23 Weeks

I can't find a picture to go with this week but that's ok. I had a doctors appointment on July 1 and everything looks good. I've only gained one pound but the doctor laughed and said that's fine because the baby only weighs one pound now and its better to save all the weight gain for the end anyways. Plus I started about 5 pounds heavier than I did with Ariana so it really isn't a big deal (so he says) I think he's just trying to make me feel good that I started overweight and is just being polite about the whole thing. He took me completely by surprise when he pointed out that I start my third trimester in just one week. Crazy! Third trimester already? That came really fast! (but I never realised third trimester is actually the longest part of your pregnancy since you still have 16 weeks left!!) Still crazy how fast it is going.

22 Weeks

Gratitude

Sometimes life is hard, that's just how life is. When times get rough it helps a lot to look at the blessings that you do have. Just this morning I started making a list of people who have really helped me out A LOT over the pass few weeks and my heart is full of gratitude. My list is becoming very long and when I look at it I feel SOOO blessed. I am grateful beyond belief for the support and friendships I have. I am grateful for good health not only in me but with my pregnancy and children. I'm grateful for the talents that I have and that I can use them to help provide for my family. I'm grateful for a Heavenly Father that loves me and is standing by me.

21 Weeks, Its a...

BOY!!!

Another week has gone by. Friday was our "big ultrasound". I've known for weeks that it was a boy but my girls didn't. 20 weeks is normally the first time I ever get to see my babies and a tradition that we've developed is that we find out what we are having but not at the ultrasound. The ultrasound tech prints a picture with what it is and we look at the picture at a nice lunch or dinner. My girls have really been looking forward to this tradition and I wanted to keep it up so I didn't tell them even when I knew what it was. This drove Alexis crazy!! (she's a like me, we don't like to be held in suspense just tell us now! Secrets drive us nuts!!)

Alexis has really wanted it to be a boy and Ariana wanted a girl. Ariana's reasoning makes me laugh. She wanted a girl because she has a baby toy that she loves that she is convinced she must share with a boy but not a girl. What is it? A stuffed yellow, blue and green giraffe rattle. If it was a girl she has a pile of "girl toys" that she doesn't want any more and is ready to pass to a little sister. Nice Ariana! : ) She wasn't really too upset that it is a boy. She has gradually been warming up to the idea of a baby. She's starting to talk about pushing it in a stroller and helping give it a bottle. Alexis can't wait on the other hand. From the time we started talking about maybe having a baby come she has been jumping with excitement. I think they are both going to be great big sisters. It will be nice having them be a little older and able to help more.

I've felt the baby moving a lot more this week. This morning I could even tell he was all curled up on the left side of my belly. I let Ariana feel it. She thought that was really wierd. I feel like I have started showing more this week and sleeping certain ways and exercising in some classes and on some equipment has gotten a little uncomfortable. Nothing to bad just enough to remind me that I am pregnant : )

Twenty Weeks

Twenty weeks! I can't believe I'm already half way there. Just ignore the fact that I look tiered in the picture (because I am). I know there still isn't much showing and I wish I had profile pictures from the girls so I could compare. Oh well. Its still exciting to be half way done. Bring on the stretchy pants, shirts and dresses because I'm sure I'll be big soon enough. : ) There hasn't been much change between last week and this week beside maybe gaining 2 lbs which is due in large part to eating dinner with friends, block parties and end of school year celebrations. YUMMY! Thank goodness food tastes good again! (or maybe not ; ) )

Sleeping Buddies

Ever since Ariana moved into her big girl bed when she was two my girls have slept in the same room. Over the last year they have stopped using their own beds on a regular basis preferring to sleep together on the ground in their room or my room or when Justin is gone on my bed. Alexis is a crazy sleeper and Ariana is not. I'm surprised that Ariana can put up with her sisters sleeping habits but it does make for some good laughs every once in a while:

This is from our trip to Disney Land on May 1, 2011
Just this morning (June 5, 2011) around 7am she was using Ariana as a pillow

Baby Ashby is 19 Weeks

My sweet little baby is 19 weeks and growing well. I'm starting to be able to feel the movements and know for sure that its the baby. I feel the baby at night right before bed and in the morning the most. I've been REALLY stressed the past month and a side effect has been little sleep and weight loss which scared me. (normally weight loss is good but not usually when you are pregnant) I was surprised when the doctor didn't seem to care on Friday because my weight loss just brought me back to my starting pregnancy weight. So good news is I might not be completely huge by the end of this but who knows maybe my stress will swing my weight the other way now that I can kind of eat again. Regardless, the baby is healthy and right on track with the due date of October 28. I'm not showing very much at all. People who know me might be able to tell but strangers would be rather daring if they asked me yet if I'm pregnant. I thought with my third I would "pop" really fast but I guess waiting so long in between pregnancies helped that not happen. Well and now that I think back I don't think I was really "showing" so it was obvious with the girls until later as well. Its not a bad thing just not what I expected this time around. I'm sure I will still be huge come October : )