Weeks 12-17

*read our journey here*

Weeks 12 through 17 

I can’t believe how fast this pregnancy is going, yet it feels so slow.  I still check my What To Expect app on my phone daily.  I count the weeks and days.  Every weekday that I change to the new week, John and I acknowledge it.  I love being preggo and the thought of summer almost coming to a close excites me even more!  I cannot wait for the fall and being that much closer to our due date.

I do want to reassure all of my clients and any future brides that I will be returning back to work after the baby is born… but I’m really looking forward to having a some time off during the cold, cuddly, winter months.  I’m so thankful for my amazing team.  Sabrina + Charisse are two of Be Pretty’s lead artists who work full time for the company.  In addition, we have Chloe, Casey + Julie who are fabulous makeup artists and work with our brides on the weekends.

So many new emotions that I never experienced with Henry… this pregnancy is definitely proving to be totally different, but just as special.  The biggest difference is the “down time”, because I’m chasing a very active super hero.

I’ve come to realize, that my two precious children and hubby are all I need in this life.  I always said I wanted a full house – three kiddos.  But, I’m so thankful for Henry + Olive and content with the four of us.  We don’t even know this little girl yet, but I know deep in my heart of hearts that she will complete our family.  The thought of the four of us growing together makes all of my mama emotions melt.

We love you so, Olive Amelia!

Symptoms:  I had one solid week (11-12) where I felt great, but the nausea kicked back in… which reassures me that my sweet baby is thriving.  The sickness was kicking my bunz (hard) from week 13 through the end of week 15.  I have this mama guilt as John has been picking up my slack and I’m missing out on valuable time with Henry when I’m not feeling well.  However, this past weekend I forced myself to get out of bed and I was in the shower by 7am, hair dried, makeup on and dressed in LRT record setting time.  I felt a lot better just getting ready.

Sleep:  Not sleeping my best, mainly because we’re watching Breaking Bad on Netflix and I can’t get my 2.5 year old down until almost 10pm on some nights.  My mind races at night.  And around 2:00am, a visitor (Henry) comes into our bed and snuggles next to mama.  Wouldn’t change it though.  Some of my best thinking is done in the wee hours of the morning!

Gender:  We found out a little into our 12th week that we’re expecting a little girl!  We’re over the moon and so is Henry!  You can read more about that here.

Purchases:  I promised myself I’m not going to go crazy, I really didn’t go crazy with Henry and was very practical.  Purchased the majority of his clothes on sale, etc.  I did buy a used stroller off Craig’s List this time around.  We had a BOB stroller with Henry… and he wasn’t a fan because he sat so far back in it and those strollers are extremely hot (not a lot of venation considering it’s an off road/ running stroller).  It’s also too heavy to lift in and out of the car.  I purchased a single stroller, so we’ll add the board attachment to the back and Henry can “skateboard” lol.  He’s not much of a stroller guy anyway and he’ll be 3 by the time the baby is born and from what I’ve heard kiddos don’t sit in strollers much after 3-1/2.

I also purchased… 3 hair bows, 1 pair of socks, 1 swimsuit and 2 dresses.  They were all on sale during 4th of July too!

Not too bad for approaching my 18th week of pregnancy.

Looking forward to: Our family vacation (or possible staycation) at the end of August.  Also, really looking forward to our anatomy scan in one week.

Weight Gain:  Well, I’ll just go ahead and address this before the numbers get too out of control (lol!).  The IVF meds that I was on helped me gain 15lbs in one month.  I was also eating a strict diet through my acupuncturist with a meal delivery system.  The weight just came on.  It was almost impossible to lose and I was retaining a lot of water during that time.  With two back-to-back IVF treatments (and 196 hormone injections the second round) it was pretty intense on the body and metabolism.  After our last transfer I dropped all injections, except the progesterone injections and estrogen patches.  I was able to lose a few good pounds in-between transfer and the first few weeks of pregnancy.

All in all I’m up about 10lbs – about 12lbs since starting the whole IVF process.

Celebrating the grace of a new day, a new me and a new us.  As hard as it’s been to watch my body change and grow through all of the fertility treatments starting back in 2011 and then gaining 45lbs with Henry – it’s totally worth it, I’m carrying a life made by science.  This is one of the most unnatrual “experiments” that your body can go through.

I’m the heaviest that I’ve ever been and my insecurities definitely show, but I have the rest of my life to get myself back to it’s comfort zone. I’m also approaching 34, my body has been through multiple pregnancies… so, you know what, I’m owning my size and cravings.

It’s impossible (for me) to eat extremely healthy during pregnancy.  I do use the excuse, “I’m pregnant” and I love every bit of it.  In about 21 weeks, I’m sure I’ll be watching what I put into my body.

So many moms told me that I’ll gain less weight because I’ll be “more aware” the second time around… yeah, not me, I’m not fitting in that statistic. 🙂

Movement:  I’m feeling flutters, but can’t 100% confirm if it’s the baby or my belly just talking!  Last night we were in bed and I just finished ice cream, she started kicking mommy and the hubby was able to see and feel her movement from the outside of my belly.  That was the first time that we’ve been able to see my belly wiggle.

How is Henry:  Henry’s so excited about his baby sister.  He talks about her often and loves telling everyone her first and middle name.  He tells Daddy that he needs to take care of mommy and baby sister too… and, well, that melts us both.

At bedtime, (John tears up at this) Henry will ask, “mommy, I watch baby sister on your phone”… what he’s referring to are the weekly videos on The What To Expect app.  He giggles and always wants to know if baby sister is kicking mommy.

Henry + Mommy:  He’s still attached to mommy.  If anyone is even sitting next to me (including adults) he gets a little jealous.  Dear Lord, I love this boy of mine… to be completely honest, we are equally attached to each other, but we’re good about sharing our time with daddy!  When he’s not dangling from banisters, jumping off the stairs and putting holes in our wall, he gives me the best snuggles.

Nursery:  I have a good idea… I actually planned the whole thing around 3am the day we found out it was a girl.  It’s next up on the project list!  Henry wants me to paint it green.

Workouts:  I’ve been doing Body Pump (I did 5 classes last week), but today I drove to the gym and parked… then immediately left and went to Starbucks!  I love it because there’s no cardio and it’s all weights.  I can also check my phone during class, lol!  Looking forward to cooler weather when I can start power walking again and put my Fitbit into good use.

Nesting:  I’m so excited about nesting and it’s happening already.  With Henry, we were in transition.  Living in a tiny (500sf apartment) while our home was being built.  Two weeks after having him we moved.  Instead of this thing called, “nesting”, I packed.  I’m excited to get the house, closets, nursery, cabinets, cars, etc… tidy and ready for babe.

Work:  Something about a baby-on-the-way that gets your booty in gear to WORK!  I worked so hard before having Henry and I feel myself going down that same road again.  Hence: the blog comeback! 🙂

 Delivery:  Due date is January 5th, 2017, but my doctor said he’ll induce me in my 39th week!  I’m excited about having one more Christmas with just Henry and hubby (our 4th Christmas with him).  Now, watch me go into labor on Christmas Eve… lol!

Cravings:  Diet Coke (I know, so bad), Starbucks Turkey Bacon and Egg Sandwich.  Bagels always sound good too!  Oooopppss… Cheetos too!  Not really craving sweets this time around like I did with Henry.

Dressing The Bump:  I did something I NEVER thought I’d do… I purchased a Bodycon dress (yikes!).  I tried to wear them with Henry, but never paired it with a kimono.  I’m bigger than what I was with Henry, but found comfort with the tighter fitting dress and an oversized kimono.  It actually makes me appear smaller.  I’ve been wearing oversized dresses and shirts and have felt so large and in charge… but I think I’m about to embrace the tighter fitting garments.

What Else?:  What other questions or moments should I be documenting?  I’d love to hear your thoughts or if there’s anything else you want to hear from me!  Xo!

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