28 weeks.

28 weeks on easter weekend.

craving: chocolate cake!! which i was with brady at easter too (http://peanutapostle.blogspot.com/2012/04/30-weeks.html) so funny that both times i was pregnant over easter, i wanted to eat an entire chocolate cake with chocolate icing! so i made myself a cake, and ate a lot of pieces over the next couple days, and it was SO GOOD.  i'm glad i don't have one sitting around all the time or i would gain 85 pounds :)  i wore the same dress for easter too, just for the fun of it.

weight gain: 19 pounds. better than with my pregnancy with brady. i gained a bit too much with him. i remember my doc telling me "slow down!" haha but i was just constantly hungry with him and ate everything in sight. i felt good the whole pregnancy so i don't regret it, but this time around i eat more normally (like i would if i wasn't pregnant) and am exercising 4-5 days a week and still feeling good doing that, so i'm grateful for a little less weight. 

i asked my doc at this week's appointment if i was more or less likely to have an early baby again & she said more likely! she said they'll start checking me weekly at 34 weeks this pregnancy instead of 36 weeks and to be ready to have another early baby. which means, less than 10 weeks to go potentially?? a little scary. i have a lot to do still...

by the end of the day, my pelvis and hips are achy which i didn't have til the very end with brady. i guess second time around my body is a little more tired. but otherwise i'm still feeling good, not having any swelling, able to carry brady around and do my normal activities. very grateful for this pregnancy and for feeling so good this far into it.

passing the test!

after failing my one-hour glucose test AGAIN (i did with brady too, sigh)...i had to take the three hour fasting test which is rough. i think it's torture to ask a pregnant mama to abstain from coffee AND food until 11:30am!!!  but the testing went fine overall, and i got the results a couple days later that i passed & do not have gestational diabetes. hooray!

belly naps.

belly naps on the flight home from santa barbara.

sweetest EVER.

26 weeks.

26 weeks.

we took this pic a few days late, while in santa barbara, at about 26.5 weeks.  but hey, we still took it!

i'm feeling good, lots of energy, no cravings specifically.  still working out 4-5 times a week.  everything has been smooth for the most part, although a week or so ago, i did have a day where i was SO sore in my pelvis. every time i got up from a sitting position or out of the car or something, i limped the first few steps - it really hurt!  i hadn't done anything to injure myself, and it really only lasted one full day, so i assume i was just stretching in that area. i remember having that exact pain, limping a few steps when i would first get up, right at the very end of my pregnancy with brady. hoping it was a one time thing. i've had it a few times by the end of the day in the last week but nothing like that one full day.

otherwise, nothing new! i did have the realization that if i deliver at 37 weeks with this baby, that's only 11 weeks away!!! gah! time is going so fast.

first day back!

march 20: my first day back to work since december 27!

i took a few months off through the winter because of the flu epidemic in colorado. the vaccine proved to be about 40% effective this year, and we were seeing a LOT of flu cases in the ER.  pregnancy is a higher risk category so i just didn't want to have the exposure unnecessarily since i don't technically have to work.  the time off was wonderful in a surprising way. it was almost a "test-run" for being a full time stay at home mom, and i actually loved it.  i didn't know if i would be bored or find meaning in staying home full time but i loved it, and felt more relaxed in general.  i decided to go back a few days a month through the end of my pregnancy and then decide over my maternity leave if i want to return to work at all with two babies. 

my first shift back was good though, and i remembered why i do love being a nurse also. tough decisions lie ahead for me, deciding what to do. in some ways i can't imagine my 13 year nursing career coming to a close, but in others i think this season of my life may have more meaning to be to stay at home and raise babies & run a home with more peace and balance.  hopefully time this summer with two littles (not to mention building a house, selling a house, moving, etc!!!!) will bring some peace & clarification to me about what the best decision for our family is.

nursery progress.

after moving B to his big boy room a few weeks ago, we rearranged the furniture in the nursery this weekend. i've started piecing together patterns for bedding & the changing pad cover.  and i got a cute coral rug and some new ruffle curtains to girly it up in there. so exciting to walk by the room now and see it starting to take shape as a girl nursery!! just moving the furniture around makes it feel so different.  i can't wait to see it all come together & then to sit in the chair with a sweet little newborn this summer.

end of the day - 25 weeks.

by end of the day, my baby bump is HUGE! it's much smaller in the mornings, still, thankfully...