Pregnancy #3

I haven't been much of a blogger lately, but there are some big moments that I DO want to document, pregnancy number three is one of them.

For years Jim and I have gone back and forth about adding another munchkin to our crew. I've always felt like there was one more (a girl), but Jim had no such feeling. After a while, I started to agree with him, and together we decided that we were, in fact, done. We were happy having both a daughter and a son, and decided to let two be our number. I went through all the baby stuff, boxed up a few favorite blankets and clothing items, and then donated the rest.

Then something changed, I'm not sure what, but Jim started to feel like maybe there was one more waiting. He shared his feelings with me, and after some prayer and discussions, we both felt like there was a little girl waiting to come to our family. I asked Jim numerous times if his feeling was for real, and if so, I needed to start taking prenatal vitamins and getting my body ready to carry one more babe.

We were in Costco one day and passed the vitamins. I saw the prenatals, grabbed them, and asked, "Should I add these to the cart, or put them back on the shelf?" Jim gave me a look that meant, "Add them!" So I did and stated, "After I start taking these, there's no going back. This is going to happen." Jim smiled and we pushed our cart to the check-out.

About a month later we had a lovely evening (wink wink), and I felt like we just altered our family's path forever. Around a month after that my feeling was confirmed as I stared at a positive pregnancy test. I took the test alone, while Jim was out of town, and both of my kids were at school. I teared  up after seeing two pink lines, and realized how much I really wanted this. I even took a picture of myself, because I didn't want to forget the moment and the feelings I felt. I knew that in the coming months, I might not feel so jovial, so I wanted the happiness documented.

I'm horrible at keeping secrets from Jim. It was so hard not to blurt out the news as we talked on the phone every night while he was away. I wanted to film telling him, as I had with both Tralee and Hunter, so telling him on the phone wasn't an option. I only had to wait a few days, and Jim would be home. The only obstacle was he was coming home right before Thanksgiving, and we had family coming into town. Our days would be busy and filled with guests. Plus, our kids were always around, alone time was basically obsolete. We finally had a moment together while our kids were at their cousins' house, and the family staying with us were busy elsewhere. Jim had a few minutes before leaving to golf with his dad, and I took that moment to share the news. I just couldn't keep it in any longer. He was looking for golf stuff in the garage, and I cornered him. Here's the video:

I was right about not feeling so happy a few months in. I had THE WORST morning sickness. I couldn't keep anything down, and felt nauseous most of the time. A good friend of mine was pregnant also, our babies due a day apart, and we text each other pregnancy updates every now and again. This was one picture I sent her:

After a while even crackers and ginger ale sounded disgusting. Trying to find something to eat was my biggest chore. My kids got used to me running to the restroom to vomit, but just thought I was sick. Another unpleasant pregnancy symptom I had, and have had with each pregnancy, is my skin gets REALLY dry the first trimester. The pregnancy was the worst yet. No amount of oils, lotions, potions, or anything else you could think of would cure my itchy dry skin. Luckily the sickness and dryness ended around 13 weeks in. I still didn't have much of an appetite until around 22 weeks or so, but the puking subsided around 13 weeks, so I felt pretty great after that. 

Jim and I decided to tell Tralee and Hunter about the baby at Christmas. We made them shirts that said, "I'm going to be a big sister again." and "I'm going to be a big brother." We wrapped up the shirts, and had them open them in front of us, and their Grandma who was watching on FaceTime. Tralee has been begging for a baby brother or sister for years. We kept telling her it would probably never happen, so it took her a full minute to fully register what the shirts meant. We video taped the kids' reaction, and it's so fun to see when it finally clicks for Tralee. After that, she had us all in tears! Here's the video (please excuse my early Christmas morning self):

We took a family vacation to Disneyland when I was 12 weeks pregnant. The first night there I was really sick, but I had been sitting in the car all day and eating not-so-great food. The rest of our trip I actually felt pretty great, and rode every ride I wanted (nothing too crazy). I think walking around and staying busy helped with the sickness. Below are some pictures starting from around 12 weeks to 19 weeks. 

Our first ultrasound at 11 weeks. Baby was moving around like crazy.

I've really liked the name Clover for a girl, so Jim and I took a picture underneath some clover at Disneyland, in case this baby's name actually ends up being Clover. However, Jim isn't sold yet, and now I'm starting to wonder if that's her name.

The picture above was what I posted to announce to the Internet that I was expecting. I was 15 or 16 weeks prego.

19 weeks. Jim first felt the baby kick right around this time.

We've taken a few trips this pregnancy. One to Disneyland, one to Provo, one to Houston, TX, and a few little get-a-ways to Vegas. So far, everything has gone great with traveling while prego. After the morning sickness wore off, I have been dealing with heartburn. It's no fun. After one of our trips, we stopped at the Virgin River to play. Jim took the picture below. I was 20 weeks.

Our 20 week sonogram was awesome. Jim, Hunter, Adrienne (Jim's sister), and Tandra (our niece) all came. The baby had her thumb in her mouth almost the whole time. In order to get a good face shot, the sonographer had to shake my belly to startle to baby, and quickly snap a picture before her fingers/thumb went back in. She also didn't want to cooperate in showing off her gender. I had to change positions a few times, and we were just about ready to give up when Jim said, "Come on little baby, this is your father, listen and obey; now spread 'em!" After that we got a quick glimpse that definitely let us know she was a girl. We already had a feeling she was a she, but it was nice to have the confirmation.

Tralee was DYING to know how the sonogram went, so when we dropped Hunter off at kindergarten, we called Tralee out of class and showed her the sonogram pictures. She read the picture that said, "It's a girl!" and teared up again. So did I. So did the ladies at the front desk. It was so special.

So far this pregnancy has pretty much mimicked my pregnancy with Tralee. All the same things have happened. My left leg started going numb around my third trimester, same with Tralee. I failed my first glucose test with both Tralee and this baby, but passed the three hour test. I was sick with both of them in the beginning, and then had heartburn after the sickness ended. I was never really sick with Hunter, and had no leg issues. My girls like to give me a hard time! Below are some more pictures from around 21 to 28 weeks.

The baby was kicking Jim in the head!

Jay and Nicole are some of our good friends in town. Nicole and I were pregnant at the same time, and we compared bellies with our husbands. She just had her baby girl. I'm up next!

27ish weeks

So far this pregnancy I've been craving watermelon more than anything else. At first citrus things helped with the morning sickness. I ate a lot of oranges, lemons, and grapefruits. I still get a hankering for citrus now and then, but more than anything I love me some watermelon. Can't get enough of it. I ate an entire half a watermelon by myself the other day. I didn't even feel bad about it.

This little one is due August 1, 2015. I've really started feeling her move lately. She's getting so strong, and it's so fun to feel her wiggle around in me. I keep reminding myself to enjoy every minute of this pregnancy, good and bad, because this will be my last one. I love having Jim and the kids feel the baby move. Tralee gets so excited to feel her baby sister. Hunter is a little less interested, but he will be a great big brother. The other night Jim and I went to a movie with lots of music. The baby would NOT stop moving. I thought she either loved the music, or was letting me know she didn't appreciate all the noise while she was trying to rest. Only time will tell if she's a little music lover. 

I finished reading a book about hypnobirthing the other day, and started taking a class about hypnobirthing as well. I'm going to give it my best shot. The hospital where I'll deliver is really open to making the birth process as smooth as possible for the mothers. They have a great reputation for supporting the mother in whatever delivery methods she wants to try. They support hypnobirthing mothers, and even have two "home delivery" rooms available for mom's wanting to go as natural as possible, within the safety of a hospital. I'm going to apply for the home delivery room, keep an open mind, and see how it all goes. I'm excited to meet this little girl I've been growing, and can't wait to add her to our crazy little bunch.

Tralee's Baptism

Tralee turned eight this year. Eight is a big year in our faith. Eight is the year Tralee could decide whether or not to be baptized a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Tralee chose to be baptized, and we were very proud of her.

Before her big day, we picked out a dress, and then took her to the temple and a scenic place around here for a little baptism photo shoot. Afterwards, Tralee helped me design her invites. Everything turned out adorable. Below is her invite, as well as some pictures from her eight-is-great photo shoot.  

Before we knew it, her big day came. We had family come in from out-of-town, as well as family from around here come and witness her big day. Tralee asked her Daddy to baptize her. In our religion it's important for this ordinance to be done in a specific manor, as well as the person being baptized to be completely submerged in water. Jim and Tralee practiced in our home leading up to her baptism, and we just knew she wouldn't have any problem in the water, since she's our little fish, and swims on the local swim team. We thought she would only need to be dunked once. Little did we know, it wouldn't be Tralee that had an issue. Her father, who was a bit emotional at the moment (although he'll never admit it), forgot an important part of the ordinance, and we had to repeat the process! It made for a funny memory. Jim actually said, "I knew how much she loved being in the water, so I just thought we should do it twice." Ha!

The rest of the experience was lovely, spiritual, and full of love. Tralee picked out her program and asked Jim and I do give talks. I tried not to cry during mine (even though I was four months pregnant), but got a little emotional. Tralee was also confirmed by Jim, who gave her a wonderful blessing, after her baptism. While I was helping Tralee get dried off and dressed, we showed this video to the loved ones waiting:

  

Here are the rest of the pictures from Tralee's special day. After the ceremony, we invited everyone back to our home where we served lots of yummy food, and visited with everyone. We felt so blessed to be surrounded by family and friends to support Tralee, and so thankful for our beautiful both inside and out, sweet, kind, brave, adventurous, curious, obedient little girl. It was a day we won't forget.