25 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 25 Weeks (completed 6/21/14)

Shirt: Motherhood Maternity   Shorts: Motherhood Maternity   Sandals: DSW

 
 Total weight gain: Oh man, are you ready for this? I gained a LOT this week! YIKES! I'm up a total of 20lbs... just a little ahead of the 'recommended' weight gain according to the books. But hey, those pounds were delicious, haha ;)

Maternity/baby clothes: Nothing new

Stretch marks? Looks like I've gotten just a couple more on my sides. No fun, but what are you gonna do right? They're genetic. I'm dealing with it.

Sleep: Terrible.... just terrible. I can't get comfortable. I've been waking up to use the restroom a lot again (I guess that's just what happens when baby gets bigger huh?). But the worst thing is that my hips are KILLING me! I wake up constantly, having to switch sides because my hip hurts so bad from the pressure (I'm assuming). I'll wake up and stretch it to try to relieve some of the pain, but it doesn't help much. The pain sticks around all day too. Sleeping this week just hasn't been my cup of tea.

Best moment this week: Our 1 year anniversary! I cannot believe it has been a year since we got married. Time just flies by, and now we're going to be having a baby in just over 3 months. Life is insane. But a good insane. I'm loving it!
We didn't do much to celebrate since we are saving up for baby, but we spent a really great day together. And really, what else do you need to have a good time, other than your spouse? It's not about how much you spend or what you do, but about the company you're with. My company couldn't have been any better. Mushy, I know, but I just love my husband and am so grateful for his love and all his hard work (always), but especially lately putting in 65-70 hour work weeks.
So for our anniversary, we got up and had breakfast at Kneaders, because quite frankly we're obsessed with their french toast! Then we came home, did some cleaning that we didn't have time for earlier that week so the house would be clean to come home to that night. Then we may, or may not have taken a nap... okay, so we did. Haha what can I say, we were both tired! After our lovely nap, we got ready, grabbed some shakes, and headed out to the Utah Valley Parade of Homes.

To the first home of the day.

We spent a lot of time in the car, lots of chatting about the future, and thinking back to our wedding day.

Mmmm.... shakes! And being silly of course, which is what we do.

After our long day of driving and walking through some really beautiful, and some not so beautiful homes, we headed off to dinner. We went back to where we had our first date (and the chips and salsa/queso we were craving)... Chilis. Classy, I know ;)
It was delicious! We headed home after filling up on some really delicious food and played some card games, we LOVE card games. I can't remember who won, we were both pretty out of it at this point. Then the rest of the night we just relaxed and enjoyed each others company. Great day, great night, great first year! Love you babe!

Photo Credit: Mikki Platt Photography

Miss anything? Being able to sleep comfortably.

Movement: Yes, however her movements decreased by a ton the beginning of this week. I hated it. She was so so calm. She would move maybe once or twice like every 5 hours, very very unlike her. I wish I could say it didn't scare me at all, but I'm already a worry wart, so of course, I worried. Luckily at the end of the week she perked up a bit. Not much, but was a little back to her normal active self, thank heavens.

Food cravings: No real cravings this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not this week!

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: None

Symptoms: Continued congestion, acid reflux, dry skin, leg cramps, blah blah blah. These get old don't they? I'll throw in some new ones. Not all bad either! I have noticed my appetite has increased, I'm back to eating like I did before I was pregnant. After the whole nausea of the first trimester my appetite just kind of stayed low for most of this trimester too. So glad it's back! I've noticed the last week or two also that my hair is getting thicker, and I lose less in the shower than I used to. It's always grown fast, so I haven't noticed an increase in its growth as far as length goes. Not so fun symptom is my back pain has increased quite a bit this week.

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy :)

 
Looking forward to: Our next appt! And our 2nd year of marriage :)

24 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 24 Weeks (completed 6/14/14)

Maternity Dress from Target. Cardigan... I seriously can't remember where I got it, it's been too long.

 

 Total weight gain: I was down 1lb all week. So, total gained thus far is 17lbs.

Maternity/baby clothes: Nothing new.

Stretch marks? Sticking with what I've got so far. I didn't notice any new ones this week.

Sleep: Not bad, not great. Tons of really really weird dreams this week though. Seriously, so strange.

Best moment this week: Going to Hogle Zoo with my hubby on Saturday. It was fun to get out of the house, though we were completely exhausted by the time we got home. We both took really long naps. We're old! Haha! Best part of the zoo (and I think my husband would agree), just might have been lunch. I mean seriously, it was soooo good! Just a burger and fries, but incredibly tasty.

Best burger and fries I've had in... well, I don't even know how long because they may have been the best ones I've ever had. Good job Hogle Zoo!

Nom Nom Nom!

Second best part of the zoo? The bears of course! Not just because they are my favorite animal, but because they were actually awake and doing things. They were chasing each other around, fighting, and just playing in general. Kind of looked like a lovers quarrel too between the 1 male and 2 females.

On the run!

Miss anything? Not missing much this week. Life and pregnancy is good :)

Movement: Yes! She just gets stronger and stronger by the week (thank goodness!). Also, she will now sometimes react back to me when I push on my belly in places. It's just the cutest getting to interact with her in some small way! Melts my heart already <3

Food cravings: A doughnut! We were at the zoo and I saw someone walking around with a doughnut, after that... I just HAD to have one. And seriously, it was like the best one ever. I don't know what the zoo does to make their food so tasty, but if you're there you should try their doughnuts for sure! Okay, so maybe this wasn't a real pregnancy craving, but this section is always so boring.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not this week!

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: None

Symptoms: Continued congestion and acid reflux per usual. Still been getting some occasional cramps/contractions. Extremely dry skin... note: black clothes and dry skin do not mix. Also, due to me trying to prevent leg cramps, my ankles are killing me. Weird right? Well let me explain. When I wake up I always have slight leg cramps, and I know that if I stretch my legs out and point my toes as usual when I wake up, it will make them about a million times worse. So instead of pointing my toes, I flex my feet hard for a while til the cramp goes away. Due to all this flexing, and not stretching, it is oddly starting to hurt my ankles. I don't know what's worse, the ankle pain or leg cramps.

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time? Mostly happy, slight moodiness after my nap on Saturday, but that is pretty typical of me after taking naps anyway.

 
Looking forward to: Our 1 year anniversary! It's next week, and though we aren't planning on doing much since we are saving for baby, I am still very excited! What a great milestone :)

23 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 23 Weeks (completed 6/7/14)

T-Shirt: Target (Maternity Section) and Skirt: Non-Maternity from Target. Gotta love comfy maxi's!

Total weight gain: Finally got a chance to weigh in... and it was a little depressing, haha but it is what it is right? I'm up a total of 18 lbs so far. Eek!

Maternity/baby clothes: Nothing new in this section.

Stretch marks? Thankfully nothing more than what I've previously mentioned, and I'm REALLY hoping it stays that way. Though I know it's highly unlikely.

Sleep: Not so great this week. Not so great at all. I tossed and turned a LOT! I just could not get comfortable, with or without the body pillow. Sleep was definitely a struggle. Let's hope next week is a little better!

Best moment this week: Our doctor's appointment! Got to see our little girl again, and that is always a joy! :)
She is looking healthy still, but they again weren't able to get everything they needed. So bummer (NOT!) we have to get another ultrasound at our next appt. Super excited! She has flipped, so she isn't breech anymore... as of right now. But who knows come next time. They were unable to see her little lips though to rule out a cleft lip. Hopefully she'll let us sneak a peak in 4 weeks.


Miss anything? It has been getting harder to get up from sitting and/or laying positions. So I'm missing being able to just get right up when I need to. I make so many funny noises trying to get up now, it's got to be amusing to those around me. It's not so bad when I'm in a hard chair like at work or church or something, but when it comes to soft things like couches and beds... it's a problem. Haha!

Movement: Yes! Lots, and John has been able to feel more movement lately too. Instead of just one big kick every once in a while, he'll feel a couple in a row or just more of her movements in general. I love being able to share that with him. Also, she is big enough now that I can actually see some of her big movements when I look at my belly. It's so fun... and weird. I don't think it'll ever not be a little weird.
Oh and also, my adorable little kitty Kissa (Kees-a) loves to lay on my belly when we are watching tv. She always has, ever since she was just a tiny little kitten. But I don't think the baby likes her laying there anymore. Everytime Kissa lay's on my belly, baby kicks hard and repeatedly. It's so funny because I know Kissa can feel it now. It irritates her so she always jumps off and cuddles with John instead. I'm sad that I won't get to cuddle with her much longer, but it's fun to see this tiny bit of interaction between the two.

Kissa laying on my growing belly. Love her and her cuddles :)

Food cravings: Nothing still

Anything making you queasy or sick? Not this week!

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: None

Symptoms: Some continued congestion and acid reflux per usual. I've got a feeling those will be sticking around til the end. Also I've still been getting cramps/contractions. But nothing to be worried about. They don't happen often enough to be of any concern as our doctor told us. He did give us more info on all that though in case things change. Another thing I've had ongoing for pretty much the whole pregnancy that I think I've mentioned previously, I just haven't listed it every week is my dry skin. It's just terrible. Always super super dry. Thank heavens for lotion! I hate dry skin. Other than that, I've been feeling pretty good. I am so grateful for the second trimester and the ease that it brings compared to the first!

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time? Might have been a little (okay, a lot) moody at the end of this week. Hormones much? Sorry to my hubby for taking the brunt of it. I think I jinxed myself by recently telling someone that I have been less hormonal pregnant than I was prior to pregnancy. Oops!

 
Looking forward to: Having absolutely no plans next week! Sometimes it's just nice to not have to worry about anything taking up your weeknights. I plan to actually cook, get some cleaning done, and a whole lot of relaxing. It will be great!

22 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 22 Weeks (completed 5/31/14)

Total weight gain: I was out of town again for this week's weigh in... so who knows! I can't even remember the last time I got on the scale. It's been a busy couple of weeks. But I'll be sure to weigh in next week since we have nothing going on over my usual weigh in day.

Maternity/baby clothes: No new clothes for me. Really there probably won't be any new ones for a while, if at all. So I'm changing this category to be Maternity/Baby Clothes... because well, I want to show off the cute things I've been receiving and the few I've purchased. 
In this weeks pictures I am wearing maternity capris from Macy's and that's it for maternity wear. The shirt is just a plain t-shirt from Target.

 
Now, check out the cute things we've received from Grandma Dudley so far! I know she's bought more, but I haven't seen it yet.

All the clothes are from Carters and Osh Kosh. I'm not sure where she got the nursing pillow, swaddles, or leggings from.

These are items I've bought so far for our little girl.

The two really bright ones were bought a couple months apart. Forgot I had bright stuff already, but apparently I really like that bright coral color.
The 'Sweet Like Grandma' outfit is from Macys. And the other two are from Carters.

Stretch marks? Unfortunately, I do have something to report in this section this week. First I noticed just a couple new ones on my sides. They are small now, but who knows how much they'll spread. And remember the new ones on my legs from last week? Yeah, those are for sure stretch marks, and there are a ton of them! When I realized how bad they were, I almost started crying... literally. Even just thinking about them right now makes me want to burst into tears. I have been having a really hard time with all the body changes that have been going on lately. I just can't look in a mirror for a while. It's depressing. However, I know every stretch mark and change that my body makes will be totally worth it the first moment I meet our little girl.

Sleep: Pretty good this week really. I can't complain :)

Best moment this week: So many good moments this week!

First: A huge thanks and shout out to these lovely ladies that threw me a surprise baby shower during our last dance class this week.
 

They are the sweetest! I had so much fun dancing with them the past 8-ish months, can't wait to start up again next year! They all pitched in and got me some really fun and cute stuff. Wish I would've taken pictures of the cute balloons, cupcakes, etc from the party, but I didn't even think to. Here are the gifts I received.

The onsie says "Mommy's little dancer" on it... too cute! And one of the girls made that adorable pink blanket. Thanks again ladies!!

Second: My new glider! AHHH! Seriously, as soon as it was out of the box and my hubby was carrying it to the nursery I was literally jumping up and down with excitement! I told him it felt like Christmas. It is sooo comfy and I just love the material and colors we picked out! <3
 

I love love love it!

Third, and lastly: Our little weekend getaway with some of our good friends to St George. We took no pictures the entire time... because I was either too lazy or relaxed. I'm gonna go with relaxed to make myself feel better. But it was really just so fun. We stayed in a friends family condo, went swimming, ate good food, played a lot of games (actually, played a lot of one game), stayed up late, and laughed til we cried. Just a blast! And the best part was that it was pretty much free for us! John had to work in Cedar City on the way back, so his boss covered expenses for him. Always nice to save some money when you're getting ready for a baby.



Miss anything? Hmmm... I don't think that I am missing anything right now. Feeling pretty good!

Movement: Yes! And they are getting bigger! On Thursday night we were in St George playing some cards, and she kicked me so hard I literally jumped, it scared me. Knowing how strong she is right now freaks me out for movements in the future. I have a feeling they are going to hurt. She's so strong! Also, I have figured out how to get her to move if she hasn't for a long time and I start to worry. All I have to do is lean forward. She will always start kicking if I lean forward.

Food cravings: Nadda

Anything making you queasy or sick? A little queasiness from driving again, but not nearly as bad and it was mostly because the road was just so bumpy.

Gender: Girl!

Labor signs: None

Symptoms: Some continued congestion and acid reflux. Been getting cramps more frequently too. The funniest symptom this week was from the heat in St George and the drive down there I think, my feet were SO swollen! Actually, it wasn't even just my feet... my feet, ankles, and legs up to my knees were extremely swollen. I could not get over it. It was funny and depressing all at the same time. Like I'm not kidding, my feet were HUGE! See for yourself.

Note: My right foot is swollen in this picture as well, but my left foot takes the cake. It's HUGE! Oh the joys of pregnancy ;)

Also, one morning I woke up and got the worst leg cramps I've ever had. I sat up really fast just saying "Ow, ow, ow..." over and over, John shot up out of bed not knowing exactly what I was in pain from (seriously, I've never seen him move so quick!) and rushed over to my side. I told him it was leg cramps and he helped me stretch them out. Best husband award! I am really not looking forward to those if they continue. Man they HURT!

Belly button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy! :)

 
Looking forward to: Our next appt! It's next week... YAY!