week 30. (baby #3)

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30 week appointment.

January 20, 2014 - Dr. K. Anthony Shanbour (Mercy Hospital, OKC)

• total weight gained: 26 pounds
• fetal heart rate: 156 bpm
• blood pressure: 100/60

I can't believe that I'm already at the point where I'm going to the doctor every 2 weeks! The last few months of this pregnancy have really been flying by! I'm feeling great…the indigestion is surprisingly better…my energy level has bounced back a bit…and my weight gain has slowed down some (for now!). I am starting to feel pressure down low in my pelvic region, and am getting up about 4-6 times during the night to use the restroom! I feel like I need to go to the bathroom every time I stand up! The past couple of days I have noticed a little twinge/shooting pain down into my vaginal area. I started having this feel about 2 weeks before I went into labor with LilliAnn, but hopefully this is just the way the baby is positioned causing some pressure on a nerve. 

LilliAnn was sick with a stomach bug last week, and unfortunately I ended up with it too. It only lasted about 24 hours, and then I was back to eating like my normal, pregnant self again! I had taken my prenatal vitamin and omega-3 fish oil before the vomiting began…you can imagine the taste I had in my mouth every time that I threw up! Gross! The night that I got sick I had my first episode of Braxton-Hicks with this baby. I hadn't been drinking very much water last week and I'm sure I was a little dehydrated. I was having regular contractions every 11 minutes (6 in an hour), and the intermittent pain started in my low back and radiated into my lower pelvic region. It really scared me, so I had my mom come over and stay with me a while. After about 2 hours the pain subsided and I was able to get some rest. I didn't really have Braxton-Hicks with my other two babies, and I'm hoping that last week was one of my only episodes with this baby! 

This baby is still moving a lot…a WHOLE LOT! I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE feeling the little flips and kicks, and can even make out little feet and elbows at times! The baby seems to respond to my voice and will push/kick up again my hand when there is pressure on my belly. I've decided to paint the nursery a very light gray whether the baby is a boy or a girl. I have a feeling that the baby is a boy, so I have a few ideas for accent colors in the room. Mom and I are going shopping next week, and I can't wait to get a few baby items! A carseat, stroller (probably the Orbit Baby G2 travel system), Born Free bottles, pacifiers, onesies, diapers/wipes, blankets, a diaper bag, a rocker/glider, and a rug for the nursery are at the top of my list! 

week 29. (baby #3)

week 28. (baby #3)

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28 week appointment.

January 6, 2014 - Dr. K. Anthony Shanbour (Mercy Hospital, OKC)

• total weight gained: 25 pounds
• fetal heart rate: 155 bpm

I was very pleased with this appointment! I had barely gained any weight since my previous appointment (even through the holidays), my blood pressure was great, I passed my gestational diabetes screening test, and I am not anemic. I measured 29 cm (I've been measuring about a week ahead this entire pregnancy), and the baby's growth is perfect! The baby's estimated weight is around 3 pounds, and it has been moving NON-STOP! Sometimes I feel like the baby is tap dancing or doing karate in my belly. My other two babies moved quite a bit, but their movement doesn't come close to comparing to this baby! The movement is SO intense! It may be because the other two were breech the entire pregnancy and very tight in my uterus. As of now, this baby is head down so I may be feeling movements that I have never felt before. I'm sure my uterus is a little more stretched since this is my third pregnancy, giving this baby a bit more room to move around! Dr. Shanbour told me to make sure that the baby is moving ok…I told him that he didn't have to worry about that! My c-section will be scheduled for March 20, unless the baby decides to come sooner. I really don't think I will make it until March 20. Reid was born almost a month early, and LilliAnn was almost two weeks early. 

I have been feeling great, but this past week the fatigue has started to sneak up on me and the indigestion is horrible! I never had indigestion with my other two, but it is really kicking my butt this time. I feel full, bloated, and nauseated after everything I eat, but that still hasn't seemed to decrease my appetite! I've even had a couple of major throw up episodes late at night because I get terribly nauseated when I lie down to sleep. 

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I was really laid-back and relaxed at the beginning of this pregnancy, but I'm starting to get a little bit anxious since this baby could be here in two months! We've moved the playroom to the den, and made space for a nursery, but now it's just an empty room. I still have several things to hang in the playroom and need to get a new TV to hang on the wall, then I plan on starting the baby's room. It's really hard starting on the nursery when I don't know the gender of the baby. I thought I could do it, but the type-A/planner side of me is starting to freak out! I have no nursery ideas, and I really don't want to spend a ton of money on an "over-the-top" nursery since we'll be building one day soon. At least the co-sleeper has arrived, and I have an awesome new breast pump! 

We haven't started the new house yet. The house plans are finalized, but $10,000 of plans later, the house is more than 1,000 square feet bigger than we had originally planned. It is going to be hard to make any cuts in size without completely starting over, so we're trying to decide what we want to do. We're definitely going to build, just trying to decide when will be the best time for us to start, and if this monster 5,600 square foot house is going to put us too much over our budget! Thankfully, we're not in any hurry to build, and I'm trying to embrace my new motto for 2014 - simplify. 

the first time I saw your face.

3D/4D ultrasound today… cannot wait to kiss this sweet face! 

week 27. (baby #3)

week 26. (baby #3)

7 months. (baby #3)

                                .....

New Year's Eve I did a little mini photo "sesh" of my 28 week bump! I cannot believe our little bundle of joy will be here in 11 weeks or less! I'm starting to get really excited! I have LOVED being pregnant this time. It has seemed to go by so fast, so I'm trying to savor these last couple of months. 

This baby moves all the time...especially when I lie down to sleep at night. I love feeling the little rolls, thuds, and kicks. The feeling of a new life growing and moving in your body is amazing and indescribable. Jeb and both of the kids have really enjoyed getting to feel this baby move. I hope I will always remember the feeling! 

week 25. (baby #3)

week 24. (baby #3)

24 week appointment. 

December 5, 2013 - Dr. K. Anthony Shanbour (Mercy Hospital, OKC)

• blood pressure: 106/78
• total weight gained: 23 pounds
• fetal heart rate: 156 bpm

This was a quick appointment, as I am feeling great and have no problems so far. Everything seems to be going pretty smooth with this pregnancy…except my weight gain! When I got on the scale this time, I found out that I had gained 8 pounds in the past month! I was in complete shock! I told the nurse that I was extremely upset and thought I was going to be sick. I know I have a growing baby in my belly, but I was completely disgusted with myself because I have been eating TONS of junk and just kind of let myself go this past month. Because of scheduling conflicts, I missed going to Reggie's for almost a month and haven't been doing any sort of exercising. Thanksgiving didn't help with the extra pounds, and everything seems to taste SO good! I'm trying really hard to just enjoy my pregnancy and not worry about my weight, but I worked so hard on my body this summer that it's disappointing that I have just let myself go and not been eating more healthy for the baby AND for me! Every day I tell myself that I'm going to limit my carbs and sugars and eat more nutrient rich foods, and then we go to a Mexican restaurant or the kids want ice cream at Braum's! It's so hard to be disciplined when you're pregnant. I weigh exactly the same as I did at this point with Reid and 5 pounds more than I did at this point with LilliAnn. It looks as if I'm on a 1 pound/week average weight gain. If I gain 40 pounds that will put me at the exact weight that I was when I delivered both Reid and LilliAnn. My goal was no more than 30 pounds, but Dr. Shanbour wants me to gain about 35. Hopefully I can stick to just 35! Dr. Shanbour looked at me and said, "I'm really not worried about your weight. Have you seen my waiting room?!" Lol! I really like him! He told me to cut our the bread, potatoes, and sugar and I will be fine! That's easier said than done, but I'm going to at least do better! 

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We had Christmas with Missy last night and she got us our first baby item! I haven't bought anything yet for the baby, and seeing this adorable onesie from Missy made me really excited! I've decided to turn the "man room" into a playroom, and turn the playroom into a little nursery. We picked up our final house plans, but probably won't break ground for a few months related to the weather, the holidays, and Jeb being in the middle of drilling more wells right now. Things will be really chaotic the next few months and we're not in any hurry to get started (now that we have the plans!), so we're planning on being in our new house around a year from now. I was going to have just the co-sleeper in our room and put a little dresser/changing table in our room as well, but I really want this baby to have its' own space. The playroom is small, but right off of the kitchen, and has lots of natural light so I think it will make the perfect nursery! I can't wait to get started after Christmas! Since we don't know the gender yet, I'll probably not stress about the nursery and just work on it as I see things that I like. 

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We leave for snow skiing in the morning, but I will not be skiing this year. The doctor says that it's not worth the risk, and I think I would rather sit by the fire and watch the kids in ski school. This will be LilliAnn's first year in ski school, so I am anxious to see how she does. It will be nice to get away with my family and enjoy the holidays in a stress-free environment. There is just something magical about being in the snow covered mountains during Christmas time!

miracle.

#25weeks

week 23. (baby #3)

week 22. (baby #3)

week 21. (baby #3)

week 20. (baby #3)

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5 Months! I cannot believe that I am half way through this pregnancy! I really wish time would slow down for a while…I'm trying to savor every moment of my last baby bump! I've been feeling great! I've and a lot more energy lately, and am actually getting excited for the holidays! We had another appointment with Dr. Shanbour about a week ago and we did our 20 week ultrasound. The baby is growing normally and looks healthy as can be! The ultrasound measured me about one week farther along than my due date, but Dr. Shanbour measured me right at 20 weeks. My placenta is anterior this time, meaning that the placenta is on the front of my uterus instead of the back. Usually the embryo implants at the posterior part of the uterus (or the back), but occasionally it implants in the front and the placenta is anterior. This shouldn't cause any problems, because it usually moves up as the pregnancy progresses. This could mean that you feel fetal movement less often and less intense than normal because the placenta acts as a cushion between the baby and your tummy. I haven't seemed to notice this because I felt the baby first move at 14 weeks and the current movement is very frequent and intense! Tonight, I feel like it's doing flips in my belly! Occasionally the placenta stays low and anterior, which can make c-sections a little tricky if this placenta is located where they have to make the incision. Dr. Shanbour said that everything looked great on my ultrasound, so I'm thinking that my placenta isn't too low. 't have a picture of the baby's gender, but we want it to be a surprise so we still haven't looked! I have a really strong feeling that it's a boy (maybe because I kind of want a boy), but we'll see! I'm just excited to have a new little bundle of joy in my arms! We already have a boy named picked out (hint: the initials are RJR - just like Reid's), but I'm still not loving any girl names so far. 

I've been walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes every other day, and I'm going to try and start eating less junk/carbs and more healthy foods for the remainder of the pregnancy. We're doing cord blood banking again with this baby through Cord Blood Registry. This time we're also adding tissue banking, where part of the umbilical cord is collected and banked as well. The paper work is finished and my kit is in the mail! It will cost about $400 a year to store all three of our kids' cord blood, but if we ever need it, this will be priceless! 

Here are the stats on my 20 week appointment.

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November 5, 2013

-20 weeks 

-Baby is the size of a banana and weighs about 3/4 of a pound

-Total Weight gained: 16 pounds

-Blood Pressure: 108/68

-Fetal Heart Rate: 166 on ultrasound, 154 on fetal doppler

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The baby was head down and facing backward, so this is the best profile picture we could get! 

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week 19. (baby #3)

week 18. (baby #3)

                              .....

•total weight gained: 14 pounds

•baby moving a lot!

•craving: popsicles & cheese

week 17. (baby #3)

week 16. (baby #3)

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october 2013.

So... it's my 30th birthday and I am pregnant with braces. All I wanted when I turned 30 was a bikini body and a couple of other things that started with "B," but instead I got braces and a baby! #blessed

This week I have really started feeling pregnant! The bump has officially arrived and has just all of a sudden popped out! I was about 24 weeks with my last two pregnancies before my belly looked like this, but I'm enjoying every second of my little baby bump! I'm definitely feeling more chubby this week and my jeans are getting very hard to button. I'm thinking that I may have to break out the maternity jeans soon! I've gained 12 pounds so far during this pregnancy with my goal being to stay under 30. I gained about 32 pounds (maybe a little more with LilliAnn) with my last pregnancies, so I'm hoping to gain a bit less than that this time. It's going to be VERY hard to do, because all that sounds good to me is baked potatoes, potato soup, and grilled cheese sandwiches! Carbs...ugh!!! 

week 15. (baby #3)

week 14. (baby #3)

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This isn't the best picture.... it was taken early one Saturday morning before the kids' soccer games. 

I started feeling little flutters this week and I can honestly say it is the BEST feeling in the entire world!!  I know it will be several weeks before Jeb and the kids will be able to feel the baby move, but I can't wait for the moment when the kids feel that little kick for the very first time! LilliAnn will be beside herself with excitement! I've had quite a bit of nausea and morning sickness lately. You would think that all of that would be over by now, but this seems to be the worst week so far. It only lasts for a little while in the mornings, but it hits so suddenly and throwing up nothing but bile is so disgusting! Poor Reid saw me throwing up one morning and said, "Oh mommy! Are you ok?" Bless his heart... the little guy didn't know what was going on! 

I had my appointment with Dr. Shanbour at the end of this week and I absolutely LOVED him! He spent a lot of time with me, and seemed extra interested in my thoughts and how I was feeling during this pregnancy. I have heard he is an excellent surgeon, and since this will be my third c-section, that was extremely important to me. He told me that I definitely would not be able to ski on our trip to Colorado in December. I was kind of bummed, but know it's for the best. Jeb had said that there would be no skiing for me this year, and had already put his foot down. I would rather be safe than sorry, so I'll spend my time in Keystone shopping, drinking hot cocoa, and sitting by the cozy fire. 

Dr. Shanbour wanted to do another ultrasound since this was my first visit with him. I wasn't exactly certain about my last menstrual period, so he wanted to take a peek and see how the baby was measuring. Being 14 weeks, he thought he could do a regular ultrasound, but we ended up having to do a transvaginal. My uterus wasn't up high enough yet for a normal abdominal/pelvic ultrasound and the baby was turned, so he wasn't able to visualize the heart beat at first. Of course I knew why he wanted to do a transvaginal, and I got a panicky feeling and felt my heart in my throat! As soon as he visualized the baby during the transvaginal, the heartbeat was as clear as day... a nice, strong heart beat of about 160 bpm! Praise the Lord! I was a little bit scared for a minute! 

The baby was measuring about a week ahead, but we kept my due date of March 27. 

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3rd Appointment Stats: 

9.24.13

Dr. Anthony K. Shanbour (Mercy Health Center - Oklahoma City)

14 weeks 6 days

Total weight gained: 9 lbs.

BP: 116/80

Fetal heart rate: approx. 160 bpm

Second ultrasound

Measuring: 15 weeks 6 days

Dr. Shanbour already knows the gender! I told him that I didn't want to know, but I have a guess :) Look at its little hands up behind its head... just chillin' So adorable!!! I know this sounds weird, but this ultrasound pic looks SO much like our first ultrasound picture of Reid.