•Week 40• (what)

40 weeks. Baby D 3.0, breaking trends and destroying expectations since 2018.

I could rant for a while about still being pregnant, but I'm trying to chill out so I'll keep this brief. Yes, history deceived us into believing she would be born a little early. We are all super anxious for this child to come out, for one reason or another, but...she's still in there. Obviously. 

So that's all I have to say. Except, pray for me. As an individual who prefers minimal medical interventions, the last thing I want is to be overdue and feeling stressed that I'll be pushed into an induction. 

"Life is always a rich and steady time when you are waiting for something to happen or to hatch."       -E.B. White, Charlotte's Web

•Week 38•

37 weeks, not quite awake yet.

38 weeks. I'm like, twice this big at the end of the day (also, new haircut! 🙌🏻).

I'm currently 38 weeks and 4 days, sitting up in bed because reclining is not an option yet. A seemingly harmless ice cream sandwich is trying to come back up as molten lava. All of my previous heartburn this pregnancy has been annoying but mild...holy cats, it hurts to breathe. Oh well, now I have time to write this, hopefully it's my last pregnancy update! 

Yesterday and today I've been doing ALL THE NESTING. I don't remember ever getting the urge during Declan's pregnancy, and not this seriously with Isla's. I woke up yesterday morning with a crazy amount of energy...my house will never be close to spotless, but in the last two days I've cleaned more than I have in any of the last 9 months. 

Usually I get Braxton Hicks contractions when I'm active, but this last week I've been having some at rest also. I'm hoping that's a good sign, and helping my poor overworked uterus prepare for labor. Because I can't remember to drink raspberry leaf tea and eat dates 4 times a day, ok? I just can't. Remembering to drink water is hard enough.

Total weight gain: 20 lbs. I had to go update my driver's license today, and the lady made sure I didn't use my current weight for their records 😂
Cravings: I can't think about food, it has betrayed me.
Miss anything? Snuggling my kids in my lap, and everything else I could do before.
Movement: It's basically a 24/7 Riverdance.
Highs/Lows: Nesting energy, it has helped me feel so much more ready to have this baby/Tonight's heartburn, ugh.
Looking forward to: Whatever tomorrow holds. Hopefully more cleaning, I'm really enjoying it haha.

•Week 35•

My hair officially reaches my bump. While I LOVE my extra-long, extra-voluminous best-thing-about-pregnancy hair, it's not going to be so fun when it starts falling out. So it's getting a big chop in a couple weeks!

Mayday, Mayday! Only 4-5 weeks left! My mind wants to be prepping and nesting like crazy, but my body is like, "NO. SIT DOWN." I've done a decent amount I guess, getting the bassinet ready in our room, washing and putting away 6 months worth of clothes, and spending all my mental energy trying to remember what having a newborn is like. But what I REALLY need to do the next few weeks is
1) Put meals in the freezer.
2) Spend time with my kids, you know, the two offspring I already have?
3) Sleep.
4) Stay off Amazon.

Goals.

Jk about that last one though. #primeforlife

Ugh, pregnancy. I wonder if my body would feel differently if this wasn't my 3rd baby in 4 years. Like, my abdominals probably look like spaghetti noodles. Just trying to stand up straight is so hard! I'm carrying this baby pretty low, so my center of gravity is also very low, making every movement extremely awkward. My poor kids just want to be outside and swing for hours, but mama's back is done after 15 minutes. Somebody invent an automatic swing-pusher, PLEASE.

Kevin has been working a ton since my last post, he's probably had 3-4 days off in the last 4 weeks, with another full week to go. It's just how it is this time of year, but man, it is tough. For everyone!

Total weight gain: 16-17 pounds.
Cravings: I haven't been very hungry lately, this baby is taking up a lot of space!
Miss anything? Sleep. Definitely sleep.
Movement: Still tons, all the time.
Highs/Lows: Any day Isla takes a nap is an extreme high, getting sweet bargains on kid stuff for fall and winter/Kevin working constantly, my social child needing to get out of the house when I don't want to (which is pretty much always).
Looking forward to: Maybe some cooler weather, please? And maybe that burst of superpower nesting energy, please?

•Weeks 26-30•

26 weeks, backache all the time! And it's too hot not to topknot. #mombunforlife

Wait, I'm 30 weeks??? Those last two months went crazy fast, and it's only two more months until we meet our girl! Commence freaking out.

The super awesome thing is, aside from diapers and fun extra things, there's nothing to buy! All Isla's clothes should be the right season, unless baby is extremely tiny or freakishly huge. I guess weirder things have happened. They told me at the ultrasound she was measuring a week small, but at this point who knows? 

The main thing I wanted to accomplish this summer was to get Declan day-trained to use the potty. We're at 4 weeks now and he's doing great! He'll occasionally have an accident, (most often when he's busy playing outside) but as long as I keep an eye on his fluids and prompt him to go at certain times, most days are dry! I'm super pumped to have a break from diapers, and that I won't have to have two in diapers again!

Bumpin' into the 3rd trimester at 28 weeks! Up at Horsehead Lake. Also I feel like I'm doing duck lips, completely unintentional.

We had a really fun vacation over the 4th of July at Horsehead Lake, where we've gone the last 3 out of 4 years. It's always great to spend time with extended family, (who are so gracious and generous!) but this time was definitely the easiest with the kids being a little bit older. Plus they slept well and it was just awesome to sit back and watch them have a blast! The weather was really hot, but I was able to escape to a little A/C in the cottage when I needed to.

29 weeks. Super pregnant.

Sorry if you hate bump pictures, haha. I'm feeling a little emotional these days about this probably being my last pregnancy. (I only say probably because accidents do happen, haha.)

We're gearing up for turnover season, which starts this week. Kevin has a LOT of out of town work this year, which I'm not excited about. Except for a visit to the farm next week, I'm not planning on trying to do a lot...wrangling two toddlers in public places is hard enough by myself, add being pregnant and 80+ heat every day and it quickly turns into insanity. 

Oh, one more quick thing. Declan has started acknowledging my belly...he puts his hand on it and waits for me to say "Is that your baby sister?" He says "Yeah!" It's super cute. And at least 5 times a day Isla says "Tell me if you feel the baby kicking, ok?" She'll sit there with her hand on my belly waiting for a kick, then squeals and laughs when she feels one. 

Total weight gain: 14-15 lbs 🙌🏻 

Cravings: Fruit and ice cream! Typical for summer though. 

Miss anything? Not hating pants. Anything with a waistband is the worst.

Movement:  SO MUCH. The doc at my last appointment reminded me that subsequent babies have a lot more room to keep turning and flipping later in pregnancy. She seems to be staying head down, which is awesome! Being able to visibly see her move around is a new experience for me, really cool, but also uncomfortable sometimes. 

Highs/Lows: Vacation, taking down the wall in our kitchen and making this house our own!/The first few days of potty training, the summer heat, being kept up late by lots of savage kicking.

Looking forward to: Going up north...NOT looking forward to solo parenting for basically 6 weeks. But after it's over, it'll almost be baby time!

•Weeks 21-22•

I'm currently laying (lying? I can't ever get them straight.) on the couch watching my belly jump...it's the first time I've noticed being able to see it from the outside!

Last week we had our anatomy ultrasound, and Baby D 3.0 appears perfectly healthy! It was nice timing to find that out right before Mother's Day, another reassurance and reason to thank God for everything He has given us.

A couple days later we had our first (and last, haha) gender reveal party...with our other two babies we found out during the ultrasound, but decided to do something different for the tiebreaker! The original plan was to shoot Kevin with paintballs (the correct color put in by my dad, who was the first to read the gender from the top secret envelope). However, since it's been over a decade since I've played paintball, I forgot that CO2 tanks generally leak when you leave them screwed into the guns. Unfortunately, Kevin needed to make sure that my aim wasn't going to leave him maimed for life, so we did a little target practice on Monday, and by Friday the CO2 was gone. So my dad left the party to buy some emergency silly string, and that's how Kevin narrowly escaped being shot for the first time.

Foiled plans aside, we're having a GIRL!

We're all very happy, although Isla has been sad all week because she thought the baby was coming that day. She can't wait for her baby sister!

21 weeks

(when your dress doesn't show off the baby)

(when you try to get your 3 year old to take an artsy picture of you)

22 weeks

Total weight gain: 9-10 lbs.
Cravings: Nachos, chocolate. And margaritas, see below.
Miss anything? Alcohol. I don't drink very much normally, but I always miss it when I'm pregnant!
Movement: Lots of little hand jabs, no big kicks yet.
Highs/Lows: Getting settled in Eaton Rapids, and finding out another princess is on her way!/SO. MUCH. RAIN.
Looking forward to: A visit to Grammy and Grampy's farm, and Declan's 2nd birthday!

•Week 15 (17)•

Back again! I'm actually 17 weeks today, but I took my 15 week picture on time and I still look the same so...it counts!

This pregnancy started out with a bad sinus cold, pounding headaches, and crazy pain in my mouth that I thought was my wisdom teeth, but ended up being "pregnancy gingivitis". The rest of the first trimester was similar to the other two: fatigue and queasiness. More food aversions than with Declan, but no severe nausea, thankfully. But with Kevin working in Wyoming for 10 days at a time, I spent as much time resting at home as I could.

Isla is so excited for the baby! She would like a sister, so we have to keep reminding her that God picks the perfect baby for us, and He might give us another boy.

Declan is a super cuddler, and has to sit in my lap whenever possible. I'm nervous about what will happen when he gets evicted by a growing bump!

Kevin and I feel so blessed with another precious life to care for, and a healthy pregnancy so far! We are eager to meet the final addition to our family (unless we decide to adopt sometime down the road). Also, we're close to buying a new home in Eaton Rapids with plenty of room for 3!

^^^^8 weeks to 15 weeks^^^^

Total weight gain: 5 lbs
Cravings: None really, except one week when all I wanted was Chinese.
Miss anything? With two small children, I'm definitely missing some energy!
Gender prediction: Leaning toward girl, but no strong inclinations.
Movement: Since 11.5 weeks!
Highs/Lows: Short OB visits since this isn't my first rodeo, finding our dream property, a short but fun trip to sunny Las Vegas/spending so much time without Kevin, but he's done with WY trips now!
Looking forward to: Moving next week and closing on both houses, ultrasound in less than 3 weeks!

Two

Four weeks ago, my first baby turned two. Right now she is growing and changing at an astonishing pace, and I don't want to forget a thing. But I know my memory isn't that good, so now I can always be reminded of...

How she squints her eyes, scrunches up her nose and says "Keese!" when I'm trying to take a picture.

How instead of an emphatic "Uh-HUH!", she's started to say "Yah!" like a Swede.

How she has memorized parts of certain books, and reads them out loud.

How if I'm singing a song from a movie or a show that she watches, she recognizes which one the song is from.

How if I'm singing something she doesn't recognize, she stops me and asks me to sing Itsy Bitsy Spider instead.

How she says "Kay, bu-dah!" (It's okay, brother!) when Declan is crying.

How after watching the Summer Olympics, she started swimming in the bathtub.

How she drags around the step stool, so while I change Declan's diaper, she can pinch his cheeks. 

How she somehow has learned to say thank you, or rather "Keek you!" at all appropriate moments. Also whenever she hands YOU something.

How she is more enthusiastic when talking about cake, than when actually eating it.

How her hair is always tangled.

How she pretends to race, and counts down "One...two...ONE!" or "Free...free...FREE!"

How "hugging" her brother turns into a bellyflop on top of him.

How she runs to help me unload the dishwasher and put wet clothes in the dryer.

How she says "munny" (bunny) and "mana" (banana) even though she says "book" and "baby" and plenty of other "b" words just fine.

How big she reaches for something high up in the pantry, and always does a little jump, like that will help.

How expressive her sounds are. "Hmmmm..." 

"Wheeeee!"

"Huh?" 

"Wwoooww!"

How every morning, first she asks where her brother is, and then tells me she's hungry.

How she's usually hungry for crackers but not a lot of other things.

How putting her in a pair of jeans made her look so much older.

How she loves to try to put on her shoes, and clunks around the house with them half on.

How she puts stickers on her nose and leaves them there for hours.

How she tells me I'm cute after I get dressed.

How divine it is to snuggle with her on the couch, because having a still moment is a rare gift. 

How much her brother obviously adores her.

How she loves playing games with her daddy and riding on his shoulders.

How much we love every bit of Isla Florence.