17 Weeks Pregnant!

We are leaving for Disney tomorrow!!! I do have blog posts scheduled for each day we are gone but may not be able to update social media with the links so be sure to come check in πŸ™‚ My pregnancy post for next Friday will be up sometime Saturday once we’re all settled! Also if you’re not already following me on Instagram you may wanna do that to see some “real time” Disney stuff we will have going on! I’m SO excited!!! 

Baby Growth: Baby Leo is weighing around 5 ounces now, which is the same weight as a turnip. I don’t get why some weeks they use fruit to compare length then others weight? Kinda confusing haha! He or she is also around 5 inches long now and has working sweat glands. Poor thing is doomed to sweat because Zach and I both do constantly!

My Symptoms: Oh y’all. This week has been INSANE. I am very, very mindful of not letting my plate overfill. I knew this week would be busy because we had Kye’s appointment in Tallahassee, the kids had FOUR swim lessons, Kye had a dentist appointment and I had to get the whole family packed and prepped for Disney (which if you know me, you know is a hardcore process!). I started packing for the trip at the end of last week because I didn’t want to get overwhelmed…I really think I could have handled it all okay but then a ton of other stuff got thrown at me! 

I have learned over the years that I DO just HAVE this kind of “luck” ( I call it “Emily Luck”). I am SO blessed and things ALWAYS work out in the end, but I just tend to have a rough time getting to that end goal. Like, legit, nothing ever runs smoothly for me. I always have hurdles to jump through and hassles to handle. Like if we get a new internet provider they will mess up the install three times before getting it right. We often get “lemons” with products we buy. When the Target cc issue happened…I KNEW we’d be a victim (and we were…and I’m still battling to get it resolved). Stuff like that just happens to us. I have told Zach I feel sorry for him b/c he’s starting to inherit my luck πŸ˜‰ I really do think I have gotten to a point of acceptance with it and roll with it better than I used to. I plan for bumps in the road so when the bumps in the road happen I’m able to, usually, laugh about it. This week was another one of those types of weeks for sure! Hard to laugh in the moment, but (assuming everything works out fine!) def laugh worthy later!

Saturday was probably one of the toughest days for me, if not THE toughest, of this pregnancy. I had been holding onto a lot of things that were bothering me and it just reached that overflow level and I couldn’t handle it anymore. Kye and Britt have started arguing and it totally and completely steals my joy. Zach and I were in an argument. I was upset about my family stuff (after Kye brought up my brother the day prior plus planning this big Disney trip and my mom not being part of it…). It just reached that point where a major breakdown was inevitable. So. I did what any pregnant woman would do: I broke down. I, legit, cried all day. Some hard crying, some just tears coming when I couldn’t even stop them. My eyes were HORRIBLE. Like big red circles completely around them. I also, shocker, ended up with a massive migraine that lasted from Saturday morning through Monday night. I couldn’t even function at all on Sunday. 

I had my first bubble bath in years and it was heavenly!

Thankfully the Tallahassee appointment was WONDERFUL news! It def brightened my spirits and help me get out of my funk. The rest of the week though made it hard to not stress out. Britt had a fever on Tuesday afternoon of 100 and she was just really miserable. I assumed it was her last molars coming in but still didn’t want to risk it with the big trip coming up. Kye had his first ever round of strep right before his first Disney trip so I worried that history may have been repeating itself. So we visited the walk in clinic for the first time ever! They checked her out and, whew, she tested negative for both strep and the flu. Stephanie said that she has allergies which is why her throat was red and just a combo of that with the teething was causing her discomfort and fever. Crisis averted and she was SUCH a big girl at the appointment! Didn’t even mind when they did the strep test and was being her normal, crazy, silly self all morning. We had to get a little reward afterwards, of course πŸ™‚

That same morning Zach woke up at like 4 am in a lot of pain. He called his mom (which would normally annoy me…hello…wake up your WIFE haha but she wakes up early and he knew she’d already be up. Whereas I was sleeping upstairs that night b/c Zach was supposed to be leaving at 5 am for work so he didn’t want to wake me, so calling his mama was sweet of him!) and they figured out that he had his first ever kidney stone. Great timing right?!?! He is SUCH a dang soldier though for REAL. When I came down hurrying myself to get ready to take Britt to the dr, he was in a decent bit of pain. I told him to rest and got him water and such but he is just TOUGH and hardheaded and passionate about his role of provider for our family so he still worked that day!!! He’s actually feeling FINE now (thank the LORD) and we think maybe it was so small that he passed it and didn’t even know it. Another blessing!

Probably one of my favorite things leading up to our Disney trips is packing and planning. I know, most people hate that. But I love picking out all of our outfits and I really think it’s fun to plan out our itineraries for each day! I bought the new edition of the Unofficial Guide and got a lot of reading done while I slept upstairs to let Zach get his rest! Honestly, this was the highlight of my week after Kye’s appointment news πŸ™‚

Of course with any trip there are bound to be some disappointments. I’ve had three pretty big ones this week in regards to Disney. Splash Mountain (Kye’s FAV ride) will be closed our entire trip. The Lion King Show at Animal Kingdom (which Britt would LOVE) will also be closed. Worst of all the big present I had planned for Kye’s birthday gift (making a Ridemakerz car!) is also closed for remodeling!!! I did FINE learning about the rides and shows…I know Kye will have a BLAST at some of the big kid rides he’s now tall enough to ride and Britt won’t know what she’s missing out on with the Lion King thing. But Kye’s birthday present?!?! Pregnancy hormones about did me in on that news haha! Emily Luck strikes again πŸ™‚ I have a plan of action to find him an awesome gift when we get there and make it work and I’m sure it’ll be even better than our original plan πŸ™‚

Since those “three bad” things happened that means I’m done with bad stuff for the trip right? So this not-so-wonderful weather report will totally clear up? πŸ˜‰ Earlier in the week it was showing lows in the 40s for the trip so I re organized our outfits to include more warm stuff. Then the rain forecast started coming so I went and bought more rain gear. Now it looks warmer so I added back in sunscreen and fans and such! I am def prepared for whatever hits us while we’re there and rain, cold, hot, or whatever else Mother Nature throws our way we won’t let it stop the magic from happening!!!

I know. NONE of this stuff has been pregnancy symptoms from this week. Haha. But I said all of that to say that I have been SO busy and had SO much going on that poor Leo didn’t really have much affect on me this week. The migraine was intense from Sat through Monday and I downed Mountain Dew and it didn’t help. I did go buy the legit brand name of Tylenol b/c Z swears it works better than store brand so when I got another migraine last night I drank a Mountain Dew and took that and it worked great!!!

I also have had SUCH bad allergies this week. It’s not something I’m used to dealing with but we all have it right now. I can FEEL the pollen in my nose and eyes. I know pregnancy intensifies the stuffy nose and junk so I did get some Sudafed. Z got it for me and it’s SO strange looking. Doesn’t it look like teeth?!?! I think they may be changing it up b/c the whole Meth thing?!?! It also is like gummy. Not chewy like chewing gum but has a gummy feel to it. So odd! I try to limit any meds I take while pregnant so I’m only using it when I REALLY feel the allergies and I’m hoping getting out of town for a week will help us all out πŸ™‚

I am still at the phase where people say I don’t look pregnant. My size 6 jeggings are still too big. Crissy stopped by the other night and the first thing she said was “Man you really can’t tell you’re pregnant!” When I’m naked I can really tell and I did pack some things for Disney that hug the tummy more so maybe those pics will be more obvious for everyone πŸ™‚

Weight: AGAIN I didn’t gain! This really surprised me b/c we had donuts on Monday and I’ve been a lot more “snacky” this week due to stress. 

Gender: I haven’t thought about that at all this week and truly I am SO torn about which it’ll be. When people talk to me about it and I tell them we don’t find out they always say “oh yeah you have one of each so it doesn’t matter either way!” And I feel the need to tell them that, yes, that’s true but also we just never find out the sex haha. 

Maternity Clothes: Y’all. I’ve been sitting here wearing a tight sports bra and wishing I had my bigger ones for weeks now so I finally went up into the attic area and went through the maternity tubs and the bras and BellaBand weren’t in there. Guess where I had stored them after my last pregnancy? UNDER MY BED. Legit, under my nose this entire time!!! I LOVE the bigger sports bra!!! SO much more comfortable! I haven’t used the BellaBand yet but have it packed for Disney πŸ™‚

I did also find my larger sized regular bras (also under my bed haha) and tried on a 36D and it was very comfortable! Packing it for the trip as well!

Movement: Only when I am relaxing so I didn’t get to feel a lot this week. Which I hate that I wasn’t able to take time out for my sweet new baby! I’m feeling lots of movement right now actually so Leo must know I’m talking about him or her!

Sleep: Gah it’s been AMAZING. Zach worked the prisons this week so he had to get up very early to leave and also went to bed super early so I went to sleep upstairs so I wouldn’t bother him when he went to bed and he wouldn’t bother me when he woke up. When I’m not pregnant we don’t split up like that, but it’s so hard for me to get good sleep that we decided it was best this week. I LOVE the bed upstairs. I told Zach we HAVE to get a mattress pillow top cover thing for our bed in our room b/c it makes that bed ammmmmmazing. I slept so, so, so good. Anyone suggest a good mattress pillow top cover????

I have NOT been having any dreams. Which is unusual for me, but probably a sign I’m sleeping better? I did wake up twice last night to pee…first time that has happened and I’m sure not the last!

Cravings: We FINALLY had Aligatu!!! Zach picked it up for us on Valentine’s Day and I chowed DOWN. It did not satisfy the craving enough b/c now I just want it more πŸ™‚ Gah it was so so so tasty! I also made shrimp and grits for the first time and it was also super yummy. I have been eating more junk b/c Kye brought so much home from school and because I’ve been stressed and I tend to emotionally eat (NOT GOOD). We are now out of the tootsie roll pops which were the thing I loved the most. I’m not really wanting ice cream or chocolate this pregnancy. I am liking the sugary candy (like Skittles and the suckers) and slushies (but the orange flavor which is odd for me). 

What I Miss: As I mentioned, having a tough week with my family stuff. Britt is at SUCH a stinkin cute age and I just know my mom would adore her. I can hear her laugh at all of the funny things Britt does. I also keep seeing her face when I close my eyes. I think a lot of it has to do with Kye’s upcoming birthday and thinking that he’ll be 5 and naturally looking back at when he was born and his early memories, all of which she was part of. I also think a lot of it has to do with Disney. She LOVED being there for Kye’s first trip and I hate that her heart is hurting if she’s heard about Britt’s first one. I hate she won’t be there with us. But I won’t let that dampen our magical experience. I am thankful Mrs. Charlotte is still coming and I know it’ll be an amazing time! 

Best Moment of the Week: The WONDERFUL news that Kye no longer has any growth delay concerns (PRAISE THE LORD! Full post to come soon with the details!). That Britt and Zach are both feeling better and should, hopefully, not be sick for the trip. 

Kye has been in baby lovin’ overload mood the past few days. It is so precious! He told me “You are so sweet Mommy and you have a sweet baby in your tummy.” Just a little while ago when I sang to him before nap he said “I love your singing voice…I bet the baby does too! Is “he” kicking right now?” He also got me a big pillow to sit on because he said he wanted the baby to be comfortable. He’s started to pray specifically for the baby and has been SO sweet in his concerns about my foot and healing process. When I had my rough day Saturday he prayed and said “help Mommy b/c she is struggling” haha that was LEGIT πŸ˜‰

Both kids have started to kiss my belly a lot…but what is so funny about it is that they usually kiss my chest area instead??? I don’t know if they are confused about where the baby is or if they just have bad aim? haha! Kye told me he’s kissing my belly b/c it’s his way of taking care of the baby πŸ™‚

I am also SUPER excited about the nursery! See Leo? I made time for you too πŸ™‚ I planned on getting a dark gray chair from Ikea for the room and it costs close to $300. Happened to see this in Target. On sale for $136! Yay! It will work perfectly! 

Also on the nursery front I think we have decided, for sure, the girl fabrics. Waiting to hear back from the designer on it and then pick out boy stuff!

Questions/Concerns: The only one I want to ask about is how I go about requesting a labor and delivery nurse? I got lucky with Kye and Britt and had the same, AMAZING, nurse and she told me after I had Britt to request for her to come in when I have my third someday so she can be there. I’m SO thankful for her b/c I had a rough time both times with other staff people regarding my decision to go natural and she was a HUGE support system for me!!! Maybe this time I’ll get to have Stacy finally deliver and get my favorite nurse in the room with us πŸ™‚

Goals for this Week: ENJOY DISNEY! Boom! πŸ™‚ I have our plans for each day and it should be a very relaxing (by Disney standards, of course) time. I know with pregnancy and with my foot I don’t want to overdue it. Also Britt is younger than Kye was his first trip AND she really requires sleep. She loves her sleep so I want to make sure to give her what she loves! I think I have a great plan to please us all and allow us to have a super awesome amazing vacation! I am SOOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!! I’ve been looking forward to this trip since before Britt was even born and I can’t wait to get to celebrate Kye’s birthday there as well (he turns 5 the week we get back). 

Belly Pictures: We took these last night soon after the whole birthday present fiasco and Zach was laughing at me b/c I really couldn’t smile haha. It was hard for me to do it and look happy hahahha These were the best I could do. My sweater was one of those long, baggy ones and I didn’t feel like changing so I look weird but whatever! I will be rocking some cute Mickey gear for next weeks pics and I’m SURE my smile will be very genuine πŸ™‚ As always, belly stickers are from here!

Notes from Past Pregnancies: SO much in common with my pregnancy with Britt from this week! You can see it here! Ironic that I had a mega bad emotional day this week and also had one that week. And funny that my food desires are the same in regards to not wanting ice cream and cookies and such. That post also has links to stuff that was going on from my 17th week of Kye’s pregnancy. You can see in the full body shot in this post how my stomach just looks “muffin top” and not “pregnant” I think I am really carrying the same way this time and it’s why no one thinks I look pregnant! I did wear my first maternity top this week with that pregnancy. But I think it’s totally common for first timers to bust out the maternity clothes early. Once you wear maternity clothes and are stuck wearing them for awhile after pregnancy, you loathe them! 

Emily Parker

1 Comment

  1. b
    February 23, 2014 / 2:49 pm

    Not sure if you have talked about this in a previous blog post or not. Or if you even wish to talk about it at all, but what exactly happened with your family? I read all of your posts and have read several times that your mom and brother are not around anymore, but I'm so confused as to why. Its completely none of my business, but I'd like to pray for you about it in hopes that one day things could change for the better πŸ™‚

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