Yippeeeeee, 26 weeks!

How far along? 26 weeks.  This was my goal!!!  I'm so excited to finally have this day here.  I can rest a little easier at night.  :)

Energy: All the traveling we recently did was tiring!  Enjoying catching up on sleep. :)    
Best moment this week: Date night with Gordon for Father's Day weekend.  We went to see Jurassic World.
Movement: I think she spent a couple of days with her feet down again but moved back to head down.  I still think she moves a lot more than William.  All her kicking during the night wakes me up.  
Food cravings: Fruit (apples) and donuts.  I've been super hungry at lunch time.   
Anything making you queasy or sick: Red meat is still unappealing.  Overall, I'm feeling good!
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Happy but starting to feel anxious about everything we still need for her room.  I'm such a planner and feel like she could come at any time.....I really want to be ready!
Other pregnancy symptoms:  Starting to get a really faint "linea negra" down my belly.  Luckily, still no signs of stretch marks.  I'm still up once a night to use the restroom. 
From the doctor:  This isn't really from the doctor....but, I am still "working" with my insurance on getting reimbursed for the weekly progesterone shots I take.  I've also started looking into getting another breast pump through my insurance.  

Baby can detect light and dark and can hear outside noises (aka big brother!)

26.5 weeks!  Quick pic after dinner with the girls.  

Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend seems like a lifetime ago for some reason?!?!  Here's a little recap of  "week 21 of 2015".  

We had just gotten back from our annual beach vacation in Rosemary Beach.  I started the week off with a trip into town for a doctors appointment.  My other day off work was spent with this little cutie at the zoo.  It was an extra special trip because the Houston Zoo had just opened the new gorilla exhibit.  They had a week when only zoo members could check things out....so we had to go (before it got crazy busy)!  As always, we had an awesome time.  William thought the gorillas "talking" was funny, we got to see the elephants get a bath, William got sprayed with water by one of the elephants (he thought this was hilarious), and he really took a liking to the fish (I liked the air conditioned room!).    

Where are you Mr. Gorilla?  |  There you are!  |  Crawling through the fish tunnel

Carousel time  |  My little elephant lover, drum player  |  Look Mama!  

On Friday night we headed to Texarkana for the long weekend.  Although we'd just been with the Gooding side of the family, we decided to make one last trip before baby girl makes her appearance!  Our trips out of town are numbered since AG could come anytime (if she takes after her brother).  We hadn't been to T-town since November, so we were over due for a trip to East Texas.  

We had a fun weekend being lazy!  William loved getting to fish.  He even got over his fear of touching them.  I was shocked to see him grab the first fish he caught!  He even touched the worms they used for bait.  He's becoming such a BOY!  This mama and daddy even made it out to dinner one night with some friends. :)     

It's hard to believe that we'll have 2 kiddos the next time we visit Texarkana!!  I can only imagine how loaded down our car will be when we add a newborn to the mix.  :)

Soccer Shots

At end of March William started soccer for the first time.  To say this little guy liked soccer is an understatement!   Every Thursday, for 30 minutes, William goes with a small group of kids around his age (he is the youngest) to soccer shots.  When we signed him up we had no idea how he'd like soccer.  Luckily, he's loved every minute with Coach Chris and his friends.  Every day that I drop him off at school he asks me if it's soccer day.  I've gotten the chance to watch him during class a couple of times....it's pretty cute.  He's obviously learning a few basics soccer skills, but more importantly, he's continuing to improve on his listening skills, following instructions and following through with a task.

These pictures are from his last Spring Session Soccer class.  He was so proud of his certificate and metal.  :)  What a little cutie pie!!  These type of things make me so excited for sports when William is older.  Whether that be soccer, baseball, swimming, golfing, tennis, horseback riding or football!!!  

Our Simply Fun Weekends

We had a super fun "week 18".  We kicked our weekend off, on Friday night, eating a little mexican food.  Little buddy loves a beef enchilada and cheese and chips!  Before heading home we made a stop at the candy shop.  This mama can't say no to sour candy.  

Saturday was spent doing our normal stuff.  That evening we went to Kami and John's annual crawfish boil and then headed to City Center for dinner and ice cream.  City Center has a fun lawn area for kids to play in, a band was playing and the weather was perfect.  Unfortunately, I forgot to bring a ball for William to play with.  :(  Luckily, he enjoyed eating his ice cream and listening to the music.  

On Sunday William and I headed back to Kami's for Griffin's 3rd birthday party.  It was the cutest dirt party.  William was obviously in heaven.  There is nothing better than playing the dirt and eating cupcakes.  We had another birthday party that afternoon, but I accidentally fell asleep with William during nap time and we didn't wake up in time.  Another mom fail!  I guess I was tired. :)   

{Dinner at Victor's} {Candy Shop Time} {Doing a little shopping}

{City Center Fun} {Dirt Party!} {Yummy cupcake} {Fun in the sprinkler with Cesar}

As you can probably tell, our weekends are a bit repetitive.....and that's just the way we like it!  We are a pretty simple, easy to entertain group, that like to be at home spending time together.    

25 weeks pregnant

How far along? 25 weeks

Weight Gain:  Up 2 lbs in 2 weeks.  Total weight gain = 17 lbs.  I'm only 5 lbs away from my delivery weight with William.  That number will obviously be surpassed this time around!    
Best moment this week: Celebrating Anna Grace at our baby shower and getting her room and furniture painted!
Movement: I think she's head down again.  Her heart rate was 153 at the doctor appointment.
Food cravings: Nothing special.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Busy!  Between driving back from Austin, getting William back into a routine, painting Anna Grace's room, the baby shower and then heading into town for my appointment on Monday morning....I was pooped!  
Other pregnancy symptoms:  Overall, feeling pretty good.  I love sitting on the couch watching my belly move all around.  Nearly every morning William looks at my belly and says, "Anna Grace play with me!"  I just hope he's not disappointed when she doesn't come out playing.  
From the doctor:  I saw the NP this visit.  I drank the yummy glucose drink and had my labs drawn an hour later.  My glucose was good at 106, thyroid levels were good and my hemoglobin was down to 11.3 from 13.  This is considered slightly anemic so they recommended I take an iron supplement....yuck!  Next doctor appointment will be in 3 weeks.  

Baby is the size of Rutabaga 

Turns out he's a good daddy and a good painter.  PINK!

Drink Up!

What a busy week we had!  I swear the reason pregnancy goes by so quick is because there is so much to do when you are getting ready to add a person to your family (not to mention all the time spent going to the doctor).   :)

24 weeks pregnant

How far along? 24 weeks (June 5- June 11)      

Best moment this week: Getting lots of alone time with Gordon, seeing William after 4 days apart and getting a look at baby girl on the big screen.  :)    
Food cravings: Nothing special.  The mac 'n cheese at Jonathan's Rub on date night was extra delicious.  OH and....I'm always craving something sweet after I eat.  
Anything making you queasy or sick: I did feel kinda yucky a few mornings in a row.  
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody? Happy to see my little buddy but really tired from all the traveling!!  I flew home from Midland on Sunday evening and then drove to Austin Thursday afternoon to meet my mom and William.  We visited with some family in Austin and then drove back Friday morning.    
Other pregnancy symptoms:  Crazy dreams.  I'm sure most of this was due to being nervous about being away from William.  Trusting someone else to care for your child is one of the hardest things I've ever done.      
From the doctor:  I've completed a month (4 injections) of progesterone.  I saw my maternal fetal medicine doctor on Monday.  Basically, he does an entire anatomy scan at every visit.  He makes sure baby girl is growing appropriately, he checks on my placenta, the umbilical cord etc.  We tried to get a good picture of her face/profile but she was right under my belly button so there was a shadow across her face and she kept turning away from us.  She is not cooperative.  Her head was up and feet down.  This probably explains some of the weird feelings I'm having against that stitch.  Based on all her measurements she is in the 43% and weighs about 1lb 8oz.  Of all the measurements, her head was the smallest.  It only measured 2 days behind but this is a huge difference from her big brother. :)   

William at 12 weeks

Anna Grace at 12 weeks

 Here are a few pictures from the appointment.  The top picture proves that she is indeed still a girl.  The bottom picture shows my "funny" (bicornuate) uterus.  On the left side of the picture, by the RT, you see a white sticking looking thing.  That is some part of baby girl (I think her leg).  She is in the right side of my uterus.  Then you see more white in the middle of the picture followed by LEFT.  The white in the middle of the picture is the separation in my uterus.  This is what makes my uterus "funny".  Most people don't have this separation, they just have a big open space.  Yes, I did have uterine surgery to help this separation......we knew it didn't get rid of it....who knows how much it helped and/or how much more room she has in there versus what William had?!?!  Between the surgery, the cerclage and the weekly progesterone shots hopefully she'll stay put longer than he did. :)  If we can avoid the NICU we will be ecstatic.     

Baby is the size of an ear of corn

I'm really trying to soak everything up this pregnancy.  It's hard to believe we are already half way there.  When I lay in bed at night and feel her move around I try to engrave every kick and jab into my memory.  Pregnancy can feel like forever but in actuality it's such a short time in our life....and with my history, you never know when it's going to come to an end.  When William was born early I remember laying in the hospital bed at night holding my belly, like I did when he was inside of me, wishing he was still there instead of upstairs in a NICU incubator.  So, although pregnancy can have some yuck days, I'm trying to stay positive and grateful!
  

23 weeks pregnant

How far along? 23 weeks (May 29-June 4)  Weight: up 1 pound in 2 weeks

Exercise:  Still can't.     
Belly Button:  It's out and even noticeable when I wear a tight tank top. 
Movement: Most movement is 5-6am and early evening.    
Food cravings: Still not super hungry.  Cheese sounds yummy.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Wedding rings on or off? On
Best Moments This Week:  Although it's not a lot of fun....getting the potty training process going.  It will be nice to only have one baby in diapers!  William and I got so much done on our day off together.  :)  We ran lots of errands and had lunch with Daddy at Barnaby's.   
Happy or Moody? Nervous.  I'd been feeling some funny things for a few days and feeling her moving really low down.  It felt like she was going to kick right out of me.  Dr. Z asked me to come in on 6/2.  They did a TV ultrasound to measure my cervix.  It was 4cm (this is the longest I've ever been!  I was 2.6 at this stage with William).  The cerclage seems to be doing it's job.  Dr. Z asked for me to try bed rest for a few days to see if it changed anything.  So, the next day, I did as he asked but the "feelings" I was having didn't change at all.  So, I've decided, I'm feeling her move against that stitch and it's not a sensation I'm used to.  I'll admit.....I'm a bit paranoid.  I'd rather be overly cautious than lose my baby girl.  I think I'll be able to relax a little once I make it to 26 weeks, 28 weeks, 30 weeks.....Dr. Z made me feel better when he said that I've never been a complainer (about post op pain, baby being in NICU, severe nausea when my milk came in, etc, etc) so I should trust my instincts!       
Other pregnancy symptoms:  Had heartburn a couple of nights and my back has started hurting.  Since the left side of my uterus isn't being utilized, baby girl is mainly on my right side.  So, when I sit too long the right side of my back starts to really feel uncomfortable.  Putting pillow behind that side of my body usually helps a lot!  




Baby is the size of a large mango

This was probably my most emotional week so far.  I feel like we are so close to my 26 week goal.  Sometimes my fearful thoughts get the best of me....but I always try to remember this.....She does not fear bad news; she confidently trust the Lord to take care of her.  -Psalm 112:7