Week 28

We have entered the 3rd Trimester! Sleep patterns have changed, leg, feet, arm, and hand cramps have continued - needless to say sleeping through the night is now a thing of the past. My excitement and anticipation is growing! I am trying to focus my nervous energy on constructive projects that I can finish before I get much bigger. I'm curious about how big the baby is and how much I've gained. Hoping to find out at tomorrow's dr appointment. (Belly pics to come)

G's first haircut

I agreed to get Guin's haircut (a little trim) after she turned two. Well when the time came, I wasn't ready so we waited until after her third birthday. She is potty trained and will be a big sister very soon. Mommy (me) has to let go a little and celebrate her growing up!

This past Saturday, Grandmama, Me, and big girl Guinny went and got our hair cut and styled. Lulu (hairdresser and friend) was wonderful at talking to and engaging G while combing, cutting and styling.

Guin's hair is just above her shoulders in the front and is longer as you go around, peaking in the middle of her back (about 5 inches below her shoulders). From the longest part of Guin's hair, a little over 2 inches was cut. And other areas were just trimmed a little to even things out and clean up her look. Haha - what a grown up little girl :)

I plan on doing most of her future cuts and trims for a while, but it was nice to be able to sit and watch (and photograph) this day.

Style: 2 twists pinned back then combined with purple flower band topped with purple glitter - "Princess Hair"

Week 27

Week 26 of pregnancy - complete, now we have begun the 27 week. Little Eggy's kicks and jabs are feeling stronger than ever. Since the space is getting tight in the womb, I seem to tell when baby is awake and when asleep. J We haven’t felt any hiccups yet. I’m not sure when I started to feel them with Guinny, but once they started she had them pretty consistently. My whole belly would have a slight bounce or jiggle every few seconds for minutes at a time. Sometimes they seemed to last all day. I know that it’s normal so we’ll see if this little one gets them too.

Well that means we’ve reached the final week of the second trimester. I find that some old symptoms are creeping back, such as fatigue and frequent urination. Also, groin pains and Braxton Hicks contractions are increasingly evident. I guess at this point I should expect to feel them on a regular basis. Beyond that I am well and focused on getting some projects complete.

On the emotion side, I have found myself weepy or easily tearing the last few days. Sensitive and sentimental to say the least - oh, who would have thought I’d be such a softy? The wonders of motherhood; I have more patience then I ever expected. It’s not too bad at all!

Catching up...

We had an eventful week, starting with some bad storms and many tornados on April 3. At least 17 tornadoes ripped through the Dallas-Fort Worth area from mid afternoon into the early evening. This caused much damage yet no deaths - wow, so lucky! There was massive news coverage, tornado sirens soundings, and many phone calls and text messages between loved ones. I was at work on the 10th floor in North(ish) Dallas. We evacuated the floor, descending the 10 flights in the stair well. A co-worker stayed with me. I went slow, waddling all the way. We were cleared to return to our floor after about 15 minutes. I took the elevator back up :). Rick was also at work. They evacuated to the basement (not common to have these in Texas) twice, I think. And little Guinny was with Grandmama very close to a few strikes! They stayed in the closet for over an hour, and then returned to cover in the bathroom for about 20 minutes. We were texting at least every 10 minutes to check on each other. We are very lucky - our entire extended family down here remained unharmed in body and property.

Guinny's Birthday was Friday and I got to spend it with her since I had the day off for the holiday. We slept in and watched cartoons. We played until after lunch, and then she helped me clean and bake. Though I was hoping to get more done, we had a nice day at home.

The following day we had dance class in the morning then her birthday party at the park. This was a little tricky for multiple reasons.First, Guinny was again not following along in her class. When we popped our head in, she participated for a short time then sat in the corner. Instead of repeatedly disrupting the class we decide to remove her and leave early (for the second week in a row). Arg! I'm glad she's not cripplingly shy, loud and obnoxious, or violently hitting or biting! But this misbehaving is tricky to address and correct. Sometimes she's happy and dancing, walking laps around the whole room and when told what to do or not to do (by the teacher) she tends to pout with crossed arms and lowered head. We told her she needs to listen and not to be sassy. Trying to give her examples of both. Explaining that in dance class we listen to the teacher. We are learning how to dance while having fun, but it is not playtime. She seems to understand a great deal in conversation but we have yet to see behavior improvement. When we leave early we follow up with an additional punishment for a few hours if not the rest of the day. For example we've taken away the privilege of cartoons, sweet treats, playdough or the like. And if/when she asks for the restricted item(s) we remind her of what happened in dance class. We ask her to explain back why we can't have that item. And what we can do to earn it back. She repeats it back and actually explains it in her own words vs. exactly how it was told to her. We think being around other kids and understanding and listening to an instructor (that she is not related to) is great for her. However we are brainstorming if maybe there is an activity better suited for her activity level and attention span. After briefly sharing with Misty, she told me that Sophia seemed to have a very similar experience and they switched her to a tumbling/gymnastics class. Sophia is thriving! So we are planning on completing this season with dance and brainstorming for next year.We'll see if she's able to participate in the recital coming up. I sure hope so!

Anyway, after getting home we changed Guinny out of her dance clothes explained no cartoons... she sat in her room until she apologized. Then we quickly packed up the truck and headed to the park. We were trying very hard to separate her earlier behavior from the picnic at the park. We didn't want it to come across as a reward. I think we had just enough time to make it clear and separate the activities. Anyway, we got to the park just at 11, when the party was starting. Many of our friends and family arriving along side. So we recruited help unloading and quickly got into party mode. We provided BBQ from Rick's favorite local place. Guinny asked for purple cupcake and sprinkles so I had made chocolate cake with homemade butter cream frosting decorated with star shaped sprinkles, and mixed berry cupcakes with homemade mixed berry cream cheese frosting decorated with fresh blueberries, a blackberry, and a mint leaf. The kids and adults seemed pleased with the spread. Much was eaten! After food there was roaming around the pond, blowing bubbles, playground activities, and sandbox fun. Guinny didn't even get a chance to open her gifts until we returned home. There was food, sun, laughs, and fun! The party was a success!

The next day was Easter. Guinny got a basket with plastic eggs and stickers from us, had a nice visit from Grammy, and then got to go over to see Boompa, Nana, Aunt Katie and the Phillips group. She got another basket there with plastic eggs, candy, raisins, and juice. She ate some dinner then enjoyed a few treats. She was especially delighted that cousin Josey (that she calls my “my friend Josey”) was able to stick around and visit. All the kids played and played! What a full and fun weekend :)

March Photo Session

I wanted to share some more of our wonderful family shots from our recent photo session with Liz!

(Ok, trying this again but hopefully I get more pics uploaded this time :))

Week 26

Yep, today is day 1 of my 26 week of pregnancy. I am well and feeling pretty darn good! Nesting and cleaning is my focus right now. I am excited how the house is coming along. Rick has been a real trooper too! He, not only is still working full-time, schooling full-time, completing his share of parent and household tasks, but also helping with all these random and not so random projects around the house. Thanks hun!! J

Throughout pregnancy, I’m continuing to work full-time and keep up with home responsibilities; I have to remember to go easy on my back because it gets achy. Oh, I will regret pushing myself too much – ouch! (This is common due to the growing uterus shifting the center of gravity while stretching out and weakening the abdominal muscles. Of course this is in conjunction with hormonal changes that loosen the joints and ligaments.)

My frequent leg cramps continue, but during routine exams both with my OBGYN and MDA doctors, I was reassured that extremity cramps are normal for pregnancy and my frequency and intensity is normal for my disability. Not that I was really that worried about them I just wanted to fully disclose how I was doing physically with my doctors so they can track and monitor appropriately.

Though my carpal tunnel symptoms have not yet returned, my hands and arms have begun cramping as well. Not as painful as my legs but seems more awkward.

Ok, enough blah blah boring symptom stuff. Here's the good stuff. The baby is really active and moving a lot. I described it to Guin as "The baby is dancing and making mommy's tummy feel funny." So now when I hold my belly suddenly with a strange expression on my face, Guin either asks or states the baby is dancing. Ha-ha, so cute :) I've been really open with her and she rubs my belly and gives the baby zur-burts. We both bust out laughing when she makes it loud. A little less often she tickles and talks to the baby as well. Recently, I've invited Guin to feel the baby move. She places her little hand on my bare skin and waits a few seconds then gently yet quickly pushes on my stomach and says it moved. Hahahha! Needless to say, she hasn't felt the baby move yet.