17 Weeks 3 Days

April 28, 2010. Journal Entry

Today I am 17 weeks and 3 days along in my pregnancy with baby #3. Those 17 weeks have flown by. I just wanted to jot down a few things so I can remember them when my life becomes a big fat blur once again.

• I am almost positive I felt baby move today. I was laying in the bed with Lucy after lunch and felt 5-6 popcorn pops. Being my third pregnancy, I know what a baby kick feels like and I'm pretty sure that was it. I checked the babycenter website and it said I would very likely be able to feel baby (although faintly) at 17 weeks. Especially since this is my third.
• Baby should weigh around 5 ounces and be about 5 inches long. Seems absolutely unbelievable to me. So much of her/her body is formed and he/she is so tiny.
• I went in to the Dr. yesterday for some worrisome pains. Turns out my hunch was correct. I was having contractions, just luckily they weren't the labor inducing kind. Probably more muscle contractions stemming from my growing belly.
• Which, by the way, is slowly but surely making its appearance. I feel "huge" already but I know the reality is I'm hardly showing at all. I can still wear a lot of my non-maternity clothes thanks to the Be Band from Target and I am just starting to pull off some maternity clothes thanks again to the Be Band. It's a great invention and I just love it!
• The girls grow more excited every day. It is so much fun dreaming about the baby and talking about our plans with them. They both want a sister, but I think they are going to be disappointed! We will find out a week from yesterday. Next Tuesday is the BIG day. The girls are going to sit through as much of the ultrasound as they have patience for. I think Ella will be mesmerized the whole time, but I'm afraid Lucy may grow a little bored. Nanny will be there to help out with the child entertaining just in case we have problems.
• I have not blogged about this yet, but a few weeks ago we had an ultrasound to check on baby's progress. Erik and I are so lucky to see an OB who is NOT afraid to do an ultrasound. I've had 4 or 5 already. Including one yesterday that only revealed a cute baby bottom and perfect spine and head. Anyway, at the previous ultrasound the tech speculated that we might be having a boy. Well, I'm just convinced of that fact. The pregnancy has been so much different than either of the two before. I also just have that gut feeling. We'll see.....
• My nervousness is starting to subside. I am actually beginning to get excited. Maybe because I only have 12 more days of school. Maybe because we're about to find out our baby's gender. Maybe because Erik is finally getting excited too. Maybe, just maybe, God has given me the peace that only He can give about us having this child. Peace about leaving work, peace about finances, peace about mothering 3 children, peace about my sanity. Who knows? I'm just so happy to be at the place I am now. Loving life and loving our new baby.

Thank you God for allowing me to be a mother again. I never even thought I could love a second child, but I now know my heart is so much bigger than I ever gave it credit for.

Baseball?

Last night was Lucy's 3rd baseball game. I was beginning to think the children were getting the hang of the whole baseball thing. Silly me! There were more pile-ons last night than a WWE match. Lucy in particular would run from thrid base all the way to right field to chase a ball. It was hilarious. Even the coaches in the field were laughing too hard to break them up.

The quote of the night had to be our friend Hyatt, who said...."Lucy had the most tackles tonight!"

Yep. That about sums it up. Lucy with the most tackles. (and yes, the team is made up of mostly boys.)

French Toast

I posted on April 16th that I was craving French toast like crazy! Well, that afternoon I went to get my hair cut and there was a Food Network magazine on the table. I picked it up and wouldn't you know it? The first page I turned to was a full spread on French toast! It was meant to be, I tell you. So while Sonya trimmed and colored, I salivated over the gorgeously plated, perfectly carmalized french toast. Then I hastily left The Depot, went to the grocery and retreived all the ingredients for the perfect French toast. The trick to this toast was that you cooked it in the skillet then you baked it for about 10 minues. It was heavenly!!

(mine might not have looked as good as the magazine's, but wow! It sure tasted great!)

Maddie's Trip to the Zoo

It was our first trip to the zoo for this Spring season, too. Maddie is 3 weeks old and had no clue she had even left the house. She slept and ate and slept some more. Rebecca did great and seemed to enjoy getting out of the house. I was reminded of how "hard" it is to take a child anywhere. Honestly I have to confess it's one of my biggest concerns about baby 3. As of now, the girls get dressed, we do hair and brush teeth, throw on some shoes and then go! With a baby you have to have the diapers, wipes, bags, etc., etc., etc. Wow! I am exhausted just thinking about it. Oh, well. It's going to take some great organizing and some practice but I am sure we will get back into the baby swing of things.



Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the zoo:

Aunt KK and Maddie

Sweet, precious Maddie

Our lunch guest. He/she sat in the window alot while we ate our (overpriced) lunch.

I love this red bridge---but not as much as I love the girls standing on it.

Aren't these Dippin' Dots colors beautiful. It makes me want to paint my whole house bright, vibrant colors.

The girls got a little bored between Dippin' Dots and Maddie's feeding session.

Friday of Spring Break

Well, it's Friday of Spring Break. My list of to-dos has been drastically whittled away. I still have a lot to do before baby 3 gets here (I added painting all the downstairs rooms yellow to the list this week) but I definately feel a great sense of accomplishment. The only thing I really did not get to work on was blog posts. Luckily now that I know how to pre-date my posts, I can get them back into the correct order without fear of messing up 2010's book. My health has greatly improved as well. That has been a huge blessing!

This week we spent some quality time with my sister and baby Maddie. We went to the zoo, did a little shopping, got haricuts andplayed in the sprinkler (I have to admit it was a bit cool and the girls only played for 15 min.)

Ella went to her first slumber party. She, Lillian and Andi stayed up until almost midnight and woke up at 7 ready to go. I wish I had pictures of the night! For some reason today I have a crazy (strong) craving for french toast and bread pudding. So..it's off to the grocery I go to buy my ingredients. You think Kroger carries Brioche bread? If not, Italian bread will have to do.

Back In Commission

No pictures to post just yet. Hundreds to go through but just no time right now. It's amazing how life can get away from you when you stay in the bed for countless hours each day. Of course I've been tired...that's just part of it (being pregnant and all.) But this horrible, excruciating pain that I have had to suffer through recently has just knocked me out. For 9 days I literally could not function. That came on the tail-end of my first trimester ( in which I also spent a lot of time sleeping.)

God is good, however, and I am feeling so much better. The doctor was able to give me some great new medicine and I finally have some relief. I'm not sure why God wanted me to go through this trial, but I'm sure there was something I should have learned from it :) Maybe it's just to never take for granted the days that you do feel good!

Things on my to-do list:

• clean house (really, really clean it)
• go through maternity clothes that friends have offered. Unfortunately lots are out of season for me
• catch up on pictures, editing and blogging
• take a TON of things to Goodwill and prepare for our 2nd annual Care Because We Care at church.
• finish preschool scrapbooks ----Oops! Move this to #1.
• plant the garden
• start my summer to-do list (i.e paint kitchen, paint Ella's room, decorate nursery, clean out closets, organize study/craft room)

That is just the beginning. I know I feel better because I couldn't even think about a to-do list just days ago.

*****Tonight we tried dinner at the little Italian place on the Square. Lucci's. I really like my pasta dish. Erik had a meatball sub and the girls had a homemade pizza. I am anxious to go back and try some of the other dishes. If you live close you should check it out!