28 and 29 Weeks

We went home for Thanksgiving (when I say home, I mean my home, GA) and stayed for 10 days! It was great to be there and spend time with so many of my friends and family. The kids and I drove down and Eric flew down for a few days over the actual holiday.

Our Thanksgiving was super special at our cousin's, Rob & Christi's, house and everyone had such a wonderful time.

I can't believe that we have ELEVEN weeks until we meet this little gender surprise in my belly!! This pregnancy has, by far, gone by faster than either of the other two! IT. IS. CRAZY. I do not feel like I have been pregnant for more than a few weeks. And here I am, going to my 30 week appointment this Thursday.

Baby #3 is kicking and punching and rolling and hiccuping his/her way through the days. This baby is always moving. And it's sweet, too, because the most wild times are right before bed and as soon as I start stirring in the mornings. It's sort of it's way of telling me goodnight and good morning :) Ahhh...to think I'll be holding a newborn so soon is so exciting!!!

Weston is super pumped and is always touching my stomach and kissing it. It's so sweet. Nora Kate is not going to know what to think when we bring home a baby! ha...should be interesting :)

I've gained 13 lbs so far...at my last appointment I'd actually lost 2 lbs. Who knows how that happened...I sure am eating a good amount. Now that I'm on my 2-week doctor rotation, I have to get on the scale more often - hopefully we can keep it under a 40 lb weight gain, unlike I did with the other two!

29 weeks 

25 Weeks

Eric and I went to Pittsburgh, PA last weekend to the Notre Dame game. It was a lot of fun! 

We got our first big snow a couple of weeks ago! It was literally a winter wonderland that we woke up to! Weston was SO intrigued and excited!

25 weeks pregnant! I had a check up yesterday and everything is perfect. Dr. Rao said I am measuring right on track and the baby sounds great. I gained QUITE a few pounds over the past 4 weeks since my last appointment! YIKES! My doctor said maybe I should only have one piece of pie over the holidays instead of two and then said he was kidding - but we all know he wasn't! Ha! It was a serious joke :) Let's just say I'll be paying more attention to my food intake over the next 15 weeks. Or at least until I'm so big and miserable that food is the only thing I enjoy on a daily basis, ha. Now I'm kidding. Or am I...

The baby is moving so much and I smile or giggle almost every time. There are no words to describe to anyone who hasn't been pregnant what it feels like to feel that little life moving in your tummy. Pure joy :) 

I go back to the doctor in 3 weeks to get back on schedule, and then I go every 2 weeks! I can't believe it's already time to start the two week rotation. 

Aaaah, the infamous glucose test. It was just as awful this time around as it was the first 3 times. And I say 3 because if you recall, I had the flu when I took it the first time with NK and they made me retake it because my blood wouldn't be viable with the virus. So I've had to drink this a total of 4 times. I stand firm on the belief that it tastes like a McDonald's "orange drink" that has been left in your car for about 2 weeks in the hot sun. And the orange still tastes better than the fruit punch or lemon lime. Let's hope my test results are normal so I don't have to do it again!

Busy, Busy...23 weeks

We are SO busy. All the time. At least I feel like we are :)

Things just don't slow down, really. I suppose we are just as busy as the average family...it just feels much more so when you have a 4 year old and an almost 16 month old running and babbling nonstop, and a "23 week old" in your uterus...ha!

Baby number three is "the size of an eggplant" this week and growing rapidly. The kicks and punches are so much more pronounced...sometimes you can even see my stomach jabs if you're watching and waiting for it. Little love punches!

My belly is pretty low, isn't it!? My new doctor up here in the cold OH says that with every pregnancy your muscles are more and more stretched. And with every pregnancy the LESS they go back to where they're supposed to be. So my muscles on the inside are a little more like rubber bands and aren't holding my stomach up like they did with Weston and not even as much as they did with Nora Kate.

We are going to Pittsburgh this weekend to the Notre Dame game! The trip/tickets were Eric's birthday gift. Let's hope this Mama can stay awake for the festivities :)

20 Week Belly Pic

This was taken at 20 weeks. I have gained 7.5 lbs already! And am now in maternity pants 100% of the time - unless they are stretchy lounge pants or something comfy. The cold weather up here in Ohio actually feels quite good to me! We have already had our first snow! It didn't stick all day, but there were flurries and the town next to us got 5 inches! And it's not even Halloween yet! Crazy!

20 Weeks / 5 Months / half way

Time is going by too fast. That's all there is to it. Simple. TOO FAST. I am enjoying being pregnant...nothing too much to complain about. I'm still tired throughout the day, but the nausea has subsided. However, I did throw up on Sunday morning..but I think that's because I was over tired - I pushed it too hard. I went to GA for Haven's wedding - which was beautiful! - and didn't get to sleep before midnight for 3 nights in a row...and getting up at 7am or earlier each day made for a sleepy mama. 

The picture below is a sweet moment Weston and I shared while lying in bed the other night. The babe in my belly was moving around sporadically and I asked Weston if he wanted to try and feel the baby. He was SO happy to put his hand on my stomach and wait. I don't really think he felt any movement...but his eyes were so lit up with excitement that it made my heart melt. It's so sweet to watch his curiosity this time around - he's older, so he understands more. So precious to watch. He also thinks there is a baby BOY in there. Is he right?? Guess we'll find out in March.

We went to our 20 week appointment Tuesday. Everything is looking great and right on track. The baby is a little over 10 ounces and the heartbeat is strong and steady. Healthy baby. When the ultrasound tech was measuring the bladder and thigh bones, she told us we better look away if we don't want to chance seeing the gender of the baby - we both looked away!! I am so thrilled to NOT know the sex. It's going to be such a wonderful delivery surprise!!

Hello, left hand!

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As I said earlier, Haven's wedding weekend was beautiful. It was so much fun! The "honeymoon hoo hoo" was Thursday night, the Rehearsal Dinner Friday, helping the girls get ready Saturday morning and the wedding and reception Saturday night were ALL amazing!!! A fun time celebrating an awesome couple.

Me and Laurie Kaye at the rehearsal dinner. Did I mention LK is pregnant, too?? YAY! She is due just 7 weeks after me, on April 22. We will have 2 children the same age!!

PS - I'll post a belly pic this week! I forgot to take one this morning. I'm not wondering where the belly is anymore - it has arrived!! 

Where's the baby bump?!

Ok, so now we are 18 weeks pregnant and my tummy is smaller than it was 6 weeks ago. WHAT is going on!? I'm not throwing up anymore (YAY!) and I can eat meat again (YAY!). Those are great things :) But really - my tummy has shrunk because I'm not that bloated blimp anymore, yet is has not quite been replaced with a baby. Yes, yes, there's a little bump, but not a real baby bump! With Weston being my first, I didn't really pop out until about 20 to 22 weeks. With Nora Kate, I feel like I was huge the minute I realized I was pregnant. But with this little angel, my stomach has been all over the place.

18 Weeks

Did I mention we have pretty much decided we are NOT finding out the sex?? You heard me! After having a boy and a girl, we think it will be such a surprise to wait until delivery!! Talk about the biggest surprise ever!! I have a feeling it will be an even more magical experience in the delivery room. And I am so very, very excited to experience it.

Beach Belly!

We had a wonderful time in the Outer Banks! It was a great trip. Carson was able to come for a few days and Eric was able to spend almost a full week with us. Gamma, Auntie, Weston, Nora Kate and I also had fun when it was just the 5 of us.

I was bloated and full, the usual, during the beach trip but I didn't care! I still wore my bathing suit and played with the kids in the sun. No shame here!

16 Weeks

14 & 15 Weeks

14 Weeks

So, at 14 and 15 weeks, I am still throwing up daily (sometimes more than once or twice) and am nauseous throughout the day. Meat is a NO GO. I am a huge red meat person - ya'll know that. But I cannot fathom eating a hamburger or a steak or anything that moo's or even anything that squawks for that matter. It mustn't have ever been alive. This will pass, I know, but for now, I'm a vegetarian. Due to me eating the most random things, I can't seem to even out my diet - I am constantly full-feeling and bloated beyond measures. What is going on?! If you need a visual to understand, my belly is larger at 14 weeks than at 15 weeks. See above and below. That's pure nonsense!

15 Weeks

Telling the Grandparents

After spending a couple months in GA with Gamma during her radiation, we decided it was time to tell the grandparents we were expecting another babe! I told Gamma while in GA and boy was it tough to keep a secret from everyone else! She is SO excited to have another baby to love on. Shortly after returning to Ohio, I called Oppa and told him the news. He is thrilled!

Nora Kate's true birthday was spent in GA, so it was time to have her actual "1st Birthday" back in Cleveland. We thought after celebrating her birthday that we would tell Eric's family because we would all be together. After Nora Kate ate her cake, Eric brought out 5 cookies, each with a number on them, 1-5. He handed number 1 to Abby, number 2 to Weston, number 3 to Nora Kate, number 4 to Amelia, and then handed the cookie with a number 5 on it to Grandma J and Pop Pop. This was to signify that they were expecting their 5th grandchild! Pop Pop caught on immediately and Grandma J was still in the dark. Pop Pop counted to all of the grand-kids and pointed to my belly when he said 5! She got it and they both started crying. So much fun! We are 11 weeks and 4 days pregnant...

Pop Pop gets it! 

Now Grandma J gets it!

Oh Baby!

We are so excited to announce that we are pregnant with baby number three! Weston and Nora Kate will have a baby brother or sister! The due date is March 5th, 2014. I am over the moon in love with this baby already. In my eyes, I am already a mother of three. I'm not sure what it is about having more babies, but with each pregnancy I form a more immediate bond. With Weston, I wasn't sure what to expect - I knew I loved the baby inside me, but had no idea the depth of that love, because I'd yet to be a mother. With Nora Kate, I loved the baby girl, excited for what a little girl would bring to our lives. With this baby, number three, I am in love and attached and over joyed knowing how much I'm going to truly LOVE - whether it's a boy or a girl. The feeling is joyous.

We are 6 weeks and 5 days pregnant, and I am already sick. Throwing up as soon as I wake up and staying nauseous throughout the day are becoming the norm. I'm anxious to know how long I'll be sick - the sickness was worse during my pregnancy with Nora Kate than with Weston. Let's hope for an easy first trimester!

YAY FOR ANOTHER BABY FLIP!