14 weeks through 19 weeks

I've had quite a few people mention comparisons between my weekly photos.  This was what was on my desktop.  Enjoy seeing a beer belly grow.

19 weeks

Oh my gosh.  This is my halfway point.  19 weeks is my halfway point.  I haven't made it to 40 weeks yet so this is my halfway point.  Holy crap.  How is this pregnancy half done already?  I'm not ready.  I'm not ready to be a mom of 3.  I will be, don't get me wrong, but I'm not ready right now.  This halfway business freaks me out. 

Next week is my ultrasound and I can't WAIT to see my baby.  I can't wait to see him/her moving around and see his/her little face and hands and feet.  To see that little heartbeat bomp, bomp, bomping and see the 4 chambers.  I can't wait to NOT see the sex of the baby.  Well, hopefully.  I'm always scared baby will be legs spread right when the doc puts the sonar thing on my belly and that would ruin it.  So far we have been lucky.  In my opinion, there just isn't anything like the moment where not only do you get to meet your baby for the first time but you also get to finally see if it's a boy or a girl.  I think it gives you a little extra push to help get through labor.  I plan on laboring naturally this time so I'm sure that will help keep me going.

This week has been relatively normal.  My hormones have been much more tamed down and a result my mood swings much more manageable.  I think everyone in the family appreciates that. 

Cookie is very active.  S/he is either doing nothing, or in high gear kicking and swirling around in there.  S/he better enjoy the room now because it will only get more crowded.  The little stubborn bugger though won't move when a hand in on my belly.  I'm pretty sure the kicks are strong enough to feel from the outside now but every time baby is in a kicking mood, the second I put my hand or Max's hand on my belly the baby stops.  S/he will not move at all until the hand is removed.  This could be 5 minutes or I have been still like that for 20.  Right when the hand moves though it's back to party time.

We knocked one big "to-do" off the list this week which lifts a big weight off my shoulders.  We still need to get a bunk bed and another twin mattress before Cookie comes.  Simon can't be sleeping in the crib with the baby now can he!  Dexter will get kicked out of his bed into the top bunk, Simon will get kicked out of his crib into the bottom bunk (well secured though with bed rails) and then baby will have the crib.  I'm not worried at all about how Dex will do on the top bunk.  He climbs the ladders on the swing set just fine.  I am worried at how Simon will do with the freedom to get on and off his bed.  Dex switched over like a champion at 18 months when I was 7 months pregnant with Simon.  Didn't even change his sleeping habits.  I hope it's the same for Simon.  How lucky can two parents get though?

Ridiculous

So last night we ended up having an impromptu birthday party for Max.  His mom came over and his sister Ken with her other half David and the kiddos.  They brought b-day cake for us all to enjoy.

Max and I got into a debate on whether the icing was whipped or not.  I don't like sugar frosting so I knew it wasn't that so I said it was whipped.  Max said it wasn't.  On the argument.  Not argument, that's not correct.  More like bickering.  Our bickering continued until my hormones couldn't take it and I said "who the heck cares".  Over freaking icing.  Max always has to win though.

Either way, I woke up to this:

I don't know where he got it but he found the missing label that clearly said "buttercream frosting". 

I text Max.

J: A. You are ridiculous.  B.  I guess neither of us were right since it's not whipped or sugar frosting.
M:  A. I know.  B.  I was not wrong, I said it was NOT whipped.
J: Remind me why I married you?
M: No need.

Oy vey.  I don't know what I'll do if my kiddos inherit this stubborn gene of Mr. Max!

18 weeks

This week has been better than last week.  My hormones have been much more manageable and my moods much more... predictable.  Poor Max.  We were talking about it the other night and even Max had to agree that I have been much more moody this time around.  Of course I had mood swings and hormone episodes when I was pregnant with Dexter and Simon but nothing compared to what this little baby is producing this time around.  If I didn't know any better I would say it was a girl in there causing all this havoc.  Only a girl causes so much drama :) 

I am starving all the time now.  I need to eat at least 4 times a day with a snack to keep my stomach from being in a constant growl mode.  This is a difficult task seeing as I take care of 5 kids aged 3 and under all day long.  I have to steal bites here and there without any of them knowing because heaven forbid any of them see me eating when they are not.  There is hell to pay when that happens.  I'm not digging the veggies and have been trying to eat fruit but since I don't like most fruit that is tough.  We go through a lot of apples and bananas right now.  Max bugs me all the time that I'm not eating enough vegetables.  I have to agree to a point but he eats like 2 pounds of veggies in a day and I'm not about to copy that.  Forget about it.

I can feel the baby rolling around in there now.  At first it was just the flutters, the little butterfly wings or bubbles.  Then it moved on to distinct kicks and little pops where baby was stretching or just moving around and now I can definitely feel rolling.  The baby won't kick or anything but when s/he changes position I can feel the roll of baby shifting.  It's nice to feel this constant reminder that Cookie is healthy and growing.  I know a lot of first time mom's don't even feel their little ones until now or even later.  I didn't feel Dexter for the first time until 18 weeks.

Slight insomnia has kicked in.  I have to remind myself that this is phase that I encountered with each of my pregnancies and it will go away.  Technically, normal people could function just fine of my amount of sleep I get every night but pregnant me (especially pregnant daycare provider me) needs much more sleep.  I got lucky one night and was able to fall asleep around 10 but now I'm so far behind on sleep I walk around with my eyes burning. 

We still haven't completely nailed down names yet.  We have the girl name, thank goodness and we have a pretty good pick for the boy but haven't finalized it.  I guess it just needs more time to brew.  Hopefully we can get it finalized within 2 weeks because my goal was to have the names picked out before my ultrasound which is a little over 2 weeks away. 

TWO WEEKS.  I am halfway done with this pregnancy already in TWO WEEKS.  Actually, if you average out my other pregnancies next week is more like the middle point for me.  I had Dex at 38 weeks 2 days and Simon at exactly 39 weeks.  This is the fastest pregnancy on planet earth.

FYI- my belly looks smaller this week because for once I didn't take the photo right after dinner.  Seriously, food makes my stomach ginormous.

17 weeks

We will sum this week up as a hormonal roller coaster.  My moods have been coming in crashing waves.  From high to low we have experienced them all and it is no fun.  No fun for the hubs, no fun for me and I'm sure no fun for the kids as my patience is gone much quicker.  I am not used to this.  I am a very level-headed person.  I don't know how some women are naturally like this.  How do they deal?  Yuck.  I want the old me back. 

The baby's kicks have gone from feeling like the little bubbles or butterfly wings to distinct kicks.  They are faint but they are there.  I love to think of Cookie's little legs stretching or lashing out in irritation when I'm bending over and making his/her space smaller.  I'm excited for those kicks to get stronger, at least enough so that Max can feel from the outside.  I think I can wait for the end when the baby is super strong and it hurts. 

Otherwise nothing new to report.  Hormones have taken over my brain and have turned me into someone with multiple personalities.  Watch what you say.  Watch what you do. The hormones are always listening and they are always watching.

16 weeks

Lovely picture.  I know.  Max is in Vegas so I had to set up the tripod and figure out positioning all by my lonesome.  My sons were no help at all.  So this is like take 5 and I'm kind of cranky and so you get this face.  If I can deal, so can you.

This was a slightly eventful week.  I had my doctor appointment this past Monday.  Cookie sounded very healthy and had a heartbeat at 153.  Little bugger was super active though and only would stay in one spot for about 3 seconds before you could hear the heartbeat fade away.  Then the doc would have to search for him/her again. I wonder if this is a preview of how active the baby will be once s/he is moving around. 

Other than that everything else checked out ok.  This was my first visit in the office so it was my initial OB appointment.  I had to have the regular tests done plus a couple extra since I am contemplating a water birth this time.  I really want to go all natural when I give birth to Cookie and I have heard a water birth is really helpful in dealing with the pain so why not.  I love baths.  Why not be in extreme pain while in a nice "relaxing" tub?

I also had to have my thyroid tested since I am experiencing hot flashes.  It is almost embarrassing to type that.  It makes me feel like I am in menopause which isn't embarrassing at all.  It is ridiculous to be embarrassed about that.  I am pregnant and it screws up your body.  Anyway, this is the first pregnancy I am experiencing hot flashes so doc just wanted to be sure everything was copacetic. I actually haven't gotten the result back yet.  Hmm, I was supposed to hear back within 24 hours.  I'll have to call on Tuesday.  I'm sure if something was really wrong they would call, right?  Dog gone it.

I'm disappointed by my weight gain.  I gained 59 pounds while pregnant with Dexter and 55 pounds while pregnant with Simon.  That's a LOT.  I didn't watch what I ate while pregnant with Dexter and so when I was pregnant with Simon I ate much more carefully.  Obviously it did nothing as I still gained that much weight.  I have been trying to be really mindful of what I am eating this time so I don't gain so much.  I thought I was doing extremely well but the scale said differently.  I am in no way going to tell you how much I have gained thus far but just know it's too much. 

Heartburn has also kicked in already.  The other night I was drinking water before bed and that gave me heartburn.  It's always so annoying when something like water gives you heartburn.  I don't get it all the time like you do at the end but it's started.  It's never started this early before.  What the heck. 

I had a scare the other night.  I woke up around 1am to some cramping.  It was coming in regular intervals and I got terrified that something was wrong with the baby.  I downed two giant bottles of water and laid on my side.  I know if you are dehydrated it can bring on contractions.  After 45 minutes or so it finally subsided, thank goodness.  It always amazes me how much you can love someone you have never met.  Nothing like a night like that to remind you how much you love the little miracle growing inside of you. 

15 weeks

It happened!  I felt little Cookie move.  The first time was on Sunday.  Technically it was when we were leaving the cabin and I was scolding Dexter for something, who knows what.  I was giving him the "I mean business" look and I felt that familiar flutter.  Of course, it was easy to pass off as something else especially since I was in the  midst of some stern parenting but on the way home I felt him/her again right where my seat belt was digging into my belly.  Cookie must not have liked how tight it was.  What a wonderful feeling.  I know what it feels like of course as I have had two kids already but to feel it again after so long, oh divine.  A real reminder that there is a miracle growing inside of me.  A whole brand new person, a mix of Max and I with a personality to be discovered growing and physically proving s/he is in there.  I can't get over it.  I just love it. 

I have felt Cookie several times since then.  Not every day and not often but still, sometimes.  That is enough for me.  I know that soon I will start to feel the baby all the time and near the end it will actually get painful at times but for now it is enough.  I remember at the end with Simon, it felt like he would take his heel and bump it along all the ribs he could reach like a xylophone.  That hurt.

Other than that not too much new has happened.  It seems like the tiredness is finally wearing off.  I have stayed up until 10 several times this week.  I know, crazy!  I still need a little rest time in the afternoon when the kids go down for a nap but at least it's not so bad.  Good timing too because in a week I have two more kids starting in daycare and I will need my energy!

Max and I have not gotten too far with our baby names.  Well, we have the girls name nailed down but girls names are always easy.  The boys name, well, not so easy.  I have a deadline for us of 20 weeks.  This sounds ridiculous I'm sure but Max is an excellent judge of how people react to things so he correctly identified the sex of both Dexter and Simon by just reading the signs the doctor gave us while performing our 20 week ultrasound.  This might sound like a load of bologna to you but seriously, the kid is good.  I have absolutely NO desire to even have an inkling of what this baby is so aside from barring Max from the appointment, I told him he is not allowed to share his opinion with anyone, will write his guess down on a piece of paper which I will put away until after Cookie is born (then I can see if he was right again) and we have to have the names picked out.  I want no mind games going on thinking Max is just compromising on a name because he knows the baby is actually the opposite sex.  Nope.  So, we have 5 weeks.  I have the appointment scheduled and that is our deadline.  Hopefully we make it.  So far, it isn't going well.

You guys should see how big my stomach gets after I eat dinner.  Last night Max was chuckling at me and said, "You easily look like you could be 6 months pregnant right now".  It's ridiculous!  I like having a baby belly but this is making me feel like I will be so huge by the end that I will be stuck on the couch like a beached whale.

Now, I am no spring chicken.  I have been through this twice now so I don't need to hear any "you think you are big now!" stories.  I know I will get bigger.  I know I will get huge.  I know that my feet are going to swell and will fit into no shoes.  This is concerning this time around since I am due in February.  I was able to deal with flip flops for both my July baby and my October baby.  I don't think flip flops will fly for a February baby.

FYI- My pictures lately have not been good... I realize this.  I keep forgetting to see if there is a smudge mark on my lens and that's why the photos have been blurry.  Either that or Max has really forgotten his photo skills I taught him :)