28 weeks down!

How far along:  28 weeks!! (Only TWO more weeks until I'm in the 30s, AWESOME!!)

Total weight gain/loss:  Around 8 lbs gained total.

Sleep:  Hit and miss.  Some days it's great, some days it's not.

Food cravings:  Cheese, water, fruit, and juice.

Best moment this week:  Watching my baby girl play with her new doll house.  She loves it!

Movement:  Yup, and OUCH!!!!  He's been poking out all over the place lately, and I'm starting to feel like a stuffed turkey.  I can tell he's running out of room.  He wiggles, tries to stretch out, wiggles again, and then starts kicking up a storm as though he's frustrated.

Gender:  Boy, oh boy!

Labor signs:  Nada.

Belly Button in or out:  Still flat/out.  I thought the whole thing was going to pop, but I think it may just remain slightly popped.

What I miss:  Not feeling like I'm about to burst.  I'm at the point where I really can't imagine getting any bigger, yet I know that I can and will get bigger.  Oh, and bending over, and not feeling out of breath.

What I am looking forward to:  Finishing the nursery and buying him so more clothes.  Poor baby is going to be naked unless I do something about it!

Milestones:  Officially in the 3rd Trimester, no matter what calendar I go by.

Weekly Wisdom:  When all else fails, eat more ice cream.

Symptoms:  I'm in the 3rd Trimester, that just about sums it up...

Emotions:  Eh..  Okay I guess.

(I tried four times to add a picture to this post.  For some reason it won't show up.  I'll add it in a different post shortly.)

A trip down memory lane...

I was showing Yorlee a video that I took of her the other day while she was in the middle of a meltdown.  She was so intrigued by the little person in the video, and obviously didn't realize that it was her.  She said, "Mommy, bad baby."  I tried to explain to her that the baby was mad because her mommy told her not to do something, to which she responded, "Bad.... bad baby."

After the video ended, she wanted to see more of  "the baby".  I started playing videos of her as an infant, and when she first started crawling.  Once we went through all of those, she wanted to see more.  So we went on to when she first started walking and waving "Bye-bye".  A couple times, I had to fight back tears, looking at how far my once teeny tiny baby has come.

And then my heart started to swell thinking about how we will have another little tiny person in our lives very soon.  It was a wonderful trip down memory lane.

Now that I know how short the newborn stage is, I'll be sure to enjoy it more.  Those first few weeks, and grunts, and coos don't last long!

Wait... what?

How did I miss the fact that I have LESS THAN 100 days until my due date?  Being in the double digits in days is huge to me!  Wow!!

Things have been moving along at the speed of light.  Although we are still getting situated at the new house, Yorlee's room is pretty much finished, and I only have a few things to put together in the nursery.

Speaking of Yorlee, she is growing by leaps and bounds!  The other day, I was sitting on the couch when she came up to me and said, "Hi Mommy, I love you."  My heart just melted.  She can count to twenty in English, and ten in Spanish.  She can identify her nose, eyes, ears, head, hair, mouth, teeth, cheek, chin, toes, feet, arms, legs, hands, fingers, and tummy.  She knows so many signs!  Lion, bear, bird, eat, more, please, etc.  She says the sounds of a tons of animals.  She points out the sky, clouds, birds, planes, grass, trees, cars, trucks, etc.

She is my little helper and wants to assist me with loading the dishwasher, doing laundry, sweeping, mopping, etc.  I just LOVE her to pieces!

Lately she has been a bit more cranky.  I'm not sure if it's the "Terrible Two's" approaching, or the fact that so much of her little world has change and will change soon.  New house, new bed, new room, new development, I look different.  Wow, she has been in a constant state of transition.

Here are a few pictures of my darling girl.

Helping Mommy pack

Finishing off Mommy's slurpee

Getting ready for her road test

27 weeks, 2 days

How far along:  27 weeks, 2 days.  I can't believe that I have less than 10 weeks until baby boy is full term.  Amazing!

Total weight gain/loss:  According to the scale at my midwife's office, I'm officially up 8 lbs.  I'm really curious to see what my total weight gain is at the end of this pregnancy.  Hopefully I gain less than I did last time.

Sleep:  Getting tough.  Between the baby doing kung-fu in my belly, my bladder being squished, and the aches and pains that come with this stage in pregnancy, I feel as though as soon as I really close my eyes it is time to wake up for the day.

Food cravings:  Either junk food or fruit.

Best moment this week:  Having Yorlee come up to me and say, "Hi Mommy, I love you!"  So sweet!!  And hearing baby boy's heartbeat at my midwife appointment yesterday.  It was in the 140s.

Movement:  Yes!  He is quite the mover and shaker.

Gender:  Still a boy!

Labor signs:  Not really, baby is in the head down position though.  I thought so because I always feel his hiccups really, really low.

Belly Button in or out:  Still the same, partially popped.  Baby boy loves to drag his little limbs across my belly button which is quite uncomfortable.  If I touch my belly while he is doing that, I can feel very obvious little body parts, I think it freaks my husband out.  I actually felt individual toes the other day.

What I miss: Organization!  My house has been a complete wreck because of moving/boxes/etc.  I'm ready for it all to be put together and organized!

What I am looking forward to:  Setting up baby boy's nursery.  I still need to get his bedding.  I don't want anything fancy or expensive, because honestly, he won't be in there much.  I co slept with Yorlee because I was nursing, and plan to do the same this time.

Milestones:  Being less than 10 weeks away from full term!

Weekly Wisdom:  Even though you feel great, try to take some time out to relax, it'll catch up to you later.

Symptoms:  Puffy face, swollen ankles, irritability, hunger, frequent urination, etc.

Emotions:  Still up and down.  I have absolutely no patience, but since I know it, I've been able to do better.

26 weeks

How far along:  26 weeks, only 11 weeks until baby boy is full term!!

Total weight gain/loss:  Not sure, I haven't even attempted to step foot on a scale and probably couldn't figure out which box it's in if I wanted to.

Sleep:  Okay, my pelvis is starting to ache during the night so I have to toss and turn.

Food cravings:  Really nothing.  When I eat something it's delicious, but I haven't HAD to have a particular item lately.

Best moment this week:  Getting the shipment of furniture and accessories for Yorlee's "Big Girl Room".

Movement:  Nonstop, he actually hurts me sometimes.

Gender:  Still a boy!  I would like one more ultrasound at one point just to make sure, even though it was super obvious at both my ultraounds around 18-20 weeks.

Labor signs:  No, thank goodness!  I'm still absolutely terrified about preterm labor.

Belly Button in or out:  Still weird looking and tender.  I showed a few people and they said I looked like an alien.  It's true, my belly button doesn't really exist anymore.

What I miss: Organization!  My house has been a complete wreck because of moving/boxes/etc.  I'm ready for it all to be put together and organized!

What I am looking forward to:  Organizing the new house and getting Yorlee's room all set up.

Milestones:  Being one month away from the 30's as far as pregnancy weeks go, at that point it seems so close!

Weekly Wisdom:  Hire movers...

Symptoms:  Puffy face, swollen ankles, irritability, hunger, frequent urination, etc.

Emotions:  Pretty crazy. I thought I was doing better but the smallest of things can cause me to fly off the handle.

My face is pregnant...

It seems as though when I'm pregnant, the thing that grows the fastest is my face!

Here are a few pics of me at 25 weeks 1 day:

See what I mean?  Small belly, small body, HUGE FACE!!!!!!  And that oh-so-lovely pregnant face.  Grrr....

Big girl room

While we are getting settled into our new house, my husband and I decided that we would (attempt) to transition Yorlee directly from her crib to a toddler bed.  I ordered EVERYTHING we needed to fully decorate her room (cough*nesting*cough), because I just couldn't fathom the thought of my baby girl sleeping in a room with partial decor.

Most of the blogs I read have set up their childrens nurseries/rooms to look like swanky upscale hotel rooms.  Which looks SUPER lovely, and always get my creative wheels turning.  However, I knew that design wouldn't work for my baby girl.  Yorlee loves to be visually stimulated.  Whether it be by learning something, or seeing something that she is interested in.  She has really taken to the photographs of family that we have hung in our living room and loves to walk to the wall and point out everyone by name.  When first deciding on a theme for her nursery, I was going to do an upscale version of numbers, the alphabet, and animals.  But my husband wanted to save that for the kids playroom.  Back to square one, I felt defeated.  I really wanted her to have a cool "big girl room".  One trip to Walmart was all it took for me to gain inspiration.  We were in the children's section, looking for babyproofing supplies when we noticed a clearance rack with a large Dora doll that also served as a pillow.  I thought my poor child was going to jump out of the cart.  She yelled, "Dora! Dora Mommy!" until she had that doll in her hands.  She immediately gave Dora a hug and smiled so big I thought my heart was going to burst.

Needless to say, we bought the doll.  The next day, when scouring the internet, I came across pretty much every Dora item imaginable for children's rooms.  And, I bought them.  She will have a standard white toddler bed and dresser with Dora accessories.  And I know she is going to LOVE it.  Sure, we'll have to switch up the decor when she outgrows her cartoon icon, but isn't the part of the fun?

I'll be sure to post pictures once all of the items are delivered.  I can't wait to see the look on her face!

25 weeks

How far along:  25 weeks, it seems like as soon as I get used one week, another has already begun.

Total weight gain/loss: I'm between 150-152lbs currently.  If I can be 170 lbs by the end, I'll be super happy.  I weighed around 182lbs when Yorlee was born.

Sleep:  Touch and go.  Between all the movement from Mister Man, and the leg cramps, sleep feels more restless than anything.

Food cravings:  Whatever my husband is eating.  Poor guy, I steal all of his food!

Best moment this week:  Closing on our very first HOUSE!  We are officially homeowners!!!!!!!!!

Movement:  All the time, his favorite spot to attack is my belly button, which hurts and is super tender.

Gender:  Boy, oh BOY!

Labor signs:  Nope, and they better stay away until at least 37 weeks!!!

Belly Button in or out:  Halfway out, painful, and poking through all of my clothes.

What I miss: Being able to breathe, being able to bend over, my pre-pregnancy nose and ankles, and feeling full after eating a normal sized portion of food.

What I am looking forward to: Hitting the 30's as far as weeks go.  I feel so much better at that point.  And making our new house feel more like home.

Milestones: Baby boy can open his eyes now!  I can't wait to look into them for the very first time!

Weekly Wisdom: Relax and enjoy life!

Symptoms: Heartburn, swollen ankles, achy pelvis, hunger, thirst, mood swings.

Emotions:  I'm so elated about our house!  But now I'm stressed about getting everything organized.  So, still up and down.  LOL!

24 weeks aka Happy V-DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

How far along:  24 weeks.  I'm so elated to have reached this milestone. 
Total weight gain/loss: Still hanging out around 148/149. 
Sleep:  Good, I haven't had to wake up to use the restroom in awhile.  And I actually feel rested when I get up in the morning.
Food cravings:  Anything that my husband has, and LOBSTER TAIL PASTRIES!  I've never had one before, but I'm on a mission to hunt some down.  I've been watching too much Cake Boss on TLC.

Best moment this week: Being able to put on (and FIT) a size 4 non-maternity dress.  I was about to fit not one, but THREE size 4 dresses all by different designers.  Made this Mama feel so good!
Movement:  All the time.  He was moving around so much earlier that it actually hurt and I tried to rub him out of the spot that he was in.
Gender:  Still a little gentleman.  (More like a little man, because his movements aren't so gentle...)

Labor signs:  Still chugging the H2O and feeling pretty good.  13 weeks until full term!

Belly Button in or out:  Halfway out and obvious...
What I miss: Having full lung capacity.  I just reached the "out of breath" point of pregnancy.  When I'm reading Yorlee a bedtime story I start huffing and puffing a bit.  Maybe I should read her the story about the three little pigs...
What I am looking forward to:  Today was a highly anticipated day for me.  Next stop, 32 weeks.  I love having goals and obtaining them.

Milestones:  If baby were to be born today, he would be viable and the hospital would do everything they could for him.
Weekly Wisdom:  The right outfit will make you feel like a new woman.  Go out, go shopping, and enjoy those new curves!

Symptoms:  Aches and pains, crazy emotions, protruding belly and belly button, etc.

Emotions:  Way better, I know that the "3rd Trimester Crazies" will be around soon and I'll start hating everyone again.

Family