19 Weeks Pregnant!

I turned 19 weeks pregnant on Sunday, September 25th. 

Baby Growth: Baby now measures about 6 inches long, top to bottom, and weighs in at about 8.5 ounces. The brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, vision, hearing and touch. Some say that baby can now hear our voices! The arms and legs are now in proportion to each other and the rest of the body now.

My Symptoms: I have sadly run out of my sample bottles of Diclegis and woke up this morning vomiting again. It happened 4 times before I was able to go pick up my refill of Zofran. The Diclegis isn't covered by insurance and is WAY WAY expensive, so I'm crossing my fingers that this is the last bottle of Zofran that I will need this pregnancy!

Hormones are definitely in full swing. I seem to cry at everything these days. Luke turns 1 tomorrow and I cried talking to him this morning about it. 

I have been getting SO dizzy. There was one day where I seriously thought something might be really wrong. I couldn't move without feeling like I was going to fall over. 

I'll get random cramps here and there. Nothing too bad though! 

Weight: I stepped on our scale in the bathroom and it hasn't changed. So, it looks like I haven't gained any weight since my last weigh in. 

Gender: Chloe now thinks the baby is a boy... which is a big surprise to me. She's been the one saying that if the baby isn't a girl, she won't be a happy camper. (Obviously I know she'll be smitten either way!)

Maternity Clothes: YES! My parents bought me a few new tops and a pair of pants for my birthday coming up and it was greatly appreciated! I already wore one of the new shirts :)

Movement: I don't feel it as much as I'd like, but I know that's because my placenta is anterior. As baby starts to get bigger, it will become more and more consistent. I do love when I feel this sweet one move though! 

Sleep: The girls have been coming into our room so much lately and I don't have the energy to move them. So it's been a cramped bed. Between that and getting up to use the restroom, sleep is becoming a thing of the past. (Not that I've had much sleep this past year anyway!)

Cravings: The cravings are pretty much the same with the salads. They're just so good to me! I've been letting myself indulge in pumpkin spice lattes lately and I am counting down until it's time for my favorite... the EGGNOG LATTE! Not too much longer! 

What I Miss: I am still missing Disney World like crazy and am waiting to hear if Josh will be able to take a few days off in November. Oh how I'd love to get a trip down there before baby is born! 

Best Moments of the Week: I made a hair appointment for next weekend! Y'all, I haven't had my hair colored since July of last summer. So, well over a year. I'm think I'm due for it, what about you? I'm thinking I want to just stay darker with a few natural highlights all over to give it dimension. I've been getting some ideas on Pinterest. I just want to keep it simple so it's easy to keep up with!

Questions/Concerns: I need to bring up the dizziness to my midwife again when I see her next week. I'm hoping she'll be able to grab me a few more sample bottles of Diclegis to have on hand at home, too.

Goals for the Week: Keep up with my workouts! Make sure I'm drinking tons of water and to stay on top of my supplements.

Belly Pictures: Taken by Mallory this week :)

18 Weeks Pregnant!

 I turned 18 weeks pregnant on Sunday, September 18th. 

Baby Growth: Baby now measures about 5.5 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 7 ounces. The blood vessels are visible through the thin skin and his/her ears are in their final position, although they're still standing out from the head a bit. A protective cover of myelin is beginning to form around the nerves, a process that will continue for a year after baby is born. 

My Symptoms: I had some MAJOR braxton hicks/cramping the other night. It got to a point where I had to just lay on the couch for 2 hours. I drank some water and just waited for it to disappear. Eventually it went away, but phew. That wasn't expected at all. 

Other than that, I haven't had anything new happening symptom wise. The headaches are pretty much still gone, so that's a plus! 

Weight: I have no idea and frankly, I don't even want to know right now.

Gender: TEAM GREEN! :) I couldn't even give you a guess this week as it changes daily. Boy or girl, we just want a happy and healthy little baby!

Maternity Clothes: YES! There's no way I could wear regular pants unless it's yoga pants or sweats. I still need to go shopping for more tops, but I'm waiting until it stays cool or if I find a decent sale. 

Movement: It's getting more consistent finally! It's literally the best feeling in the world! I notice that I'm feeling it more when I'm sitting or laying down.

Sleep: Luke is teething more and is back to waking up twice a night, so I'm up a few times. It's not too bad though and I'm getting decent stretches in between. When I wake up in the mornings though, it takes me a bit to actually want to get out of bed. I don't know if that's the Diclegis or what.

Cravings: I'm still wanting the southwest salads a lot. All salads sound good to me. I have a caesar salad in the fridge that I'm now thinking of going to snack on. What does craving salads mean? Anything?

What I Miss: I'm trying to convince Josh that we need to take a trip to Disney World in November when the kids have a few days off of school. The Christmas decorations would already be up and the weather would be so perfect. I am missing Disney World something fierce and I really want to go back. 

I'm also starting to get a little sad that pregnancy is already almost halfway over. I am by no means one of those ladies who just LOVES being pregnant, but you know what I mean. 

Best Moments of the Week: The weather has been beautiful these past few days! Not necessarily all sunshine and rainbows because we had some rain, but the temperatures have been perfect! I am so ready for this cooler weather to stay. I can't wait to wear my over-sized sweaters, boots and scarves.

Questions/Concerns: I scheduled a labor/delivery tour because I've heard various statements about laboring in the tub at our hospital. Some have told me yes, others have told me no. I am really wanting to labor in the water as long as I can. I know I can't actually deliver in the tub, but it would be a nice option to have since I'm aiming for an all natural birth. The new rooms are supposed to be beautiful, so I'm anxious to get a peek at those as well.

Goals for the Week: Same as last week... Drink more water! Eat more veggies! Exercise as much as I can! 

Belly Pictures: Taken by Chloe Grace again!

Encouraging Verses for Pregnancy and Labor/Delivery

I know labor is still a ways away, but it's been weighing on my mind a lot lately. I don't know if it's because I am so determined to have a VBAC, because I know what labor entails or because I'm just anxious, but I know that no matter what, God is in control and has his hands on the situation. 

I've started putting together some encouraging bible verses that I find myself reading quite often and I want to keep them all in one place for me to be able to just jump to when needed. I hope this will encourage some other mama to be's as they prepare for the birth of their baby! These are also wonderful to read over during your whole pregnancy as well. 

• "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ." (Philippeans 4:6, 7 NIV
• "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Philippeans 4:13)
• "You keep Him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because He trusts in you." (Isaiah 26:3)
• "My grace is enough; it is all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become!" (2 Cor. 12:9)
• "Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen, it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (Hebrew 11:1
• "For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing." (James 1:3-4)
• "Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Isaiah 41:10)
• "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you." (James 4:8)
• "But you, take courage! Do not let your hands be weak, for your work shall be rewarded."  (2 Chronicles 15:7)
• "Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved." (Psalm 55:22)

17 Weeks Pregnant!

I turned 17 weeks pregnant on Sunday, September 11th. I totally skipped 16 weeks and I'm sorry, but there's not much difference, I promise! 

Baby Growth: Baby now measures about 5 long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 5 ounces. The skeleton is changing from cartilage to bone and the umbilical cord is growing stronger and thicker. Baby can move the joints and the sweat glands are starting to develop. 

My Symptoms: I'm actually starting to finally feel better! LeeAnn gave me sample bottles of Diclegis at my last appointment to try since the Zofran didn't seem to be cutting it anymore. I take this new medication at night along with 150mg of Zantac and I've actually been waking up feeling so much better! I'm not 100%, but it's such a huge improvement! I don't have to wake up and throw up anymore and that has been such a relief! If I never throw up again the rest of my life, I'll be completely happy with that! :)

I haven't really had many headaches this week, so that's been a nice change as well. I seem to be getting a bit of energy back, but am still lacking any motivation to deep clean this house! 

Weight: I went up 1 lb this past month. So, I'm staying right on track and am proud of myself!

Gender: This week I've been getting girly vibes. Chloe desperately wants a little sister and talks about the baby being a girl constantly, so maybe that's why? Either way, we just want a happy and healthy baby!

Maternity Clothes: YES! I bought a maternity sweater type hoodie from Target last week and it's so comfy! I want to go back and grab it in the other colors because I know it's something I'll wear a lot in the coming months. I'm still looking for a cute pair of jeans! 

Movement: It's not consistent by any means yet and I found out it's because my placenta is sitting anterior... of course! Luke was my only pregnancy where the placenta wasn't sitting up against the top, but I'll take an anterior placenta over complete previa ANY DAY! Thank you Lord! 

Sleep: The Diclegis has been making me really sleepy, so I only wake up now when Luke starts to fuss. It's been really nice! I still have to go to bathroom during the night, but I usually just go right after I get Luke back down so I don't wake up any extra.

Cravings: I'm still wanting the southwest salads a lot. And the other night I wanted ice cream so badly, that Josh went out around 9:30 to grab some from the corner store. It really hit the spot! 

Other than that, there's nothing really I've been craving and seem to absolutely have to have! 

What I Miss: There's nothing I'm really missing this week. Well, I take that back. The big kids started school last week and Chloe started TODAY and I'm constantly wondering what they're doing this very minute and if they're having a fun time! 

Best Moments of the Week: I got a surprise ultrasound done yesterday and it was such a treat! Baby honestly looks so big and I will say, I wanted to peek at the gender but I held strong. The surprise is so much fun! I honestly think it's more seeing everyone else's reactions when they find out.

Questions/Concerns: I pretty much had all my concerns answered at the last appointment. I want Chloe to take the sibling class at the hospital and I'm sure Mallory would enjoy it as well, so I called to get the schedule and they told me to call in October when the January schedule would be released. I need to write that down so I can call and get registered! They offer a tour of the L&D unit after the class is over, so that would knock out me needing to schedule a separate tour for myself.

Goals for the Week: Same as last week... Drink more water! Eat more veggies! Exercise as much as I can! 

Belly Pictures: These were taken by Chloe Grace!

Mallory's Pre-K4 Graduation Ceremony

Back in the middle of June, we attended Mallory's Pre-K4 graduation ceremony. It was such a sweet little program. We listened to a few songs, each teacher called their students by name to stand and receive recognition and then when all was done, we went to the gathering room to enjoy some food and get pictures with their back drops. 

When we dropped her off that morning, I had to snap a picture of her last time getting out of the car as a Fantastic Frog!

Before the students entered, they had a cute little slideshow going of what each child wanted to be when they grew up. Mallory said she wanted to be a vet!

I couldn't have asked for better teachers for Mallory's last year of preschool. Mrs. Monica and Mrs. Donna were wonderful! 

It was a fun morning and I can't believe our girl is now a big Kindergartener! 

Baby #5 15 OBGYN Visit

This morning I went to my 15 week appointment! Can you believe I'll be 16 weeks in a couple of days? That's just insane to me. The pregnancy seemed to drag a bit in the beginning, but now that the kids are starting back to school soon and things are getting a bit busier, time is just flying! I mean pretty soon the holidays will be here, then it'll be January and then baby will coming the next month! WHAAAT!?

The appointment was routine and nothing out of the ordinary. I went back and left my urine sample and for some reason couldn't get the door to lock all of the way. I tried to rush because I was so worried someone would just walk right in and that would've been a little embarrassing in that situation. All was well and I didn't get any visitors! :)

The nurse took my weight and I almost closed my eyes. There's just something about it during pregnancy that seems to make it 10x worse in my opinion. Blood pressure was excellent and baby's heart rate was 158 today! 

LeeAnn came in and she just always makes me feel so comfortable! She looks me right in the eyes when she talks to me and she never once makes me feel like my questions aren't pertinent, especially with this being baby #5. We talked about how things were going, how I'm feeling and any questions or concerns I had. She felt my belly and was like, "Yep! Your uterus is right there!" I felt it, too and I'm happy I can tell exactly where it is. 

A few things we discussed today:

• I told her that I'm starting to get sick again even after taking Zofran in the morning and she mentioned giving Diclegis a try. She said to start with taking 1 before bed along with 150mg of Zantac. I am totally going to give it a try and cross my fingers this helps! She hooked me up with 3 sample bottles! 
• Since I'm going for a VBAC, I asked her if I could labor at home for awhile or if I needed to get to the hospital sooner to be monitored. She said we would go more in detail in the last 4 weeks of pregnancy, but that she has no issue with laboring at home for awhile. I am seriously wanting to show up to the hospital between 6-8 centimeters so I can have that baby FAST.
• We talked about me seeing her with each appointment to ensure that my birth plan goes the way I want it to. (the big part being NO C-SECTION) She wants me to meet the other doctors, but she'll tell me when to schedule with them. 
• I totally forgot that she immediately let me know all my previous blood work came back excellent and that baby looked PERFECT at my 12 week scan. She said I can cancel my 20 week scan with the high risk doctor and just have it done there at the office. YAY!

I go back in 5 weeks for the BIG appointment where we get my 20 week ultrasound. I can't wait! I love seeing being able to take a peek at the baby whenever I can! We just have to remind the ultrasound tech that we don't want to find out the gender! 

Thanking the Lord above for a healthy baby and pregnancy so far!