OOTD -8/10

Happy Monday y'all!  Today I'm wearing a Gap maternity wrap dress (from round 1).  It's one of my favorite maternity dresses- I just love the bright color!  I'm still rocking my peep toe heels (Naturalizer) and hope that continues for a few more weeks but inevitably they'll be replaced with flats soon enough.

I tried out the auto timer on my phone camera - is it better than the mirror picture??? 

Of course these posts are totally self involved, I fully realize that.  But so is a blog, right?

I showered and washed my hair last night for a change, but I'm not sure I'm sold on the idea.  I feel like my hair is a hot mess.

Ok, off to work.  Make today great!!

17 Weeks. Round 3

How far along? 17 weeks today!

Next OB appointment? 3 weeks away - 20 week ultrasound and my first meeting with one of the midwives in our practice (there are 2 OBs and 2 midwives in my group). I'm thinking I might like delivering with a midwife this time. I also want to have a doula. And I'm contemplating studying the Hypnobabies program (which is different from the Hypnobirthing I did for Lukas.)

Total weight gain/loss? I've gone back to being slightly neurotic about weighing myself everyday this week (I know, I know). So far I've not gained any weight this week and depending on the day I've lost a pound or so.  With J I had gained 9.1 pounds at this point, so I'm slightly below that trend this time - coming in around 7 pounds gained right now.

Maternity clothes?  Maternity bottoms and dresses have come out in full force, but I'm still rocking my nonmaternity flowy tops.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep? Bizarre. I'm back to having really strange dreams and I wake up at least once a night and just stare at the ceiling. 

Best moment last week? Definitively feeling the baby tumble in my belly while I was reading books to Lukas Tuesday night. I've felt flutters for a few weeks but this was a definite baby roll. Love that sweet feeling.

Movement? Every day!

Food cravings? No real cravings this week. We're sticking to our budget so I've been eating what we have.

Food aversions? Nothing comes to mind.

Gender? Team Yellow until January!

Labor signs? Nope.

Belly button in/out? In!

What I miss: Wine when I'm out to dinner. And a dirty vodka martini sounds nice. 

What I am looking forward to: Yoga class this weekend. I am trying out a new (to me) studio and have unlimited classes for 10 days through this Saturday. So far I've gone to a Slow Deep Stretch and a Prenatal Yoga class and loved them both.  If the husband is home from Atlanta early enough tonight I'm going to try to go to the Slow Deep Stretch Class again, and then a Flow Into Your weekend class tomorrow night and a Gentle Yoga class Saturday morning. My mood was greatly improved after the yoga classes this past week, so I think I need to carve out the time to do some deep breathing and find my zen.

Milestones: Feeling this little peach move!

17 weeks with Baby #3

Julian bump vs. Baby #3 bump @ 17 weeks

16 Weeks (Round 3)

Are these weekly updates annoying or no? I have really planned to write some other posts (non-pregnancy related even!) but it hasn't happened. I've been having a woe-is-me week. I'm not sure if it's prenatal depression or the blues. I think it's the blues but heightened. I've been feeling down lately and very weepy. There are a lot of things going on in my life that are out of my control and I'm having a hard time with that. I want to know the timing of these big, potentially life-changing things, but a lot of it is out of my hands.  I'm not meaning to be cryptic - it's all mainly job related for me and there's a huge question mark looming in the future. Combine that with setting a new budget based on one possible scenario and the reality of the change hit me hard last night.  These $1000 + payments in student loans each month are really kicking us in the butt. They're the one expense we cannot change in the least and it's a huge part of our budget. Think very hard before deciding to go to law school, friends. 

Ok, enough of that. If you want to go back and read about week 16 from Julian, go here!

How far along? 16 weeks today!

Next OB appointment? August 27 - I'll be 20 weeks and we'll go in for the big anatomy scan. But the plan is to still not find out the baby's sex!

Total weight gain/loss? So thanks to my OB appointment yesterday, it was confirmed that I'm up 6 pounds since the start of this pregnancy. But that's based on my first appointment at 7 weeks, when I'd already gained 2 pounds, so I'm really at 8 pounds up. The doc said anything between 1 and 11 pounds is normal for this far along, so I'll take it.  Not going to lie though, watching the numbers creep up on the scale is still hard on my head. I'm still weighing less than I did at the START of my pregnancies with Lukas and Julian, so I should be happy, right!

Maternity clothes?  I busted out my first maternity skirt this morning. And it is glorious. Plus it was only $6.99 from the Gap so that's a win. I think there are a few non-maternity, low cut shorts and jeans I can get away with for a few more weeks, but otherwise I'm in all maternity bottoms. The belly has popped.

Stretch marks? Nope.

Sleep? Rough. I have a hard time falling asleep at night and then wake up a few times with bad feelings and a dark cloud over my head. Hoping to shake that soon.  Although my naps are restful, so perhaps I should fit a few more of those in.

Best moment last week? Seeing three of my closest friends within a 24 hour time span. We took a quick, last-minute trip up to Atlanta last weekend. We had brunch Saturday with my BFF from law school and I got to love on her sweet baby boy. We spent the rest of the day and night at our good friends' house where the daddies took the kids out and my friend and I sat on her sofa and talked for literally 6 hours straight. I don't have many friends who I can do that with, but she is one of them and I'm so thankful to have her in my life. We talked about ALL.THE.THINGS. And it was good for me. We finished off the weekend with Sunday brunch in our old stomping grounds with my work friend and her husband (who happens to be a fire fighter which is OH SO COOL to 2 little boys).  It was nice to catch up in person and I so wish we still worked next door to each other every day.  Seeing these 3 is always a bright spot in my life.  If only I could convince them all to move to Macon...

Movement? Here and there I feel those sweet baby flutters!

Food cravings? I'm back to craving sushi and had a brief love affair with watermelon and feta earlier this week. Oh, and a spoonful of peanut butter every day! I'm also craving salads, which is strange.

Food aversions? I'm still not digging food after dinner, but I have managed to enjoy two ice cream pops this week and they were delicious.

Gender? I have no idea. I think I'm hopping over to the Team Blue train. My skin is finally clearing up and I think I'm carrying this babe similar to the boys (wide, not out) so I'm going to go ahead and say boy this week.

Labor signs? Nada.

Belly button in/out? In!

What I miss: My positive outlook on life. I do not like being a ho hum person and lately I can't seem to kick this dull sadness. 

What I am looking forward to: My momma and daddy are coming to visit this weekend!  My mom's been in California for about 3 weeks because my grandmother has been ill.  She came back this week and thankfully she's coming to Macon for a visit.

Milestones: Hum, no real milestones this week. I suppose I've popped. Does that count?

15 Weeks. Round 3

Here's my weekly pregnancy recap!  And for comparison, read my round 2, week 15 post here!

How far along? 15 weeks today!

Next OB appointment? Next Wednesday

Total weight gain/loss? I've decided to avoid the scale for a bit. It just messes with my mind too much and I obsess over the amount of weight I've gained. I think checking my weight at my monthly OB appointment will be enough for now. But if I had to venture a guess, I think I've probably packed on 5 or so pounds at this point.

Maternity clothes?  Nope. I have a few pairs of pants and skirts that have had to be put away already, but thanks to my clothes ranging in sizes 2-14 from my prior pregnancies and weight losses, I am able to just move up a size for now. The main reason I haven't switched over to any actual maternity clothes is because the ones I have are way too big.  I'm starting this pregnancy much thinner than the last two, so my maternity clothes don't fit at all.  I bought a few pieces for work on Gap.com yesterday so hopefully those will fit and be my staple go-to bottoms. I have a lot of flowy tops that will grow with me, so I think I'm good in the top department for a while.

Stretch marks? Not yet.

Sleep? I'm still getting up once a night to pee, but otherwise I'm sleeping pretty good. Except for that one bout of insomnia last week, although it may have had something to do with the iced coffee I had at 4pm the prior afternoon. Oops.

Best moment last week? I gave Stitch Fix maternity a try and was pleasantly surprised with the choices. I would've kept everything in the fix but the maxi skirt they sent was NOT maternity and it is already tight on the belly, so it's going back. And they sent this cute bracelet but I just don't think I'll wear it, so back it goes. But I am keeping this adorable navy maternity dress, bright yellow cardigan and grey shirt that will grow with the belly.

Movement? At night when I'm laying down I can feel the little one jumping around.

Food cravings? Natural peanut butter straight out of the jar.

Food aversions? Anything after about 7pm/dinner time. Which is really unfortunately because I am craving these sea salt caramel Talenti ice cream pops I bought a week ago but cannot stomach any food after dinner. It's the strangest thing.

Gender? I'm still going with girl given my broken out face and extremely dry skin.  And the fact that husband and I have started picking a girl name.  But don't worry, we're still going to pick a boy's name too. We just decided we'd start with girl names first. You see, we LOVE picking out names. It's very involved and we make long lists and look up the meaning of all the names and then eliminate from there. We usually wind up with 3-5 names we love.  The front runner from my pregnancy with Julian (before we knew he was a boy, obviously) was Molly. But apparently I never looked up the meaning of Molly.  Well, let me tell you, Molly is now off the list. Molly means bitter. No thank you.  What kind of message would that send to her - your brother's names mean "brings light" and "youthful", but we decided to name you "bitter" - good luck lady!

Labor signs? Nada.

Belly button in/out? In!

What I miss: My black go to work pants. And prosciutto - this no lunch meat unless heated thing is for the birds. 

What I am looking forward to: My husband coming home!  He has been gone all week and the boys and I have missed him!

Milestones: I'm kind of starting to show?!

This is the navy maternity dress and cardigan from Stitch Fix!
(PS don't mind the odd look on my face and messy room, um kay?)

14 Weeks (Round 3)

So my last pregnancy I kept this weekly survey (which admittedly gets sort of obnoxious towards the end) but is a fun way for me to document the pregnancy.  So here we are again. (I started at 13 weeks with Julian and you can read that post here.)

How far along? 14 weeks today!

Next OB appointment? 2 weeks from today

Total weight gain/loss? No clue. Last time I weighed I was up about 3-4 pounds from my pre-preggo weight.  BUT my starting weight this pregnancy is about 13 pounds less than I was with the boys!  So here's hoping I don't become a round cow this time.

Maternity clothes? Not yet, but I have a feeling it's coming. Soon.  This morning I put on a pair of pants for work and within 10 minutes had to change out of them because my bump and the constricting waist band were not getting along.

Stretch marks? No new ones.

Sleep? All over the board. Most nights I still wake up to pee at least once. And last night I jolted out of bed because my foot was asleep and all pins and needles. It took a good five minutes of walking around the room and rubbing my foot to make it go away! I could do without those nightly interruptions.

Best moment last week? Julian turned two! I can't believe my baby boy is two.  And that he won't be my BABY in six months.

Movement? I swear I can feel the baby at night when I'm laying down or when I'm sitting in a chair. It's likely just gas, but I swear it happens.

Food cravings? I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but on our drive up to Michigan we stopped at Taco Bell for lunch one day (hey, you do what you gotta do when you're in the midst of a 14 hour drive with two small children), and I had a taco supreme and it was AH.MAZING. So yea, I've been craving Taco Bell.  Gross, I know.  Do I get points for only indulging once since the Michigan trip?  And that was on the drive home, so technically it doesn't count.  I also can't get enough bacon. But that's true even when I'm not pregnant, so I can't really say it's a craving. Oh and I'm craving sushi. Lots and lots of sushi. And that cooked shit is just not cutting it.

Food aversions? Nothing comes to mind.

Gender? Do I dare say that I think the bean is a girl? Here is my rationale: my skin is HORRIBLE. My face is completely broken out (although it's slowly getting better, or so I thought) and my whole body is dry - my neck is even peeling it's so dry.  I am slathering myself in Beautycounter oil and Body Butter on the regular which is luckily helping keep it in check, but man. Also I feel so frumpy, so I think it's a girl stealing my beauty. I'm also a hot mess of hormonal havoc, so I'm thinking there's double the estrogen up in here.  But, we won't find out until January! That's right, we've decided to hold out and find out the old fashioned way.

Labor signs? Nope 

Belly button in/out? IN. And let's keep it that way!

What I miss: Real, raw sushi.  Bring on the ahi tuna and salmon.  I also miss my energy. I'm hoping it'll come back now that I've hit the 2nd trimester.

What I am looking forward to: Being obviously pregnant as opposed to pudgy. I think I'm close, but I'll be happy to make the leap over to baby bump land. 

Milestones: 2nd trimester baby!

39 Weeks - Round 2

How far along? 39 weeks and 2 days...in other words, ready to pop

Total weight gain/loss?  At my appointment this week I'd gained a grand total of 44 pounds.  This sounds excessive (as in, more than the "recommended 25-35 pounds") but I am ECSTATIC!  This is TWENTY pounds less than my final weigh-in with Lukas.  Let me repeat, 20 pounds LESS!  Maybe if a kiddo #3 is in our future I'll be able to keep to the recommended weight gain, but maybe not.  I'm still convinced your body puts on the weight it wants to.

Maternity clothes?  Vomit.  Please go away. The only thing comfortable to wear these days are dresses - anything too tight on my belly makes it hard to breathe.  I'm ready to put these clothes away!  

Stretch marks?  Yea buddy, but I think they're just the old ones getting dark again.  They faded after Lukas was born so I'm hopeful they'll fade again this time around.

Sleep? Considering I'm walking around all day feeling as though a bowling ball will fall out of my vagina at any moment, my sleep has been pretty good.  Last night I tossed and turned quite a bit, and I have to pee multiple times a  night but I remember my sleep being much worse at the end of pregnancy with Lukas.

Best moment last week?  Having four days off to spend with my boys.  I'm really trying to get as much quality time in with Lukas as possible before his little brother arrives.  I know the time of him getting my undivided attention is quickly coming to an end, so I'm getting in as much Lukas-mommy time as possible!

Movement?  Yes, but he's cramped in there so the movements are rather painful and jabby.  You can even make out a foot and knee.

Food cravings?  I've been eating toast with peanut butter, banana and honey every morning this past week.

Food aversions? Nope.

Gender?   Baby boy on the way (at least that's what we've planned for!)

Labor signs?  Yes.  I'll leave out the lovely details, but things are happening, but of course there is no guarantee that real labor will start any time soon.

Belly button in/out?  Out and proud.

What I miss:  Where do I begin?  High heels. Big glasses of wine.  Sleeping on my back.  Martinis.  Graceful movements.  Breathing normally.  I could go on and on....

What I am looking forward to: Meeting Julian, hello!

Milestones: I am still wearing my wedding rings!  

So here's the deal, we're just waiting for little dude to come any day now.  I'm not due for another 5 days but my OB thinks he could come any day now.  Labor signs are moving in the right direction and we're all more or less ready for him to arrive.  I think July 11 would be a fabulous birthday, don't you?  Any thoughts on when he'll arrive and how big he'll be????

37 Weeks - Round 2

How far along? 37 weeks and 3 days (I figured after 5 weeks off, it was time to fill out the weekly survey)

Total weight gain/loss? I haven't weighed since my appointment this past Tuesday, but I'm up a grand total of about 40 or so pounds.  Yes, yes, this is over the "recommended" 25-35 pound weight gain (with still some time to go), BUT, compared to my last pregnancy, I'm doing great.  I was about 20 pounds heavier at this point with Lukas.  And I started both pregnancies at the exact same weight.  So, yea.

Maternity clothes? Ugh, I'm totally over the same 5 dresses I wear every week to work. 

Stretch marks? You know, I haven't really noticed them too much.  I haven't gotten the linea nigra (dark line running vertically up your belly), which I'm happy about!  Have I mentioned that I do have a few dark spots on my face that I swear are pregnancy hormone related?  It looks like I have a dark circle /black eye under my right eye.  It's pretty, really.

Sleep? Depends on the night.  On the whole I'd say I'm sleeping well, but one night this week I was up with insomnia for about 4 hours.

Best moment last week? Sunday was a pretty good day all around.  It started with homemade overnight Grand Marnier french toast and brunch with my parents and ended with an evening spent with good friends.

Movement? He's running low on space, but Julian is still rolling around in there and his kicks have become quite painful.

Food cravings? Cheddar cheese.  Is this strange?  And sweets - mainly cookies.

Food aversions? Nope.

Gender? B is for boy.

Labor signs? I've started to have more frequent Braxton Hicks contractions.  Yesterday evening they were almost timeable, but stopped after about an hour.  My OB has also indicated that things are "progressing" from the other effacing, dilating perspectives, but I know that means nothing as far as when labor will actually begin.  So we continue to wait.

Belly button in/out? Out.  As in poking out through shirts.  But did you know that when it's "out" during pregnancy, it's not exactly that your innie turns into an outie.  My innie is still there, but above it is now this protruding mound of skin.  It's really bizarre.

What I miss: Gracefully being able to get off the couch/bed/floor.

What I am looking forward to: My last pregnancy massage and eventually having a very dirty vodka martini with my BFF with a side of sushi.

Milestones: Full term buddy!  Come out, come out wherever you are!!!!

Shedding Light

Since "the Palace" has shed some light on Kate's baby plans, I thought it was about time I do the same. I know my royal subjects are waiting with bated breathe...


KING OR QUEEN?

The Swan Palace can confirm that another little king is in the making. This was confirmed last week via an ultrasound tech during a routine ultrasound given to Ms. Swan at 35 weeks to determine the size of said baby boy. Thankfully, he was weighing in at 5 pounds 16 ounces as of week 35 and assuming a full term baby, he should not completely wreck his mother's vagina and future sex life as he is estimated to weigh a nice 8 pounds or so at birth. However, it should be noted that the tech did mention something about a wide forehead, but perhaps I misunderstood her as I was stuck on trying to understand how she could determine that his bladder was indeed full.

PACING THE HALLWAY OR IN THE ROOM WITH HIS WIFE?

Mr. Cob intends to be fully present during the birth of his second son. And by fully present, he means actually in the delivery room sitting in a chair up by his wife's head. He has no intention of witnessing the actual birth or cutting any cord. As for his wife, she is fine with this approach and offered that he can pace the hall instead if he chooses.

WHO'S IN CHARGE?

Ms. Swan. And by Ms. Swan we mean baby Julian. Oh and the fabulous Dr. Sun will be directing the whole show. (BTW, she is the most amazing OB in all of metro-Atlanta so contact Ms. Swan's people if you're on the hunt for a new OB.)

WILL THE PUBLIC KNOW WHEN MS. SWAN IS ADMITTED TO HOSPITAL?

No. Unless she gets bored in the car and decides to post a message to her blog, show pictures of the water breaking carnage on facebook or tweet her screams of labor pains for her 2 followers. But there is the unknown factor of the anxious grandmas whose excitement cannot always be contained, so perhaps they'll break the news on facebook for all to see.

HOW WILL PEOPLE FIND OUT THAT AN HEIR TO THE THRONE HAS BEEN BORN?

The "people" will likely be able to view a photo of baby Julian on Instagram or Facebook. (I should point out that Julian will be very disappointed to learn there's no throne involved and his brother had beaten him to it even if there were).

AND THE NAME?

Julian R. You'll have to wait to find out what R stands for. Unless I've already told you, in which case, oh well. I don't need comments from the peanut gallery on our weird middle name just yet.

VISITING HOURS?

Friends and family are welcome to visit us at the hospital. If we're close enough that you have my phone number, well then give me a holler and I'll give you the room number at the hospital. Just be warned that you might see some boob action, and it's not the pretty kind. And there is an admittance fee equal to a bottle of wine. And I won't even make you hold the baby if you bring me some chocolate too.

WHERE'S DADDY?

Sleeping on the amazingly comfortable "bed" in my recovery room and then hopefully taking a week off work to bring me the baby at 3am for another round of "please don't tear off my nipples".

More news updates as Ms. Swan enters the final weeks of her pregnancy. How much weight will she gain? What color will the baby's hair be (since the ultrasound tech did confirm HE HAS HAIR!!! as opposed to his bald big brother)? Will she resort to any old wives tales to get the baby out early? Stay tuned for these and other questions "the people" are just dying to know.

32 Weeks (Round 2)

How far along? 32 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain/loss? Up 32.5 pounds total. So let's take a minute to talk about this and the fact that I absolutely lost my shit last Friday when I weighed myself and the scale told me I'd gained 5 pounds in one week.  (For those keeping score, that is considered "excessive weight gain".)  Since then I've actually lost 2.2 pounds.  So I was probably seriously retaining water last week.  Also I had just come off my birthday week and was eating leftover carrot cake every night.  And I wasn't walking more than 6,000 or so steps a day.  Excuses, excuses.  Yes. Whatever the cause, I am actually sticking to my theory that this time around it has been better to weigh myself more often than not.  When I weigh and realize I'm venturing into excessive weight gain territory, I make a conscious effort to scale down on snacking, up my walking and reduce my carb intake.  I'm not depriving myself by any means, I'm just more aware of what I'm eating and what exercise I'm getting.  And it seems to be working.  Something will have to go terribly wrong for me to put on 30 more pounds in the next 7+ weeks to hit the 60+ weight gain I had with Lukas.  This is a good thing.

Maternity clothes? Yes and they're starting to really bore me.

Stretch marks? The old ones are getting darker.  Yay.

Sleep? After a week (last week) of waking every night to horrible leg cramps, this week has been a joy in the sleep department.  I'm listening to a new hypnobirthing meditation before bed and have slept through the night all week.  It's great.

Best moment last week? Going to the aquarium with Lukas and having him hold my hand the whole day.

Movement? My little ninja warrior is getting down to business - cramped space be damned!

Food cravings? Nothing particular.

Food aversions? Nope.

Gender? Beautiful baby boy.

Labor signs? The occasional Braxton Hicks contractions.

Belly button in/out? Half & half.

What I miss: My sanity.

What I am looking forward to: Drinking wine.

Milestones: The little dude is 95% daytime potty trained!!!  This is a very big milestone in our house right now.

31 Weeks (Round 2)

31 weeks, 3 days pregnant.  1 month, 30 days until due date.

Feeling: fat and hormonally disastrous.

The end.

30 Weeks (Round 2)

How far along? 30 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain/loss? Up 29.7 pounds. And you'll be happy to know I've stopped weighing myself every day and have been much calmer since then.

Maternity clothes? There is nothing else at all that fits now.

Stretch marks? Nothing new has popped up, thankfully.

Sleep? Meh.  I'm waking up every night with cramps in my calves, which makes for a less than peaceful night's sleep.  Otherwise, I'm sleeping well - unlike with Lukas, I don't feel like I've yet gotten to that point where I cannot find a comfortable position to sleep in.  Once I hit the pillow, I'm pretty much out until my bladder or calves wake me up.

Best moment last week? Having my boys shower me with love on my birthday.  And the week before that we were at the beach, so that was a pretty amazing week all around.

Movement? Dude is busy in there.  I'm starting to fear I'll birth an octopus (with sharp elbows) rather than a baby boy.

Food cravings? Cucumbers with pimento cheese.

Food aversions? Bread products seem to be giving me heartburn, so I'm trying to stay away from too much bread, but that doesn't always go so well.  I love carbs.

Gender? More blue for this girl.

Labor signs? Just some Braxton Hicks contractions.

Belly button in/out? Half & half.

What I miss: Raw sushi, high heels and wine.

What I am looking forward to: Spending the weekend with my boys.  I really enjoyed spending all day for seven days with them at the beach...I think I could really dig the stay at home mom thing.

Milestones: We've officially decided that the boys will share a room.  And by officially decided, I mean until I change my mind again next week.  But really, they'll share a room.  Oh and another milestone, though not exactly pregnancy related but worth noting, I've been downgraded to "mom".  Lukas has started calling me mom rather than mommy or momma and for some reason it makes me really sad.  He's no longer a little baby or even little toddler - he's a growing-up-so-freaking-fast boy.  

28 Weeks (Round 2)

How far along? 28 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain/loss? Up 27.1 pounds. So 2 pounds gained this week.  But combine that with the 1.5 pounds LOST last week and I'm only up .5 pounds over the past 2 weeks.  So we'll call it a quarter of a pound gained this week. Like my logic?

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah.  And I'll be sporting my sexy maternity swim suit over the next few days.  Be jealous.

Stretch marks? No new ones.  And I found out this week that I've been mistakenly calling my new leg friends varicose veins when they are actually spider veins.  (Thanks babycenter.com).  And supposedly they'll fade after this little guy is born.  Here's hoping.

Sleep? All over the board.  Some nights are great, others are awful.  I have been waking up with leg craps every other night which is less than relaxing.

Best moment last week? After I picked the little man up from school we were talking in the car and I asked him how his day was.  He said good and then said "mommy, how was your day?"  It was just so sweet.  He also made the jump to big boy undies this week (with diapers at night) - so that was pretty cool too.

Movement? All day.  You can now watch my stomach change shape in front of your eyes.  It's somewhat freaky.

Food cravings? Back to the chocolate lavender scones from Dulce Vegan and Dunkin Donuts coffee.

Food aversions? Not really.

Gender? I'll be the only lady in the house...

Labor signs? The occasional Braxton Hicks contractions, but otherwise no.

Belly button in/out? Still more in than out.

What I miss: Sleeping/laying on my back.  And red wine.

What I am looking forward to: The beach is calling my name.

Milestones: I'm officially in the 3rd trimester according to all pregnancy books/websites/doctors, etc.  Woo hoo!

27 Weeks (Round 2)

How far along? 27 weeks and 3 days

Total weight gain/loss? Up 25.1 pounds. Which means I LOST 1.6 pounds this past week.  A few thoughts on this strange turn of events.  At my doctor's appointment Monday the nurse may or may not have audibly sighed/gasped when she realized I'd gained 9-10ish pounds in a month.  This did not sit well with me.  She then said it would even out over the next few months and that some months you just have bigger gains.  Still, her noisy reaction was enough to get my butt moving.  So since Monday I have walked on the treadmill every night before bed.  We're not talking speed walking or anything crazy.  We're talking slow 3.0 miles an hour walking while I watch whatever junk TV is on that day.  So in turn I've hit at least 10,000 steps on my pedometer each day. I also have cooked almost all my meals at home this week and I've tried to decrease my carb intake and any mindless snacking.  So perhaps I have more control of this weight gain thing than I thought or wanted to admit.  Either way, I have more energy and don't feel quite as whale-like today. 

Maternity clothes? The really isn't anything else at this point.  I even went out last weekend and purchased three pairs of shorts for our upcoming vacation.  Maternity shorts, the awful lighting in Macy's and a heightened body awareness does not a happy shopping experience make.  Thankfully my mom and Lukas helped me pick a few things that looked "decent".  I also picked up some maternity spanx to wear under dresses so I look ok from behind, but I've yet to convince myself to try them on.  Maternity and spanx just don't seem to go together in my mind.  We'll see.  I did pick up a new Isabella Oliver maternity tunic that I'm loving as well!  Online shopping has become a bit of an obsession lately (Do y'all look at GILT, HauteLook and Zulily?  If you don't already you probably shouldn't start.  It's possible I also have purchased 4 pairs of shoes online in the past few weeks thanks to these sites.   Oops.  Mr. Cob has instituted a new rule: when a new pair of shoes comes into the house, an old pair must leave.  He thinks this will be some sort of deterent for me...he doesn't know the extent of my shoe collection...)

Stretch marks? None that I've really noticed (no new ones anyway).  But the varicose veins could really stop showing up any day now.  I mean for real.

Sleep? Up until last night it was great - only waking once a night to pee, easily finding a comfortable position to sleep in.  But last night I was up from about 1:30am - 4am with insomnia.  Hoping it was just a fluke.

Best moment last week? Hearing the little dude's heartbeat on the monitor at the OB's office is always pretty cool!  Lukas also had a BIG potty breakthrough which was super exciting for him and us as parents.  I think we might be on our way to big boy underpants here pretty soon!  My massage last Friday afternoon was pretty amazing too.  OH, and I found out that I PASSED my glucose test!!!  It's been a good week.

Movement? Oh yea baby.  But now I'm getting a little paranoid if I don't feel him for a while.  Last night I was folding laundry and was convinced I hadn't felt him for hours so I started poking and prodding my belly to wake him up.  He was less than thrilled and gave me a good ribcage kick to settle my fears.  Thanks bud.

Food cravings? Red meat (which can't be all that bad since the doc told me my iron levels are great!), green smoothies in the morning (Almond milk, 3 cups of spinach, 1 frozen banana, Greek yogurt and a Tbsp of peanut butter), and homemade chicken salad.

Food aversions? Nope.

Gender? Boys have a penis.

Labor signs? The occasional Braxton Hicks contractions, but otherwise no.

Belly button in/out? In, but the top is starting to pop out. Very odd.  Thankfully the belly button pain has subsided this week.

What I miss: Beer and "real" sushi.

What I am looking forward to: Vacation in 8 short days!!!

Milestones: This kid has a name.  JRS are his initials.

26 Weeks (Round 2)

How far along? 26 weeks and 3 days


Total weight gain/loss? Up 26.7 pounds.  But at least it's not "rapid weight gain"...then again, we'll see what my doctor says on Monday at my next appointment...7.8 pounds in 4 weeks sounds somewhat rapid to me.  I also have the dreaded glucose test on Monday - here's hoping that I pass with flying colors and do not have to take the 3 hour test/have gestational diabetes.

Maternity clothes? You could say we're having a love affair.

Stretch marks? If there are any new ones I haven't really noticed them.  Varicose veins on the other hand.  WTF?

Sleep? Decent.  I am getting up once per night to pee and have had some very strange dreams this week but luckily I'm pretty comfortable despite the whole not-sleeping-on-your-back thing.

Best moment last week? Spending time with my brother and nephew and seeing Lukas and his cousin play and laugh together.  They were just so sweet with each other and kept hugging.  Also, there have been some big potty training breakthroughs this week with Lukas that I won't bore you with, but they've been really exciting for him and us!  I think a flip switched after he saw/realized that his big cousin doesn't wear diapers and uses the potty.

Movement? Lots.  Always at night right as I'm laying down for bed and he is usually awake in the early evening and for a bit each morning.


Food cravings? Back to Dunkin Donuts coffee with the addition of chocolate (specifically, m&ms).

Food aversions? Nope.

Gender? Let's just say I might need these: http://www.bebabean.com/pee-pee-teepee/.

Labor signs? The Braxton Hicks contractions have returned, but I only notice them when I'm exerting myself (and by that I mean walking on the treadmill or around the block).

Belly button in/out? Still more in than out.  However, a new fun "side effect" has been extreme sensitivity (verging on strong pain) around my belly button.  Anyone else experience this?

What I miss: Sleeping on my back and martinis.

What I am looking forward to: The Christmas gift that keeps on giving: I have my 3rd pregnancy massage this afternoon!

Milestones: The third trimester is in sight.  Woo hoo.

A Sigh of Relief

Just a quick thought...

So I'm continuing my trend of gaining roughly 2 to 2.5 pounds per week right now (but you'll be happy to know I am spreading out my at-home weigh-ins and handn't weighed myself once over the past 4 days). The "experts" say pregnant women should be gaining roughly one pound a week at this point in pregnancy. Well I say to hell with them and just got confirmation of my "f*ck you" this morning.

You see, according to my weekly report from babycenter about this pregnancy, I should really calm down unless I experience "rapid weight gain."  Rapid weight gain is defined as "more than 4 pounds in a week."

2.5 pounds does not rapid weight gain equal.

So the experts can go suck it.

That is all.