31 Weeks

Only 9 weeks (hopefully) to go until Joshua Holt arrives! I can't believe how soon that is! He is the size of a pineapple (15 - 16.5 inches) and probably weighs about 2.5 - 3.5 pounds by now! His little brain is forming wrinkles, and his skin is getting smoother as fat develops. He's now strong enough to grasp a finger! So sweet!

I had an appointment with my doctor last week and Josh looks good! My belly measured at 29 cm and his heartbeat was a strong 156 (which it has been for the past couple of appointments). The only bummer news is that I failed my 1 hour glucose test (by only 5 points!) so I had to do the dreaded 3 hour test. For those of you who have done the 3 hour I am SO SORRY! It definitely isn't fun to chug double the amount of that glucose drink on an empty stomach and then have blood drawn 4 times. Not to mention waiting around in the lab for 4 hours. The first hour was kinda rough but after that Josh and I did pretty well. We were grateful when it was all over and got to eat!

Josh continues to be our little power kicker! Right now his head is slightly down but not all the way yet. He constantly moves and rolls and jabs so I'm sure his position changes. My ribs are definitely getting a beating :) Daddy has been able to feel him push out a lot and he's also felt Josh's little hiccups. They're so cute!

Mommy is finding it harder to breathe and bend over these days. Singing on Sunday mornings is getting difficult as well between not being able to support as much and having an alien kick my ribs and roll around. I'm glad Josh likes music though! I haven't had any swelling or stretch marks so far (yay!) but have started to get leg and foot cramps pretty frequently, especially at night while sleeping. My heartburn has gotten worse over the past week so I'm trying a few different things to manage that. Although most people keep telling me that the only way to get rid of it is to give birth! I've been able to cook a few dinners each week (much to Jon's delight). I've also been craving homemade baked things like coffee cake and muffins so I've been making those occasionally (again much to Jon's delight!)

Here's a picture of Joshua and Mommy at 31 weeks followed by some pics of Josh from our 3D ultrasound last week!

Sleepy little face

He kept putting his hands over his face

Our sweet boy!

How far along: 31 weeks + 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: + 15 lbs (probably more!)
Maternity clothes: I bought some maternity shorts which I'm loving! Definitely need shorts for the hot summer coming up!
Stretch marks: None
Sleep: Sleep has been hit or miss. I always wake up at least once and lately heartburn has been waking me up/keeping me awake.
Best moment this week: Getting to see our little guy on a 3D ultrasound!
Miss anything: This week I've missed sleep!  
Movement: Lots of movement! He rolls and jabs and gets the hiccups at least once a day.
Food cravings: Apple juice! And baked things like cake and cookies, which I'm trying to stay away from! Also watermelon this week.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Heartburn is getting to the point of making me feel like I'm going to throw up, but otherwise I'm doing pretty good with food.
Have you started to show yet: Yes! I feel SO big! Can barely see my toes!
Gender: Sweet little BOY!
Labor Signs: None that I can tell!
Symptoms: Heartburn!!! Foot cramps and overall "pressure"
Belly button in or out: Officially an outie now!
Wedding rings on or off: On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and occasionally anxious when I start thinking about labor and delivery!
Looking forward to: Our maternity pictures and baby shower (happening next month)

Blueberry Yogurt Muffins

My latest pregnancy craving has been homemade baked things...yummy bread, coffee cake, muffins...you name it, I want it. I found a couple recipes on Pinterest that I wanted to try and make gluten free, one of them being these delicious looking blueberry yogurt muffins.

These were great! I scarfed down 2 of them as soon as they came out of the oven. About 5 minutes after I finished, Joshua got the hiccups and started moving like crazy...which I'm taking as a sign that he liked them too! What I liked most about these is that they weren't too sweet so the blueberry flavor really came through. I liked that they are made with yogurt instead of butter too!

You could easily make these as mini muffins but I stuck with the original recipe. I'm already planning on making another batch and look forward to eating these for breakfast over the next week. Oh who am I kidding...these will be gone in a couple days. But shhh don't tell.

Here's the recipe!

What you need (makes 12 regular size muffins) - adapted from CookingAndMe.com

- 1 C plain yogurt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1/4 C oil (I used coconut)
- 2 C all purpose flour (my blend is listed below)
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 C blueberries (I used frozen)






Favorite Flour Blend - from the Gluten Free Bible

- 1 C white rice flour
- 1 C sorghum flour
- 1 C cornstarch
- 1 C coconut flour (or almond flour)
- 1 C tapioca flour

Sift together and store in an airtight container. You can easily double/triple the recipe as well!


Directions

- Preheat oven to 375 and line muffin tin with baking cups

- In a medium bowl, combine the yogurt, egg, vanilla and oil and mix together

*If you're using coconut oil, add it gradually so it won't harden when it hits the cold yogurt*

- In another medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt

- Remove 1 T of the dry ingredients and toss with the frozen blueberries. This will help keep them from sinking straight to the bottom of your muffins

- Gently fold in the wet ingredients to the dry. Don't overmix or the muffins will be tough

- Add the blueberries and gently stir. The batter should resemble cookie dough and don't worry if it turns purple from the blueberries

- Fill your muffin cups evenly and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean

- Let cool for 5 minutes and enjoy!

Babymoon Staycation

Last week Jon and I spent a wonderful 9 days enjoying a "staycation" - a vacation where we stayed locally in Florida and did things that we've never done before here and things that are our favorites. It was so nice staying home instead of taking time and money to travel out of state somewhere. We slept in (well Jon slept in...baby Josh wakes Mommy up early to eat!), went to the beach, saw a couple movies, went to a comedy show, went bowling and putt putt golfing, explored Siesta Key and Winter Garden, and ate a LOT of amazing food. It was so relaxing and enjoyable. Definitely a great way to spend our last vacation as just the two of us. I'm looking forward to seeing how our vacations will change over the next few years! Here's some highlights from our time!

Saturday - 

Celebrated Star Wars day with Chick-Fil-A and Empire Strikes Back

Jon devouring his Pine 22 burger

Enjoying some improv at SAK

Monday - 

We traveled to Siesta Key (about 2 hours away) for a day at the beach and explored St. Armand's Circle. We ate at one of my favorite places, Columbia, and celebrated making it to 28 weeks!

Joshua and Mommy at 28 weeks

Love this place!

Green straws and blue skies!

Such a yummy place!

Gotta stop for some ice cream!

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we enjoyed some of our favorite local activities. We went to see Iron Man 3 (which Josh and daddy loved - it wasn't mommy's favorite), we went putt putt golfing at Disney, went out to breakfast, and went bowling. We had a ton of fun!

Putt Putt at Fantasia Gardens!

Daddy won...no surprise

Josh "helping" mommy sink her putt!

Beautiful day for golf!

Mommy's belly is the same size as a bowling ball!

He's so kind

He won at bowling too - but I got my revenge in the arcade!

Love me some skee ball!

My score

Jon's score :)

He's so tough

Friday
On Friday we went to see another movie (Oblivion - which mommy liked!) and then went to dinner and a show in Winter Garden!

Saturday
On Saturday we relaxed at the Farmer's Market and went to a wonderful dinner at Season's 52!

Enjoying our breakfast at the Farmer's Market!

On our way to dinner!

Scotch drinking Daddy

Our delicious dinner!

Mommy and Josh

Sunday

On Mother's Day we went to church, Mommy took a nap, and we celebrated with my family. Always a good (and crazy!) time when we all get together!

Not so sure about these two

All of the kids on Mother's Day - we're so attractive

We had a wonderful vacation! Now we gotta wait for our little dude to arrive and then the REAL adventure begins!

The Beginning of the End

Well we've made it to the 3rd and final trimester! I can't even begin to tell you how quickly the 2nd trimester went! I feel like I'm still only 20 weeks! I know this final stretch won't go as quickly but it's still hard to believe that our little guy will be here in about 11 weeks!

Jon and I had a great babymoon staycation this past week (another post on that later) and I'm officially done with my job at my dad's office. I'm really looking forward to getting the apartment in order and spending my days preparing for our little man child over the next 2 months.

This week I'm 29 weeks (!) and Joshua is about the size of an acorn squash. He's a wild child in there! I feel him moving constantly. There are occasional breaks but I swear he doesn't sleep much. I feel him favoring my right side the most and he's jabbing my ribs now. He likes to roll as well and is always active when music is playing (especially at church!) Over the past couple of weeks he has started opening his eyes (can't wait to see if they will be brown like Mommy or blue like Daddy!), he's storing fat (c'mon chubs!), and his lungs are now mature enough that if he were born now he could probably breathe on his own. Still, we want him to bake in there for a while longer!

We are planning on having a 4D Ultrasound sometime next week to check on our boy. I can't wait to see how he's changed and developed! I'm hoping we get some really good shots!

Mommy is feeling pretty good but definitely feel a dramatic change in my energy. I'm not sleeping super well (usually up once or twice at night) and am waking up fairly early so by 10:30 I'm ready for a nap! (and I plan on taking some!) It's definitely getting harder to breathe as Joshua is crowding out my lungs and bending over to put socks or other shoes on is difficult also. Last week I started feeling really tight/crampy pain in my belly every so often. I've heard Braxton Hicks aren't supposed to hurt so I'm not sure if that's what it was but I drank lots of water and laid down for a while and they went away. I'm still having some heartburn and my feet and legs will cramp occasionally as well. I did my glucose test last week (it wasn't too terrible) and I'm praying that I don't have to do it again! I've been working on filling out our hospital forms and trying to decide on a pediatrician. Can't wait too long!

Here's some pictures and update from the past 2 weeks! Babymoon post coming later this week!

28 weeks at Siesta Key Beach

29 weeks at Seasons 52

How far along: 29 weeks + 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: + 15 lbs (steadily gaining about 1 pound per week!)
Maternity clothes: Yes! I need to get some shorts for the summer heat and I'm loving maxi dresses at the moment!
Stretch marks: None
Sleep: Sleep has been difficult the past couple weeks. Getting more uncomfortable and waking up at least once in the middle of the night.
Best moment this week: Enjoying a relaxing vacation with my hubby!
Miss anything: Being able to take a deep breath and bend over without discomfort!
Movement: We've got a wild boy on our hands! He moves quite a bit and pushes out and rolls all around. It's fun to feel but uncomfortable when he gets near my ribs!
Food cravings: I'm still loving salad and ranch dressing. I crave non-healthy things too though!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really. I have moments of feeling queasy, especially if my stomach is empty and he's kicking me hard. But overall I'm doing well with smells and food.
Have you started to show yet: Yes! I feel SO big! Can barely see my toes!
Gender: Sweet little BOY!
Labor Signs: Maybe some occasional Braxton Hicks but I'm not sure. Occasional back pain as well which could just be from the weight gain. 
Symptoms: Heartburn, leg/foot cramps, headaches and getting uncomfortable
Belly button in or out: My belly button just can't decide if it wants to be out all the way! When I'm full and start laughing I can feel it pop out all the way but mostly just the top part is out.
Wedding rings on or off: On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! I still get emotional during movies/shows though!
Looking forward to: Our 4D sonogram next week!

27 Weeks

Well it's about time to say goodbye to my 2nd trimester! I honestly can't believe how quickly this trimester has passed. The first trimester seemed to drag on and on because I wasn't able to do anything but lay on the couch and throw up! But once the second came along I gradually had more energy and was able to get back to "normal" so that definitely made time go by faster. Now, here we are 13 weeks away from due day! I can't believe our little nugget will be here so soon!

This week I'm finishing up my last week at work and then Jon and I are taking a 9 day "staycation" where we will be able to relax at home and do some fun things around Orlando together. We are SO excited about what we have planned and it will be nice to spend this time together before Joshua comes.

Joshua is continuing to develop and is putting on little chubby baby fat now that most of his organs are fully functioning (isn't that crazy!) He is roughly 2 pounds and on his way to being the size of an eggplant! He is practicing breathing and preparing his lungs for when he's outside the womb, his eyes are starting to open, and he is my little wiggle worm! I feel him kicking and stretching throughout the day. His kicks make my whole belly move and he's pushing out body parts, but I can't always tell what they are. Yesterday was the first time I've felt him kick me in the ribs. Ha! That was fun! It didn't really hurt but it DID feel weird and tickled a little.

Here's a picture and update!

How far along: 27 weeks + 3 days
Total weight gain/loss: + 12 lbs
Maternity clothes: I got a few more shirts and some dresses for the HOT summer we will be having. I need to get a new bathing suit as well for our beach trips soon!
Stretch marks: None
Sleep: Sleep has been better the past week. I wake up once around 2-3 am for a bathroom trip and sometimes I need water or food at that point too. But I'm able to go back to sleep usually.
Best moment this week: Hearing his heartbeat and movement through a stethoscope! 
Miss anything: This week I've missed sleep!  
Movement: Lots of movement! I feel him the most when I wake up in the morning and after I eat. 
Food cravings: Still craving cold stuff (italian ice, slurpees, etc). Pretty sure the Florida heat is contributing to that! I also crave Starbucks green tea lemonade EVERY.DAY.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really. I have moments of feeling queasy, especially if my stomach is empty and he's kicking me hard. But overall I'm doing well with smells and food.
Have you started to show yet: Yes! I feel SO big! Can barely see my toes!
Gender: Sweet little BOY!
Labor Signs: I'm starting to feel little sharp twinges all over my belly throughout the day. It literally feels like someone is pinching me from the inside. Not sure if those are Braxton Hicks or not but they don't last long.
Symptoms: Heartburn!!! I finally got some Pepcid AC to try and manage it. Tums weren't cutting it anymore!
Belly button in or out: Just the top part is out but it hasn't popped out quite yet.
Wedding rings on or off: On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy! I haven't had any meltdowns for a couple weeks (which I know my husband appreciates!)
Looking forward to: Our babymoon "staycation" and my baby shower next month!