Categories
Family/Travel

Quick Family Weekend

Over the weekend before last, I traveled with my aunt down to Charlotte. My Papa was throwing a party for friends who’ve been big supports to him while he & Ma were sick then her passing away. He’s had an awesome full recovery from his illnesses & was feeling ready to celebrate.

My immediate family, along with my aunts & my cousin Preston & his wife Krissie, came down to all be there too. Krissie’s also pregnant, so it was great to be able to compare pregnancies & catch up with them. They just found out they’re having a girl & we’re all really excited! Krissie was about 20 weeks & I was 16 weeks with the trips. We meant to take a good belly photo that night at the party but sadly forgot. Here’s the best one of us from that afternoon. Can y’all believe my Papa is going to be a great-grandfather to four babies by June!?

Papa's Party Saturday

I left my DSLR at home & we also forgot to get a big family photo. But I did remember to take a few photos of the party & decorations. The event was held at his retirement community clubhouse {they have the best food!}, & my mom & aunts did the flower decorations.

The next morning before most of us headed back {Preston & Krissie left early early Sunday}, we went to church together then stuffed ourselves at the clubhouse brunch. I grubbed on an omelet, grits, Belgium waffles, fruit & banana pudding before the babies told me I was more than out of room.

We grabbed the rest of the baby things we’d left at Papa’s after Christmas, made a quick trip to Jenny’s to pick up another swing {remember I said they’re already spoiled!}, & headed back to Raleigh. Our house is really starting to look like triplet central thanks to Jenny & her triplet hand-me-downs! Yay!

Categories
Photography

Seventeen Weeks

I went to a sprinkle yesterday {a 2nd baby shower} & took photos once I’d gotten home from there & updating our Target registry. This is a new tunic I found on super sale at Boden. Love it & wish I’d bought another one! How far along? 17w1d

Maternity clothes? Oh yeah. Normal T-shirts are starting to show the bump underneath!

Weight Gain? up a little more than 16 pounds at the last appt. Don’t weigh myself at home.

Stretch Marks? none yet.

Sleep? Doing pretty good.

Movement? Still not sure that I’m feeling them but not sure that I’m not either.

Genders? Still thinking boys/girls mixture but we’ll see for sure next Tuesday.

What I Miss? Nothing at the moment.

Food cravings? Fruit & carbs taste best. I throw in veggies & protein because I have to. I’m planning a “what I eat for triplets” post soon.

Food aversion? Still haven’t eaten Mexican food but I did have salsa yesterday & it was yummy.

Labor signs? No, thankfully.

Belly button in or out? Still an innie.

What I’m Looking Forward to? Showers soon~ can’t wait to celebrate these trips with friends! & seeing the babies at the 1/31 appointment.

Weekly Wisdom? Feeling great these past few days. Started having some reflux at the beginning of the week, but Tums {or CVS brand Tums} are doing the job to make it better so far. So weekly wisdom, don’t suffer through reflux/indigestion unnecessarily.

Milestones? 17 weeks!! That means halfway to our goal of 34 weeks! The babies {according to baby center} are the weight/size of turnips. And this week they’re developing sweat glands {hope they’re not sweaters like their momma-to-be!

Categories
Everything Else Reading

BlogHer Book Club: The Underside of Joy

I finished Sere Prince Halverson’s first novel The Underside of Joy a few weeks ago. The title intrigued me, & I couldn’t hold off on reading it. Underside isn’t a word often used. The Underside of Joy? What would that be? The Underside of Joy, as per the novel {& me}, is what happens when your world as you know it falls apart & what happens as things are coming back together.

I’d pretty strongly recommend this book so I’m going to try to keep my review spoiler-proof. While I’ve never been divorced, a mother, nor a step-mother, I easily saw myself in the struggles & triumphs {no matter how small} of Ella Beane, the main character. I loved the children & the dog. I thought Sere’s character development was great. At different times, I wanted to shout out at Joe, Ella & Paige. The location, set in the North California, made me want to run off & go there just so I too could picnic in the woods by the water.

The end of The Underside of Joy was a bit predictable. I wasn’t shocked by it, but that’s not to say that I didn’t really enjoy the book. In fact, this is the first book I’ve recently read that I quickly passed on to a friend.

I’m looking forward to hearing what the other readers thought of this book & I know they’ll be a lot to talk about from it. To learn more about the author & join in on the discussion, visit BlogHer Book Club for The Underside of Joy.

This is a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are all my own.

Categories
Pregnancy Trying To Conceive

Grieving

I was reading Dr Luke’s book a little more this past week & something I’ve been mulling over, feelings I’ve been pushing down, were mentioned. Mentioned as being absolutely normal. She said the feelings post-hearing “its triplets” mimic the grieving process {you know, shock, denial, anxiety, acceptance}.

Y’all know we are thrilled, oh so thrilled about our babies on the way. I think we’ve both gone through those range of emotions & gotten to the other side. The acceptance side. But I have been grieving the loss of a few things & experiences I will now never have. Some of these might seem silly or selfish, but it’s what I’ve been working through. I want to remember what I was feeling & I’m guessing I’m not the first or the last multiple-mom-to-be to feel this way.

Most recently, especially while reading the chapter on delivering triplets, I’m feeling sad that I will never go through vaginal birth. Y’all know my crunchy side keeps growing. I’ve always wanted to vaginally deliver my future children. After see Ricki Lake at BlogHer & watching the Business of Being Born, I feel even more strongly about it. Home birth. That’s a little more crunchy than I could go but hospital vag birth with hopefully minimal drugs, that was my plan/dream/hope. Until I heard the word triplets. So now I’m getting more & more used to the word C-section. I know its completely best for our situation & that really all that matters is that our babies come out quickly & safely.

We aren’t rolling around in money. Never have & certainly won’t be anytime soon. But as DINKS, we’ve been able to afford most of what we want when we want it, especially since we both love sales & finding a good deal on high quality items. Since hearing & processing the word “triplets”, we’ve both noted that our spending priorities will {& already has} changed.

My husband is selling the track car he bought & fixed up earlier this year. It won’t fit our growing family & it’s payments & insurance are higher than we need to incur. He’s also been selling off his video game collection & accessories of it that he knows he won’t have as much time for once the trips arrive.

As for me, my shopping “needs” have gotten a kick in the butt. I’m so thankful that friends passed down a bunch of maternity clothes to me. Unlike a lot of my female friends who purchase great quality maternity clothes {read expensive} they will wear through multiple pregnancies, this will be my only pregnancy. While I have bought a few work quality clothes {on sale at Gap or Loft}, I haven’t & don’t see a point in spending a lot of money on things I’ll only wear for 6 months.

Same goes for buying for the babies. While I didn’t imagine my future baby would be decked out in designer latest, I thought I’d probably have a few Lilly outfits for photos. Or splurge on a few baby items. Now I’m focusing on what’s really necessary versus want. We’ve gone with fairly basic Walmart cribs & Target crib sets. The dresser/changing tables are some of the least expensive at Buy Buy Baby & our glider will probably come from Target. While I’ve registered for a few more expensive baby products, I’ve weighed that with how much use we’ll get out of them & how in some areas, price does mean quality.

I’m resigning myself to a future life without the latest designer purse, dress or jewelry. They’re not needed. I’ve actually stopped reading some of the fashion blogs I used to follow & unsubscribed from some stores daily emails. Not necessary or fitting in with my life as a triplet mom.

This will probably end up a two-part post. I’ve word vomited out enough for today, but as our lives & priorities continue to change, I’ll update.

Categories
Pregnancy

Sixteen Weeks

I took these photos Saturday night after Papa’s party {little post to come on that} but I didn’t love them so I retook photos Sunday. I’d worn the grey H&M maternity tunic with leggings earlier but the jeans were on top of my bag. I really like the jeans better with the black Gap maternity top. To make up for last week’s lack of photo, I thought I’d share both.

hi to Mom in the background!

How far along? 16w2

Maternity clothes? yes. Starting to like wearing maternity tops for comfort as well as pants.

Weight Gain? up a little more than 16 pounds.

Stretch Marks? not yet.

Sleep? pretty good.

Movement? I’m starting to *think* that I’m feeling them, but I’m not super sure.

Genders? We hope healthy babies first. But would also love a mix of boys/girls. After our last appointment, the doctor suspects baby A is a boy, but we’ll see for sure 1/31.

What I Miss? not much this week.

Food cravings? Since recovering from cold/stomach bug, I haven’t really craved much. Bananas maybe.

Food aversion? Nothing new.

Labor signs? No, thankfully.

Belly button in or out? Still an innie.

What I’m Looking Forward to? The belly getting bigger. Seeing the babies for a while at the anatomy scan.

Weekly Wisdom? Resting is a good thing. Over-eating at grandfather’s brunch is bad. Between getting over the sick & less room in the tummy, I couldn’t handle my normal over-stuffing myself at brunch.

Milestones? The babies are the size of avocados this week & growing toenails!