26 and 27 Weeks Pregnant

With my blogging break last week this will be a combo post with the summary from BOTH my 26th and 27th weeks pregnant!

Baby Growth: This week (because who cares about the size from last week? He or she is already way passed that haha!) Leo is weighing almost 2 lbs (about the weight of a cauliflower) and is about 14.5 inches long. I LOVE being at this point in pregnancy because IF Leo were to be born now the chances of survival are very high. Which is such a relief, ya know? I should also start feeling hiccups! And if Leo is a finger sucker like older sister is then he or she is probably also already sucking on them in the womb (on Tuesday Leo was chewing on the umbilical cord which is actually very common!)

My Symptoms: Let’s go ahead and discuss the poop 😉 You can get caught up to speed on all the lovely details here! After cleaning out my system I felt MUCH better. We flew out Monday and I hadn’t pooped in over 24 hours again so I was nervous. Sunday night we stopped by the drug store and bought some different prenatal vitamins. I’ve been taking Advocare Coreplex with Iron as my prenatal and I read that a common reason for constipation in pregnancy is too much iron. I saw this box and bought it (even though it was dang $20 for a 30 day supply!) because it said it was gentle on the stomach and had non-constipating iron. I figured it might help and at that point I was just worried about being in misery on a long flight and on our trip so I wanted to take every step possible!

I drank Milk of Magnesia Sunday night and that stuff straight up does NOT work! I asked Stacy about it at my appointment yesterday and she agreed! Since I still hadn’t gone I got desperate and substituted my 8 oz of water in my morning meal replacement shake with 8 oz of PRUNE JUICE. Omg. Y’all. It was disgusting. But I drank it all and when we got to the airport I walked around the entire time chugging water, waiting for it to work. And, finally, it did!!! I read about some wonderful Valdosta history in the airport bathroom and did my thing! I’m SO thankful I got that junk out before the flight!!!

The flight there was NOT easy. We left Valdosta at 11 am Monday and didn’t get to Ireland until 11 am Tuesday (Ireland is 5 hours ahead of us here so it was 6 am our time when we arrived there). We had lay overs in Atlanta and Paris. The longest flight was from Atlanta to Paris and when we got our seats I had the window, Zach had the center, and then a woman had the aisle. I was supposed to get up each hour and walk. So I nicely told the lady my situation and offered to trade seats with her so she could get sleep (the flight was 8 hours through the night) and I wouldn’t bother her. Her response? “That would be me doing a curtesy for you not you being helpful to me” Um. Okay. We asked a flight attendant what we should do and she offered the lady another seat and she said NO. I know I SHOULD have just gotten up and made that lady have to move every hour. But I’m a push over and felt bad and ended up never asking her. Not once. Instead anytime she got up, I got up. And she got up at the most RANDOM times. Like they gave us ice cream sandwiches and as soon as they passed them out she got up and ate hers in the bathroom?!?! Who does that?!?! So I got up and ate mine while walking around. I probably got out of my seat 3-4 times max. Not good. AND it was an Air France flight. If you’ve been to Europe then you know they don’t do ice and they don’t drink as much as we do. I needed water but they rarely came by and offered any. It just was not a good situation at all for me. When we landed in Paris I actually cramped up really bad and the flight attendant told the lady she had to move and let me out and they let me stand while we taxied. I also wore my compression stockings and they got SO TIGHT. I don’t know if it’s because I wasn’t walking enough or drinking enough? But I ended up taking them off and did not wear them on the flight home.

Other than that awful seat mate, everyone else the entire week was AMAZING. Like for real us Americans do not treat our pregnant citizens as well as we should! I was pampered by everyone we met. All the tour guides went above and beyond asking if I was comfortable, needed to go to the restroom etc. When I had a massage the masseuse went on and on about how she wasn’t using any scented oils b/c it’s better for my pregnancy and that I shouldn’t even use the heated pool there just in case. One night we had a five minute walk to dinner and they INSISTED on getting us a bus. Yes, we had an entire coach bus to ourselves for a five min walk! Not only was everyone very nice, but they also have a thing for pregnant bellies. All the locals didn’t even hesitate to rub my belly. Like a lot. One night this man sang “Danny Boy” up on the stage for our dinner entertainment and we ran into him after the show. He came right up to me and rubbed all over my tummy!!! I feel like here everyone is always nervous to even ask if someone is pregnant…but it’s def not the case there! I asked one of our tour guides about how they view pregnancy and she said that I am giving my country a new citizen and that is to be both respected and cherished. Pretty awesome!

All of the Aflac people were also very sweet. Constantly asking me how far along I am and telling me how cute I look and that I don’t look 6 months pregnant at all. They all also always assumed it’s my first baby. It’s funny b/c when I was first pregnant and would be out and about with the kids in town I always felt the need to tell anyone who commented about the kids about my pregnancy. On this trip I felt the need to tell anyone who asked about my pregnancy about my children! There were a couple other pregnant Aflac women on the trip. One of them was less than 20 weeks pregnant and I heard she was hardcore complaining about everything and was just straight up miserable. She’s in trouble if she’s already that miserable that early on! It MUST have been her first right? 😉 I also met another lady who was pregnant and due a month before me with her third baby and her older two are the same ages as my older two! Small world! We talked a lot about Hawaii and what we will do about that trip (Leo will be roughly 10 weeks old…).

I did a GREAT job staying hydrated the whole trip. I was much, much busier than I had expected to be so I had to be mindful about my water intake. The hotel was very fancy and didn’t have ice machines so I had to call down to the front desk to request some…they got to know me well 😉 

I did notice my nose was VERY stuffy on the trip and I ended up taking some of that sinus medicine stuff to help and it did the trick. I only had one headache the whole time and it was when I didn’t drink enough water after my massage. Once I downed a bunch of water, it went away. I did bring my Spark and Rehydrate with me and drank it each day too! 

Overall I did GREAT on the trip. I have traveled in every trimester of pregnancy. I have also traveled when leaving a newborn at home. I have to say that traveling very early on is rough b/c you’re just so tired (NYC this past Dec I was EXHAUSTED). The BEST time to travel while pregnant is def in the “teen weeks” (17 weeks at Disney was AMAZING). After that it only gets tougher. This was MUCH, MUCH easier than 33 weeks pregnant in Hawaii. But even being 33 weeks in Hawaii was STILL easier than being 6 weeks post partum and pumping in Paris. That trip wins for the most difficult experience ever. I will take being pregnant and traveling ANY DAY over traveling and pumping. People are very accommodating when you are pregnant but pumping is kinda an awkward thing for random people to discuss with you. Also pumping is SO time consuming and stressful. When we go on tours and I’m pregnant, I can just waddle around on the tour. Going on tours while pumping? I have to time things out and make sure I give enough time to get my pump session in and make sure I have my cooler and ice packs and make sure I pump around the same time my baby is eating back home. Etc. Etc. Of course travel while not being pregnant or having to pump is ideal…but how long am I ever not either one or the other? I quit nursing Britt in Jan of 2013 and got pregnant that November haha!

The flight home was WAY easier! Since I knew the locals were so accommodating we did ask at check in and they moved my seat to an exit row! I had TONS of space and stood up like every 45 min or so. They also gave me TONS of water which was wonderful! I was awake for a full 24 hours so I was exhausted…but it was an easier situation. Btw…if you are pregnant, get on the plane during pre-boarding! They let us do it each time and it was nice to be on the plane and have our stuff all right near us! I did feel super sick after the big flight and felt like I might pass out but I think it was just because we had a good bit of turbulence. I also had REALLY bad flight anxiety when we went to Italy but didn’t experience it AT ALL this time. I think I was just so concerned with my pregnancy that it gave me enough to worry about 🙂 

While on the trip I didn’t have much control over what I ate. I did take a Colace stool softener both morning and night (sometimes I forgot at night!) and it helped. I pretty much only had pellets while on the trip but things are MUCH better now that I’m home. I am back to normal!!! I thought maybe the change in prenatals was what helped but Stacy and I looked over them and she said the Coreplex with Iron actually has less iron in them than the new one so once it’s gone I plan to switch back to my Coreplex! I just trust Advocare more than anything else 🙂 

Even though I didn’t rest as much as I should have on the trip I still feel SO RENEWED! It’s like someone hit the reset button! My body doesn’t hurt or ache. My back is pain free. It’s wonderful. I want it to stay this way and am doing way, way better at pacing myself. Zach talked to me this morning and is going to take over all the grocery shopping now too. And we are both on mega fire to get this house “to do” list knocked out and have been working a little each day on things! I LOVE THE PROGRESS!!!!

I was super exhausted when we got back (like I said…I didn’t sleep for 24 hours!) but I forced myself to adjust back to EST. I heard the best way to do that is to only sleep at sleep times. Our first night back we got about 7 hours of sleep and we both just went to bed early that following night and it really did the trick! 

Obviously MOST of the misery I was feeling in weeks prior was the constipation issues. It’s one of those things where you don’t even fully realize how awful you feel until you feel better. I’m so, so thankful there was a reason behind it and that it wasn’t just “pregnancy!” My stomach is back to feeling so much less tender and tight and I just feel better overall! I am not taking any stool softeners but am still putting ½ cup of Raisen Brand in my shake as well as a spoonful of coconut oil!

Weight: Oh gosh y’all. I was shocked at the scale this morning. I gained 6 lbs in two weeks. I’m at +14 now!!! I was only +9 at this point last pregnancy!!! YIKES. Thankfully I was already +20 at this point with Kye so I’m not as bad as that at least. Hopefully it will taper off and slow down…

Gender: I still fully think BOY. I have gotten so used to the name Leo that it has grown on me a lot and I’m trying to secretly use our boy name so if it is a boy that I won’t feel awkward calling it by it’s name rather than Leo 😉 Britt said that she thinks it’s a girl and we should name her Charlotte. Kye says it’s a boy because it already looks just like him 🙂 Sweet siblings! The 4d ultrasound really made Zach and I more sure about it being a boy, although that sweet face would be precious as a girl too! 

Maternity Clothes: I busted out a LOT of them for the trip. And I’m so glad I did. Overall, I’m at the point where maternity clothes just LOOK better than “normal people” clothes. They are made to fit pregnancy and flatter it better. However I cannot STAND when shirts don’t go under my belly. It bugs me so as I try on my maternity tops if any of them don’t come down under my belly then I am putting them back in the attic for storage for next pregnancy. This pregnancy is SO different in the way my clothes fit from how they fit last time so I am def keeping them all b/c who knows how next one will go! My clothes from Kye’s pregnancy tend to look cuter than the ones from Britt’s. This is totally my favorite thing I own maternity-wise. I had this top from Kye’s pregnancy and LOVED IT on me on the trip! I truly felt PRETTY which was a nice feeling!!! Other than this top though I don’t really like ANY maternity tops. I do, however, love the dresses 🙂 

I am now also at the point where my boobs are disgusting and just hang down on my belly. SO gross. Baby powder is my friend and it’s helping 😉 I also can’t wear my bra for very long. I have to wear a sports bra and even then get uncomfortable. 

Movement: Now that I’m not constipated I’m feeling SO much more movement again! I’m ready to feel those hiccups 🙂 Leo was not moving all that much during the 4D ultrasound but if he or she was still on Irish time then it was 11 pm so I bed my little Babywise baby already knew he or she needed to be sleeping for Mama 😉 

Sleep: Our bed was SO comfortable on the trip. So much so that we decided instead of getting a couples massage on our last day that we’d save that money and invest in a GOOD mattress topper for our home bed. We need something to make it more comfortable!!!

I had night sweats one night on the trip but otherwise slept amazing. I’ve also been sleeping wonderfully this week…I have woken up hot a couple times but just turn the AC down one notch so it starts pumping and then I can go back to sleep easily. I have also had some random pain in my arm from how I sleep but it hasn’t affected my ability to get comfortable!

Cravings: I am not a big food person. I tend not to really enjoy food on vacations. While on the trip I actually did LOVE the kids meal ham and cheese sandwich the hotel had. I ate it for both lunch and dinner on the same day and again for lunch on another day 🙂 

This week I had my first “omg if I don’t eat this I will kill someone” craving. And it was cocoa-no-bakes. So at 9 pm I made myself a batch! Now that I’ve seen the scale I probably will try harder to resist such cravings…

What I Miss: I know I’m beating a dead horse but I HATE the way I LOOK. Ugh. Like someone on the Aflac trip said “it doesn’t matter how many people tell you how adorable you are, if you feel ugly then you feel ugly” and it’s true. I think it’s sweet how many people compliment me and I truly appreciate it but I just look in the mirror and don’t even recognize myself. It’s bad enough to where I don’t really want to be in pictures which is NOT LIKE ME at ALL! I miss my confidence!

Best Moments of the Weeks: Prior to leaving for the trip we had a VERY busy weekend! I had my first shower for Leo and it was so, so fun. I was shocked by the amazing turn out and it meant SO much to me to see how many people love Leo already! Casey and Courtney did an awesome job in hosting and everything was super, super cute!

We also celebrated Easter (although it was rainy and cold boo!) Here is the best shot we got as a family due to the weather. And, yes, you can pretty much see up my dress haha.

Here’s a quick rundown of our trip. Zach golfed…a lot. I enjoyed the arrive day by taking a 90 min long bath and reading an awesome book (if you haven’t read Gone Girl…it’s a MUST READ). 

 I also went on a tour on my own while the guys were golfing and had a chance to see the beautiful Irish coast!

 I had two massages (one prenatal and one head massage) and did my best to feel as relaxed as I could. Check out this amazingly beautiful pool!

While resting was important to me, seeing the sites trumped everything so I tried to embrace the trip the best I could and appreciate everything I was able to see. I’m thankful we took an afternoon out with Mr. Rusty and got to see the country!

Aflac provided us with ALL of our dinners and also our breakfasts. Which is a blessing…but also a bit of a curse. It meant when they went to Jameson Distillery that we also had to be there. And pretty much everywhere we went was a 40 min trip by bus. And we didn’t get home until after 11 pm. Then the breakfast was only available until 10 am the following morning. So I didn’t get as much rest or sleep as I had planned on…but dinner in a castle? I mean I didn’t want to miss these rare chances!!! By the last day though we were just straight BEAT. Zach basically had two vacations in one. He had his golfing with Dad trip and then his Aflac stuff with me trip. So he REALLY didn’t get any sleep or rest! We both agreed to do NOTHING on our last day and while I hate we “wasted” a day in Ireland, I don’t regret that choice!

While the trip was wonderful, it was not one where I felt okay about leaving the kids. I am hardcore about ONLY leaving the kids for big trips like that b/c I KNOW it’s important to put my marriage first and get that quality time together. This trip was pretty much zero quality time with my husband. So it’s tough for me to justify why I left my babies for that long. I am SO SO thankful for FaceTime. It’s the first time on a trip that we used it and we WILL be finding a way to use it from now on whenever we travel. It’s a must have for me now! I didn’t miss the kids NEARLY as much b/c I was able to see them every night and I think it helped them not miss us as much either! I was so, so happy to be reunited with them and it was one of my favorite moments this week for sure!!!

Even though Zach and I didn’t get to spend a lot of time together, I feel like I connected with EMILY again in a big way. I read three books (Gone Girl, The Fault in our Stars, and most of This is Where I Leave You) and also watched 3.5 movies (August Osage County, Dallas Buyers Club, Nebraska, and half of 12 Years a Slave). It was SO NICE to be thinking about things other than “to do” lists or about Mommy things. I had EMILY thoughts. And it was nice 🙂 Of course all the books and movies were totally depressing haha but it was still all wonderful just to feel more like me in a way I haven’t felt in a long, long time. I need to make it more of a priority to read those types books and watch those types of movies even if just for myself!

Of course getting to see our newest blessing was also a highlight of the week! I actually ran into the owner of The Bump, where we had the ultrasound done, and she is a blog reader! She told me I can come back in a couple weeks to have another scan and see if we can get some even better images 🙂 Sounds like a plan to me and I’m SO appreciative and excited!!! In the past I have kinda felt like the whole 4D thing was not a “must do” but this pregnancy I appreciate it SO much more. Zach said he feels way more connected to Leo now that we have seen him or her so clearly and I agree. I think LIFE is so busy now that it’s hard to feel as connected to our baby and the 4D really, really helped us achieve that. The kids are more excited too now and Britt is CONSTANTLY talking about how Mommy has a heartbeat in her tummy 🙂 

I think most of you have said you think Leo looks the most like Britt but I kinda think it is a combo baby…nose like Britt’s, mouth like Kye, but eyes and cheeks that are unique! The eyes def look further apart than either Britt or Kye and those cheeks are def more chubby too 🙂 

My goal was to have Kye transitioned to his new room in March, Britt to move to the big girl bed in April, and then have the nursery done by the first of June. So the night of April 30th we moved Britt to her big girl bed!!! Talk about cutting it close to the deadline, right? I am SO proud of how AMAZING she’s done with it and it makes her seem so much more grown to me. 

This week has really been a week of pride for me with all of my babies. Pride that Leo is so precious, pride that Britt is doing so well obeying us and really growing into such an amazing child, and pride that Kye is truly on fire for the Lord and is doing so well in school. His final evaluation came home and he has “mastered” everything! Even a bigger deal though is that a situation happened at school that made Kye feel uncomfortable and he talked to me about it and to his teacher and classmates about it. It was the first time he has REALLY stood up on his OWN for the Lord and it is amazing to me to witness. I am truly so, so blessed with my three amazing children!!!

And, let me add, that I’m also proud of Zach this week 🙂 He has been hardcore stepping up with getting things done around the house and also with being helpful to me with my pregnancy. Gotta give him some props too 😉

Questions/Concerns:

• At what point should we get Britt’s hair cut? I don’t want her to have a “hair cut” but should we start getting it trimmed???
• I need a back up photographer for our delivery photos. I am SO PUMPED about Lindsay doing them but if for some reason she’s not able to be there…would anyone local be interested? Or recommend someone who would be?
• Time for our TDap shots so I need to schedule a time for that and am hoping to have anyone who will come in contact with our baby to also get the shot! Post to come with more info about the importance of it!
• My melasma is super, super bad so I’m going to call the dermatologist and get an appointment to see if there is anything we can do about it. I mean I haven’t even been in the sun yet!!! Yikes!
• We have our CPR class Monday night and a new babysitter is coming! It’s the girl I met a couple weeks ago and I’m excited about it but also nervous!!!

Goals for the Week:

Really, really hoping to get a TON of stuff done around here! I’d like to have Kye’s room completely decorated, the playroom decorated, and Britt’s room decorated. We have a lot of small things that just need to be done and I’m eager to get going on them. I also want to get a chore chart going for Kye as well as find lots more (I’ve already been on the hunt!) recipes to make and freeze for when Leo arrives. I am on a big crock pot kick and plan to do a lot of frozen meals that we can just toss in the crock pot! Easy and delicious! Since we did NOT get quality time together in Ireland I want to plan a little short getaway for just the two of us to celebrate our anniversary!  I also want to do better watching what I eat in hopes that I won’t gain a bunch of weight this week…

Belly Pictures: As always you can find the stickers I use for my weekly posts here!

We took these on the trip from last week at 26 weeks pregnant! I LOVED the dress I wore for our formal dinner night (at the castle pictured earlier) and am thankful to my sweet friend Julie for loaning it to me along with several other awesome maternity outfits!

 And here is this week at 27 weeks pregnant! Britt wanted to join in 🙂

Notes from Past Pregnancies: You can read my 26th week post from my 2nd pregnancy here and my 27th week post here!

I had a bit of a scare while pregnant with Britt during my 26th week. I had some spotting and ended up going to the doctor and even getting an ultrasound (ironic that I also went to the dr with Leo before the trip huh?) Thankfully everything was fine but it really put my butt in gear about taking better care of myself and being cautious b/c I was SO scared about bed rest!!! It’s also funny that I have constipation issues this time and had the opposite problem last pregnancy! 

During my first pregnancy I had a dream that Kye was a girl. Then last pregnancy I dreamed that Britt was a boy. This pregnancy I’ve only had one dream about Leo and in it Leo was a girl. So far my dreams are always about the baby being the opposite sex from what it actually is! It’s also funny to me how Stacy had her first baby while I was pregnant with my first (she was on maternity leave about mid-way through my pregnancy) and then she missed my delivery with Britt due to being on maternity leave with her second baby. And now she’s due only a couple days after I am this time around! I wonder if she plans on us having our 4th babies together too 🙂

It is CRAZY that my bra size was only a 36C at this point last pregnancy. My new 38D bra feels too tight right now!!! It’s funny I was concerned about Baby 2 being as cute as Kye…I don’t think that’s something I needed to worry about haha Britt is def cute!!! I’m not worried about Leo in the looks department either? I figure if Kid 1 and Kid 2 are cute…Kid 3 will have to be too 😉 And if not then I’m sure we will think he or she is adorable anyways! 

I really, really need to get on it about Bradley b/c I talked a lot about it last pregnancy and how much it helped me feel GOOD! I also think it’d be smart to go ahead and write another list like I did last time with ALL thing things that need to get accomplished before Leo arrives. It helps me to have a list and Zach likes a list too! 

It’s also interesting that I said I’d prefer Subway or Red Lobster over ice cream during my last pregnancy. I agree with that this time too. I’d rather have Subway, Chicken Salad Chick, or Aligatu over anything else! It’s also interesting that my back didn’t bother me AT ALL last pregnancy but bothered me a lot at this point during my first one! You’d think it’d be the opposite! It’s also neat that in all three pregnancies THIS is the point where people can obviously tell I’m pregnant. The trip was non-stop pregnancy comments. And since I’ve been back I had my first random stranger talk to me about it too. I am conscious about holding my shirt down and trying to “look pregnant” so I think that helps haha!

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Emily Parker

Hey Y'all, I'm Emily! I'm a stay at home mom and consider parenting to be my passion. Disney is my happiest place and I love making memories as a family together. I'm a big believer in transparency and share all of my real-life moments as a mother of four.

My work has been featured on Love What Matters, Today Parenting and Babywise.Life. I'm also honored to be a member of the Babywise Friendly Blog Network.

You can read more about our family on my About Me page. Also be sure to follow along with me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest!

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