38 Weeks

This morning I got a little house cleaning done (still trying to stay on top of it), took the boys to the library, and went to Target.  The morning started out looking like decent weather, but while we were in the library it started to sprinkle.  I made the decision to go ahead and risk the Target trip...we were out of lunch things and I knew I would not want to get out later.  I thought maybe we could beat the rain.  We shopped, we paid, we got drenched.  Of course right when it was time to get back in the car is when the skies opened up.  Some people were hanging out by the door, waiting to see if it would lighten up a little before making the mad dash to the car, but unfortunately Luke's speech therapist was due at our house about 15 minutes from that time, so I didn't have the luxury of waiting.  Out we went.  And wouldn't you know, after we were sopping wet in the car, as soon as we pulled out of the parking lot it lightened up.  Oh well.  We made it home, had our therapy session, ate some lunch, and the boys went down for a nap.  And man did they nap.  Kayden actually was up before Luke, who slept till almost 4:30.  I'm thinking he might be going through a growth spurt because he's took a nap like that yesterday AND he's been sleeping until 8 in the mornings.  If only I could lay  in bed without pain these days to enjoy it.....

And one more thing before I start my weekly update- my final  thing I've bought for Evan came in the mail today!  This Etsy seller is in Canada, so it's taken a little extra time to get here.  I had a  flower headband custom made (this would be the third thing I've bought from her!) and I'm thrilled with how it turned out!

How sweet are those little red flowers?  I absolutely can not wait to put this outfit on her.

She also has a white eyelet blouse that I'll pair with jeans and the red shoes and headband too.  Come on  baby girl, you've got to many cute outfits sitting in your closet to just be hanging out naked in my tummy!

(excuse the naked boy with the deer-in-the-headlights look.  He jumped in at the last minute and I was too tired to take another one.)

How Far Along: 38 weeks- 12 days till my due date and I believe it.  I almost feel silly filling this thing out this week, all I've got to say is OH.  THE PAIN.

Size of baby: the length of a leek. Again, not sure what this is. Approximate length is 19  1/2 inches and weight is 6.8 lbs.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: As of last Wednesday I'm up 34 lbs.  And it's just going to get worse because I've totally let myself go when it comes to sweets.  Sunday night after my delicious dinner of a hot dog I had a brownie, a piece of cake, and the end of a can of icing.  Yep.  I figure what's done is done, I'm just gonna live it up while I'm still forced to be pregnant.

Maternity Clothes: I've counted 5 shirts that fit me now.  I told everyone Sunday that if I'm still pregnant next Sunday, I'm showing up in the same outfit because it's the only church-decent shirt I've got thats long enough.

Gender: I am getting very ready to meet my little girl. Just wanna see what that little face that's been brewing in there looks like!

Movement: I had a few more instances of the gymnastics this week than I thought would be physically possible at this point.  I hope she's still  head down. 

Sleep: The last few nights have been awful.  Not only do I have the same ole same ole pains, but it's like I forgot how to lay down.  No matter what I do I can't get comfortable, I don't remember how I used to lay to take the weight off my belly.  It's like this giant bowling ball  hanging off my middle and no matter how I turn it is just dead weight.

What I miss: Not being in pain all the time.

Cravings: Peach tea. Oooo, and chocolate.

Symptoms: Pain pain  pain.  Today  when I  was out in the rain dealing with the basket I used in shopping, I wanted to run to put it up and  get in the car, but I couldn't.  Just couldn't.  All I could do  was waddle as quick as my little legs would let me.  Lots of pressure.  Lots of Braxton Hicks.  Lots of weird dreams (it's the only way I know I've actually gotten sleep  these days!)

Best Moment this week: Best? I don't know. There were a lot of nice moments, but best is hard to say.

37 Weeks

Thankfully Luke slept normally last night.  And while he still has a runny nose, I haven't been seen anything that might mean an ear infection, so I didn't call the pediatrician today.  I did however, get the house all clean and the shopping all done, with time left over to sit and enjoy my new Scentsy warmer that came in.   Shae started selling it, so I broke down and bought a warmer.  Somehow a house that smells good feels twice as clean.  And I have to confess- when I was sitting on the couch for a rest after all my hard work, I did lean my head back and close my eyes.  The house was quiet from sleeping boys, smelling sweet from my warmer, and clean from my hard work.  Before I knew it, I heard a noise that startled me awake, and it took me a few seconds to figure out what it was.  It was me.  Breathing.  Loudly.

Oh, and as you can  see I'm still large and in charge.  Now, I'm out with Mom a lot, but I guess Saturday was the first time we'd been out since I've gotten extra huge.  She had NO. IDEA. how much attention a belly like that attracts.  She finally even made a comment about how many people talked to me about it.  Every time I'm in public I get stopped AT LEAST four times, if not more.  And the bigger I get, the crazier the people.  Sunday when we were having lunch she tried to tell Dad and Ashley about all the people that stopped me on Saturday.  Low and behold, she had barely even started the story when the lady at the table next to us struck up a conversation with me about my pregnancy.  Come on sweet girl.  I'm getting tired of talking about you and just ready for you to be here already!

How Far Along: 37 weeks- Baby girl, we are full term!  Only 21 days until your due date!

Size of baby: the length of a stalk of Swiss Chard.  While I've seen it in the store, I've never tried the stuff.  Approximate length is 19 inches and weight is 6 1/3 lbs.
Total Weight Gain/Loss: Too much.  We'll see on Wednesday at my appointment.

Maternity Clothes: Yes.  And yes.

Gender: I am getting very ready to meet my little girl. Just wanna see what that little face that's been brewing in there looks like!

Movement: About the same as last week.  Although, if you recall, she's always stuck to my right side to poke out her little body parts, and this past week she's been a lot more active on the left side.  I'm wondering what that means, and am anxious to see what her position is on Wednesday.

Sleep: Painful.

What I miss: Not being in pain all the time.

Cravings: Peach tea.  Oooo, and chocolate.

Symptoms: Still hurt from my belly button (or what used to be my belly button) down.  Braxton Hicks have reeeeeeeeally picked  up this week- they are almost constant now.  And this might have more to do with the two year old I live with who seems hell bent on pushing me to the limits lately than with pregnancy, but my patience is thin lived these days.

Best Moment this week: Best?  I don't know.  There were a lot of nice moments, but best is hard to say.
 

 
Right before I took my weekly picture, I realized what Luke had done to my living room.  See, I keep the majority of his toys in his room.  I'm working with him on bringing one thing out at a time to play with, and then returning it before getting something new.  I think he thinks he found a way around the rule.  He  had dumped all his dirty clothes into his closet, filled the laundry basket with all these toys, then pushed it into the living room.   Clever, my son.  Clever. 

36 Weeks

Well, the developmental specialist did end up canceling, and my errands didn't take as long as I thought they would.  I managed to go buy stamps, mail all my thank you cards, drop off the water bill, and preregister at the hospital all in a little over an hour.  Whew!  Good thing too, because it tried to rain this morning.  So we came home, and I got to work on the house.  I really am glad I got all of the house cleaning done, because now not only do I not have to do it tomorrow or the next day, but when I got home tonight the house was clean!  After getting pampered at the pedicure and having dinner at Mom and Dad's, it was so nice to come home to a house that was still clean.  I mean, is there any better feeling than when all that work you put in lasts for more than 10 minutes?!  Hmm.  I guess only if you weren't actually the one to have to clean it yourself.  Ha!  And cleaning is no small feat these days.  I mean, when was the last time you scrubbed the tub with a 20 lb bowling ball straped to your middle?

Don't laugh at my picture.  It was 10 at night, I'd just come in from the rain, struggled against a boy who didn't want to take medicine, then rocked him while we did breathing treatments, and put him to bed. 

How Far Along: 36 weeks- 28 days left. Ah!  That's why I went ahead and registered today!  And I'm wondering when I should pack my bag.  I want to have it done, but I also don't want it sitting there mocking me from the corner if she decides to hang out a little extra and I go over. 

Size of baby: the weight of a crenshaw melon  (I have never heard of this one.  Apparently once the baby gets so big, there is nothing else to compare it to but melons.  Which should be ironic considering what my picture looks like)..... almost 6 lbs and over 18 1/2 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 32 lbs total.  :(

Maternity Clothes: Oh, I'm so past maternity clothes.  I put on that turquoise maternity dress, which I've worn several times, and when I looked in the mirror I saw something slightly horrific.  My belly goes out so far off the front that it didn't leave enough material to be flow-y in the back, causing the dress to get hung up under my butt cheeks.  Thank you Jesus for giving me the prompting to look back there.  I think I may have to ride out the rest of this pregnancy in a robe. 

Gender: I am getting very ready to meet my little girl. Just wanna see what that little face that's been brewing in there looks like!

Movement: She's slowed down a bit this week.  I can tell she's run out of room.  She doesn't do the gymnastics like she used to, it's back to just little body parts sliding around, which looks like your feet do when they are under the sheets in bed.  Just a lump that glides around.

Sleep: Painful.

What I miss: Walking normally.  Standing up normally.  

Cravings: Peach tea

Symptoms: Oh, I hurt everywhere, all the time.  I talked about it yesterday, how the bottoms of my feet to my hips hurt all the time.  And the skin around my belly button feels like it's going to tear away from my body.  And I'm hot.  The temps around here are already holding at 90+ with some wicked humidity, so I feel sticky most of the time.

Best Moment this week: I'm also having trouble remembering things.

35 Weeks and a catch up

Yesterday was dreary.  High didn't break 50, it rained for something like 12 hours straight, resulting in 3 inches of rain.  I felt like I needed to have the Christmas tree up. I did get to have dinner with some girlfriends though, which was a nice bright spot in the day.  It's also the reason my update is a day late.  We kinda shut the restaurant down.  Another bright spot in the day was something I got in the mail!

How sweet is that?!  It's the headband I won from Lindsay's give-away, made at the super cute Eme Kay Creations shop!  It turned out perfect for Evan's variety of Sunday dress collection!

Today was just the opposite.  Sunny skies, temps in the 70's, gorgeous all the way around.  As I surveyed the back yard, I noticed something odd.

Can you see that?  My fence was steaming.  I even put on some flip flops and ran out there in my shortie robe just to make sure it was steam and not smoke from my fence being on fire.  I guess the wood and the air was still cold enough from yesterday that the sudden heat from the direct sunlight was evaporating the sodden wood?  That's what I told myself anyway.  I had put off the weekly grocery shopping just for this reason (even though it result in dire straights for lunch yesterday.  No bread, no milk, no nothing except for frozen fish sticks and mac n cheese.  Darn.)  I got the boys out and the sun felt good on my face.  This afternoon Dad came over and mowed my lawn again, then I took Luke over to Grandmother's house for dinner with Mom, Dad, and Ashley. 

How Far Along: 35 weeks- 35 days left.

Size of baby: the weight of a honeydew melon.....5 1/4lbs and over 18 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I weighed at Mom's on Friday and yes, I've hit the 30 lb mark.  Whoopie.  Although, I did have a lady pat my belly at church on Sunday morning and comment about how tight/firm it was, that you could bounce a quarter off of it.  So, can we just pretend the 30 lbs is all packed into one place and ignore how my face sure looks rounder in those shower pictures from the other day?

Maternity Clothes: It's getting to the point that not even maternity clothes are fitting.  Heaven help me these last 5 weeks.

Gender: I am getting very ready to meet my little girl.  Just wanna see what that little face that's been brewing in there looks like!

Movement: Stiiiiiiiiiillll wiggly.  And pokey.  And hiccup-y.

Sleep: Every night is different.  Some are better than others. 

What I miss: Being able to sit Luke on my lap in a normal sort of manner.

Cravings: Nah. Not really.

Symptoms: Walking is getting more painful by the day.

Best Moment this week: Duh, feeling the love at my baby shower!

34 Weeks

Confession time:  I broke one of the cardinal rules.  One of those rules that every mom knows not to break.  The rule that says you never ever EVER brag about something your kid is doing because it WILL jinx it.  Yesterday I posted about how Luke has never been scared of thunder storms and has always slept through them.  Enter 4 AM this morning.  The rain had come back, the flashes of lightening, and the low rolling thunder.  Not scary lightening and thunder, more like the kind you would hear in thunderstorm sound tracks on noise machines.  None the less, I was awaken by a "Mom!  Momma! *long whine/cry* Mom?"  So I stumbled in the darkness to my boy and asked him what was wrong.  He said "Go night night wif Mommy?"  *sniff sniff*  How in the world could you turn that down?  I scooped him up and tucked him into my bed.  I guess one of the good things about having a big bed all to myself is when you have a little visitor, no one is squished!  We slept comfortably side by side, with no little feet or elbows digging in unwanted places.  It's actually the first time he's lasted longer than 30 minutes in my bed.  Although, occasionally before he drifted off into a deep sleep he would reach over and make sure I was still there.  You know, it actually was the first time in a long time I felt like a true mom- like he needed me.  Sure, I take care of him every minute of every day, but he's not a very needy child (praise the Lord) so sometimes it feels like he doesn't care who's doing the job as long as the job gets done.  It also made me remember all the time I would scare the bee-jeezus out of my own mother when I would show up at her bedside during thunderstorms and crawl in between her and Dad.  The way that I depended on them for comfort and security is how he was viewing me.  Just makes me want to squeeze him all over again.  But I won't, because he's currently talking to himself in the dark in bed.

I tried really hard to get Luke involved with this one since it was on a timer.  But I couldn't get him out of the shot.

But I finally was able to convince him to get with the program.  Doesn't the belly look so different covered as opposed to uncovered?  I included the covered one because Mom told me last week that some people cringe a little at my weekly bare belly.  If you know me, you know I'm not the most modest person around town.  Deal.

How Far Along: 34 weeks- 42 days left.  That's 6 weeks folks!  Yikes!

Size of baby: the weight of a cantaloupee.....4 3/4lbs and almost 18 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, according to the doctor on Friday, I'm up 28 lbs total.  And I still have 6 weeks left.  So yes, it looks like I will at least match Luke's 37 lbs that I put on.  Joy.

Maternity Clothes: How could someone put on almost 30 pounds and not need maternity clothes?!

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: Still the same.  She still loves the right side of me.  I've never felt her near my left ribs or on my left hip, it's always been the right side.  And she greatly prefers me to lay on my right side.  When I roll over onto my left she starts thrashing around in there for a long time.  Maybe I some how lay farther onto my belly when I lay on my left than on my right, but whatever the reason she lets me know that she's aware of the change in position.

Sleep: Blah. If there is a reason I'm ready to not be pregnant any more, it would be this one.

What I miss: Looking like this. Or this. I'm wondering if I ever will again.

Cravings: Nah.  Not really.

Symptoms: Nothing new this week. Still the popping, the pain in my hips and knees when I walk. Exhaustion (I may or may not take a two hour nap every day). Feeling like a giant hippo. 

Best Moment this week: Well, last night was a pretty good moment.  Hearing that my blood pressure and everything looked good at my appointment on Friday.  It's nice to know that although things have not been great around here, and I've felt the stress (hence the naps), that my body seems to be handling it along with the pregnancy okay.

33 Weeks

Tomorrow I'll catch up on what happened over the weekend....but for now it just about today.  I cleaned a little bit this morning.  We watched some cartoons.  We were watching the Disney channel, and the movie Cars came on.  I have no idea why, but Luke is just terrified of that movie.  As soon as he realized that it was coming on instead of his beloved Chuggington, he got all panicked and pleaded "Turn off Momma!  Turn off Momma!  Turn it off!"  So we switched over to PBS.  Isn't that funny?  This afternoon we played in the back yard.  I got out his black truck.

"It's Wuke's back twuck!"

And he peeped at the neighbor washing his car next door.  I've got one Nosey Nelly on my hands. And can you see what he's wearing?  When he wanted to go outside I told him he could go out in bare feet, but he insisted on shoes and socks.  Actually, he insisted on black shoes and RED socks.  So yes, he's wearing black and red argyle socks with an orange and white striped polo.  Hey, at least we stayed in the back yard.

How Far Along: 33 weeks- 49 days left

Size of baby: the weight of a pineapple.....4 lbs and 17+ inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: No clue.  But I've kinda lost my appetite lately, and I've got my doctors appointment on Friday, so I'll let you know next week!

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: Same ole same ole.  She really likes to stick her bum out where my belly button is, so it makes for a nice point on this big belly some times.  We'll play little games where I poke her and she pokes back.

Sleep: Blah.  If there is a reason I'm ready to not be pregnant any more, it would be this one.

What I miss: Wearing whatever I want. Solid, uninterrupted sleep. Wine.

Cravings: None this week.  Like I said, I've kinda had a slump in the food area.

Symptoms: Nothing new this week. Still the popping, the pain in my hips and knees when I walk. Exhaustion. Feeling like a giant hippo.

Best Moment this week: When Luke told me he was happy this week.  :)  Also, tonight after I read him his nightly story, Luke wanted to rock.  So I took him into Evan's room and we sat and rocked for a long time.  It's hard for him to get comfortable in my shrinking lap, but he snuggled up to my chest as best as he could.  He hasn't done that in a very long time.

32 Weeks

Yesterday after we got back from church and lunch I spent the rest of the day sewing.  This morning I took the boys over to Shae's and we stayed until lunch time.  I sewed more this afternoon.  That's all I've done in the last 36 hours.

Not gonna lie, I'm getting really tired of taking these weekly pictures.  I almost skipped out tonight.  Blah.

How Far Along: 32 weeks- 56 days left

Size of baby: the weight of a jicama (no clue what that is).....3.75 lbs and 16.7 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm still supposed to be putting on about a pound a week, so probably around 25 pounds total this week.

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: Hasn't let up at all.  I think the weirdest feeling is when she bumps into my hip bone.  It's a numb tickley shocking kind of feeling.  Very odd.

Sleep: I don't think it's going to get any better for a long time.  I'm waking up 2-3 times just to roll myself over and haul my pillow with me.  Plus another time to go to the bathroom.  Plus when Cody gets up to get ready for work. 

What I miss: Wearing whatever I want. Solid, uninterrupted sleep. Wine.

Cravings: I actually had one for chocolate milk at Walmart last night.  I saw this woman in the store had Yoo Hoo in her basket, and all of the sudden I had to have some chocolate milk.  My mouth just salivated over it and I couldn't get to the milk section fast enough.  I've never in my life had Yoo Hoo.  Is that stuff even chocolate milk?  Anyway, I put a 20 oz bottle in the cart and made a bee line for the checkout (good thing I was done shopping).  I made him scan that thing right away and stand there while I opened it, before I pulled anything else out of the basket.  I had it finished by the time I walked out of the store.  But I forgot that when I drink milk by itself it gives me tummy pains.  They didn't last long.

Symptoms: Nothing new this week.  Still the popping, the pain in my hips and knees when I walk. Exhaustion.  I already  mentioned the contractions on Tuesday night, but luckily I haven't had any more major ones this week.

Best Moment this week: Pass.

31 Weeks

Holy shamoly was it windy today.  I mean, it's been windy the last few days, but today was just ridiculous.  I checked the weather and the gusts were 40 mph.  No wonder I thought the back doors were going to blow in.  I would have liked to stay in out of the wind, but I had my dr. appointment today plus I needed to make my weekly grocery run.  That's why my hair is pinned back with a clip, bobby pins, and a head band in the picture!  Nothing like trying to keep up with two boys in the wind with hair all in your face.

(Doesn't look quiet so big covered as Saturday's bare belly picture, does it?!)

How Far Along: 31 weeks- 63 days left

Size of baby: the weight of 4 navel oranges.....3.3 lbs and 16 inches long

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, per the doctor today, I'm only up 3 lbs this last month!  Whoo hoo!  That puts me at 24 lbs total.  When I stepped on the scale and saw 134 I panicked for a minute, but after asking what my weight was last time I was in (I'd blocked it out.  Ha!) I calmed down.  Dr said I was right on target!

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: Still constant.  Somersaults, kicks, tap dancing, and a little shimmy here and there.  Girl is still moving all over the place.  I'll feel her WAAAAY down low, and then moments later get a foot in the rib.  I think she's a snake.

Sleep: Meh.  I've had some crazy and bad dreams lately, that's woken me up.  The wind has stirred up a lot of junk in the air, so allergies have been up some what keeping me awake.  And girlfriend doin a little dance at night night time doesn't help either.  I'll sleep again some day.

What I miss: Wearing whatever I want.  Solid, uninterrupted sleep. 

Cravings: Not too much this week.  Milk shakes?

Symptoms: I've noticed the popping has come back, but I really only hear it in the quiet of my room at night.  When I was pregnant with Luke towards the end I would hear this random pop coming from my belly every now and then, at first (right now) it's like the sound when you flick your finger nails, and later it will shift into almost a cracking like knuckles popping.  I've also been feeling a lot of pressure, and my exhaustion has really been up this week.  At the appointment this morning I found out that baby girl is measuring about 2 weeks ahead!  She's been right on track this whole time, so my guess is she hit a growth spurt in the last couple of weeks, and it will even out over the next visit or two.  No, my due date did not move up!

Best Moment this week: Finding out that Evan is growing like a weed and hearing her strong little heartbeat.  Also, tonight I laid in bed with Luke before turning out his lights for the evening, and we had a little chat.  I mean, I actually had a pretty lengthy conversation with him.  That is a huge first!  I mean, we talked about cars and family members, but he was able to tell me the car color of everyone he knows.  And we talked about friends, naming all the people who is his friend.  I just love that sweet sweet boy.

30 Weeks

 

Of the several that we take at one time, this one is probably the worst of me, being fuzzy and all, but I thought Luke peeking out was so funny.

How Far Along: 30 weeks- I almost feel like I'm in the home stretch!  I think 32 weeks will be the true home stretch for me, but I'm so close!  70 days left!

Size of baby: a cabbage.  Haven't we been here before?

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Still didn't weigh myself this week, but next Monday I have a doctor's appointment, so I'll have it then.  Yikes.

Maternity Clothes: Oh yes.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: All the time.  I think she's shifted too.  Hopefully what I'm feeling running up under my right rib is a little foot, which would mean that she's head down.  While she hasn't actually kicked my rib, she defininatly likes to tap dance against it.  And all day today she's had (what I'm guessing) and elbow out to the left of my belly button.  I tell you, there are body parts everywhere.

Sleep: Better.  Sleeping through the night and only getting up once, usually about 5 AM, to potty.

What I miss: Wearing whatever I want.

Cravings: ooh, still chocolate.  And cake.  And icing.

Symptoms: Oh, the aches and pains this week have gotten bad.  Part of that is due to not enough water, part of that is due to me trying to do to much.  I really need to slow down.  This is why I wanted to get the nursery done so early!  My patience hasn't been the best either.  When you are slow, awkward, and uncomfortable, everything makes you grumpy.  Fast.

Best Moment this week: Oh, I don't know.  Maybe Luke asking me if I had a penis today?  Seriously.  That happened.

29 Weeks

(I actually just set the camera to auto this time instead of taking forever to figure out a good manual setting like I've done in the past.  It used the flash, and HELLO! can you tell a difference!  My belly skin is almost transparent and the dry erase marker seems to be glowing!)

How Far Along: 29 weeks

Size of baby: The weight of a butternut squash- about 2 1/2 pounds and a tad over 15 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I didn't go over to Mom's this week to check, so really I don't know.  Probably up another pound or so from last week, making me up a total of 22ish lbs?

Maternity Clothes: Generally yes.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: All the time.  And it amazes me how quick it is too, almost like a bunch of pop corn popping under my skin.  What in the world could she be doing that would make it look/feel like that?  I hope she's not having baby seizures in there or anything.

Sleep: Not good. My hips hurt throughout the night and I get up at least twice to go to the bathroom.  And now it's hot.  Last night I had to sleep with the ceiling fan on (and the a/c's been on for weeks).

What I miss: Trying not to focus on what I miss, but on how short this time is and trying to treasure it while I've got it.  Pretty certain this is my last baby, and I don't wanna wish it away!

Cravings: ooh, still chocolate. 

Symptoms: This week I got hot.  I didn't get hot with Luke, so that was new to me.  And hence the reason I now have to sleep with the ceiling fan on.

Best Moment this week: Being told by Luke's speech therapist that if he keeps progressing like he is, and they don't test him for the school district's program for a couple of more months, he might not qualify!  Praise Jesus!  One of his new words this week is "phone" but he has trouble with the /f/ sound, so it comes out like "pone".  As in, "Where Momma's pone?  Wuka talk a pone?"  He love love loves talking on the phone!  He's also counting to 10 a lot better than he was, although if the group he is counting has more than about 4 things in it he has trouble with his one to one correspondence.  That's what we are working on now.  But he finally will say three ("pea") and four ("pour") and five ("pive").  It's totally age appropriate for him to say /p/ instead of /f/, so I'm not really worried at all.  It's so much better than "dis"!

28 Weeks

Is it just me or is my belly SAGGING this week?!  Maybe it's the way my pants are fitting.

How Far Along: 28 weeks- Hello third trimester!

Size of baby: The weight of a Chinese cabbage- about 2 1/4 pounds. And she's about 14.8 inches long.\

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Okay.  Here's the moment of truth, revealing what I was too embarrassed to say last week.  The doctor confirmed on Friday that I'm up 21 lbs total- that's 7 pounds in one month.  *sigh*  Shame.

Maternity Clothes: Generally yes.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: Still all the time.  Lots.  Constant.  And she's very pokey.  There's always a body part hanging out somewhere.

Sleep: Not good.  My hips hurt throughout the night and I get up at least twice to go to the bathroom.

What I miss: Several things.  I don't wanna talk about it.

Cravings: Obviously due to my excessive weight gain I'm still craving the sweets, but I"m trying to get better about giving in.  Except for tonight.  Tonight we had dinner at Mom and Dad's to meet Ashley's new boyfriend, and Mom made her chocolate pie for dessert.  I caved and had two pieces.

Symptoms: Same ole same ole- still lots of stretching across my belly, and I can really tell that I've got more weight out front which seems to put a strain on the skin and muscles underneath my tummy. It burns sometimes.  I'm also hitting an exhaustion wall, where I'm back to being tired all the time.  That probably has more to do with the quality of sleep I'm getting though, rather than an actual pregnancy symptom (although the reason my sleep quality is so poor is definitely a pregnancy symptom!)

Best Moment this week: Just been trying to enjoy watching my girl glide across my skin when I'm resting, and I've also been focusing on Luke, trying not to take for granted any of our one on one time, seeing as it's coming to a close soon!

27 Weeks and a busy weekend

Whew lordy this weekend was busy.  Saturday Mom, Ashley, and I took off at 8 in the morning and went to Canton.  We shopped and shopped until our feet hurt.  Which was by 2:30.  But we managed to get some good damage done.  I bought Evan a couple of frames to match the nursery at the same shop that I bought stuff for Luke's nursery.  I was so excited to be able to get them both something from this place, and then as I was paying out I found the lady is going out of business.  Boo!  I also found some plain headbands that I'll be able to attach the flowers and things that I'm making on.  Ashley bought a piece of furniture and a shelf for her home, and Mom picked up a couple of things too, but I'm not sure if I can mention those.  After Canton we went over the the outlet shops in Allen, and got our shop on there.  Mom did some good shopping at the Carter's outlet, where her purchases included a big brother shirt for Luke and a matching little sister onesie for Evan.  Ha!  The picture will be so cute!  We went to a couple of other stores too, but the only thing I bought was from Gap Kids- leather flip flops for Luke (he's already worn them and they gave him a blister on both feet.  So sad!) and cherry blossom jammies for my girl.  I think this is the first pair of jammies I've bought for her!  We got home at 6ish, I picked up my boys, and we all had dinner at Mom and Dad's- gourmet hamburgers.  Mmmmmm mmmmmmm.  So good. 

Sunday was just as bad.  There was church, lunch with the family, then home for a quick nap, then maternity pictures with the fabulous Taylor!  I'm super super super excited to see how they all turned out.  It was so fun getting to take pictures with my good friend, it was so relaxed and comfortable and chit chatty.  More like we were just hanging out with a camera up sometimes.  We laughed so much, but mostly at the fact that I'm a terrible model.  Those pictures with the "half smile" are so hard, my muscles just didn't want to do it.  And the laughing ones?  I'd do this fake laugh for the picture, but felt so ridiculous we'd end up giggling for real anyway.  Anyway, it was a really good time, and I can't wait to post the link when she has them up!  After that there was small groups (where Luke said his first name other than a family members- Zane.  He didn't want to go up the stairs to play with Zane, so he was hollering his name up to try and lure him down), and by the time I got home the weekend was over. 

Whew.  That wasn't too painful to recount. 

(okay, I forgot that I hadn't taken a picture until just now, so sorry I'm a little harried.  I just cleaned our bathroom.)

(this is my 27 week picture with Luke.  My belly wasn't nearly as big.  I thought by now they might have evened out to be about the same, but I'm shocked at how much bigger I am this time around!)

*edit*  Yikes!   Same pants in both pictures!
Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 27 weeks

Size of baby: The weight of a head of cauliflower- about 2 pounds.  And she's about 14 1/2 inches long.

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I weighed myself Saturday night at Mom's after dinner.  I was so shocked and mortified by the number that I can't even say it.  I have to wait until my dr's appointment on Friday to see what it says. 

Maternity Clothes: I think my last post confirmed that.  I actually can't believe I left that up as the last post for so long.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: Still moving allllll the time.  When I'm sitting (like I am now) she rolls up against my hip bone and pelvic bone.  Very odd.  Plus I'm sure she's started getting the hiccups.  I thought maybe last week, but it was hard to tell sometimes. 

Sleep: Well, Friday I came down with a massive allergy attack, and it's reeked havoc on my sinuses ever since.  Friday I couldn't dry out, and now I'm so dry I can't get enough water.  Like, a 100 oz of water a day and I still feel dehydrated.  Needless to say it's messed with my sleep in a major way.

What I miss: Being able to self medicate.

Cravings: Still the sugar.  But according to the scale, it's TOTALLY caught up with me, so I'm trying to exercise a little more self control.  Which I fail at.  Daily.

Symptoms: More of the same- still lots of stretching across my belly, and I can really tell that I've got more weight out front which seems to put a strain on the skin and muscles underneath my tummy. It burns sometimes.

Best Moment this week: The funniest thing happened at Canton.  Mom and I were talking to a vendor, and I unbuttoned my jacket.  She stopped what she was saying, looked at my belly, looked at me, and with wide eyes said "Is it real?"  WHAT?!  Is it real?  What did that mean?  Who says that?  I just answered with "Well, it's a real baby in there."  We giggled about it the rest of the day.  Did she think I was walking around with a fake pregnancy belly or something?

26 Weeks

Last night after small groups we came home and Luke started running a fever.  Booooo.  I gave him some Motrin, but it didn't really bring it down a whole bunch.  Baby boy fell asleep fast when I put him in bed (after we rocked for about 30 minutes), and this morning he woke up good as new.  He was one chatty cathy, getting in all that he had missed last night.  As the morning wore on he started having a low grade fever that crept up to 101 by 11:30, so I gave him some more Motrin.  I don't believe he's had a fever since, so fingers crossed it's passed.  Whatever it was.  I am so very thankful that it didn't develop into anything worse, but it's kinda annoying when he gets these random fevers!  I get all paranoid that he's got something terrible and that then I'm going to get it. 

(you can't tell in this picture, but I actually finally got a hair cut last Monday.  I can't believe it's been a week and I still hadn't mentioned it.  I mean, a yearly hair cut is a pretty big deal.  I asked for 1/2 inch off, and she cut more like 2 inches off, but whateves.  It's healthy again.)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 26 weeks- 97 days left......yikes!  I can't BELIEVE I'm in the double digits already.  But even though I'm under 100 days left, it still feels far off sometimes.  I made the comment this week that I feel like I'm pretty far along, but not far enough for there to be a light at the end of the tunnel.  Maybe around 32 weeks I will?

Size of baby: She's the length of a  English hothouse cucumber.  I guess there is a difference between that and a regular cucumber?

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm afraid to look.

Maternity Clothes: Yes and yes.  Although I'm currently wearing Cody's shirt, so technically that's not maternity.  Actually, I wore one of his shirts Saturday too.  Yikes.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: It seems this weeks she's gotten too big to just give a kick or bump here and there.  I'd say 95% of the movement I feel is whole limbs sliding and pushing around under the skin.  It's all highly visible.  Sometimes she's gets a sharp body part and just puuuuuuuuushes against my tummy, and it HURTS!  I mean, push a finger into your bicep as hard as you can and that's what it feels like.  It's got to be her and not just the muscles contracting, cause there is a hard knot where it hurts, and sometimes you can feel the rest of her body in a soft lumpy line coming off of it. 

Sleep: Eh, take it or leave it.  I know you aren't supposed to sleep on your back, but sometimes its the only way to get my hips to stop hurting.  I try and prop myself up pretty high, and only lay there long enough for the pain to go away, but sometimes I fall back asleep.  :(

What I miss: There was something, but I forgot what it was.

Cravings: I can not get enough sugar.  Or chocolate.  I've told you about my cookie dough that I made.  I think half of what I spent our grocery money on today was junky sweets.  Brownie mix.  Strawberry fig newtons.  Ice cream.  Pretzel M&M's.  I just wanna munch all the time.

Symptoms: Still lots of stretching across my belly, and I can really tell that I've got more weight out front which seems to put a strain on the skin and muscles underneath my tummy. Plus I need to drink more water because the Braxton Hicks are picking up a little bit. 

Best Moment this week: Hearing my boy say even MORE words!  At church yesterday in bible class he busted out with "amen" at the end of a prayer, and today he said "blue" (boooo) for the speech therapist when she asked what color Thomas (the Train) was.  Amazing!

25 Weeks and more new words

First of all, in the last couple of days Luke has picked up two new words- pink and two!  Whoo hoo!  That's pretty huge for us.  Making that /p/ sound at the beginning of pink has been so difficult for him.  Unfortunately he's also picked up the words poo poo and pee pee.  While that's great for when he's potty training, it's not so great to shout out and want to talk about during a Walmart shopping trip, which is what he did today.  And for the last few months when ever we are counting he will say "One.....dis......dis.....dis......"  All we had was the one.  But now we are up to two!  Ha!  Every night when we say our prayers together, we always pray that God helps his brain and mouth to work together so he can say more words.  It's so exciting to see prayers answered!  Also today it was cute...he found my pack of nail files and said "aaaaahhh!" while pointing down his throat.  I laughed and said that it was a good idea that it could be tongue depressors, but that they were actual nail files.  What a smart boy to put those things together!  Oh, and one more thing.  I asked him a couple of days ago what his name was, and he said "L-dis-K-E!"  Ha!  I told him that's how he SPELLS his name, but when you say it, it is "Luke".  Funny kid.

Yes, I've written the wrong date by accident.  It was bound to happen at some point.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 25 weeks

Size of baby: She's the size of a rutabaga.  What is that?!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Can I stick with the 13 lbs from last week please?

Maternity Clothes: Generally, yes.  But Taylor is taking some maternity pictures for me in a couple of weeks, and I decided I needed a new shirt for the occasion.  I went to Khol's with Mom today and after making sure we had totally picked over the kid's section for anything else my children "need"  ;) I told her I wanted to go to the juniors department to find a new top for the pictures.  She looked at me like I was crazy (I was expecting that), so I asked her to indulge my delusions and just go with it.  She did, and I was able to say a big BOO YAH! when several of the knit tops fit, just in a medium instead of a small.  I ended up getting two- one to wear on the shoot and one just because.  Yay  me!

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: Oh man, she actually tickled me to the point where I was laughing this week.  She is still about three inches below my right rib cage, and I have a tickle spot over there. Every few minutes or so she rolls an elbow or tries to high five me or something (seriously, she gets out there.  Like visible through my clothes.) and one time she hit it right on the money.  It's a good thing I was alone in the living room when it happened, otherwise my laughing and yelling out "that tickles!" would have looked really odd.  She's also gotten me a couple of times in the bladder, but thankfully those haven't been square on kicks, just bumped into it.

Sleep: It seems that every other night I'm able to sleep through the night.  Better than nothing.

What I miss: I think I've been okay this week.

Cravings: Still the sweets.  Lots of sweets.

Symptoms: Still lots of stretching across my belly, and I can really tell that I've got more weight out front which seems to put a strain on the skin and muscles underneath my tummy.  And tonight I've been really dizzy.  Odd.

Best Moment this week: Sitting and watching my girl try to come out the side of my belly.  And getting tickled by her.  ;)

24 Weeks

Once again, excuse the awful-ness of my photo.  Sunday and Monday I looked nice and cute, but did I take a picture then?  Oh no.  I spent the entire day doing housework, and my appearance is a direct reflection of that.  On the plus side, I got the old computer desk out of Evan's room, all of Cody's things that he still hasn't dealt with in a box in the garage (where he can now deal with it at his leisure without me going crazy on him), and 4 loads of laundry folded.  Plus I straight up scraped the paint off of two dresser drawers tonight.   I did buy stripper for it, but it was a total bust and didn't work. 

Also, I just went back and tried to do a belly comparison from the last few weeks to see if I've really changed that much, and it just goes to show that I really should take each picture at the same time of day from the same angle.  This week I did it myself with the timer all the way from the dining room table waaaaay after the sun went down, and last week Cody took it much closer (from a higher angle since he's obviously taller than the table) at night, and the week before he took it but stood farther back and it was during the day.  Oh well.  I almost didn't take tonight's at all, so at least I've got something.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 24 weeks. Adding an extra day has made this week seem extra long.  In fact, someone asked me how many weeks I was today, and I couldn't remember if it was 23 or 24.  How sad is that?

Size of baby: Evan is the length of an ear of corn.  And I can tell, too.  The website I get all these weekly things from say that she's still a little more than a pound and about a 12 inches long, but another site I saw this week said she's about 2 lbs and 14 inches long.  That's a pretty big difference to me!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Welp, according to the doctor on Friday I'm up 13 pounds.  Now, I've seen other weekly pregnancy blogs and those ladies are 10 to 12 weeks ahead of me and only at 16 pounds gained.  Eek!  Plus I'm sure I'll balloon at the end, so it looks like I'm gonna be up a solid 30 lbs or so again this time around.  I should probably stop with all the candy and ice cream.  And milk shakes.  And cookies.

Maternity Clothes: Yes. Please refer to the picture.  Actually, I wrote that before I took the picture.  Don't refer to it.  The shorts and the tee shirt just happen to not be maternity.  I never wear this shirt because it's exteremly large and I hate wearing big shirts, but it was our intermural champions for flag football college shirt and I just can't part with it.  It's come in handy during pregnancies.  The shorts are old work out shorts from when I used to pretend to work out.  Read- jog around the block once or go to the gym and "lift" weights before hitting the pool and sauna.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: She's an active little booger.  And I can tell she's moving up too.  I could have sworn today there was little body part protruding from right under my rib today.

Sleep: Dear Sleep, you will come back one day right?  And when you come back, you'll leave your enemies Potty Break and Hip Pain in the dust?  Okay, thanks.
What I miss: I really missed beer this week.  Don't judge.

Cravings: Just the sweets. And I always give in. But that will stop.  Right.

Symptoms: Besides the stretching of muscles and skin and my tired back, this week the foot cramps have come out to play.  And the shortness of breath.  Sometimes I just have to sit and lean back to be able to fully expand my lungs.  Plus, if it's possible, my patience have become even shorter.  I'm afraid people are going to start walking on egg shells around me if I don't get my act together. 

Best Moment this week: Passing my glucose test!  Not that I was really worried, but it was nice to get the phone call that all was in the clear.  Also at the doctor on Friday she measured the height of my fundus for the first time- the length from the top of my pubic bone to the top of my uterus- and I'm measuring 22-23 inches, so not too far off!  (Typically you should be the same number of inches that you are weeks....so maybe I'll get me another sweet little bitty baby?)

23 Weeks

Well, the sun was out again today which helped me to be much more productive then the last....ummmm.....week.  I did laundry (what little I had.  I'm totally staying on top of that this time), cleaned a bathroom, made a burp cloth set for a lady at church, made dinner (I actually got a compliment from Cody on my hamburger!), changed the sheets, emptied the dishwasher.  Yesterday I did my weekly grocery shoping (during the big game of course, had the place mostly to myself), cleaned the floors, and did some over all tidying.  The front door was open, the blinds were up, it was a lovely day.  No desk yet, but lovely none the less.

I mean, what day isn't lovely when these sweet things arrive in the mail?!  The first two bows of the four I've ordered so far!  I got these two beauts at this shop and now they reside on the bow holder!

(Can you see my belly button?  Hello world!)(Also, welcome to what I've been wearing for the last week.  It's hard to put on actual pants when you know there is no where to go.  Just keepin it real folks.)

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 23 weeks. Finally.  With Cody home so much last week, it was almost like every day was Saturday, and the week just couldn't move forward.  It was a long one.  Hopefully this week will move faster.  Except not too fast.  I have my dr. appointment on Friday and it's the glucose test.  Blec.

Size of baby: weighs as much as a large mango.  She's a little over a pound!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I don't know right now, but I will on Friday at that appointment.  Shall we guess 10?  12?

Maternity Clothes: Yes.  Today I tired to wear one of my regular tee shirts, and it barely met the top of my yoga pants.  Oh brother.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here at the beginning of the summer!

Movement: Almost all the time.  And a lot of the time it's not even just pokes and jabs, it's the tidal wave rolls that feel like cart wheels or something.

Sleep: Between the bathroom trips and the tissues, I am up somewhere between two and three times a night.  And unfortunatnly it's about to get worse because I've just been told the medicine I've been using to get what little control of my allergies I have, is not appropriate for pregnancy.  Oops.  I was so depressed trying to find a suitable replacement and finding none that I tried to buy myself a new shirt so I'll at least look cute while being sleep deprived, but Target had nothing I liked.  Talk about adding insult to injury.  So I went to Freddy's for a hot fudge sundae.  Maybe I should up that poundage in the weight catagory to around 14 lbs.

What I miss: My nasal spray.

Cravings: Just the sweets.  And I always give in.

Symptoms: Ugg.  I can literally feel my tummy getting bigger and bigger.  The skin stretching.  The tummy muscles deteriorating.  I can't imagine how I'll feel in 10 or 12 weeks.  And I keep forgetting to mention I've already gotten the waddle down.  It's just so much easier to walk that way.

Best Moment this week: Hearing my sweet boy say more and more actual words.  He's done so good this week!

I'm including a straight on photo this week so you can see that belly button of mine.  I told you it's come out play!  And I didn't realize how wide my hips looked until I saw these pictures.  Either these pants are a little baggy or I'm growing myself some birthin' hips.

22 Weeks and a birthday

Sunday we celebrated Mom's birthday, which meant I needed to get moving on her present.  My poor family.  I don't think Mom or Ashley has had a store bought present from me in the last couple of years.  They get the brunt of all my "great" ideas involving the sewing machine.  Anyway, when Mom saw the cup towels I made for Ashley's Christmas present (did I ever show you those?) and then the ones I made for myself, she subtly hinted that it they would be great presents for people's birthday.  Hint taken.  I just couldn't figure out what fabric would go best with her kitchen.  She doesn't really have a theme or color scheme in there, and most of my fabric is a bit more whimsical than she would probably want displayed.  Finally I came up with this:

Except when I got started on Friday is exactly when the FedEx man dropped off my curtains and I got a little side tracked.  And then the bomb was dropped that we were celebrating a day early due to my grandfather wanting to get home before the horrible weather hit.  A whole day is a big deal in sewing world!  But I got it done, she loved it, and Ashley and I even baked her a cake. 

I made sure to do the icing.  (She benefited from Evan's gender reveal party)  I just couldn't bear to associate my good name with something that looked anything remotely like this.  No matter how good and sweet her intentions are/were.  So anyway, Dad fixed us a mmm mmm mmmm meal of homemade lasagna, bread, and a Greek salad.  Oh I stuffed myself silly.  Plus I had seconds.  And seconds on the cake too.  Then I beached myself on the couch. 

Today is Mom's actual birthday.  A little more low key than last year.  And also the day that I'm 22 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 22 weeks.  It's weird.  Up until now it's flown by, but this week and last have been considerably slower.  Maybe it's the thought that I'm already as uncomfortable as I am and I still have 18 weeks left.  Or the fact that I looked again at my pictures from Luke's pregnancy, and I'm thinking I'm looking about 5 weeks ahead with this one as I did the last one.  That's a lot.  I didn't take pictures every week, and the next match up is 23 weeks, so if I remember I'll post it so you can compare for yourself.

Size of baby: a spaghetti squash.  Ashley was not a fan of this one.  But she's weighing in at right under a pound.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I did think about using their scale when I was over at Mom and Dad's last night, but that was after I was beached on the couch.  Yeah right, like I was going to weigh at that point.

Maternity Clothes: Very much so.  I put on one of my hoodies the other day and I couldn't get the zipper to touch.

Gender: I'm having me a baby girl! Evan Elaine Carver has 4 new bows after my Etsy order today.  ;)

Movement: Lots.  and Lots. 

Sleep: Still not the best.  I've been trying new things each night get comfortable, and the best I've found is smack in the middle of the bed with every pillow possible.  Sorry Cody.  Come to bed sooner and stake your claim if you have a problem with it.

What I miss: Normal sleep. Not keeping track of total caffeine intake throughout the day.  Winter is so hard, when all I want to do is sit around and drink coffee!

Cravings: Besides the sweets, just the pancakes.  But that's better after my date with Luke on Saturday.

Symptoms: This one really amped up this week.  The top of my belly has felt tight and blech, like the muscles have reached a limit.  My back gets tired and hurts really easily.  Besides being exhausted, my back has been one of the reasons I've hit the hay earlier this week.  Trying to clean the floors and the bathrooms today was more painful than usual.

Best Moment this week: I'm tired with a headache, and all I can think about is the ice cream in my freezer. 

On a totally unrelated note, I've had to start having the "Story vs. Truth" talk with Luke today.  Every time I ask him if he's got a yucky diaper he would say no, even though we both knew that was.  I talked to him about how saying no when he really was, was a story.  The last time tonight when he was dirty I asked him if he was, and he hid behind the couch and quietly said no.  Oh, that boy knew what he was doing.

21 Weeks

Real quick, a couple of things I forgot to mention about the weekend:

-Saturday Luke and I went to a surprise party for Sara's husband (who turned the big 3-0).  They had balloons there that we were supposed to hold when doing the actual surprising, and when Luke say them he pointed to each one saying "No no.  No no.  No no."  I've taught my boy well.  Muah hahaha.

-Sunday night we went to a first birthday for a friend's little girl.  My boy ate 7 mini corn dogs and a piece of cake.  He's been packing in the food.  He's also been packing in the politeness.  Every time I give him something, from food to a toy, he says "Thanks Mom." in the sweetest little voice.  I hope that he always stays polite and this isn't just a phase. 

-At night (okay, this isn't about the weekend, but it's every night) he doesn't want me to read him a story, it has to be Daddy.  I'll bathe him, medicine him up (inhaler and allergy), brush his teeth, dress him, but when I ask if I can read a the story he says "Daddy does."  Fine.  When we say our prayers he always goes first (it's in pure jabber, I'd love to know what he says) and then it's "Momma does." and it's my turn to pray.  My sweet boy.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 21 weeks

Size of baby: From head to heel is the length of a carrot. 

Total Weight Gain/Loss:  I weighed at Mom's this weekend, and yep- I'm up the 8 lbs total.  Hopefully it stays low and slow like this, no ballooning at the end please!

Maternity Clothes: In every way, shape, and form.

Gender:  I'm having me a baby girl!  Evan Elaine Carver

Movement: Not only is she moving, she's MOVING.  I actually got to watch my tummy start moving this week as her little body parts pushed through.  Also, Cody got to feel her!

Sleep: Oi.  I think we are on the down hill slide for sleep.  It's been awful this week.  The extra pound seems like lead weight on my shoulders and hips, they have been cramping up on me when I lay on my side, which is the only way I can lay.  So not only does that wake me up, but I'm having to do the inch worm now to turn over from side to side, so I have to wake up to do that too.  I've be EXHAUSTED lately.

What I miss: Normal sleep.  And mojitos.

Cravings: Sweets!  No matter how full I am after a meal (which happens a lot sooner now than it used too, she's moving up into my stomach cavity) I just have to have something sweet.  That box of chocolates sure does come in hand for a quick fix!  I'll have one chocolate after each meal, and it usually satisfies enough.  I'll be super bummed when it's gone.

Symptoms: Nothing more than what I've already mentioned.  Exhaustion.  Feeling full sooner when I eat.  My patience isn't what it used to be.  But that could be a mixture of having a toddler and being tired.  ;)  Oh!  And my belly button's almost popped out!  Last time it very slowly flattened before becoming an outie, but it never really went back to how it was before, so this time the top of it popped out rather quickly and has slowly been working it's way downward.  There's just one little crease at the base of it before it's totally an outie again.

Best Moment this week: Watching that sweet girl move across my tummy and knowing I've got lots more time to enjoy it (hopefully).  Last night she was so close to the surface that I was able to gentle feel her and get her to move around.  Apparently she likes to be right out in front where she can experience as much of the world as possible.  Is it weird that I'm still in awe that there's an actual baby in there?  A BABY.  Whole new person.  Just hanging out in there.

And here's my big baby.  Yes he's naked.  The only time I could snag Cody was right after bath time, and Luke got so excited from the possibility of "da wight!" (the light) that he just HAD to be in a picture.  I made sure to keep him covered.

20 Weeks and cleaner than clean

Whew, I have spent most of the last two days cleaning!  I had some ladies over tonight, and I'm fairly certain they could have given two hiney hoots about finger prints and milk splatters, but if I don't wipe them away at some point I'll have a forensic mystery on my hands if there were to ever be a crime committed here.  I could just see the plot line now...."I've dusted for finger prints and it seems there are various sizes of the same print completely enrobing the house.  What does that mean?"  I'd never do this stuff just for myself.  Too much work. 

Anyway, the day started out nasty.  Foggy, misting, cold, and dreary.  I had to go get gas in MY CAR (yes!  It's back!  The truck is fixed!) and it took me 10 minutes in that weather to clean out the junk my dearly beloved left behind.  Lord have mercy did he trash my car.  But it's better now, and after that Luke and I headed to Target.  The whole way there he kept asking to go home or to go to Nana and Papa's.  Every time I would tell him sorry dude, we're going to Target.  And every time he would casually say "Noooooooo" in a tone that implied he had some say in where we were headed.  It made me laugh.  At Target I found a splurge for Evan. 

How cute is that lamp?  (sorry for the bad night photo) It's the perfect shade of lavender, and the girl needed something feminine in there.  Hopefully the fabric will come in the next few days and I can get on all of that.  At Target my boy was a dear.  Such a helper.  And when I say helper, I mean he actually helped me, not like the you-really-are-trying-to-help-but-that's-not-really-helping kind of way.  I let him walk, he kept up with me, and he would put all the non delicates in the basket for me.  I drew the line at the carton of eggs and glass jar of tomato sauce. We came home, lunched, napped, and then Nana and Papa came to get him for the evening so I could finish cleaning (without a "helper") and he would be out of our hair tonight. 

See?  He even wanted to be a helper in my picture!  Cody was taking forever to come help me, so I just used the timer again.  Luke was so thrilled by the timer light on the camera he wanted to take our picture over and over and over again.  I may have found a way for him to actually take a decent photo!  Maybe.  At the end I'll put up a couple of the really cute ones we did while playing around.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 20 weeks.  Holy moly we are half way through, little girl!  I can't believe it!

Size of baby: Evan is the length of a banana.  Which makes sense on why this morning I could feel her moving on both sides of my belly.  She must have been laying across me.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I haven't checked lately, but if I'm gaining the theoretical pound a week I'm supposed to be gaining at this point, then I would be up to 8 lbs.  But that's not including all the chocolate I ate today.  Sometimes a girl just needs motivation after each task to keep cleaning.  Plus, since I didn't have a napping boy during happy hour today, I took myself on down to the Sonic and got me a cherry limeade.  I asked Cody if he wanted to come, and he said no, so I spent his drink money on fries.  Boo ya.

Maternity Clothes: Ummm........yes.

Gender: Everyone was right, it's a girl! Evan Elaine Carver will be here before we know it!

Movement: She's a movin and a grooven.   I've just got to get someone to sit with me long enough and they'd be able to feel it too.

Sleep: Much better this week since I've been feeling better.  Although, I do keep waking up on my back with a funny feeling in my belly (I'm not supposed to be on my back anymore, my uterus is heavy enough now to cut off the circulation of an important vessel back there), and then I wake up laying too far forward on my belly and she's kicking the mattress to make it move.  Sunshine does not like to be cramped up.  I have a hard time staying in the perfect side sleeping position.

What I miss: Nothing

Cravings: Nothing.

Symptoms: Just some minor aches and pains as my ligaments keep stretching.  That's always fun.  Today I was unloading the dishwasher-just standing there- and I got such a pinching side stitch that I had to sit down.

Best Moment this week: Sounds silly, but enjoying the beautiful sunny weather this afternoon (it really warmed up after the clouds dispersed) with a cleared out car, loud music, and the windows down.

(This one was without the timer, and he was confused/upset that the light wasn't coming on.  This kid and his lights.)

19 Weeks and it's COLD

First of all, look at what my sister bought for Evan on her trip to Nashville this weekend.

Her first hair bow!   Oh my.  The tag says 3-6 months, so we're guessing it's supposed to be a shirt, but can't you just see this a little earlier as a dress with white eyelet bloomers embroidered with her name in navy?  (Nana?  Did you catch that? Ha!)  Anyway, I was also thrilled that my Hawthorne Threads package came yesterday.

My first batch of fabrics to make her some goodies!  I'm LOVING the yellow rose one, it's my favorite, and the one I was thinking about making the nursing cover out of.  But is it too light?  Would the darker brown be better suited for something of that nature?  I mean, I'm not Jesus or anything so I don't emit light, and I'm thinking that's about the only way you'd really be able to see through it, but still......Sara?  Thoughts on that?  Plus I'd really like to make her a dress out of it too, and I'm wondering if it would be weird to have her match her cover.  Eh.  We'll see.

On a totally different note, it's friggen cold here people!  I mentioned Sunday that it snowed a whole bunch, and it was still on the ground for most of today.  Yesterday it tried to flurry a little bit more, but that lasted 5 minutes and was just cloudy the rest of the day.  The sun was out today so the snow on the roof finally melted.  But the ground was still frozen which meant ice ice ice.  I'm not sure our faucet was supposed to look like this.

And inside the bushes were all decorated from the water dripping off the eaves.

But the winner of the "Most Trashy Award" goes to the back porch.

See, several months ago I got tired of Luke's room smelling like poo, so I got rid of his Diaper Champ in favor of a Walmart bag outside of the back door.  Classy, not so much, but it sure did get rid of the smell.  Well, by trash day (like today) the bag is usually hit or miss with most of the diapers, and I just gather them up and take them to the can in the ally.  TODAY they just happened to be where the water was dripping off the roof but the concrete was still frigid, freezing them fast.  I was able to pry most of them up, except for that fellow, he was stuck something good.  It's a good thing we don't live up north where the thing might have to be frozen there for the next two months.  I'm sure the morning's sun will remedy the problem.  If not, oh well.  No one comes over to look out my back door anyway.  (and FYI, the brown clumps in the picture are clumps of potting soil Luke dumped out of my pots before breaking them.  Or while he was breaking them.  Either way the pots are gone but the dirt is not.)

Now on to the good stuff.  I'm a day late because my dearly beloved (and photographer) seems to have come down with a version of my head cold.  Yesterday on his lunch break he bought some cold medicine, took the night time version an hour before he left for the day, barely made it home, and was zonked out by 6 PM.  I didn't have the heart to wake him just for a quick picture, and it seemed cruel to turn on the lights so I could try and do it myself with the timer.  So here we are today.

Pregnancy Highlights:

How Far Along: 19 weeks

Size of baby: an heirloom tomato.  Apparently that's a lot bigger than a regular tomato? 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: Well, on Thursday I was up the 7 lbs.  But I'm thinking that for being a week shy of half way through, 7 lbs ain't that bad.  My tummy is definitely growing too.  I've officially lost all of my rolls when I sit down (the first one disappeared FAST, I just kept forgetting to mention it) and also when I am sitting, things touch that didn't used to.  It's very odd to have skin to skin contact in places you're not used to.

Maternity Clothes: Yes and yes.  I tried on three different sweaters tonight for running to the store in, and it was just pathetic.  Yes, I had to run to the store at 8:30 after Luke went to bed since I STILL don't have my car.  I'm getting highly annoyed that I'M the one paying for HIS procrastination about getting his stupid brakes done.

Gender: Everyone was right, it's a girl!  Evan Elaine Carver will be here before we know it!

Movement: Oh yes, she has become quite the little squirmy worm.  Especially in these pants.  The band goes below my belly and when I sit down she lets me know that she doesn't like it there.

Sleep: It's been hard to tell with the sickness, but I'm thinking okay.  There for a few nights I was really afraid the hip pain had already set in, but that seems to have gone with the fever.  I know it will be back, but I'd like to hold out as long as I can!

What I miss: Nothing

Cravings: Nothing. Okay, maybe milkshakes, which is crazy since it's in the 20's here.

Symptoms: Not a one!  Not even any tightness in my belly, which had been happening off and on.  Unless she's moving I don't feel pregnant at all.

Best Moment this week: Finding out that all is well with my baby girl and we are right on track, and being able to give this little person an identity!