Short but sweet

Short but sweet is the perfect summary of this week.  The weekend was amazing! I felt refreshed after being able to spend some time out by the pool catching some rays and sleeping in.  I only had 4 days of work this week which was nice because it made the week go by faster.  Jonny's coworkers threw us a "short but sweet" baby shower (see more below).  Everything about this week was short but sweet. including this blog post. 

 

Not much went on this week besides lots of volleyball (surprised?).  I have been packing and cleaning during my spare time.  I feel ready to leave today which makes life at work peaceful instead of stressing about all I have to do at home.  I just can't wait for the next week.  I am looking forward to seeing friends and family and spending lots of time in the car with my two loves.  Weird to think about that...

 

Here is the weekly update.  Only one more week and I will be in the 30's.  2 more weeks and I will be in the single digit countdown.  Holy crud.

 

 

Here I am at 28.5 weeks

These are taking this morning (29 weeks).  The one on the left is how I look just walking around (not fitted) and the one on the right I kind of fitted to my stomach to see a little bit more definition.

 

This picture is ONE week difference.  After last post, I realized that I really did grow overnight.  Now it is fun to compare days and weeks.  This was wearing the same shirt.  You can see how much I popped in one week.  Crazy!

 

Total weight gain so far: 16 pounds total.  Doctor said I should be gaining close to a pound a week from here on out.  Holy smokes.



How far along are you: 29 weeks

 

Maternity clothes: Yes.  I am starting to fill them out too!

 

 Sleep: So tired every night.  The start of this last week I was waking up in the morning with lower back pain.  So I decided that I would try out using the body pillow.  Let me tell you...A-MAZ-ING! I have found the optimal temperature where I am not sweating and Jonny isn't freezing.  Sleep has been wonderful!  I actually feel refreshed in the morning. 

 

 Best moment this week: Having another little baby shower.  This time it was thrown by Jonny's coworkers.  It was small, short and sweet.  It was perfect!  And Jonny was there which was fun because if anyone knows me, I do not like opening gifts in front of people.  I feel like I am not very good at giving good impressions.  I pretty much love everything I get but for some reason I can't show that on my face like I feel it on the inside.  And knowing that makes me try to hard and then it seems fake.  I just don't like it.  On a happier note, THANKS to everyone who came and a special thanks to Jessica and Judy for throwing it!  So nice of you :)

 

Miss anything: I miss being able to lay on my stomach while out by the pool.  I was out by the pool this weekend for memorial day and it was great!  Except the front half of me has the start of a nice tan and the back pretty much has nothing.  I tried to come up with something to help me be able to lay on my stomach.  I did wrap a pool noodle around my stomach like a little donut which helped but still not the most comfortable thing in the world.

 

 Movement: Yes and still enjoyable.

 

 Food cravings: Nope

 

 Anything making you queasy or sick: Not at all

 

Have you started to show yet: Yes. Getting bigger everyday.  Literally...I grew overnight last week.  It is crazy how much I am growing. I am glad I am taking pictures.

 

 Gender: Girl

 

 Belly button in or out: In

 

 Labor signs: Nope

 

 Wedding rings on or off: On

 

 Looking forward to: UTAH! We leave today and will drive to Utah.  We will stop in Fort Collins and see our friends and then off to Utah for a week to see family!  On our way home, we will stop in Steamboat Springs and spend some time with Jonny's brother.  I cannot wait to have a short but much needed vacation! :)

3rd trimester....what what!

That's right people, I have officially entered my 3rd trimester!  Woot!  I am actually kind of sad about leaving the second trimester behind.  That really was the best time for pregnancy so far.  Here's a recap of some things that happened during my second trimester that I will miss:

 

---Energy! I hear this goes away for the last couple of months and pretty much until the baby sleeps through the night and we start getting sleep.

---finding out the sex of the baby.  This was such an exciting time.  We counted down the days to find out. 
---getting a "baby bump".  I am going to miss my small little baby bump especially as I start to get ginormous.
---dumping traffic control.  That's right.  My company back in December sent me to traffic control school to learn how to put up barrels in a construction zone.  For 4 months after that, I drove up a down 20 miles of the interstate checking barrels to make sure they were still in place.  If they were knocked over, I had to get out and replace them.  That was quite an experience.  I got a few honks here and there but I think I gained a better understanding of what goes on out on the job.  I wasn't showing really then (at least not through my sweatshirts) but my boss got other people certified and replaced me as soon as he could.  I really kind of miss it because I felt like I was in "the know" but on the other hand, I am really grateful to be back in the office with the two girls.
---3D ultrasound!  Seriously, the best thing during pregnancy for me is being able to see the baby during an ultrasound.  It's reassuring that everything is going well especially during those early weeks when you aren't feeling as much.  This time, we got to see our baby in 3D (see picture below).  It wasn't the best picture the tech could have gotten but our little girl was just soooo stubborn and would not move her head away from the side of the placenta for the tech to be able to get a good picture of her.  The tech said that the baby loved being spread out but smooshed at the same time.  Whenever I moved around to give her more room, she would stretch her neck out and kick her feet and then huddle her face right back up against the placenta.  It was still fun to be able to see the 2D of her moving around.  It really makes it reality to see and feel her moving at the same time.  Sometimes I get so busy that I know she is moving but I don't always think about what it means.

---being cold.  This whole pregnancy so far I have been cold.  I have a feeling with the humid summer coming up soon that will most likely change.  I just wish that I could have a swimming pool in my backyard to go sit in whenever I want.  I have had multiple friends offer their pools whenever I wanted which will be nice. 

Looking back at some of the things from second trimester just made me realize that it has been great but what is going to come in 2 1/2 months while outweigh that all.  Last night as Jonny and I were laying in bed talking, the thought of us really being parents and taking care of this little baby became a little more real.  I thought how long Jonny and I have been uncles and aunts and how awesome it is to be able to play with them but never be the bad guy.  We never had to change the diaper, put them down for naps, put them in timeout, discipline, or anything that would make them not like us.  We just play with them and give them back to their parents when any of those happen.  Last night was one of those moments.  I thought about how they will be given back to us when they are hungry or tired or crying.  I had a brief moment of fear before I fell asleep that I wouldn't know what to do.  I wouldn't know why she was crying or when she is able to start eating certain foods.  I just hope what everyone says about "you just will know" will come true.  I know that Jonny will be a great dad but sometimes I hope that I can do a good job too.

One last thing from this week.  As most of you know Oklahoma got hit by that huge tornado.  They were thinking that some parts of Arkansas and Texas might be hit too.  Luckily, that didn't happen (as far as I know).  Living in Arkansas we are technically a part of "tornado alley" which is kind of scary.  However, Russellville is kind of in a valley surrounded by a few mountains that makes tornados hard to get inside.  A tornado hasn't hit Russellville in years and probably won't happen often which is nice to know.  But that doesn't mean we don't get the thunderstorms.  Thunderstorms in the south are nuts.  The lightning is so bright it lights up a room at 2am and the thunder is so loud that it sounds like a bomb is going off in the bathroom.  The other day, we had a bad storm come through that literally woke Jonny and I up in the middle of the night because it was so loud and so bright.  The next morning as I was driving to work I saw this tree.  It was 2 houses down from ours and the tree was split in half.  It was crazy to think that a thunderstorm did something like this.  Trash cans were flown all across the street.  It sure felt like a mini tornado had made its way through, just without all the casualities and destroyed homes.

A weekly blog post wouldn't be the same if I was missing the weekly update right?  Here we go!

 On the left is yesterday at 27 weeks 6 days and on the right is today at 28 weeks.  Is it just me or does it look like I grew overnight?!?

 If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook you saw this picture the other day.  On Tuesdays, people put "Transformation Tuesdays" on Instagram where they put a picture of what they use to look like and a picture of themselves now.  I thought I would do that with the first picture I took when I found out I was pregnant to the beginning of my 3rd trimester.  Most likely I will do another one when I am about to pop.  I guess I just get so used to being pregnant now that I forget my stomach has changed so much.

Total weight gain so far: Hopped up to 16 pounds this last doctors visit.  I have to be constantly reminding myself that gaining weight right now is a good thing.  The baby is growing a lot every week!

How far along are you: 28 weeks

Maternity clothes: Yes.  And this last week I was able to wear my maternity swimsuit for the first time.  Me and the swimming pool will become best friends this summer.

 

Sleep: So tired every night but sleeping great! 

 

Best moment this week: Being able to see our baby girl and knowing everything is looking great!

Miss anything: I miss my family, Shardlows and Neeleys! Sometimes its hard being away from family especially when you are emotional.  Can't wait to see them! :)

 

Movement: Yes and loving it.  It's stronger but not too strong.  I keep hearing about how at the end it starts to get a bit uncomforable because they are so big and you run out of room.  I was able to let some of my friends feel her move too which was exciting.

 

Food cravings: I'm pretty sure they will never come. 

 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.  I hope that ended in the first trimester.

Have you started to show yet: Yes.  Getting bigger everyday!

 

Gender: Girl

 

Belly button in or out: In

 

Labor signs: Nope

 

Wedding rings on or off: On and no swelling. I hope with the hot weather coming that it will stay that way too.

 

Looking forward to: NEXT WEEK!!! That's right! We leave in ONE week!! Oh my gosh.  I am so excited.  I think it will be so much fun for us to be able to see friends and family and to get away from our normal routine for a week.  And that week will be jammed pack with fun things to do!

twenty-seven weeks

I keep saying that my weeks are crazy but seriously...this week was INSANE!! Jonny and I didn't get home any day this week before 8:30pm.  That means straight from work we headed to the gym and were there until about 8pm every night.  Wednesday I had mutual and Jonny went out with the missionaries doing his calling.  This week alone, we did 7 private lessons, had 3 volleyball practices and church Wednesday night.  Luckily, we don't have much going on tomorrow except I am going on a 5 mile hike with our girls for a camp certification at 9am!  I would complain more that it is so early but most likely I won't be able to sleep in anyway.  Last Saturday, we didn't plan anything until after 9am so that I could sleep in.  I woke up at 7:30.  Awesome.

Last week Jonny got a call from his sister Emily.  She said she had received this little boys fourth grade class project.  The project is similar to "Flat Stanley" if anyone has ever heard of that.  Basically, he sent out this notebook that he called his travel log.  He sent it to someone out of state that he knew.  They were asked to send a postcard back to his school so he could track his book while they kept the book and filled out some pages.  He wanted to know where it went and to describe the town/city/state.  He wanted to know what the weather was like and what we did for fun.  Once you filled it out, you sent it to someone else in a different state.  Emily received it from her husband's missionary companions that lives in Washington DC.  Emily asked if she could send it to us since it had not yet gone to Arkansas and if we would be willing to write in it.  The only thing was that it needed to be done and sent back within a week.  So we agreed and I am glad that we did.  It was so much fun writing to this little boy who I know is so excited to get his travel log back.  I also loved looking at where it went and all the cool pictures that people put in there about different states.  If I enjoyed it, then I know he would too.  I took a picture of the five pages we did.  Whatcha think?

 

   

 

  

 

Also, this week some co workers from Jonny's school asked him if they could throw him a shower!  So the last week of school, they are planning on throwing us a small casual shower.  It was so nice of them to want to throw us a shower just for Jonny.  We feel so blessed with all of the love our friends and family have for us and for this little baby.  She is going to be so dang spoiled.  Heck, she already is and she isn't even here yet!

Now for the moment you have all been waiting for.  Drum roll please...................

THE WEEKLY UPDATE!! :)

 

 

*Upper left is 26.5, upper right is 26.6 and middle bottom is today at 27 weeks :)

 

Total weight gain so far: 11 pounds according to my last doctors visit on 5/7.  We don't own a scale so the only weight updates I get are from the doctors.

How far along are you: 27 weeks

Maternity clothes: Yep.  But I do have a belly band that I have learned to utilize while I still can.  Its kind of nice wearing my old clothes that I haven't been able to fit into for weeks.

Sleep: I need more of it.  I have been so exhausted.  I think a lot of it has to do with how busy we are but I also want to think some of it is because I hear the tiredness of pregnancy comes back in the 3rd trimester (which is next week!)

Best moment this week: Getting our pack n play in the mail that my Mom and Dad bought for us!  Having a baby is like Christmas almost everyday.  It's awesome!

Miss anything: My body.  I know I still have 3 months to go to want that back more but I kind of miss it.  I also miss being able to go out in the sun and just getting tan.  I went to the state soccer tournament last weekend and sat outside for a couple of hours and got a little sunburned.  I can count the number of times I have burned in my life on one hand! It just doesn't happen.  I have heard that your body does weird things when your pregnant.  I guess skin sensitivity is one of them...

Movement: Yep.  I even got kicked the other day that kind of hurt.  It made me stop in the middle of my sentence.  I figure this will happen more and more as the baby gets bigger.

Food cravings: Nada. Zippo.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope.  My tummy feels upset sometimes after eating something spicy but that's about it.

Have you started to show yet: Yes but I hear almost everyday when I'm asked how far along I am or when the baby is due, "you don't look 6 months pregnant" or "are you sure there is a baby in there?" I guess I should take that as a compliment but when I hear it everyday, multiple times a day, it gets old.

Gender: Girl

Belly button in or out: In but kind of flattening out

Labor signs: Nothing

Wedding rings on or off: On and no swelling.  I hope with the hot weather coming that it will stay that way too.

Looking forward to: Our 4D ultrasound is on Monday!  I have had my thoughts about this but I am getting more and more excited as it gets closer.  I just hope that she cooperates a little better than she did in the anatomy scan.  She almost didn't let us find out what she was in that.  I hope we can get a good view of her cute little face! :)

26 weeks

To say that this week has flown by is an understatement.  I seriously had to think yesterday what day it was because I couldn't believe that it was Thursday already.  Normally, I feel like every day is drawn out and then it comes to the weekend and for some reason those fly by in 5 minutes.  Crazy how that is. 

Anyway, this week has been busy...which I am starting to think that will be a weekly/daily occurrence for, well, a LOOOOONG time.  I don't think I will really get a break before the baby comes and we all know that it sure won't happen when the baby does come.  I better start getting used to it.

We will start with Monday.  Monday afternoon, after work I drove up to Bailey's house (who I mentioned came home from BYU in my last post) and hung out with her for a couple of hours while Jonny and her boyfriend Brock went golfing.  Jonny picked up Brock in his car from Baileys house a little before I got there.  Then we left Baileys house in Baileys car and made a couple of stops before meeting up with the boys for dinner.  After dinner, we had to go back to Baileys house to pick up my car.  We ended up going inside for some dessert and staying to watch some basketball.  It started getting late so we thought we should leave.  We both hopped in Jonnys car and went home.  Yep...we got all the way home and it finally dawned on me, while we were sitting IN FRONT of our house that we had drove two cars there and one car back.  Awesome.  Since it was 10pm and we were exhausted, we decided that we would just leave my car there and Jonny would just drive the motorcycle the next day.  For the next two days, we left my car up there because we kept trying to find a time where we would be able to go get it.  It is now an ongoing joke between us and the Stokes.  PS...I have an excuse called "pregnancy brain" that I can blame that on.  I want to think its contagious and that is why Jonny forgot too but I am not sure... :)

Tuesday was my doctors appointment.  It was the dreaded glucose test.  Luckily, right before I left I was told from a friend on mine that had twins 3 years ago that it just tasted like strong Gatorade.  I had hope!  Turns out...I LOVED IT!   I chugged it and enjoyed it.  I actually wanted more.  I then was sent to the room to have my check up.  She measured my stomach and I was measuring right on.  She listened to the heartbeat and it was so strong! We then talked about the different possibilities for labor and pain.  I went from "wanting to do it natural but not being against an epidural" to "pretty sure I am going to be getting an epidural."  Just the thought of that much pain hurts me already.  Ha ha.  I am not going to try and be superwoman and do it natural, at least not with my first.  Maybe later...

After all of my routine check up things, they sent me back to the waiting room to wait out the hour.  Jonny has gone with me to every appointment except this one because of a meeting and the 22 week on because he was sick.  It was lonely and weird without him.  So I texted him and asked him if we was going to make it home before having to go back to the school for practice.  He told me no and I asked if he could keep me updated.  This was his response...

 

I love this man so much. 

 

He ended up finding jumper cables and having to jump his motorcycle at the school and then again at the church after Tuesday night basketball.  Pretty funny.

 

 

Wednesday, I was on Facebook looking at a page called "Pope County Baby Swap" which is exactly that, well baby item swap.  It's a Facebook page that was started to allow people to go on and have a huge online garage sale.  It is awesome when it comes to getting good deals on baby stuff.  First of all, I live in a small town where some people know Jonny because of the school and second, a lot of people out here have one or two kids and then get rid of all their stuff.  So I found a good deal on a breast pump.  $30 for a double electric Madella with cooler and 8-10 plastic storage containers.  Brand new, those things cost $260.  I would say that's a pretty dang good deal.  I bought it from a lady that I found out once I went to pick it up that she has a son in Jonny's PE class this semester.  So she told me she was happy to give me a good deal on it.  Pretty awesome.

 

 

That is just about everything that happened this week.  Enjoy the weekly update of pregnancy below!

 

 

 

This was at 25 weeks 3 days.

 

***These two pictures were taking today.  I was wearing a flowy shirt so to give the full effect of my belly I decided to take two.  One with the tighter undershirt showing.

 

 

Total weight gain so far: 11 pounds according to my last doctors visit on 5/7

How far along are you: 26 weeks

Maternity clothes: Yep.  Learning to love them.  I do want to go shopping but have to think I will only be able to wear them for a few months...

Sleep: Pretty good cause I have been so dang tired.  I have been waking up sweating the last two nights though.  I have a feeling that will only get worse.

Best moment this week: Probably getting some vacation/baby shower plans ironed out.  Just 3 more weeks!

Miss anything: Playing volleyball.  I can do some stuff still but I really miss being able to jump set and dive.  I will need to play some after the baby as soon as I can. 

Movement: Ha ya especially after drinking that glucose drink.  50 grams of sugar = one hyper baby!

 

Food cravings: Nothing.  Still waiting.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really queasy but I have been able to notice my increased sense of smell.  Sometimes its a blessing but mostly a curse.  Anyone else agree?

Have you started to show yet: Yes.  I still forget I am pregnant sometimes.  I guess its because I'm not massive yet.  But I have noticed that I think I can fit in places that I can't actually fit into anymore.  Like in between a chair and wall...it looks small enough for me to fit until I try and end up hitting my belly.  Weird feeling.

Gender: Girl

Belly button in or out: In

Labor signs: No

Wedding rings on or off: On and I haven't really had much swelling at all.  I hope that continues.

Looking forward to: Summer to get some closets organized and cleaned out.  I think about all the work that needs to be done and get overwhelmed.  Luckily we have the summer where Jonny won't work to get most of that done.

It's Friday! :)

Friday is always the marking of a new week in pregnancy! 25 weeks now.  Sometimes I still can't believe that our lives will be changing before we know it. 

 

This week has been super busy starting with last weekend.  Saturday we did a fundraiser to raise money for the girls to go to girls camp this summer.  We bought 325 DOZEN of Krispy Kreme donuts.  We got up and started selling at 8am Saturday morning.  At 10am, there was the annual Party in the Park which is community outdoor party where people come and set up tables to sell things, arts and crafts, and anything else fun.  Except it was raining and it had to be moved indoors which wasn't that fun.  Our girls every year help run the crafts tables while our young men help set up/take down chairs and tables.  So we decided that we would be able to try and sell the donuts there.  Not so successful.  When they left the Party in the Park around 3-4pm, we were in the hole $600.  That means not only we hadn't made a penny but we were actually costing the church $600 more than usual.  Some leaders and girls went back out to the street corner and in just 2 hours, sold all but 70 dozen and were profit of $600.  The next day at church, the remaining 70 boxes were sold.  Overall, it was tough but lesson learned...325 dozen is A LOT!!  Just take a look at the picture.

 

 

This was our young women's presidents expedition packed to the brim!  She and her daughter went down at 4am to pick them all up.  She had to take out all of her back and middle seats from the all to fit.  That was one packed car!

 

 

Saturday night we met up with our good friends Molly and Neylon and went and had dinner with a couple that is moving from Springville, UT to Russellville this fall!!  We got into contact with them because Neylon is a peditrican and Nate (the one moving here) was just hired to be a family doctor.  During Nate's interview, he was explaining that he was LDS and Nelyon said to him that he has some great friends that are LDS.  So Neylon gave Saysha, Nate's wife, my number and we started talking and planning to meet up....hence the dinner.  They are great people and we are super excited for them to come here! :)

 

Sunday was just another normal Sunday for the most part.  Jonny was asked to speak but ended up not speaking because they ran out of time.  He had meetings before and after church (I guess that's what happens when you are the Elders Quorum President...).  After he got home, we hung out for a little while until we went over to the Bishops house for dinner.  His oldest daughter came home from BYU for the summer and I wanted to be there for when she got back.  We have become super close and I just love her!  She is on the left and her little sister is on the right.  They are just dolls!

 

 

Then Sunday night after dinner, we went to our weekly hang out with some other young couples in our ward.  The guys get together with a few investigators and the girls get together somewhere else and just have some girl time!  It's always so fun and something I look forward to every week!

 

One busy weekend that felt like it just rolled over into the week.  Volleyball after school practice started back up for Jonny 2 days a week.  Since most of the other sports are done, we are getting asked by multiple different girls for weekly lessons which is great!  I am just touched and blessed that they have that much respect as coaches for Jonny and I to want to have private lessons.  I guess between work, volleyball, lessons, church and trying to find time to be together, life has been busy!  Maybe it's just preparing us for what is to come in a few months....!

 

Keep reading for the weekly update... :)

 

 

So here is me at 24 weeks 4 days.  It's crazy what stripes can do for a pregnant girls belly...

 

 

Total weight gain so far: 8.5 pounds (So I got this idea from my cousins blog and I like it for journaling purposes...not so much for telling people how much weight I'm gaining...)

 

How far along are you: 25 weeks

Maternity clothes: Yes but I am still able to fit in almost all of my pre-pregnancy shirts.  And I was sick of wearing the same bottoms when it got colder so I finally put on my jeans and used my belly band!  That belly band saved me!! I have learned to love it.

Sleep: Pretty good so far.  I have my not so good nights.  I just wish Jonny could sleep better because we all know when the baby comes, it won't be so good.

Best moment this week:

Miss anything: I miss just the ease of everything.  Bending over, sitting up, going hours without having to pee, knowing my size of clothes, not having to pack a couple snacks everywhere I go, etc. 

Movement: Yes.  I was just telling my co-worker yesterday that sometimes I get caught up in life that I feel her but I don't think "that's a little human inside."  I think it becomes more real when I see her move or when I'm not so busy that I can sit and just rest my hand on my stomach.

Food cravings: Nothing.  I wonder if I ever will...

Anything making you queasy or sick: No.  But the thought about the pain of breastfeeding gives me the heeby geebys.  I will definitely breastfeed (if my body allows) but I know it hurts at first and I don't deal with pain as good as others.

 

Have you started to show yet: Yes.  So the two pictures above are to show what I look like in a sweatshirt that I didn't form around my belly and then the same sweatshirt with me forming.  Kind of crazy that you can still see the bump even without needing to form!

Gender: Girl

Belly button in or out: In

Labor signs: No

Wedding rings on or off: On

Looking forward to: Seeing my parents, siblings and nieces/nephews and the two baby showers that are coming up in June! :)