21 weeks

Weekly update time.

  • How far along?  21 weeks
  • Total weight gain:  ??? I’ll tell you at the end, which will be the next time I actually step on my own scale. Doing things a little differently this time around.
  • Maternity clothes?  One of my pairs of maternity jeans finally somewhat fits, yippee! I’m not confined to wearing strictly yoga pants all winter! I actually ordered 1 more pair of maternity jeans the other day, because going through an entire winter and spring in the largest stages of a pregnancy with only 2 pairs of actual pants to wear was just an annoying thought. The other pair of maternity jeans I already have is still too big, so hopefully the new ones will fit as soon as they arrive. And no maternity tops. One good thing about being pregnant in winter is since it’s cold, I can cover up in all my big sweatshirts and sweaters and not worry about finding shirts to fit.
  • Stretch marks?  Nope, not yet. And the third time around better not be when those suckers rear their ugly heads, either.
  • Sleep:  So far pretty good.
  • Best moment this week:  Wearing jeans again.
  • Miss anything?  Nothing right now really.
  • Movement:  Yes, since 1 day before week 15. That’s the earliest of all 3 – D was 20 weeks and L was around 16 weeks.
  • Cravings:  Jimmy John’s subs. I had a couple pieces of one at a family party last weekend, and it was simply delectable. Yes, I just used “delectable” to describe a sub sandwich. It really was. And now I can’t stop wanting them.
  • Aversions:  Now that the first trimester is over, again, not really anything. Those first couple weeks, though, wow – life in general was an aversion of mine. Scents are still stronger than normal, but nothing like when I was pregnant with D and my entire sense of smell got turned upside down.
  • Gender:  Did not find out. I had my first delivery dream the other night, though, and it was a girl, so that means we’re definitely having a boy.
  • Labor signs:  Zero.
  • Symptoms:  A little heartburn here and there, abdominal pressure (confirmed normal with the doc since everything is trying to bust out through my abs), my hair is definitely shedding less and less when I brush it, and I’ve started noticing more aches and pains in my pelvic joints and lower back. Oh, and I’m gaining a child’s worth of weight.
  • Belly button in or out?  Still in, thankfully. I’ve noticed it’s beginning to go out, though, so I’m sure it will go the full monty again since it did with Lana.
  • Wedding rings on or off?  On.
  • Looking forward to:  The spa day I booked for myself at the Kohler Waters Spa in a couple months. I have a bunch of gift cards for it, so I’m getting a maternity massage and pedicure. I can’t wait!

And I finally have another picture from my pregnancy with Della this week. So we’re back to Della on the left, Lana in the middle, #3 on the right. Looking the same? Different? I think my butt has outgrown my belly so far, yet again. I finally cleaned off that bench next to the desk today, too. You’re welcome.

21w

 

20 weeks

With this baby, I was so focused on surviving the first trimester and moving on from that miserable part, that this halfway point has really snuck up on me. Halfway!

  • How far along?  20 weeks
  • Total weight gain:  I’m actually not going to play this game anymore. I’ll weigh myself the day I go to the hospital to deliver to see what my total weight gain for the whole pregnancy is, but I don’t think I’ll hop on the scale anymore between now and then. Just like with my first 2 pregnancies, I gained a whole boatload of weight in the first trimester, more than what I’d say is considered “normal,” and now that my nausea and extreme need for food is over it’s all leveled off. Plus I’ve gotten back into exercising and am trying to get my pregnancy workout DVD in 2-3 times per week, so that definitely helps. I feel good, and I just want to try to stay healthy and in good shape for when the time comes for 1 more delivery. Because no matter how short it may last (hopefully!!), that shit is full-body intense!
  • Maternity clothes?  Not quite yet. All of my regular jeans and non-stretchy pants are officially done, but both pairs of maternity jeans are still too big. So yoga pants it is for a while. And no maternity tops. One good thing about being pregnant in winter is since it’s cold, I can cover up in all my big sweatshirts and sweaters and not worry about finding shirts to fit.
  • Stretch marks?  Nope, not yet. And the third time around better not be when those suckers rear their ugly heads, either.
  • Sleep:  So far pretty good.
  • Best moment this week:  Hearing from the perinatologist that he can say with 99.9% certainty that the baby is completely healthy – no chromosomal abnormalities, no red flags found in his ultrasound, everything looked perfect in there. He said the baby looks tall. Duh.
  • Miss anything?  Besides having a pair of jeans that fits, regular or maternity, nothing right now really.
  • Movement:  Yes, since 1 day before week 15. That’s the earliest of all 3 – D was 20 weeks and L was around 16 weeks.
  • Cravings:  Not really, but I have eaten a lot of pickles during this pregnancy. That’s not super odd, though, since I’ve always liked pickles.
  • Aversions:  Now that the first trimester is over, again, not really anything. Those first couple weeks, though, wow – life in general was an aversion of mine. Scents are still stronger than normal, but nothing like when I was pregnant with D and my entire sense of smell got turned upside down.
  • Gender:  Did not find out.
  • Labor signs:  Zero.
  • Symptoms:  A little heartburn here and there, outward abdominal pressure (confirmed normal with the doc since everything is trying to bust out through my abs), my hair is definitely shedding less and less when I brush it, and now an ache and pain on the outside of my left hip (again, just a normal expansion from pregnancy). Oh, and I’m gaining a child’s worth of weight.
  • Belly button in or out?  Still in, thankfully. I’ve noticed the very beginning of it going out, though, so I’m sure it will go the full monty again since it did with Lana.
  • Wedding rings on or off?  On.
  • Looking forward to:  Learning if this is actually a boy or girl. I know we have quite a ways to go before that happens, but now that the ultrasound is over and we did not find out, I’m even more curious. I swear I saw boy parts, but I could be totally making that up since the doctor never really even looked in that area. I told him we didn’t want to know so to tell me when to look away, and he never did. It appeared that he was just avoiding that whole region in general. I saw him measuring internal organs, head, brain, face, heart, arms, legs, feet, and hands, but he never really even peeked in the between the legs or butt area. I meant to ask him if he saw what it was since I didn’t ask him to, but I forgot. So the secret is apparently safe. But, just like with the other 2, I’ll mentally prepare myself for a little boy yet again.

Now it’s picture time! I don’t have a 20 week picture from Della, so again this is Lana at 20 weeks on the left and #3 on the right. Sorry, still haven’t cleaned up that front bench yet.

20

And for a bonus this week since I haven’t had a tri-comparison for a couple weeks now, here’s a comparison of me from the day I found out I was pregnant with this one until now. Wow! Quite a bit has changed in 20 weeks, I’d say.

start

 

 

 

Dear #3

{written on September 30, 2014}

Dear Rauling #3,

I just found out I’m pregnant with you this morning, and I could not be more shocked and excited. It took a much shorter time for you to get in there than it did for your sister Lana, and I was just assuming you would take even longer than she did. So to know you’re around already is a wonderful surprise.

Today has been kind of funny. I’m waiting until Daddy gets home from work to tell him by having Lana wear the “Big Sister” shirt that Della wore when I learned I was pregnant with Lana, so you’ve been my own personal little secret since this morning. I can’t wait to tell him and everyone else, but it’s been kind of special when I remember that I’m pregnant again and only you and I know it. But soon enough the world will know, and we’ll all be eagerly awaiting your arrival.

By the end of my pregnancy with your sister Lana, I said if we have another baby I definitely want to find out the gender to make the whole planning process easier, especially with other kids in the house. But now I think we’ll be surprised again. Della goes back and forth between wanting another little sister and a little brother, so she’ll be just as excited as anyone if we wait until you’re born to see who you are instead of finding out early (fortunately she has trimmed her sibling order down from 2 sisters and 2 brothers to just 1 more after Lana, so we might be good here). I must admit, I would love to have 3 little girls, but obviously you will be loved absolutely no less if you are a little boy. I’m sure your sisters would love to have a little brother to play with. Hopefully you’ll humor them with all the Hello Kitty and Frozen gear we have.

Now, I will apologize to you right now. Being the 3rd little one to join our family, I might not write about you quite as much on here. Actually, I probably won’t write a whole lot on here period once there are 3 of you to look after, but such is life. I will be enjoying my days home instead of worrying about a computer. I will, however, make sure to take note of all your milestones and accomplishments, as I have for your sisters. You’ll have your own page on here, too; it just might not be as full. I did say the same thing about Lana’s page, though, and she’s gotten a pretty good amount of entries.

Your baby book might not be huge, but it will definitely get filled. Actually, Lana’s isn’t as big as Della’s, not because I didn’t fill it in, but simply because that’s how it was made; there just aren’t as many pages. Which worked out perfectly, because I’m able to fill everything in without trying to find time to fill so many superfluous pages like in Della’s. Not to say that Della’s is a waste, because being the first kid she had a lot more pictures taken to fill those pages. Sorry, that’s just life. We get more of you guys, we get busier. But we get happier and happier, so never doubt that for a second. But back to my point, you will get a baby book.

You’ll probably wear a lot of hand-me-downs. Actually, that will be a wonderful thing if you are a little girl, because your sisters have some really great clothes. If you’re a boy, however, you probably won’t wear any hand-me-downs. So never mind – clothes will be a win-win for you either way.

Being #3, you’ll also get toted around a lot as your sisters grow and become busier. Della will start full-day kindergarten next year, so you and Lana will be my sidekicks. I hope you’ll enjoy running and walking in the stroller as much as they have, because chances are I’ll try to start jogging as soon as I’m allowed next summer. Have no fear, though, this does not mean you are any less important or any less present in our lives – you’ll simply be part of the flow of our family immediately, since your sisters don’t slow down for much. When Della was born it was all about her, since it was only her. When Lana was born it was a little more evenly split, because I was staying home and trying to figure out life with 2 little ones. Now for you I’ll have to perfect the child trifecta, but I can’t wait. I think this is going to be a lot of fun. An adventure, if you will.

One thing completely unique to you, however, is that I went for a run with Lana in the stroller today. I can definitely say that running was not something I did on the day I found out I was pregnant with either of your sisters.

But even though you will be #3, you are already playing a huge role. You might be my last pregnancy, so I will try to savor every minute (will you make me nauseous like Lana did? will you totally mess up my sense of smell like Della did? whatever you do, i’ll just know that it confirms you’re in there growing away). This might be my last labor and delivery, so please be as fast and smooth as your sisters were. You might be our last newborn, infant, toddler, 4-, 5-, 6-, and up-year-old, so I will cherish every sweet, sweet, second with you. As I do with your sisters, of course, but I think the baby of the family always carries an extra-special place.

I still can’t believe this is really happening, even after sitting here typing this whole letter to you. Your sisters are napping and Daddy won’t be home for another hour or so, so we have a little more time just the 2 of us before anyone else knows. Thank you for coming to us so soon, little one. I’m so thankful and ready for this journey with you. It’s just so hard to believe I’m pregnant again! This is pretty good timing on your part, though. Right now I think my due date will end up being sometime in early June next year, which is just in time for you to join the wedding party in Auntie Arianne’s wedding! Maybe Della and Lana can pull you down the aisle behind them in a tiny wagon.

I love you already, my dear. I hope and pray that all goes well in there for you and that this is another healthy, full-term pregnancy for me. I can’t wait to be your mother, too, and to be a family of 5!

 

Love,

Mama

 

Stats:

Beginning weight: 146.0 (lower than with both Della and Lana)

5 weeks: 146.0

6 weeks: 147.0 

7 weeks: 147.0

8 weeks: 148.5 (i can see my trying to quell the miserable nausea with food is starting to take effect…)

10 weeks: 151.5

13 weeks: 157 (so up 11 lbs. in the first trimester – much more than recommended, but similar to both your sisters when food was one of the main things on my mind. the weighing game ends here with you, though. i’ll check back at the very end to see how much we gain in total, but probably not again before that.)

 

19 weeks

These posts are probably pretty boring for most, but for any of you out there who are following along to this tale of Baby #3, here’s my 19 week update.

  • How far along?  19 weeks
  • Total weight gain:  I’m actually not going to play this game anymore. I’ll weigh myself the day I go to the hospital to deliver to see what my total weight gain for the whole pregnancy is, but I don’t think I’ll hop on the scale anymore between now and then. Just like with my first 2 pregnancies, I gained a whole boatload of weight in the first trimester, more than what I’d say is considered “normal,” and now that my nausea and extreme need for food is over it’s all leveled off. Plus I’ve gotten back into exercising and am trying to get my pregnancy workout DVD in 2-3 times per week, so that definitely helps. I feel good, and I just want to try to stay healthy and in good shape for when the time comes for 1 more delivery. Because no matter how short it may last (hopefully!!), that shit is full-body intense!
  • Maternity clothes?  Not quite yet. All of my regular jeans and non-stretchy pants are officially done, but both pairs of maternity jeans are still too big. So yoga pants it is for a while. And no maternity tops. One good thing about being pregnant in winter is since it’s cold, I can cover up in all my big sweatshirts and sweaters and not worry about finding shirts to fit.
  • Stretch marks?  Nope, not yet. And the third time around better not be when those suckers rear their ugly heads, either.
  • Sleep:  So far pretty good.
  • Best moment this week:  Hmm. We might finally get rid of our truck for a “new” one later today, so fingers crossed there that everything actually works out. For once. And I had my next prenatal appointment today and all was well – strong heartbeat and my quad screening blood work all came back normal.
  • Miss anything?  Nothing right now really. Sushi does sound good, though.
  • Movement:  Yes, since 1 day before week 15. That’s the earliest of all 3 – D was 20 weeks and L was around 16 weeks.
  • Cravings:  Not really, but I have eaten a lot of pickles during this pregnancy. That’s not super odd, though, since I’ve always liked pickles.
  • Aversions:  Now that the first trimester is over, again, not really anything. Those first couple weeks, though, wow – life in general was an aversion of mine. Scents are still stronger than normal, but nothing like when I was pregnant with D and my entire sense of smell got turned upside down.
  • Gender:  Not finding out.
  • Labor signs:  Zero.
  • Symptoms:  A little heartburn here and there, outward abdominal pressure (confirmed normal with the doc today since everything is trying to bust out through my abs), and my hair is definitely shedding less and less when I brush it. Oh, and I’m gaining a child’s worth of weight.
  • Belly button in or out?  Still in, thankfully. I’m sure it’ll go out, though, since it did with Lana.
  • Wedding rings on or off?  On.
  • Looking forward to:  Talk about a loaded question! Where do I begin? Oh, but you mean baby related? Seeing as it’s still fairly early, not too much yet. We have way too much to do here at home before I really start concentrating on meeting #3. I do have the anatomy scan ultrasound next week, though, so that’ll be cool.

I don’t have a 19 week picture from my pregnancy with Della, so here is this week’s comparison between #3 on the right and Lana on the left. Aren’t you excited that you get a new view this time? Our front door is just beautiful. Maybe one of these weeks I’ll actually clean up all that crap on the front bench for you.

PicMonkey Collage

Until next week…

 

Another year, another kid

Yes, you read that correctly. Ta da!

#3

Baby #3 is on the way, due June 10. Both girls came about a week early, though, so I’m predicting the big day will be June 4.

Here are answers to the top 3 questions I always get when people find out I’m pregnant again:

  • No, we’re not finding out if it’s a boy or girl, just like with the first 2.
  • I’ve been feeling horrible, worst of the 3 (well I was up until about week 13-14. thankfully i’ve gotten pretty much back to normal, as much as i possibly can anyway with a rapidly expanding girth).
  • This is the last one (i keep saying this is definitely the last one, but now that i’m feeling better i start questioning that again. however, unless there is a drastic change in either the size of our house or the size of our bank account, i’m about 99.9% sure that the raulings will stop at 3).

I was debating whether or not to do those little poll things like I did when I was pregnant with Lana because they seem so cheesy, but I decided why not. Last time around, might as well see how things progress. So here’s my first pregnancy update for #3:

  • How far along?  18 weeks
  • Total weight gain:  17 lbs. Good lord, that sounds like a ton of weight to have put on in only 18 weeks. However, I was up like 11 lbs. at the end of the first trimester alone due to constantly eating to try to quell my nausea, so I guess 6 lbs. in the past 5 weeks isn’t too extreme.
  • Maternity clothes?  Not quite yet. As of last week I was down to 1 pair of jeans and 1 pair of khaki-ish pants still fitting, but both pairs of maternity jeans are still too big. So yoga pants it is for a while.
  • Stretch marks?  Nope, not yet. And the third time around better not be when those suckers rear their ugly heads, either.
  • Sleep:  So far pretty good.
  • Best moment this week:  Um, well, seeing as we’re going to either have to dump money into our piece of shit truck or else buy a new one, this week hasn’t exactly been stellar.
  • Miss anything?  Nothing right now really.
  • Movement:  Yes, since 1 day before week 15. That’s the earliest of all 3 – D was 20 weeks and L was around 16 weeks.
  • Cravings:  Not really, but I have eaten a lot of pickles during this pregnancy. That’s not super odd, though, since I’ve always liked pickles.
  • Aversions:  Now that the first trimester is over, again, not really anything. Those first couple weeks, though, woah – life in general was an aversion of mine.
  • Gender:  Not finding out.
  • Labor signs:  Zero.
  • Symptoms:  Well let’s see. 17 lbs. of weight gain, first of all. And a lot of gas. You’re welcome.
  • Belly button in or out?  Still in, thankfully. I’m sure it’ll go out, though, since it did with Lana.
  • Wedding rings on or off?  On.
  • Looking forward to:  Talk about a loaded question! Where do I begin? Oh, but you mean baby related? Seeing as it’s still fairly early, not too much yet. We have way too much to do here at home before I really start concentrating on meeting #3. I do have the anatomy scan ultrasound in about 2 weeks, though, so that’ll be cool.

And the always-anticipated comparison shot, this time in triplicate. D is on the left, L in the middle, and #3 on the right. Isn’t our front door lovely? Joke.

PicMonkey Collage

So there you go, our big news. I know I haven’t written on here in forever, and I’m not even going to try to pretend that now I’ll be able to do so more often, because that never works. Maybe with these pregnancy updates I will be able to, though, we’ll see.

2015 will definitely be interesting around here.