Category: M

So today officially begins the 3rd trimester I guess? Holy shit. Why do I never feel like we’ve gotten (or will get) everything done that needs to be before these kids have all arrived?

• How far along?  26 weeks
• Total weight gain:  Too much.
• Maternity clothes?  Pants, yes, and 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. I’ve been putting a little pillow between my knees at night for the past couple weeks to help stave off any varicose veins that might feel like creeping up on me, and that feels good. Fortunately my gut isn’t so monstrous yet that I need a pillow under it, too.
• Best moment this week:  Nothing really stands out; it’s been a pretty normal week. The temps are very slowly warming, which is fantastic, but I’m definitely not holding my breath that winter actually will leave when the calendar says spring.
• 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, my stomach “gets in the way” when I’m trying to do things like put on my socks and boots now, 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 next week! 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.

Ok, now I can easily see that I’m bigger than both of my first 2 pregnancies, which stinks. I thought I was maybe equal to, if not smaller than, my pregnancy with Della (on the left) up until this point, but now that’s not happening anymore. And I’ve been bigger than I was with Lana (in the middle) the whole time. Bleh.

I appear to be totally differently shaped this time, too. Yet another sign that I’m saying confirms there’s a boy in there. Crap, we won’t get to use all our cute girl clothes again, which I was so hoping to do! I don’t think a mini-Ryan would love Hello Kitty as much as his sisters and I do.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.