The Baby Boy Without a Name (Theo Shepherd's Birth Story)

Remember when I was 38 weeks pregnant and I posted how we still hadn't pinned down a name for our little boy and how we'd better figure it out before we arrived at the hospital because we're not like those people who can just wait to see our son and know his name? Well God has a huge sense of humor and wanted to keep us on our toes because that's exactly what happened. I mean we were driving to the hospital exclaiming to one another, "what's his name?!" We were still mulling over it between contractions. We continued to repeat our options over and over after he was born and nothing sounded right. One of us would say "I think it's ____" and the other would say "but I like ____" and it'd go back and forth like that all the way up until we finally arrived at Theo Shepherd 12 hours after he came into this world!

It all started on Thursday, the 16th. Up until this day Juice Drop's back had favored my right side, which according to spinningbabies.com is not an optimal birthing position. I should know because Anna was not in the optimal birthing position and I didn't want to have another labor and delivery like hers! He was on his way to giving me another back labor so all week I had been doing exercises to help him flip. The evening of the 16th we went to a friend's art show fundraiser. While there I started having contractions pretty frequently. Nothing too consistent yet and no pain but I knew they were different than regular braxton hicks. He also felt different. I felt his back on my left side! We walked around the show, admiring all the beautiful art, talking to friends, and every now and then I could feel a contraction come on, and every time I thought this could be the start of something. As we left I told Travis what was going on and he insisted that the baby stay inside of me until we come up with a name. I said, "yeah, ok, I'll let baby boy know". I got through the night still having contractions but again no pain and they were about 10 minutes apart. The next day I had my midwife appointment. I was hoping she'd confirm that he was in the right position and I was also hoping she'd say I was in the early stages of labor because I was still having contractions. Well double bonus, Juice Drop was in the optimal birthing position and I was dilated 3 cm! Being the on-call midwife she said she'd be surprised if she didn't see me back that weekend! Woo HOO! We started letting family and friends who were on standby to watch Anna know things could happen pretty quickly since my contractions were picking up speed after I got home. (Side note: we soon discovered that this would be the worst weekend to have a baby. Travis' mom who was planning on coming down as soon as we told her I was in labor said she couldn't arrive until Sunday--it was Friday. Our friend who lives in our neighborhood who was on standby for a middle-of-the-night trip to the hospital was out of town. Thankfully our dear friend Susan offered to watch Anna for most of the weekend but was unavailable for a few hours on Saturday, along with everyone else! We finally found a family we were just getting to know (so Anna didn't know them) to watch her for those few hours--we were making phone calls just an hour after Theo came and thankfully was able to find this gracious family! We were starting to realize the joys and challenges of having more than one child!)

Later that evening, on the 17th, my contractions started to get more frequent, 5-7 minutes apart. I decided I didn't want to make dinner so we went out for pizza. The whole evening I caught myself staring at Anna. I just knew this was going to be our last night as a family of three. I tried to cherish every moment with her that night. As we went through her bedtime routine we made sure to take pictures and video of her kissing my tummy and talking to her baby brother. We let her know how proud of her we are and how excited we are for her to be a big sister. I continued counting contractions and they got to be 3-5 minutes apart but still no pain. I asked my friend of five children her advice and she said she'd call the midwife if she were me because if she would've waited until her contractions were painful she'd have had 2 of her 5 kids at home! Well I definitely didn't want to have an unplanned home birth, nor did Travis want to deliver our baby so I called my midwife. She told me to come on in! After Susan arrived 15 minutes later we were off to the hospital, still without a name for our son.

After being admitted and getting settled into our room, my midwife checked me. I was hoping she'd say I had progressed to at least 6 cm...but I was barely 4. Well, shoot. I was afraid she was going to send me back home since my contractions didn't hurt either but instead she told me to walk around and try to get something started. I walked for a bit, we put on the movie "Brave" to try and pass the time, and I told Travis he might as well get some sleep since I knew we'd be there for a while and at that time I didn't need him. Around midnight I finally started feeling the contractions. They still weren't too painful. A nurse came to check shortly after and told me I was 9 cm dilated!! We got so excited! Only one more cm to go and my contractions weren't too bad! ... However, my bubble was soon deflated because my midwife checked me just 5 minutes later and she said I was closer to 7. Well shoot (again). She decided to break my water (which I still don't understand why since I was progressing fairly well and my contractions weren't terrible so why couldn't we just keep it that way because as soon as my water broke all hell broke lose!) But seriously, it was like night and day how different my contractions became. And I wasn't ready for them. I figured since he was in the optimal birthing position the pain was going to be more manageable than the contractions I had with Anna. I was wrong. It was difficult for me to focus, relax, and breath like I needed to, and they were coming so fast and strong that some weren't even a minute apart. I didn't even have time to rest. Unfortunately during this labor I didn't want anyone to touch me. With Anna's I needed Travis to push his fist into my back with every contraction and hold my hand with his other. This time Travis felt helpless. At one point I told Travis I didn't think I could make it to 10 cm without relief. I felt so exhausted and I couldn't imagine having to go through another contraction. After slapping me and yelling "get your act together!"--no just kidding ;) he told me I could do this, I was so close, and encouraged me to breath correctly. Up to that point I wasn't breathing how I had learned, and after he reminded me of this it was like a totally different labor. The pain definitely didn't go away but it was more manageable.

Finally, a little before 7:30 am, I felt pressure and asked the nurse to check me. She told me I had a little bit of cervix left but I could try to push through it. Hallelujah! I got myself into the position I wanted to push and within 3 contractions we met our baby boy! He was out and on my chest by 7:44 with me exclaiming, "I love him so much!" and he still without a name. I was hoping as soon as I saw him I would just know his name. However, that didn't happen. And it didn't happen for Travis either.

 

 

We decided to give ourselves a deadline. By 7 pm that evening we needed to decide on a name. So for the next several hours we repeated our options. We had two names we were mulling over and both had different middle names to go along with them. We would stare down at him and say "are you a _____? or a ______?" We would switch up the first names with the middle names and see if those worked too. And then right before 7 o'clock something clicked. We decided on the name we originally had chosen for him all along (since before I was pregnant) with the middle name that Travis thought of just a few weeks before. It wasn't like we hadn't tried these two names together before but in that moment it was like "Yes, this is it! This is his name!" We finally had a name for our precious baby boy: Theo Shepherd. The name just fit him perfectly. He even looks like a Theo Shepherd. The meaning of names means a lot to us and we pray that as he grows his name will become more than just a title, it'll become who he is in Christ. Theo, a divine gift--that he is. Shepherd, a guide and protector--our prayer is that he is a guide and protector to all those around him and he will lead the lost to Jesus just as Jesus, our ultimate Shepherd, leads us to our Heavenly Father.

It's been almost three months since Theo entered the world. Every day I fall more and more in love with this sweet boy. His contagious smile, his precious coos, his sweet smell, I can't get over him. His personality is starting to shine through and I'm realizing the name we picked for him is just perfect.

What's in a name, really?

It's been our trend to keep our lips sealed when it comes to naming our children. Anna Jubilee was kept a secret until she arrived and so will this little guy's. Anna's name was easy, it was picked out long before I even knew I was having a girl. However, this time around it's much more difficult. Boy names are hard! We didn't have a name picked if Anna was a boy. And this time we've been back and forth between two. We had one name for a while; the second name wasn't even a question until one day it was. And now weeks or maybe even days before our sweet baby boy arrives we still have yet to pin down which name we're going to go with! If you know anything about Travis and me then you know this just won't work. We can't go to the hospital still in doubt. We can't wait until he comes out of me and see what he looks like before we decide. We're not those kind of people. And it's stressing both of us out! We keep asking ourselves which name we'd regret the most if we decided not to use "that" name and we can't even decide on that! Maybe this wouldn't be so difficult if we knew for sure we want more children but two may be it for the Joneses. We want to meet our little guy with everything in our hearts but not knowing his name is making it ok that he still isn't here just yet. 

He's definitely bigger than this pumpkin but we didn't have anything larger and
I couldn't resist not including one this week!

How far along? 38 Weeks and 2 Days 

How big is baby? the size of a pumpkin--how fitting for this month! He may have an inch of hair already, which if the old wive's tale about the more heartburn the more hair then I believe it!

Total weight gain: 38 pounds

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, leggings, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: I'm not holding my breath that'll it get any better until after baby boy is like 6 months old and is sleeping through the night. 

Best moment this week: spending the weekend at Lake Norman with my loves and good friends. It was the perfect relaxing way to spend one of our final weekends before Juice Drop arrives. 

Miss Anything? I know I say this every other week but again it's wine. 

Movement: still quite a bit and I realized why. Juice Drop is pretty much posterior (not an optimal birthing position) and so I feel a lot of his kicks and punches still. This is making me nervous since Anna was posterior and I had horrible back labor and it was very long. I was really hoping Juice Drop's labor would be different. Here's to being on my hands and knees for the next few weeks in order to encourage him to flip!

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: braxton hicks, pelvic pressure

Symptoms: I've started to waddle! contractions, peeing all the time, tired, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: a big bowl of the salted caramel gelato I got at Trader Joe's today. Told you I've been craving junk! But it's from Trader Joe's so it's healthy, right? ;)

So Close Yet So Far Away

A part of me was really hoping I'd be holding a baby in my arms by now. It's still a little early but since Saturday it's been a-okay for baby boy to come, and after last week's scare and my week of scrambling to get everything ready for him I couldn't be more excited! Every contraction, every cramp and pelvic pressure makes me wonder if this is it. However, according to my midwife at last Friday's appointment, I've made no progress. I'm still at 1.5 cm and apparently my cervix is really far back. Which I guess really means nothing because it could all change in a matter of minutes. She said I could go to my due date but she'd be surprised if I did--again, what does she really know? Juice Drop could come tomorrow or not for another 5 weeks! Oh the anticipation is killing me!

Hopefully spending evenings at the park can continue but if not we've got
these memories of running through the field, throwing rocks, and finding fish.

I'm also trying to savor these last few weeks (or days) with just the three of us--like we did just the two of us before Anna came along. I'm trying not to look too far ahead and just live in the moment. I'm enjoying the routines we have before it all gets out of whack by the arrival of a newborn. I'm cherishing the extra cuddle time because Anna is super clingy lately--I think she is starting to suspect something big is about to happen because she is never clingy or cuddly! I'm appreciating the fact that it's easy (or easier) to be out and about with just one child before I'm never going to want to go out in public with a toddler and newborn. It's all about to change and I'm just enjoying what we've got going on now so when baby boy finally does come we can have no regrets with how we spent the last few weeks before he became apart of our little family.

How far along? 37 Weeks and 3 Days 

How big is baby? the size of a winter melon and he's practicing perfecting his skills of inhaling, exhaling, sucking, griping, and blinking.

Total weight gain: 38 pounds--how has this happened?! How have I gained almost 40 pounds and feel smaller this time around than I did with Anna?! 

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, leggings, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: as good as it can be when you're full term and have a huge belly in the way. Still getting up every few hours to pee. 

Best moment this week: spending time with just the three of us this weekend, playing at the park, going to the farmers market to buy mums, pumpkins, and peaches, and soaking up the sun before it gets too cold.

Miss Anything? feeling not pregnant

Movement: still quite a bit

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: braxton hicks, pelvic pressure

Symptoms: I've started to waddle! contractions, peeing all the time, tired, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: a weekend at the lake! If Juice Drop doesn't decide to come before then. Hopefully he doesn't decide to come while we're there either!!

Juice Drop's Attempt at an Early Arrival

So we had a bit of a scare really early Monday morning--as in it was just past midnight when I awoke to contractions. I thought I was waking up to do my usual nightly ritual of going to the bathroom at least 5 times but after I went I could not fall back asleep. I noticed I was having contractions every few minutes and finally I started timing them. Yep, every 4-5 minutes. After an hour I had 11 contractions. I started debating with myself if I should call my midwife. I really didn't want to but nothing seemed to be making them stop--changing positions (I was already lying down), drinking water, getting up to use the bathroom again. So after another half hour of regular contractions and moving downstairs to the couch I decided to call my midwife. She said she'd rather be safe than sorry and wanted me to come in to be put on an IV and a sedatives. So back upstairs I go to wake up Travis and tell him we have to go to the hospital. At this time it was 2:30 am and we knew we had to wake up our friend, coworker, and neighbor, Luke to see if he could come sit with Anna. We started packing our bags knowing there could be a chance we'd be bringing home a baby in a few days. I hadn't even started packing my hospital bag yet so I ended up forgetting a lot of things considering it was the middle of the night and I was a little flustered. We didn't even put the carseat in the car. We figured Travis or somebody could grab it for us if Juice Drop really did decide to come. After a phone call and several knocks on Luke's door he graciously came to sit with Anna. On the way to the hospital I just kept thinking, "He can't come today! He just can't! I have a baby shower tonight and we have an amazing date planned for tomorrow to see the musical Once". I was almost a little upset at the guy. "you better stay right where you are, mister!"

We arrived at the hospital just ahead of another woman who was actually in labor. She sat in her wheelchair and looked like she was in such pain as I walked to the front desk with a smile on my face--my contractions were indeed still regularly coming every 4-5 minutes but I hadn't had any pain with them. After being placed in our room my midwife came to check on me. 1 cm dilated, 70% effaced, -1 station. She said if I was dilated anymore than that then I may have had a baby later that day but since I wasn't they went ahead and put an IV with sedatives in me. As soon as that sedative went through my blood stream I felt so weird. I felt heavy, the room started spinning, and I couldn't move. Even though I felt like I could sleep forever on that stuff we were still in a hospital with beeping noises, our beautiful baby's heartbeat in the background, nurses coming to check on me, and I still had to pee every hour like usual. Travis tried to sleep too but those little couches just aren't like the comforts of your own bed. Around 8 am my midwife came to check on me again. My contractions had definitely slowed down and I was still only dilated 1.5 cm so she said I was free to go home. Woo HOOO! No baby coming today! We quickly got ready to go and after they discharged us we went straight to Burger King for one of their amazing croissantwiches. Ok, that may sound disgusting but it's my favorite fast food breakfast, and we needed to get home to our little girl who was probably wondering where we were! After relieving and thanking Luke we put in the movie Frozen and while Anna watched we tried to get a little shut eye. I haven't felt that exhausted in a looonnggg time. I guess this is how I'll be feeling in just a few short weeks. At least at that point I'll have a baby in my arms ;)

I don't know if I was in denial of the whole situation or I wasn't too concerned because I had done this before but throughout the whole time this was all going on I felt at peace. As soon as I heard his strong heartbeat I knew everything was going to be ok, even if we ended up meeting him that day. Usually my mind gets the better of me in these situations; my legs did start to shake at one point but I began breathing deeply and the shakes went away. God was in it all, he eased my mind and calmed my nerves, he took care of our sweet baby boy, and he brought a peace to that room that overwhelmed us all.

Shawty got low, low, low, low, low, low, low, low!

How far along? 36 Weeks and 5 Days (another late post but we've had a crazy week!)

How big is baby? the size of a honeydew and he's getting closer to breathing on his own and his skin is getting smooth and soft. Ahhh, the feel of babies skin is the absolute best!

Total weight gain: 36 pounds

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, leggings, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: It's been great since we've returned from the hospital! Plus I'm on zantac now so no late night heartburn affecting my sleep. 

Best moment this week: getting spoiled by our friends with baby showers and enjoying one last big date night with my man eating a delicious meal and seeing the musical "Once". 

Miss Anything? laying on my stomach. Not much longer!!!

Movement: he's still moving a whole lot. I thought he'd slow down by now but he was even moving through all those contractions. 

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: see above...I don't feel like repeating myself ;) The few days after our hospital visit I was still getting contractions (not as regular) and I've felt more pelvic pressure, have lost some of my mucus plug (tmi?), and as one of my friends put it "lightning crotch" lol--shooting pains through your pelvis and legs. So there's that.

Symptoms: I've started to waddle! contractions, peeing all the time, tired, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: my appointment tomorrow to see if I've progressed at all since being in the hospital! 

It's Getting Real, Folks

Is it ok to say I'm not really ready for baby boy to come? Yes, I want to meet our little man. Yes, I want to hold him in my arms and feel relief from all the aches and pain. Yes, I want to see Anna's joy when she gets to finally meet her baby brother. But mentally, emotionally, I'm just not ready. We have everything we really need. Diapers & wipes, check. Carseat, check. Bassinet, check. Blankets and clothes, check. Mama's milk, check when he makes his appearance. And while my body is definitely ready to feel back to normal again (I know it'll take a few weeks after he comes), I don't know if I'm ready for the sleepless nights, the wondering of why he's crying, the fear of Anna stepping on him or poking his eyes out, or the anxiety and realness that goes along with transitioning from one child to two. My concern when I was pregnant with Anna was all "Oh no, I don't have the nursery done yet." Psh, this time around, all he gets is a bassinet beside Mama. The nursery is the farthest from my mind now that I know what having a newborn is like. Plus with Anna and Juice Drop sharing a room he won't be in with her for a while so we'll keep it decorated for Anna for the time being. I'm officially seeing my midwife once a week now, I'll be tested for Group Beta Strep next week, baby showers are this weekend, soccer has started and the air is starting to cool. All of this means we are that much closer and inside I am freaking out. If you have any tips on how not to go crazy in the last few weeks and/or advice on transitioning from one to two I'd gladly welcome it ;)

Now let's get to a baby bump!

How far along? 35 Weeks and 3 Days

How big is baby? the size of a coconut and his testes have probably fully descended (not something I wrote during Anna's pregnancy lol)

Total weight gain: 36 pounds--officially more than what I gained with Anna and I still have 4 1/2 weeks left until due date! eek!

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, leggings, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: just awful. Most nights I find myself on the couch. It's much softer than our bed and I feel better knowing I'm not waking Travis up from my tossing and turning.

Best moment this week: Anna and my birthday celebration over the weekend! Stay tuned for a post later this week :)

Miss Anything? feeling comfortable

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: just the usual braxton hicks, nothing crazy this week.

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten--I've had to resort to Zantac because Tums just aren't cutting it, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: my two baby showers this Sunday and Monday! We are so blessed to have so many friends and family who are excited about Juice Drop.  

A Visit from MiMi and a 34 Week Bump

MiMi (Travis' mom) came to visit this past weekend! Which is a big deal around these parts. Ever since Anna spent two weeks (one week just by herself) with MiMi this summer they've been two peas in a pod. They are just too cute together. While MiMi's visit was short we still had a great time celebrating all three of our birthdays, experiencing Monkey Joe's for the first time, and Anna finally getting to see the movie Frozen for the first time even though she already sings "Let it Go!" 24/7. We were definitely sad to see her go but we know the second we tell her I'm going into labor she'll be making that 7 hour trip yet again.

MiMi came bearing gifts including this 2 foot Elmo! Anna was in love.

She also brought Anna her first set of Legos (Duplos).
Anna (or should I say Daddy) couldn't wait to start building!

We had our first experience at Monkey Joe's.
Anna was in bouncy house heaven!
She's got the "get me to the next slide NOW!" look.

"Grandma makes me smile" She sure does, Anna!

Yay for 34 weeks! Huzzah for 6 weeks until the due date! Praise the Lord the back and rib pain and heartburn are almost done! And Hallelujah, at the end we get a precious baby boy to snuggle!

How far along? 34 Weeks and 3 Days

How big is baby? the size of a butternut squash and is recognizing and reacting to familiar songs. I wouldn't be surprised if he came out singing "Let it Go!" or "The Wheels on the Bus" based on how often they are sung by a little voice around here.

Total weight gain: 32 pounds

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: some nights I have the best sleep and only wake up to pee, other nights it's almost like the night will never end, I'm wide awake, and usually find myself on the couch--Travis doesn't seem to mind.

Best moment this week: the whole weekend was just the best!

Miss Anything? as my friends sipped some wine Monday night I've got to say I was a little jealous. 

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk  

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: just the usual braxton hicks, nothing crazy this week.

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: Anna and my birthday this weekend! Plus Anna's birthday party on Sunday--it's an Elmo birthday party so stay tuned for pictures!!!   

And I'm Back!

Did ya miss me?! Sorry I've been MIA for the past two weeks. I really don't have a great excuse so I'm just not going to even try to justify myself. I will say that I'm feeling the love. I had a friend ask where my bump updates have been so it means at least one person out there cares, right?

We've (or really I should say Travis) had a pretty eventful past few weeks. Travis celebrated his 30th birthday (which he's been dreading for I feel like years!) and to commemorate such a big number we flew him out to California to go hiking and camping with his brother in Yosemite National Park. I mean, that's a big deal! At least for us (ahem, me). I've always been one to want to tag along on his little excursions but this time (and maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm getting closer to the due date) I let him freely go, no jealousy whatsoever. I'm so happy he was able to do this. He came home saying it was one of the best experiences of his life! And knowing that greatly blesses me as his wife. I'm thrilled to know it'll be a birthday he'll never forget!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

While Anna and I stayed at home we didn't just twiddle our thumbs all week. I wouldn't have let that happen. Before Travis left I made sure everyday was filled with some activity, either with just the two of us or with friends. I helped celebrate a friend's birthday, we went to the pool with friends a few times, we drove to Greenville to meet a sweet baby boy who's only two weeks old and spent the night with good friends, we enjoyed playdates and I went to a huge consignment sale and stocked up on Anna's fall and winter attire (we've been blessed with friends who've handed down plenty of clothes for baby boy to last us through the spring but I won't deny seeing all those baby boy clothes at the sale was oh so tempting!).

Celebrating our sweet friend, Heather's birthday!
Love these ladies to pieces!

Spent some time soaking up end of summer rays at the pool with a few of Anna's favorite people.
We love these ladies too!

Anna practicing being a big sister with sweet baby Baylis Rue.
Such a special afternoon with dear friends.

I don't feel like writing two separate posts for the past two bumpdates (that would just be silly and time consuming) so I'm just going to update you in one post.   

How far along? 33 Weeks and 5 Days (I'm so bad, technically I'm closer to 34 weeks than 33!)

How big is baby? the size of a durian. (I had no idea what a durian was when I was pregnant with Anna but Travis finally got to see one when he visited Southeast Asia last year. He said it's as every bit as stinky as people claim it to be but apparently everyone over there loves it! He didn't even want to try it because the stench was that bad!) Juice Drop is keeping his eyes open while he's awake and his bones are hardening.  

Total weight gain: 32 pounds. I gained 33 pounds with Anna so I'm pretty sure I'll exceed that weight gain. Unless by some miracle I only gain one more pound in the next 6 1/2 weeks. 

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: getting up every 2-3 hours to pee. Hmm, sounds a lot like foreshadowing. 

Best moment this week: spending our last free weekend just the three of us before birthday parties, soccer games, baby showers, and baby boy come!

Miss Anything? sitting in a comfortable position without immediate braxton hicks and rib pain

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk  

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: just the usual braxton hicks, nothing crazy this week.

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, rib and back pain, and my favorite: baby kicks!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: Mimi (Travis' mom) coming to visit this weekend! Anna is stoked!   

9 Weeks to Go!

I just can't believe how close we're really getting. It's insane. Less than 9 weeks until baby boy's due date and some days it still doesn't feel real, like we're really going to have another human being to add to our family at the end of all this. The constant kicks and jabs and the ginormous growth hanging off of my torso should be a good reminder but I still can't fathom the fact that we'll be bringing home another baby. I look at Anna, at how old she's getting, at all that we've already been through in less than 2 years, and to think, we're going to be doing it all over again with someone completely different. Different gender, different personalities, different everything.

Those things scare me.

But then I remember the love that I had for Anna the first time I saw her. My heart just wanted to leap out of my chest. *sigh* There is nothing greater than that feeling. I can't wait to feel that all over again with another little person. I've been told that your heart just gets bigger with every one of your children. Before I even meet him I already believe that statement to be true. I know these next 2 months will just fly by but meeting our little Juice Drop can't come soon enough!

How far along? 31 Weeks

How big is baby? the size of a pineapple and all five of his senses are in working order!

Total weight gain: 31 pounds...and there I go, exceeding the 30 pound mark. My end goal is to have only gained 35-40 pounds. We'll see if I can make it 9 more weeks without going over *fingers crossed*

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: It's actually been better this week. No midnight nosebleeds and I'm not dying of heat. But I did have to get up one night 5 times (yes, 5 TIMES!) to go to the bathroom. That was about annoying as ever.

Best moment this week: as always, hearing little guy's heartbeat. Counting down the weeks until I can hear it on this side of my belly :)

Miss Anything? not feeling like an old person (i.e. joint pains, uncontrollable bladder, memory lapse, heartburn, out of breath from walking up a flight of stairs)

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk  

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: just the usual braxton hicks, nothing crazy this week.

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, and my favorite: baby kicks! Something new this week, back and rib pain have started. Ugh!

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: meeting baby Baylis Rue and seeing his very happy (albeit tired) parents this weekend!

Tuckered Out

I realize that the only blog posting I've been doing lately is of my weekly bumpdates. And I have no other excuse than I.Am.Tired. Let me rephrase, I.AM.EXHAUSTED. Third trimester hit with full force. By the time Anna goes to sleep at night my whole body aches and I just want to sit in bed with a huge bowl of ice cream and binge watch "The Office" (for the millionth time). For all you mothers who have more than one child to chase around and a huge baby bump, YOU ARE MY HEROS! I don't know how you do it! Based on how I'm feeling lately Juice Drop numero dos may be numero last. I'm venting over my exhaustion now but I can only imagine what I'll feel like when baby boy finally arrives. I'm at least able to currently get 8 consecutive hours of sleep at night--if you don't count the getting up every 3 hours to pee, which I'm sure is just prepping me for what's to come. That'll be a long lost memory come October. Until then I'll enjoy the time I have now after Anna goes to sleep to rest, relax, put up my feet, and dream happy dreams of our beautiful children.

Is is just me or does my belly look HUGE?! And I have 10 more weeks of this!!!

How far along? 30 Weeks

How big is baby? the size of a cucumber (huh?? How does he goes from the size of an eggplant two weeks ago to the size of a cucumber?) His brain is getting wrinklier to make way for all that brain tissue, and he's strong enough to grasp a finger!

Total weight gain: 29 pounds

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: what's that? It's a lose, lose, lose situation for me. We're keeping the A/C set high to save money so that makes our bedroom like a furnace. We have the fan turned on which keeps the room cool but dries me out so I have nosebleeds. Not to mention getting up 5 times in one night, being obnoxiously uncomfortable, and baby boy throwing a dance party in my belly. It's just the worst. 

Best moment this week: spending time with great friends (Emily, Susan, and Laura) and laughing so hard my chest hurt after. One of the best feelings. Also the same night, introducing Emily and Laura to Cook Out milkshakes at 11 pm. No regrets (except when I literally fell into bed that night).

Miss Anything? not feeling exhausted all the time 

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk  

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: just the usual braxton hicks, nothing crazy this week.

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, and my favorite: baby kicks! 

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: hearing Juice Drop's heartbeat this Friday (it never gets old!) and working to finish our bedroom and nursery before soccer season starts in 3 weeks!

Staying Fit at 29 Weeks Pregnant (a Bumpdate!)

I'm starting to get looks. Well I guess I've been getting looks for a few months now. But these looks are different. These looks are when I go to the YMCA and I'm sweating on the elliptical or breathing through my bicep curls. I've also received several comments, "is that ok for the baby?" "are you sure all that jumping around is good for you and the baby?" "how are you doing that?" And every time I reassure these sweet people that "yes, it's ok for the baby, as long as I feel good the jumping is good, and I'm doing it just like how you're doing it." I'm pregnant, not disabled! 

I didn't workout when I was pregnant with Anna as much as I do this time around. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we didn't have a Y membership last time. Plus having free childcare for an hour gives me a great reason to get my butt to the gym! And let me tell you on the days I workout I feel great and on the days I don't get to the gym I feel lethargic and want to just eat ice cream and watch movies all day.

I've got a pretty good routine going. Some weeks are different than others. Some weeks I don't make it to the gym as much as I'd like. Some weeks I take classes and others I go through my own circuit. Whatever I end up doing I try to workout at least 3 times a week. The classes I take at the Y are:

Wednesdays: Athletic Conditioning or Kickboxing
Thursdays: Barre Fusion 
Fridays: Athletic Conditioning

At the beginning of the week or when I'm not able to get to a class I either do a Tabata workout or do a little cardio and weight training.

Tabata Workout (this workout consists of 5 tabatas. A tabata is doing an exercise at high intensity for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of rest. This is repeated 8 times for a total of 4 minutes. Rest for 1 minute after each for a total of 25 minutes):

Tabata #1
jumping jacks
mountain climbers
jumping lunges
step jumps
repeat 1x

Tabata #2
reverse lunge to front kick (do opposite next set)
push ups
burpees
sprint step toes taps
repeat 1x

Tabata #3
skaters
hand walks (do opposite next set)
high knees
side step jumps (do opposite next set)
repeat 1x

Tabata #4
wide high knees
squat jumps
up/down plank
forward and backward sprints
repeat 1x

Tabata #5
plank pike jumps
scissors with a twist
front and back jumps
jump rope
repeat 1x

This workout will get you sweating! And it's quick and easy to do anywhere. I did this while we were at the lake house for our babymoon and on the beach in Florida. You don't need a gym to do this Tabata.

The other workout I do is a little longer than the Tabata but I've loved it. It really gets my heart pumping and I can feel the muscles working.

15 minutes on sit down stationary bike, resistance 10 (I still have yet to do the whole 15 minutes at a resistance of 10--super hard!)
20 squats
20 calf raises
20 plie squats (I sometimes hold a 10 lb kettle bell too)
20 lunges (repeat the above lower body exercises 1x)
15 minutes on elliptical (5 min forward resistance 6, 5 min backward squatting low resistance 10, 5 min forward resistance 6)
20 push ups
20 bicep curls
20 shoulder press
20 tricep dips (repeat the above upper body exercises 1x)
10 minute walk cool down on treadmill

Love it! So that is how I'm staying fit during this pregnancy (plus trying to eat right when my cravings aren't coercing me!) and I'm feeling great! I hear that a fit pregnancy leads to a smooth delivery and I'm really hoping that's true. I'd love for this labor and delivery to be much easier than what I had with Anna. So fingers crossed all this working out is worth it!

**Disclaimer:

...Now for a bumpdate :)

Oh, hey, pretty excited about my hair that I got done earlier this week!
Starting the ombre with a few highlights on top :)

How far along? 29 Weeks

How big is baby? the baby is the size of an acorn squash--another vegetable I'm not too familiar with but it's gotta be huge. I mean look at that belly! He's growing fat deposits under his skin and his energy is surging because of it. I can tell with all the movement going on in there! Ouch! 

Total weight gain: 29 pounds--so close to how much I gained with Anna and I still have 11 weeks left! I'm chalking it up to gaining muscle this time around with all the iron I've been pumping ;)

Maternity clothes? only when I'm in public trying to look nice, otherwise it's gym shorts, tshirts and tank tops

Sleep: hasn't been great. Still getting up several times a night to pee. Baby is moving constantly. And it's hot.   

Best moment this week: spending time with a few friends I hadn't seen in almost a month! It was so good to catch up and begin seeing each other on a weekly basis again.

Miss Anything? being able to pick Anna up so easily. I miss that tremendously. I'm still able to hold her but it takes a lot of effort.  

Movement: morning, noon, and night ;)

Food cravings: junk, junk, and anything junk  

Gender: baby boy!

Labor Signs: braxton hicks have slowed down since last week but I did talk to my midwife about my intense BH's. She said everything I thought she was going to say (rest and water) but she also said I could take Benadryl to help loosen the contractions. Who knew?! P.S. make sure you talk with your dr. or midwife before you do that!

Symptoms: major heartburn--it comes on even before I've eaten, braxton hicks, peeing all the time, out of breath, and my favorite: baby kicks! 

Belly Button in or out? out

Happy or Moody most of the time: pretty happy! 

Looking forward to: beginning Girls Nights again in our neighborhood! We start back up tomorrow and I can't wait to hang out with the girls and my volunteers (who are more like good friends)!

I'd love to hear from you! How do you like to stay fit while pregnant?