Lets train

Let's get these weekly pregnancy posts rolling, shall we? I'm not sure I want to do a 'form' style post or not, so we will just go with it and switch later if needed. Love being sneaky and drafting a few posts before the internet world can read them.

I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M WRITING THESE AGAIN!!!!

Ten Weeks: 12.10.13



Photo thoughts: I'm not sure I can keep this belly a secret much longer. Holy early bump! Definitely showing earlier with each pregnancy, I guess.

Size of baby: going off memory alone, I remember week ten being the prune week.

Cravings/Aversions: Two things come to mind for aversions, and both are slightly devastating to admit. I HATE sugar so much right now. It makes the back of my throat feel really puke-y and this is so far from my normal sweet tooth, it has me worried. I hope I can eat desserts for Christmas. I want to love sugary cereals and never even tried a single Royal Iced cookie that I made the other day. This.Is.Insane. Another really sad part of my daily menu? Coffee is disgusting. I know, this really is Julia typing here---but I cannot handle the acid taste of any coffee. Regular, decaff...it's all horrible. Again, praying my love for a hot cup of joe returns soon or my sense of identity might be at risk. I don't even love downing my usual crazy amounts of water anymore---it just takes effort and tastes gross. I don't know who I am anymore.

I'm loving cheese, though, and can't get enough salt. Port wine cheese is my new best friend and Nate's buffalo chicken dip is also extremely satisfying for me. Which is odd since I HATE anything spicy---this flavor is just amazing, though. You can often find me slicing off pieces of colby jack cheese and combining that with potato chips. My ideal lunch for now consists of cheese, salty chips, a pickle, and a diet soda. Weird. But I will take it because a week ago I was still dry heaving at the thought of most any food.

What I'm loving: Feeling a little more energetic and less like ralphing this week!

What I'm anticipating the most: Hitting 12 weeks, moving onto the second trimester, announcing the big news to the internets, and Christmas;)

Missing anything?: Red wine. Like, woah. I dream about it sometimes.

Also I feel like I'm experiencing true 'pregnancy brain' or maybe I'm just losing my marbles in general. For instance, I spaced on a hair appointment being at 3:00 and my brain told me it was at 3:30 (without double checking the clearly marked calendars in my phone). I HATE being late to appointments, let alone being a 'no show'! I think my IQ is gradually fading into the distance this time around, so excuse me if I seem a little flaky.

Worries: Miscarriage thoughts still hover in my brain at all times, even though we had a great ultrasound and I've been hearing the heartbeat on the doppler. It's just a hard reality to shake, especially when this all seems too good to be true.

Differences between pregnancies: I honestly think I've been a lot sicker this pregnancy, and pretty sure I've never turned up my nose towards desserts before. Then again, maybe I just forgot how awful the first trimester was and having two kids makes it just a liiiiiittle bit harder, too. At week ten with Truman we announced our news to everyone. At week ten with Cecelia we were finishing up our weekly ultrasounds to check on my giant bleed, and I remember that last 'little baby' ultrasound being so cute since we could see her moving.

How I'm feeling: Like a different person compared to last week, that's for sure. Still a little queasy at times, tired but I haven't needed a nap in a solid few days, and emotional. I'm glad that food is semi-tolerable again and that I don't crash on the couch every chance I can get. My boobs aren't as sore, I'm not dizzy or crampy anymore, and I'm not so short of breath.

Sleep: Love it, can't get enough. I did have a few weeks when I couldn't fall asleep at night but that has changed. I make it through the night without peeing but have to book it as soon as I wake up. Not too shabby. Having two kids that seemingly learned how to sleep well is certainly helping.

Movement: Maybe, but I realize that makes me seem a little crazy to claim this early. But truly I feel flutters sometimes and I don't think it's always gas. It probably is gas, but whatever.

The Bump: Present. Undeniable. I know it's not HUGE or anything, and it struck me tonight that I will be much bigger than this post-partum anyway, so this is still relatively 'flat' for now.

Milestones: Heard baby's heartbeat on my home doppler last week, right at 9w0d. AMAZING. Trying not to check every day but it's pretty close;) Heart rate is in the upper 170s-180s and there truly is no better sound in the entire world right now. Also, home doppler = life saver for my anxiety. Fantastic purchase, if you ask me.

Video of one of the first times with the doppler:


Best Moment of the Week: When Nate, Truman, and Cecelia all heard the baby's heartbeat on the doppler. Truman was amazed and kept saying, 'You found it! You found it!' and Cecelia wanted to hold the probe. Nate and I both agreed it's freaking insane to think about another little PERSON being inside there! I think we are still in denial a little bit and can't wait until it seems real (probably after the birth).

Other belly shots I've taken so far:

5--after I took the test but I didn't have a clue that I was five weeks pregnant here.


7--still didn't know how far along at the time


9--bump?


Double digits, baby!

January 15, 2017 | 15w1d

Baby is the size of a navel orange now, and I'm pretty sure he or she had a major growth spurt this week. Either that, or my uterus suddenly gave in and I've popped. For those that scoff at my bump, just refer back to my four week picture to understand why this seems LEGIT to me. I forgot about how most people are always 'you are so small' to me when pregnant. I don't feel 'small' but I guess it's all relative!



I'm feeling really good overall. I'm hungry and can eat pretty much whatever. I have decent energy and have been walking on the treadmill a little bit. I'm wearing maternity pants for pure comfort but regular pants are 'fine', too. For now. I'll feel the baby kick here and there, nothing consistent yet. Especially in the evening hours, it's 'for sure, not just gas' taps!

My first OB appointment at 14w3d needs recapping here.

I can barely contain myself and will probably need to do a separate blog post all about the ultrasound itself. But let's just say it went BEAUTIFULLY! As did the gender reveal photo shoot. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves and may blabber on about the shoot and will include a video at some point, too. We are over the moon with this news;)


How will our family be completed?

This envelope contains the money shot!! Andrea and Erin peeked inside before we started the photo shoot but Nate and I stayed in the dark a bit longer.

A few shots of the adorable siblings...

Which onesie will it be?






Closing our eyes after Andrea and Erin placed the correct onesie in the correct sibling's hands ;)

Me: 'What's your final guess, Nate?'
N: 'Girl.'
Me: 'I think boy.'

And? It's a boy!!!

'You are having a baby brother, guys!' Genuine excitement. So much fun.

Symmetry. Bookends. A squishy baby boy. Sigh.


Happy mama.


Family of five!

Cecelia is almost holding up three fingers here;)

Favorite. CC wouldn't stop hugging Nate at this point. I think she is excited to remain daddy's little (only) girl.

And Truman kept saying, 'We are having a boy! I'm so excited! Baby Brother!'

Once again, Andrea Weiss Photography produced the sweetest images for our little family. Such a happy day. ;)

More details to come.

Full term! WOAH!

Dressed up for our date night this past weekend, otherwise you know my hair would not be down/makeup on/black dress worn on a weekend. No way.


I'm going to make this pretty short and sweet, and will likely forget a lot of extremely important information in the process. ;)

OB appointment went well, and I'm dilated 1cm and 50% effaced. So literally exactly where I was with Porter's pregnancy at this time and he was overdue and induced (means nothing). My OB still said, 'You can have this baby tomorrow now, you're full term!' She also noted my varicose veins in my groin and legs and assured me they should go away after the 'tumor' comes out. ;) Baby is head down, HR was 150, he's moving like a mad man and my bladder is barely hanging on these days. The pressure down there is insane and I've had several zingers to the cervix/groin that make my legs feel like they might collapse. Still with Braxton Hicks and I even downloaded a contraction timer app this week, when they were coming every 5 minutes for a solid hour. I stopped timing them because they were not painful and I feel like I'm not actually going to go early this time, and sure enough---they must have stopped because I'm still pregnant.



I'm up 30 pounds but food is not my favorite anymore. I get full so freaking fast, but am craving all fruits and popsicles. I've been drinking a lot of water, La Croix, and even root beer this week to beat the heat and stay hydrated. Plus, I've been taking a daily nap whenever possible and I'm not mad about it. Reading back through old 37 week posts with the other kids makes me chuckle--I was all bent out of shape about NEEDING to nap 'three times per week' and still feeling tired. This time? Give me all of the naps, I do not care about losing productive time. It's the only option many days, even if it's just a 30 minute power nap!

Getting off the couch is becoming rather comical and if I drop something on the floor I prefer to pick it up with my monkey toes if at all possible. I'm not sleeping the best because I just can't seem to get comfortable, definitely have to pee at least once in the middle of the night, and because Porter still likes to wake up and screams for me for fun. I don't know anymore, I just cannot with him.

Non-materity tankini is probably going to be forever ruined but I don't have a lot of options for pool wear. I did wear a regular bikini once but the amount of veins on my very-white belly seemed offensive.


Biggest accomplishment of the week is that we finally moved all of the bins and storage items from the attic to the basement, to get ready for the house renovation! This thrills me like nothing else because it's something I've wanted to do for about four months now but I just cannot carry all of the heavy items myself. Don't get me wrong, I've been putting in plenty of hours in the attic, organizing and purging and taking things to Goodwill. I even carried down four giant hanging wardrobes from the attic to the basement before proclaiming, 'THAT'S IT, NO MORE HEAVY LIFTING!' Nate and his dad made approximately 20304 trips up and down alllllllll of the flights of stairs in our house to help with this project, and now I just have a little more organizing to do in our storage area of the basement. YES.

Ugly pictures but must commemorate:
The attic now, basically empty compared to before!


And the unfinished side of the basement now, busting at the seams but still organized. These are all kids' clothing bins. Absurd.


Also, my mom and Memaw bought the baby quite a few new items on Amazon--diapers, sleepers, swaddles, a pacifier. He is SET and it's so much fun to wash and hang all of his stuff in Porter's closet! I even pulled out a bag and started throwing a few things into it as a 'hospital bag', creating a real list for items that need to be in there this week. I faxed the order for a new breast pump to a company and we have the co-sleeper folded up, but ready to go in our bedroom. All of this means one thing: we are having a baby SOON and we are almost ready for him to arrive. GAH!!!!



Supposedly we are breaking ground on the house tomorrow, which is why we did the whole attic to basement purge this weekend. But also, we have a matter of weeks before this child comes no matter what and it's time to really focus on the to-do list, right? I've also decided that when we have a nursery to decorate in about six-ish months, I want to do a black and white and geometric print theme for our cool dude. My mom is requesting a theme so she can make him a quilt, like she's done for the other kids, and it's all going to come together so nicely....when we can actually decorate the new bedroom! I'm nesting in a big way over here and loving every second of it.

Also, we've just been having an awesome summer thus far. Splash pads...


Ice cream dates...




Water balloons...


Sweetness between siblings...


These two dudes went to the US Open and had a freaking ball;)


The pool! .... we love it all!


I kind of cannot believe I have a few weeks left at work. The more I think about it, the more I'm thinking I might just be done after my due date even if I haven't had the baby yet. My due date is a Saturday and I don't know that I'll really want to be at work that Monday morning if he's still cooking away. I'm doing great at work right now and am very thankful for the air conditioning, real bathroom, and comfy desk chair compared to treating patients out in the field. I'm feeling like I'm really hitting my groove with my new job, which is unfortunate since I'll be gone for 12 weeks. We will see if I can jump right back into it when I return, or what! My mom just bought plane tickets to arrive on my due date and leave on Porter's birthday, hoping to catch the birth and meet this little man as soon as he comes out...but of course we know that might not happen. I'm so excited for her to come though and hope the timing works out.

My focus this week has been on visualizing the birth, positive affirmations, and listening to my Hypnobabies tracks without falling asleep. It's so hard to stay awake but I managed to do it a few times. I'm really excited about this birth although it feels very abstract, like it's not actually going to happen in a few more weeks. But it is. I know it will. But it seems impossible.



Favorite comment: "What is this, baby number one? Two? Three?" (Me: 'Keep going'). "OH WOW, number four? You look great for having four kids." What a back handed compliment, right? Like, 'I expected you to look very haggard and tired but you don't look too horrible, I guess.' I mean, I haven't birthed the fourth yet, so my haggard-ness is bound to come. I've had a few people say that I'm finally getting 'big' but most still say 'you are SO SMALL'. I'm really glad my uterus measures right on track at each appointment so that I can be assured other people's opinions on my belly don't mean a whole lot.

Nate and I celebrated our tenth anniversary a few weeks late this year. Tony and Lois took the kids for a sleepover while we went out to dinner, walked around downtown, and woke to a quiet house the next morning. We ate breakfast here, did some organizing, and then went out for coffee. An excellent way to spent our tenth anniversary, even if it wasn't fancy or wild. Plus, Fathers Day weekend with Nate and Tony, and texting my dad was also successful.

TEN YEARS, baby!! My how things have changed and truly, how much happier we are right now compared to our wedding day.


So I'm full term, feeling quite pregnant but happy and content to keep him cooking awhile longer, and I'm in disbelief that I will have this baby in my arms really freaking soon. I'm going to miss pregnancy when it's over, guys. It's just so special to have him all to myself, to marvel at how my body knows how to grow this child, to feel (and watch!) him kicking from the inside, imaging who this little character will be on the outside. The anticipation is still quite magical at this point, and watching all three kids get so excited to meet their brother is something I'll never forget. I know I'm incredibly lucky to feel good at 37 weeks pregnant and I certainly hope that continues until the end!

And with that, I'll head into the week with a clear mind and gratefulness for all that we have in this life. Yes, end of pregnancy emotions are all over the place, it's true.

5.6.14: Thirty-one weeks. Totally had to look it up to be sure which week I hit today, yet again, because this pregnancy is flying by at record speeds.



I feel like a broken record here, but I cannot believe I'm *this* far along with my pregnancy. In some ways it seems like yesterday that I saw those shocking two lines on the test but in reality, early November was like a lifetime ago. I blame the loooooongest winter ever for playing tricks on my hormonal brain with this one.

Big happening this week: I filled out my FMLA paperwork and decided to say that July 2 is my last day at work (my due date is July 8). Which, as long as he doesn't come earlier than that, means I won't go back until September 29. That's actually about 12.5 weeks off instead of 'just' 12 because of the holiday and my MWF schedule....and seriously, having less than two months left at work? OMG. Big time 'light bulb moment' that made me want to squeal. It's so soon!! And September 29 feels like forever away, although I know my maternity leave will soar by in a blink. But still! This whole concept of being away from work for 12 weeks to care for my newborn child is really making me extra emotional/makes it real. Holy smokes, we are having a third child.

Yes, I know I might be overdue and will hate watching my maternity leave tick by without a baby in my arms. But I also know myself, how exhausted I was doing home care PT when 39 weeks pregnant with Cecelia, and truly believe that it's best for everyone (myself, my family, and especially my patients) if I just tap-out a few days before my due date. I'm exhausted *now* on work days, and I cannot imagine being a great therapist when it's actually hot out and I'm even bigger. So yes, done with work before my due date and not sorry in the least about that one.

Time for a big old comparison of weeks:

I'm actually craving spinach salads and fruit smoothies these days, in addition to my usual junky sweets. I've also been walking up a storm with a solid four purposeful walks last week, and it seems to be a little more comfortable than before with less contractions/cramps after. Flip side to exercising more is that my feet KILL me by the end of the day. Maybe hauling around an extra person is starting to get to me but it's nice to get some fresh air and feel somewhat active again after a long winter indoors.

My OB appointment last week went well, nothing too eventful and I still can't believe I am going every two weeks. I'm now on track to gain more weight with this pregnancy than I did with Cecelia (34 pounds) and it might be closer to Truman's grand total of 43 pounds. I've gained 26 pounds at the 30 week mark which I know is not awful or abnormal, I know that I am not 'fat', and I know that weight is a touchy subject for many women. So originally I had a big long string of complaints about gaining these 26 pounds, but I just deleted them and tried to re-word the entire paragraph to be a little more sensitive to how others might perceive me complaining about weight gain.

Pregnancy is a miracle, it's beautiful, and amazing and I love it more than I hate the scale. By far. I apologize if I come across as selfish or psychotic about the superficial changes our bodies make during pregnancy.



Sleep is my number one lately, and I'm finally starting to go to bed consistently before 10:00pm. Just.So.Tired by the end of the day! No naps this week and overall daytime energy was high to very-high, but wow--I hit a wall around 8 pm each day and can barely get muster the strength to climb the stairs after that. I frequently lament to Nate that he is not the type of husband to carry his pregnant wife up to her bed at night, when she is just too fatigued to do it herself. And he rolls his eyes at me, like, 'Duh---what guy WOULD haul their extra-heavy wife up a flight of stairs?' Don't say anything to me if you husband would/does do that type of chivalrous thing for you, okay? Mine just mentions something about hospital bills and broken backs and I growl back at him before groaning my way up the stairs.

I truly feel like this child is practically falling out of my body already, which is really really scary/ creepy. Every time I stand up the pressure down there is insane and I definitely do not remember this feeling hitting me so early with the other babies. Mostly I think I need to do one million Kegels and rest a bit more, but I almost had my OB check me last week to be sure things are normal down there. Third time around and my body is just like, 'Oh yes, I will grow you a baby boy and then let him rest directly on your cervix just to freak you out about pre-term labor.' Nothing like feeling a bowling ball between your legs when trying to run after existing children.

He's a mover and a shaker and IloveitSOmuch. Many videos of my bouncing belly this week. He seems to be all over the place and kicks can range anywhere from my ribs to my girlie area, so yeah---hope he settles down into position soon.

At 31 weeks with Truman: my face was looking pregnant, we took a childbirth class, found out we were getting FIVE baby showers, and I finally bought some maternity clothes of my own. I was marveling at my new porn star boobs.

At 31 weeks with Cecelia: I was preparing to move into our house, taking care of a sick little boy, and marveling at belly movement. Which apparently peaks around now! People were finally being kind to me with their comments and it seems like my belly wasn't quite as big as it is now, but it's hard to tell from that photo.

There was a bit of a stomach bug rounding the house this week. First Truman had a low grade fever and just didn't feel good Wednesday night. All day Thursday it was pretty touch or go and required Ibuprofen every 6 hours for comfort. He was decent on Friday, all better on Saturday, and then by Sunday Cecelia was extra fussy and had a nasty diaper. I took them to Lori's on Monday and within an hour, Lori called me to come and get CC with horribly watery diapers. Poor babe. I hate having to call patients, move their visits around to other days, and ask for help from other therapists but being a mom comes first. My girl needed me on Monday, and ended up puking three times in an hour that night, so we will just hope the bug moves quickly and everyone else is spared! 

We had a lot of great moments over the weekend as a family, just enjoying the sunshine and being generally productive with nesting/spring cleaning in the house. I attended my friend Erin's kick-off even for her non-profit Grateful Hearts Giving Network and we had to get a few belly shots.

This one makes me laugh. We are not animated at all when we talk.


Almost 23 weeks and almost 31 weeks. Love.


Sharing our third pregnancies together is fun! There is probably a blog post to be had all about how each of us has taken turns 'going first' with all of our kids, how we've grown as moms through the years, and how awesome it is to be able to complain and celebrate while pregnant with good friends. And yes, Andrea is adorably petite compared to Erin and I ;) Not 'short' but 'petite'.



I also noticed that Nate and I have been laying on the couch once the kids go to bed, flipping through our iPhone pictures from the day saying, 'Man our kids are awesome.' We love to relive the adorable things they've done each day....all while they are sleeping peacefully upstairs. Funny how we don't take a lot of time to reflect on their amazingness while they are actually AWAKE and running wild, but as the little angels sleep? Totally a time to gush over them. And both kids are a ton of fun right now despite Cecelia's roller coaster of emotions and Truman's occasional whines. Can't quite believe they are getting a baby brother so soon. Three kids. Wow.

Love them so much. Want to write each child a focused letter from their hormonal mother very soon.




Classic CC.




Coffee house mother/son date. Loved our time together!


Big helper with the guys, assisting with hanging dry wall in the basement!!


Another week down!