14 weeks

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A little late posting.

But I'm here, by all the different ways of figuring, I am now officially and completely in my second trimester.

If I slouch (typical) my belly stick out noticeably more.   When I stand up with proper posture, not so much.  So, for the sake of documentation, I try to stand up straight for me weekly pictures. But normally, I slouch.

I get all the benefits of the second semester: More energy, no nausea, and an increased appetite.

I don't know that there are too many disadvantages, since weight gain is an expected part of a pregnancy for a close to normal weight person.  I just need to make sure I don't over indulge in the many sweet and fatty things to which I seem to be drawn!

I Really thought I felt some baby movement, and even listened in with my fetoscope to see if I could identify the source of the sound.  It felt like thumps, and it sounded like thumps.  But, I haven't had a repeat, and, once I focused, I think the sensations were too high and strong.  Sometime in the next few weeks, probably.  I felt both E and N about 16 weeks.

Our photo shoot was pretty fun.  E likes to take turns taking photos and being the subject.

She likes to play with the fetoscope, and listen to heartbeats. N is pretty tolerant of her, thankfully!

12 weeks

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I thought I should stand the same direction as I have in all of my previous pregnancy photos, and before and after photos.  Apparently I favor my left side. Me: 12 weeks.  

Here I am, just barely pregnant.  See much difference?  I don't. So, don't be misled.  That belly isn't baby belly. It's just fluff.

Now, since I realized that HEY! the natural lighting is coming from the Other direction, I turned around.  It felt somewhat awkward. But, I might be taking photos from this direction from now on, since that's where the light is.  Although, honestly, knowing me, I'll taking photos from both sides, just to give me options.  Like comparing my photos to previous pregnancies.

I'm a dork.  I know. At least I'm only wasting my own time.

entryway storage: bench and shelf

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I've been looking for some nice storage pieces for the entry way for quite some time. I looked around for some DIY projects online, but most of what I found was far to large for my entry space. I found some plans on Ana-White.com that were inspiring, and after taking a look at them, my father and I adapted then design to suit my needs and preferences.

In January, I took a week long trip to my parent's house, where I had access to a full woodshop, and I did substantial work on completing all four pieces.  I had to leave before I could put the final details on the second bench, and none of the pieces had all coats of stain or varnish.

 

My dad finished the pieces for me, and two months after I first started them, he brought them to my home. Jude installed the shelves, and now we have some pieces that work really well!

Most of the time, we get the coats hung and shoes in the benches.  Better than none of the time getting them in the closet!

the first trimester

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As I previously indicated, we're expecting baby #3 in November.

We're very pleased! Nathanael doesn't get what's going on.  This time around, Elizabeth does.

We didn't tell her until the midwife visit where we first heard the heartbeat. E can't keep a secret. Not at all.  The only way our neighbors and church don't know is that we've avoided letting E see anyone for any extended period of time.

So, back to her reaction.

E asked if the midwife was a "belly doctor" when she saw her looking for heartbeat.  When we heard it, E asked "What's that?"
"A baby!"
She said, "There's a baby in your belly?!"
"Yes..."
"Nooo.... You don't have a baby in your belly"
and then she proceeded to talk all about the baby.

The first trimester has been tiring. I'm thankful to have not experienced any vomiting, and I've had mild nausea and food aversions.  Mostly, I just can't eat very much at one time, and I'm just about beat by the time dinner comes around.  Easy meals have been the standard around here.  Jude's taken us all out to eat one evening meal for probably the past 5 weeks.

I did run a 5k about halfway through the first trimester, but I haven't done any meaningful exercise since then.  I need to get back on the bandwagon. This will work out well, now, since I'm near the end of the first trimester, and suddenly, my appetite has increased, and my energy levels are s-l-o-w-l-y inching up.

I don't feel like I'm showing, and I've gained no weight.  Not bad for a third pregnancy.  I'm please that I started this pregnancy at a lower weight (just barely) than my previous two pregnancies. Maybe that's helping things.

Just yesterday, I found that my tightest pair of jeans weren't quite as comfortable.  I think it could still be a while before I'm ready for maternity clothes.

explaining my absence

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I've been pretty absent from my blog over the past few weeks.

I haven't been blogging about weightloss, because I really shouldn't be trying to loose any more.

This happened the last two times, too.

Get pregnant, and suddenly, nothing else seems worth posting about.

Hopefully that can change now! Yay for baby #3!

garden time

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We're a little late getting started this year.

I'm still using my container garden, as I don't really trust the soil to be contaminant free enough to eat what would grow in the beds right next to the house.

So far I have: refreshed the potting soil (I know you're not supposed to re-use potting soil, but I don't care).  I got a big barrel, put in some oil potting soil, put in some new potting soil, put in some powdered organic fertilizers and mixed it all together.  Let's just call it an experiment.

I put the refreshed dirt into many of my containers (I'm lazy - I didn't sanitize my pots, either).

I even have planted a few seeds - sugar peas, lettuce, and spinach.  I started some left over seeds, but I guess I didn't have them near sufficient sunlight after they sprouted, because now they're all long, and tend to fall over.  This is a perpetual problem for me, any time I try to start seeds indoors.  You'd think I would learn, at some point.

One pot of strawberries came back from last year. I think the other two died because I wasn't watering them sufficiently at the end of the season.  We'll try again.

I'm intending to plant cucumbers, roma tomatos, zuchinni. carrots (E's choice) and peppers.

We're also going to borrow a corner of our neighbor's garden, and plant some watermelon.

The kids were excited to help with the potting soil (each had their own little spade) and to sprinkle seeds.  It's nice to have them outside, since we have a bad tendency to stay indoors all day long.

Thank goodness for beautiful days!