Catching Up - Baby #3

It appears that I have been slacking quite a lot.  During my previous pregnancies, I started writing posts as early as 7 weeks.  While I got my "big fat positive" test at 4 weeks this time, here I am writing my first post at nearly 12 weeks.  Oops.

When I first started this blog, I was pregnant with Logan, so the title "3 Snookies" seemed to be appropriate since he was the 3rd member of the family.  I'm pretty happy with myself now because I'm carrying our third Snookie, so it finally makes sense again 😃.  Bear with me.... it's the little things that make me happy 😉.

Since I'm nearing the end of my 1st trimester, I'll briefly recap the past 8 weeks.  Nausea and exhaustion.  That's about it, lol.  I took a positive test on January 24th, 2017 and was able to keep it a secret (from ALMOST everyone) until I announced to my parents on February 10th, their anniversary.  The public announcement was on February 14th and I kind-of went all-out with pictures, making shirts for myself and the kids, etc.  Jason said I went a little overboard, but since this is most likely our last baby, I wanted to have fun with it.

Anyway, back to the symptoms.  I have nausea almost all day, every day.  It progressively gets worse throughout the day.  Multiple times I've thought bad thoughts toward the person who coined the term "morning sickness".  Lies.  All lies.  I thought I was tired with my other 2 pregnancies... after all, I did work full-time and was chasing a toddler with the second one.  However, this one seems to trump the others.  I have to plan my days out carefully because I'm fairly limited by my energy.  I run a couple of errands (max) in the morning and then I try to do a couple of chores when I get home.  After 1pm, though, I'm pretty much useless.  I've somehow managed to make dinner every night, even when I'm feeling super nauseated.  Also, I keep the kids alive all day, so... Boom.  My house might be a disaster, but we're all surviving.  I consider that a victory.  Another strange symptom I've had is the chills.  It's like when you get a fever and your body feels freezing cold, no matter how many layers you have on.  That happens to me every day, so I have to stay bundled up in blankets on the couch.

This pregnancy has had some fun up-sides, though.  Since Logan is 5 and Elise is 3, they both kind-of understand what's going on and they like arguing about whether the baby is a boy or a girl.  They both want a little sidekick.  I have a feeling that they'll both be super excited with whatever it ends up being and we should hopefully find out around Logan's birthday.  They also love me telling them how big the baby is.  It started out as a poppy seed, then progressed to a blueberry (which they thought was hilarious), raspberry, and now a fig.  Sharing the whole experience with them has been a lot of fun.

My food of choice has been:  nothing
Cravings:  chicken gravy (weird, I know)
Aversions:  I don't really care for chicken (at least when I have to cook it)
Weight loss/gain:  -10lbs

That's all for now.  Until next week 😊

12 Weeks

Apparently people read my blog now, so I'm a bit more motivated to post this week's entry ;).  I'm now at 12 weeks and almost into the 2nd trimester!  I had my second doctor appointment this afternoon and it went pretty good.  The doctor was 40 minutes late, but I got to hear the baby's heartbeat again and I have to say, that's one of the best sounds in the world :).  I started getting a little bit nervous earlier today because I am a member of a "pregnancy community" and a bunch of girls posted today that they had miscarriages.  That's not something you want to read about.... ever!!!  Especially after not hearing or seeing the baby in 4 weeks.  I did a lot of praying, so when I laid back and she used the doppler, I was at peace :).  It only took her about 5 seconds to find the heartbeat and she held it there for me for about a minute so that I could listen.  It is still so surreal to know that there's a baby growing inside of me.  Ahhhhh... it makes me very happy to think about :). 

Anyway, the worst thing about today is that my throat is hurting really really bad.  It started hurting last night after church and it keeps getting worse.  I just drank some herbal tea from Teavana with fruit, lemon, and honey and I need to start gargling with salt water.  I'm just praying that it goes away soon because I have to concentrate to swallow :(.  And I don't know if I can really take anything to soothe it.  The doctor gave me a prescription for penicillin for a possible bladder infection, so I'm hoping it will help my throat as well.  On the good side, though, I went to the gym after my appointment for a "customer appreciation" event and got a free 5 minute massage... ahhhh.  I'm putting "prenatal massage" on my birthday list :).

In other news, I've been feeling pretty good this week :).  I'm still pretty tired (and now dealing with this sore throat), but I haven't really been nauseous at all.  I need to make more time for going on walks (and getting pedicures?) and hopefully now I can keep the house better organized :).  Jason will be gone for work a lot in the next couple of months, so the timing is perfect for me to be feeling better.

I put a ticker at the top of the page so that you can keep track of the baby's size with me, but I'll still post the development milestones:

• This week your baby is now almost the size of a plum, weighing almost an ounce and measuring almost 2.5 inches!
• Her eyes are now positioned in the front of her face and her ears are in position on the sides of her head. Most notably, reflexes have begun! Your little one's mouth is making sucking movements, her eye muscles clench, her toes curl, fingers and hands open and close, and she may even begin to suck her thumb. Though she is still too little for you to feel, she can feel you. If you were to apply pressure to your abdomen, your baby would squirm in response!
• Her brain has been developing rapidly too. Nerve cells are multiplying, and synapses, or the small junctions across which nerve impulses pass from one nerve cell to another, are forming at an impressive speed. A little lower, her intestines are developing and will soon be moving into her stomach cavity. It's incredible to think how far she has come in just a few short months!

I have to go back to the doctor on Monday to do the glucose screening and then I go back in at 16 weeks and then at 20 weeks for our big ultrasound.  It will probably be December 20th when we find out what we're having.  I really don't want to wait that long, but I have to :P.  Anyway, until next time... thanks for reading!  Don't forget to vote in the poll on the right side of the page :).

11 Weeks

Where does the time go???  I can't believe I'm already at 11 weeks :).  It's very exciting to me, except the past few days I've been feeling more nauseous and tired than I was before.  I still haven't thrown up, but there have definitely been times I wish I had because I think I would've felt better.  Ugh.  I hate that feeling.  I took yesterday off and stayed home.  I spent 90% of the day on the couch and 90% of that time sleeping.  I don't know if I've ever slept that much in my life!  Sleeping at night has been difficult, though, because of hip and back pain.  I can't seem to get comfortable.  I'm hoping that I'll get a full body pillow for my birthday next month.  I'll beg for it if I have to!

Along with the basic 1st trimester symptoms, I've also contracted "pregnant brain" or also known as "placenta brain".  I can't seem to form complete sentences or thoughts, I get lost in the grocery store or I completely forget what I'm there to buy in the first place... and I'm basically just zoned out most of the time.  I still crave hamburgers and this week I've been craving eggs and other breakfast foods for every meal.  I also started craving tater tots, so I bought a big bag of them, even though I'll probably just eat a few and be done with them.  My stomach can't seem to make up its mind :P.  My next appointment is next Thursday afternoon and I'm excited to see how things are progressing.  I told Jason last night that I'm over 1/4 of the way through and we both agreed that it's pretty crazy how fast it has gone!  Only 203 days left! :)

I'm starting to get excited about buying baby furniture and picking baby names.  So far, the crib I like most is this one from Target.  It reminds me of a sleigh bed, which I have wanted FOREVER.   As for names, I'm completely lost, so if you have any recommendations, please leave it as a comment! :)

Here is the most recent update on MiniSnooks.  I'm taking facts from a few different newsletters, but hopefully there won't be much repetition:

• Baby's now the size of a lime!  Your baby currently enjoys a 1:1 ratio between body and head, and has skin so transparent that blood vessels show right through it. But fingers and toes are no longer webbed, and hair follicles, tooth buds, and nail beds are forming -- setting up a significantly more attractive future. (theBump.com)
• Your baby, about the size of a fig, is now almost fully formed. Her hands will soon open and close into fists and some of her bones are beginning to harden. She's already busy kicking and stretching, and her tiny movements are so effortless they look like water ballet. These movements will become more frequent as her body grows and becomes more developed and functional. You won't feel your baby's acrobatics for another month or two -- nor will you notice the hiccupping that may be happening now that her diaphragm is forming. (babycenter.com)

I keep thinking that I need to start buying the fruit for each week and take a picture of it in front of my belly as it grows :).  Not sure I'll be so excited when it gets to be a watermelon, but I'll tackle that one when the time comes ;).  Anyway, things are still going well and I'm looking forward to week 13 when I'll be in the 2nd trimester (and hopefully away from all the morning sickness/nausea).  Thanks for reading and don't forget to vote in the poll in the right sidebar! :)

10 Weeks

**EDIT** I wanted to include the fruits from the other emails I received so that you can get a better picture of the size.  The baby was described as being the size of a kumquat, a prune, and a kiwi... apparently a very small kiwi, but it sounded better than 'prune' and I'm not very familiar with kumquats.  Next week's fruit seems to be a bit smaller than a kiwi, so I just wanted to put it into perspective for you :).**

Holy Snapnsnap!  I'm in the double digits now!  It's so exciting (and honestly kind-of scary) that since we first found out that I'm pregnant, the time has doubled.  Craziness!  Anyway, it was bound to happen, but it's yet another reality check for me :).  Also, I'm just starting my 3rd month of pregnancy, which means I'm *that much* closer to being in my 2nd trimester.  So exciting!  You can probably tell that I'm a little bit stoked about this... just a little ;).

Ok, moving on :).  I'm feeling pretty good. Still tired and nauseous at times, but it seems to be slowly subsiding.  Sleeping at night is another story.  I really want to get a full-body boppy pillow because my hips have been hurting a lot at night.  I've been using a regular pillow in-between my legs, but I've heard that the boppy pillows really help.  My appetite continues to fluctuate like crazy and my taste preferences change every 30 minutes.  A couple weeks ago, all I wanted to eat was Chick-fil-a's milkshakes... yum!  But yesterday I thought about them and it seriously grossed me out, which is pretty much blasphemy.  I seem to be eating a lot of bland foods again and I'm hoping to eat more 'normal' foods again soon.  I've been doing pretty good about eating lots of fruits, but vegetables just aren't very appealing to me now.  I have a baby belly showing, so I might as well enjoy the food and just let it grow ;).  I haven't had any belly pictures taken yet because I'm a little self-conscious about that, but once I get one taken, I'll post it here :).

This week I've gotten emails that describe the baby's size as a kiwi, kumquat, and prune.  My favorite is the kiwi, so I'll post those details below:

• Your baby continues to grow steadily, gaining around half an inch in the last week! Now, about the size of a kiwi fruit, your baby has reached an important developmental milestone. Week 10 is the beginning of the fetal period, in which your baby's organs rapidly mature.
• This week, his kidneys, liver, heart and intestines are forming tissue. Toenails and hair begin to grow and add detail to your baby's body. Your baby's limbs are now able to flex. His wrists can bend and his hands can meet over his heart. His legs may be long enough for his feet to meet in front of his body. He will even start swallowing and kicking this week, but don't expect to feel anything yet, those movements are still too little.
• Your baby is also less susceptible to certain birth defects and congenital malformations by the time he has reached the fetal period.

Yay, my baby is growing so fast already!  I can't wait until I can finally feel it :).  I have my next doctor appointment in 2 weeks (the 21st), so hopefully she can tell me when we will find out the gender.  Then maybe Jason will come up with better names than "Flapjack" and "Captain Kirk" :P.

I'll be back next week with more baby fun! :)

Week 9

I'm sorry this is a few days late, but things have been keeping me busy :).  Today I'm about 9.5 weeks along and I'm feeling pretty good :).  I've been taking more walks and less naps and I've had a little more energy.  Of course, after I told someone last week that I was feeling more energetic, I could hardly keep my eyes open the next day.  I'm trying to take everything day-by-day.  If I'm tired, I take a nap; if I'm hungry, I eat a snack; if I have energy, I try to clean things up at home.  It's hard to tell how I'm going to feel each day so I try to listen to my body.

I had my first appointment on Friday the 24th and it went really well.  I had to do a bunch of tests and give about a gallon of blood, but it was all worth it because they all came out normal and we got to have the first ultrasound!  It was such a blessing to see the baby, the fluttering heart, and hearing it beat!!!  I almost started crying, partly because I was relieved to see the baby thriving and partly because it's just a beautiful miracle and I still don't understand how God makes it happen :).  It's amazing :).  Almost everyone has already seen the picture, but I'll post it here anyway:

Yay, it's baby Snooks!  The heart was beating 160 times per minute, which is great :).  The doctor measured the baby and said the it's growing on track.  It measured at 8 weeks, which is exactly how far along I was.  The due date is still May 6, 2011, so I guess we'll see how that goes :).  Now I'll post the information about the baby's growth:

• Your new resident is nearly an inch long — about the size of a grape — and weighs just a fraction of an ounce. She's starting to look more and more human. Her essential body parts are accounted for, though they'll go through plenty of fine-tuning in the coming months. Other changes abound: Your baby's heart finishes dividing into four chambers, and the valves start to form — as do her tiny teeth. The embryonic "tail" is completely gone. Your baby's organs, muscles, and nerves are kicking into gear. The external sex organs are there but won't be distinguishable as male or female for another few weeks. Her eyes are fully formed, but her eyelids are fused shut and won't open until 27 weeks. She has tiny earlobes, and her mouth, nose, and nostrils are more distinct. The placenta is developed enough now to take over most of the critical job of producing hormones. Now that your baby's basic physiology is in place, she's poised for rapid weight gain.

So far, I've been craving "American" food, such as cheeseburgers, fries, etc.  I guess the burgers aren't too bad (especially the homemade ones), but I need to be careful with the fries.  I haven't had any huge aversions, but I don't feel like eating a lot of stuff I used to.  I haven't been interested in sugary foods for the most part and I've been eating fruit instead (yay :)).

I guess that's all for now.  I could keep rambling, but I'll save some of it for my week 10 post :).  Thanks for stopping by!

Week 8

I've been feeling pretty good this week.  I haven't been quite as tired in-general, but it really varies from day to day.  I haven't craved much this week, which is good, because if my chick-fil-a milkshake cravings continue, I'm going to be as big as a house!  I'm still nauseous off-and-on, but not too bad.  I feel very blessed because I read that 75% of pregnant women experience morning sickness.  While they include nausea in "morning sickness", mine has been very mild, which I'm very thankful for! 

Jason is coming to terms with the pregnancy a little more each week.  He asked if he can touch my belly to feel the baby (right now it's off limits!) which surprised me a little bit.  Of course he can feel my baby belly... when it's more than just chub :P.  We both still think it's a boy, but I'm 50/50 with using online gender predictors.  I guess we'll see in about 10 more weeks... I can't hardly wait!

My first "official" appointment is tomorrow morning at 8:50.  Jason is going with me and I'm nervous and excited.  They're supposed to do a bunch of testing and also an ultrasound, YAY!!!  That's what I'm most excited about :).  I'm just continuing to pray for a strong healthy baby that is growing like it should be.  I'm hoping to see a little heartbeat action in there too :).

This week's update is from planningfamily.com:

• Though you might not feel it, your baby, now about the size of a kidney bean (8-11 mm), is moving inside of you! Your baby’s facial features become more obvious this week, as his lips, tongue, nostrils, and buds for teeth have developed. His arms and legs are growing, elbows and knees develop, and his fingers and toes, though still webbed, become visible while any traces of his “tail” are almost entirely gone.
• This week, your baby’s bones also begin to harden through a process called ossification. Inside your baby’s brain, nerve cells are branching out creating his first neural pathways. And though it’s still too early to discern your baby’s sex, as any external genital organs have yet to develop, an ultrasound at week 8 could detect the beating of his little heart.

I will try to post again tomorrow, possibly with a picture of the ultrasound.  Please pray for a healthy baby in there! :)

Baby Baby Baby!

By now, just about everyone has heard our big news... I'm pregnant!  I'm very very excited and I created this blog so that you can follow along with me during and after the pregnancy :).  As soon as I found out I'm "with child" (or "knocked up" as Jason so lovingly puts it), I signed up for about 4 different baby website newsletters and "liked" a bunch of facebook groups that I now get emails from.  Needless to say, my inbox has been overflowing with baby information and I'm loving it :).  I doubt everyone is/will be as excited as I am to hear that the baby is the size of a blueberry and is growing hands and legs right now, but in case you are, I'll post updates here weekly, if not daily.

I am currently 7 weeks along and am experiencing many of the symptoms of the 1st trimester:  nausea, headaches, fatigue, hunger, heartburn, discomfort, and others that I won't go into ;).  It's hard to think that I have to wait another 7 months before meeting the little guy/girl, but I'm excited about the journey to get there :).  Jason is still adjusting.  I found out on our 4 year anniversary that we're expecting and when I told him that night, I think he was in shock.... for about 10 days.  But I think he's finally coming around :).  We both want a boy first, so I think it helps for him to talk about 'boy stuff'.

Anyway, on to the technical stuff.  Here's some information from an email I received yesterday (from www.babycenter.com) about baby's progress:

• The big news this week: Hands and feet are emerging from developing arms and legs — although they look more like paddles at this point than the tiny, pudgy extremities you're daydreaming about holding and tickling. Technically, your baby is still considered an embryo and has something of a small tail, which is an extension of her tailbone. The tail will disappear within a few weeks, but that's the only thing getting smaller. Your baby has doubled in size since last week and now measures half an inch long, about the size of a blueberry.
• If you could see inside your womb, you'd spot eyelid folds partially covering her peepers, which already have some color, as well as the tip of her nose and tiny veins beneath parchment-thin skin. Both hemispheres of your baby's brain are growing, and her liver is churning out red blood cells until her bone marrow forms and takes over this role. She also has an appendix and a pancreas, which will eventually produce the hormone insulin to aid in digestion. A loop in your baby's growing intestines is bulging into her umbilical cord, which now has distinct blood vessels to carry oxygen and nutrients to and from her tiny body.

So there you have it... that's what MiniSnooks looks like right now :).  These emails always catch me off-guard when they use "he" or "she" to describe the baby and its growth, but once we find out what it is, I'll start editing them so that nobody gets confused ;).

Thanks for visiting the new blog and I'm so excited about sharing the next 7+ months with you! :)