Baby Growth: This week Blitzen is 11 inches long (size of a spaghetti squash…whatever that is?!?!) and weighs about 1 lb. He or she now looks like a newborn and has more distinctive lips, eyes, and eyebrows.
Belly Picture: People are commenting more and more (those that know me anyway, strangers still can’t tell or at least don’t admit it when I mention it to them) that I look pregnant. I know I FEEL pregnant so I’m glad it’s starting to look more legit 😉 Here‘s the link of where to buy the cute weekly stickers I wear!
I’m thankful for all my Stella and Dot jewelry b/c I feel fashionable even while feeling unattractive 😉 I’m wearing the new Isadora Pearl Bib and am mega into layering bracelets right now (do you watch Big Brother? I LOVE Danielle’s style and her Stella and Dot layered bracelets!) so I am wearing several: three soiree pearl paves, the vintage twist and the hematite cupchain bracelet
My Symptoms: I feel like a pregnant woman. 100%. There is NO more denying it. My lower back hurts, I have a hard time bending over, and I can no longer see my privates without some serious effort. I’m straight up exhausted all the time, can pee for dayyyyyys, and have sore feet after very minimal errand running.
Our typical grocery shopping routine is that I go once a month to Publix and spend 2-3 hours there getting everything we need then Zach goes to Walmart a couple weeks later (I loathe Walmart!) to get stuff that is simply cheaper there and restock our fresh fruit supply. I think that Publix has the most true slogan of any company out there: Where Shopping is a Pleasure. I LOVE shopping at Publix!!! I honestly don’t mind how long it takes but it’s to the point now where I can no longer do it. My shopping cart is PACKED by the time I get to the checkout line and it’s unmanageable for me to be this pregnant pushing that heavy thing around. Zach officially has taken over grocery shopping duties for the duration of the pregnancy and even he said he’s glad he’s doing it b/c it would be too much for me!
I’ve been proud of myself for all the water I’ve been drinking and I do think it is helping me look thinner too. I went and got measured at Victoria’s Secret and I’m still a 36C so my breasts are smaller than last pregnancy right now. Zach said it’s where I gain all my pregnancy weight (I’m thankful God put our boobs above our bellies…Zach sees those things and doesn’t look any further down at my HUGE fat belly hahaha). Speaking of my chest…it’s got a great resting spot on my stomach. It’s disgusting how they just lay there. Yuck.
Kye has found pleasure in poking my belly button anytime he sees my bare stomach…it’s not an outie but not an innie either. I feel a little like the Pillsbury Dough Boy! I’ve noticed my stretch marks from Kye being more noticeable but I’m sure it’s because my stomach is getting bigger. I’ve also noticed that my butt and my back are kinda one general lump of fat – so sexy. My feet have also gotten bigger (they grew like 1/2 a size with Kye!) and I am getting more limited on the shoes I can wear. Luckily I kept all my stretched out ones from my last pregnancy so I shouldn’t have to worry too much about that!
We’re going to Hawaii in Oct when I’ll be 32 weeks pregnant. I’m thinking since it’s end of season now that I should probably invest in a maternity bathing suit? I’m down to wear a bikini (I know right?!?!) since no one will know us and I’ll be obviously pregnant but I think one nice tankini or one piece may be smart in case we do the snorkeling excursion or hang out with Aflac people (like Zach’s parents!).
My dr. visit this week and the realization that I only have ONE more monthly visit then I go every two weeks really hit me. You’ve probably noticed I haven’t been hardcore blogging/facebooking/commenting etc. I’m MOTIVATED! I want to get so much accomplished before Blitzen arrives and I feel very overwhelmed thinking about all of it. I’m keeping track of everything I think of to do on a running list and it’s long. I’m sweating just thinking about it all! Good thing preschool starts up Monday so I have a few extra hours a day to myself to get it done!
In my weekly emails from Baby Center there was a link to “what to expect during your 2nd pregnancy” (you can read it here). I felt good about a lot of it because it says labor is typically easier and I’m at less risks for complications and such since I had a healthy first pregnancy. It said it’s typical to be more tired with the second one, which made me feel better about how exhausted I am. It also said I’m less likely to have much tearing during birth which is great. Then I read the last section about postpartum and it killed it for me. It says I’ll have much worse afterbirth pains (I didn’t have any with Kye) which is a bit scary but the WORST thing is the very last couple of sentences. “Don’t be surprised if it takes longer to regain your shape this time. Weight loss alone won’t do the trick. You’ll need to exercise.” Thanks for ending it on a positive note meanies!!!
Weight: Guess what? No change! I’m still at +3 overall! Yay me! I’m sure with Zach’s birthday this weekend I’ll put on a pound but I’m okay with that, I think at this point I’m sticking to my goal!!! Especially since last time around at this point I’d gained 10 total!
Gender: I’ve been honest with yall from the start, my heart craved a baby girl. So much so that we did tricks to try to make one (remember?). From Day 1 Zach and I have both felt this baby is a girl. I don’t personally trust my gut on that kind of stuff because I wanted a girl so I’m sure that plays a role in my “gut” on what the baby is. Now I’ve kinda changed my mind about the whole girl thing. Yes, I NEED a girl. Eventually. But logistically another boy would probably work out best for our family. I’m SO nervous about adding another child and how Kye will handle it and I LOVE how much Kye adores his daddy and how much more fun he has with Zach than me (football, basketball, golf, rough housing, pool swimming, you name it!). That comforts me knowing that while I’m busy nursing and tending to the new baby, Kye will be having a BLAST with his dad. If Blitzen is a boy as well then when baby #3 comes along he’ll also be able to join in on all the guy fun with Kye and Zach while I nurse and tend to that baby. I know, I know…I plan WAY too far in advance but it’s just a thought! That and SO many people have said they wanted lots of kids until they had baby #2 then it changed their minds. I KNOW if I have a boy this time that baby #3 WILL happen so I like that added motivation too 😉
Maternity Clothes: The time is drawing near. I’m starting to HATE my bella band as it rides up then my pants get saggy and I have saggy butt and I can’t wear white shirts b/c you can see it through them. I’m still resisting but I’m getting to the point where I need to be careful as the last thing I want is to stretch out my non-maternity tops. I did try a maternity top on this morning actually, but it was HUGE. Like looked like pjs. Um no. I prefer my stuff rather tight so there’s no question that I am in fact PREGNANT. I will take a picture when I wear my first maternity shirt and/or pants!
Movement: I can’t say enough how much I truly enjoy it!!!! It DOES make it hard to fall back asleep though if the dogs wake me up!
Sleep: MUCH less sweaty now that the ac gets turned down to 72. I need to be resting more but I feel this urge to get things accomplished so I’ve kinda been a crazy woman this week!!! I’ve been getting to bed closer to midnight and getting up earlier too!
Cravings: After two solid weeks of drinking water, water, water I craved koolaide this morning so I made myself some. It wasn’t as good as I remembered but it hit the spot. I also ate Zaxby’s twice this week, that craving is DEF back!!! I haven’t been wanting seafood as badly as before and my typical tuna fish sandwich didn’t satisfy me the way it once did. That’s been happening quite often. I’ve noticed if I cook something (even just heat up a frozen bagged meal in the oven) I don’t tend to like it. I am pretty pumped about cooking meals to freeze (last time around I made 3 MONTHS worth of meals for us to eat haha) because CHILI is on the list and I do love some chili 🙂
What I Miss: My body pre-any pregnancy. Like honeymoon body. Perky boobs ROCKED. They say you are never as fat as you imagine and it’s true…I never felt like a skinny girl but I’d gladly have that body back now!!!
Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Hearing Blitzen’s heartbeat. I’m also proud of myself as I feel like I’ve stepped up my spiritual game. I want to be the kind of mom that prays as we are called to pray – constantly and I’ve been working hard on that. Kye and I pray often together, not just before meals and sleep times now, but other times too. We pray together in the car often and when Kye acts out or is struggling with something we’ll pray on that too. I’ve gotten hardcore about bible study time and we say a prayer each morning to start our day while we eat breakfast then read a bible story together. I’ve ALREADY noticed it’s affect on him and on me too. His prayers have gotten deeper and my prayer life is stronger. I’ve also bought a short, quick, daily devo book with a simple verse, summary of the verse, and prayer to read each morning. I know if I don’t get in that routine now that it’ll be MUCH harder to do with two babies so I’m enjoying getting up a few minutes earlier each morning to make sure I read that daily verse. It really is a GREAT way to start the day! I know these aren’t really pregnancy related but it does affect my pregnancy and will affect Blitzen’s life in a positive way too 😉
Questions/Concerns: I forgot to ask Stacy her opinion on a double stroller so I need to ask her about that next time. Most of my concerns are about registering for stuff as I need to get on that! I always used swaddleme swaddles with Kye but have heard amazing things about woombies and miracle blankets, any preferences and why??? I need to get new concealer to help with this dang pregnancy mask as mine isn’t covering it hardly AT ALL. Any suggestions?
Goals for the Week: WE STARTED BRADLEY!!! Yay!!! Not nearly as well as we need to but at least it’s a start! I’ve been squatting instead of bending over, doing my pelvic rocks, and kegals as often as I can think about it. I’ve also started my tailor sitting! It has ALREADY helped me as my back pain is so much more manageable. When I do hurt I just do some pelvic rocks/tailor sit and it pretty much goes away! I’m hoping this week can be the week we get hardcore and that my coach and I get some quality training sessions in 😉 I want to get a LOT of my stuff knocked out on this to-do list since Kye will be in school Mon, Wed, and Fri. I plan to use that time wisely so when Kye’s not in school I can enjoy that time with him 🙂
Notes From Pregnancy #1: I was having the same sleep issues last time around with temperature. This time I’m good at 72, last time it had to be 70 (so be thankful Zach!). I was wearing maternity clothes all the time at this point! We registered in Jacksonville and it was very fun! I am starting a registry on Amazon (it’s GREAT b/c it allows you to register for stuff on any website so it’s all in one place) but I have been tossing the idea around about another trip to Jacksonville. Not sure if Zach would be down for it or not? Maybe we could go on a Sunday after church or something? I wish we had better options here but we really don’t! I had my toughest dr. appt this week (the 10 lb weight gain one), dealt with some pregnancy brain issues (which I def don’t have as bad this time around!) and I drove to Kennesaw on my own to meet up with Zach for work. He was traveling a LOT and we decided that I’d be with him when I could! We got to meet Jordan for the first time too and I had fun spending a day shopping for maternity clothes at their local mall 😉
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Hey Emily it's brandy from high school. Thanks for the extra long post, gave me something to read on marta. You mentioned the article said 2nd pregnancy body is harder to tone back. I'm only one statistic, but as a ray of hope my second pregnancy pounds were much easier to shed. I did work out more but motivation was so much easier to find. And my daughter ( the second ) nursed more often than my son ( the first ),we called her a Marathon nurser because she wanted to eat constantly. So no doubt the easy weight loss was much to her efforts. I recommend walking as much as you can now to get yourself in the routine of working out now before little blitzen makes his / her routine known.
Hey Emily,I lost the baby weight with baby #2 SO much faster than baby #1-I think partly b/c I didn't gain as much b/c I knew how hard it was to lose it. I'm already back in my clothes and Easton in just 3 months old. I won't lie, the belly isn't as tight as it was in high school (I loathe the women that can achieve that after pregnancy), but if I feel comfortable in my clothes, ie no muffin top, than I'm happy with that! Your perky boobs comment made me laugh b/c it is too true-we're already planning baby #3 and then my boob job. I told my hubbie it's not a matter of if I change my mind, it's only a matter of time!Love ya, Catherine
You look great! Thanks for putting the link to those stickers! Even though I'm not pregnant yet, I'm secretly already wanting them for when the time comes (hopefully soon). 🙂
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We grow spaghetti squash and it's something you might like! It is a winter squash (like acorn and butternut) but after you cook it you stand it up, scoop down and the inside 'meat' comes out like strands of noodles. You can serve it with red sauce or just garlic & olive oil and/or veggies. Customers have also told me that on Weight Watchers it is either no or low points unlike real pasta!
So glad things are going well for you & the little guy! You look great! Congratulations!