24 Weeks Pregnant

6 months pregnant! In my head I think “only three months left” but technically it’s 16 weeks left which is 4 months. Oh well, what’s an extra month, right? 😉

Baby Growth: Leo is about a foot long (length of an ear of corn)!!! He or she also weighs in around 1 lb 3 oz. 

My Symptoms: Kye has had the entire week off from school for Spring Break. I LOVE having him at home with me!!! To kick off the break we went to Orlando for the weekend with the whole family…since Casey and I are both pregnant and due over the summer we bumped up the family vacation to Spring Break so we could all go. There is no way Casey and I could do it over the summer! Either we’d be too far along pregnant or we’d have way too young of newborns 🙂 I’m thankful everyone was on board for doing it early and it really ended up being one of the best trips yet!!! How could it not be with these adorable cousins?

Even though the vacation was AWESOME…the week was a rough start for me. Traveling in the car and sleeping in a not-so-amazing bed was a lot. It made me very, very nervous for Ireland (we leave a week from Monday! Ahhh!). If I was hurting that much from just a 3 hour car ride…what will a 12 hour plane ride do for me?!?! 

I felt very uncomfortable and very big and heavy and just “not right” while on the trip. I actually was constipated for the first time EVER. My back was so bad. And I had some pretty intense cramping going on too. It was super bad on the lower left side of my abdomen on Sunday when we all went to the zoo but then it was cramping on my lower right side of my abdomen on the way home Monday. So who knows? I also got a terrible headache while we were at the zoo too. I REALLY think all of the symptoms were intense because it was a bad combo of the car ride, not able to get good sleep, eating more junk than my system is used to, and just over doing it. When you have two kids it’s HARD not to push yourself. I wanted the trip to be super fun for ALL of us so I def think I just did too much. Getting stuff packed then unpacked then repacked is all work enough in itself let alone all the stuff I was doing on the actual trip!!! It’s def something I will have to keep in mind when we go on our little family beach trip in May. I don’t think Ireland will be as rough on me, overall. Yes, the flight will be tough but the hotel we are staying in will FOR SURE have amazingly comfortable beds and we are going to be doing a lot of relaxing and we won’t have any kids for me to be overdoing it for 😉 

Let’s go ahead and get the bad news out of the way. My foot. Literally I don’t even want to say anything about it because I want to pretend like this isn’t happening. But it is. It was BAD on the trip. I actually broke down in tears at dinner Saturday night which is not my style. It was the kind of crying where I really couldn’t help it. Thankfully not many people saw it but I get that same kind of crying even just thinking about it now. It hurt so bad I literally couldn’t do anything. I had to just sit the whole time with it propped up. We were at Banana Jacks with all the games and such and I couldn’t walk around and watch everyone or play anything with the kids. Nothing. I just had to sit. And that is frustrating and disheartening and downright depressing. I am not even 30 years old yet. I should be able to be up and playing with my children!!! Obviously the shot I had back in Feb was short lived. I don’t have another appointment until May and I’ve debated moving it up but I also don’t think I want to face the news. Over 18 months. 3 drs. 2 MRIs. 1 Surgery. Countless x-rays, shots, etc. This ain’t gonna get better is it? 

…had to walk away for a bit and now I’m moving on…

We got home Monday and Zach had to turn around and go to Columbus for a work meeting. My back pain was, legit, the worst it’s been to date. So I didn’t unpack pretty much anything from the trip and didn’t bathe the kids that night either. Tuesday I HAD to get groceries. March was a longer month and we only go grocery shopping one time a month so we were really on low. I knew there was no way I could tackle our whole month’s worth of stuff with both kids! So I divided up the list and got a lot of the stuff that we needed or that was light and easy for me to carry and unload. I have NEVER gone grocery shopping with both children. Heck, I’ve never done any legit grocery shopping with just one kid! At this point in my past pregnancies Zach did all the shopping but here I am 6 months pregnant taking both kids along! I started off the morning with CFA for breakfast. I figured give us all a treat and hope the happiness extends to the shopping trip. I also shopped the store the opposite way I normally do. I started at one end so we’d finish at the cookies 🙂 I talked to them and engaged with them the entire time and we did it!!! AND they didn’t have any fighting, any fits, and didn’t need any spankings!!! I seriously felt like a rockstar mom 🙂 We even had several people stop us to compliment them on their behavior 🙂 

After the shopping trip I really did feel SO awesome. I mean I can handle three kids right?!?! I totally have this parenting thing DOWN. By 6:45 that night I was literally crying and wondering how in the world I will be able to add another child and how I’m going to survive this whole summer with both kids home every day and being even more pregnant than I am now. My how things can change in the course of a day haha. I’m sure a lot of it was hormones, because I really did feel a LOT better the rest of the week. I also think, again, it’s about being mindful not to overdo it. The grocery shopping was a good bit on me (hello…that cart was HEAVY and I had to LIFT Kye in and out of that beast!) so I should have planned for an easier afternoon with the kids. 

I felt MUCH better as the week went on, so much so that we even went to Wild Adventures yesterday with Crissy and her crew! Hanging out with her is always a good reminder that I CAN do this! I mean she has FOUR kids and does stuff all the time with them. Surely I can manage three 😉 We had a great time, the weather was beautiful, and the kids slept awesome that afternoon. I was able to really get some things done and felt the best I’ve felt in a long time! 

Other than the one headache on Sunday I haven’t had any others! And I do really think that blasting the headaches with a good bit of caffeine does the trick better than spreading it out or taking Tylenol even. And other than the bad back pain earlier in the week I also have felt pretty good overall too. The only random things are that I’m having some pain in my left hand? I had carpal tunnel issues with Kye so maybe that’s it? Also my right ear is a bit off because I can hear like a pulsing/thumbing sound? I stuck some drops in it in hopes that it clears it up! Also on the trip I had to cut my nails b/c they were SO LONG that they were curling!!! I do love how fast they are growing 🙂 

Weight: Forgot to weigh in this morning! I honestly don’t feel like I’ve gained though? I mean I have on a pair of shorts today that I could button without using my bella band 🙂 

Gender: It is HARD for me to remember to say “he or she” when talking about Leo. I always think HE. Truly if Leo is a she it’s gonna be such an awesome surprise moment 🙂 

Maternity Clothes: I tried on a bunch of dresses in my closet in hopes of finding one for Easter. I just don’t want to spend money on a maternity Easter dress? I was on a kick for awhile where I wanted to go buy myself several cute maternity things but now I’d rather just make do with what I have than spend the money. Someone in our neighborhood has some stuff she’s selling so maybe I’ll luck out and find some things from her 🙂 

Movement: Tuesday night after my emotional breakdown Zach got home and we got the kids to bed. Then I sat down and INSTANTLY Leo started moving the most intensely yet. It’s like he or she was saying “ready or not Mama I’m coming!” Zach could REALLY feel it all and we could even see it!!! Such a great moment 🙂 

Sleep: I had my first bad night sweat while on the trip. I woke up drenched and had all these dreams that my water was breaking and I was in labor. I had totally forgotten how straight up GROSS it is to wake up soaked in sweat like that. I did wake up a few nights ago feeling sweaty but thankfully just got up, turned the thermostat down a notch, and was able to fall back to sleep and didn’t have any of the bad sweat issues. 

I AM comfortable in the bed! WHEW so glad for that! With all the back pain issues I was worried I wouldn’t be able to sleep well but, so far, that hasn’t been an issue 🙂 I love my pregnancy pillow and am debating bringing it to Ireland 🙂

Cravings: I ate Mexican with Courtney last week and had it again on our family trip! SO RANDOM. Seriously I have NEVER liked Mexican food! But I’m allll about some salty cravings 🙂 We ate at Chuy’s for the first time ever and it was amazing. The chips they have are seriously the best chips EVER. I actually felt super sick the next day and I think it’s because I ate too many of them haha

Speaking of salty cravings…I also made myself Ramen Noodles for dinner for the first time in years. And ate every last bite. Hello sodium overload!!!

I also haven’t had a CFA biscuit in a long, long time and it was AMAZING. I am really really not into chicken or beef at ALL this pregnancy. Thank the Lord for peanut butter or I wouldn’t have any protein in my diet haha. But this chicken biscuit was SO yummy!!!

I am getting where I want something sweet at night before bed which I KNOW is a bad habit to start because when I go to lose the baby weight it’ll be hard to give up this routine. I try to resist but I always end up getting myself something! Danielle had text me a long time ago with a recipe for a Meal Replacement Shake Cake in a Cup so I made it this week. MUCH healthier than a lot of other snack options and it really filled me up! It’s just a packet of chocolate Meal Replacement Shake, 1/4 cup water (next time I will use milk instead of the water), and some choc chips. Stir it together and heat for 1 min 30 seconds. Danielle said to mix in some peanut butter too but I’m not a huge peanut butter and chocolate dessert lover so I didn’t try that but this was good!

 What I Miss: Pain free foot…

Best Moments of the Week: Back last year I bought tickets to the Justin Timberlake concert for when he came to Atlanta this past Dec. Long story short…Kye got sick and I couldn’t go to the show. Thankfully I was able to sell my ticket for what I paid for it so it wasn’t a loss, other than me missing out on what I’m sure was an AMAZING concert. Fast-forward to this week when I found out he decided to add another Atlanta date to his tour! Um is that FATE or whhhhat?!?! Robyn and I got tickets and I’m very, very excited about it! 

Y’all know my love for Babywise…I mean it’s not like I try to hide it or anything 😉 However, it is one of those things I never want people to feel like I push on them ya know? When Casey got pregnant I was nervous about how it would affect our relationship b/c I didn’t want her to think that I think I know what is best for HER or HER baby. I try very, very hard not to give any advice unless it’s asked for! And really Casey is SO hardcore about researching she hasn’t asked much advice at all…in fact, I think I’ve asked her for more advice than she has me in our pregnancies! I bought Casey and Jordan a copy of Babywise and wrote a SUPER mega long letter along with it (and read it out loud to them) that basically said I am giving it to them b/c I love them and I love the book but I’m NOT giving it to them with any other agenda than that. I also bought them Dave Ramsey back in the day and they loved it so it made it easier to give them Babywise b/c I knew they wouldn’t think I was giving it to them for any wrong reasons. I haven’t asked them if they have read it or anything but they have mentioned it occasionally. Jordan posted this picture on Instagram a couple nights ago and y’all know this made my heart SO happy!!! Not only that he’s reading it (hello…Zach hasn’t even ever read it!) but that Casey has marked so many of the pages 🙂 They may read it and hate it and that’s totally fine but it just made me feel good that they are reading it! It’s always nice when people you care about take interest in things that you are passionate about 🙂 

Speaking of Casey and Jordan they also announced the baby name to the family over the weekend!!!! I LOVE IT! But I don’t want to say it here b/c I’m not sure who all they have told yet and don’t feel it’s my place. I’m super mega picky with names (as y’all know) so me saying I legit LOVE IT is a pretty big deal haha 😉 She also saw Stacy for the first time this week and really liked her which made me feel good b/c I have seen Stacy for so long that I’m probably biased so it’s good to hear that someone else likes her too 🙂 

This week with Kye being home has really been wonderful. It’s tough at times b/c the kids are at the ages where they spend a lot of time bickering…but overall I love having him home. He has been above and beyond sweet this week. One day he told me his goal for the day was to clean the whole house! It was so precious when I went to bed that night and found our bed like this 🙂 I have decided I need to legit have him (and Britt) do chores. I know it’ll be SO helpful and it something I need to implement so I’ve been looking into it more this week! 

Questions/Concerns: 

• Casey and Jordan went to get their whopping cough vaccine this week and had the family come along with them. They had a good crew go which is SO AWESOME. How blessed are we with such supportive family??? Long story short, the health clinic told them that if they had the tdap between the ages of 11-64 that they couldn’t get it again. Which is NOT what I have been hearing so we are totalllllly confused. 
• I need to ask about the Pulse OX test. Have y’all heard about this???
• Obviously I’m very concerned about my foot 🙁

Goals for the Week: This weeks update on Baby Center says that it’s TIME to get things done around the house. Whew. We have a pretty good chunk to accomplish and I’m concerned about it all getting done and being that I am home all day it makes me feel stressed. We don’t have a lot of free weekends so I’m not sure when it’s all going to get done! I am going to make a list for each of us to accomplish.

I also want to get a good routine in place for the kids for the summer. I know I can’t actually put it in place yet until Kye is out of school but I could go ahead and have it in mind. Same with chores for each of the kids. I’m trying to pay attention throughout the day on things I wish I had help with and that I think they could handle and actually be helpful with! 

I have been thinking a LOT about my foot and we talked a lot this week in Bible Class about God’s purpose in all things. What’s His purpose in this? I feel like maybe I’m going to keep having issues with it until I just truly give it to the Lord and let HIM handle it. But it’s SO HARD not to worry and be upset about it and feel just very very discouraged. Someone said in class Wed night that whenever they start to worry they pray instead b/c you can’t do both at the same time. My goal is to try my best to do that and to not let my foot issues steal my joy!

I am also very nervous about Ireland and the travel and all associated with it but I read a blog post this week about traveling when pregnant and the blogger talked about how she was super sick when traveling and pregnant and that she just decided in her mind to ENJOY the trip. So that’s another goal: just decide to ENJOY it. Yes I’m nervous about the flight. Yes I’m mega sad about being away from the kids that long. BUT it’s IRELAND. I am so, so blessed and need to appreciate that more and suck it up and ENJOY IT 🙂 

With my back pain and feeling like I’ve just been overdoing it I haven’t done ANY Bradley stuff but I KNOW by doing it it will HELP so I need to get back on the wagon 🙂

Belly Pictures: We took these before I went to Wild Adventures so I’m rocking the animal print and comfy clothes 🙂 You can order some belly stickers for yourself (and they make a GREAT gift!) here! 

Past Pregnancies: You can see my post from my 24th week with Britt here! Man! I wish Kelly wasn’t pregnant at the same time as me so I could borrow those jean shorts again 😉 Interesting that the sweet tooth cravings were starting to set in and that I felt like I needed to start asking Zach to help more. I feel that way this time too. Right now majority of the house is a WRECK b/c I simply want to conserve my bending over and I’ve wanted to focus my energy on enjoying the kids rather than cleaning. I feel bad asking him to do more, just like I did last pregnancy. But also, just like last pregnancy, I feel like he’ll have to do more with a third baby anyways (I mean we BOTH will obviously!). My belly is not itchy this time like it was my first pregnancy. Maybe it’s just a first timer thing? You can really see a GREAT comparison of which pregnancy I’m favoring more because I posted belly pics from my first pregnancy! You can see them here 🙂 

So which pregnancy do you think I am favoring the most?!?! I wish I’d worn a more form fitting outfit in my first pregnancy as well as this current one so you could see a TRUE comparison! I personally think I am favoring Kye’s more…when I look in the mirror my belly is JUST like it was with him but I’m not sure if you can see that in these pictures? From the side view my belly looks higher than Britt’s pregnancy but lower than Kye’s!