thoughts on pregnancy #2 (vol. 4)

How far along? 39 weeks. and feeling every one of those weeks.
Maternity Clothes? yes and i'm over it.
Sleep: between the heartburn/acid reflux that's found it's way back in my life the last couple of weeks and the small, smooshed bladder and the ginormous belly to haul around when trying to switch sides and the pain in my back by morning - not so much.
Best moment this week: jae got to come to my OB appt with me this time (he's only made it to maybe two of them this pregnancy), so that is always fun when he's there with me. also, i was sitting in the rocking chair with gracie the other night, getting ready to read stories before bed, and baby sister was kicking and pushing some sort of limb out of my belly (or at least that's what it felt like). anyway i had gracie put her hand on my belly and feel it, and little sister kind of kicked her. gracie got a big grin on her face and i think she really did feel it and was both excited but confused ;) it's hard to know how real this all is for a 2 year old, but in that moment, it felt pretty real and that was exciting and sweet.
Miss Anything? fitting in (any) clothes. 
Movement: she's definitely running out of room in there, but she still manages to ram body parts into my ribs or bladder or whatever else she can. i'm not really complaining though, i am glad and thankful to feel her moving and letting me know she's around and getting big and ready to come out soon. 
Food cravings: i feel like i've kind of hit a food-enjoying wall. i don't love to eat at this point, just because i'm already big and energy-less and eating takes space in my stomach and energy to make it and eat it! so no, no cravings right now i don't think. 
Anything making you queasy or sick? nope.
Have you started to show yet? i think i've officially hit the bigger than my first pregnancy line on the size chart. maybe not and i'm just feeling that way. who knows.
Gender: baby sister :)
Labor Signs: lots of contractions, both braxton hicks and 'real' ones (painful ones that make me feel like something is actually happening). baby has dropped even more in the last week and i'm dilated to a 3 now.
Belly Button in or out? kind of sticking out a little, which is surprising and a little weird.
Weddings rings on or off? on!
Happy or Moody most of the time: really happy and excited and anxious. but also, it's the last few days of pregnancy, so it's very easy to just be so tired and done.
Looking forward to: thanksgiving this week. time spent with family and more family. we have a feast thursday and another one friday. jae's convinced we're going to be eating our turkey dinner at the hospital, but i don't think so. as much as i want to be done being pregnant and meet this sweet little thing like, now, i am looking forward to these last few days with our family of 3 and enjoying the holiday time. it's such a weird time, the end of pregnancy. so many emotions.

we set up our christmas tree this past weekend. yes, we're those people. this year, at least. i just know i'll be busy (and exhausted) with two little people the next few weeks, and i want to be able to enjoy my time with them as much as i can, as well as the time with family and friends and the holidays. so i convinced jae it was necessary to set up christmas at our house before thanksgiving this year. so we did. well, most of it's up. the rest will be up in the next few days. this year is going to be SOOOOOOOO much fun with a 2 year old that can understand and be able to really enjoy the holidays this year, as well as a fresh-from-heaven newborn to snuggle by the glow of the christmas lights. i cannot wait.

thoughts on pregnancy #2 (vol. 3)

How far along? (almost) 38 weeks! 
Maternity Clothes? yeppers. although i'm sick of every item of clothing in my closet right now, maternity or not. nothing fits.
Sleep: yes and no. it's way less sleep than a few weeks ago. tossing and turning is so hard with a giant belly. seriously, so much effort. and it seems my bladder is only getting smaller and smaller so trips to the bathroom at any hour are becoming even more frequent. 
Best moment this week: two things - got all the teeny tiny newborn clothes out, washed, and put away in her new little dresser in our bedroom. oh my! so tiny. is she really going to be that tiny??! also - Jae and I had a little 24 hour getaway this past weekend and it was so nice. we just stayed in SLC but we had two meals to ourselves and our schedule to ourselves and we needed it before these next few weeks. 
Miss Anything? dr. pepper (only 9 months of my life when i can truly say no to soda. so i take advantage. sometimes i wonder what is wrong with me.) 
Movement: all up in my ribs lately. but i think she's also dropped a bit in the last couple weeks or so. my belly seems to be sitting more on my legs than up in my chest.   
Food cravings: i've been liking tuna sandwiches lately. i haven't had tuna since just after gracie was born (and it made me sick and vomit). but now it's tasty again. even made a tuna casserole the other night for dinner.
Anything making you queasy or sick? meh. not really. although i have been randomly sick the last week. just yucky sick stomach feeling. no throwing up or anything. it's super random and i can't figure out why.
Have you started to show yet? N/A (i mean..obviously) 
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: still a ton of braxton hicks and actually had my first painful contractions in the last week. they're just a light pain and don't last too long, but they're definitely more than the regular tightening of braxton hicks i've been having for weeks. as of my last appt i'm officially dilated to about a 2 (!!!). i was about in that same place when i was induced with gracie at 41 weeks, so this is improvement!
Belly Button in or out? mostly just flat, sometimes a little out. 
Weddings rings on or off? still on, yay! but tightttt. 
Happy or Moody most of the time: i'm pretty happy lately. happy to have these last few weeks, happy to know baby sister is coming SOON. happy to have a better idea of what life will be like in the coming weeks and months for our family (outside of just baby stuff). grateful and content and happy. 
Looking forward to: just the next couple weeks in general. she could come any time, but she could also wait another 2 weeks. either way, she'll join our family and we'll get to finally meet this little one we've been anticipating! 

part of me wants to be done being pregnant and to have this little one here to meet and enjoy and get to know and love. but part of me is stressing about needing more time to get other things taken care of before i'm blissfully consumed with a toddler and newborn. there is a LOT going on and if i stop and think about things too long, i feel like i'm being pulled in a million directions and i get pretty overwhelmed. so i'm trying to remember to just take things a day at a time. a 'thing' at a time. 

thoughts on pregnancy #2 (vol. 2)

How far along? 33 weeks (i mean, technically we could have this baby NEXT month!)
Maternity Clothes? yes and yes. the non-maternity shirts i still squeeze into now and then are just too short/tight and look ridiculous, i know. dresses that are non-maternity though - i can still pull off a few of those.
Sleep: sure, i sleep. it's getting more difficult to toss my body from side to side. and i usually wake up with a sore back and hips. it is what it is.
Best moment this week: we had a little baby scare last week (everything turned out to be just fine, phew!). the last few days, this baby girl has been like oh you thought i wasn't moving around enough? you want to feel me kick you more? maybe do some flips and jumps off the high-dive? ok well here you go then mom. you asked for it. and i've been loving it :)
Miss Anything? still sleeping on my stomach. and sushi. 
Movement: refer to answer above :) she's all over the place and wedging her little self into places i don't think she's meant to wedge. it's so weird and so great all at the same time. 
Food cravings: nutella! random. i haven't really had it for years, and then spontaneously bought a jar at the store last week (super spontaneous of me, i know!) and now i'm hooked. like, basically every day. i bought the little jar, not knowing if/how quickly it'd get eaten, considering we hadn't bought it in forever. jae said i probably should've bought the bigger jar. yep.
Anything making you queasy or sick? not so much. although honestly, every time i open the pantry (ps, we've never had a pantry before and it is super awesome and i love it but..) it just seems like a big mix of food smells and i kind of hate it for that reason. like, sometimes i try not to take a breath in while i open and close it. but i'm not like, running to the toilet to throw up because of it, so whatever.
Have you started to show yet? i feel like this question can and should be removed after like, 18 weeks. for me, anyway.
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: i've noticed a lot more braxton hicks. just lots of tightening of the belly, especially when i go up the stairs or walk longer distances. nothing consistent.
Belly Button in or out? both?
Weddings rings on or off? still on! but getting tighter.
Happy or Moody most of the time: i feel more happy now that we've got the house sold and the move (#1, still awaiting #2) done. i feel less stress by my to-do list. and i'm happy i can focus more on baby and gearing up for that. jae and i chatted a little about names the other night, and that was the first time in weeks we've even sat down for a minute and talked about it. i'm still easily moody. that's nothing new!
Looking forward to: my answer is still the fall and cooler weather! we had it for a week and it was GLORIOUS and then it jumped to 90 degrees again last week. just yuck!!!!! 65-75 degrees now please.

there are plenty of things i'm nervous and anxious about (sidenote: i feel like my anxiety has been seriously affected this pregnancy. it just shoots up to the roof in no time and it is hard to calm back down again. i don't like it.), but i am just so so excited for her to come. and to be home with both my girls for a few weeks (not long enough) and see gracie with her sister and see the realization hit of a new baby in our house that is with mom and/or dad all the time haha. it will be sweet. i am excited to get the tiny little baby clothes out again soon. pack a hospital bag. set up her bed in our room. all of the things that truly make it 'real'. we are so so blessed.

thoughts on pregnancy #2 (vol.1)

**disclaimer: these pics were taken 3 or 4 weeks ago - my belly seems to have doubled since then

How far along? 25 weeks (wow! when did that happen?! and this is my first real post about it...)
Maternity Clothes? pants, yes definitely. i just splurged (not really - they were actually on major sale) and got two pairs of maternity leggings. how did i not get these the first time around?? best pants ever. i still try to wear non-maternity shirts (mostly cuz i only have like 5 total maternity shirts, 3 of which i just bought last week), but they're all getting too small/short.
Sleep: i'm still sleeping pretty well. i tend to only get up once a night, probably partly due to the fact that i work late a lot of nights and don't go to bed til 1am & i'm up at 630-7am with gracie. i usually sleep pretty well during those few hours, although it is getting harder to flip myself from side to side. and my hips hurt.
Best moment this week: i asked gracie what baby sisters name is and she said excitedly "waco!". that's my brother-in-laws name ;) maybe more a gracie story than baby story, but it was pretty funny
Miss Anything? sleeping on my stomach. 
Movement: i feel her a lot more just the last week, but i still expected to feel her more/more often by now. it just hasn't been super consistent yet, i feel like, but i do feel her every day now, so that's good. she's usually always active in the evening, around 10pm or so, just like her sister was.
Food cravings: nothing i'd really call a 'craving'. i like the same things as i did the first time - turkey sandwiches, ice cream, lots of water.
Anything making you queasy or sick? not really at this point. i was definitely more sick in the beginning than i was with gracie and i've been more spontaneously sick this time then before, but i haven't gotten sick in the last couple weeks at all, i don't think.
Have you started to show yet? uhhhh yeah.
Gender: GIRL!
Labor Signs: none yet, thank goodness
Belly Button in or out? in
Weddings rings on or off? still on, yay!
Happy or Moody most of the time: i would probably have to answer moody, but that isn't necessarily pregnancy's fault. our life has been a constant up & down the last 6 weeks or so, and there's still more to come of that in the next few weeks. i'm just exhausted, let's be real. exhaustion = easily grumpy for me.
Looking forward to: the fall & cooler weather. jackets and sweaters. maybe some time to relax???