Beach Trip 2016

Last summer Eric's parents took us on a beach trip down to 30-A.  I was blown away. When we first moved to Atlanta everyone talked about Hilton Head being the place to vacation, but after we took a family trip there in high school we were all really disappointed and have never been back. I was skeptical about going to 30-A after all the hype. However, it does NOT disappoint. It's classy and family oriented, but still casual. It's clean. There isn't a chain or hotel to be found along the entire strip. Aaannnnnddddd. Let's talk about it being called the Emerald Coast for a reason. The water is crystal clear and the sand is pure sugar. Now, there are some faults....like sometimes you have to walk over the river and through the woods to get from your house to the beach, but let's not talk about that.

This summer my parents treated my entire family to a trip to 30-A. We rented a huge house. The big cousins got to sleep in a bunk room. Each couple and their baby/infant/toddler had their own room. There was an upstairs and downstairs living room; a dining room, bar, and a gourmet kitchen.  It was luxury.  We also had access to a resort-like pool with zero entry and a shallow end.  Seriously, the kids were exhausted from too much fun by the second day!  

The week was not without it's hiccups. Eric woke up the morning of our trip with a stomach virus that lasted a few days into the trip. Just as he was feeling better, Maggie came down with a sinus infection and fever than had her up throwing up mucus one night.  And then in the middle of all that, I had some painful swelling in my knee that had signs of a blood clot so Eric and I spent an evening at the ER getting that examined. (Turns out I had just twisted it. Doctor said it's common on the soft sand, especially for preggos).

Other than these minor set backs we had a blast spending the week with my parents, my siblings and their children.

We're already looking forward to next summer's trip with Eric's family!

Bump Update: 33 Weeks

33 weeks

30 weeks

 25 weeks

 23 weeks

22 weeks

How far along? 33 weeks

How big is baby? According to The Bump, 

He weighs about 4.2 to 5.8 pounds and measures about 17.2 to 18.7 inches. And he may grow up to a full inch this week -- amazing.

Total weight gain?  33 lbs (Maggie - 26lbs, Evie - 40lbs)

Maternity clothes? Oh yes. I am rotating between 2-3 pairs of shorts and a few sundresses. I bought a pair of bright red ankle pants and 2 dressy tops for "going out".  As much as I love dresses I just can't sit modestly in a short dress these days. 

Stretch marks? Not a single new one this pregnancy!

Belly button? the top part of the circle sticks out, that's it.

Exercise?  I was going to Pure Barre 2-3x a week until about 3 weeks ago. They changed the schedule and it just didn't work for us right now so I put my membership on hold until September. I had been walking during the week too, but it's too hot. Once we got back from the beach we joined a big fancy gym with a pool and childcare :)  Swimming has been amazing.

Sleep-  Hit or miss. Mostly I wake up with one of the girls and then I'm up for 2-3 hours. Not awake enough to do anything but obviously too awake to sleep. That's a dumb sentence. ha.

Movement- Little brother is a dancing fool. He's mostly "activated" by sweets and caffeine. He is head down, left presentation and already descending. Way to go little brother!

Food cravings- Donuts, but nothing really strong. Oh, wait. I really like cold, shredded iceberg lettuce. I know.

Food aversions- Really, I just don't want to eat any more.

What I miss- Energy

What I am looking forward to- Not having to fret about cankles and preeclampsia symptoms appearing. And obviously, meeting our little man!

Milestones-  I can't really shave or pick anything up off the floor.

Say What?  Still getting a lot of "I hope you're having a boy" comments.  But why? WHO CARES? And honestly, I kind of wanted another girl AND I totally love my two girls so I am super offended that you think I NEED a boy for my family to be complete or for me to be satisfied. 

Sweet moments: The girls are just SO in love with "Baby Brudder". They beg to come to the midwife with me to hear "Baby Brudder's Heart Beep".  They're constantly asking what he's doing. They love to give him kisses. This morning Maggie tried to feed him breakfast through my belly button.

Make room for baby: Eric is still working really hard on the bunkbeds for the girls room. I don't think we're going to move Maggie in with Evie just yet, but he wants to have them done so 1) he's not worrying about it once Brudder comes and 2) he can park his car in the garage again.  Clothes are washed. Diapers are stripped/prepped/washed. We need to get the cradle, carseat and pack and play set up but we have a few weeks.

Oh, and THIS: 

In my head I had written about going to the hospital because I had a stomach bug so violent that I was actually delirious and it was triggering contractions.  Some Zofran and a LOT of water and gatorade and I was good as new in about 48 hours. My stomach muscles hurt for almost a week from throwing up. Crazy.

While we were down at the beach I thought I might have a blood clot in my knee so we went to the ER and they did an ultrasound on it. (While I am slightly a hypochondriac, my family carries a blood clotting disorder gene, plus pregnancy, plus the long car ride....too many risk factors for my comfort level)  The doctor said it was good to have it checked out, but I was fine.  He said a lot of people get weird inflammation on old injuries when they travel down there because the sand is so fine and difficult to walk on. At least I wasn't alone?

Now for the good news: I've only had little flare ups of anxiety. Nothing lasting more than a day and nothing I can manage without using the techniques from therapy last summer.  Hoping for a better post partum situation.

Really good news: I've been seeing two amazing chiropractors (one who has had homebirths!) who have been keeping on top of my diet and exercise in addition to keeping my hips/spine aligned. Their accountability has really helped me stay healthy this pregnancy. They have also recently hired a massage therapist who is certified in pregnancy and thai yoga massage.  I was having trouble putting my shorts on and in one visit she worked the ridiculously deep muscle that was causing the pain. I can't wait to see her again next week :)

Even better news: I have had AMAZING blood pressure this pregnancy. I think the lower starting weight, the base line of exercise + REAL exercise during the pregnancy + knowing my inflammatory foods + not working has really helped. I know it's a lot of variables, but whatever, it's working and that's all that matters!  We did a baseline of proteins lab at 31 weeks and unless I have symptoms of preeclampsia we don't need to do any more tests. My midwife gave us the green light to retake the waterbirth class (hospital policy) and to start planning for whatever kind of birth plan I want. This is SO unreal!

Just a few weeks left. Hopefully I'll remember to write another Bump Update before brother is here!!!

Pregnancy with Maggie at 33 weeks | Pregnancy with Evie at 33 & 34 weeks