Bumpdate 2.0 {27 Weeks}

How far along? 27 Weeks
Weight Gain: 14 lbs

How Big is Baby? The size of a cauliflower or rutabaga 

Maternity Clothes? Still only my 2 pairs of jeans. I think I'm in denial. I even purchased some regular workout leggings (for allll the working out I'm doing), that will clearly only work for a limited amount of time. Denial. I can't wait until it's full on dress weather around here.

Stretch Marks? None

Sleep: It's okay. Not great, not horrible. I have been getting tired in the afternoons again, but who has time for a nap!? 

Best Moment of the Week: Honestly? Enjoying the total spring weather that finally decided to show up. The warm sun on my face has never felt so good!

Movement: Yes, tons! It's been cool to actually see them from the outside.

Food Cravings: Sweets after dinner

Gender: BOY!

What I Miss: Feeling comfortable laying down and an adult beverage every now and then.

What I'm looking forward to: Working on the nursery. I MUST make this a priority!

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks, some low back pain and general largeness.

Emotions: They're good! The crying still happens, but you know, 3 year olds will do that to you. ;)

Here I am at 27 weeks with Evie, if you want to compare!

Bumpdate 2.0 {23 Weeks}

 

How far along? 23 Weeks
Weight Gain: 11 lbs !!!! To say he (and I) have had a growth spurt seems like an understatement.

I.feel.huge.

At our appointment this week, he was measuring nearly a full week ahead, size-wise, so at least I know it's not just me! Evie was just so teeny the whole time, that this is new territory for me. I feel like I'm the size of being 7 or 8 months pregnant with her! I went back and found my 23 week picture with Evie and the difference is insane. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I saw my little bitty burrito tummy in a swim suit.

 

How Big is Baby? A large mango. Yum!

Maternity Clothes? Still just the one pair of jeans. Not sure how long that will last!

Stretch Marks? Nope, praise Jesus. I've been freaking out about them with this growth.

Sleep: Eh. I'm currently hating my preggo pillow. And Evie's had a pretty good cold, so that has interrupted sleep for everyone lately.

Best Moment of the Week: Seeing our boy again! We get to have an ultrasound each time and our doc will switch it to 3D, which is awesome. I think the little guy is already sporting daddy's profile! Especially in the upper lip and chin region. Just like Evie. :)

Movement: Oh yeah. An all night dance party went down Saturday night!

Food Cravings: No. Just food.

Gender: BOY!

What I Miss: Nothing right now!

What I'm looking forward to: Sweet baby snuggles.

Symptoms: Braxton Hicks and just general aches and growing pains. Sometimes after I eat I feel so huge and full and uncomfortable. 

Emotions: Good! I can still cry at the drop of a hat, but, you know. :) I'm feeling good.

Some mama encouragement

I have read a number of really good blog posts and articles in the past week, that have spoken to me as a mother. Motherhood is so amazing and rewarding. And HARD. I think we moms are the hardest on ourselves and it's so easy to get consumed with whatever tough phase is currently going on at home. 

So if you've already exceeded your "yell quotient" for today (a friend on FB posted about this recently!), or are struggling through potty training or sleeping issues or back talk… grab a cup of coffee and lock yourself in the bathroom to read through some of these. And I hope you're as encouraged by these sweet women as I have been… to be present, to love our little ones well and to give ourselves a much needed break sometimes.

And then watch the video at the end. You'll most certainly cry and it's a beautiful depiction of a mama's love.

Motherhood Refines via The Tiny Twig

Authentic & Mindful {An interview with Dr. Barbara Sorrels} via Under the Sycamore

The Joy of Learning Contentment via Emily A. Clark

Faithfulness in the Mundane via The Anderson Crew

Evie's Big Girl Room {Inspiration Board}

We've been in our house for over 5 months now, and I am just finally getting around to working on Evie's 'big girl' room. 

When we moved in, we put all of the furniture, etc from her nursery into her room, but I didn't hang anything on the walls because I knew I would be redecorating soon and didn't want to bother with the extra holes in the walls. And of course, there was the whole time/motivation factor. Let's just say her room quickly got moved to the back burner.

But now that she's in a big bed AND I have a nursery to plan out and decorate, it's time to get this bad boy on the road! I went back and forth on what color scheme I wanted to use (as seen by some of my random pins to this board), but her walls are a medium/light grey and I knew I wanted to use lots of crisp white. I am what one might call a fabric hoarder, and have picked up various fabrics I thought I might use in her room over the last year (or two!). I've had the pink/white stripe fabric for a long time and always intended to use it to make her an upholstered headboard. Then when I went to hunt down a fun floral or print to bring in more color on the curtain panels and pillows, I almost scrapped it, but luckily it made the cut!

Here's my ghetto inspiration board, thanks to a Picmonkey collage. Mama needs some photo software.

My plan is to pull lots of fun color from the floral (teal, coral, pink, yellow) and temper with tons of white and hits of gold. I've hung some white floating shelves and have plans for some fun and easy DIY art for the walls. I need to track down some pillow fabric and I definitely need to repaint her dresser. I still like the pale blue I originally painted it, but it reads all wrong in her room now, with the grey walls. And I want it to really pop in there. I'm leaning toward a deep teal with new hardware- probably brass or gold! Though I did really like the coral one above, too… we shall see!

So far I have the curtain panels done and hung, and the headboard is 98% done and will hopefully get hung this weekend! The other big thing I need to tackle is her bedding. My plan is to make a white ruffle bedskirt and I'm leaning toward a white duvet cover.

So that's the plan! I will hopefully have some pictures to share of her room soon!

Bumpdate 2.0 {21 Weeks}

How far along? 21 Weeks
Weight Gain: 7 lbs

How Big is Baby? The size of a large banana. Or a pomegranate. Dealer's choice.

Maternity Clothes? I broke out a pair of my maternity jeans! Not sure if I I'll use my other pair or not. That's it so far.

Stretch Marks? Nope

Sleep: This weekend we picked up a preggo body pillow. So far, so good! Though Little Miss thinks it's for her...

 

Best Moment of the Week: I'm loving all of Evie's references and discussions about the baby. Last night she wanted to see him move, so pulled up all 63 layers of my clothing, cupped her hands around her eyes like goggles and peered into my belly button. Then declared she could see him moving around in there. :)

Movement: Oh yes. He is very busy! At our last appointment (at 19 weeks), the dr. mentioned that he's laying in there horizontally, which isn't typical, and I guess could make me more uncomfortable than normal. This made a lot of sense to me, since I already have decent sized hips and don't seem to get very big out front when I'm pregnant. I think most babes are positioned something like this:

 

Food Cravings: Not really, but I'm wishing I did! I did pick up some ice cream at the store the other day and have been having some before bed. Not majorly craving it or anything, but I'm not hating an excuse for ice cream every night, either. :)

Gender: BOY!

What I Miss: Energy

What I'm looking forward to: Still need to tackle the nursery, but I've made some progress on Evie's big girl room, so I am happy about that! One kid/room at a time.

Symptoms: I've had some major back and sciatica pain lately. I really need to start doing my pregnant Pilates video. Also, pretty sure I'm having Braxton Hicks already! Not my favorite.

Emotions: They've been good.

All in all, I'm thrilled to be halfway there! I can hardly believe it though... it kind of feels like I've been pregnant forever!