23 Weeks

Well, we almost to the 6 month mark, two thirds of the way there! Wowza! It's coming wayyyyy too fast. In the beginning it seemed like it would take forever, now time won't slow down! Not that we are not absolutely excited to meet our little man, but we have so much to do, and so much to wrap our minds around!

This week was my first visit to the Women's Birth and Wellness Center, but I am going to refer to it as just the "birth center" for abbreviation's sake. It was FABULOUS. The attention I received from the midwife was astronomically greater than what I was used to getting at my OB office. I actually felt like she was getting to know me and my body, not just check stats and get me out so the next patient could get in. What a difference it makes. I am looking forward to the rest of my appointments. I could do without the drive though! It is all the way in Chapel Hill. But it's so worth it. 

Nothing too exciting has happened this week... Jake and I are just falling more in love with our munchkin more and more everyday, we cannot wait to meet him and hold him and smosh him to death! (that's a good thing lol) We already get so much joy out of feeling his little (or should I say extravagant) movements and can only imagine what he is doing in there! Jake calls him his little buddy and it just melts my heart. Oh what joy it will bring me to see my men together, I can't imagine the love that will explode within me. 

And now.. SURVEY SAYS!

Total weight gain: Last week at my appointment I was up 10 pounds. I'm too lazy to go get a reading right now lol. 

Symptoms: Holy heartburn batman! Gosh this is not fun at all. I am thankful that when it comes it only lasts a short while. It did wake me up from my sleep last night and I had to get out of bed and get some Tums. Talk about discomfort. Sciatic pain is still going strong, it's worse when I'm on my feet for too long. Also just general back pain, it is very difficult to get comfortable in bed. 

Maternity clothes: No new additions. However the other night I wore these "jeggings"that are more jeans than anything.. they have an elastic waste. I tried to wear them thinking I'd just wear them really low.. WRONG. After an hour of being EXTREMELY uncomfortable I took drastic measures... I made Jake cut the elastic waste just so I could breath the rest of the night (we were out with family). So those non-maternity pants are ruined... all for the sake of the belly lol. 

Stretch marks: not yet

Sleep: Not so much this week.. so annnoyingggggggggggggg!

Best moment this week: Finally becoming a patient at the birth center :)

Miss anything?: a good night's rest x1000!!!!! And just my body to feel normal. I do love being pregnant though, it's just these annoying side affects are no fun. 

Movement: Yep. The funniest thing this week was I ate a banana (which I haven't had since early pregnancy) for breakfast with some honey on top and he moved for almost 4 hours straight haha. I'm not sure if it was the banana, but that's my best guess. 

Food cravings: Anything that looks good to me, I want it haha

Food aversions: no

Belly button: still hanging on!

Wedding ring: fitting normal, sometimes tight at night. 

Mood: I tolerate things a little less haha

Looking forward to: starting Hypnobabies classes and learning the techniques

Baby bump: It's there, not huge though 

Signing off!

Jessica 

22 Weeks

Well, 21 weeks passed right on by and here we are in week 22. Oopsie daisy! And my blog views on my last post were down by half... what the heck?


These last 2 weeks have been pretty great... my belly is finally noticeable, at least when I wear clothes that are semi form fitting. And little munchkin moves every day. I am VERY pleased with how my body is progressing in this pregnancy, I'm not self conscious at all. I think my body looks beautiful and so does hubby... well he has some other choice words ;) Do not take this as conceitedness, but I am just blessed to be transforming in a way that is appealing to me... I'm not gaining very much, the weight is all belly, and no stretch marks yet!

I've been watching a lot of natural, hypno-babies births (more on that another time) as well as cloth diapering videos and sprucing up on infant scheduling (more on that later, too). But I'm not going to get into all of this right now because we haven't actually done any of it yet, or experienced it first hand. Once we try these methods, I will then discuss them. I'm not going to get into heated debates about how we choose to rear our child. If these methods work, great! If not, I'll blog about that, too. But for now, we are just researching and preparing.

 

*Please excuse the dirty mirror lol*

On to the questionnaire!

Total weight gain: My weight fluctuates a lot.. I can go within 5 pounds in the same day... I just checked (after eating a heavy lunch) and I am up 10 pounds. Tomorrow it could be 5 pounds less. It really changes when I eat. 

Symptoms: Haven't had any more of those leg cramps (I only had 2... but they both were from the devil). But heartburn has made it's nasty debut. I don't have it every day, but it is frequent.. Tums seems to help. Ligament stretching is still occurring, which I'm sure will be the case until baby arrives. The other day I woke up and I was just sore in my lower abdomen, all across the belly. I think baby changed positions because his kicks that day were a lot lower than they have been.  

Maternity clothes: Haven't added anything new since my LITTLE shopping trip... I'm desperately trying to mix and match outfits out of what I already own plus the few items I purchased. 

Stretch marks: not yet

Sleep: lately I've been tossing and turning and can't seem to get comfortable. I am still peeing quite frequently when I first go to sleep. Sometimes 5 times in 30 minutes, or more. I haven't had a "solid" sleep in a while. 

Best moment this week: feeling baby kick more and more!

Miss anything?: a good night's rest

Movement: Oh yes, he doesn't really have a pattern or move due to a cue, he just does it when he wants!

Food cravings: jalepeno poppers are sounding amaze-balls

Food aversions: no

Belly button: still an innie, but you can tell it's stretching

Wedding ring: fitting normal

Mood: I think I sometimes am "moody", but not too much

Looking forward to: the last holiday season with just me and Jake and truly enjoying it.. even though we are dirt poor this time around, but it will be weird to know it's our last holiday season without children!

Baby bump: You can tell I'm pregnant when I wear the right clothes.. I've had a handful of strangers notice. If I wear a loose shirt, it's a lot harder to tell... just looks like I'm fat lol. 

That's all folks!!

xo

20 Weeks... Halfway Baby!

Well, here we are.. the halfway mark! I honestly can't believe it. It's scary to think that the time I've been pregnant is how much time will pass before he arrives. Whoa. This means I've got about 4 and half months to sleep in and not give a hoot, because who knows when I'll ever do that again. I am officially taking the next half of this pregnancy to relax, prepare and nest. No real obligations, I will commit to things when I can, but I am not going to bend over backwards and stress... so not worth it. So if I'm a little lazy here and there before "D-day", so be it. I really want to enjoy this time in peace.

This past weekend, I finally had to break down and get some maternity clothes.. ugh, I so didn't want to, they are ripping pregnant people off I tell you! These clothes are NOT cheap. I went to Target and they give you 2 options for jeans (wow, what a selection) and they are $35! That is highway robbery! So I said "psh, not happening" and bought a BeBand instead (those elastic fabric things that slide over your pants so you can leave them unbuttoned). Those also are expensive for what they are, a freakin' piece of fabric... give me a break. Later that night we met up with Jake's dad and I told him how stinkin' expensive the jeans were, and he offered to buy me a pair.. so off we went to Target and he bought me some although I really insisted he didn't waste his money. It was very sweet of him, because I really do need them, but I just can't believe the audacity of Target... hello, you are not Saks 5th Avenue! The next day I went to the Gap and bought some things, they had some sales on their maternity clothes. I wasn't happy about spending the $, but it's either that or wear sweats until my due date. So now I have 3 pairs of pants and 3 shirts... so expect to see me in the same outfits repeatedly LOL. Another thing, I am normally a size 8 in pants (can sometimes swing a 6 if it's a good day) but in maternity I'm a size 4! What? I've never been a size 4 in my life. But hey, I'll take it.

Ok enough about that.. moving on..

Total weight gain: 2 pounds... I was 3 pounds last week lol who knows

Symptoms: I had the first charlie horse calf cramp in my life, and let me tell you.. I wanted to die. It woke me up and I was hollering in pain, Jake woke up and started rubbing it for me. Please God, do not let that happen again. I sometimes am still tired (that was me before I was pregnant haha), I am still leaking (guessing that's not gunna stop until I'm done breastfeeding). Also, more recently is shortness of breath for NO reason. I mean I move a plate from the table to the sink and I'm winded haha. 

Maternity clothes: Explained that above, but I've added a few items to the wardrobe... I've actually bought more things for Levi than for me.. but honestly his pants cost like $8, not $35!!!

Stretch marks: nope

Sleep: sleeping ins't the hard part, it's getting comfortable. I switch from left, to right, to middle more times than I can count. 

Best moment this week: finally getting some clothes.. although I really hated spending the money

Miss anything?: still would like a drink.. went to the store and Jake bought the Sam Adams seasonal brew pack and I was like "OMG I want one" and I don't even like beer!!! Also, sushi.. dang I can't wait to tear that up. 

Movement: Yea, like a boss. 

Food cravings: nothing too strong this week

Food aversions: no

Belly button: still in, but feeling funny on the inside, like the wrinkles are gone

Wedding ring: fitting normal

Mood: relaxed and ready to enjoy the second half of this pregnancy

Looking forward to: getting this house and his room organized... I need to do as much as I can before the 3rd trimester. Also looking forward to my shower! My mom and I are planning it.. two event planners planning a shower = utter awesomeness. Also looking forward to our tour of the Women's Wellness and Birth Center tonight!!!! Can't wait :)

Baby bump: some days it's bigger than others.. what do you think, have I "popped" yet? (yes, I've pooped today, but have I popped? lol)

Since I'm still too lazy to do a white board post.. here is an attempt to create one on this blog hahahaha..

Baby King is 20 Weeks

1/2 way there

Levi is the size of a banana

Stats: 6.5" & 10.2oz 

He has working taste buds.. eat up little buddy!

134 days to go!

That was really artistic, wasn't it?

Thanks for reading!!!

Hugs from the Kings

19 Weeks and Counting

Get it? 19 Weeks and Counting? *Duggar reference* Also, once again I am technically 20 weeks as I post this.... whoops!

Forgive me for the "bum" look... just woke up :)

Annnnnyways. All I can say is that starting last Monday (Sept 24) through today (it's the 1st as I write this) has been STRESSFUL. I have "worked" nonstop since then (even through the entire weekend) and will work through this Friday.. so that is 12 days STRAIGHT. I've been watching and caring for kids, being someone else's Mom.. you know, NANNYING. My pregnant self can't handle all of this. Which is why I will be moving on from it, WAY TOO STRESSFUL. I can't wait to be a Mom to my own kid and not someone elses. And thank you LORD I am going to be a stay at home, I have first hand seen the benefits of a Mom staying home (I plan on writing a blog about this later.. ooo hot topic!)

On a more positive note, this little munchkin is moving more and more every day. It seems like every time I lay flat he goes to town. And it's not just a jab here and there.. it is pretty constant. I can feel him flip and squirm, as well as punch and kick. Sometimes it hurts, sometimes it catches my breath and sometimes it just plain freaks me out LOL. But I LOVE it because it's my daily reminder he's ok, my sweet little love! He obviously is going to keep me on my toes. 

In other news...

Total weight gain: 3 pounds.. What?!?! I know right, I am LUCKY. I really thought before I ever got pregnant that I was going to be one of those women who blew up like a balloon.. just a big fatty. Well, not the case thus far.. but who knows I'm only halfway through!

Symptoms: still a leaky faucet hahahahahah, ew.  

Maternity clothes: OMG I HAVE to make it a priority.. ughhhhhh it's so hard to spend $ on clothes when we're tight but I don't really have a choice anymore! Yoga pants are my fave, but they just aren't going to cut it for everyday use. I think it's pretty great that I've gotten this far without having to buy any, but I think that ends this weekend. 

Stretch marks: no, thank you Jesus. 

Sleep: it can be restful, when I'm not stressed out of my mind

Best moment this week: not gunna sugar coat it... this past week has blew chunks.. thankfully I haven't done that in a while!

Miss anything?: a strong drink.. especially after a week like this. Mama needs a cocktail! Gosh I'd even take boxed wine at this point.. 

Movement: Are you kidding? I don't know what he's doing in there, but he is on a mission. 

Food cravings: saw some Nacho Lunchables in the fridge while babysitting.. I resisted for a few days, but today I HAD TO HAVE THEM. 

Food aversions: no

Belly button: Looks normal, but when I feel it, it definitely feels different... starting to stretch I guess

Wedding ring: fitting normal

Mood: STRESSED OUT.. gosh is it the weekend yet? 

Looking forward to: putting me first and not nannying at people's beckon call! I can't wait for the freedom. 

Baby bump: it's there, still "small" in my opinion, but it's noticeable

Sorry I didn't write on the board.. with the week I've had there is no way I had time for that!


Love y'all!