30 Week Bumpdate!

And here we are 75% complete! Whoa mama! On one hand, 10 weeks seems like an insanely short time with so much to get done before Aubrey gets here. On the other hand, really...10 MORE weeks!?  I can't imagine getting any bigger than I already am!  Either way, I am so grateful to be here, at this point, now! 

Oh boy, definitely slackin' with the board this week! Couldn't even wait til it dried completely, and had nothing creative to say : (  

How Big is Baby: The size of a cucumber 

Weight Gain: -0.5 over the last 2 weeks, so +0.5 total. I am guessing this is just a result of post-vacation eating and workouts being more effective at the weight control than eating out most meals of the day on vaca. Regardless, I am still 13 lbs heavier now than I was at this point during the first pregnancy...and I definitely feel all 13 of those lbs!

Workouts: Week 28 I was able to do 5 workouts- 2 prenatal ballet tone (hello, crazy hard toning class!), one yoga session, one 30 minute walk (didn't track how far we got), and one 2.5 mile walk/run (we run 0.1 mi, then walk 0.1 mi, repeat...to the effect of what feels like a bajillion times!). 

Week 29 I did 4 workouts- 1 full body weight session, 3 mile walk/run (again 0.1 mi walk/0.1 mi run/repeat), and 2 yoga sessions. I am seriously LOVING yoga right now...it helps so much to quiet my mind and soothe my lower back aches! 

Maternity Clothes: Yes

Belly Button: It's pretty much flat at this point. 

Sleep: Some nights I sleep like a rock for 8 hours, some nights I sleep like, well something that doesn't sleep much over the course of those 8 hours.  Either way, I am consistently trying to get 8 hours a night. On the nights I do wake up it's usually because I need to roll over from hips that fell asleep, or pee (usually only once a night at this point though). And some nights once I'm up, I just can't seem to fall back asleep (bizarrely enough it's almost always around 3 am!). 

Cravings: Ugh, this pregnancy I am craving zero healthy foods and just want junk...all the time. Mac n cheese, buffalo wings, pizza, Indian food, and sweets (particularly ice cream)! I hate that! While I am working out this pregnancy and couldn't last time, I certainly ate much healthier last time around! Either way, the biggest craving I have is for MILK! Like everyday, I want a big glass of 2% milk, which is so weird b/c I don't drink milk otherwise! And all things pumpkin (which is also weird b/c I was SO averse to it when pregnant with Isabella). 

Aversions: Ground beef/turkey, grilled chicken, sometimes fish, sometimes not. 

What I Missed: Ice cold pumpkin beer while watching Sunday football! 

Symptoms: Oh man, this pregnancy is so much harder on my body than last time, and I think a lot of that is b/c I started out heavier, and am chasing around a toddler who still isn't walking...and wants to be carried everywhere. My body is just stiff and sore all over, particularly my low back and pelvis. The heartburn has gotten a lot better over the last 2 weeks and is just there occasionally (mostly after eating tomatoes).  Getting more and more Braxton Hicks, but nothing painful or even slightly uncomfortable. 

Movement: Oh this little lady LOVES to move all around! Tons of kicks, punches, and full body rolls which are so fun to watch on the belly! I can now grab her little foot (and so did the MD at our last appt) when she pokes it up right beneath my sternum...so weird but so cool! I have a feeling this little lady will be much more active, and less chill, than her big sister!

Gender: It's a GIRL!

Best Moment this Week: We got started on the nurseries.  Yes, plural...nurseries x2!  Since Bella was born in Chicago and we moved shortly after she was born, and have been in 2 houses in the last year, she hasn't had a full out decorated nursery. And up until this past week, Aubrey's room was just a catch all for junk. So both rooms have been cleaned out, organized, painted, and are just waiting for decorations to go up once the paint is dry!  I can't wait to see both finished products!! Thank you Mom and Uncle G for painting the rooms...they look great!

Worst Moment this Week: Just feeling really exhausted and run down. By the time I put Bella down for bedtime, I am spent!

What I am Looking Forward to: We get an US at the next doctor appt b/c I was measuring large at the last one (ironically, I was 28 weeks and 4 days, measuring at 29 weeks...so I guess 3 days ahead is enough to get another US). Either way I won't complain b/c I love seeing Aubrey grow, and am curious as to how much she is weighing in at this point!

28 Week Bumpdate!

Well hello 3rd trimester. So lovely to see you again!  I'm not entirely sure how we got here so quickly, but here we are! 

27 Weeks in Pacific Grove, CA

Bear Down!! First game of the season!

We might as well start with the good stuff...like Little Lerma #2 finally having a name!  This time around was much harder to name her definitively simply because we had Isabella's name for 10 years!  But this was the one that I knew we'd end up with from the beginning!  So without further ado, her name shall be...

Aubrey Lynn

I can't wait to be able to put a face and sweet, squishy little body to her name! Lynn is my middle name (as well as my mom's), and we just love the name Aubrey. So despite a few other choices we considered (Harper Lynn & Quinn Day), Aubrey was our clear cut winner.  We can't wait to meet you little miss Aubrey Lynn!

How Big is Baby: The size of an eggplant!

Weight Gain: +3 over the last 2 weeks, so +1 overall (agh...I'm at that scary above starting point weight...I may just keep my eyes closed on the scale from here on out! I don't think I want to see it keep going up and up to numbers I've never seen before!).

Workouts: Week 26 we were in San Fran so we took walks every day (about 30 minutes) which had some killer hills. I also was able to do 3 days of prenatal yoga not necessarily b/c I was eager to do more, but b/c my low back was hurting so badly that it was necessary (and definitely helped!). 

Week 27 I was trying to recuperate from traveling and jet lag and had zero motivation most days, but fit in 3 prenatal yoga sessions and called it a week.

Maternity Clothes: Definitely needed

Belly Button: Slightly an innie still...slightly!

Sleep: Not great but that's probably a combo of a 3 hour time difference change twice in a week time with our traveling, plus pregnancy hormones, plus insanely numb/hurting hips. Some nights I sleep great for 7 or 8 hours, others I am lucky to get 5 or 6 in a couple hour stretches at a time with being awake 1 or 2 hours in between. 

Cravings: Carbs in general always sound great. Seafood pasta (thanks to being in Cali), mac n cheese, and butter chicken with basmati rice and naan are among the top. Wish I was craving veggies! Peaches are always a go as well!

Aversions: Same ole things- ground turkey is the most repulsive at this point.

What I Missed: Wine on our balcony overlooking the ocean in Cali last week!

Symptoms: The last 2 weeks I have had the worst reflux and heartburn, almost 24/7. There are times so much of my meal comes up I question if I am throwing up...but nope, just good ole' reflux! Also with major low back pain and overall body aches (way more than last time!)...I seriously think I am 95 when I wake up in the morning with how stiff and slowly I move!

Movement: Oh wow can this little lady throw some mean punches...right up into my right ribs and right down onto my bladder! She also can body slam herself down there as well which feels crazy! I love how much she moves!

Gender: It's a GIRL!

Best Moment this Week: We had a great family time in California and fell in love with Pacific Grove!  What a fun 4 days of relaxing, enjoying looking at the ocean while enjoying the warm fall sunshine and cool breeze, taking walks, and just being together. 

Worst Moment this Week: 1.) 5 hour flight from San Fran being 6 months pregnant with a 14 month old who hasn't napped and is exhausted and yet fighting sleep with the best of them!

2.) Two words: Jet-Lag!  Never ending jet lag!  We will sleep normally again...right!?!?

Isabella 15 Month Update!

Oh man...this past month has been my absolute favorite with Isabella yet!  She is truly becoming such a little person, knowing more of what she wants (and doesn't want!), is so much more interactive, smiley and just plain fun!  I know I say it every month but being her Mama just gets better and better!

Happy 15 Months Isabella Rae!

15 Month Highlights:

-We love being outside and taking hikes and walks.  This month we tried out Sawnee Mountain Preserve and were not disappointed!  Not too strenuous of a hike, but gorgeous views from the top! While you aren't quite as content in the Ergo as you used to be b/c you'd rather be moving around on your own, you still have a good time and if anything can be distracted forever with the camel back! You pretty much drank a majority of our water on the way down!

Those duck lips as you are gumming...stinking teething!

-You had another sleepover at Mimi and Pops for one night/two days while Mama and Daddy went to North Georgia Mountains to celebrate our best friend's birthday. You of course did great, and the highlight for you was going to a lunch party with Mimi where you ate more chicken parm than she did!

-You have learned how to truly blow kisses this month which is adorable. Last month you'd put your hand on your mouth, but that was about it. Now you routinely blow kisses to whoever is in the living room as we carry you up the stairs to go to bed. So sweet!

-We took a trip to California and spent 4 days in San Francisco while Daddy had a work conference, and 4 days in the coastal town of Pacific Grove.  You did FABULOUS on the plane ride there, and overall adjusted to the time change without problem! Coming home was a different story!  But, we had fun in San Fran during our Mama/Bella days going on picnics and checking out new parks. In Pacific Grove we went to the aquarium, took walks, and went to a couple restaurants.  I love how easy you are at restaurants...as long as we give you some good food and an endless supply of water with a straw!

Happy baby the entire flight to Cali!

Another day, another great park!

Aquarium fun!

Family fun on a walk in Pacific Grove

-Your personality shines through more and more each month and I am constantly amazed at how quickly you grow up and become more of a little lady, and so much less of a baby!  You are super sweet, love to cuddle, very affectionate (giving Daddy a bajillion kisses on demand, and surprising mama with shoulder cuddles and quick kisses while we play!) and pretty mild mannered overall.  You are very serious when you are around new people, often staring them down without even a slight crack at a smile!  And for as much as you are pretty low key most of the time, you can be very stubborn and feisty, and when you want something you want something! I just love seeing you grow and develop and can't wait to see your personality shine more and more as you get older!

Sleeping: We were in such a groove at the beginning of the month...and then we went to California with a 3 hour time difference for a week...and are still working a week after getting back to getting on a normal ATL time schedule! So the last 2 weeks haven't had any consistency with travel, but before the trip you were hitting such a great sleeping stride!

Before Trip:  Bedtime is still around 6 pm (sometimes 6:30 depending on when you woke up form your 2nd nap), and you sleep usually until about 6 or 6:30 am.  The nice thing however is you are just so content and quietly play in your crib until 7 or 7:30!

Your first nap is around 9 am and you sleep about an hour and a half.  Second nap is about an hour to hour and a half and timing depends on our plans for the day (can be 12:30, 1 or 2 just depending). 

Eating: If there is one thing you are a champion at, it is eating food that you love! You eat your bowl of oatmeal with fruit in the morning (1/2 cup cooked oats + 1/2 cup frozen fruit). Lunch and dinner are usually some kind of protein (eggs, round beef, ground turkey, chicken, etc) with a green veggie and a carb (usually brown rice, Ezekiel bread, sweet potato, etc). 

Favorite foods this month are: scrambled eggs with spinach, cheese, greek yogurt, peaches, grapes, blueberries, watermelon, banana, and sweet potato.

That being said, you have started to become very picky with textures lately. Some days you love rice, broccoli, chicken, and beef, other days you act like you can't chew or handle the texture and just push it out with your tongue. And yet if I puree those foods you eat them just fine. So we are just working on trying new things (non-pureed) and getting you good healthy food as you'll eat it!

Isabella Loves:

-Music in the car

-Musical toys, especially Musical Puppy and Leap Frog piano

-Board books especially Wheels on the Bus, Goodnight Sweet Butterflies, touch and feel animals, Baby Einstein First Words in English/Spanish, and Animal Noises
-Dancing to Pandora in the early mornings with Daddy
-Water: pool, bath, water in a bucket, you don't discriminate!
-Peek-a-Boo (she crouches behind the coffee table and pops up as we say peekaboo)
-"Mama Sleeping" or "Daddy Sleeping" game where we suddenly "wake up" and slightly scare her : )

Isabella Hates:

-Shoes or things on your feet (you try with all your might to pry them off!)
-Doorstoppers!

15 Month Stats:

Weight: 21 lbs (15th percentile)
Height: 31 in (75th percentile)
-Teeth: 4 (2 on top, 2 on bottom)

Isabella's Firsts this Month:

-Standing for prolonged periods of time
-Going from sitting to standing without pulling up on something
-Saying mama purposefully (although you still love "dada" much more!)
-Saying "Dedo" which means "doggy"
-Able to say "arf arf" and "moo" when asked what a doggy and cow say
-You have mastered signing "Thank you" and "All Done"

This Month in Pictures:

Such a happy girl in your swing!

Taking a walk in "The Mission" neighborhood of San Fran (where we stayed)

My 2 babies : )

Looking like such a big girl on the ladybug at the park!

Dancing to the music!

Such a sweet face!

It's official...you already think we are cray cray!

Enjoying the view at the aquarium

Loving the jellies!

You love your morning dances with Daddy!

You LOVE "playing" in the pantry!

Saying hi to some neighbors with Dani Leigh

Two of your favorite things: being outside and reading!

Daddy's Little Girl!

Park selfies!

 

And this is what happens when on vacation and the pack in play is the same size as the bathroom you are sleeping in! Easy access to the TP roll...and now shown are about 1000 pieces all over the floor!

Such a curious little one!

Looking up to your Daddy...just like you will for the rest of your life! He's an incredible man!