I have had SUCH a busy week! Staying busy sure does make the time fly…13 weeks already and on my last week of the first trimester!
Baby Growth: Leo has fingerprints! I love thinking about that and that he or she is already so unique. Gah I cannot fathom how people abort babies. I know that’s like a BIG topic to bring up randomly right here but seriously…every week when I read about my baby I think about that. Look at the picture! This baby is a FOR REAL baby!!! I won’t go off on a tangent about abortion right now…but it has been so heavy on my heart lately. I just appreciate my babies and the true blessing and gift they are from the Lord and wished everyone felt that same way! Leo is roughly three inches long now (about the size of a medium shrimp) and if Leo is a girl then she already has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. That is crazy to think about!!! God is already even planning for my future grandchildren 🙂
My Symptoms: I am feeling MUCH less sick. I am not sure if it’s because the first trimester is coming to a close or because I’m having a glass of milk in the evenings but I’m enjoying it! I also haven’t had any back pain in a few weeks now. It’s funny how quickly you forget things that are so bothersome!
I have had my typical pregnancy migraines. Yuck. I was hopeful I wouldn’t get them this time but I can say they are less intense, at least so far. I actually woke up in the middle of the night Sunday night and got hit with one. It was horrible! Casey came over Monday afternoon and told me that Spark actually doesn’t have the entire amount of caffeine pregnant women are allowed to drink per day. She told me to get more caffeine in my system and she was right! I drank a sweet tea and it knocked it out completely. I do remember with a past pregnancy (not sure which!) that a midwife told me to drink mountain dew and take 2 extra strength tylenol every 4-6 hours until the migraine was gone. I’m hoping to not get them that bad this time but I will add Mtn Dew to my grocery list to have them on hand!
My boobs have FINALLY gotten the memo that I’m pregnant!!! This week I can tell a HUGE change in them. Much larger feeling. Much heavier/fuller feeling. And more tender too. I wonder what the heck took them so long?!?!
I’m pretty sure this is a normal pregnancy thing but I still totally hate it and don’t remember it every happening in the past…but after times of intimacy I’m having some decently intense cramping that lasts about an hour or so. It totally stinks b/c pregnancy already lowers those desires and then the fear of cramping makes it even worse! Any tips or tricks to help minimize that issue???
This isn’t really a legit pregnancy symptom…it’s more of an “Emily symptom” but I feel the need to tell everyone that I’m pregnant. I used to think it was b/c I felt insecure about my chubby but not quite pregnant looking self so I wanted to announce it so people didn’t think I was just gaining weight. But that’s not the case. I mean I think I look fine in my clothes right now. I live in leggings and they are usually high waisted so I still don’t really look that chubby yet. But still, I have that NEED to tell people. I decided I know what it is! When you meet Mrs. Charlotte she will tell you about all three of her kids. If you mention Zach with football she will tell you about Courtney and Casey’s achievements (we joke b/c Casey didn’t play college sports so Mrs. Charlotte would often say “and Casey is in student government!”). Same with the grandkids. If she’s with one and you see her, she will tell you about them all. And guess who is following along in those footsteps?!?!
Yup. Me. When people compliment Britt on how cute she is I somehow find a way to mention her older brother. And now that I’m pregnant? I also find a way to mention that. I just love all my kids equally and want to make sure people know about them all. Even Leo 😉 Zach thinks it’s hilarious that I say it to everyone but I just have to! I have to have the world know that Leo is part of it and that he or she is already so special 🙂
I am pretty religious about getting my hair cut and colored every 6 weeks. I have had many friends tell me that they go much longer than that and it’s not noticeable…so this time I tried waiting an extra week. Haha. My roots were INTENSE! My hair grows SO FAST while pregnant which is awesome…but it also means worse roots. Renika, who has done my hair now for 8 years, added in some low lights this time to hopefully help the root issue go away!
Weight: I was hoping to drop another pound this week but I gained one instead! So now I’m officially up one pound (still down two from original weight but I’m gonna just count this as +1 because I had gained a little prior to getting pregnant!).
Gender: I think we might have a girl name! I have been worrying about it a lot. This week a friend actually let me borrow a baby name book and I read through every single girl name and didn’t find one I liked. Zach had mentioned this name awhile ago and it has been on my “maybe” list but this week I combined it with another “maybe” name and I just LOVE the result. Zach is trying the full name out for a bit to see what he thinks. But if he approves then this will be a big deal. Not only b/c we actually don’t have a full boy’s name yet decided but also I truly disdain girl names. Like legit. I haven’t been able to find anything. Honestly I don’t really like Britt’s middle name (Avery). If we go with this girl name I actually legit adore both the first and middle which is pretty dang awesome!!!
We have two boy names and have been debating which to use and think we have also made a decision on that too. We just have to decide on the other name to make it a full name. Which we have ideas and I’m feeling good about it!
I haven’t thought much about the gender this week? I am working to come up with legit nursery decisions and do tend to keep finding boy stuff I adore. So maybe that’s a sign for the boy?
I did do the Chinese Gender Prediction thing this week (you can do it here!). It was actually WRONG for both Kye and Britt haha. It says boy for Leo so it’s probably safe to assume Leo will be a girl huh?
Maternity Clothes: In the attic! I have SO many comfy winter type clothes that I just don’t see myself needing that stuff for awhile. Although I do already need the bras!
Movement: Nope!
Sleep: Still very tired. I had one day this week where I truly felt like I had a normal person amount of energy and I thought maybe my sleepy days were behind me…but no, I’m straight up tired all the time still. I took a two hour nap on Sunday but the rest of this week I have been too busy for sleep!
Last night was the first night I no longer felt comfortable on my stomach. I felt this hard spot in my belly and it just bothered me to lay on it. So I moved to my side and I’m so tired that I slept just fine like that 😉
I have only had two vivid dreams this week. One was about Sean and Catherine’s wedding this Sunday! I mean I say that like I totally know them in real life…but I don’t haha. I am SO pumped for this big Bachelor wedding!!! I also had a dream that Casey and I went to go see Obama speak and he selected one person out of the crowd for a photo shoot with him and he picked her! That night after the speaking thing Zach, Jordan and I could not find Casey anywhere because she was off with Obama hooking up!!! So funny!
Cravings: Bring on the food! It def started this week where I feel hungry and want to eat. Last night I actually ate two dinners (probably why I gained a pound this week, huh?). I’ve been eating whole wheat english muffins with peanut butter and honey on them a lot for lunch. So yummy! I also have random cravings to eat Skittles. I mean that is SO RANDOM. I read that as a pregnant woman I should be adding about 300 calories to my diet each day. I do that by adding a spoonful of peanut butter to my meal replacement shake (Ahhhhmazing!). I also have been having a glass of milk in the evenings. Sometimes just chocolate milk. Sometimes I’ll have a treat for dunking (love my “who knew” cookies!). And sometimes a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. It’s SO funny b/c I completely thought my cereal days and carbs at lunch days were behind me…but they are bbbbback. I know I’ll be hating myself for this once Leo arrives and I have to cut them out again! It did make me feel better that both protein (peanut butter), whole grains (the eng muffins) and milk were what was suggested to eat to add in those extra calories!
I have been REALLY wanting to eat Aligatu. It’s a japanese steakhouse in town that I LOVE. I already told Zach that maybe for Valentine’s Day we could eat there 😉
What I Miss: Nothing really. At this point being exhausted is my new normal so I can’t even say I really miss having energy b/c I don’t remember what it felt like to have it!
Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: It was a good week! Busy, but wonderful!
Saturday I drove to Thomasville to take a “how to” class to learn how to use my camera. It was wonderful! I learned a lot and have been practicing this week! I plan to post about it eventually too 🙂
I also went and got my hair done which I love. It’s seriously my “me time” and I just enjoy it!
Kye didn’t have school Monday so we spent that morning making treats to take over to Ashley, who just had Kate a week prior, and went to visit with their family. I got to hold that sweet baby for over an hour and both the kids did amazing!!! Britt shocked me about how well she did. She sat with me and put her head on my chest and just stared at Kate. She also touched her gently and held her hand. It was precious and made me VERY excited!!!
Also on Monday Mrs. Charlotte asked Kye about having a “Gmama Date.” They went to see Frozen again (so sweet of her!) and Britt and I went with Casey to find nursery fabric inspirations for her. We had the best time. Hanging out with Casey is always fun, of course, but spending that alone time with Britt was awesome! I get to have alone time with her in the mornings while Kye is at school but we are usually so busy getting things done at home or running quick errands that we don’t get to do fun stuff. She ate up the time we had with Casey. She grinned from ear to ear the whole time and said “girl time!” We even went out to dinner and she did awesome! I’m so, so glad we went out like we did and I talked to Zach about how we both need to do lots of quality one on one time with the kids while I’m pregnant. Once Leo gets here it won’t be as easy to each get one kid at a time like it is now and I want both of our children to feel an abundance of love before the new baby comes!
It was awesome getting to be part of Branch’s future nursery and it really got me on fire about Leo’s too. I feel really good about the progress I’m making with ideas and such! It’s such a waiting game b/c we can’t do anything for the nursery until Kye moves to his new room upstairs and we can’t do that room until the playroom is completely finished. We are devoting this weekend to getting progress made on those playroom finishing touches!
I also had two people tell me this week that I look thinner in my face! Mrs. Charlotte was one of them and she was worried I’m losing weight while pregnant but I told her it’s just the contouring makeup trick I’m doing! SO glad I finally got on board with that b/c it really does make a big difference! When I smile (which is usually in every picture haha) you can’t tell at all but when I’m not smiling I think it’s really a big change!
Of course the name decision thing is a BIG DEAL from this week and makes me SO excited! Hopefully Zach commits to it so we can have that junk decided 😉
Questions/Concerns:
- Cramps after intimacy? I know it’s “normal” but how can I make them go away or prevent them?
- How long is it “ok” to belly sleep?
- I think I want to find help for this summer…I know I will only have a few weeks between Casey’s baby coming and our baby coming and it is SUPER important to me to be able to fully be there for her and help her. Like, legit, it’s hardcore important! Maybe I should find a sitter to help out some to give me that free time to go help her?
- I made eggs this week and one had a twin yoke…that’s not a sign is it? Like an omen that I have a hidden extra baby in there? 😉
Goals for the Week: I did some Bradley this week but, duh, need to do more!
Casey and I sat down and talked through our schedules. I mean it’s gonna get CRAZY here in a couple months! I realized that this time period is a golden time to get things done that need to get done so I’m very, very focused on that. We have four rooms to do (playroom, Kye’s new room, transition Britt’s room, nursery). Which is a lot!!! And I wanna get it DONE!
Nail down color scheme and such for nursery
Make all appointments I need to make (foot, stuff for Kye, 4d ultrasound, etc)
Go through all my infant/baby stuff. The kids sale is next weekend and I think it’s smart to go ahead and go through both the baby boy and baby girl stuff and purge what I know I won’t want to use. Since the fall kids sales usually fall around early August I know there is a real possibility I won’t be able to go. So I plan to hardcore stock up at these Spring sales. Britt starts school in the fall, Kye will go 5 days again, so they will need clothes and this is a great chance to get them a lot of stuff. So the more I sell, the less money out of our pockets will be spent 😉
Belly Pictures: Zach had the genius idea of taking them at night!!! Duh, what haven’t I ever thought of that?!?! He has these new meetings early Friday mornings so we may have to do nightly pics for awhile. We snapped ’em last night after the kids went down which kinda also works out good b/c you always look bigger at night 😉
You can buy your own belly stickers here!
Look kinda pregnant in this one! But I think I’m sticking it out on accident haha!
Past Pregnancies: You can see my 13th week while pregnant with Britt here! So funny about the koolaide. I haven’t wanted any at all since being pregnant with her! I legit cannot even remember drinking that haha!
While pregnant with Kye this week I worried that my boobs wouldn’t go back to “normal” HAHAHA reading that made me laugh out loud. I mean, news alert, they are NEVER going to be even CLOSE to “normal” again!!! I started going to bed earlier (which I also saw I did with Britt…but I haven’t yet this time?). During this week I found our baby furniture! I am SO thankful that I still ADORE our crib like I do! I wish we could get new dressers but I know it just doesn’t make sense to make that kind of investment! I also started working on Kye’s nursery and was on the hunt for ideas…what did I do before Pinterest?!?!
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