30 weeks

8/28/2013 - 30 weeks and 4 days 

How I Look -  I feel huge.  Although this week I had a male coworker tell me they thought I was only 5 months along because I looked so tiny.  :fistpump:

Weight :  +18.5 lbs.  At my doctors appointment I came in at 20 lbs (fully clothed and with shoes)

How I Feel - Still have constant numbness/pain/swelling in my right hand and occasionally in my left.  

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my hands and insomnia.  I've been waking up around 3 am and not able to fall back asleep for a couple hours.  I'm sure some of that has to do with the carpal tunnel pain.  Still have a dry nose, which leads to bloody nose.  :(  Increased trips to the restroom (like 4x's a night!).  Occasional twinges/pinched nerves in my lower back.

Cravings - Spinach/cranberry/almond salad with lite balsamic dressing, fresh fruits, ice cream, sweets, corn on the cob.

Exercise - Looks like I'm holding steady with 2-3 workouts a week.

What I'm Looking Forward To -   Looking forward to my baby shower in September and October delivery.  I'm soooo ready to get my body back.  I'm also super excited about the prenatal massage I scheduled for next week.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Can't think of anything.  ;)

Odds & Ends -  I had a dream the other night that I had my little girl and was doing great, however a few days later I noticed that I still felt kicking.  What the...?  Apparently I had twins and the Dr somehow missed the 2nd baby at delivery!  I had to go back to the hospital to deliver my other kid.  How crazy is that!?  In my dream I have no idea what the gender was of the twin, I woke up right after I found out about the second baby, probably from shock.  :P

Maternity pictures are in and we love them!!!  I'll post a separate blog with the pictures. 

29 weeks

8/21/2013 - 29 weeks and 4 days 

How I Look -  Large and in charge (SHE is in charge)

Weight :  +16.5 lbs.  

How I Feel - Still have constant numbness/pain/swelling in my right hand and occasionally in my left.  My doctor confirmed last week that it's definitely pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome and I'll have to endure it the rest of the pregnancy.  :(  Other than that I'm doing well.  I think I had a pinched nerve in my back the past 2-3 weeks which was making me feel even worse, but as of Saturday morning that has gone away and I feel great.

Symptoms -  Tingling/numbness/pain in my right hand.  Hot showers feel awesome on my back and help me to relax.

Cravings - Chocolate, chocolate chocolate, ice cream (rocky road - chocolate of course!), fresh fruit and sweet corn on the cob.

Exercise - 3 workouts so far this week!  Go me!  :)

What I'm Looking Forward To -  I'm in the home stretch!  So ready to hit the 30+ weeks.  Baby girl is scheduled for her debut on 10/28, so that's only 10 more weeks!

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - This hand/arm numbness every day and night.

Odds & Ends -  I love feeling baby girl kick and squirm.  She's very active and it's so surreal watching my belly move, it never ceases to amaze me.  I've been watching my registry and items are starting to show purchased.  It makes me giddy.  :)

Ry's Big Boy Room

Ry now has big boy furniture in his room!  A couple weeks ago we found some furniture on Craigslist that we just couldn't pass up.  It was in excellent condition for being 12 years old, plus the blue was perfect for his room.  I can't believe how quickly my little boy is growing up.  His room no longer looks like a nursery.  Ry loves all his new furniture.  I'm constantly finding stuff he's hidden in all his new drawers.  I do think he misses the rocking chair, but alas there's not enough space in his room for the rocker with all his new furniture.

Ry's reading corner

mini library plus more drawers for storage/clothes

The TV stand is the perfect place for all his stuffed animals and various other toys

Now he has 5 drawers for clothes!

And the night stand

28 weeks

8/14/2013 - 28 weeks and 4 days 
Hello 3rd trimester!

8/13/2013

How I Look -  Pregnant.  Baby girl is really sticking herself out there!

Weight :  +14.5 lbs.  

How I Feel - Experiencing painful numbness in my right arm and hand.  I did some research and it sounds like I might have pregnancy carpal tunnel syndrome.  It's worse at night, I'll wake up after midnight with pain in my hand and upper arm and all I can do to lessen it is walk around and try to shake it out until it subsides.  The symptoms occur every hour or so after midnight.  I haven't been able to find a sleeping position to avoid the affliction, therefore the past 2 weeks I haven't been sleeping very much.  :(  I read that wrist splints or braces can help so I guess I'll have to invest in one of those to get some sleep.  This is SO NOT FUN.  

Symptoms -  My hands swell when I go outside in this TX heat, occasional lower back aches, overall belly tightness and increased trips to the bathroom.  I'm definitely more uncomfortable this second time around.

Cravings - Ice cream, fruit and chocolate.

Exercise - I'm hoping to work out more this week.  I only made it to the gym once last week.  However after today's workout I'm losing motivation. 

What I'm Looking Forward To -  I can't wait to see our maternity photos!!  A friend of ours, who's a photographer, offered to take them for us for free.  Our session was this past Sunday and he showed me a couple pictures from his camera and they looked great!  Also praying these next 12 weeks go by fast.

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - This hand/arm numbness every night, it's so painful!  Generally feeling more and more uncomfortable.

Odds & Ends -  I passed the glucose test, woohoo!  However my blood work showed that I'm anemic and need to take iron supplements (the exact same situation as when I was pregnant with Ry).  Unfortunately my thyroid came back abnormal again as well, so I'll have another blood workup in a month.  I also booked melissa q for our newborn photos in Nov, we used her for Ry's session as well.

My dad was deeply concerned over my well being after hearing about my arm numbness so he went out of his way to buy me this new pillow!  I also bought a wrist brace and tried them out last night.  So far it's working!  Instead of waking up at midnight and every hour after that, I made it until 3 am and only woke up twice with slight tingling/numbness.  I'm hoping it only gets better and soon I'll be able to sleep through the night again (barring any bathroom breaks of course).

***Update 8/16***

Dr confirmed I do have carpal tunnel syndrome.  Not much I can really do about it, she did recommend physical therapy to help so I'll need to set that up.  My iron count is so low I need to take supplements 2x's a day!  On the test I scored a 9.5 and they don't want you to drop below 11.  Yikes!  And it looks like baby girl will debut 10/28 (via c-section)!  Her vitals are great, moving all the time and heart beat was 143 bpm.

Nursery for Baby Girl!

Even though we finished painting and staging the nursery a couple weeks ago, I'm just now getting around to blogging about it.  I love how it all turned out!  I find the purples very soothing and love the aqua and (lime) green accents.  It took us about 3 days to complete the painting process.  Most of it was done in the first day, with the remaining 2 days consisting of painting the white stripe and touch-ups.  The crib bedding and butterfly pillow we received as a registry gift and I purchased the futon bedding.  The glider we moved in from Ry's room and the dresser is actually a piece from my old furniture set from when I was a kid!  The mobile was from Ry's room as well, which was given to us by a friend.  I'm just tickled purple with how well everything coordinates.  :)  I can't wait to see what we get from our baby sprinkle/shower.  I'm looking forward to hanging up letters for her name and wall decor.

Bedding from Babies R Us - Nojo Beautiful Butterfly

Futon Circo purple quilt set, aqua sheets, ruffle pillow and butterfly pillow from Target (Circo Buds N Blossoms Butterfly collection)

Curtain rod from Home Depot

Paint in eggshell

light top color: valspar Iris Blossom 

dark bottom color: valspar Purple Valley

I think the butterfly crib sheet is super sweet.

27 weeks

8/7/2013 - 27 weeks and 4 days 
Last week of my 2nd trimester! 

How I Look -  My belly is large and in charge!  Some of my friends are surprised by how different this pregnancy is from my first.  During my first pregnancy they could barely tell I was pregnant until after 6 months.  This time around they could tell much earlier.  And I'm only gonna get bigger!

Weight :  +13.5 lbs.  

How I Feel -  Lower back aches and increased trips to the bathroom, but otherwise OK.

Symptoms -  Lately my right arm from the shoulder down has been going numb, especially my hand.  It even happens when sleeping, I'm unable to lay on my side without my hand/arm going numb.  I will definitely talk to the Dr about this development at my next appointment next week.

Cravings - Ice cream, chocolate and fruit.

Exercise -  Workouts have been dwindling.  Work has been crazy busy lately which has made it hard for me to work out.  Plus it's so hot (above 100 degrees) that I do not want to venture outside for walks.

What I'm Looking Forward To -  Scheduling maternity pictures, we have a photog friend who offered to take them for us for free!  Super excited for my baby shower in September.  I received the invitation today and they are super cute, awesome job hostesses A, J and Mom!!   Meeting my new baby girl in Oct and finally being able to sleep on my stomach again (Nov)!

Front of invite - on a white background

back of invite

What I'm Not Looking Forward To - Glucose test next week.  Last time I actually liked the orange drink, it tasted like orange crush.  I'm sure the taste won't be an issue this time either, all I'm worried about are the results.

Odds & Ends -  The nursery is painted and staged and I LOVE IT!  It turned out beautifully and I find the room very soothing.  I felt a little guilty that Ry's room is so neutral, so we went out and bought some blue paint to spruce up his room.  Hopefully we'll get to that in the next couple of weeks.  By next week I'll also need to register at the hospital.  I can't believe how quickly time is flying by, third tri here I come!

Bedding from Babies R Us (registry gift) - Nojo Beautiful Butterfly

Futon purple quilt, aqua sheets, ruffle pillow and butterfly pillow from Target

Paint in eggshell

light: valspar Iris Blossom 

dark: valspar Purple Valley