Maternity Photos with Baby #3

To celebrate our last week-ish of pregnancy, I thought I would share a few of my favorite maternity photos! I wasn't planning on having official photos taken, but we got super lucky and won a "model call" from a local photographer! She chose the location (the butterfly center at the Houston Museum of Natural Science), provided my dress and we got to have a fun evening together in addition to these photos to remember this special time. (We have actually never had official, professional maternity photos taken, so this was a super fun first for us!) A HUGE thank you to Kimberly Burleson Photography for capturing these meaningful moments! (P.S. These were taken back in July, when I was 29 weeks pregnant.)

Weeks 27, 28 and 29 - Baby #3!

So whenever I try to research when the third trimester ACTUALLY starts I get conflicting results. Some places say week 28, some places say week 27... who knows. "The Pregnant Body Book" (which I looooove by the way!) says that weeks 27-40 are considered the third trimester so that's what I'm going with! Here is the brief recap of the first few weeks of my THIRD trimester (whaaat??)

Week 27
- Bought a third car seat this week! Aaah!
- Linea nigra finally showed up
- 4th of July! This is the first 4th of July I have ever been pregnant for - weird! (I was also able to get a 3 mile run in that morning and another later this week!)
- Entered and won a "model call" for a free maternity shoot! I am so excited to take some time to capture this time with baby girl growing inside (and make a nice date night out of it with hubby)!
- Pregnancy insomnia and/or major stress has made sleeping very difficult and I find myself laying in bed wide awake frequently
- It's been several weeks since I have felt like "myself" but this week things seemed to get even harder. Despite the holiday, things just feel so chaotic and stressful. Preparing for (or even just knowing) that our family "vacation" was coming up is enough alone to make any mom feel a little stressed. Then on top of that there were so many other small things that just seemed to keep piling up and piling up. Just to name a few... my wedding rings stopped fitting, I was stressed out with trying to tie up some loose ends with a bride before we left for the week, I had reached out to a therapist (more on this soon) and just couldn't seem to get things to work out there and also took myself for a mani/pedi that was just NOT relaxing at all. (Something that I am learning is that when I try to do things for myself for a little "self care" and they do not according to plan it makes things for me feel SO much worse than if I hadn't even attempted it in the first place! Leaning new things about myself...) I have been so frustrated and overwhelmed and honestly haven't even had a moment to take a breath to start preparing for our vacation other than just acknowledging that yes, that is happening next week.
- We ended this week with our flight to NYC, which was (mostly) good (other than my breakdown right when we got on the plane due to exhaustion, hunger and physical discomfort - a true recipe for disaster for anyone especially a pregnant lady!) The kids did great, we took a cab to our hotel (which was the perfect setup for us) and had a fabulous dinner and evening.

Trial run trying to fit 3 across in our CR-V - SUCCESS!

Week 28
- This week we were in New York City for a few days and then drove upstate! We spent a little bit of time visiting our friends at their lakehouse in Chestertown, NY and then spent 2 nights in Albany. There were many fun and special moments as well as many very difficult ones throughout the week. This week it was incredibly difficult to focus on anything really pregnancy-related as we were fairly pre-occupied while traveling across the country with our crew!
- One highlight - a 3 mile run in central park with baby girl!
- Also, while in the city, I had a couple of brief moments where I was able to feel joy and truly relaxed deep down. While these moments didn't last for very long, they gave me hope that perhaps I will start to feel happier and more like myself soon.
- The week ended with us flying home and having a somewhat relaxing weekend recovering (date night at the movies included).

Happiness.

 

Baby girl does NYC!!

Upstate!

Week 29
- Got sick again (thanks to traveling I'm sure!) and Ryan also caught it too. Luckily it's just a sinus thing - no drainage and doesn't seem to be affecting the way we feel other than not being able to smell, taste or breathe! Wells also came down with the stomach bug this week, so I'm REALLY hoping no one else gets it - especially me!! That was quite stressful though to have him throwing up and unable to keep water down. Luckily we had some zofran on hand - that stuff is magical!!! It only lasted a few hours and when he woke up the next morning he seemed fine.
- Worked my last wedding with baby girl on the inside!
- Ryan and I had our maternity shoot this week and had so much fun! It felt really nice to do something together that was just about us and baby girl growing inside of me. We made a nice date night out of it.
- I also finally got in touch with a therapist this week and set met with her for the first time this week which went well (more on this later...)
- Life feels SO hard and I have really been struggling to find (any) joy in life as well as this pregnancy specifically - which makes me feel even more sad. I feel like this pregnancy is flying by before I can even catch my breath and I don't like it. The silver lining is that Ryan and I have been feeling more connected that ever and I feel SO supported by him. We are going through the storm together and that part feels good just knowing that he is and has been with me every inch of the way. I am hoping that next week will bring more ease, relaxation and joy now that my last wedding to work is out of the way! Ready for life to feel less overwhelming...I was able to go a few days without a major breakdown so I feel like we're making a little progress.
- I have started feeling more kicks/movements in multiple places on my belly at the same time but was still ONLY feeling baby girl below my belly button. However... on day 6, I FINALLY got my first rib kick!! It took her longer than anyone else (no thanks to you anterior placenta!) but I cried tears of joy when I finally felt that.

Heading to our maternity shoot!

Week 28 and 29

Week 28

Major events: Nothing major this week - our lives are finally slowing down from a super crazy fall and holiday season... at this point our calendar is almost completely clear between now and when baby comes - yay! Time to finally get started on that nursery... the clock is running out!

Size of baby: Eggplant

Sleep: Fine...

Cravings: Orange juice?? Not sure if that is an actual pregnant craving or just an exercise induced craving... (during a 10 mile run I kept passing a lot of citrus trees with a bunch of ripe oranges. All I could think about was drinking a nice cold glass of OJ at the end of the run!)

Aversions: None

Movement: Yes yes! I have been experiencing some pain as well...Most of the time baby boy's feet are way off in my right side. Lately, a lot of times when he kicks a certain spot on that side it sends a line of pain straight across my lower belly. It feels like a knife slicing me straight across, or like someone has a piece of barbed wire around me and suddenly yanks it tight from behind. It is hard not to react to these pains but it often is hard not to, with gasps or facial expressions. Since these "zingers" only last 2 seconds or so at a time and seem to come and go based on his position I think this is just him stretching me too much sideways from the inside. I know he is stretching out because I can also feel his head poking my left side simultaneously. It is very uncomfortable. Also, (and this is not totally movement related) but I am really feeling the pressure of my uterus and other organs moving upwards. I have been feeling a lot of neck and shoulder pain - exactly what it feels like after abdominal surgery when there is a lot of air trapped inside of you and it presses all of your organs up and into the muscles in your neck and shoulders. Ugh it's such a gross and uncomfortable and painful feeling. Luckily this is not something that I have been feeling regularly though - just a few times. 

Belly button in or out? In

Weight gain: 20 lbs.

Missing: Feeling like I have to pee only when I actually have to... I have officially entered the stage where I rush to the bathroom and immediately think "That's it?!?" after I only go like, 2 drops. Oh geeze. 

Best part of this week:  As I was making Heidi's lunch one morning before she went to MDO, she was sitting in her high chair eating her breakfast. She kept calling me over to give me a big hug and/or a big kiss. I just couldn't handle it and basically cried the whole time I was making her lunch. I just love her so much!! I didn't even care that it took me like, 20 minutes to actually make her lunch. 

Hardest part of this week: VERY draining and exhausting day at the mall. it was awful...Super duper long story but I ended up spending 4+ hours at the mall waiting for an appt. at The Apple Store only to find out they were going to make me wait another 2 hours to get my phone fixed. Heidi was with me and this was between 3pm and about 7:30pm... luckily Ryan was able to come to my rescue around 5:30/6:00ish... but I was physically and emotionally drained (also running off of a PB&J sandwich I had eaten around 1pm). I lost it on the Apple people (which I hate doing) but the situation wasn't going to be rectified if I had just walked away. In the end I ended up getting what I felt was fair but I didn't exactly mark it as a "win" because of how upset I had to get. I cried the whole way home and pretty much just cried until we went to sleep that night. It was so awful and I was just so glad that the day was over. I felt so bad for making Heidi do that (even though she was such a good girl) but at the same time I was so grateful that I didn't have to face that day alone and that she was with me. I was so overwhelmed with how happy it made me to be with her and have her there.

Looking forward to: Running a half marathon next week (and it's a CHOCOLATE half marathon!!!) and announcing our new baby's name (hopefully) in the next week or so. 

Emotions: Some days are more emotional than others, tiredness/exhaustion drastically affects this as well. 

Major events: Glucose test; ran a half marathon!!

Size of baby: Butternut squash

Sleep: A little better...

Cravings: None

Aversions: None

Movement: Yes, still experiencing the same zinging pain across my lower belly when he stretches out sideways

Belly button in or out? In...but starting to look very shrively and gross. 

Weight gain: 23 lbs

Missing: Bending, laying on my stomach... the physical discomforts of not being able to move normally are starting to set in! 

Best part of this week: Successfully running a half-marathon in a semi-decent amount of time (2 hours 12 minutes!) and getting to spend lots of time with my man! Also had some awesome dance parties with Heidi and at one point she just rested her head on my shoulder as we danced around. I loved thinking that I was dancing with BOTH of my babies.

Hardest part of this week: Heidi got pretty sick so that was a little tough (2 nights of her getting ZERO sleep due to so much coughing) and we left her with my in-laws for part of this time. Even though she doesn't really ever act like she's miserable (she still runs around like a complete maniac) it was still so hard to leave her behind. Evenings are consistently hard for me. Not any one evening in particular... When I wake up in the morning I feel great. My stomach and organs all feel normal and I don't feel that crammed or full. However, by the time the evening rolls around and Ryan gets home from work, I feel SO full. I literally feel like I just ate 6 Thanksgiving dinners even if I haven't eaten in hours. At dinner, I am stuck in this weird place of being really hungry, but also having a stomach ache and feeling like I can't put another crumb inside of my body. It's very strange. After dinner, I am usually feeling pretty rough. Just SO full. I have definitely reached the point in this pregnancy where I am questioning how it's possible to still have 10 weeks left of growing... something I thought wouldn't happen this being my second time to go through this. (With my first pregnancy, I can remember looking at my tiny 20-something week belly thinking "I'M HUGE!!" and then at 39 weeks realizing how small I was in those pictures haha.) I can really feel my uterus and other organs pressing into my stomach and it doesn't feel good when this is occurring. Evenings are rough, which is hard because there are still plenty of things and chores that need to "get done" (cooking dinner, bathing Heidi, straightening up, folding laundry, etc.) and laying on the couch doing nothing isn't exactly an option (even if my husband insists that it is - I refuse to make him do everything)! 

Looking forward to: Having more free time, preparing more for baby and actually MEETING baby!! Can't wait for that first skin-to-skin and that first latch.

Emotions: I have had a few emotional days where I just feel overwhelmed or like crying for no reason. Again, a lot of times food, a shower or sleep will help with this (much like during postpartum)!!

A few pictures from the race....! (P.S. I highly recommend this race to anyone looking for a "smaller" half. It's a womens' only race in San Antonio and only about 550 or so ran the half. The perfect size in my opinion!)

The best thing about a "Cocoa Run"... chocolate at the finish line!!!!!

29 weeks pregnant.

Also pancakes at the finish line... I made a chocolate pancake taco - a pancake filled with chocolate chips. YUM!!! (Also not pictured: lots of hot chocolate and breakfast tacos!)

Week 29

Major events:  Bayou City Classsic 10K; daylight savings time (woo woo!); caught a super bad cold;

Size of baby:  Butternut squash

Sleep:  Usually bad, but it varies from night to night.  I have been trying to stop drinking liquids early in the evening to help with bathroom trips throughout the night... seems to be helping.

Cravings:  Sugar, chocolate, sweets.  Always.

Movement:  Tons of movement every day.  Plenty of rib kicks, bladder stomps and somersaults.

Belly button in or out?  In!

Missing:  Those AWESOME 1st and 2nd trimester hormones that cause your sex drive to skyrocket.  You basically turn into a dude and want action all. the. time.  It's amazing.  Not so much in the third trimester... Sorry Ryan :(

Best part of this week:  Running a 10K and feeling GREAT afterwards!!  I was so happy to be able to say I did it, I cried my eyes out in Ryan's arms immediately after I crossed the finish line.  (I had my first "bad" run last week, just 3 days before the race.  I was worried that I wasn't going to be able to run the 10K.  Looking back, I think I just did too much that one day [yoga AND a 4 mile run] But I ran great, finished and felt so good!)  It was one of my best runs in a while and I am so grateful.  

Hardest part of this week:  Getting sick!  I was hoping to go this whole pregnancy without catching anything...but Tuesday afternoon it hit me. I haven't even felt pregnant at all these last few days because all of the symptoms from this cold have taken over my body.   I am SO lucky that Ryan was working from home on Wednesday because we had a doctor appointment.  I don't know what I would have done if I had to face that day alone.  Also, OH. MY. GOSH. Holy heartburn.  I have never had heartburn like this before and it. is. horrible.  I woke up at 3:30 a.m. (the morning of the 10K of course) in so much pain.  I woke Ryan up around 4:00 a.m. because I just couldn't bear it.  I was never able to go back to sleep.  Hot tea seemed to help a little.  Luckily, it's been a few days since I have experienced this... (I even had pizza for dinner one night and had no issues.  Yay!)

Looking forward to:  Babymoon less than 2 weeks away!  And also picking a name.  There are still a couple of top contenders that we are debating between, but I think we are getting close!

Emotions:  Excited for baby!  Made a packing list for the hospital and a list of postpartum necessities to buy, which just intensifies the anticipation.

Some pictures from this past week...

Pre-race shot.  My shirt says "Yes, my doctor says it's OK to run".

Post race with my mom and Eric.

Me and my mom feeling good.  (MAN I wish I could have a post-race beer!!)

My best friend and biggest fan. :)

Sick = kleenex, liquids, ice cream, chocolate and HGTV.  Blegh.