Eek! I cannot believe that I’m already 27 weeks. Time seems to have flown by and we are getting so anxious to meet our little girl. It still seems so hard to believe that God has blessed us with another little girl…no pressure on our end, right? Since you all are walking through this with me, I thought it only fair to give you bumpdates every now and then to keep you in the loop with what’s going on!
how far along: 27 weeks, 3 days
cravings: I haven’t had any major craving this time, but if I was forced to answer this one, I would have to say that my sweet tooth has gotten a little crazier than normal – I mean, I have candy stashes in my house, in my car, and in my work bag…yikes.
aversions: Just like with cravings, I don’t have any true food aversions. I’m typically a vegetarian, but eat meat during my pregnancies to ensure I get the proper amount of protein, so I guess I could say that my aversion would be meat. I can eat some types of meat, but really struggle to eat things like pork tenderloin and chicken.
diet: I touched on this a bit above, but I am originally a vegetarian. With my first pregnancy my OB asked me to eat meat to guarantee I got the proper amount of protein I need daily and we agreed to do the same this pregnancy. I am typically a pretty strict eater, but have given myself a little grace this pregnancy and have definitely indulged in some gelato, froyo, and even fast food (don’t judge). I have made a new pact to myself to eat clean during the week and then allow myself to splurge for special occasions – weddings, showers, birthdays, etc.
exercise: This has been the toughest area for me. I’ve always been very active and love yoga and running – they’re my jam. But, I have not been allowed to work out this pregnancy. There were a couple of times in the first trimester that we thought we might lose baby #2, so I was ordered to stop anything strenuous except for walking. It has been hard to squeeze in long walks between work, raising a toddler, and keeping the house looking decent while my husband attends night school to get his MBA, but I am vowing to walk more this summer! I really think this has been and will be the longest stint I’ve ever gone without working out. So, I’m trying to learn to extend myself some grace and love my body for exactly what it is in this season.
mood: Truthfully, I feel awesome! I don’t feel like I have had any major mood swings, but maybe I should ask my husband…
how do I feel: Tired. Being pregnant with a toddler is a very different ballgame than being pregnant with your first. I’m writing this coming off a semi-sleepless night. Emma Grace woke up from a night terror at 4:30 am this morning and would only stop crying if I was in the room (picture: a pregnant woman curled up in a glider…not the prettiest or most comfortable picture). So, I think just for the simple fact of constantly chasing Emma Grace around and picking her up I am a bit more tired than my first pregnancy and am also experiencing a good amount of lower back pain.
how do I deal with the back pain: On a normal day, I try to really listen to my body and if I reach a point where the pain feels to great to move, I take a couple tylenol and lay down until I feel better. On a monthly basis, maternity massages have proved to be the biggest relief. If you decide to get a massage, make sure your masseuse is experienced in giving maternity massages. Email me if you’d like to know who I go to! I’ve also started trying to wear more supportive shoes during the day as opposed to flimsy sandals for better support.
body changes: Oh, man. I could write a novel in this section. Besides the obvious change: my stomach, it is HOT! I think we were spoiled with all the rain Dallas had in May because it kept the temps down. Well, with the rain gone the heat has come in full force. Y’all, even going on a walk at 9am is hot.
nursery: Since we’re having another girl we have actually decided to keep our nursery decor the same and give Emma Grace a “big girl” room instead. Emma’s new room is close to finished, so stay tuned for a post with all the details!
dad: Travis is doing great. He’s super excited (and probably a little anxious) to be a daddy of all girls! He’s such an involved parent with Emma Grace, which makes me that much more excited to see how he will be with baby #2. 🙂
emma grace: At 23 months, we can’t quite tell if she fully grasps the concept of a baby growing in mommy’s tummy. When we ask her who is in mommy’s tummy she says “baby,” but we think that may just be a memorized line. She did however tell me this morning that “Emma is a big sister,” but then she said “so is mommy and so is daddy.” We’ll keep working on this…
baby #2: She is so calm! With Emma Grace, she kicked all day every day, but that is not the case with #2. She kicks a little bit early in the morning and then a little bit when I first lay down at night, but that’s about it. We’re hoping this means she will be somewhat calmer than her big sissy. 🙂
product of the week: I’ve been doing a lot of research on swaddling lately because I stink at swaddling. My husband is a pro and thank God for that because Emma loved to be swaddled, so I’ve been on the hunt for a swaddling blanket that will make things easier on me. I think I found it, too! The Ollie Swaddler seems to be the “it” swaddling blanket out there and it’s super easy to do (at least that’s what the videos make it seem like). Have any of you all ever used one of these?
our prayer: Our prayer for baby #2 has been the same prayer that we had for Emma Grace. We pray that baby #2 is developing right on track. We pray that she is healthy and that we will have a safe delivery when she is ready to grace us with her presence. We pray that she is far more blessed than we could ever imagine – spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, physically, socially. We pray that she finds Christ at an early age and learn to live her life in a way that others would come to know Christ because of the way she lives. We also pray that God guide my husband and I in leading these girls. 🙂
I hope you enjoyed reading our first bumpdate and feel free to email me or leave a comment below with anything I missed that you would like me to touch on, or any questions you may have!
xo – anna
