36 Weeks

Wow! I can not believe that I am almost full term! This pregnancy has FLOWN by!!

Pregnancy Highlights: 

How far along: 36 weeks

Size of baby: Honeydew Melon. About 6 pounds and 18 1/2 inches long. 

Total weight gain: 21 pounds 

Maternity Clothes: Yes

Sleep: Some nights are good. Some aren't. Last night was good. I only got up once. 

What I miss: Being able to move easily.

Cravings: Ice water!

Symptoms: Heartburn, nerve pain!!!, exhaustion, restless leg syndrome. 

Best moment this week: Getting (almost) everything ready for baby's arrival. 

What I am most looking forward to: Holding my baby boy!!! 

At my doctors appointment a few days ago, I found out I am dilated to 3cm and 50-60% effaced (WHOA). So, this baby could make his arrival any day now. Of course I want this baby to stay in for as long as he needs to be healthy but man, I am ready to not be pregnant again. I usually have several contractions a day but nothing consistent or anything to worry about. I go for another appointment next week and I will be getting an ultrasound to make sure the baby is still growing okay because I haven't gained any weight in the past few weeks. This baby is VERY active and I feel like he is a big baby so I am not concerned. 

Gestational Diabetes update: Since tracking my progress, my blood sugar levels keep getting lower and lower. I ate pasta, bread, and dessert the other day and my BS was 72! I am so thankful!

34 Weeks!

34 Weeks? How can it be?

This week was an eventful one as far as my pregnancy goes. We had a couple of scared moments where we thought I was going into labor. One evening at dinner, after shopping all day, I started having consistent contractions every 6 minutes. They eventually went away after a few hours. A couple of days later, I woke up from a nap with contractions every 2-3 minutes and they lasted for about 3-4 hours. I didn't call my doctor and didn't go into the hospital because they weren't painful and I had a feeling they would just go away...and they did. Thank the Lord.

The next morning, I woke up thinking I was leaking amniotic fluid. Sorry if that's TMI. I called my doctor and they had me come in a couple hours later. Turns out, I wasn't leaking fluid but I did have an infection that causes pre-term labor which explains the contractions. So, I am on antibiotics for that and hopefully I will have this baby boy inside me for a few more weeks!

Bryce has a feeling the baby will come within the next two weeks and he is usually right about that sort of thing so we shall see. I'm hoping to make it to full term but with my gestational diabetes, it may not happen.

Speaking of the gestational diabetes, that hasn't been fun. I have to check my blood sugar 4 times a day but I have been able to keep my levels low. The only thing that raises my blood sugar is fruit so I try to stay away from that.

Anyways, here is a pregnancy update...

How far along: 34 weeks

Size of baby: A Cantaloupe- about 4 3/4 pounds and 18 inches long.

Total weight gain: 22 pounds

Maternity Clothes: For the most part. All my pants are maternity but I still wear some of my long shirts.

Sleep: I have had bad restless leg syndrome so that interferes with me getting to sleep but once I get to sleep, I sleep pretty good.

What I miss: Bending over and not having as much energy.

Cravings: Ice water

Symptoms: Heartburn, restless leg syndrome, Braxton Hicks contractions,

Best moment this week: Getting some of the babies clothes washed and finally ordering a carseat!!

What I am most looking forward to: Meeting our baby boy and seeing Ava interact with him.

31 Weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights:

How far along: 31 Weeks!! 

Size of baby: Pineapple

Total weight gain: 20 pounds

Maternity Clothes: Yes! 

Gender: Boy!! 

Movement: All the time! I feel like he moves more than Ava did. 

Sleep: Good for the most part. Some nights I get bad restless legs but once I fall asleep, I am out for the night! 

What I miss: Being able to get around like I used to and not feeling as energetic. 

Cravings: ICE! I am borderline anemic. Its not bad enough to take supplements but its enough to where I crave ice! 

Symptoms: Heartburn, lower back pain if I am on my feet all day, Braxton Hicks contractions, and gestational diabetes (more on that below).

Best moment this week: Getting a few more baby clothes that I need. Its been a rough week. 

What I am most looking forward to: Getting all the baby stuff that we still need and getting it set up and my baby shower next weekend! 

After finding out that I (barely) failed my first glucose test, I had to go again for the 3 hour test. Thankfully, Bryce had Monday off for MLK holiday so I was able to go by myself. I fasted for 12 hours and went in at around 8:30am on Monday morning. I had to drink this horrible drink that tasted like straight up syrup. I had nothing in my stomach and then had to drink that horrible drink so it made me very light headed and nauseous. I was able to stay in the room with my Route 44 Sonic water and a recliner with a tv for the whole 3 hours. So, it wasn't that bad. The nurse came in every hour to draw my blood. Once it was all over, they said they would call me the next morning for the results and I went home to EAT! This girl was hungry! 

The next morning, I found out I had failed the test. My score was 170 and its supposed to be below 140. Ah! I am scheduled to see a diabetes specialist on Friday and a nutritionist on Tuesday. I am praying they don't make me check my blood sugar 4 times a day. If you know me, you know I do NOT like any kind of needle. Even talking about it makes me want to pass out. I am just hoping and praying this process isn't as bad as I am expecting and it goes away soon after the baby is born. 

29 Weeks- Baby #2

Whoa, so much for trying to do weekly pregnancy updates. At this rate, I will have monthly updates! Sorry, baby #2! Hopefully I will have a picture to post soon.

Ava and I went home for the holidays and we were in Texas for over a month. It was awesome spending the holidays with family but it is great to be back in my own home. I went for a check up a couple of days ago and baby boy is growing right on track and is healthy as can be..praise the Lord!! I am so grateful.

Weight gain: I have gained 20 pounds so far (AH!!) but feeling good. I only gained 10 pounds at 29 weeks with Ava. I eat non-stop because I am always hungry!! Baby brother likes to EAT!! Heartbeat is 158.

Maternity Clothes: My new maternity jeans from H&M are my new best friend. I just love that store! Can I get an amen?! I usually wear maternity clothes but there are a few tops that I can still squeeze into.

The baby moves all the time and I feel like his rolls and kicks are so much stronger than they were with Ava. Maybe I just forgot how it felt but I am loving every minute of it. I love being pregnant but I can not WAIT to hold this sweet boy in my arms!

Cravings: ICE!!! I go for my glucose test tomorrow so they will also test for anemia. I craved ice with Ava but it wasn't bad enough to take iron supplements.

Symptoms: Acid Reflex like nobody's business! Tums are my best friend right now. And I feel like I have completely run out of room. How can I possibly grow any larger?

What am I looking forward to? Holding this baby in my arms! I miss having a newborn! I wish I was looking forward to setting a room up but we might be moving before the baby is born so everything is on hold until we know for sure what our plans are.

The business that changed my life

Some may or may not know that I recently started selling a skincare line by the same doctors that created Proactiv and I am SO excited about it. Its called Rodan+Fields. There is a regimen for sensitive skin, acne, anti aging and dark spots. There is something for EVERYBODY! Rodan+Fields was the top seller in Nordstrom in 2007 and has been in over 30 beauty magazines. Several celebrities are using the products and they absolutely love them. Wow!!!

I LOVE these products and have never used anything like it before. I have struggled with my face since I was in middle school and have never been able to find anything to clear my face up. I tried EVERYTHING! A week after I started using Rodan+Fields, my face was almost completely clear!!!! I was sold on the products. Now, my skin is SO smooth and my tone has improved drastically!!

 When I was first approached by the business, I was a little skeptical because I am NOT a sales person. I tried selling Mary Kay and Arbonne and neither one of those worked out for me. But once I heard a little more about the business, I decided to give it a try.

They require NO home parties and there in NO inventory. All we do is simply tell our friends about these amazing products via phone or facebook. It has been SO easy and such a blessing for my family. Heck, I get to use the products AND make money at the same time! And with the 60 day full money back guarantee, it was risk free. I decided that I would try to sell it and if it didn't work out for me after 60 days, I would send everything back for a full refund. The only risk I saw was not taking the risk at all.

So, if this sounds like something you might be interested in, email me at elizabeth_estes16@yahoo.com and I would LOVE to send you some more information!!! And if you aren't interested, maybe someone you know might be!

Seriously, check out these before and after pictures!!! The results don't lie!!! :)

Ava is 2 years old!!!

Ava Drew, you are TWO YEARS OLD today!!! I can not believe it. These have been the best two years of my life. You are so spunky and the sweetest little girl in the world. You definitely keep me on my toes and there is never a dull moment in your world but I love every minute of it.

You talk like you are 13 years old. You repeat everything we say. You LOVE Mickey Mouse and Barney right now. Your favorite food is probably apples and oranges. You can't get enough of your fruits!! Your favorite thing to play with is your babies and you are SO good with your babies. You will rock them and say "shhh", you will change their diapers and feed them a bottle. It's the sweetest thing. You love to sing "Wock a by baby" while rocking your babies to sleep. You are going to be the BEST big sister!!

You weigh 21 pounds and you are roughly 31 inches long. You wear a size 5 shoe and you are still in 12-18 month clothes. Yay for being able to wear our winter clothes two years in a row!

You aren't potty trained yet but you are definitely ready. I just haven't taken the plunge yet. You hate to wear clothes and you go without them most of the time we are at home.

You love to wrestle with daddy on the bed every night before you go to bed.

Some of my favorite words that you say are "Oh Mam" (oh, man), "daink" (drink), "Baf" (bath), "Pees" (please), "Wuh Jew" (Love you),

For your birthday today, we met up with a couple of our friends at the Children's Village in Lions Park to play and also do a story time and craft time. It was chilly outside but I think you had a lot of fun. Then, we came home to eat lunch and take a nap. Once daddy got home around 3:30, you opened your presents and then took you out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. You behaved better than you EVER have at the restaurant. You wouldn't sit in the high chair but you stood next to me and ate and behaved so well. Then, we came home to eat birthday cake! I think you were really full from dinner because you only ate a few bites of the icing and you were done.

For your birthday (from mommy and daddy), you got a baby doll car seat, Melissa & Doug blocks, some play food, a coloring book, water paint, princess cup, and a play microphone. From Gigi, you got some dress up clothes, play slippers and a wand.

You are the light of my life sweet Ava Drew..or as daddy calls you, "Missy Miss". We can not wait to see the little girl you are turning into. We love you more than you will ever know!!!

16 weeks!

I am 16 weeks with baby boy!! Wow!! I can't believe it. Time has gone by WAY too fast!! 

This picture was taken at 15 weeks with Ava Drew. 

(Last weeks picture with baby boy)

Gained 1 pound. Babies heartbeat is 145. 

Thankfully, I have been feeling MUCH better and back to my normal self again. That first trimester was rough. I am enjoying cooking and eating again! I haven't really had any food cravings yet. One of my most annoying symptoms  is the acne that has decided to break out my back and part of my face. So annoying..and gross! 

It is so fun to be expecting a boy. I haven't done much shopping because this baby boy is already set in the clothes department...thanks to my amazing friend from Germany that let me have her bags and bags of boy clothes! Seriously, he has more clothes than Ava. But if you know me, you better believe this baby will get a few monogrammed/smocked things!! :) 

I still haven't felt this baby move yet. I want to say that I felt Ava move at 15 weeks so I am hoping to feel this baby kick soon!!