half and half. Tunics still fit great, but a lot of regular shirts are getting too short
Movement? Yep! One of my favorite parts :)
Cravings?  Cherries/cherry flavor- had a cherry lemonade at dinner this week and it's all I want! Also got my burger/fries/milkshake fix this week. Yum!
Anything make you queasy or sick? No

Sleep? Sleeping great!
Best moment this week: Amazing weather! Claire and I went to the zoo Monday- it was 60 degrees!!

Gender: Girl
Labor signs? No
Symptoms? Most of the same, nothing new- hunger has decreased some, but baby and belly are definitely still growing! I can definitely feel the weight gain when going up stairs or an incline and when bending down to pick stuff up (which is constant with a 2 year old!)

Belly button in or out? Top sticks out enough that it's visible through shirts and the rest is pretty flat
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach. I will sleep half on my stomach, half on my side a lot, but that won't last too much longer
What I am looking forward to: I am really looking forward to making changes around the house to make room for baby and all her stuff! It's going to be a big project and we need to get busy!

Milestones: If I'm remembering right, she can now feel if I'm dancing. Claire and I are going to have to have more dance parties!! :)

A couple pictures with the cutest special guest :)

 

23 Weeks

 

{1.16.2015}

How far along? 23 weeks 
Total weight gain: Luckily I don't have to get on a scale for a couple more weeks!

Maternity clothes? Sometimes! My sister got me a maternity shirt for Christmas and I may have worn it 3 days this week...
Movement? Everyday! I notice a lot when Claire and I lay down to read. I like to think it's because she likes to hear my voice :)
Cravings?  Sweets! That's really about it lately
Anything make you queasy or sick? No

Sleep? Great!
Best moment this week: At our fetal echo, we got a surprise and they switched the ultrasound to the 3D view! It was so neat to see her sweet face. Everything looked normal on the ultrasound, so that was great to hear as well. It was a long ultrasound (about an hour), but Claire did great and kept pointing to the screen saying "Baby right there!" and saying her name. However, she also pointed to the picture on the screen and at different times called the baby a monkey, a horse, and Elmo ;)

Gender: Double checked Monday, definitely still a little lady
Labor signs? Nope! Braxton Hicks occasionally, but all normal.
Symptoms? Hunger and growing belly! Moodiness...eek. I get several bursts of "nesting" urges and want to do all kind of things around the house (this has been going on several weeks), so I try to take advantages of those times. Unless I'm just too tired and can't get off the couch!
Belly button in or out? Top sticks out and the rest is pretty much flat!
What I miss: I honestly miss not being hungry during all waking hours!
What I am looking forward to: Not pregnancy related, but we have some warm days coming up (after this last week of 30's- brrrr) and I'm really looking forward to some walks and time outside!

Milestones: Fetal echo done and Kate's heart looks great!! Also started a registry at Target this week :) So different from being with Claire where there was tons of thought and research and seemed like such a major step J and I needed to do together. I went to pick up a few things (alone!) and while I was there I thought, hey, I might as well register for a few things while I have time/not a screaming child ;)

22 Weeks

 

{1.9.2015}

How far along? 22 weeks 
Total weight gain: Well, I looked at the scale. Already up a whopping 20lbs!!! Yep, you read that right. Looks like I'm on track to gain as much as I did with Claire, ha : /

Maternity clothes? Same- sometimes, but not all the time. I got a couple pairs of maternity leggings, but my favorite/most comfortable pair are some non-maternity leggings that have always been a favorite. Plus they are thicker which is nice for these super cold days!!
Movement? Starting to notice more of a pattern with active times and during those times there is a LOT of movement. Thursday (1/8) I was laying on the couch during Claire's nap and could see some of them!
Cravings?  Smoothies, maraschino cherries, red velvet cupcakes (my mom came to the rescue, but I think it may have been the buttercream frosting I was craving more than anything!)
Anything make you queasy or sick? Nope

Sleep? Still great! Although I'm starting to feel the heaviness when I roll over and/or get up in the morning
Best moment this week: Loving all the movement! It's a good reassurance that she's doing ok in there :)

Gender: Girl :)
Labor signs? No, thank goodness!
Symptoms? This is weird, but I noticed it with Claire, too. Over the last couple of weeks, I've noticed I don't need to shave my legs as often. Breakouts are still pretty bad, but my back is a lot better. Hungry almost all of the time. Blood sugars started running higher this week, so looks like I'm already getting more insulin resistant (completely normal), but definitely want to get them back within normal range! Made some changes at my appointment and already noticing improvement. And a growing bump, of course!

Belly button in or out? Sticking out on top (can see through fitted shirts). I think it will be entirely flat pretty soon!

What I miss: Not running out of breath so easily! And I know it only gets worse...
What I am looking forward to: We have another ultrasound this week! Monday we have our fetal echo to make sure baby's heart looks good and everything is developing/functioning as it should.

21 Weeks

{1.2.2015}

How far along? 21 weeks 
Total weight gain: I have an appointment this week and I'm really considering not looking at the scale. My eating has been out of control :/

Maternity clothes? Some days and some days not. Lots of legging wearing going on ;)
Movement? Lots!! And not just kicks, I feel some serious moving going on and can sometimes get pushback when I press on my belly. Love all the movement!!
Cravings?  If it's unhealthy, it's probably on the list. Ugh! Fruit snacks (particularly Walmart's Fruit Smiles), Popsicles (at least they're tangerine and carrot?!), tortilla chips (made a couple batches of fresh guacamole this week, so at least I'm getting plenty of avocado!), hamburger/fries, and I would love a shaved ice!!
Anything make you queasy or sick? No :)

Sleep? Still great!
Best moment this week: J was off work all week, so it was nice having him around (and having an extra hand!). We also had a fun visit with Meghann and Nicole (who is due with baby Brody next month :)- Claire loved pointing to the "babies", and ringing in the New Year with a quiet night at home, just the 3 of us!

Gender: Girl! Still can't believe it sometimes, but am so excited and want to buy all the pink things!!
Labor signs? No
Symptoms? Breakouts, super hormonal/emotional, either great energy or don't want to move...but luckily the nausea didn't show up this week! Yay! Also have noticed some shortness of breath when I hold Claire resting on the top of my belly.

Belly button in or out? Same! Sticking out at the top and getting verrrry shallow

What I miss: Some champagne on New Years would have been yummy, but I must say the sparkling white grape juice we had was pretty tasty!
What I am looking forward to: excited, and a little stressed, to get things ready for another baby
Weekly wisdom: Trying to soak up this pregnancy. It is going by SO fast. With Claire, it was just J and I and was so new and different. This time we have a 2 year old to care for and chase around and the weeks go by so quickly! I want to focus on enjoying this pregnancy and all of the movements and milestones, and also soak up this time with Claire as an only child :)
Milestones: It's 2015!! The year we will meet baby Kate :)