Chloe's 5 Year Well Check

Chloe had her 5 year well visit this morning on November 9th. I had totally forgot that it was scheduled for today until I got the call yesterday afternoon. I quickly put it into the calendar on my phone! (Mom brain of 5 anyone?!) Chloe hasn't missed a day of school yet so far this year and she was pretty upset she'd have to go in late. School begins at 9:00 and the appointment was scheduled for 9:30, so I promised her she wouldn't miss much at all.

We dropped Mallory off at school, quickly brought Luke and then I swung by Starbucks. I started getting nervous since the line was taking forever, but we made it right on time! I love our pediatrician! The office is small and never crowded. Everytime we're there, we're either the only family or one of two families being seen.

We were called back right away. The nurse asked the normal questions and then took her vitals. My kids all love getting their blood pressure checked. 

Getting weighed and measured! Today they were celebrating Veterans' Day at school with an assembly, so she was all decked in her Red, White & Blue! 

She didn't have to do a vision test this visit since we see an eye doctor yearly. (I need to schedule those appointments!) 

Chloe is 42 inches tall (45th percentile) and weighs 34lbs (25th percentile). She has grown a couple of inches since her last well check, but hasn't gone up in weight. Our pedi isn't super concerned with her weight. She's just a naturally TINY girl. She has been pretty picky about food for awhile, so we're going to start doing more smoothies and muffins with veggies snuck in. The doc also mentioned to let her have PediaSure, especially before bed as she won't burn off the calories quickly. 

It’s always fun to plug in the kids’ stats into the Baby Center Height Predictor and it says at age 18 Chloe will be 5’4″! I think she'll be a tad smaller, but we'll see! 

She's currently wearing 4t pants, but if it wasn't for length, she could easily be in 3t. Girl is tiny! She wears size 4t/5t shirts. 

The only vaccine suggested at this visit was her flu shot, but Chloe was super nervous. Dr. A asked her if she'd prefer the Flu Mist and at first she was like, "Ummm I don't know..." but quickly decided on that choice realizing she wouldn't have to have a needle. 

She took it like a champ and was like, "That's all?" She was definitely happy they had the mist option this year! 

All in all, Chloe had a wonderful appointment! She's a healthy girl! 

35 Weeks Pregnant

Baby Growth: Baby is around the size of a honeydew melon this week. Measuring over 18 inches long and over 5 lbs. The kidneys are fully developed and the liver can process waste. Most of the basic physical developments are now complete and he/she will spend the next few weeks putting on that weight! Yay! 

My Symptoms:  Shoot, the pressure between my legs is excruciating. I seriously find myself wanting to just cry anytime I walk. My midwife did a quick check last week at my appointment and although I'm still not dilated any, she did say that baby seemed super low and settled. So, at least we know he/she is in a good position and that when labor does start, it should happen pretty fast seeing as how the head is RIGHT THERE. 

I need to head over to Buy Buy Baby to get another support band. I can't find my old one and I bet it would really help me out a lot in these last few weeks with the pressure of how low I am. 

I've started becoming super itchy at night. I always end up having to ask Josh or one of the older kids to help scratch my back where I can't reach. 

Can I be completely honest here? I am miserable about 80% of the time these days. I don't know if it's because it's my 5th baby, the fact I was pregnant with Luke only last year or the combo of everything, but phew. It's been EXHAUSTING! I'm constantly out of breath, my hips and back are hurting, I waddle. I'm just a mess! 

Weight: I had an appointment this past Friday and I've only gained 1 pound since my last appointment 2.5 weeks ago! This is amazing, y'all. 

Maternity Clothes: Yoga pants and LLR leggings are my BFF at this point! I love my oversized t-shirts and maternity hoodies.

Movement: Lots and lots of movement going on! I can totally feel rolling sensations, lots of hiccups and kicks/jabs. 

Sleep: I find myself tired all of the time, but it's hard to fall asleep at night. I'm just so restless. When I stretch my legs, I get charlie horses in my calves and that's so painful. I've been congested these past few weeks, so it's harder to breathe at night with all of the stuffiness.

Cravings: I've wanted ice cream recently. And chocolate has been sounding good.

What I Miss: Sleeping on my stomach, still. Being comfortable. Not waddling or feeling like someone has punched me repeatedly between the legs.

Best Moments of the Week: Luke, Chloe, Mallory & I went bowling with mama last night. The girls had a blast and even Luke ended up bowling the 2nd game. HE LOVED IT!

Questions/Concerns: I'm finding myself nervous about delivery. I've done this 4 times before... I'll be okay! 

Goals for the Week: I've started getting our hospital bags ready, so I want to have those completely finished and ready to go. 

Still need to finish painting Jake's bedroom at some point along with his new curtains. 

Belly Pictures:

How to make Padsicles

Padsicles are probably the number one item I recommend to pregnant friends. My hospital only gives out the ice packs for the first 24 hours, but let me tell you, you're going to want them a lot longer. With the combo of aloe, soothing witch hazel and the ice coldness of the pads, these are HEAVEN! They're inexpensive, easy to make and easy to store right in your freezer so you can grab 'em and go.

WHAT YOU NEED:

• Pads - You're pretty much safe with any overnight pad, but I seem to grab the Always brand every time with the heaviest absorbency. 
• Aloe Vera - Make sure it's the GEL version and 100% aloe. 
• Witch Hazel - I just grabbed a bottle from Target. Check to make sure it's alcohol-free. 
• Storage Freezer Bags
• Spoon to spread the aloe and pour the witch hazel
• Optional: Lavender EO

1. Unwrap the pad keeping the adhesive in tact.

2. Carefully remove the two adhesive strips and set them aside to place back on when finished. 

3. Squirt the aloe gel along the length of pad and spread out using the back of the spoon.

4. Pour witch hazel into the spoon and evenly pour along the pad.

5. Carefully place the adhesive strips back onto the pad and place into the storage bag. 

6. Now keep repeating this process until you have as many made as you'd like! 

From here, just make some room in your freezer for the bag and voila! Padsicles! Take one out when you get home from giving birth and just wear it as you would a regular pad. These just feel so much better! 

Have you ever made padsicles? I'd love to hear! 

33 Weeks Pregnant!

I was 33 weeks on Sunday, January 1st! Of course I've slacked in the updating department even though I said I wouldn't. So sorry! 

Baby Growth: Baby now weighs about 4 lbs (Baby H was measuring in at an estimated 4lbs, 3oz at our ultrasound last week!) and is over 17 inches long. Baby is growing like crazy and may grow up to an inch in length this week alone! The bones are starting to harden and he/she is also starting to keep their eyes open when awake. 

My Symptoms:  What symptoms am I not having should be the question. I have hip pain, braxton hicks contractions, heartburn, stuffy nose, headaches, back pain, etc. I know that sounds like I'm complaining, but with having a sinus infection, I am feeling like a hot mess and with the added weight of the baby, it's just been HARD.

Weight: No idea.

Maternity Clothes: You know it! Lots of yoga pants and big tshirts at home. I wear my LuLaRoe clothing a lot when I leave the house these days. It's so comfy!

Movement: Lots and lots of movement going on! At my appointment last week, LeeAnn determined that baby is head down and in a good position. So, that's always a nice thing to hear! I feel tons of hiccups and lots of movement along the sides. 

Sleep: Hardly getting any sleep these days. Between Luke waking up super early and me just being sick and not able to breathe well, it's been pretty broken up. I try to get in a nap during the day if I can, but it just hasn't been working out in my favor.

Cravings: MEXICAN FOOD is all I have been wanting! I haven't had any lately and I need to change that. It just sounds SO good to me right now. 

What I Miss: Sleeping on my stomach. I kind of lay now with one half of my stomach on the bed, but it's totally not the same.

Not feeling tired. I know that's a crazy one seeing as how I have 4 children and one on the way, but hopefully with the sickness coming to an end, I'll be able to get a little more sleep and feel rested.

^ Totally kept it the same from my 28 week update because all of that is so true. 

Best Moments of the Week: CHRISTMAS was last week! It's totally my favorite time of the year and we had such a fun day! The kids all loved waking up to see what Santa brought them and everyone was just so happy opening presents and playing with their new toys.

Questions/Concerns: Nothing really sticks out to me this week. I need to keep an eye on my BH contractions, but other than that, things are pretty good! 

Goals for the Week: Finish organizing everyone's closets/rooms and deep clean the house. I can finally say that I'm ALL caught up on laundry. Y'all have no idea how happy that makes me! Now I can stay ahead and it just seriously makes me feel so much better.

We need to finish painting the girls' room and Jake's room. Although, I guess we should wait a week or two since we have our one year walk through with the builders on the 13th where they'll be taking care of nail pops, etc.

 Make sure I'm drinking tons of water and to stay on top of my supplements.

Belly Pictures: Coming soon! I just wanted to get this post up today! 

28 Weeks Pregnant

Y'all, I am so sorry that I let myself fall behind on the pregnancy updates. I was so excited that I was actually documenting this one in the blog since I never did with any of the others. (Awful, I know!) 

I was 28 weeks yesterday! WE HAVE HIT THE 3RD TRIMESTER! Time seems to be flying! I literally had to double check what week I was in. (Thanks, 5th baby!) 

Baby Growth: Baby now measures about 14.8 inches long and weighs in at about 2 1/4 lbs. He/She can blink their eyes, which are now sporting lashes. Baby may be able to see light that filters into the womb. How neat! Also developing billions of neurons in the brain and adding more body fat in prep for life in the outside world. Baby chub! 

My Symptoms: Phew, do I have some crazy symptoms. Last week, I ended up having to call my doctor's office after experiencing painful contractions all morning. I would get super nauseous at the peak of each one and they just weren't letting up. Combined with just an overall crappy feeling, I knew something was up. Lo and behold, I ended up having an awful bladder infection. The doctor I saw said that nausea/vomiting is one of the first signs that gives it away in patients who are farther along. No wonder I was in so much pain! I am actually so grateful for those contractions because I would've never called my doctor otherwise.

Some days I'm really hungry and other days, my stomach just feels so full. On Friday, I really wanted a burrito from Chick-Fil-A for breakfast. I got sick all over the parking lot as soon as I was eating. I felt my stomach tighten just like it did last week, I couldn't breathe and then I just had to let it go. I gave the other guests pulling in quite a show. 

Weight: No idea.

Gender: This will be the last week I include this gender portion in these updates since we aren't finding out. Feel free to still throw guesses our way! 

Maternity Clothes: Definitely wearing maternity jeans, but am still mostly sporting yoga pants around the house or even when I run out for quick errands. It's just the most comfortable for me right now. I'm looking forward to this cooler weather sticking around because I love wearing big sweaters and scarves!

Movement: Holy moly is this child a mover and a shaker! My placenta is no longer anterior and I can feel everything! It's such an awesome feeling and by far, my favorite part of pregnancy. It's always the one thing I say that I miss after the baby is born. It's just so special! Baby had the hiccups the other day for the first time that I noticed and as I sit here typing right now, I just got a huge kick on my lower right side. 

Sleep: SLEEP? WHAT'S THAT?! With Luke being sick, we've been up all night. It's hard for him to get comfortable and his nose is so stuffed up no matter how many times we get all the gunk out. It causes him to cough and in turn, makes him so mad. Hopefully we're over all the sickness here soon. Thank goodness for SPARK & REHYDRATE!

He has been waking up SO early these days, too... just for the heck of it!

Cravings: I honestly don't really have too many cravings right now. Like I said, the other morning I wanted CFA, but other than that, I can't really think of anything. I do love my carbs though! 

What I Miss: Sleeping on my stomach. I kind of lay now with one half of my stomach on the bed, but it's totally not the same.

Not feeling tired. I know that's a crazy one seeing as how I have 4 children and one on the way, but hopefully with the sickness coming to an end, I'll be able to get a little more sleep and feel rested. 

Best Moments of the Week: Mallory's first cheer competition! Oh, it was so much fun watching my sweet girl out there light up the mat! She has so much confidence and I am just SO proud of her! I'll do a post more in-depth later on.

Thanksgiving was this past Thursday. It was wonderful, relaxing and Luke found a new favorite holiday! 

We also visited the Christmas Tree Farm yesterday afternoon and picked out a gorgeous tree! This is our first year having a live tree and we saw it fitting seeing as how it's our first Christmas in our new home. Can't wait to decorate!

Questions/Concerns: I have my glucose test coming up this week. I am praying that I pass again this pregnancy! 

Goals for the Week: Keep up with my workouts! I did a prenatal barre workout yesterday morning. OH MY GOODNESS, Y'ALL. My whole body was shaking! I know if I can get that done 3-4 times a week, I should have no problems getting back into shape after baby.

 Make sure I'm drinking tons of water and to stay on top of my supplements.

Belly Pictures:

Chloe's First School Field Trip: Clark's Farm

Earlier this month, Chloe had her first school field trip to Clark's Farm. It's a sweet little farm that hosts a fall festival each year and then they have Christmas trees during the holiday season. It's perfect for the 2-5 year old age range because it's small and they can literally just run around and have fun!

When we first got there, everyone gathered at the picnic tables to listen to the staff tell us about how a pumpkin grows. The kids got to take a peek inside and see the seeds.

Chloe's class was the first to paint pumpkins! Each child got to pick a small pumpkin from the patch and then paint them until their hearts content. 

I love the little art shirts they had for each of the kids to wear. They all looked so cute!

Afterwards, they gathered on the haystack to take a class picture. Aren't they just the sweetest?

Time to play! 

I want to make this one an annual picture so we can see how much she grows each year! I should've had Luke stand up so we could grab one of him, but he was content in the stroller just watching everything. Of course Jake and Mallory were at school, so we'd have to go on a weekend to have everyone there! 

It was a fun morning enjoying Chloe's first field trip and I look forward to many more!