7 Month Pregnancy Update

How far along? 30 weeks

Mood: Rested! :)

Maternity clothes? Yes, along with my bellyband because even maternity clothes are having trouble covering my growing tummy and I refuse to buy more just to wear for two months!

Sleep: Still having trouble getting comfortable, and now also waking multiple times at night for visits to the bathroom, but other than that sleep is good...lol

Energy Level: Short spurts throughout the day.

Best moments in the last month: Getting to relax and enjoy my last few months of being pregnant and having a family of four.

Movement? You can see movements from the outside of my tummy when Bennett gets dancing!

Cravings: Milk, Big Red, and Bluebell ice cream

Baby purchases this month: All this free time has given me a chance to shop online! Baby bedding, a couple of ties for newborn pictures, a baby sling, mattress, and picked out a new double stroller today that my fabulous aunt is getting us!

What I miss: My coworkers and students

What I am looking forward to: Being able to resume normal activity!

Look how much my belly has grown, even from just last month!!!

Bed Rest

This pregnancy has been a little different than the first two go-rounds. I'm not sure if it is because I already have two children that keep me busy, the fact that I am pushing 30, or that by body is over making babies and wanting to make sure I don't have more kiddos.

I am gaining weight at a faster rate, swelling started early this pregnancy and isn't just in my ankles and calves, but some days all the way up to my knees and thighs. Standing for too long causes me to be out of breath and feel like my heart is pounding out of my chest. On top of all that I am more emotional/moody, and just now beginning to understand why pregnant women don't go around smiling and glowing all the time.

I have been busy dealing with all of the above, along with a 2 hour commute each day, getting both boys ready and dropped off at two separate locations for school and making it to work before eight, Deacon's therapy needs, Carson's reading and Spanish for kindergarten, teaching, student council, holidays, and so on...and somehow making it all work without going crazy. But then, the contractions started.

In early January, I would periodically get what felt like Braxton Hicks during the later part of an especially busy day and would disappear by the time I got home and relaxed. By the end of the month the contractions were definitely stronger and coming at regular intervals about 10-15 minutes apart. After work on the 31st I figured I would call my doctor and just schedule an appointment to share my concerns. As soon as I mentioned contractions to the receptionist she immediately put me through to the nurse, who told me to go to the hospital for monitoring. The hospital hooked me up to monitors and did an ultrasound of Bennett to see how he was and check his size (1lb. 11oz.) and called my doctor for her opinion. She wanted me to stay on bed rest for two days and follow up with her on the second day.

At my appointment I was still having a little cramping and my doctor asked me what was more important: Bennett or work? When I chose Bennett, she said she would feel safer putting me on bed rest because she was concerned of pre-term labor and with a 14 week premature baby, the outcome could be scary.

So here I am.

For those of you who know me, laying around doing nothing is not my thing. I am a week into this and already trying to find activities in the house to keep me busy. I wish I could do the paperwork end of my job from home to help out my colleagues and long-term sub, but have been firmly told that I could no longer do anything work related. I have been able to do a few projects from bed (100 day shirt and Deacon's party invitations), but other than that, my day mostly consists of reading, watching movies, and playing on the computer.

I was in such shock at the initial appointment when I was told that I would be on bed rest, that I didn't even know there were stages of bed rest or think to ask which stage I would be placed on. So, at today's appointment I got a few more details.

I am on modified/regular bed rest, which means no: work, strenuous chores, heavy lifting, standing/walking for more than 5-10 minutes, climbing stairs, long shopping trips, etc. I am allowed to leave the house occasionally for non-strenuous activities like sitting at church or the movies, as long as I don't have to climb stairs, or stand or walk a long distance. (And luckily got permission for Deacon's birthday party this weekend as long as I rest before and after and stay seated during the party!)

I am making myself stick to the rules, because I have already been warned that next comes strict bed rest and I don't want complete bed confinement!

Be prepared, with all of this free time on my hands, I may be busy blogging!

5 Month Pregnancy Update

How far along? 22 weeks

Mood: Great!! I am back to being a happy pregnant lady!

Maternity clothes? Yes, because this is my first pregnancy to be spent almost completely in the winter, I have had to add lots of maternity pants and sweaters to my wardrobe.

Sleep: If I could only bottle up this extra sleep I am getting and save it for when I really need it, when Bennett arrives, I would be fabulous!

Energy Level: Almost too good! I should probably slow down a bit because the nesting is already kicking in and I am determined to get everything in order around our house.

Best moments in the last month: Amazing ultrasounds, Christmas, and New Year's.

Movement? The ultrasound tech told me that due where my placenta is located, a lot of the kicks will be absorbed, making it hard to feel the light kicks. I usually notice the most movement when I lay down at night.

Cravings: Wedding cake snocones (luckily, there is a place by my house that still sells snocones in the winter!)

Baby purchases this month: Haven't purchased anything yet. We've had Carson's birthday, Christmas, garage conversion, and up next Deacon's birthday. Shopping spree will probably start in March.

What I miss: Not feeling gigantic! I won't even say how much weight I have already gained with little Bennett...

What I am looking forward to: Finishing the garage conversion and getting the stupid glucose test over with!


I also dug up my 5 month pregnancy picture with Deacon to do a side-by-side comparison between my two little boys (sorry Carson, I didn't do this with you!):

And here is my belly growing with Bennett:

4 Month Pregnancy Update

How far along? 19 weeks (So, only a couple of days away from 5 months, but technically still 4!)

Mood: So much better! I feel pretty much back to myself, with only the occasional mood swing.

Maternity clothes? Umm, did you see the picture?!? Unless they were really loose regular clothes, I am only wearing maternity now...

Sleep: No problemo!

Energy Level: Thanksgiving and Christmas Break are giving me that extra time I need to re-charge my batteries! Thank God for my teacher schedule!

Best moments in the last month: Finding out we are getting our 3rd boy!!

Movement? The kicks are getting progressively stronger, but still are pretty faint tickles. My students can't wait until the real movements happen so they can feel too.

Cravings: Juice & Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal

Baby purchases this month: Nothing this month, and we don't really have a whole lot to purchase in the future either! :)

What I miss: Wearing contacts! My eyes stay too dry during pregnancy, so I end up wearing my glasses the majority of the time. I would also kill for a margarita!

What I am looking forward to: Christmas and New Year's!! Converting the garage into a bedroom for Deacon and Carson, so I can start getting rooms organized.

Baby #3 Gender and Name Reveal!

After waiting for what felt like an eternity, we finally had our big ultrasound today to determine the baby's sex!



As soon as the wand touched my stomach, Brian and I immediately thought we saw "something." My doctor held out saying it could have been the umbilical cord, and switched angles. This is the view we got:

HE is definitely ALL boy!!!

We feel so blessed that God has given us another of His sons to raise! (Maybe we are doing something right!) I am already envisioning Christmas excitement at our house next year with our three little men.

We are also excited to get to use all of our favorite boy names! We have decided this little guy's name will be: Bennett Asher Scott

Bennett - meaning "little blessed one"

Asher- from the bible, meaning "happiness"

And what a happy little blessing he is!

Before Thanksgiving Break, I promised all the students I would let them know immediately what the baby would be when I returned to school. I used my awesome Silhouette to create this fill-in-the-blank shirt:

And changed after my appointment. :)

3 Months w/ Baby #3

How far along? 14 weeks

Mood: Hormonal!! Praying my mood swings start tapering off! (I think Brian may be too.)

Maternity clothes? Wow, they aren't kidding about showing quicker the more pregnancies you have! About all bottoms are maternity, if they aren't sweatpants. I have also added some maternity dresses and shirts too.

Sleep: It is hard getting comfortable, but once I am out, I'm good.

Energy Level: My energy is starting to come back, but I definitely need my naps on the weekend to function the rest of the week!

Best moments in the last month: Seeing our baby on the ultrasound

Movement? There have been a couple of nights at bedtime where I have wondered if I felt the baby, but no definite movements.

Cravings: Sweets, fruit, and cheese.

Baby purchases this month: I bought a gender-neutral Halloween outfit on clearance. :)

What I miss: Being even tempered! (And possibly some adult beverages)

What I am looking forward to: finding out the sex of the baby!!

11 Week Ultrasound

In a few short weeks our baby went from a bundle of cells to a tiny person! Even after two other little ones, I am still amazed by God!

I grilled the ultrasound tech to see if she could give any hint to the sex of the baby, but she said it is still another week or two until you can distinguish. (Possibly tmi: At this stage all babies have something down there, its the angle that soon determines the sex. Out: girl, Up: boy) So as of now, it is still girl-like, but it may change. We find out November 28th.

Technology has already improved since Deacon! We were even able to get some 3D images this early on!

This one shows the baby curled up facing forward with its hands up by his/her face.

Closer view:

Side view:

We have narrowed down a few of our favorite names and would love your input! If you haven't voted, please do here.

IntelliGender

A few stores (Walgreens, HEB, Babiesrus) sell an at-home product called IntelliGender to detect the sex of the baby as early as 10 weeks. We obviously aren't putting a lot of weight in this product, but thought it would be a fun way to pass the time until we do find out. AND it was accurate in predicting Deacon's gender.


Here's their verdict:
Have any of you used this? Was yours correct?

Meet Scott Baby #3

Well it's official: there is a baby in my tummy! We were already able to see and hear a tiny heartbeat from that little ball of love!


I am 8 weeks pregnant, with May 10th looking like our due date! (The baby measured a little smaller than that, but the doctor said it was close enough to keep that date.) With two little winter babies already, I am excited to have some warmer weather to party plan for in the future!!

Our next appointment is October 25th, where I get another ultrasound and he/she will actually look like a baby!

Carson has already started throwing out name suggestions, and I now know another reason five year olds don't have kids of their own...the names sound like something a celebrity couple would pick:

Girl Names-
Geyser (what we yell when Deacon pees in the bathtub)
Gnarly

Boy Middle Name-
Climb-in-the-toilet (again, after Deacon)

We have a couple of names in mind, but still haven't completely decided yet.

Surprise, Surprise!!

It looks like we will soon be a party of five...

We are still in a little shock from the news, but we are excited to have our first ultrasound next Tuesday when it may feel more real!