Little One: 27 weeks

in Little One, Pregnancy

I blink, and it’s suddenly been over a month since I did a pregnancy update. 

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I think my lack of updates is mostly due to the only things I can think to say are:  I am pregnant.  I am getting bigger and bigger.  The number of weeks I have left are getting smaller and smaller.  I am alternating between total peace and freaking the eff out.  Hah.

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I’m just kidding – I actually feel much more wordy than that.  It’s just that time feels super accelerated this pregnancy.  The days slip by so quickly – I feel like it will be December 1 before I know it.

 

How am I feeling?  Well – bigger and bigger.  The scale at the doctor’s said I’m up about 29 pounds, which is 8 more than I was with Henry at this stage.  I don’t know how that happened (well, I guess I do…).  My doctor and midwife don’t seem concerned about it, so I’m not, either.  But I do have to say that the faster gain makes me feel way more pregnant than I actually am.  Clothes I expected to still fit don’t.  I broke a bra the other day (true story).  Carrying Henry up the stairs feels like I’m scaling a mountain (I seriously LOLed when I read a recommendation that pregnant women stop carrying heavy objects – I have a toddler!).  The bump is tight and firm, and my back aches all the time.  Basically – I feel like I’m in every single inch of the third trimester.  Which I guess I am officially in now!  WAHOO!

 

Per the usual, I’m going to do the rest of the update in bullet point format because I have so many random things to touch on!

 

This time last round, I wrote about encapsulating my placenta.  I’m still planning on doing it this time – I just booked my appointment!  I’m sure half of the people reading this think it’s totally gross, but I’m super excited to see this baby’s placenta and compare it to Henry’s.  That’s weird, isn’t it?  Hah.

 

Henry starts ‘preschool’ tomorrow.  I am so excited.  I am so nervous.  This is a huge step in preparing our family for the addition of Number Two, so I hope it goes well.  Fingers crossed.

 

Henry is out of the nursery and into his big kid room.  I’ve slowly started to call the nursery “the new baby’s room.”  Henry seems cool with it.  He definitely understands that there’s a baby in my belly, but we’ve been talking about it for so long that he probably thinks the kiddo is never going to actually come out.

 

Boy or Girl Predictions – Henry only refers to the bump as “Baby Sister,” which I think is interesting considering I always say “baby brother OR baby sister.”  Everyone else thinks it’s a girl, too.  I still have no idea.  If I lean in any direction, I think it’s another boy.

 

Names – We officially had names picked back in June, but I continue to waffle on the boy’s name.  Boy names are SO FREAKING HARD.  We have one traditional boy name and one slightly less traditional name.  I’m a pretty traditional namer so the untraditional one feels slightly strange to me, even though I really like it.  We shall see! 

 

I’ve began to make a list of things we need to buy.  My list so far includes:  a babywearing carrier (any thoughts? I want something that can be forward and rear facing); another infant car seat base (we only had one car last time); swaddles (again, recommendations? I didn’t really swaddle with Henry but I plan to this time around); newborn winter clothes; and other odds and ends.  A friend offered to loan me a bassinet – wahoo!

 

Still working out – kind of.  I try to move every day, but it’s been 5 out of 7 days lately and it’s getting slower and slower.  I either walk, walk/run, or do some cardio at the gym.  I was really into yoga a few weeks back, but I kind of hit the wall with the non-prenatal classes – they were simply getting too hard.  I’m making it a goal to swim more!

 

Speaking of this – I’m really looking forward to trying PiYo workouts after the baby arrives and I recover.  PiYo is my grand plan for fitness with a newborn in the winter.  And then I wanna do a triathlon!  I missed tris so much this summer.

 

I feel like I’ve forgotten everything about what I did in the last trimester with Henry (like, I have all these ‘new’ questions about Primose Oil, Raspberry Leaf Tea, kegels, how I’m supposed to be sitting on the couch).  I wish we could’ve re-done the Bradley Method classes – it’s really nice to discuss childbirth with a professional guide every week.  I kind of feel like I’m at a loss right now.  Advice from other mommas who have been there, done that with these types of things?  I think the Raspberry Leaf Tea really helped me.

 

I’ve recently realized that the #1 lesson of parenting that I learned over the last two years is:  NOTHING LASTS FOREVER.  In good ways and bad.  We’re pretty sure that we’re done after two kids, so we’ve been talking a lot about how we’ll try extra hard to cherish the sweet newborn moments with this baby.  And I think this is going to make the sleepless nights easier, too – just knowing that it won’t go on forever.  With Henry, I remember thinking at 6 weeks that I was NEVER GOING TO SLEEP AGAIN.  That the newborn phase would NEVER END.  But you know what? It does… and then you kind of miss it (or a least parts of it!).

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(Henry photobomb!)

 

In the Oven {Again} (Announcement Post)

First Trimester Recap

17 weeks

22 weeks

Things I Learned About Having a Newborn

Our Drug-Free Birth Plan

 

Your turn!  If you’re pregnant or just had a baby, give me an update (I love hearing your news!)

{ 69 comments }

Water Babies

in All Posts

I truly, truly need to spend more time in the pool.

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I’m 27 weeks pregnant today and definitely slowing down.  I can feel every single oomph of my weight gain when I try to do any impact exercise.  Being buoyant in the pool feels niceeeee.  And, as always, I love that whole-body-workout feeling.  From the tips of my fingers to the bottom of my feet – I can feel the burn!

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Always so proud to rock my Half Ironman swim cap – I hope it never rips.  It’s probably the only one that I’ll ever receive, after all!  Hah. 

 

I did a grand total of 800 yards – I hope to get back up to 1000 soon but wanted to take it easy since I haven’t been in the pool in weeks.  Afterwards, the whole family went swimming!  Henry had fun.  I wish I had taken him to the pool more this year… It closes next weekend.  Very sad.  

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WHERE DID THE SUMMER GO?!

 

The rest of our Sunday was spent assembling this sweet new Thomas the Tank Engine track.  It’s pretty glorious.

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And eating great food, such as:

 

Super spinach-y eggs.

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Grilled cheese with tomatoes:

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Sea salt and chocolate covered almonds:

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Homemade sunflower butter rice krispy treats with vanilla Greek yogurt (HOLY HELL!!!):

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And black bean stir fry:

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Among other delicious things.

 

Thought of the Day:

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Have a wonderful Monday!!

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Labor Day Relaxin’

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Happy Holiday Weekend!

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The Husband and I got to go on a little date this afternoon – Henry had a playdate at a friend’s house.  A midday treat for Mom and Dad!  We made a frightening amount of plans for ourselves – we packed socks for bowling, bathing suits for swimming, a gift card for shopping, and knew we wanted to try a new restaurant.  Hah!  We were clearly excited…

 

And then we ended up doing just lunch – and it was perfect.  We got sucked into the patio scene after our meal and soaked up the last bits of summer heat.  I don’t think either of us minded the slow pace.

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Actually, we were outside long enough that I felt compelled to slather my entire body in sunscreen.  Diaper bag sunscreen for the win!

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Our meal was at an awesome new-to-us restaurant called Maverick Rock Taco.  I can’t say enough good things about this place – they had a really interesting Mexican menu with tons of appealing and unusual vegetarian dishes.

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I got the beet tacos – they were ballin’.

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With a side of Mexican street corn covered in spicy adobe sauce.

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And let there be flan!

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I’m already plotting our return to this restaurant… It was so good – I can’t believe such a gem was right under our nose this whole time.

 

We’re filling the rest of our weekend with more downtime and more college football.  <3  Hope you have a relaxing holiday weekend, too!

{ 6 comments }

For 30 More

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A guest post from Katharine at From A to Pink that is truly worth reading.

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I’m about to turn 30. Big deal, right? A lot of people reach that age, maybe throw a party, maybe complain about getting older, and move on. But for me, 30 is anything but just another birthday.

 

You see, at 16 years old I was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis (CF), a genetic disease affecting approximately 30,000 people in the U.S. for which there is no cure. 

 

When I was born in 1984, the life expectancy was just 25 years old.

 

Even 13 years later, I’m still a long way from fully dealing with what it means to have this disease and the implications it has on my future. The hardest part has been managing the disease as an adult. With 2+ hours a day of treatments, constant doctor’s appointments, and a lot of unanswered questions, it takes its toll – both physically and emotionally.

 

But I am so very lucky. This year my husband and I will celebrate our second wedding anniversary, I have a job I love, and I am surrounded by fabulous friends and family.

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I have hopes and dreams and goals, just like anyone else… and while I’m doing all I can to make those happen, the what ifs are always there.  What if I never have children? What if I do but I don’t live to see them grow up? What if I don’t have the chance to finish out my career? What if I don’t get to grow old with my husband?

 

Over the past few years there’s been astounding progress in treatments for cystic fibrosis. The life expectancy has risen to just over 40 years old, and there are all sorts of exciting developments on the horizon that will not only improve the quality of life for CF patients, but continue to extend it. These advancements have allowed me to reach milestones that so many CF patients before me didn’t get to. But we still have a long way to go.

 

My greatest hope is that one day there will be no CF diagnosis to give. That no one – parents, children, adults – will have to wonder what a future with CF looks like.

 

That’s why I have a pretty big birthday wish: In celebration of turning 30, I’m hosting an online fundraiser called For 30 More, where I hope to raise $15,000 in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and their life-saving research.

 

What does For 30 More mean? It means 30 more years of…

 

dates with my husband…

books to devour…

successes in my career…

vacations to places near and far…

holidays with my family…

meals to enjoy…

drinks with my girlfriends…

For more life. Things big and small. For ALL people with CF.

 

Your donation to support For 30 More would mean the world to me, and no amount is too small. Even if it’s just giving up your morning coffee this week – every bit counts in making a difference for those living with CF.

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Thank you from the bottom of my heart for letting me tell my story, and for joining me in this fight!

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I love, love, love pop music and feel like the radio is currently jammed with so many hits! Lots and lots of great workout tunes.

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Henry especially loves Boom Clap and even knows some of the chorus (I love that song because it feels circa 1993 – doesn’t it?).

 

Anyway – these tunes provided the perfect background as I busted out this very fun gym workout last night.  I felt incapable of doing anything for a long time but wanted a varied, challenging workout.  This was (practically) perfect:

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I say practically perfect because I only made it through one round of the lunges, push-ups, and planks.  I caught a few gym goers giving me a “WTF are you doing? Go lay down, pregnant lady” look.  Hah.  I guess I looked tired.  Not going to lie – this was one of the hardest workouts that I have done in a LONG time.  And I felt really good after!  Just pretty damn tired.

 

Should You Run Today?

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Hahaha – I died of laughter while taking this really fun and quick “Should You Run Today?” quiz from RunnersWorld.com.  By the way – my answer was “yes.”  So I ran.

 

NatureBox Winners

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The winners of the NatureBox giveaway were Alexa and Ruhi.  Both have been e-mailed.  Thanks to everyone who entered and remember – if you want to just go ahead and try NatureBox yourself, use the code HTP50to get 50% off your first box.

 

Random Thoughts

 

Does anyone else feel that their bangs grow faster than the rest of their hair?  And the nails on one hand grow faster than the left?

Did any moms notice that they got the linea nigra with one kid and not the other? I haven’t gotten mine yet and it was wicked dark when I was pregnant with Henry.

We had our carpets professionally cleaned yesterday. I didn’t realize how gross they were until they were cleaned.  I hate carpet.

Speaking of floors, what do you think is the best way to clean hardwood floors? I’ve been using the Make Your Own Swiffer Pads thing for a while but I alternate with plain water. I kind of just want to try something new.

Most people make crappy fruit salads.  Here’s how to make a good one.

I am really looking forward to the Fall – we’ve had a few days of cooler weather here (think, like, 70s instead of 90s) and it is glorious.  I am also looking forward: pumpkin flavors and Halloween.

THIS:

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Healthy Tipping Point