pregnancy 3.0 update--week 13-14

 13 weeks

hey all.  so with my first two pregnancies i wrote a weekly update and took pictures every week.  but this time around i just don't have the time and i really didn't want to do all that, haha.  i kind of felt guilty about it at first like this baby might grow up and be sad that i didn't take as much time to do all that this time around, too.  but then i let it go and figured it should probably be fine.  who knows if the internet is going to be around the way we know it when this kid is a teenager or adult, or if they would read it, or if they would care anyway.  but i do want to remember aspects of this pregnancy, so i will document some of it.

anyway, i am finishing up my 13th week, i will be going into my 14th week sometime this week.  the last couple of weeks have gone really quickly, not like weeks 5-11 where i felt so so so sick.  i still feel a little disconnected from the baby, but i think i remember that during this time anyway because the baby isn't big enough to feel when they are moving around and the belly is usually not very big.  and also i am busy during the day and evenings with the kids so it's a totally different experience than the first pregnancy where you have all the time to think about baby and dream about the nursery and baby gear, haha.  right now i just feel like i have a lot of stuff to coordinate and work on while i am still nimble and spry, haha.

as far as the pregnancy stuff, it's interesting, i feel like all the aches and uncomfortable sensations that occur further along in pregnancy are starting to happen now.  maybe i'm just imagining it, who knows.  but i've got the round ligament pains, heartburn, still some nausea especially at night, super sore boobs (man!  it's so bad!), and this really uncomfortable feeling at my sternum.  it's tender right where my ribs meet and kind of feels like it's stretching.  i remember this a lot with z's pregnancy.  but nothing is too bad at this point.  although my stomach!  hahahahah!  i am amazed at how big my belly is already.  the third baby doesn't mess around, hahaha.

i am able to stand to eat more foods now, and previously (before pregnancy) i wasn't eating a lot of carbs at all, i was mainly eating meats and veggies and some fruits.  but typical of my other two pregnancies, i have had a reallllly hard time eating veggies in the beginning.  but now i feel like i can eat some salads again.  probably can't do broccoli yet or other cruciferous veg yet, but tonight i was able to eat a vinegar based slaw with cucumbers, carrots and cabbage.  oh, and during the first several weeks of pregnancy because i was so nauseated i lost about 8 lbs.  that's a lot of weight for me to lose.  so during that time i basically just ate whatever i could keep down.  and sometimes it was some weird stuff that i don't normally eat like mcdonald's sausage mcmuffins, freezer taquitos and toast with brie heaped on top.  i chomped on chips and cookies and stuff that i hadn't had for quite awhile.  the sad thing is that i didn't really enjoy it as much as i would normally because i still felt so nauseous.  i'm trying to listen to my body but also trying to gently push myself to start eating stuff that is more nutrient dense and healthy, like a salad.

a huge part of the reason for worrying a little about my diet is that i had gestational diabetes when i was pregnant with ava, and i will likely have it again.  they will test me early for it, at 18 weeks, and then again at the normal time at 28 weeks if i pass the test at 18 weeks.  i still have my glucometer from last time so i have been checking my blood sugar every few days just to have an idea of where i'm at and it has been fine so far.  so that's good.  i just hope it stays that way!  last time i was able to manage it with diet, although it was hard, so i didn't have to be on insulin and then deal with all the hassle of goes along with that (weekly NST's, induction at 39 weeks, etc).

anyway, this is getting long, haha, so i'll wrap it up.  i have been super blessed though because friends and friends of friends have come through with some baby gear so far like a breast pump (!) (i had given mine away a couple years ago), an infant car seat and base, bouncers, wraps, stuff like that.  and then my bestie gave me a bunch of maternity shirts and tanks and a couple cute hooter hiders for nursing.  that has been so so so helpful!  because i had gotten rid of my maternity clothes and all of our baby gear, the only thing i kept was my boba carrier.  so thank you guys for all your support!

oh yea, a little about baby--my next appointment isn't until 16 weeks.  i imagine we can hear the heartbeat at that appointment.  i obviously can't really feel the baby yet, so hopefully he/she is doing well in there.  the baby is about the size of a peach right now, i can't believe it!  just a bit ago it was as big as a grape!  i have a feeling it's a boy, but i have absolutely no preference, i am excited to find out the gender in a couple weeks.  ava wants a baby sister and so does Z but he says it'll probably be a boy.  i think hubby doesn't have a strong preference---just an easy going baby.  i will welcome prayers for the health of the baby and the pregnancy!  thanks y'all!

whoops, i put this in the wrong order, so from left to right it's 2nd pregnancy, 1st, and 3rd.  i thought i was much bigger than either time but it looks like i'm about the same as with ava's pregnancy.