25 weeks

As you will see shortly, our lovely full-length mirror, the only full-length mirror in our home I might add, has suddenly developed a crack all the way across it. I have no idea how it happened. I know exactly when it happened, but the how will elude us forever. There’s nothing the girls could have done to it to make it appear, it doesn’t hit the bench behind it, nothing slammed into it. So apparently we just aren’t allowed to have nice things in this house. Ever.

But that has nothing to do with #3.

  • How far along?  25 weeks, 1 day
  • Total weight gain:  Too much.
  • Maternity clothes?  Pants, yes, and just a couple maternity tops. One good thing about being pregnant in winter is since it’s cold, I can cover up in all my 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:  Finishing the diaper bag! I’m so excited and proud of this monster project, because it certainly lived up to the nickname I gave it, which was the beast. Seeing as I turned on a sewing machine for the very first time in July last year, I’m ecstatic that I actually made this bag. I had to combine 2 humongous tutorials and different sized bags, so the end result blew my mind. Pictures in a second.
  • Miss anything?  Nothing right now really. However, I could really go for a Guinness or glass of wine every now and then. Which I know I can have, I just haven’t yet.
  • 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 right now.
  • 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’m still sure it’s a boy.
  • Labor signs:  Zero.
  • Symptoms:  A little heartburn here and there, abdominal tweaks as the baby tries to permanently ruin my abs (sorry, little one. i didn’t let your sisters do that, and i won’t let you either), occasional downward pressure when I stand up, my hair is definitely shedding less and less when I brush it, more aches and pains in my pelvic and hip joints, and my back hurts often. Guess it’s all that weight I’m gaining.
  • Belly button in or out?  Out on one side, so I’m sure it will go the full monty again since it did with Lana. This is exactly how it started with her.
  • Wedding rings on or off?  On.
  • Looking forward to:  Going to Arizona in 2 weeks! I just really hope it’s sunny and warm for the week we’re there, because usually the temperature drops 30 degrees and it starts snowing as soon as I arrive. I am not even making that up. I’m going to test out the new bag as a carry-on for the trip, too, so I’m crossing everything that all the seams hold and the handles don’t fall off as soon as I load it up with stuff for the plane.

Picture time. First I’ll show off my masterpiece of a bag so you can all marvel at my incredible talent. And no, I will not make you one. This thing was not exactly fun to make. But I love it, so hopefully all the work was worth it once I actually start using it. I used all indoor/outdoor fabric so it’s water and stain resistant, and I sprayed the orange interior fabric with Scotch Guard since it was the only non-patio furniture fabric I got. I wouldn’t throw this bag in the laundry, so my hope is that using that kind of material will allow any spills to just be wiped out. I’ve never thrown any bag in the washing machine, though, so I’m not worried about having to start now.

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Ta da! Pretty good, eh? It’s kind of hard to tell, but I put a number of elastic pockets on the interior front side of the bag and non-elastic ones on the interior back side. I even got a couple bottles out, the girls’ cups, a diaper, a wipes holder, and one of my cups to measure the sizes for the pockets. Genius, I tell you.

Now for my gigantic self portrait. I have no idea how I managed to look so much better when pregnant with Lana than I did with either of these other 2 (Della left, #3 right), but I did. And I’m kind of jealous of my Lana-pregnant self. Oh well. Nothing to do about that now except try not to gain another 75 pounds before June 10. Or whenever the birth date will be. I think it’s going to be June 4. I like Della messing around in the background of the Lana shot.

25w

24 weeks

Here we are. Another week, another update. And I realize we’re fast approaching the third and final trimester. Um, yikes.

  • How far along?  24 weeks
  • Total weight gain:  Well, last week at my appointment my doctor basically told me I’ve already gained too much weight. Awesome. I’m not sure why, either. I’m eating way less than I did in that nauseating first trimester, I’m actually exercising regularly, my clothes are fitting fine (one of my pairs of maternity jeans still falls off), and I honestly don’t think I look like I’ve gained 28 pounds. Ugh, there, I said it. 28 pounds so far. What?!? Holy shit. I only gained 33 with Della and 36 with Lana. Am I on track to gain like 50 with this one? I sure hope not. My doctor did even say she has no idea where I’m putting it because I don’t look like I’ve gained that much, so that’s good, right? I have no idea. I can’t exactly go on a diet right now, so I’m not really sure what to do about it. My doctor said the actual poundage isn’t what she’s worried about since it’s not an unhealthy amount and it all comes off at the same rate in the end, but she doesn’t want me to be too uncomfortable later. So I guess I have to aim to gain only 5 pounds in the next what, 3+ months? Eesh. The only thing I can think of is that this time I started almost 10 pounds lighter than with Della and 5 pounds lighter than with Lana, so maybe it’s just catch-up? Can you tell I’m grasping at straws here?
  • Maternity clothes?  Pants, yes, and just a couple maternity tops. One good thing about being pregnant in winter is since it’s cold, I can cover up in all my 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:  Certainly not hearing that I’m too fat. But definitely almost finishing this mammoth diaper bag project that I expected to take literally months.
  • Miss anything?  Nothing right now really. However, I could really go for a Guinness or glass of wine every now and then. Which I know I can have, I just haven’t yet.
  • 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 right now.
  • 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’m still sure it’s 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, more aches and pains in my pelvic and hip joints, and my back hurts often. Guess it’s all that weight.
  • Belly button in or out?  Starting to go out on one side, so I’m sure it will go the full monty again since it did with Lana. This is exactly how it started with her.
  • Wedding rings on or off?  On.
  • Looking forward to:  Finishing this diaper bag.

Ok, so here’s the latest comparison. Do I really look huge? I’m for sure bigger than with Lana (middle), but am I considerably bigger than with Della and I just can’t see it? Help me out here, people. I’m at a loss. But at least I gave you a smile this week.

24w

 

 

23 weeks

Sorry I skipped last week’s 22 week update, but by the time I actually got around to taking the pictures and sitting down here to do it, I just didn’t feel like it. Plus it was a day or two late and I didn’t have a 23 week picture from Della anyway, so I decided to wait until today. The prerogative of a pregnant woman. 😉

  • How far along?  23 weeks
  • Total weight gain:  ??? I’ll tell you at the end, which will be the next time I actually step on my own scale (probably). Doing things a little differently this time around. I have a feeling I’m gaining the most out of the 3 so far, though, unfortunately.
  • Maternity clothes?  Pants, definitely. My new pair of maternity jeans arrived a week or so ago, and I’m so happy. I finally have more than 1 pair of jeans to wear again! I’m ecstatic to have my Long and Leans back, even if they do have a stretchy waistband. And no maternity tops besides 1 long-sleeved shirt I got while pregnant with Lana. One good thing about being pregnant in winter is since it’s cold, I can cover up in all my 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 my favorite brand/style of jeans again. And I’m finally getting going on the diaper bag I’m planning to sew for this little one, so I will be very happy when I make some actual progress on it.
  • Miss anything?  Nothing right now really. However, I could really go for a Guinness every now and then.
  • 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 right now.
  • 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’m still sure it’s 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. I also now get out of a chair like I’m 40 weeks pregnant, which is ridiculous. Oh, and I’m gaining a child’s worth of weight.
  • Belly button in or out?  Starting to go out on one side, so I’m sure it will go the full monty again since it did with Lana. This is exactly how it started with her.
  • Wedding rings on or off?  On.
  • Looking forward to:  I have my next appointment on Friday, so it’s always reassuring to hear that fast little heartbeat and make sure everything is growing as it should.

Here’s the comparison shot for this week – Della, Lana, #3, left to right. I think I certainly look pregnant now, and much to my chagrin, this one appears to be giving me the largest belly so far. Hopefully that doesn’t mean this kid is going to be huge.

23w