29 weeks

How far along? 29 weeks as of Sunday!
Total weight gain: 21.7 pounds. Gasp! I literally cried over gaining 7 pounds in a month, but I'm chalking it up to baby girl measuring on the bigger side. 
Maternity clothes: not really, mostly because I don't have any. Soffee shorts and tanks all day, every day. 
Stretch marks: none yet. As soon as I feel my belly get tight I run for my belly butter. 
Sleep: horrible! I always looked forward to bedtime. Now, not so much. I'm constantly rolling and shifting due to hip and pelvic pain. Hoping it goes away soon. Not likely.
Miss anything? Being able to sleep like a rock, walking with out waddling, fitting into my shorts, and being perfectly tan during the summer. 
Movement: Tons, she is very active. Especially at midnight. She is mommy's little soccer player already. Daddy likes to say she is practising her karate. 
Food cravings? Homemade strawberry jam is my jam. On toast, pancakes, ice cream, cereal...you get the point. :-)
Gender: Girl
Labor signs: Not yet. 
Symptoms: Mild back pain. Serious pelvic and hip pain. Rib pain. Tired, always.
Belly button in or out? The top is starting to pop out. Still in limbo for the most part. 
Wedding rings on or off? On.
Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy!
Looking forward to? My birthday is on Wednesday! Fourth of July is on Friday! So much festiveness planned for this week! 
Countdown: 77 days or less. Hopefully less. I like to say she has 60 days till she gets her eviction notice. :-)

I had my 29 week appointment on Wednesday and they said she is on track to be a 8 pound baby. Yikes! That's a little to close to 9 pounds for my comfort. With my doctors permission I will be trying to naturally put myself into labor starting September 1st.

Why I Opted Out of the Glucose Test

Did you know you had a choice in whether you took this test or not? I didn't. I thought it was just something you did. My cousin posted a link to her Facebook page about the risks of the glucose test and why you should think about opting out of it. I decided to read it with every intention of still taking the dreaded test. I wanted to read the article because I didn't know it was optional.

Once I had finished reading about all the risks and toxins in the drink, I knew I didn't feel comfortable putting that substance into my body where there was a direct feed to a tiny human growing inside of me.

Here is my list of why I chose not to have it done.

1. The toxicity. You thought this drink was just a pound of sugar and water, huh? Yea, me too. Turns out there is an ingredient called BVO in the drink. Whats BVO you ask? Its a compound used on furniture, clothes, etc to keep them from going up in flames. Yup, its a flame retardant. Not sure why it needs to be in such a drink given to pregnant women.

2. I am low risk. Also, I felt that since no one in my immediate family has had gestational diabetes (nana and mom) that it was unlikely that I would have it.

3. I am having as natural a pregnancy as possible. I have opted out of every test out there. I have only complied with two blood test.

4. Because of my diet, ingesting that much sugar would send my body into shock. Nausea, headaches, the shakes, vomiting, etc. I would be sure to get it all.

If you feel that your just not comfortable taking this test, just remember you don't have to. But if you feel you need to take this test, but don't want to put the flame retardant in your body ask your doctor about your other options. You could always try drinking a Mountain Dew instead or you can eat 25 jelly beans before hand.

Do your research and make an informed decision for yourself and your baby.

28 weeks

How far along: 28 weeks, 1 day
Weight gain: 14.5+ pounds
Gender: girl!
Maternity clothes: I don't have any maternity clothes yet. I have two shirts from my mom, but other than that I've been having a really hard time getting dressed. I live in yoga pants in the evenings when it's cool enough for them and sofee shorts during the day, but getting ready to go out is a whole different story.
Movement: lots! At my last appointment she was had down and sunny side up. So her movements have been lots of knees and elbows. She has been really active the last few days, I think she's getting it in before she runs out of womb. Haha.
Sleep: what is sleep? I used to look forward to bed time. I loved sleeping, I looked forward to it. Now u dread bed time. It's all thanks to back pain and rib pain and of course rhinitis of pregnancy.
Cravings: I had a serious craving for cheese pizza the other night. Unfortunately I had to substitute it with ramen noodles-yuk!, cucumbers, raspberries, and BBQ chips. Insert sad face here. On the up side I did get it the next day.
Most looking forward to: I have my 28 week appointment on Wednesday. It's a pretty big deal. I will find out my official weight gain, get my rhogam shot, learn about breastfeeding and options, go over my birth plan, learn what to expect for labor and the signs, and I get my hospital registration papers. I also need to find out about baby girls weight and height since she was already weighing in at 3 pounds. I want to know how that will affect me and her due date.
Labor signs: none yet, getting excited for when I have something to put here.
Symptoms: rib pain! Literally feels like someone is breaking my sternum. It hurts to inhale really hard which sucks because it's getting harder to breath especially after I eat. Lack of sleep. Story is it's your natural way of preparing for sleepless nights. I think it's very unfair since we'll be getting enough of that already. No need to start sooner than needed in my opinion.
Belly button in or out? Flat most of the day, but sticks out in the evening.
Wedding rings on or off? Still rocking the rock and band.
Countdown: 83 days or less! Hopefully less!
Wedding rings on or off?
Countdown:

Father's Day weekend!

This past weekend was our first Fathers Day. I ordered my husband's gift over a week before hoping it would be here in time. Of course, it wasn't. It came one day late. Boo! Which forced me to ruin the surprise and tell him. 

We woke up Sunday morning and went to church then grilled out. Poor babe spent most of his day working on his truck. 

He had Monday off because of doctor appointments and my ultrasound so at least he was home when his gift got here.

As you can see, I got him a zombie gnome. It's the coolest gnome ever. Definitely worth the money. 

His smile got bigger and bigger as he was unwrapping it. 

27 weeks

How far along: 27 weeks 

Weight gain: 14.5 pounds. I lost a few ounces since last week. Weird?
Gender: Girl
Maternity clothes: A few mixed in here and there. Mostly borrowing bigger sized shirts from family. Bought a maternity bra hoping that would help with the rib pain. No suck luck! Still using the rubber band trick on my jeans and trying to go bra-less as much as possible.
Movement: lots of it the last few days. Kicking and punching my insides. Sometimes she hits a sensitive spot but for the most part, I'm still loving every bit of it. You can actually see her kicking on the outside now.
Sleep: sleep, ah sweet sleep. It has been rough the last week. I've had a sinus congestion thing going on so between waking up to blow my nose, pee, etc it hasn't been so great.
Cravings: nothing weird. I kind of feel left out. No pickle and ice cream cravings over here. Baby girl must be going through a growth spurt because I've been eating like crazy.
Labor signs: not yet.
Symptoms: I'm starting to have a few. I had a wicked leg cramp the other night that woke me out of a dead sleep. It hurt so bad. I was yelling to Casey, "what do I do, what do I do!!" - "do I flex it or do I stretch it?!!" Literally freaking out. Legit couldn't sleep for the next two nights because I was worried of it happening again. In case you didn't know, when you have a leg cramp. The feeling lingers in your leg for a day or so. So you constantly feel like you may possibly get another one.

I just got out of my ultrasound so I can give you a more accurate up date on baby girl. She is measuring a week ahead so I'm measuring that of 28 weeks. She already weighs 3 pounds and is in the 65th percentile. 

I also had my blood work today. I decided not to do the glucose test. I'll write a post dedicated to that soon. Promise! Also, I will be filling you in on our first Fathers Day weekend. 

For now, I'll leave you with this sweet little girl. 

Fourth of July Mini Style

Happy Summer Babes! It has finally been consistently warm here in Michigan. We had the worst winter since the 1800s. A straight up Elsa winter and that's what I will call it for the rest of my life.

With July just a few weeks away it brings us my Birthday and Fourth of July amidst a slew of other events and shenanigans.

Since the day I found out we were having a girl, I've been eyeing little girls clothes non stop! It's even harder because Casey isn't letting me run wild and buy every single adorable glitterized thing. He is a very smart man indeed. But that doesn't keep me from looking.

Part of me wishes she was due in the beginning of summer. Have you seen all the rompers, swim suits, and sunglasses for tots? Holy cuteness overload!

Not to mention the festive Fourth of July gear. Since I won't be dressing baby girl up quite yet, I compiled a little festive out fit style board for you mommas with little chickies who need a festive ensemble for the biggest bash of summer.

                One.  Two.  Three.  Four.   Five.

26 weeks

How far along: 26 weeks! The last week of my second trimester! Rolling on into my third! 
Weight gain: 15 pounds. Not to shabby. 
Gender: Girl!
Maternity clothes: Yep! A few here and there mixed in with my normal clothes. I don't quite fill them out yet, but they are way more comfy and hide my pony tailed jeans. I did have to buy a maternity bra though. It's so much more comfortable. 
Movement: Still a wiggle worm, but she is slowing down with the bigger she gets. 
Sleep: Was horrible, but is getting better. I didn't wake up last night to pee, eat or blow my nose. I've had a sinus infection the last week so it sucks to breath. 
Cravings: Watermelon and cheddar brats. 
Labor signs: No
Symptoms: Nada
Belly button: it's a halfy! 
Wedding rings: On. I don't think I'll grow out of them. 
Looking forward to: Our next ultrasound on the 16th. Love seeing my baby girl. 
Mood: Mostly happy. Although I did have a tantrum in Target. It consisted of me leaving my cart with my stuff in it and going home. Pregnant much?!
Countdown: 98 days! I can't wait to meet our beautiful baby girl!

25 weeks

How far along: 25.3 weeks
Weight gain: 14.8 pounds gained
Gender: Girl
Maternity clothes: It's definitely time. We're going this weekend to look at nursing bras and some maternity tank tops. Trying really hard to stay in my pre pregnancy jeans and shorts. Also wearing allot of maxi skirts and dresses. 
Stretch marks: Still pretty lucky on this one. So far so good. 
Best moment this week: Hearing babies heartbeat at my 25 week appointment. 
Movement: Yep. Lots of little kicks and rolling. 
Sleep: Not so great. I'm having a hard time getting comfortable. I am constantly switching from hip to hip and trying to prop myself up in a reclined position. 
Cravings: Watermelon 
Labor signs: Not yet. 
Symptoms: nothing really, except the last two days I've been really feeling out of my head. Kind of like my sugar is dropping or something? Hoping it's just from not sleeping well. 
Belly button in or out? It hasn't decided. 
Wedding rings: On
Looking forward to: Baby Shower cake testing next Thursday. 
Mood: Happy

At my 25 week appointment my doctor  gave me my paperwork for the glucose test and blood draw. I have the option to refuse the glucose test so I'm highly considering it. I'll be sure to do a post on why I did or didn't do it