Dear Self,

Dear Self,

I know right now both of your kids live off of minimal amounts of sleep, your four year old hangs her head and shoulders when disappointed or sad, your two year old gets insanely irate over the most insignificant things and your husband isn't quite as perfect as you'd like him to be.  But guess what?  You are guilty of all those things mentioned above, especially the ones pertaining to the children.

Self, have you ever heard of that "spittin' image" thing?  Yeah.  It happens and it's happening here.

But not to worry self, perhaps one day your children will work in jobs where critical decisions need to be made on a small amount of sleep.  Perhaps that sulking four year old will grow up to be a very sympathetic and caring person.  It's almost a guarantee that the fiery two year old will be a very passionate person.  That's good, right?  Let's just pray it's passion for the correct things.

And that husband?  He is perfect.  He puts up with you, which is something that many other men in this world would not do. He loves you through your pretty and your ugly, your skinny and your fat, your patient and your insanely irate times.

Self, I think most importantly you need to know that one day you will not be pregnant. Your back won't ache all day and hopefully your jaw will open each and every time you ask it to.  You won't be struggling to bend over and pick things up and you won't breathe heavy from just walking to the parking garage.  You won't have red swollen feet from the meds you are taking and you won't be carrying around all this extra weight.

But guess what else, self?  One day your belly will be empty and you will have to share that baby with everyone else.  Your toddlers will be grown and they won't need you like they once did.  They will also figure out that you may NOT know everything in the world and they might even find things they adore more than you.  Your feet may still be red and swollen but it will be because it's 9pm and you've just returned home from a day full of work, gymnastics, soccer, softball and dance.

Life is good right now and life will be good later.  Self, please try to enjoy today.  Do everything you can do to build up those around you.  Try not to yell.  Try not to sigh. Try to point out the positive. Try to not let them see the disappointment in your eyes if it's not really necessary.  Try to remember that the same frustrations you feel- well, God feels those every day about YOU.  Try to love.

You are a good person, self.  You just need more massages, pedicures, and alone time.




Note: Please do not take this as a complaint about pregnancy.  If you've been around here long you know of our struggles with viable pregnancies.  However, the fact of the matter is that it DOES take a toll on you physically and emotionally and right now I just needed to remind myself of a few things.

29 Weeks {the last}

Here we are...the first update of the LAST trimester . Holy moly, the countdown is on!

boobs, belly, backfat.....they all continue to grow!

Baby's size: According to Babycenter, baby should be 15" from head to heel and weigh 2.5#.

How far along: 29 weeks

Total weight gain: Ugh, why did I ever include this question on my update??? This morning, the home scale told me that I'm up 26# total, which puts me up around 5# since the 26week mark. EDIT: It's Monday and I just got back from the Y, I weight in there and it said I'm only up 24#...so who knows.  Either way, at 29 weeks- I've basically entered the range of the amount of TOTAL weight you are supposed to gain for your whole pregnancy. =(

Sleep:  Sleep is going pretty well, I usually wake up around 4am to go pee.

Maternity Clothes: I'd say I'm in 80% maternity clothes.  I can still swing non maternity shorts/pants for working out and my medium T-shirts still fit (but they are living on borrowed time)

Food cravings: None. Zero. Zip Zilch. 

Food aversions: Water, carbs, sweets, anything with too much flavor

Symptoms: My body is starting to get tired again and I'm finding it harder to breathe.

Stretchmarks: None that I can see, but I feel like my belly is sticking out much further than it did for the other pregnancies- so there's still time!

Doctor’s Appointment: Appt coming up this Thursday.  We tried to do an elective 4d ultrasound this past week but the baby was not being cooperative- so we will try again in a week and a half.  I also had an appointment right before I hit 28 weeks, everything looked good and I passed my 1 hour glucose tolerance test!!

Movement: Tons of movement, mostly when I'm trying to go to sleep :)

Belly Button: Poking out a little on the left side, I have a feeling it's going to do a "full pop" this time around.

Best moment of the week: I guess this is a good thing, but it's only started happening the past 2 weeks that people can tell that I'm obviously pregnant.  I have felt that way for awhile, but it's kind of nice to move from the "maybe she's just had too much beer and fries" to the "she's definitely pregnant" assumption.

What I’m looking forward to: Food tasting good and my breasts and belly not touching each other when I sit down :)

What I miss: Being "nice".  I'm not a naturally "sweet" person, but pregnancy has made me very cranky and temperamental.  I'm ready to have my tank filled with more patience, caring and love.  In the meantime, I'm really having to work EXTRA hard at those things.

Preparations:  HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

The return of iPhone Friday

I miss the iPhone Friday updates. Since I have been terrible at monthly updates for Nora, I would like to get into the swing of documenting our day to day before the arrival of the baby.

So this past week:I successfully celebrated my birthday without the Facebook world knowing, received some beautiful flowers, have been at my wit's end with Nora's temper tantrums and can't understand why Emmy has regressed to acting like a baby. All great things to be experiencing as we enter the last trimester of pregnancy, huh??

Buuuut, my girls do have their sweet moments. Sometimes they can be caught brushing their teeth together, discussing wardrobe options and occasionally Nora will even give Emmy big bear hugs.

I try to hold on to those sweet times, but it is so hard when they are so overwhelmingly outnumbered by the difficult times.

26 weeks {the last}

ONLY 26 weeks??? Look at that belly, booty and back fat!

Baby's size: According to Babycenter, baby should be 14" from head to heel and weigh 1.68#.

How far along: 26 weeks + 1 day

Total weight gain: I *forgot* to step on the scale this weekend.  I had a dr's appt last week, so if I remember correctly- I think I'm +20-21#.  This is very similar to my other pregnancies.

Sleep:  Not too shabby.  I don't wake much to pee b/c I am not drinking many fluids in the evenings.  Great for sleep, terrible for my health.

Maternity Clothes: I'd say I'm in 80% maternity clothes.  I can still swing non maternity shorts/pants for working out and my medium T-shirts still fit (but they are living on borrowed time)

Food cravings: None. Zero. Zip Zilch. 

Food aversions: Water, carbs, sweets, anything with too much flavor

Symptoms: Nothing abnormal.  My back is holding up pretty well except for when I accidentally end up flat on my back in the middle of the night.  My right leg is also starting to swell on days when I am up on my feet alot, but nothing externally noticeable- it just feels a little tight.

Stretchmarks: None that I can see.

Doctor’s Appointment: Had an appt on Thursday, cervix is holding up (for now) and baby's heart rate was 148bpm, which is the lowest it's been (even though I had just finished a 1/2 cup of Starbucks coffee!).  It has been up in the upper 150-lower 160's at most appointments.  Next appointment is in 1.5 weeks and I get to do the glucose tolerance test, yay!

Movement: Lots and lots of movement, and I love it.  Right now I have a bottom and feet near my right ribs and a head in my left pelvis.  Baby has been sitting diagonal for a few weeks.

Belly Button: Poking out a little on the left side, I have a feeling it's going to do a "full pop" this time around.

Best moment of the week: Nora has started saying "hi baby" to my belly and it's pretty cute, even though think she has no idea what is happening.  Emmy had her first soccer game this past weekend and I wasn't able to be there b/c I was at a photography class.  Although I am sad I missed it, Chris said it was better I wasn't there b/c there are some parents there who are WAY TOO HARDCORE for a 4/5 year old team.

What I’m looking forward to: Food tasting good

What I miss: I miss my energy.  This pregnancy has drained me of energy much more than the others.  I seemed to have missed out on that "honeymoon" 2nd trimester.  I'm not complaining, but it has been noticed (particularly by the hubs) that I have been much more tired this pregnancy.  Although I don't think I could handle drinking any more water to take another pill, I kind of wonder if I'm low in iron?  That sure would be a nice and easy fix.

Preparations:  Umm...you might want to check back in a few weeks.