Still alive - Snow fun & a growing belly!

I have been meaning to post for weeks, lol. Yes, we are all still alive! We are enjoying some cooler and much less humid weather in Utah right now with family. Woo! I am working on a longer post, but here is this for now. 

We have gotten one good snow day so far, the twins loved it! Cam's snow suit hadn't arrived yet so we old school trash bagged him and he borrowed sissy's coat. He was toasty warm and had a ton of fun, ha ha. 

I am 32 weeks tomorrow! 😳 What?!! Things are going good, my belly has grown substantially and I am super tired and hungry all the time, ha ha. Below is a belly pic of me a week ago, along with some fun snow pics and the kiddos drinking some of Grandma's tasty homemade coconut milk hot cocoa 😋 

Will post soon!

Week 28 - Measuring big & Kindergarten!

I had my 28 week appt the other day with the birthing center. Baby's heart sounded awesome and strong on the doppler. He was wiggling all over the place. She said "You're right, he is very active!" Right after she said that he kicked really hard right where she had the doppler, ha ha. She said we actually do not need to repeat the 24 hour urine test because I have no symptoms of pre-eclampsia. So that's good news, I'm not a fan of doing that test, ha ha. Total pain. I have an even harder time than normal going back to sleep at night after having to collect urine and put it in a container and then in chilled foam cooler, ha ha. We got my new blood sugar monitor calibrated and so far everything is looking good. I am on day 2 of 14. So glad I opted to not drink that nasty glucose drink! I had a hard time getting enough blood for a sample yesterday morning but my mom said to just run my fingers under warm water first, my hands were too cold. I also did some blood work at the birthing center to check for anemia. Can't believe I am already almost 30 weeks! She said I measured 3 cm bigger than my gestational age, ha ha. I was never measured with the twins because they said it was pointless and wouldn't be accurate, so it was interesting to be measured on Monday. My sister said she also measured big with her daughter. Some people in the family are wondering if my due date is a little off, which it could be since my cycles were so whacky after the miscarriage in November, but I'm guessing it is just because I don't have a large rib cage. My belly has nowhere to go but forward, ha ha. I guess we'll know if it was way off if he comes weeks earlier than planned, ha ha. That is one thing I miss about having an induction date, you're able to plan a little bit. But I am so grateful to be able to experience an all natural birth this time! 

Christian is over 15+ inches long and over 2.25 lbs. I have a feeling he is bigger than all the online articles and books say though. I can feel him moving all the way at the top of my torso now just below my breasts, so my uterus has definitely grown! I used to feel him mostly a couple of inches above my belly button, now it is everywhere! He bounced my cup of ice water up off of my belly the other night while Blake and I were watching Manifest, ha ha. So excited to meet this little guy! His brain triples in size this last trimester, so cool. I hope he is chubbing up in there! I have been craving bananas, grapes, and cream of rice cereal lately. And drinking tons and tons of water! I am trying hard to get all my protein daily and need to try to increase my veggie intake some more. I can't seem to do my usual steamed veggies lately, they bloat me up something terrible all of the sudden and it is so painful. Sticking to raw carrots and celery for now,  along with some canned veggies like green beans. 

The twins are getting more and more excited for baby to get here. We all are! They're also starting to get impatient, ha ha. They feel like Christmas time and his due date are a hundred years away. But I told them I promise he'll be here soon, only Halloween and Thanksgiving to go! I got the baby's/school room more cleaned out last week, so we can start bringing in the crib and stuff now 🥳 I hope this school/baby room combo goes well. I am so excited! The twins LOVED starting Kindergarten last week and are so excited for our new books and activities this year. They're also excited to learn to read. Can't believe my babies are big enough to be in Kindergarten! What happened?!? They're the cutest, sweetest, most hilarious, and fun kiddos around! We decided to take the twins to Build A Bear yesterday for our beginning of the year field trip. Claire picked an owl (the pink high heels she got to go on it KILL me!), and Camo picked Stitch. So very him, he loves those movies and crazy Stitch. They also got to pick an animal for Christian for a Christmas present. They picked a cute little brown bear. Cam chose a soccer ball wristlet for it and Claire an Easter egg wristlet. We just need to wrap it now ❤ The sweet girl working the animal fluff machine let the twins each pick a heart to put in the bear for the baby. Thought that was so sweet since it is their Christmas present to him. They were super adorable making their wishes and rubbing the hearts on the animals and whatnot. Claire would close her eyes so tight and cute, and Cam would say the funniest stuff. They also enjoyed riding some rides at the mall for the first time and using an escalator for the first time. Last night Claire told me, "I am SOO tired from such a fun day!" Made my day. Me too baby girl, me too. I slept good last night, lol. That's a first!!

Cuteness of the week: the twins are marveling at my growing belly, and I often crack them up when I bend over and try to reach things or fit places. The other day Claire said, "Mommy, when the baby comes out and your tummy goes down, will you be able to reach the lamp?!" 🥳 They have a cardboard play house from my Grandma that sits between the back slider and the sofa, and my lamp we use nightly was behind it. I could no longer fit between the slider and house to reach the lamp, so I had to move the house everytime and it just cracked her up. So, I finally moved the lamp 🤣

Have a great week everyone! Ps...auto correct on phones now a days drives me nuts and is so weird sometimes! Sorry for all the spelling and grammar errors in my blog posts, most not done by me but I just don't care to fix them all 🤣 I try to stay off my phone as much as possible since emfs/phone radiation does not agree with me at all. 

Week 27 - Open eyes & insomnia

I can't believe we are getting so close to 30 weeks!! I will be 28 weeks this weekend. Thanks to Cam for taking my belly pic today, they're getting pretty good at it, ha ha. As you can see, my baby bump is definitely growing! I have gained almost 30 lbs so far 😳 Maybe because I started off much thinner this pregnancy? Maybe because my morning sickness quit at 10 weeks and didn't last til 5.5 months like with the twins, so I have actually been able to eat? Who knows. But, I've been drinking lots of red raspberry leaf tea to tone my uterus and make labor easier, and also have still been drinking nettle tea and dandelion root tea. So I'm hoping that'll help with keeping the pregnancy bloat/water retention at bay somewhat. We are so super excited to welcome this little guy in December! Still can't believe this is happening. For both of our bodies to just suddenly start working properly after 14 years is insane, ha ha. And a total miracle!

At 27 weeks, the baby's eyes can now fully open and close. Even though their eye sight is poor, they still respond to and are sensitive to light. I wonder what color those pretty little peepers are gonna be?! He also weighs over 2.25 lbs now and is over 15 inches long! He has remained an active, crazy little man, who likes to have dance parties late at night and at 5 or 6am 🤣 He's just prepping me for all the sleep I'm going to not get once he's here I suppose, ha ha. We are still working on getting the baby stuff cleaned off and set up in his room. Having that nasty cold set is back a couple weeks. I'm excited to see it all come together!

As of tomorrow I'll officially be in the 3rd  trimester! I have been having major sleep issues,  pregnancy insomnia is real! I have been trying to not nap to see if that'd help, have been using magnesium lotion in my back, belly, feet and legs before bed, and using a safe homeopathic for sleeplessness. It has been helping but I still have some bad nights. Luckily, the twins are the BEST kiddos ever and let me snooze on the couch when I need to. I have an appt with the birthing center on Monday, I'll let you know how that goes. We need to calibrate my blood sugar monitor at their office, as well as do some blood work. I am so glad I'm not drinking that super gross, sugar filled glucola drink this time around! I also have a very fuzzy face now, ha ha. I got mama bear face fuzz with the twins too. It is kinda long, cracks me up 🤣😬

Cuteness of the week: Christian was kicking and flopping around pretty good yesterday morning while I was in bed, so Cam asked if he could put his stuffed Nemo on my belly. I said sure! Cam could barely breathe because he was laughing so hard. The baby was bopping and flopping Nemo all over the place. It looked like a fish outta water 🤣 He was so hysterical he fell back backwards onto the bed. When Blake got out of the shower I told him what happened. He was wondering what all the commotion was about, ha ha. Wish I could share the video clip but it is too large of a file. Plus, of course once I started videoing the baby calmed down a lot. Figures, ha ha. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Weeks 25 & 26 - A nasty cold

We all caught a nasty severe sinus infection and bronchitis last week, bleh! So, once again I am slacking on posting, ha ha. I caved and finally went to urgent care and was prescribed a prescription for the bronchitis. My poor belly was so sore from all the hacking. I absolutely hate to take stuff while pregnant, and antibiotics trash my gut (PRAYING HARD this doesn't re-ignite a severe yeast rash flare up!! 😬), but I was so miserable and sick and had to do something. Me and the kiddos are still sick but recovering, and Blake is back to work after missing a few days. Luckily he didn't catch the bronchitis, likely would have not been good news for his lungs since he is still recovering from severe pneumonia in May. We will all be super happy to be over this nasty bug and back to normal because the twins are very excited to start home school kindergarten! It has been one thing after another the last couple months so we haven't started yet, but that's ok! I'll post pictures when we start. This year is going to be awesome, The Good and The Beautiful kindergarten program is so adorable! I have a feeling the kids are gonna just love it and be super successful. 

Besides this nasty cold, I am so happy to say that seeing the chiropractor weekly and recently getting a pregnancy massage helped my lower back and severe tailbone pain a ton! After I am fully well from this bug I am going to resume my appointments. I am shocked at what a difference weekly, and sometimes 2xs weekly, adjustments have made for me. I have been able to sleep some better because I am not in pain 24/7, can also play with the kids more, and do more house chores. This little guy will be here in 3 months and I've got lottts to do, so I am thrilled that my back has improved. We still need to clean off the crib and changing table so we can bring them in the house and assemble them in the baby's room. They're a tad dusty from being in storage. Ok, extremely dusty, because of our crazy AZ dust storms/haboobs. Yes, that's a real thing and word. They're nuts! 

Baby boy is growing well and getting more and more active. He continues to keep me awake at night sometimes and wakes me up early in the morning now too, ha ha. The kids have loved to feel him punch and kick, and Daddy finally felt him good too. I may have already mentioned that though. The baby is gaining approx 1/2 per week now, his nervous system is becoming more advanced, has a cute little head of probably brown colored hair, and I believe he has started to get the hiccups, ha ha. He weighs over 2 pounds now, is over 14 inches long from head to toe, and looks just as he will at birth (facial feature wise) minus the major clubbing up he still has to do over the next 3 months. We are all so very excited for him to arrive and we look forward to this Christmas being the most exciting one yet!

I signed up for Hypnobabies! I am so excited to start this online course and look forward to the benefits it is going to provide me during my all-natural and unmedicated birth! I'll post more on Hypnobabies later. Hoping all continues to goes well so that a natural birth at the birthing center is possible. I see the Birthing Center in a couple weeks for my 28 week appt. We will be doing some blood work then, and will also be calibrating my blood sugar monitor that I got. I have elected to not drink those absolutely disgusting and unhealthy glucose drinks this time around and opted for monitoring my blood sugar for 2 weeks instead. Realllly wish my obgyn would have stated this was a possibility with the twins! I feel like those drinks are going to cause diabetes themselves. Gag. I also haven't eaten sugar for 2 years now, so my midwife didn't want to shock my system or make me ill with the glucose drink or  jelly bean options. So, I'll let you know how that goes! 

Last night the twins were asking me what color was the baby's favorite because Claire was Ted to draw him a picture. I replied that I had no idea and we'd have to wait and see once he was here and old enough to show or tell us. Cameron didn't think that answer was good enough so he walks over to my belly and yells, "Christian, what's your favorite color?!?" It was so funny and adorable. I thought it was cute that he thought he would actually get an answer, he he. Cam is quite the character and probably by biggest belly fan. They both constantly rub it and lovingly talk to the baby, but this morning Cam asked if he could take a picture with my "big soft bare belly" because he "loves the sweet little baby so much!" 😭🥰 I thought these pictures were so sweet ❤ He has always been such a loving and affectionate little guy. 

Have a great week and weekend everyone, hope you enjoyed your Labor Day!

Weeks 22-24 - Watermelon addiction & starting the baby's room!

Man, I didn't realize how long it has been since I last posted! Being extremely sensitive to emfs also doesn't help. My phone actually burns my hand, arm and makes my last 3 fingers go numb on my left hand after only a few mins! 😳 It has gotten much worse since I became pregnant, so I'm trying to avoid my phone as much as possible. Not a fan of the headaches or increased heart rate is causes either. Phones now a days are so unhealthy for us!

I hit 24 weeks this weekend! Woo! My belly is growing, Christian is definitely really active, and my love (if I'm honest, my addiction...) to watermelon is intense. I thought it might wane after a few weeks, but nope. I went through 3 full size watermelons in just 2-3 days with very little help 🤣 I must definitely need something that is in them! They're a great natural source of antioxidants as well. I've gained 19 lbs so far i believe and recently started suffering from pregnancy insomnia. I'd really love to be able to take something to knock me out for about an entire week, but I'll stick with my lavender essential oil and magnesium lotion. The mag lotion helps with my sore back also! 

Baby boy at this stage now has a fully developed inner ear and is packing on the brown fat. He's 12.5 inches or more long and now weighs over 1.5 lbs! We cannot wait to meet him, we are SO curious what he will look like! Daddy finally felt him kick but it will be more fun in a couple of months when you can feel him really good. We started organizing all my candle making supplies and such into the closet so that our 4th bedroom is all ready for baby when he gets here. I am so excited for his little woodlands themed nursery! His room is going to be part baby room and part homeschool room ha ha, but it'll still be great. I've already washed and put most of his clothes away in the dresser, so I will be thrilled to finish getting the twin's kindergarten school supplies organized so we can finish the baby side of the room. We have so many clothes, toys, soft blankies, and two very, very excited siblings waiting for him! The twins asked me this week with great excitement if we can "please put baby Christian in a gift box after he comes out of your tummy and open him for Christmas?! He will be the most cute present ever!" 🥰🤣 A little Christmas baby will be so fun! 

Happy Sunday everyone, have a great week!

Weeks 20 & 21! - Half done & Anatomy Scan #2

 I can't believe I am 21 weeks! I had my follow up anatomy scan ultrasound yesterday. We needed to get some more shots of his heart, legs, nose, and head. He looks absolutely perfect! The ultrasound tech said he has really long legs, ha ha. Bet he's gonna be tall like Daddy. He kept playing with his cute little toes yesterday instead of his willy like last time, ha ha. Can't wait to see those cute little toes in person! He weighs approx 12+ oz and is over 10 inches long (according to online info, they didn't mention anything yesterday). He is definitely growing, he is one rambunctious little kicker/puncher/roller now a days. He is especially active after spicier foods and when I have juices, fruit (especially watermelon) and protein shakes. I am eating SO MUCH watermelon it is insane! Like, a personal watermelon per day, sometimes more if they're on the smaller side, ha ha. This kid is gonna come out half avocado and half watermelon 🤣 His eyes can now open. I think that is so cool! We weren't able to get good shots again because of his positioning against yesterday (he kept hugging the placenta), and because of my anterior placenta, but here's what we got 😀

We have decided on a name!! I wanted to do something heritage related or after my side this time because Cameron is Cameron Blake after Blake. I found out that Grant is a Scottish name, totally made my day! So he'll be Christian Grant 💙 Christian because it is the only name we both love, ha ha, and Grant after my Dad/his grandfather/my Scottish heritage. I really loved another first name but I couldn't convince Blake of it sadly. Maybe next time, if there is another, lol. So, all of our living and angel babies will be C names! We didn't mean to do that but it just turned out that way. Apparently we like C names, ha ha...Cannon, Claire, Cameron, Caelan, and now Christian ❤ Unless he really reallllly doesn't look like a Christian when he arrives, that'll be his name. But I feel like it is perfect and very fitting already, like with the twins.

Besides getting bigger, and this pesky rash, nothing much is new with me...yay! I was so happy to hear yesterday that my cervix are still maintaining 4cm in length and are remaining closed 🥳 I'm going to start going to a Chiropractor to get help with the typical back pain during pregnancy, and am looking into hypnobirthing. It is a very interesting concept if you look into it. Figured it wouldn't hurt to try it because I will be going all natural this time around, as the birthing center doesn't offer epidurals, and I don't want one anyways. Not wanting pitocin either. Both of those things come with risks for me and baby, which was never even brought up to me when pregnant with the twins. Lots of other natural options, in most cases! I'll post more on that later. 

Crossed ankles

Foot/toes

Profile

Face and arm/hand - sucking thumb

Arm/hand by face

Still very much a boy!

Thanks Cam for taking one of my tummy pictures this week ❤

Weeks 18 & 19 - No signs of pre-eclampsia yet!

I can't believe I will be 20 weeks this weekend!! Where is the time going?! This little dude is already half way baked 🥳 I am so glad things are going so well, it is SUCH a relief. I spoke with the birthing center today and all of my bloodwork and the 24 hour urine test came back perfect. No signs of pre-eclampsia yet, hallelujah! We discovered I had it with the twins at 24 weeks, when I landed in the hospital for early labor, but we didn't know when it had started. So, to hear that my tests came back great was really awesome. We will repeat this test in about 2 months at 28 weeks. This time was just to get a baseline on the protein in my urine, so that we had something to compare with later. We don't want the protein to be over 300, if any is detected at all. I believe it was 370 something with the twins? So, fingers crossed that we get great results in September also! 

I have been feeling pretty good lately, considering I'm growing a tiny little man! My lower back pain has increased, so I've started pregnancy yoga. And my tailbone feels like it has snapped in half 😭 I have to sit on only soft and squishy things or else it is really painful. I need to see a chiropractor soon, but I'm hoping the yoga will also help. My gums have also started bleeding a lot when flossing and brushing, totally normal during pregnancy though. Just don't remember it doing it this much with the twins. I still can't believe I have 50% more blood volume, so crazy! I am still struggling with this dang yeast rash all over my body. I still get extreeeemely itchy when my rash flares up, but I discovered that my probiotic IS making it worse. So I quit taking it since the midwife said to if I noticed it worsening when starting my new one. Hoping that'll help it lessen atleast. I have been eating lots of avocados, orange juice, hashbrowns, melons (I cannot get enough watermelon - I ate 2 personal sized ones in a single day, lol!), and tamales. My belly is getting bigger! It was so funny, I woke up the other day and just felt bigger. I looked in the mirror after I got dressed and was like, woah! I swear I grew over night. I hope this little guy is a rolly chunk when he gets here! Well, maybe not too awfully chunky since I'll not be doing an epidural this time 🤣

Right now, baby boy is the size of a banana! He is approx 8+ inches long from head to bum and weighs just over half a pound! He is currently sprouting hair on his head, can suck his thumb, has meconuim forming in bowels (makes up his first poo after birth), and he can now hear me clearly, as well as others. He is a fully formed little guy now! He just needs to pack on the fat and grow in size, and his systems need to mature until he arrives. The twins are so funny! Claire still asks me daily how the baby is doing in there, if he's awake or asleep, if he slept good or not, and if he's full or hungry. It cracks them both up that "he pees in your tummy!". They were quite relieved that he doesn't poop in my tummy, ha ha. They're both really bummed that they can't feel him move and kick when I do, but they still put their little hands on my belly anyways in hopes of "maybe I will feel him this time?!" 🤣 One day they will and I can't wait to see their reactions! Claire said the cutest thing the other day...I was tucking her into bed and she said, "Mommy, is the baby ok in there, with no other people?" I replied that he was totally fine and snug, and she said, "Oh good!! My baby brother is so good and is so brave growing in there!" She has expressed multiple times that she is concerned that he's in there all alone, ha ha. I am looking forward to my next ultrasound (not a fan of them bc they really haven't proved to be super safe, so I am trying to limit them this time around since I had a million trillion of them with the twins), as we couldn't see his heart super great because of his positioning last time. So, I hope all looks well again on that in a couple of weeks! Maybe then I can fully relax ha ha, but we'll see (e had to go back for a follow up on the anatomy scan with the twins too because they couldn't see Claire's heart well enough because of her positioning). So, I hope this isn't bad luck, lol. Fingers crossed that my cervix still looks good too. 

We haven't done anything too exciting lately because of my dang rash, and Claire's viral rash (poor baby was sick with a viral rash for about 4 weeks - luckily no one else got it!), but we have started sorting through baby stuff! We have sooo many cute clothes that I forgot about from the twins. We are totally set on clothes lol, got the crib out, changing table, found all the baby blankets, my fav baby pods, play mat, and other fun stuff. Just need a few things like a new car seat (others are "expired" - but I already ordered a new one, woo!), new baby monitor, a new baby bath I want, etc. We are in the process of organizing the 4th bedroom in the house. It sadly looks like a bomb went off in it right now, ha ha. We are moving all my holiday decor into the garage from the closet, my candle making supplies into the closet, and we will have that bedroom be the baby room/home school room. My momma bought me some supet cute baby room decor! I wanted to do a woodlands theme this time around. I still have all the pooh bear stuff from the twins, but I feel like this little guy just looks/seems like a little woodlands man. Blake thinks I'm crazy but oh well, ha ha. The fox lamp is absolutely adorable though, and the bedding is to die for! I can't wait to see it all put together in the next of couple weeks. Our latest silly/fun happenings at home are: Cam made everyone wear "cup shoes" the other day lol, the twins are amazed by/scared of our crazy Arizona monsoon season we've been having the last couple of weeks, they're loving the old Nintendo 64 from Blake's parents, and their new kindergarten books and supplies arrived from The Good and The Beautiful last week! 🥳 I absolutely love this home school program and we are all very excited to start next month! Can't believe my babies are in kindergarten!!