My 30 week pregnancy check-in

  

    Is it just me or is this pregnancy going by super fast?? I realize January, (when I conceived) seems like forever ago but sheesh, I'm already 30 weeks! I'm still feeling good but bending over to pick something up is the pits, and I really hate only being able to sleep on my right and left side. I can't wait to flip over to my stomach after the baby gets here. Oh, and I'm definitely waddling full time now, ha ha.

  I just had my third ultrasound this past Friday because I'm rotating practioners so I can meet them all before I deliver (since God knows I'll deliver probably on a weekend, or at the very least during "off" hours and get the doc on call instead of my usual one) and this last doc had a hard time feeling the top of my fundus and claimed I was only measuring 24 wks (this was at my 27 week, almost 28 week appointment) and thought an ultrasound was needed "just to make sure he's growing ok." Apparently this wiggle worm was moving like crazy 24/7 but not growing for the past month. I don't buy it. Honestly, I wasn't worried because he's been super low from the get-go and I could already tell he was head down based on the location of the hiccups he has often and I also get him kicking off my right hip bone regularly so I was sure he was just wrapped more sideways, then up. Plus my usual doc has always measured me right on target. Sigh. Anyways I didn't mind the extra ultrasound since they did one each trimester for Eli since I was "higher risk" being hypothyroid.

  Well as the ultrasound confirmed, he IS head down, and he does kind of wrap around with butt to my left and feet off to my right lower abdomen and incidentally is measuring a week larger then expected at 30 weeks and 3 days. He needs to steady his pace though because I'm shooting for a 7 ½ pounder ;)

She got a big 'ol preggo belly!

I made this yoga band style skirt a year or 2 ago. Love how versatile it is that I can even wear it pregnant

Back to the pregnancy questionnaire I did at 20 weeks. Lets see how much things have changed shall we:

How far along: 30 weeks!

Total weight gain: I'm up 22lbs (Yowza! That was pretty easy to do. Dang appetite)

Maternity clothes: Pickins's are getting slim now since I would wear long non-maternity tee's and blousy shirts up until this point but now I'm "Gus-Gusing" it so I definitely need to stick to only maternity tops. My pants, although maternity, are getting snug so I'm thinking of hitting up goodwill for some more bigger comfy pants soon.

Stretch marks: None yet. I've been using Honest.com's organic belly balm that I reeeeeally like. It's very greasy and my belly shines like a bowling ball that's just gone done a freshly oiled lane but I've had ZERO itchy skin. Two thumbs up for this stuff.

Sleep: Eh. This has been so so. I get up to pee every 2-4 hrs and as mentioned above, I can only rotate between left and right sides which gets old. I've got my giant "C" shaped pregnancy pillow, a body pillow, and 2 regular pillows to help me get comfy though. Ha ha. If my hubby doesn't hold securely to his pillow though, I've been known to take that as well. Don't judge.

Best moment of this week: Having another ultrasound and getting to see him again and finding out I passed my glucose tolerance test! Woo hoo! What a relief. Last time I had to do the 3hr test because they want you below 140 and I was AT 140. Ugh.

Miss anything: Sandwiches still make the list, belly sleeping, and going to Great America because its summer time. :(

Movement: SO much movement. Lots of hiccups and big belly shifts. He has an uncanny ability of knowing when I have a camera on him to catch him in action because without fail, he stops instantly and waits patiently for me to put the camera down. Little stinker.

Food cravings: Everything and anything. Unlike with Eli where I had a strong aversion to pizza, (and I think red sauce in general)  I've actually really enjoyed pizza this time around, especially home made from scratch.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Labor signs: Not yet. I don't think I'm having any Braxton hicks either but they say the second time around you should feel them earlier because now you know what to look for but apparently I don't.

Belly button in or out: My usually deep "inny" is officially now an "outy." So weird.

Wedding rings on or off: Sadly it's been off for a while now since we're in the middle of summer and I'm toasty warm for once in my life. I've resorted to using a bigger ring that I got on my honeymoon instead.

Happy or moody most of the time: Overall, happy but this past week I've felt pretty irritable at the drop of a hat, mainly because nothing is easy anymore and I swear everything I need is on the floor.

Looking forward to: The arrival of this little one in 9-10 short weeks. EEEEEK!!!

What a hambone he is with that tongue!

Until next time....

-Linds

My big guys is THREE years old!

Happy third birthday bud!

    So I guess this means we are out of the "toddler" phase, yes? He's now considered a "preschooler" I think. Well any who, he's big and some days he says things that remind me of a teenager (If you are my Facebook friend then you know what I'm talking about.) Needless to say, he sure is FUN right now! I get such a kick out of him when we are out in public. Little Mr. Extrovert (takes after his daddy), has now made it his life's mission to find out everyone's name and occupation (and if this person is extra interesting, he'll even ask them what their hair color is.) My most FAVORITE thing EVER is when he asks them their name (which is always followed by "and what's YOUR name?") and he'll go "I'm Eli, and this is my (cousin) mommy!" (I finally got him to drop the "cousin" part--awkward! No idea where he got that from) with a big elaborate hand gesture like Vanna White pointing out a letter. It's hilarious, and not to mention the total pride in his voice when he says it, just makes my heart swell! I freakin' LOVE that kid! 

   Here are his 3 year stats:

Size: Right now he is wearing 3T but the length is almost too short and the waist is too big. Thank God for those inner elastic waist cinchers that save the day. At his doc visit he was 40 inches tall (34 ¼ inches last year) and weighed in at 32lbs (28 lbs last year). So he is pretty tall as everyone points out to me.

Likes: Oh man, this kid definitely knows what he likes and doesn't like. He's BIG into legos at the moment. Mainly the little lego guys where he loves to take them apart and rearrange them a thousand times into "super cool guys." Other loves, in no particular order: Playing with papa, being a super hero, going to the park/pool, being around airplanes and pointing them out in the sky, doing puzzles (especially the giant floor puzzles), eating ice-cream, golfing, running through the sprinkler, helping me cook (and do laundry for that matter. I'm telling you, he will be an awesome husband some day!), meeting new friends, and watching his "shows".

Some of his favorite things

More of his favorite activities

Dislikes: And just as he knows what he likes, he knows exactly what he doesn't like as well. Things such as sleeping. Every day before nap and bedtime I hear "but I don't like sleeping." Now I'll just say "that's ok, you still need rest. If you don't want to sleep, you can just play quietly in your bed." This has worked like a charm because he always passes out, even if he does play for just a little bit before laying down. Other dislikes, leaving the pool/park/friends house. I recently was getting a lot of defiance and tantrums at this point but since I've started saying, "ok bud, 5 more minutes until we leave.... and 2 more minutes and then we go...etc." Now he doesn't fight me at all. 

Eating: He still eats pretty well while at home but now when we are out and about for play dates, or parties etc, he is more vocal about saying " I don't like that" before even taking a bite. Now I'll just focus on making sure he eats well prior to going out, knowing he will choose junk food be very picky elsewhere. It's reeeeally frustrating and something we're working on. He could still eat his weight in fruit and bread though. Things haven't changed there. I no longer make separate meals like I did when he was a baby/young toddler. He eats what we eat, or goes to bed hungry (or doesn't get dessert, both of these do pretty well motivating him to eat.) He's not really fond of meat yet. This is still hit or miss as far as if he'll eat it. He mainly does the veggie sides at dinner in this case. When Aaron and I take him out to dinner, I don't bother ordering him a meal because he'll eat our salads, the bread at the table, and then I happily give him my veggies! Ha ha. He's better than having a puppy at my feet!

Sleeping: He still takes a nap each day (Halleluia!) from 11-1pm. His bedtime ranges based on our summer activities but basically 7pm and he wakes up consistently between 6:15am-6:45am, which I loathe. There was a short time recently when he flat out refused naps or sleeping at night (especially if Aaron was out of town to put him to bed) unless he was in our bed. That also was a very frustrating time. But that phase passed and he now is back to going pretty willingly into his own bed.

This sleeping position never gets old to me.

Milestones: Potty training! He's all done with diapers including at night and bedtime. He spelled his name the other day (just verbally, and only the first name. No writing it yet and he just learned how to pronounce his last name! Ha! Welcome to the club buddy. You weren't the only one to struggle with that.) He can hit a baseball with me tossing the ball to him and he swims independently with his floaty on.

His cool new skivvies to celebrate being potty trained

Thats my three year old preschooler in a nutshell! Toodles!

-Linds

Eli's Batman Party for his THIRD birthday!

Eli's always been a super hero

     My son turned THREE on July 2nd! I was hoping to get away with one more year of making it no big deal, but my son wasn't having it. It's not like he's even been to a lot of birthday parties either! But this year, starting 3 months ago he mentioned having a Batman party for his birthday. What?? Where did this come from? He wasn't even 3 yet and he expected not only a party on his behalf, but a THEMED party! Wow. Well I didn't put a whole lot of stock into the notion the first time he mentioned it because toddlers change their minds every ½ second so I figured he'd just forget about it or change the theme. Nope. I'm pretty sure he referenced his Batman party every day up until THE day!

   I'll be honest here when I say I almost didn't want to even bother because I didn't want to have to be Pinterest worthy. Ha! Mommy guilt. Dang you Pinterest! If I wasn't going to go all out with the water bottle labels, and personalized cup cake liners, should I even bother? Then I came to my senses and realized hey, this is for a soon-to-be-3 year old. He could care LESS about labels he can't even read! He just wanted to play super hero! So that's what I focused on and kept all thoughts centered on what 1-3 ½ year olds would find enjoyable.

  Things like this:

Look at the size of that thing! It had a slide and basketball hoop

Shooting hoops with his buddy Parker

So much fun!

Warp speed, all the time!

And these:

All the kiddos got their own cape to wear and take home

It was like herding cats to get a pic of all the kiddos. I can't promise you that no tears were shed for this photo op :(

Can't forget one of these bad boys!

The main event at any toddler gathering: the water table, cue angels singing

Things started getting a little wild, & crazy when the mini people started disrobing and running through the sprinkler naked...

And to complete the look, some of these:

Batman Tattoos!

Eli LOVED them!

   I asked that people wear batman t-shirts or black (during a hot summer day, why not?) and my hubby and I wore our Batman shirts as well. 

I made mine using my cousin Beckie's Sillhoutte machine. I told Eli what it said and he broke out into the biggest grin. Worth. It. Speaking of the best cousin ever, I followed her Piñata tutorial to make this joker one:

It's a regular old paper bag, covered in ruffled streamers

collecting their loot

    I did heavy snacks instead of a meal because the party was from 2-5pm. Now heres a funny story to get the party started right. Just as people started to arrive, I was pulling the fruit, crackers, chips & salsa, and veggie tray out to set up on the counter. I proceed to peel back the cellophane cover off the veggie tray I picked up at Costco and I was immediately accosted by what can only be described as someone ripping a$$ an inch from my face. I grimaced and moved on. Mean while, Aldo (uncle Pibe) and my sister make a beeline to their son to check his diaper, positive he "sh&$ himself" (Uncle Pibe's words). Nope, smells divine like usual. What could that awful stench be??? Meanwhile, the great grandparents had just walked through the door and Uncle Pibe was certain it was they who, wasted no time "crop dusting" as they made their way around to greet people. Finally, you can see everyone is looking accusingly at everyone else, all the while silently pleading with their eyes to find the source and eliminate it as soon as possible. I speak up and say, "oh man, that broccoli on the veggie tray just stunk up the whole house!" I then heard a collective sigh of relief as everyone started speaking at once, sharing their theories as to the cause. Well then I lost it! (and I'm typing through belly laugh tears now). 

         "yeah! Jeeze, I checked my kids diaper multiple times then thought it      

           must be someone else's kid"--Concerned parent.

         "I thought it was the grandparents."---Annonymous (see above)

So I decided to put the tray outside on ice and burn a candle in the house, but then got similar looks from new guests arriving and had to start off my welcome greeting with "It's the veggie tray, sorry!"

The offending tray. Guilty as charged. Curse you broccoli!

 Sigh, good times. Overall I actually had a great time and Eli certainly had a blast. I'm just glad its all over. Now I get to sit back enjoy everybody else's toddler birthday parties this summer. Phew.

The guest of honor. Muuuah!

    Happy birthday my sweet boy! I love you more than you can ever know (well until YOU have kids anyway. Then you might begin to understand the depths of a parent's love) Muuuuuah! Hope this year is a great one full of lots of adventures.

   Stay tuned for his 3 year stats. He has his well visit with the doc tomorrow so I'll keep you posted.

Toodles,

Batman's mommy.