The birds start chirping....

Did you know that the birds start chirping between 4:30-5 am?!

They do.

I have been cursed with pregnancy insomnia for what 8 months or so now. Usually I wake early to pee, tend to one of the already born kids, or both and cannot get back to sleep. Or like this morning, when the husband gets up at 4 am to go to work... I am used to this by now and I do not try to fight laying in bed forever and not sleeping, so I typically get up. So, it is 5:30 am and I have been awake for at least an hour now... to avoid waking one of those before mentioned born children, I sneak downstairs to enjoy some Captain Crunch and a glass of chocolate milk. I may be able to fall back asleep for a little bit before I need to be up with the kidlets....

Today I am going to a Mom's Club Mother's Day brunch and then hitting the doc's office again in the afternoon. The girl's Great Grandma will be coming over to watch them for an hour and a half or so while I go to the doc's.... they are very familiar with her, but this is her first time babysitting for me. I just hope the girls do not melt down when I leave.....

We're progressing!

Today at the doc I was 1 cm dialated and 10% effaced, wth baby at -2. I got my membranes stripped (which made me rethink an epirual this time). I also go in Monday afternoon and Thursday morning for more stripping. This has made me more crampy and contrax more painful....

Age question answered!

Well, since I found out I was pregnant, the question remained if I would be 32 when I delivered (prior to 38w, 2d) or if I would be 33 (after 38w, 3d). Well, I turned 33 today, so that question is answered. So far, we made breakfast, I walked on the treadmill, got ready and went to lunch at Red Lobster. After lunch I came home and took a nap. :o) Now, we are having family over in about an hour for a pizza dinner. I will focus mainly on salad so I can have a piece of my fabulous ice cream cake from Coldstone. Okay, I linked the cakes, I have the peanut butter playground in my freezer as I type. I wanted to dig into it earlier....

So far, the husband gave me a Starbucks giftcard, I got $25 from my parents and $20 from my FIL. I am already planning to go next week for a pedicure so I have pretty feet when I have this baby. Of course, I have already had my fair share of contrax, so I guess I would let baby come out even if I have ugly feet!

3rd tri fatigue?!

Well, yesterday was a lazy day and I did not walk again! Is this 3rd trimester fatigue?

Well, I do know one thing. This baby better come out with hair. I had the worst heartburn ever the other night after the H made chili. It wasn't even spicy and I asked him if he should put some chili powder in it so you can taste the spice. :o) We ate at 5:30 and at 10:15 I was still in pain after 6 tums. Last night we had a smoked pork roast and I had to take 4 tums. I am ordered to buy more today since the bottle will not make it another 12 days (or 14 to my induction date).

Eviction Date Set!

So, if this little one does not decide to come on his or her own, we will start the eviction process Tuesday May 18th - either at midnight or 6:30 am depending on how things look before that. Today, was just a standard doc appt with weight, BP, measurements and heart beat. Baby's heart beat was mid 150's today. The doc was stuck at the surgery center and I had the girls with me, so I saw the PA. We skipped the internal this week (my choice). No need for added questions from the kidlets. So, 5 days until my birthday, 10 days until Mother's Day, 16 days until my due date, 19 days until baby's eviction and 30 days until our 6 year anniversary. Looks like a busy month ahead of us!

Breach baby?

So, here is it less than a month before my due date and the baby has flipped. I am fairly certain that after having baby head down for the past two months, he/she has turned and is hanging out head up or transverse. I woke last night to pee and was up for 2 hours having my cervix kicked. I am really hoping and praying that this baby turns so I can avoid a C-section. The very thought scares me. I am NOT a homebody and not being able to do my usual outings will drive me stir crazy. I really don't realize how much I pick up the girls, but at 36 weeks pregnant, I still pick them both up. I am a Mom and I cannot help it! I pick up Taylor and carry her more, but she is only two and is only 27 pounds. I do pick up Alex to help her into the chair to sit with me, put her on her bunk occasionally and help her on the swing at the park. I am really trying hard not to think about it, but I know my doc and I know that if the u/s does not show a head down baby on Thursday, she will schedule a section. Hopefully if that happens, baby will turn before the date and we will not need that. I also believe that I heard that my doc's surgery day is on Tuesdays (could be wrong), so if it is.... she would either want to do it on my B-day (May 4th - 38 weeks, 3 days) or my sister's B-day (May 11th - 39w, 3d).
This thought scares me. Do not ask me why, but I would rather know I will have stitches down a little farther than a doctor cutting my stellar abs! :o)

I also need to say that last Thursday was the 3rd day I have taken off from walking in the past 4.5 weeks. I did not walk because I grocery shopped in the morning and it was a cool, windy day. I finished up my freezer meals that day. I made 4 more meals and 2 snacks. I have 30 or 31 meals total plus 6 loaves of bread (5 garlic, 1 amish), and 1 fruit salad that can be breakfast or a snack and wonderful PB bars that I will have to post the recipe!! So, bring on the baby, I am ready!!!

I'm so anxious!

I have 4.5 weeks of pregnancy left but I am so anxious to get it over with. However, I know that the longer the baby stays in, the better. Taylor was induced at 37 weeks, 5 days and I still believe to this day that her severe reflux was because she was early. Though, no doc will confirm that it makes me wonder if she had stayed in a week or two longer. All I can think about is meeting baby and trying to go into labor on my own (after 2 inductions)! It doesn't help that I have heartburn and reflux so I feel terrible when I attempt to lay down to sleep at night - and have been waking up at 4-5 am and not being able to get back to sleep..... I have been walking daily and little one is active - so I guess that is the main importance that we are both healthy. Anyone want to occupy me to help this last 4-5 weeks go quicker? I may need strength to help me avoid an induction and hold out....

35 weeks, 35 days left!

So, this pregnancy is really flying by...

I cannot believe that I am really 35 weeks pregnant now. Does it look it? :o) (Don't answer!) I tried to take a belly pic, but our bathroom mirror is embarrassingly dirty, so please excuse it. I will try to get a better one after my daughter wakes. How sad is that? I need my 4 year old to take a picture of me!!
I had a doc appt on Thursday and I am measuring about 5 weeks big. I gained only a pound (YEAH!) and am doing well. My next appt I get an internal and an ultrasound. Right now, my induction happy doctor says that she would let me go until my due date on my own, but not past 41 weeks. My husband is hoping for the 16th of May so that he will be off due to the baby for this. I told him then he needs to arrange for his Mom to take the girls if he is going out 4 days after I give birth!
Well, I have successfully walked 19 of the last 21 days at least a mile with 4 miles or so being the longest. Today, I think we will get our walk at the zoo. :o) I am looking forward to the girls running all over outside.

35 week pregnant baby belly (measuring 40).

So here is a slightly better pic. After my shower and taken by my 4 year old.

Happy Easter!

Here are my angelic looking kids on Easter....

Here is their fat Mama on Easter...
34 weeks pregnant doing the dishes...

~13 out of 15 days!~

I think this is my record for working out. Being less than 6 weeks away from my due date, my version of working out is less than it was last summer and what most people clasify as working out.... I have walked 1-1.5 miles (one day 3!) each day with the exception of the one day last week I was recovering from the stomach flu and a few days ago that we didn't have any power - and it was snowing out. I do walk at only 2.7-2.9 mph, sometimes at 1-2% incline, but sometimes none. I have been able to complete 1.5 miles in 32-33:30 minutes. Of course, I prefer walking outside to inside.... but with Easter today, I woke and couldn't sleep (Alex woke to pee, then my stomach was growling) so I decided to come walk on the treadmill before showering and getting dressed. I know I will eat entirely too much, but this is one thing I can do to try to keep my weight gain under 50 pounds! :o)

We're expecting!

So this picture was taken a few weeks ago, 3/21 I think.

The girls got balloons from out neighbor boy's birthday party.

Alex wanted help to put it in her nightgown - and little sister follow's.

So, how long do you think they'll make it?

No rest for the weary...

So last night I fixed dinner, ate and went to a friends party. After dinner I felt really gassy, but went to the party anyway (and kept the gas to myself!). Well, I still wasn't feeling better by the time I got home. I soaked in the tub and felt somewhat better.... I told the H that I was going to sleep on the couch from the start (instead of moving there during the night), because I didn't feel good and was super tired. Well, that lasted about an hour or so am I had to run to the bathroom to puke. I puked a total of 4 times in 8 hours and wasn't even keeping water down. I was puking so hard I peed myself. :o( Baby was moving and kicking the entire time, like he/she thought I was playing a fun game. (Did I mention I am puke-phobic?)

Well, I got up this morning and am not feeling better.... I have kept a slice of toast and an apple down as well as 1.5 glasses of water and almost a full cup of coffee (I needed it!). I am tired and worn out after being up all night while everyone else was sleeping. The husband thought about calling in... however he took off a year ago last week because of my miscarriage and needs to save his FMLA for when the baby comes... so.... I just have to pray the girls are good today. Oh, and there won't be a walk for me today. When I weighed this morning - I weigh less than I did at my OB appt 3 weeks ago.

50 days and counting....

So today marks 50 days until my due date. It has me wondering WHEN I will deliver this baby. I have an ultrasound at 36 weeks, 5 days (4/22) to gauge size and go from there. The last few days I have felt more braxton hicks and last night was crampy for about 2 hours. I felt better after taking a bath ~ which I may mention was while I was home alone with the girls. SO, not a relaxing soak ONE bit! My husband put in his request that I wait until the day after my due date to be induced (so he is off work for a concert that will be in town). Being as my last child was shy of 38 weeks, and weighed in over 8 pounds, I am just not sure the doctor will agree to this. Really, do I want to deliver a 10 pound baby?! I just do not want a ceasarian and to return home to a 2 year old and a 4 year old. Of course, I will have stitches in another place, so which is worse?! I am not done with my To-do's before the baby comes, I am just wondering....

Exercise in pregnancy

So, with each of my pregnancies, I have exercised before I got pregnant and then stopped while I was pregnant. A big part of it has been the fatigue you feel during those first 3 months. With Taylor, I did walk about 3 miles a day until I was in the 3rd trimester, but that was when we moved from KS to ND and it just was not warm enough to walk outside anymore. This time, I didn't do anything until about 20 weeks and was good about walking on the treadmill for a week or two. Now, I have walked at least a mile, if not 3 everyday this week. I am planning to continue for the duration of my pregnancy.... until the naps outweigh the workouts. :o)

More snow ~ Seriously?

Okay, so I woke up this morning in a foul mood. Maybe because baby red woke me before I was ready. Maybe because I woke at 4 am and had a hard time getting back to sleep until well after 5:30.

Maybe because I had two very crazy dreams. One I was taking a road trip with the H's family - his sister, BIL, niece, nephew, MIL and their Grandma. It was snowy and we had to drive 35 miles per hour.... Wade and Grandma switched driving on the road - Grandma scooted over and Wade took over. Somehow he was able to move in from the window side of the drivers seat. Okay, I just realized that I had one kid with me, but we had the niece & nephew because it was odd to me that we had 3 kids and 2 child restraints - oddly enough none of the kids were in them.

The other dream, someone was picking on me, like a junior high/high school kid. It was embarrassing and appalled me that it was in real adult (person had her child with her).

So, I think what sealed the deal on my foul mood was looking out the window to see snow. Really?! It was in the 50's yesterday. We walked 2-3 miles and played outside with the girls! Now, today we have snow?? I want to cry!

I haven't even been awake for an hour and I am already having a bad Mom day too. I asked both my girls not to sit on me. A Mom is supposed to want to cuddle her kids, right? Well, I will say that both of them lay on my belly or kick it, or in another way hurt me. So - I can't be blamed too much, can I???

Hopefully today will get better.

9 weeks left!

Okay, there is 9 weeks until my due date.

If I make it that far, I will be certainly surprised.

Here is what I look like in all my pride and joy this morning.

I am 31 weeks pregnant with baby #3!!

Excuse my shirt... most look like this anymore, I just do my best to cover it in public.

Pregnancy brain and other fun!

Okay, so I have a lot of PG brain moments lately. Last night, I had my cup of water and put propel packets into it.... I could not remember if I took it to the counter and already did it. It wasn't until I put the empty packets in the trash that I saw I did. Wow! That was strong propel. Okay, so I also lost that bottle I put the propel into that I took to gymnastics....

I cannot even sit for an hour long gymnastics class without having to pee. It is going to be a long 2 more months. If I feel I need to pee sitting, I will pee myself when I stand up. I grabbed Taylor and carried her to the restroom - which is torture for a PG lady. Up AND Down TWO flights of stairs to get to the viewing area from the lobby.

A few other recent, notable PG brain moments are 1) taking the wrong exit to go from my house to Target when I knew I was leaving to go to ONE STORE and one store only. And 2) I grabbed a fork and put it in my cereal to eat my before bed snack.

Of course, don't get me started on the joys of coughing or sneezing (or should I say Snissing!) while PG!!! I need depends for those lovely moments. I am also leaking from upstairs and my weight fluctuates 5-8 pounds during the course of a day!!!! No wonder I am up every hour or two every single night to pee.

Holy weight gain!

So here is my 30 week belly pic for y'all.

Excuse the boxer shorts, I had just woke up and didn't want to forget.

So, yesterday I had my 30 week doc appt. The doc said that I am holding onto water like it is going out of style. This is something I have noticed the last week ~AND~ I noticed that my weight had jumped 8 pounds in about a week. (uhhh!!) So, in a month's time, I gained 13 pounds!!! That brings my total for this pregnancy to a whopping 43 pounds already! With 10 weeks left to go, I know that I will surpass the 48 pounds I gained with Alex. At least it is coming on as water weight now, so it will come off easily after birth. :o) (I hope!)

So, I am also measuring 5 weeks big (this is typical for me). I go back in 4 weeks, then 2 (At 36 weeks) and we will have another ultrasound to gauge baby's size. Then we will plan a course of action....

On the bright side, here is a picture of my girls.

They posed before we went to church Sunday. So pretty and cute!

He got it!

I don't care whatever you think about the size of this deer. I am just very happy and proud of my husband that he got one this year. This is only his 3rd year in his 36 years of life that he has gotten a deer tag. Last year, he went out twice and his cousin got upset with him because was not a very good shot. However, if you are not raised hunting - what do you expect?! I emailed this pic to my parents and my Dad commented that it looks like a small dog. I am not sure why this bothered me - but I will skip telling my husband. I am just proud of him for getting one no matter how small. Now.... how to cook venison.....

So, this is my 13 week pregnant belly from yesterday. OMG! I have 27 weeks still to go and look at that belly! Prior to this picture Alex and I had raked leaved. 12 bags to be exact. I dragged 18 bags of leaves to the composite site which was overflowing. I guess everyone else in town had the same thoughts during these nice days.

Okay, here is my vent for the day. I was woken up twice last night by two fairly adorable girls who just so happen to live in my house... so I can't be too mad at them - can I?! The little one came in my room at 6:30 which she thought was time to get up and my rule is "not until the 'shine is up." :o) So, she laid in my bed and snuggled until her sis got up at 7.

I did wake at 5:30 this morning by a not so cute factor.
See picture below:

Yes, my girls have a toy espresso machine.
The only problem is that it is noisy.
If it gets left in the ON or BREW modes, it randomly goes off whenever it feels like it.
If we live in this house another 10 years we WILL sound proof and insulate between the floors.
I heard this lovely toy once during the night, but went back to sleep.
I do not think I slept really after I heard it at 5:30 - which it played almost constant until I hauled my ass downstairs to turn it off about 6.

I guess I am feeling better!

I woke up at 5 am this morning, needing to pee. Unfortunately, at this hour the chances of me going back to sleep are slim. So, I laid there for an hour before getting up and grabbing my workout stuff. I completed 20 minutes on the eliptical. I know I will be hurting this afternoon, but it felt good to burn 200 calories! If I am to stay under 25 lbs weight gain in the next 29 weeks - okay realistically probably 26 or 27 weeks, I know that I will need to workout. That and potty training are on my list for when increased energy strikes me.