16 Weeks (Baby #4)

 

 How Far Along?

 

16 weeks 

Baby is the size of a Avocado

What is baby up to?

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he's about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too.

Weight Gain? 

Starting Weight: 160.4 lbs

Previous Weight: 162.2 lbs

Current Weight: 165.2 lbs (+ 4.8 lbs total)

Maternity Clothes?

  Not yet! But...it may be coming soon, pants are a little tight at the top when I sit. I will hold out for now though! LOL

Exercise? 

Walking a little but hoping to start a more regular workout schedule very soon.

 

Symptoms?

No more nausea!!! WOOHOO! I am feeling great and very happy to be past all of the first trimester ick's!!

Sleep?
  Now that it is nicer outside, after a good day of playing outside with the kiddos and fresh air, sleeping has been a bit better these days.

Food Cravings? 

Newest craving has been veggies and steak!! Boy maybe?!? I ate so much meat and veggies when I was pregnant with Joey...hmmmm

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?

My kids & hubby love meat sticks and they make me want to gag!

Gender?

Unknown, only 4 weeks until we find out!

Movement?

YES!!! Finally feeling the baby flutters and a few little random tiny jabs, best feeling ever!

What You Miss?

  Exercising and the ability to not get winded when walking up the stairs :)

Mood?

Much better! Hubby had a nice 3 days off, weather wasn't too terrible, got out and about alone 2 times this past weekend and have plans with a great friend tonight :)

March for Babies 2013

 

Yesterday was the March for Babies walk!! The weather was beautiful, I think it got almost to 80 degrees! Not too shabby for having a foot of snow in the yard about a week ago. That's MN for ya! The only bad part was the wind, we definitely could have done without that. We walked around a lake which was probably one of the only ones around with full open water. Most of the lakes around here have open water near the shore and then full of slushy looking ice throughout the rest.

 

The kids did great! Erica got a little tired and rode on Chuck's shoulders for the last part but otherwise it went great. We got a ton of fresh air and we all slept really good last night! They changed the location of the walk this year and I am hoping they go back to the old location again for next year. The setup was very spread out and there were so many people all clustered together due to smaller trails and it took a lot longer to walk than it should have. If I get a "survey" email about my thoughts on the walk, I think I will suggest that :)

 

At the end of the walk, there was a giant bubble gum man walking around so the kids wanted to take their picture with it!!

 

 

This was our 5th year walking it and raising money. It means a lot to me to raise money to help babies be born healthy, especially since I am growing another :)

 





Book Giveaway!!

As some of you may know, my friend Gina and I have a co-writing blog documenting our writing journeys and every Friday, we feature a different author and this week is Jennifer Shirk. She is giving away a copy of her new book Kissing Kendall!

 

Come stop by the blog and enter for a chance to win!! Next Friday our feature will be giving away FIVE books so be sure to check back! You can enter this week's giveaway HERE.

 

**Have a great weekend**



14 Weeks (Baby #4)

Welcome to the 2nd Trimester!!! Bring on the energy :)  No picture update this week...I have been on the couch for the past 3 days with the stomach flu that I unfortunately caught from my daughter who brought it home last weekend. I looked up "getting the stomach flu while pregnant" to make sure there was nothing that I had to worry about as far as the baby goes and other than dehydration, baby is safe! That was a relief. But on the other note, it did say that pregnant women tend to get the stomach flu more severe than non-pregnant women because our immune systems are already down and the symptoms are worse...I would have to agree with that statement! It was bad!! Now for the fun update portion :)

  How Far Along?

  14 weeks 

Baby is the size of a Lemon

What is baby up to?

This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another.  From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches.

Weight Gain? 

Starting Weight: 160.4 lbs

Previous Weight: 166.8 lbs (+ 6.4 lbs)

Current Weight: 162.2 lbs (+ 1.8 lbs total)

*Weight loss due to flu :(

Maternity Clothes?

  Not yet!

Exercise? 

Still none, the flu has taken everything I have. This weekend, however, is supposed to get to SEVENTY degrees!!! Walks are in the near future :)

 

Symptoms?

Other than nausea, feeling great! Starting this pregnancy off at my lowest weight of them all so that should help throughout. Now that I have entered the 2nd Tri, hoping the nausea will be gone!

Sleep?
  Still a little insomnia but seems to be getting better.

Food Cravings? 

None this week, been on a toast, jello & popsicle diet...but once this flu has passed, a banana split kind of sounds good ;)

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?

Still sausage! Ewww

Gender?

Unknown, only 6 weeks til we find out!

Movement?

None yet, usually started around 14 weeks with the other kids so hoping it starts soon!!! Can't wait :)

What You Miss?

  Exercising, energy, ability to go a whole day without feeling sick. Not sure what "normal" feels like anymore.

Mood?

Getting better, I think the nice weather coming this weekend will improve it even more!

Sweet Moments

Yesterday afternoon, my little guy and I were laying on the couch together for some mommy son cuddle time and he is fascinated by the fact that there is a baby in mommy's tummy.

He curled up next to my belly and lifted up my shirt to look at my stomach. He said "wake up baby." It was the sweetest moment ever! He also said that he missed the baby, that he loved the baby and gave it a hug and kiss. He is 2 1/2 and such a sweet little boy.

When we told the kids we were having a baby, he asked us what was in his tummy and if there was a baby in there too and I told him that he had Mac & Cheese in his tummy :)  He now tells me every day that mommy has a baby in her tummy and whatever he ate that day is in his tummy.

Emily has been getting some new teeth I think because she has been a little extra sassy lately, drooling through 2 bibs a day. But she is very smart and can't believe what she can do and things she is learning. I cannot wait for all of this snow to melt and watch her run all over the yard. Last summer she was just a baby and couldn't move yet :)

Erica has the stomach flu for the 4th time this school year!! It is getting really old and I just feel so bad for her when she is so sick. She slept a ton during the day and after a nice warm bath and a popsicle, she is feeling a little better.

Hubby has the next 2 days off and we plan to have a lot of family cuddle time and relaxing. Between sick kids, pregnancy insomnia & hubby working super long/late hours, we are all exhausted and could use a day or two in our jammies together hanging out and resting.

Only a couple of more days until I am in the 2nd trimester!!! Cannot wait! I am hoping this nauseous feeling goes away soon!! Looking forward to feeling a little more "normal" with a side of energy :)

12 Weeks (Baby #4)

On Tuesday I got to get a sneak peek of my new little one!! I went to the ultrasound with my big sister while my hubby was home watching the other 3 kiddos. He went to the ultrasound with me 3 weeks ago to confirm the date so he still got to see him/her. When we have the big 20 week one, we are going to bring Erica with us!! She is so excited to be able to see the baby :)

How Far Along?

  12 weeks 

Baby is the size of a Lime

What is baby up to?

From crown to rump, the baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long and weighs half an ounce. The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close,  toes will curl, eye muscles will clench, and mouth will make sucking movements.

Weight Gain? 

I think I am about 5 lbs up, will confirm later when I am brave enough to step on the scale :/ But...on a positive note, I am able to eat vs. getting sick on everything so a little weight gain is ok with me!

Maternity Clothes?

  Not yet!

Exercise? 

None at this time, hope to begin some again soon in the next few weeks when the nausea subsides. I have a few prenatal yoga dvd's that I would love to try! Also plan to begin walks soon, blizzard today so I guess that is still a few more days out...

Symptoms?

Other than nausea, feeling great! Starting this pregnancy off at my lowest weight of them all so that should help throughout.

Sleep?
 Been going to bed by 9pm and that usually starts with falling asleep on the couch first for a while. Only flaw in going to bed early, waking up too early. Looking forward to getting some more energy back soon :)

Food Cravings? 

Right now I am on the "what sounds good, eat it" plan. A few cravings I have had is grape laffy taffy and most recently bbq ribs. I have satisfied them both so we'll see what is next :)

Anything Making You Queasy or Sick?

Sausage! Ewwwww :(

Gender?

Unknown

Movement?

None yet, usually started around 14 weeks with the other kids so hoping it starts soon!!! Can't wait :)

What You Miss?

  Exercising, energy, ability to go a whole day without feeling sick. Not sure what "normal" feels like anymore.

Mood?

Cranky at times but don't mean to be. I think when the energy comes back and the sick feeling goes away, mood will improve a lot!!! (or so my hubby hopes) LOL

Now I will leave you with a few pics of the little one!

 

School Carnival

Last night my parent's and I took my 3 kids and 3 of their cousins to the elementary school carnival. It opened at 5pm so we went right away with the intention of going for about an hour. 2.5 hours later, we finally left! They had so much fun and were being so good, we stayed and let them play.

We played probably 20 different games, went to the cafeteria for pizza and won tons of little prizes :)  Here are two photos of the kids where they got to go to a Lorax setup and make their name with a picture. I wish I would have brought my nice camera as I was reminded how much better it takes pictures. Oh well, still cute!

Have a great weekend!!!

Exciting news!

As some of you readers may have noticed, my "Weigh in Wednesday" posts have been MIA. Well, there is a good reason for this!

I am now in the "weight gaining" business again :)  I know I worked really hard to lose 20 lbs in the last several months but it is not with a wasted effort. I believe that the healthier you can start a pregnancy the better. I am starting this one the lowest I have ever started any so I am happy about that. Now, all summer long I can read about everyone else's races, weight loss, etc and be a tiny bit jealous but it's ok. I know what I was doing before worked great for me so I have that in place for when I am ready to start the journey again. The exciting part about that is this is our last little one so the next weight loss journey I go on will be to hit my official goal weight which is 135ish.

We had a wonderful Easter weekend! Erica went to her friend's birthday party on Saturday and went to my parent's house for Easter Sunday. Posting pics for that post tomorrow! I got a few really good ones of the cousins playing out on the deck and Emily showing off her dance moves :)

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

 

What is new & exciting in your life ?  :0)

Friday Play Date

We started our morning out with a fun play date with Gina and her little guy Braxton. They always come up to our house so it was way overdue that we go see them. They have an awesome new toy room that took the kids about 5 min to destroy but they had a lot of fun. As usual, I brought my camera with to get some pics of the kids playing together and I forgot to take it out! So bummed :(  Next play date, pictures are a must!

After we left there house, they kids were getting hungry so I told them we could stop at Burger King for lunch as a treat and we would go home and eat it. I have never taken all 3 kids out to eat alone and the thought was a bit intimidating....

We pulled into the parking lot and of course they have a playland there. So I thought, what the heck, lets give it a shot. What's the worst that could happen, I carry all three kids out screaming and be that mom? LOL

It went really well. I made a smart decision to sit in the regular part of the restaurant, not at one of the tables in the playland. Everyone had to finish their lunch or there would be no play time. They were really good, ate all of their lunch and got to go play. I stalled just a bit longer than planned because 3 big kids, probably over 10 years old, went storming back there, pushed a tiny kid down and were flying through the play tunnels. I didn't want my kiddos to get hurt so we waited for them to leave.

I did get some use out of having the camera in the diaper bag though :)

 



 

Other than the playland, the crowns were the hit of the day. I made it through my first eating adventure on my own and were so proud of my kids for being so well behaved. There weren't even any tears when I said it was time to leave :)

Family Day at MOA

This past Sunday Chuck and I took the kids to Mall of America. We knew it would be busy going on a weekend but Monday was out since we were in a wind/blizzard warning. It turned out for the best having Monday to lay at home and rest since they were all tired still from the day before!!

Our first stop was Build a Bear Workshop. Erica had seen a commercial for it a few months ago and has been asking every few days since about when we could go there. We arrived at the mall at 10:45am and it opened at 11:00am. Glad we were a little early because when we got to the store, there was already a line formed at the gate! I did not realize how popular this place was.

Erica picked a Rainbow Bear

Joey picked a German Sheppard

 

 

Erica finished stuffing her bear and

waiting for it to be sewn closed.

Joey pushing the foot petal to stuff his dog.

 

All done! Ready to go pick out some clothes!

Puppy is all ready!

 

 

Erica picked out a glitter skirt, a dancing dinosaur shirt and pink bows for her ears. Joey picked out a MN Twins t-shirt for his doggy.

 

 

Our next stop after lunch was Nickelodeon Universe for some rides!! Emily was getting really tired but didn't give into a nap in the stroller because there was too much to see :)

 

We even found the famous Forrest Gump shoes so

Erica tried them on for size :)

 

Blue's Clues Ride

Erica & Joey driving the semi truck

Joey was supposed to go on this ride with her but after waiting in line and watching it, it was too fast for him! So...I took one for the team!

Taking a train ride on Azul from Dora

 

After the rides, we decided to call it a day and ended at American Girl. Erica got an 18" doll for Christmas so I told her she could go to the store and pick "Stephanie" out a new outfit.

 

She got to take her picture with the new doll Saige :)

 

All three kids slept the whole way home! Chuck made a pit stop in the cities and took me to the Grand Ol' Creamy for ice cream. I think they have the best around!!! I was a nice quiet drive home while we enjoyed our ice cream :)  What a fun weekend!