Category: Pregnancy

Categories
Pregnancy

Twenty Eight Weeks

So I don’t didn’t wear shorts. Like ever. Except now that I can’t really close my legs & it’s getting hot, maternity shorts make amazing sense & I’m very happy that friends passed some down to me. Including these black ones!

{Stella & Dot necklace, Old Navy maternity tanks, Motherhood shorts}

How far along? 28w3d

Maternity clothes? Yes, except for the occasional longer top I squeeze into.

Weight Gain? Was 32 pounds as of two weeks ago’s appointment. I’ll update after today’s appointment but probably a few pounds more.

Stretch Marks? Yep. The ones on the right side have creeped up a little more & I do believe there are now little spots of stretchies growing on my left side. Sigh.

Sleep? It’s okay. With lots of pillow ~ ones for under the belly on each side & one in between my legs. & Tums on my nightstand & a clear way to the bathroom.

Movement? Yes. Lots of low punches from him & kicks on the left side from both. I think she turned over Saturday morning & was rolling around my ribs.

Genders? Baby A is a still a boy & C is a girl.

What I Miss? Baby B always. Energy. Feeling comfortable.

Food cravings? As I mentioned in my COOL WHIP post, fruit is amazing. That banana pudding hit the spot & the fresh strawberries Easter weekend were perfect for breakfast & mixed in Greek Yogurt for a snack. And cereal & PB&Js {with grape squeeze jelly} were awesome this week.

Food aversion? None really.

Labor signs? None, thankfully. Although my pelvic bone has started hurting & coworkers commented Monday that I’m really popped out. We’ll see what doctor says at this morning’s appointment.

Belly button in or out? Still in but getting smaller. I might get brave & actually show y’all soon.

What I’m Looking Forward to? Finishing the nursery. Checking off the to-do list. Picking daycare. Going to childbirth class this weekend.

Symptoms? Some pain/pressure uncomfortableness down low. Hard to breath with her up high in my ribs. Tired like crazy at the end of the day.

Weekly Wisdom? Took the long Easter weekend off & rode down to OIB for one last pre-babies beach trip. Got spoiled by my parents & grandparents. While I started feeling twitchy about all the attention & spoilage, I realized I need to take advantage while I could & let them fuss over me & the babes.

Milestones? Third trimester! Baby Center says they weigh about 2.25 pounds & are 14.8 inches long. Yes, that means about 30 inches of babies in my belly; no wonder stretch marks have popped out! They’ve also grown eye lashes this week, are opening & closing their eyes more frequently & may even be able to see light coming in.

Twenty Eight week fraternal twins per Baby Center
Categories
Pregnancy

On Twenty Eight Weeks 1 Day

My weekly update will post tomorrow morning. Being out of town this past long weekend threw me off a little.

But if you know my friend Jenny, you know that 28w1d is a day to remember. From the moment I heard triplets, my first goal for my pregnancy was to get to at least that date, her date. Because I’ve seen, hugged & helped feed her babies. I knew that while the road they went down was rough in spots, that they’re fine. And I wanted that for mine too.

And that day was here yesterday. Things changed in my pregnancy making it possible & more probable that I will carry my babes farther than I earlier imagined. But still. Today, I’m grateful for friends like Jenny & her triplets who have & continue to inspire me & give me comfort knowing that preterm labor & birth, while scary & unwanted, can come with okay outcomes.

So cheers to Jenny & ETC. And cheers to making it to {past!} goal dates!

Categories
Everything Else Pregnancy

Seraphine Maternity Wear

I’m to that point in this pregnancy where certain maternity clothes I *loved* at first no longer will work for me. That includes anything without a full panel. But what was been my go-to all winter & I believe will continue into the spring, tunics. Especially one’s that work with black leggings as I haven’t been able to find full-panel leggings in other colors.

So when a rep from Séraphine contacted me to see if I’d be interested in trying out their maternity wear, I jumped at the chance. I chose the Panel Tie Tunic in black & it arrived super quick {from the UK no less}. Séraphine was a new company to me, but I realized I recognized their maternity wear from seeing celebrities like Jennifer Garner & Jessica Alba wearing it in magazines.

My favorite thing about this tunic: the material, the cut & feel of it. It’s so soft & also one of the only maternity tunics/dresses I have that I don’t *have* to wear a tank under it so that I’m not flashing a ton of cleavage.

I also love that I’ve been able to both dress this tunic up & will be able to dress it down for regular work days & weekends. So far I’ve worn it to my VA baby shower a couple weekends ago & then again this past week at my work conference {photo taken in hotel room mirror}. To both events, I wore it with leggings, black patent flats & a pink cardigan. Really cute, right?!

Seraphine tunic love at my shower, work trip & hanging in my kitchen

Oh & this lazy pregnant chick loves that my tunic is machine washable & hung dry without me having to then iron it!

I now have my eyes set on some of Séraphine’s spring maternity clothes. My favorites include the white & navy striped breast feeding top & the ruched sleeved jersey nursing dress {how cute would both be to wear this spring & then summer?!}. I’m pretty sure I’d wear this knot front dress while pregnant & hope I could still make it work even when I wasn’t! If you’re looking for pretty yet practical nursing bras, Séraphine has those too.

Séraphine has generously offered to help all of y’all, my readers & friends, bring home a cute Séraphine item of your choice {over $30} at 20% off with the discount code: ST20. Happy shopping!

I was given the tunic for the purpose of this review but was not compensated in any other way. All the opinions listed above are unbiasedly honest & my own.

Categories
Pregnancy

Work Babies Shower

Last Wednesday, my coworkers celebrated our babies upcoming arrival with a baby shower. My section did a great job complete with cute polka dot or giraffe invitations, pink & blue decorations, yummy chips & dips, fruit, nuts & mints, delicious punch & such a fun cake.

{food table, cake, gifts table}

I remembered to whip out my cell to snap a few photos but no one took any while I was opening gifts. Everyone was so generous too. I’d recently added a baby food maker {the baby bullet, anyone have it?} to our registries & two different groups thought it was a great idea for us. We also received a Johnny Jump Up, foam play mats, a crib tent {to keep Moekitty out}, Skip Hop mirror, a few onesie sets with matching hats & mittens, pastel bibs, door knob covers, two different owl car seat/stroller toys, as well as a few gifts cards. Our babies are pretty set!

{I ended up taking back the second baby bullet & extra storage system. So with that money & other gift cards, I ordered the Performance Ergo carrier. So excited about it!}Also thought I’d share what I wore since I had my eye on this Boden maternity dress way before I was even pregnant. Luckily for me, it was on clearance, so I got quite a deal. The material is a little thinner than I thought {I wore a super long H&M tank under it}, but I love the ruffles & am so excited to be able to wear it the rest of my pregnancy this spring.

Categories
Pregnancy

Same but Different Loss

I watched it. I didn’t mean to, yet I did & I knew I couldn’t not watch. Yet I realized I wasn’t, I’m not, strong enough to watch it home alone (I turned it on while husband was around Saturday). It’s too close to home. Probably was way
too close. & yet, in some ways so different.

I’m talking about last week’s episode of 19 Kids & Counting. Your thoughts & mine on the Duggers in general don’t really matter for the sake of this. I DVR the show because I find their family & lifestyle so fascinating. I remember hearing Michelle had miscarried her 20th child last Dec, but I also think I half blocked it out during my first trimester triplet high.

I didn’t know the details. I didn’t realize that they too went as an excited couple to their 18 week, gender reveal appointment. They too had told everyone (in their case, really everyone) they were expecting & thus had tons of family & friends awaiting great news that afternoon. They too were shocked & saddened beyond what they could’ve imagined by what they saw or, in our cases, didn’t see on that ultrasound. I’ll admit that the Oprah ugly cry occurred through almost the whole show. I was brought back to that Jan 31st day I can’t forget. Watching them break the news to their children tore me up.

But here’s where our experiences separate. While we carried on with a somewhat different but still healthy pregnancy, Michelle didn’t. That makes our grief in the passing, joy in the brief life & how we’ve dealt with the losses different too.

As this pregnancy winds down, I’m thrilled, elated even, that we’ll sooner than later be bringing home (God willing) two babies. That’s what we have & are focusing on. But the impending birth also means we will meet what’s left of Baby B soon too. This week, we’ve discussed this & plan to discuss it further with our doctor next week. We’re not sure our plans. One thing I know from this experience, is that it has bonded me even closer to my husband. And for that, I’m so grateful.

Post written post-midnight Sunday when I couldn’t sleep. I’m learning it’s better to type out these feelings than let them linger inside.