20 WEEKS!!!

How far along are you?: 20 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -1lb

Sleep: hahahaha only with the help of some lavender oil

Best moment this week: seeing my little girl this past Monday

Movement: very active in the morning and Paul has felt her already

Food cravings/aversion: I'm hungry

Gender: Girl!

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss: brushing my teeth without dry heaving

What I'm looking forward to: getting the nursery painted

Milestones: HALFWAY!!!!!

Today marks our halfway point! I'm so excited to be on the downhill slope with this pregnancy. The first half was a rough one, emotionally and physically- so I'm happy to be over the hump. 

Last night laying in bed Paul could feel Maddie rolling around in my stomach and his eyes were priceless! So cool to see him get excited and experience all of this again. We are finishing up the painting for the nursery this weekend, as soon as we pick out what gray we want to use on the walls. 

We also made the decision to change OB providers. Nothing was wrong with who we were using, I just want to deliver at a different hospital that he doesn't deliver at. So I'm changing to my cousin's OB who came highly recommended from some other moms I know. Even better, he does ultrasounds at every visit, so I will getting to see my little girl all the time now. How exciting is that?! I meet with him the first time on Tuesday, and I'm pretty excited and feel very confident this is the change we were meant to make. 

This whole experience has been surreal and as much as I'm ready to have her here I know I'll never experience this again and that makes me a little sad. But I know that will all go away when I have her in my arms. 

Perfection

Yesterday we had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound and though the images weren't that impressive in my book (compared to others), it was absolute perfection. I was surprised when we got there and they were using my original due date of 1/11, so I'm excited that that is what I'll be using from now on (meaning there will be no 19 week update, since it bumped me up 5 days)! Madelyn's head and torso was measuring 1 week behind, but Rylee's always did that too and when I was pregnant with Rylee the tech told me those values were accurate +/- 1 week. Her long legs were measuring right on schedule though. She had a heart rate of 141bpm and this tech confirmed to us that we do in fact have a girl in there :) I was pretty worried since I just bought a bunch of baby girl clothes at JBF that she would end up a he. We didn't get any front of face shots because she was being pretty stubborn and kept her hands in front of her face the whole time, but the slight profile view we got is great and I got to compare the pic to Rylee's 19 week ultrasound. I think there's a good chance they'll look similar, but still have distinct facial qualities. It's all going to come down to the color and quantity of hair haha

My OB called today and let me know all looked normal and great on the ultrasound. So happy to not have to worry about that pesky tissue mass anymore and I can potentially enjoy the rest of this pregnancy.

Even better, laying in bed last night, Paul had his head on my stomach. Madelyn gave him 3 swift kicks to the ear and he felt the last one :) What a special moment for all of us! Now I can't wait for Rylee to feel her kick.

18 weeks

How far along are you?: 18 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -2lb

Sleep: getting better some nights

Best moment this week: getting the spare room cleaned up

Movement: still not often, but it's more random, not just when I'm laying down

Food cravings/aversion: eggs are not my friend

Gender: Girl!

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss: not getting sick all the time

What I'm looking forward to: another ultrasound in 4 days!

Milestones: Less then 10 weeks until 3rd trimester :) size of a bell pepper

Not much going on here except planning things for the nursery since we got it all cleaned out. We had A LOT of stuff in there that we'd accumulated the past 4 years. I'm also dealing with ANOTHER sinus cold, which stinks, but I'm looking into stuff that can possibly help out- ya know, like exercise and more rest :) the things I'm already supposed to be doing haha 

Next week is going to busy, well at least Monday and Tuesday will be. Monday, Rylee has a dentist appointment, I have an ultrasound appointment, meeting someone to buy some diapers, and I'm hoping to squeeze in JBF and a chiropractic adjustment too. Tuesday, Rylee has her first dance class without me. I'm so excited for her and I hope she enjoys it. 

I'm really hoping that at my ultrasound they move my due date back up, who wants a later due date?! We shall see! We will get to check on all of her organs and make sure everything is growing properly. I just can't wait to see her again :) 

Commitment

So this will be a short post, but it's such a huge event in our lives I had to blog about it.

Yesterday, in front of our church and my mom (most everyone else was out of town), Paul and I got baptized. We were supposed to back in May, but Rylee was sick and I was having some what I thought to be pregnancy complications, so we ended up not even attending church that weekend- we did watch Church Online though (seriously best thing ever). So yesterday, our church had one of their Baptism Bashes and 67 people got baptized- HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! I'm so excited for our future with God and this church.

Even better, my mom who I swore wouldn't like it (she had a very different church upbringing) told me tonight that in 16 years of living here she has never heard a pastor she likes more. She felt like it was passionate and really cared about what he was doing. She said she wants to go back! I'm so excited that she came and enjoyed it. I can't even explain!!

So that is all for the night. Just real happy with what my little man led our family to and I can't wait to see where we go from here.

17 weeks

How far along are you?: 17 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -4lb

Sleep: If Rylee slept past 6am, it would be so much better

Best moment this week: Feeling Miss Maddie move around

Movement: I think she wakes up when I lay still long enough and starts dancing around, it's great... I'm not getting anything done. 

Food cravings/aversion: I'm just hungry

Gender: Girl!

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss: not much at the moment

What I'm looking forward to: Seeing my little girl again on the 19th

Milestones: 17 weeks is a pretty huge milestone for us

Oh sweet little girl, it's crazy that I basically know how big you are right now. At this moment, I was holding your big brother and because of that I can guess a lot about how you look right now. Crazy stuff! Rylee has been talking to my tummy more, and even doing it on her own randomly. She is so ready to hold and play with her little sister. This past week my cousin had a baby girl and she's convinced that that is her little sister and wants to hold and play with her daily. I guess it'll be good practice for the real thing!

Is it January yet?!

Flip flopping..

Wow, 3 posts in 1 week. Kind of a miracle, wouldn't you say? I have to chronicle another great moment. I've been feeling flutters and some rolls/stretching for a few weeks now, but last night laying on the couch I felt definite kicks, pops, rolls, etc. Luckily, I was watching a movie so I got to lay in that spot for 2-ish hours and feel my baby girl moving around. Then I went and laid in bed and didn't want to fall asleep because she was still moving around. I truly forgot how amazing that feeling is, and I can not wait for Paul to move able to feel her. This morning after Rylee woke me up, Madelyn gave me 2 swift kicks as if saying "yeah get up mom!" or maybe it was more "ugh, let's go back to sleep" :)

I never thought I could be this in love again. I can't even describe the love I feel for this unborn baby. I have no fears any longer and I'm looking forward to getting her room ready. We're DIYing most of the room and I can't wait for it to have a little bit of all of us in there- I think I'll even let Rylee make some of the wall art :)

Sugar and Spice

Today has been the absolute best day for this pregnancy. Not because I didn't have any cramps or wasn't in pain some part of the day, but because when I saw my little baby on the monitor today not only was there a heartbeat but there was no visible sign of the mass we saw 8 weeks ago!! Praise the Lord Jesus!!! I have never wanted to cry such happy tears during an ultrasound scan- I'm not one of those women that lose it at the first blob, yes I get excited but no tears. Sprout was in some kind of yoga position for part of the scan, had the legs completely straight rolled over the head. Holy long legs, Batman!! I still can't believe I get to bring another miracle home in a couple of months. I can't wait to really start preparing for this sweet baby. Rylee is so very thrilled about seeing what's in mommy's belly and she's even more excited about what the sex of Sprout is, it's what's she's been saying this whole pregnancy.

And here is little Sprout

Miss Madelyn Grace

Yup, this winter we will bringing home another little girl :) Though I was convinced, and all the Old Wive's Tales were too, that this little was a boy, I couldn't be more excited to give Rylee a little sister. I can't wait to raise another beautiful little girl. 

The yoga move I was speaking of. Legs stretch the length at the top, then you can see the roll of the butt to the back on the left and eventually see part of the head at the bottom of the roll. 

I'm so in love, I didn't even think it was possible. Is it January yet?!

16 weeks and 8 months

So, it's been over a month since I posted. Oops... today, I want to start with Preston and end with Sprout, so that we end on a positive :)

Today, has been 8 months since I've held my sweet, sleeping little boy. I can not fathom that it has been that long. It feels just like it was yesterday. I can still remember every single detail about him even though I haven't seen him since the night he was born. I'll never forget being in awe that he had finger and toenails, that was just mystifying to me for some reason. You read about it and when you're baby is born at the end of your pregnancy you expect it, but for some reason it was just crazy to me. Being 16 weeks pregnant now is kind of terrifying for me. 16 weeks with Preston is when things went from bad to worse. I started experiencing extremely high fevers, severe cramping and bleeding, the worst headaches of my life. 16w3d was the last time I heard his heartbeat, though I tried finding it for several days after that, and ultimately had him the day I turned 17 weeks.

Thankfully, this time around, other than some light to moderate cramping and stabby feelings, and a 24 hour fever from a cold Rylee gave me, I've felt pretty OK. I don't want to say great, because I haven't felt great. The cramps can be severe at times, nothing like with Preston, but they still hurt like the dickens and I have to lay down. I've also felt very sore in the baby area, thinking maybe it's just from being pregnant kind of back-to-back and things stretching faster. My doctor doesn't seem concerned about it. I just can't believe, technically, a week from now I was holding Preston, just 8 months ago- clear as mud?? Already, enough negativity... I still miss my little boy daily, but I'm starting to get real excited about this pregnancy...

How far along are you?: 16 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: -3lb

Sleep: Some nights are good, some nights are horrible... last night was horrible

Best moment this week: Rylee kissing my tummy yesterday

Movement: Sometimes I think I feel something, but not certain... was truly expecting it by now though

Food cravings/aversion: mac & cheese and quesadillas are on my "never again while pregnant" list.... anything salty, starchy, full of protein is my go-to at this point

Gender: Find out in 2 days hopefully

Belly Button in or out: In

What I miss: clothes fitting comfortably

What I'm looking forward to: seeing Sprout in 2 days and hopefully finding out boy or girl!

Milestones: Making it this far without losing my mind? Haha I don't really know... baby is about the size of an avocado.. oh and Paul and I agreed on names recently :) 

This Sprout is so very loved and I can't wait to see his/her face again. The mass that is potentially growing with babe will prayerfully be gone when I get the ultrasound on Saturday- though it's just a quick one it should be easily spotted if it's still there. I scheduled our official mid-pregnancy ultrasound yesterday for the 19th. So that's exciting to be able to see all of the important organs and get an official check on the mass. I've been doing some research and if the mass continues to grow it could definitely cause some issues and babe will most likely have to be born early due to either lack of or too much amniotic fluid- I've read some articles as early as 33 weeks. I pray that this isn't the case but I know that God knows what He's doing and if babe is born early than Paul and I will get through it the best way we know how... together. I just can't wait to bring this little bit home and move closer to completing our family- we're considering adoption in the future since I don't plan on being pregnant ever again! 

Truly, I'm getting excited this pregnancy and the further we get the more excited I am. I even bought some newborn cloth diapers and will hopefully get a few things from JBF on this tax free weekend once we find out what he/she is. I'm making plans for the 3rd bedroom and potential "sip and see" rather than a baby shower for after baby is born. Thinking about the future is quite the positive and not just waiting for a shoe to drop, I talk to Rylee about the baby daily and she tells me she's not a big sister yet lol some days she wants a baby brother and others she wants a baby sister (in fact it tends to change from minute to minute). Can't wait to tell her what she'll be having :) 

I still can't find my camera cord so I've stopped taking weekly pictures for now, but I do take some self portraits and put them on instagram/facebook, but that's a picture-y as it's going to get for now.