Week 37 Bumpdate

Boom, we made it!  Here we are at full-term.  All I can say is that I feel so calm now.  I know it's a little bit crazy but I'm fine with her coming tomorrow or in 2 weeks.  The weather has been beautiful and I've been having a blast playing outside with Carter!  I'm really soaking up our last days just the 2 of us.  This week we have a playdate planned every day except for Wednesday so I know the week will go by quickly.  For the first time in a while we have no weekend plans other than hopefully hitting up some garage sales and relaxing.  I'm excited for a quiet weekend just the 3 of us, although it would be perfect timing for Elise to arrive...  Before we know it we will be at 38 weeks and then it really will be an any day kind of a thing.  I don't feel like labor is coming soon, but I certainly didn't feel that way with Carter either, so there's really no telling!  Carter woke up a little earlier than usual this morning so we did the pictures before Ty left for work.  I guess I wasn't fully awake now that I look at my tired eyes!

 

I had my doctor's appointment today.  Going into it I was a little bit nervous.  I knew if I hadn't progressed at all and was still sitting at 1.5 cm I would be super disappointed so I was hoping for at least some progress, if not in dilation then in effacement.  The nurse checked my blood pressure and informed me my Group B Strep test came back negative.  When our doctor walked in he immediately congratulated me on making it further than I had with Carter.  He checked me and said I was 2.5-3 cm dilated, almost a full 3 cm but not quite.  He also said I was 80% effaced.  I've read that effacement is what helps your body progress because once you are fully effaced you dilate faster, but who knows.  I was very excited with the progress.  I was 2-2.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced at my 35 week appointment with Carter and he was born a week later.  So we could possibly be meeting Elise within a week.  After checking me the doctor said he's on call this weekend just in case I decide to do anything crazy.  I asked if Elise is low because she doesn't feel that low to me.  I felt like Carter was super low toward the end and just don't feel that way with her.  He assured me she is quite low and is now in position.  She is facing my left butt cheek whereas last appointment, a week ago, she was still facing toward my right hip.  He said ideally I'd make it another week, but he's fine with her coming any time now.  As he left he said see you in a week or even earlier with a big smile on his face.

March 17, 2015

Baby's Size: Baby girl should be measuring in around 6 and 1/3 pounds and measure a bit over 19 inches.  She has developed her most crucial functions at this point. 

Weight Gain:  Up 30 pounds

Maternity Clothes: This week it got really warm.  We had a couple days even reach into the 70's!  Unfortunately I don't own any maternity jean shorts and feel there's no point in buying any now.  I mean, why buy shorts that I will most likely wear for 3 weeks or less.  So I've been sticking to dresses, athletic shorts, and tried regular shorts with a belly band which was just a pain. 

Sleep: I took a nap one day and really struggled to fall asleep that night even though I only napped for 20 minutes so I decided not to take naps any other days.  All day long I feel really relaxed and calm and don't worry about when Elise will arrive.  Then I lay down in bed at night and I start thinking too much and wondering when she will be here and I get anxious.  I am so excited to meet her!  One night I had a dream my water broke that next morning.  Then another night I had a dream I went past my due date.  

Symptoms: During the first part of the week I was disappointed because my contractions really eased up and I was having hardly any and they weren't strong.  It wasn't that I wanted to go into labor, I just enjoyed the contractions knowing they meant my body was preparing for the big day.  Then Thursday night I started losing my mucus plug which made me feel better because even though it doesn't mean labor is imminent, it does mean my body is preparing for it!  It's crazy how different things have been this time around though.  Even my mucus plug has been different.  With Carter I lost it over the course of 2 days and it was huge chunks tinged with blood.  This time I'm still losing it in smaller chunks and so far none of it has been tinged with blood.  I'm having a lot more pressure down low along with some soreness in my hips.  My lower back is also really sore.  My belly is so tight and hard pretty much all day long!  I've also started having more swelling.  On Sunday morning my fingers were so swollen I couldn't get my rings past my knuckle when I woke up.  About an hour later I put them on and they were just a little bit tight.  I haven't had trouble getting them on since, but they are definitely tighter than usual.  One day I had a hair tie around my wrist and when I took it off there was an indention from where it had been.  Honestly I'm still in awe of how good I feel.  I have energy, I'm not terribly sore, even when I don't get much sleep my patience is decent.  I'm not in a hurry to get Elise out other than that I can't wait to meet her!  I think that's what has me convinced she won't be here too soon, I just feel too darn good!

Running: This week is exciting because I've reached full term and that means I can start running again!  I was so excited I figured what difference does one day make and started back yesterday with a 2 mile run.  It was glorious.  I felt so good.  The last half mile I was sore and could feel it low in my pelvis, but my legs felt great and it sure brightened my mood.  Walking has been nice, but it just isn't the same.  I got in 15 miles of walking this week.

Food Cravings: I've been having a hard time eating breakfast for a few weeks.  I'm really hungry but after I eat I feel nauseous.  So I've started eating just half a banana in a smaller bowl of Cheerio's rather than my regular full banana in a big bowl of Cheerio's.  Then around 10:00 am I get so hungry my hands are shaking.  It's craziness.  This week I did a terrible job with sweets.  I just stopped caring and went a little bit nuts.  One day I really wanted brownies with cream cheese frosting and needed to go to the store anyway so I picked up a brownie mix and frosting.  After I made them I preceded to eat almost half the pan of brownies during Carter's nap time.  It was ridiculous.  

Food Aversions: Still get grossed out even just thinking of smoked meat.

Movement: Some days I just feel little kicks and other days I feel more movement.  On Sunday I felt her almost rolling around.  It made me wonder if she was stretching out.  Last week at our appointment her feet were up by her head so I'm hoping she's remedied that situation so she'll be in the proper position for her arrival.  It turns out that was likely the case as she is now in position!

Best Moment of the Week:  Finding out at our doctor's office I've made some progress.  Now I'm getting so excited thinking about Elise being born soon!  I'm hoping we'll get to meet her sometime next week if not a bit earlier! 

Currently Loving: The beautiful weather we've been having.  Carter and I spend most of his waking moments outside and it's amazing!  I'm also loving being able to run again.  There's just something about running that is good for your soul.  I know I won't be able to run for a few weeks after Elise arrives so it's nice to be able to run these last few days of pregnancy!    

Miss Anything: I'm so ready to meet our precious girl!  I'm hoping she holds out for a few more days at least, but I am so excited to meet her that I'm ready any day now.

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: I've been pulling out my ball to sit on in the evening when my back is really sore.  One day I pulled it out and Carter said, "Back sore, mommy?"  It's so cute that he remembers things I tell him.  He's excited to meet his sissy and has been talking about her a lot more.  He wants to give her night night kisses when he goes to bed.  He also enjoys screaming at my belly or pushing on it to "Wake Issy up!"  When we sit on the floor to read books Carter doesn't quite have room in my lap and slides off so he ends up continually getting up and plopping back down in my lap which is hilarious.  When we sit in our reading chair he pretty much always just sits beside me rather than attempting to sit in my lap.  This past weekend he ran a fun run at the St. Patrick's Day race.  My parents came for the race and brought Carter a tractor that he can drive.  He absolutely loved it and spent much of the weekend driving it around the backyard.  Last night Carter told me Issy Eese was going to nap in his bed with him, Big Al, and Buddy.  I thought it was very sweet but explained that she wouldn't be able to sleep with him and he wouldn't want her to because she'd cry and wake him up.  Today Carter was telling my parents "Issy Eese mommy's tummy" so I told him she won't be in my tummy for much longer.  He looked at me and said, "Carter hold Issy Eese."  It was so sweet!

 

 

 

Guesses: Now that I've made it past 36 weeks I have a little bit of an understanding about how people feel when they are close to or past their due dates.  Since I've made it further than I did with Carter people have been asking me when Elise is going to be born and checking to see if there's been any progress. Never got to that point with Carter!

Previous Guesses:
March 16th- My best friend, Erin

This Week's Guesses:
March 17th- My Grandma LeAnn
                     Ty's Aunt Brenda
March 19th- My best friend, Ang
March 20th- Me (like I said, this weekend would be perfect timing!)
                     Ty's brother, Paul (which also happens to be his birthday)
March 23rd- Carter

Week 36 Bumpdate

I am so thankful to have made it another week!  I made it past the week I'd been dreading, from 35 to 36 weeks!  At this point with Carter I was already losing my mucus plug and there's been no sign of that, so I feel confident I will make it another week or more.  My goal has been 37 weeks, but now that I've made it this far I'm hoping for 38 weeks.  That's really more of the ideal time for her to be born, plus it would give me and Carter the week of St. Patrick's Day to enjoy all of the fun activities I have planned.  But if she comes earlier, obviously I'll be thrilled.

We had our 36 week appointment on Monday and I was nervous.  I knew our doctor was going to check to see if I had progressed any more from 1.5 cm and I was afraid I had with all the contractions I've been having.  I tried to stay optimistic since I haven't run in 2 weeks, but I was still nervous!  While we were in the waiting room the administrative assistant called me up to tell me our doctor had been called out for a delivery and we would see the Physician's Assistant.  We started our appointment with the Group B Strep test and then she went on to the ultrasound.  Since baby's size wasn't measured at our last appointment, she measured Elise.  Elise's heart was beating at 148 bpm.  Afterward she checked me and said that she would put me at 1-1.5 cm dilated, so no progress since our doctor last checked.  It was such a relief for me and I felt so happy and calm after finding out.  Ever since our 34 week appointment I've been stressed that Elise will come before 37 weeks but now I am confident she will hang out for another week.  I'm really hoping for 38 weeks now.

 

March 10, 2015

Baby's Size: Baby girl should be more than 18.5 inches and almost 6 pounds.  She should be gaining about an ounce per day or half a pound a week!  She is shedding most of the downy hair that covered her body along with the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that protects her skin.  At our appointment she was measured as 5 pounds, 11 ounces which put her in the 49th percentile.  That was a relief because at 32 weeks when she was last measured she was in the 79th percentile.  I know the ultrasound measurements aren't super accurate, but I'm glad she's not on the large side anymore! 

Elise's sweet little face!

Her tiny little feet and toes that I can't wait to kiss!

Weight Gain:  I'm up 29 pounds from my starting weight.  That means I just gained a pound each of these past 2 weeks which I'll consider a win since Elise should be gaining about a half pound a week herself!  I'm 4 pounds over what I gained with Carter, but I'm done worrying about it.  Obviously I'm going to make it longer than I did with him and gain over 30 pounds.  I've accepted that!

Maternity Clothes: It's finally gotten warm enough to pull out the spring maternity clothes I've been eyeing in my closet during this entire pregnancy.  Ty had a co-worker give him a bag of spring maternity clothes and I had a friend do the same.  I'd been starting to think Elise would arrive before it warmed up enough to wear them with the weather we've been getting.  I'm so excited to wear the spring dresses! 

Sleep: I've been so uncomfortable lately and have been having such a hard time falling asleep.  By the end of the day my back is really sore and it makes it hard to get comfortable even with my body pillow.  I wake up to go to the bathroom and also wake up at other times because I'm having contractions in my sleep which is rough.  With all the trouble getting comfortable and being a tummy sleeper, I am so looking forward to sleeping on my stomach again!  Although I'm having trouble sleeping at night I got an extra burst of energy this week and didn't take naps during Carter's naptime.  During naptime I want to be up and moving and getting things done.  The only problem is that I've gotten pretty much everything done I needed to in order to prepare for Elise's arrival which makes me antsy.  I want to have more stuff to do but I know if I did, it would be driving me crazy that I hadn't already gotten it done.  Weird dilemma, I know!  

Symptoms: My contractions have eased up in intensity but are more frequent.  I have them all throughout the day.  Thankfully they aren't the intense stop and breathe through them contractions.  I've also had contractions where my entire belly tightens, much higher than I usually feel contractions.  My back has also been really sore!  My skin has gotten itchier and I can't help but scratch it.  One day I looked in the mirror and freaked out because I thought the scratch marks were stretch marks.  I thought I'd gone from no stretch marks to stretch marks covering my entire belly!  Thank goodness that wasn't the case!  I haven't had swelling in my feet since last week.  I've been having a lot of hip pressure and pressure down low in my pelvis which makes me think Elise must have dropped a bit.

Running: Still just walking, but one more week and I'll be able to start up running again.  In the mean time I've decided an advantage of walking over running is that I don't have to change my clothes to walk.  I just wear whatever I was already wearing.  That's really a huge advantage when you are pregnant and bending over is such a challenge!  I walked a total of 12 miles this week, walking mostly 2 miles per day.

Food Cravings: Some days I have a huge appetite.  Other days I feel kind of sick.  I've still been all about apples with peanut butter, but other than that I can't think of any cravings.  Although I have been loving ice cream in a cake cone.

Food Aversions: Still get grossed out even just thinking of smoked meat.

Movement: She's starting to run out of room a little bit.  I don't feel her moving around nearly as often.  She still moves around when I lay down in bed at night and occasionally when I sit down during the day.  Her movements also aren't as dramatic as they were before.

Best Moment of the Week: A friend threw me a sprinkle to honor Elise on Saturday.  It was so good to see everyone and I had a blast.  I got a few more decorations for Elise's room that we already hung up on Saturday and I washed all of her new clothes and put away all the diapers.  Her nursery is officially complete!  After I got everything accomplished in the nursery Ty installed the car seat in his car which we will drive to the hospital.  He will install the car seat in my car later since we will be leaving it for Jeremy so he'll have Carter's car seat in case he needs to go anywhere.  Carter's car seat will have to move to accommodate Elise's seat, but we don't want to move it yet because then we'd have to climb through the trunk to get to the back row and my parents will be in town this weekend for a St. Patrick's Day race.  We'll all be riding in my car and it would be circus for the people riding in the back seat to have to climb through the trunk!

I took a year leave of absence from work for this school year so I needed to go up to school and officially resign for next year.  While I was there one of my old coworkers said, "I wish I looked as cute as you when I was pregnant."  It was very sweet and made me feel good, especially since I feel huge!

Currently Loving: That I haven't progressed any more since 34 weeks.  My stress level is pretty much non-existent at this point.  I just feel so calm and happy.  I'm so ready to meet Elise, but it is reassuring to know it is highly unlikely for it to happen soon.  Carter was perfectly healthy and scored 9/10 and 10/10 on his Apgar scores even though he was born at 36 weeks, 2 days.  But he was so skinny and needed to plump up which led to him eating every hour day and night.  That meant I was sleeping in 15 minute increments for the first week of his life.  It was rough.  I'd so much rather Elise hang out in my belly for a while longer so I can at least get my not that great giantly pregnant night's sleep.  Plus I'd be worried that we were just lucky with Carter and she might end up needing help from the NICU.   

Miss Anything: Mostly just sleeping on my stomach and Braum's frozen yogurt soft serve.  I'm so ready to meet our baby girl!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: Most of the time Carter points to my belly and says that's where Issy Eese is.  One day this week Carter pointed to his belly and asked, "Carcar, Issy Eese belly too?"  Another day he stuck a sticker on my belly for her and then gave my belly a kiss.  He loves telling people that the nursery is Issy Eese's room.  He'll point to her crib and tell them that's where she's going to nap and night night.  I've hit the point where I can't bend over or do certain movements without grunting.  Carter has started mimicking me and will grunt when he bends over.  It's pretty hilarious!  His Gma, Gpa, Oma, and Opa were all in town this past weekend for the sprinkle and Carter loved all the attention!  He did great with the time change too.  I always worry that Daylight Savings Time is going to throw him off schedule, but he takes it like a champ!  We had our appointment at 2:40 on Monday so I needed to put him down early for his nap.  I knew putting him down at noon rather than 1:00 would be no problem, but I had forgotten about Daylight Savings Time starting on Sunday.  When I realized that I got a little bit worried because it would be like putting him down at 11:00 normally.  A little before noon I told Carter it would be time for his nap soon.  He looked at me, stood up, walked into his room, and climbed into bed.  Then he asked me if he could read some books so I got him some board books and set them in his bed.  He read books for about 5 minutes and then fell asleep.  Say what?!?  How did I get so lucky to have such a great sleeper?  All of those nightly wake-ups and not sleeping through the night until he was 9 months old were so worth it to have a toddler who is such a good sleeper!  Week 36 Bumpdate with Carter.  That was my last bumpdate with Carter so from here on out I won't be able to link to a bumpdate for Carter.

 

Guesses: With both Carter and Elise we had a "Guess Baby's Birthday" calendar at our gender reveal party.  Carter was born so early that we didn't get to the point where we started looking at the calendar to see if anyone had guessed he'd be born that week.  The closest guess to his birthday, December 14th, was my Grandma LeAnn who guessed December 30th.  I told Ty it would be so much fun this time around if we made it longer and could look each week to see who had guessed Miss Elise would be born in the upcoming week.  If you weren't at the gender reveal and didn't get to guess, leave one in the comment section and I'll add you to the fun!  We have one guess for this upcoming week with my best friend, Erin, guessing March 16th (36 weeks, 6 days).  There are lots of guesses coming up in week 37 which will be fun to keep track of!

Week 35 Bumpdate

Woo hoo, we made it another week!  This week is the one I've been the most nervous about for a while, making it from 35 to 36 weeks.  Ever since Carter was born I've been worried that Baby #2 would come even earlier than Carter did and I for some reason have been worried she will come during week 35.  I'm much calmer about it now that I'm not running because I feel like that will definitely help me make it longer.  This week will be a busy week with a playdate planned every single day of the week and Elise's baby sprinkle on Saturday.  Now to make it through this week and then we'll just have one more week to full-term!

 

February 24, 2015

Baby's Size: She should be over 18 inches and around 5 and 1/4 pounds.  We'll find out at our appointment on Monday if she's still measuring big.  According to my baby app she should be running out of room and having fewer big movements, but sister is still pretty wild and crazy!  All basic physical development is now mostly complete and baby will just be putting on weight these last few weeks.  That is a relief to read! 

Weight Gain:  Taking this week off from weighing in.  We'll see what I'm at next week.

Maternity Clothes: I'm amazed I still have a few non-maternity sweaters that are long enough especially with a tank top underneath.  Although I'm noticing my maternity tank tops aren't covering my belly with as much excess at the bottom as they used to!

Sleep: I definitely started getting more tired this week.  That may be in part due to waking so much at night to use the restroom as well as skipping naps most days this week.  The days I did nap I kept it to 30 minutes at the most.  I'm also having a harder time sleeping at night.  I'm uncomfortable sleeping on my sides, but when I sleep on my back I snore really loudly.  There have been so many times I wake up on my back.  It's crazy.  I worried about sleeping on my back with Carter but the doctor assured me if it was a problem to where baby wasn't getting enough oxygen, I wouldn't be either and I'd wake up.  So I haven't worried about it this time.  Ty has noticed because he wakes up and I'm snoring.  He says I only snore on my back.  One night Carter woke up at 4:30 am and cried really hard.  Ty went in to console him and he continued to scream and cry so I went in.  By the time I was in there his blanket was soaked from snot and tears, it broke my heart.  He stopped crying when he heard my voice and wanted me to lay with him so I did.  I was really tired and wanted to sleep, but he was playing with my hair so I couldn't.  Then any time I'd start to fall asleep I started snoring and Carter would say, "Oh no, oh no, piggy!" which would wake me up.  I started to get frustrated but then reminded myself that once Elise comes I won't be able to lay in bed with Carter to console him because I'll need to be available to nurse her.  It really made me appreciate having the chance to snuggle in bed with my precious boy!  I had a dream that Elise came during this week and had to be transferred to a different hospital for the NICU (although the hospital we will deliver at has a NICU).  I decided to run to the other hospital and the roads were all icy and I kept falling and sliding across the road.  The weirdest thing was how calm I was.  I wasn't at all worried about Elise, I just wanted to be with her.  While I was running I kept thinking how awesome it felt to run again (although I'm sure that would not actually be the case immediately after delivery).

Symptoms: My back has been super sore and makes sitting down uncomfortable.  I'd rather be up and moving around but sometimes I'm just so tired I want to sit!  In the evening my feet look a little swollen.  I just got new running shoes last week and they feel tight so I think my feet are bigger right now.  My rings still fit though and are only snug first thing in the morning.  My belly button still isn't fully popping.  The top half is out and the bottom half is in.  Contractions have really eased up this week, I think due to not running.  I'm still having a few, but they aren't very painful and are not as frequent.  That's a good thing!  I've been having more accidents lately and have less control of my bladder.  It snowed over the weekend and we went sledding Saturday before Carter's nap.  He had a blast.  I rode down the hill once with Carter and when I went to get out of the sled I had to roll to my hands and knees because I couldn't get out of the sled.  It put too much pressure on my bladder so I peed a little in my pants.  I also have less control of my body.  Carter and I were riding down a slide at the park later in the day.  The snow made us go much faster and threw us off the end of the slide.  I couldn't stop myself and slammed into Carter's back which pushed his face into the snow, poor little guy!  

Running: This was my first week of walking rather than running per doctor's orders.  At first I was a little bit bummed because running was going so well this time and I was enjoying it so much.  I was also worried I would get lots of calf cramps because on days I didn't run I would wake up with calf cramps during the night.  Fortunately I've enjoyed walking, it's so relaxing and I haven't had an increase in calf cramps!  When I get passed by people running it makes me itch to run so badly, but other than that I'm pretty content walking.  At first Carter wanted out to run and walk since we were going slowly but after a couple days he got used to walking instead of running and sat content in the stroller.  I've found that there are some advantages to walking over running.  I don't feel like I'm going to pee my pants the whole time.  I don't have contractions while I walk like I did when I ran.  But best of all I can talk to Carter as we go.  Since I can talk more he likes to peek back through the stroller at me and we play Peek-a-Boo.  It's the best!  So for now, to ensure Elise is big enough to be born, we are sticking to walking and it is going really well.  I'm not going to say I don't miss running, but walking is a good substitute for now.  If I hit 37 weeks you bet your bottom I'll be back out there attempting to waddle/run!  I kept my walks short mostly due to the cold and Carter's desire to get out and play at the park.  We walked 1-2 miles a day for a total of 9 miles for the week.

Carter peeking at me through the gap in the stroller.

Enjoying a walk with my two babies.

Food Cravings: Being at my parents' house this weekend I got to eat Bamboo Palace, my favorite Chinese place.  It was amazing and really hit the spot!

Food Aversions: Still not enjoying smoked foods.  We went to a barbeque restaurant over the weekend and I did okay eating a pulled pork sandwich but felt sick later that night.  Nothing too bad though.

Movement: She's still moving a lot!  I love looking down and seeing a huge bulge sticking out of my belly.  My mom was watching her move around Saturday night and really got a kick out of it.  She said none of us moved as much or as strongly as Elise does.

Best Moment of the Week: We went to my hometown this weekend for my best friend, Erin's, baby sprinkle.  I hosted the sprinkle with 2 other friends and it went really well.  We got a lot of snow that morning so a lot of people ended up not being able to come, but we still had a blast and I enjoyed the more intimate setting.  Of course we got a bump picture since we were together!  The next day I got to go over and visit one of my other really good friends, Melissa, and her girlfriend, Liz.  They had their 2 month old twin boys, Wesley and Graham, with them so I got to meet them and hold them and they are precious!  Wesley and Graham were born at 35 weeks and are doing great.  They didn't spend much time at all in the NICU (less than a week) so I feel much better about where I'm at.  

Erin 30 weeks, me 34 weeks.

Mel and Liz with Graham and Wesley.

Currently Loving: My mom sent us home with the curtains, valances, and crib skirt for Elise's room.  We put the curtains up last night and Ty and Jeremy raised the crib and put the crib skirt on tonight.  Elise's room is now completely finished!  I'm loving it and will post pictures later this week.  Since this past weekend was our last trip before Elise arrives I was able to use my duffle bag to start a hospital bag.  It's exciting to know we just have 2 weeks until full-term and she could arrive anytime after that!  We also had my mom take some maternity pictures for us while we were visiting so that's another thing I can check off my list of things to do! 

Carter helping Ty and Jeremy raise the crib.

 

Miss Anything: Being able to sit down comfortably and sleeping on my belly.  I am really looking forward to rolling over to my stomach that first night at the hospital.  It was a magical moment for me after Carter was born.  I've already woken myself up a few times by attempting to roll to my stomach in my sleep.  Say what?!!?  How does that even seem like a good idea!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: Carter enjoyed the snow this week and the day of warmer weather we had.  When it was in the 50's we took a walk from our house and I let him hold Harper's leash.  He had a blast and laughed the entire time!  He enjoyed playing with Hayden when Ty came to pick us up from the baby sprinkle.  He and Hayden ran laps together.  Randomly yesterday he pointed at the crib in the nursery and said, "Issy Eese nap here".  It was very cute!  He's really starting to understand that it's her room, I think a lot of it has to do with it looking so different from when it was his room. Week 35 Bumpdate with Carter.

 

Week 34 Bumpdate

Yesterday our doctor had to leave the office for two deliveries so our appointment was rescheduled for today.  Baby girl is looking great and her fluid levels are perfect.  She's still facing my right hip with her head firmly placed toward the left side of my lower pelvis.  Her heart beat was 167 bpm.  I mentioned contractions I've been having that are very similar to what I felt with Carter around 34-35 weeks.  I told him I was just assuming they were Braxton Hicks, but I was starting to get worried they were doing something, as in causing me to dilate.  Before I was finished the doctor said bottoms off and left the room.  I sat nervously waiting to see if I was dilated at all.  I told Ty I was hoping I wasn't dilated more than 1 cm at the most, but ideally not dilated at all.  The doctor came back in to check me and said I was 1.5 cm dilated.  He said my cervix was still low but softened.  He told me he wants me to make it to at least 36 weeks so he needs 14 more days out of me.  So no more running.  He said the gravity and pounding of running isn't worth it.  If I make it to 37 weeks I can pick back up running again.  I asked about walking (I meant going on walks rather than runs) and he said there's no research to say laying in bed is going to do any good.  Bed rest hadn't even crossed my mind.  Thank goodness he doesn't think it is worth it.  I had planned to run after the appointment so instead Carter and I went for a mile walk and then played at the park.  It should be interesting walking with Carter in the stroller.  He loves being in the stroller when I run, but he thinks walking is an invitation for him to get out of the stroller to run/walk ahead of the stroller so he fusses to get out and "Runeet" while I'm walking.  I have mixed emotions about already being dilated.  I'm really excited my body is preparing for Elise's arrival because I'm so ready to meet her, but I'm worried she's going to come too early!  

 

February 24, 2015

Baby's Size: Baby girl should be around 4 and 3/4 pounds and almost 18 inches long!  Not sure if she's still measuring big or not.  Our doctor only measures for size once a month so we'll find out at our next appointment.  It's crazy that she's getting so close to the size that Carter was when he was born.  We are getting so close to meeting her.

Weight Gain:  I'm at a whopping 27 pounds gained.  That means I gained a pound each of the past 2 weeks.  I'm a little discouraged that it's looking like I'll end up gaining over 30 pounds, but I'm still holding out hope that my weight gain will slow down a little bit.

Maternity Clothes: For the most part everything is maternity.  I still have a few longer sweaters that I'm wearing.

Sleep: Still haven't been quite as tired this week.  I'm still struggling to fall back to sleep when I wake up which is frustrating, especially since I wake up so much to go to the bathroom.  I usually wake up around 3 times to go to the bathroom at night, I'm averaging about every 2 hours during the night so my body is getting on a baby's eating schedule!  I napped for 20-30 minutes a couple days and skipped naps a few days too. 

Symptoms: My back hadn't been nearly as sore this time around as with Carter and up until this week really didn't bother me much at all.  It's definitely nothing like what I experienced with Carter, but it has been pretty sore.  Saturday evening after my run I had some monster contractions that I actually had to close my eyes and breathe through.  They were about every 5 minutes or so for around 2 hours and then started tapering off.  Carter and I took a warm bath and they only stuck around for a little while after that.  I could tell it wasn't the real deal, but it still made me a little bit nervous.  Partially because Ty made a big deal about it and kept asking me questions.  I think he just gets freaked out when he sees me go into my Zen-like labor state to deal with contractions.  With Carter I was frustrated because people would tell me Braxton Hicks contractions didn't hurt and a lot of resources I read said they were more uncomfortable than painful.  So then I would get confused as to whether I was having Braxton Hicks or real contractions because what I was feeling hurt.  Finally after my incident on Saturday I found a source that said they are painful for some people.  I would compare the Braxton Hicks contractions I feel to contractions I felt once I was 6-7 cm dilated with Carter.  They are no joke and I wouldn't rate them as simply uncomfortable.  I must be waddling more and I know I waddle when I first stand up from sitting for a while.  On Tuesday my tutoring student told me, "You walk funny when you have a baby in your belly, like this" and then he started imitating my walk.  It was hilarious!

Running: On days I don't run I wake up with monster calf cramps.  My weekly mileage was 10 miles.  I felt good running but my paces were all over the pace.  One day I ran 9:40 pace.  Another day I was barely under 12 minute pace at 11:55 pace.  It was ridiculous.  Monday was really cold and Carter slept late so I debated taking the day off running.  Instead I decided to run after Ty got home while dinner finished in the oven.  I'm so glad I did since it was my last run of this pregnancy unless I make it to 37 weeks.  Then I have to go ahead to pick it up again.    

Food Cravings: Tuna and cheese so I ended up making a bunch of macaroni and cheese with tuna and peas which I had for lunch 3 days in a row.  Carter also loved it and would actually start picking his peas out and eating them by themselves, then asking for more just for the peas.  What other child would choose peas over mac and cheese? I've also been all about apples with peanut butter which I'm sure isn't helping my weight gain!

Food Aversions: Smoked foods.

Movement: Right now she's moving more and more.  She's at the point where she'll move even when I'm walking which is so much fun.  I love sitting and watching her moving all over. 

Best Moment of the Week: Carter and I went to the zoo for our Nature's Buddies session on Thursday.  While we were in the chimpanzee area there was a less than 3 month old baby chimpanzee with it's mother.  It was so sweet to watch and Carter absolutely loved it.  He was all eyes for the baby chimpanzee and when the mother moved away from the window he'd ask for the baby.  Watching the mother chimpanzee with her baby and seeing Carter's reaction to the whole thing made me so happy.  I am so excited for Elise to arrive!

Currently Loving: That we are getting close to meeting Elise and I'm getting lots of little to-do's checked off!  If this were Carter we'd just have 2 weeks left, but I think we have at least 3 if not 4 or more weeks to go.  At least that's what I'm hoping!  One night I was talking things over with my parents to see if they'd rather be at our house with Carter or at the hospital with me when I go into labor.  They decided they'd like to be at the hospital.  Then I talked things over with Jeremy and he's all set to be our go-to person when the time comes.  He lives less than a mile away so he'll be able to come watch Carter and Thomas will be his back-up when he gets off work if he's at work when we leave for the hospital.  I got so excited thinking about Elise's arrival and knowing it will be here soon.  I could tell talking about it was getting my parents all jacked up as well.  That night I was so excited thinking about meeting Elise that I couldn't sleep.  Yesterday I typed up little notes about Carter for Jeremy so he'll know his exact schedule as far as what time Carter eats, naps, and goes to bed as well as where to find things.  It's so nice that Jeremy already watches Carter when I tutor so we know it will go well because Carter loves his Uncie and excitedly says, "Bye Mommy!" when Jeremy comes over.  I've definitely gone into that "I want everything for the baby done and I want it done now!" mode.  My goal was for Ty to install the car seat bases this weekend.  He didn't do it and I was soooo disappointed.  I just want to know that we are ready to bring sister home.  I did get some of my to-do's finished though.  I re-organized the nursery closet and the drawers of the night stand.  I washed all my nursing tanks and bras.  Then I put them in my drawers and put a couple in a bag as the start of our hospital bag.  I also started a hospital bag for Elise with her going home outfit, burp cloths, and a blanket.

Miss Anything: I'm really starting to look forward to some frozen yogurt soft serve from Braum's in a few weeks!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: Carter had a blast at the zoo and especially loved the baby chimpanzee.  We also finally got snow this week and he LOVED playing in the snow!  When it's snowing he likes to watch out the window.  He's still not a big fan of feeling Elise move, but he loves to watch her move.  One day he looked at my belly and she wasn't moving.  He said, "Issy Eese?" and I told him she was sleeping.  Then he ran over and pushed on my belly until she started moving around.  He looked at me triumphantly declaring, "Issy wake!"  It was hilarious but I hope isn't something that he does after she's born.  I pulled out the photo book I made from Carter's birth and he loved looking through it.  Of course I got teary eyed looking at my newborn Carter boy.  There were a few pictures where he was crying and he'd very concerned say "Carcar cry!"  He gets so upset when someone cries.  Jake was crying yesterday and Carter kept saying, "Jake, okay.  Good boy Jake." and then patting him on the arm.  At a playdate Landon was crying and Carter kept asking, "Landon, okay?"  He even followed Landon around with a toy trying to cheer him up.  Yesterday my stomach growled and Carter said, "Oh no, oh no! Issy Eese scared!!!!"  With all this talk about babies he's become really fascinated with babies and mommies and their relationship.  When we read books he's always quick to notice the mommy in the book and wants to go back and look at pictures, pointing her out.  It's almost like he senses sister will be arriving soon because he's gotten very adamant that he is mommy's baby.  If he's asked where the baby is he points to himself whereas he previously pointed to my belly.  A few times this week he's pointed at him self and said "Carcar Baby" to let me know he is a baby.  I tell him, "Yes, you will always be momma's baby, but you are a big boy!"  My mom called to FaceTime when we were getting ready to take pictures so Carter brought Oma in the pictures with him!  Week 34 Bumpdate with Carter.

 

 

Week 33 Bumpdate

We are getting so close!  Only one more month until we reach full term!  I'm so excited!!!!  My goal this entire time has been to make it to 37 weeks.  Each week closer we get I get more and more excited.  I'm having a decent amount of Braxton Hicks contractions and I can tell little miss is lower, but nothing compared to Carter at this point.  That makes me feel like we are definitely going to make it longer and I hope I'm right!

 

February 17, 2015

Baby's Size: Sweet girl should be a little over 4 pounds and over 17 inches.  Since she was already over 4 pounds last week I'd say she's a bit bigger than that right now.

Weight Gain:  Taking the week off again this week and it's so nice, especially since we celebrated Valentine's Day with some candy and cake!

Maternity Clothes: It finally snowed on Monday.  I've been waiting months for some snow!  I got so excited I forgot I was pregnant for long enough to put on my snow suit.  When I went to zip it up and couldn't even get the zipper started I was reminded of my current 8 month pregnant state.  I ended up wearing the pants anyway and just not zipping them because I had a long coat to wear over them.

Sleep: I haven't been nearly as tired this week.  Hopefully that means Elise was going through a growth spurt last week and that's why she measured 79th percentile at our appointment!  Unfortunately since I haven't been as tired I haven't been sleeping nearly as hard.  I wake up with Ty's alarm and really struggle to fall back asleep.  I also have a hard time falling asleep at night, especially if I take a nap during the day.  But then if I don't take a nap during the day I struggle to stay up after Carter goes to bed and I like to have alone time with Ty.  I skipped naps a few days, took little 20-30 minute power naps a couple days, and napped for an hour in the beginning of the week.  I'm also waking up for restroom breaks 4 times at night which doesn't help in the sleep department.

Symptoms: My hips have been much more sore this week.  I also feel like I constantly need to pee and I swear I go like every 30 minutes!  Each time I need to go to the bathroom I feel like I'm about to pee my pants.  That makes me think sister has dropped a little bit lower this week.  Yesterday I waited too long to go to the bathroom.  Ty kept saying something that he knows gets me going.  I kept laughing and told him to stop because I thought I could make it to the bathroom without having an accident.  As I was running off Carter yelled, "Mommy poopeet!"  I lost it and didn't make it to the bathroom.  Carter was shocked and kept running up and down the hallway yelling, "Mommy potty, mommy potty!"  Earlier in the week I went up to my old work to visit my previous co-workers and they mentioned I don't look as big as I did with Carter.  I think it's because I've grown more side to side with Elise than I did with Carter.  With him my belly was all straight out front.  My belly button is still half in, half out.  The top half is popping out and the bottom half is still in.  It's hard enough to bend over that I've started taking baths with Carter so I don't have to lean into the tub.

Running: I hit 12 miles for my weekly mileage this week.  I still ran 2 miles every day, but we ran the Sweetheart 5k on Saturday morning.  I ran a half-mile warm up and cool down before the race so I got 4 miles in.  I was able to run comfortably and felt good throughout the race.  I was a little bit worried because sometimes 2 miles is hard to get in so I wasn't sure how a 3 mile run would feel.  It definitely helped that it was in the morning so I didn't feel like I was going to pee the entire time I was running.  I finished in 25:41 which was good for 5th in my age group.     

Food Cravings: I've been all about avocado and guacamole this week.  We make our own guacamole just smashing avocados and then adding seasoning and sour cream.  I ended up planning it as a side with 2 of our meals last week and it's made it onto the menu twice more this week.  I've also been loving broccoli dipped in ranch.  I could eat so much of it because it's so delicious, but it makes me burp a lot and feel a little bit of reflux.

Food Aversions: Smoked foods.

Movement: She's still moving around all the time and I'm loving it!  She's actually been moving during more times of day than she had been.  Typically she just moved around when I laid down in bed at night, when I laid in bed before getting up in the morning, and when I sat down during Carter's naptime.  This week she moved at other random times, sometimes even when I was walking around.  She also moved around quite a bit while I was eating.  I'm going to miss it when she runs out of room to move around as much.

Best Moment of the Week: Valentine's Day!!!!  I love Valentine's Day.  It is definitely my favorite holiday.  My whole family was in town and we all started our morning with the Sweetheart Run which I ran as part of a two-person team with my sweetie, Ty!  While Carter napped everyone took off to run different errands and work on chores.  When he woke up it was just me and him so we got to do some fun Valentine's Day activities as well as snuggle.  He is my sweetest, little Valentine!

Currently Loving: Saturday I re-organized Ty and my closet.  I went through and found my nursing bras and nursing tank tops and put them in the dirty clothes to wash.  Sunday morning I took down all the Valentine's Day decorations.  That afternoon Ty put them away in the attack and got down the car seat, bouncer, St. Patty's day decorations, and Easter decorations while he was up there.  I took apart the bouncer while he took apart the car seat.  Then I washed an cleaned everything to get it ready for Elise.  It's so exciting that we're getting to the point where we need to get these things done.  Ty plans to install the car seat bases in our cars next weekend.  We are getting so close to meeting our girl!  When my mom came she brought elephants she crocheted to replace the monkeys on our crib mobile.  They are adorable!  Then Ty hung things in Carter's big boy room that we had taken down from the nursery to change it over for Elise.  I feel like things are really coming together and I'm getting all my "Before Baby Arrives" to-do's marked off the list!  All we have left is to find a lamp shade, add the 2nd window curtains, raise the crib and put the crib skirt on, re-organize the closet and night stand in the nursery, install the car seat bases, and eventually closer to time back our hospital bag!  

Elise's mobile all set up with the adorable elephants!

Miss Anything: Nope!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: We had a very busy week with something going on almost every day.  Carter enjoyed our Valentine's Day themed playdate with Landon on Thursday and then we met up with him again on Friday at the Children's Museum.  He was so tired after playing at the Children's Museum he cried during lunch and had a hard time eating because he wanted to go to sleep.  Then he napped for 3 and a half hours.  My parents came to visit for the weekend which is always so exciting for Carter.  He had been asking for them throughout the week and I'd tell him they were coming on Friday evening right after his bathtime.  So on Friday he looked at me and said, "Oma, Opa, laler?"  I told him, "Yes, they are coming later."  He enjoyed another fun run and an awesome Valentine's Day which I will post more about later.  Carter also likes to push on my belly to get Elise to kiss back.  When she does he kisses my belly.  It is the sweetest!  During our bumpdate pictures Carter pointed to the wall beside him and asked for Uncie Taco.  Thomas wasn't here and I'm sure he was glad!  Week 33 Bumpdate with Carter.

 

Carter pointing beside him for Uncie Taco.

Week 32 Bumpdate

I had been anxiously awaiting our 32 week appointment to find out if Elise had moved to head down or butt down because I knew for sure she was up and down and not sideways.  Yesterday during Carter's nap I got a call from the doctor's office to reschedule our appointment.  I was bummed but glad that they were able to fit me in the next day rather than waiting longer.  Our doctor immediately put the ultrasound wand down low on my pelvis and my heart skipped a beat when it revealed little miss' head!!!!  She is now head down, what a good girl!  He said she's head down with her nose facing toward my right hip.  Her heart beat was around 130 bpm.  Everything looked good and our doctor was pleased.  I got my whooping cough shot and forgot to take the band aid off, so that's in the picture!

 

February 10, 2015

Baby's Size: Baby should weigh in around 3.75 pounds and be about 16.7 inches long.  She measured in at 4 pounds, 4 ounces which put her in the 79th percentile.  Her head circumference was in the 70th percentile.  For comparison Carter was 4 pounds, 7 ounces at 33 weeks which put him in the 38th percentile.  Our doctor said we're looking at an 8 pound baby if we make it all the way to 40 weeks.  Then he went on to ask Carter's size at birth and said for my sake he hopes Elise is born at 37 weeks, 1 day.  I wouldn't mind that a bit either!  At our 28 week appointment she was measuring in at the 55th percentile.  So I hope she just started her growth spurt a little bit early and will slow down a bit from here on out (and hopefully my weight gain will do the same).  She is supposed to gain about a third to half of her birth weight in the next seven weeks.  She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair!

Weight Gain:  I'm up 25 pounds which is great news!  That means my weight gain has slowed down to about a half pound a week.  If it stays around in there I can still be under 30 total pounds gained!  It has really helped me to only weigh in every other week.  I'm feeling so much less stress about my weight gain now that I'm not constantly checking in on it.  I'm so glad I made that decision!

Maternity Clothes: I tried to wear one of the oversized non-maternity tops I had worn before and it was a smidgeon short.  I could get by with it by having a tank top underneath, but it definitely wasn't flattering.  I'm wearing pretty much all maternity clothes at this point.

Sleep: This week I have been so tired!  I've been sleeping pretty hard and slept through Ty's alarm going off pretty much every morning which I never do!  If I roll too far to one side I wake up because my arm is asleep from all the weight pressing on it.  Most days I took a 20-30 minute nap, but I had a few days where I was so tired I napped for over an hour.  Towards the end of the week I felt like I could have slept all the way through the night when I laid down for a nap, that's how tired I was!  Carter must've known how tired I was because he took 3 hour naps most of the week and slept until 7:00 or 7:30 most mornings.  Saturday morning he slept in until 8:30 am which was crazy!  I woke up and rolled over to check the time.  When I saw how late it was I was afraid to move.  I whispered to Ty if he knew what time it was and we both giggled with excitement.  Then on Sunday he slept in until 8:15!

Symptoms: I ended the day with headaches most days this week, but nothing too bad.  Not a migraine, just an annoying little headache.  Those I can deal with!  Saturday night we went to bed around 11:00.  When I laid down in bed all the sudden I felt my muscles really low down in my pelvis tighten and stay that way for a few minutes.  It was really uncomfortable and made it hard to sleep.  It kept happening about every 30 minutes all night until 7 am the next morning.  I was starting to get worried, but I knew they weren't contractions.  They didn't seem like Braxton Hicks contractions either though because they were painful and they were happening while I was laying down, actually waking me up while I was sleeping.  Ty and I decided we'd call the doctor on call if they continued throughout the day, but they stopped around 9 am and didn't start up again.  I ended up laying down with Carter for his entire nap to help everything calm down and because I was so exhausted from not sleeping well the night before.  I had a lot planned for Sunday, but none of it got done other than going over to Thomas' house in the evening for s'mores.  I mentioned the pains to a friend and she said they sounded like round ligament pain.  I asked the doctor about them at our appointment and he said they could possibly be round ligament pain or Braxton Hicks contractions.  He wasn't too concerned since they had gone away and re-assured me I would be able to tell when I was having actual contractions.  My concern was that contractions may feel different and possibly these were the real deal but just felt different than they had with Carter.

Running: I changed it up this week by hitting 11 miles as my weekly mileage.  On Saturday it was beautiful and I was running with Ty.  As I was running uphill and Ty noticed I was puffing, he offered to take the stroller so I got to run most of the run without it.  We ended up running 3 miles because it was so pretty and I was feeling good.     

Food Cravings: Nothing that I can think of.  My appetite has seemed to curb a bit this week.  Although I am starting to really look forward to a Braum's frozen yogurt soft serve once Elise arrives!

Food Aversions: Smoked foods.

Movement: Still moving around mostly when I lay down in bed at night.  She also likes to move around when I sit down during Carter's naptime.  I'm still feeling her in the middle of my belly and have felt some really strong movements down low.

Best Moment of the Week: Saturday morning we went over to visit our friends Roo and Alan at their new house.  Roo is pregnant and due the day before my birthday.  She's exactly 16 weeks behind me, so it's easy to remember how far along she is.  It was so much fun to hear their story of how they found out the were pregnant, to see her tiny little baby bump, and to share stories.   

Roo starting to get a bump at 16 weeks and me with a big bump at 32 weeks.

Currently Loving: I feel like this week was payback for me talking about how great I felt the past couple of weeks.  It was a rough week, but still not too bad.  I'm getting really excited thinking Elise will be here in 2 months or less.  If she's an early bird like Carter we could be meeting her as soon as a month!  I heard a song on the radio Friday during the day that I wanted to dance with Ty to.  That evening after Carter went to bed he agreed to dance with me.  I was all excited afterward thinking my belly hadn't been as in the way as I expected.  It turned out Ty had arched his back all funny to accommodate my belly, so it really was in the way.  Picture the video with a basketball strapped to the woman's stomach and the guy's back arched all crazy, well, and minus the fancy moves!

Miss Anything: Nope!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: We had some more beautiful spring-like weather this week along with a couple of really cold days to mix it up.  On the warm days Carter enjoyed playing outside and we had a blast at the park on Saturday.  He enjoyed our toddler program at the zoo despite freezing temperatures and found a flamingo feather to take home.  We had a playdate at a friend's house which he enjoyed because he got to play with all new toys.  When I pulled into the parking lot for our doctor's appointment Carter excitedly yelled, "Issy Eese!" because he knew where we were.  In the waiting room he was whispering that we were going to get to see sissy Elise.  It was adorable!  He picked out a butterscotch lollipop and told us his sucker was brown.  So I asked him what color my shirt was and he correctly said blue.  Ty was wearing a salmony colored shirt so I was interested to see what color Carter said it was.  He responded with orange.  Then I asked him what color his shirt was and he looked and proclaimed "Orange, too!"  Week 32 Bumpdate with Carter.

 

 

Week 31 Bumpdate

We are down to single digit weeks until we meet Elise.  I am so excited and as each week ticks past I get even more excited.  Her arrival will be here so soon!  I'm trying not to let myself get too excited until I find out Elise's actual positioning at our 32 week appointment, but I'm pretty ecstatic because she has definitely moved!  Saturday night we were celebrating my dad and Jeremy's birthday by playing a new board game my mom got for her birthday.  The whole time we were playing the game Elise was moving around like crazy and I could tell she was repositioning herself.  It was slightly painful and making my belly sore.  She was going and going for almost an hour and then all the sudden, boom, my belly felt totally different.  I tried not to freak out but I was so excited!  I jumped up and everyone agreed my belly appeared to be a different shape!  The best part was suddenly I felt like I could breathe.  I hadn't noticed struggling to breathe before but all the sudden I felt like I'd used an inhaler and my lungs were filling fully.  The best way to describe how my belly felt was that before it felt like I had a basketball positioned over my stomach and someone had pulled a strap around it extremely tightly putting lots of pressure on my sides and then Saturday night the strap was loosened and my sides didn't have so much pressure.  This whole time I felt so comfortable and was thinking it might be in part because Elise was sideways and not putting pressure on my hips.  Turned out her being sideways was causing way more pressure because it was pushing on my sides.  I am so much more comfortable now.  It almost feels as if my belly has disappeared!  She's definitely up and down rather than sideways so let's just hope she's head down and not butt down!  I'm looking forward to good news next week, cross your fingers for us!

 

February 3, 2015

Baby's Size: Baby should be over 16 inches long and weigh around 3.3 pounds.  Her senses are all fully developed and she's gearing up for a growth spurt.  She should be plumping up at this point.

Weight Gain: This is my week off weighing in and I am so glad!  This weekend we celebrated my mom, my dad, and Jeremy's birthdays!  We did it in style with a vanilla cake, a chocolate cake, and ice cream.  Whoa Nelly!

Maternity Clothes: We had a day this week where the high reached nearly 80 degrees!  One of my friends gave me some spring maternity clothes and my favorite was an adorable sleeveless maxi dress.  I've been eyeing it longingly in my closet for months now so I jumped at the opportunity to finally wear it!

Sleep: Monday through Wednesday by 6:00 pm I felt all mopey and wanted to cry.  I finally realized it was because I was so tired.  So on Thursday I took a 20 minute nap during Carter's naptime and it made a world of difference!  For the rest of the week I took a short 15-20 minute power nap while Carter napped.  I'd set my phone alarm for 30 minutes, but always woke up at least 10 minutes before it went off which was crazy to me!

Symptoms: It seems like I've had fewer Braxton Hicks contractions this week.  After Elise moved on Saturday I've been breathing so much easier and am so much more comfortable.  I swear it feels like my belly disappeared until I bend over!  Now I have a bit more pressure in my hips.  Before when I swept and mopped the kitchen floor I would get really out of breath.  Now I'm able to do it without getting too out of breath, but my hips ache by the time I'm done, even on days I don't run!  I clipped my toenails one day and started thinking "I wonder if I can go 9 more weeks without having to do this again!?"  It was so uncomfortable and everything was pushed up into my lungs while I hunched over to reach my toes.  One day at lunch I spilled food on my dress and didn't even know it until I was washing my hands in the bathroom and saw it in the mirror.  It was far enough down that my belly concealed it from me!  I've also being having to use the restroom a lot more and I trust my sneezes way less!  We spent most of the day on Tuesday playing outside because the weather was so beautiful.  I went to the bathroom before we went outside and I swear we were out there less than 30 minutes before I felt like I was going to pee my pants.  I didn't want to drag both the boys back inside, especially because it was so beautiful!  I was tempted to just pop a squat somewhere in the yard, but finally talked myself into trekking back inside.

Running: My weekly mileage was again 10 miles and probably will be for the rest of this pregnancy.  The beginning of the week was tough and I was running anywhere from 10-11 minute miles.  My belly felt stretched really tight all the way across and was uncomfortable.  Then I'd start having Braxton Hicks contractions and I just wanted to be done running already!  I was telling Ty on Wednesday night how horrible my runs had been and how maybe I should back off to only running 3 days a week rather than 5.  Then Thursday I was on my way to meet Ty to run and it turned out he forgot pack his running gear.  He decided to take the day off so he switched cars with me and ran errands with Carter while I ran.  It was exactly what I needed, a day off from running with the stroller!  I finished in an average of 8:55 pace and felt great the entire time!  I passed these 2 ladies running and the one said to the other, "Oh my God, she's pregnant!" after glancing over at me.  Then the other one yelled after me that I was awesome and inspiring.  It was an awesome moment for me, especially after such a rough week of running!   

Food Cravings: I really wanted brownie fudge ice cream and Ty went to get me some.  They didn't have that, but they did have chocolate and vanilla ice cream with brownie chunks and caramel.  It was delicious and I had an ice cream cone almost every night!

Food Aversions: Smoked foods.

Movement: Her favorite time to move around is when I lay down in bed to go to sleep for the night.  Since Saturday I've been feeling her much lower.  I've also been feeling her in the middle of my stomach rather than on the sides.  I am so excited and am hoping for good news as to her position at our appointment on Monday!

Best Moment of the Week: Would definitely have to be on Saturday when little miss decided to shift!  I was so excited I couldn't fall asleep that night.  The thought of having a c-section had been looming in the back of my mind and I'm feeling so happy knowing that most likely won't be the case!  I want so badly to deliver our sweet girl naturally just like I did with Carter.  It was the best experience!  Her moving has also been really nice because I can breathe better and am so much more comfortable! 

Currently Loving: I'm still loving how great I feel!  I cracked up getting ready to change my response here from last week's.  At the time I thought maybe Elise's sideways position was what caused me to feel so much more comfortable than I had with Carter, but now that she's moved I know that was not the case.  I am much more comfortable with her positioned up and down!  After my post last week about childbirth Ty ordered me Ina May's Guide to Childbirth. I've started reading it and the first section includes birth stories from lots of different women.  I am loving it!  I was so desperate to read birth stories where the labor and delivery were done naturally when I was pregnant with Carter and really struck out searching online.  I would have loved this book!

Miss Anything: Nope!

What Big Brother is Up to This Week: Carter enjoyed another toddler program at the zoo this week.  We also had Jake an extra day which he really enjoyed.  The weather was amazing with highs in the 50's, 60's, and even 70's so we spent a lot of time outside playing.  I'm talking pretty much every waking minute!  Gotta soak up all that glorious Vitamin D!!!!  Most mornings Carter woke up while Ty was getting ready so Ty would feed him breakfast, letting me sleep an extra 15-20 minutes.  Then he'd bring him to bed with me for cuddles and books before we started our day.  Elise typically moves around quite a bit when I'm laying in bed to go to sleep at night and when I first wake up.  Carter loves watching her and enjoys doing so each morning.  One morning she wasn't moving around like usual and he yelled "Come ere Issy Eese" at my belly and then started slapping it.  It didn't work but was absolutely adorable!  Jeremy was here while we were taking the bumpdate pictures.  When we were almost finished Carter scooted closer to me and started yelling, "Uncie J, cheese!" while pointing at the wall beside him.  It was so cute and Jeremy couldn't resist so we have a picture with him as well.  Friday evening Carter fell and landed face first on the corner of a chair, that's why he has a shiner in our pictures.  Week 31 Bumpdate with Carter.

Carter pointing for Uncie J to come get in the picture.