21 weeks!!!

The last week has been pretty crazy! My parents flew into town on Friday and while my Dad had to fly back on Sunday, my mom got to stay the whole week! Trey was out of town most of the time but my Dad still manages to keep busy by doing all sorts of maintenance work and upkeep around the house for us! I feel bad, every time they come into town it seems he is always working on some sort of project for us the entire time! Thanks, Dad! Yup, I think we all agree that he pretty much hung the moon ;) Anyways, we did get some R&R in which is always nice and my mom was super helpful with Tripp this week so I could put up my feet, somewhat ;) I woke up on Tuesday morning extreeeemely nauseous and hot like I was going to pass out. I was thisclose to having my mom rush me to the ER because I felt like the walls were closing in on me and verrrrry weak. We never really figured out exactly what it was but the doctor mentioned it was probably because I was sleeping flat on my back....shame on me. I am NOT a side sleeper so this has always been one of the hardest things for me with pregnancy! Apparently when sleeping on your back you restrict the blood flow since the babe weighs so much and can cause serious issues. Whoopsie. Anyways, I started feeling better within a few hours so we went and visited a few places for some nursery items and I ordered a rug for sweet girl's room so that was fun! Like I mentioned, Trey was out of town most of the week so it was nice to have my mom here to help and entertain Tripp!

Practicing his swim lessons with Grandaddy! 

Visiting Prairie Dog Town with Nana! Only in Lubbock ;)

Getting in lots of snuggle with Nana before she heads back to Houston!

And lots of playtime too! This child is UHH-BBSESSED with trains these days...

Week 4 of ISR swim is complete! So proud of my little fishy!

I also got to visit with my sweet friend Rachel's new little 2 week old baby, Olivia! She is just as precious as an angel and I look forward to Baby H having another little friend to run around with!

Trey was home midweek for barely 24 hours so since we wouldn't be together on our ACTUAL anniversary and we had already celebrated for the most part with dinner last week, we decided to go see Jake Gyllenhaal's new movie "Southpaw." I know, not your typical anniversary romantic comedy BUT we had both been dying to see it and it was FABULOUS! But, of course this preggo caught herself balling tearing up half of the movie... sigh. Moving forward, I had my 21 week check-up with the high-risk MFM and it was so nice that it worked out my mom got to join too, with Tripp in tow of course. She had never seen an ultrasound before, and especially not a 3D one so it was very special for her to get to see that! Baby girl is weighing in at exactly one pound, (how they can tell that I have no idea), and everything looks great! More below:

How far along? 21 weeks
Wedding rings on or off? On
Maternity clothes? Oh yes, they are officially in full effect around here! Luckily its been so freaking hot around here I have just been hanging in there wearing maxi dresses and running shorts! 
Best moment this week: Getting to see baby girl's little face squished up on the sonogram! The last 3d sono they took she had her hand in front of her face and was very bashful ;) 
Food cravings: Anything salty and decaf sweet tea! And I'm usually not a "tea" person, with exception to the occasional iced mint green tea from Starbacks. However, with my Factor V Leiden I'm not supposed to have green tea at all so I really have to limit myself :/  
Anything making you queasy or sick: Just sleeping on my back and not drinking enough water! I have to literally MAKE myself carry water around all day because I usually just have maybe 3 glasses of water a day.... but now I can really tell when I need to drink up since 'little miss' has started Braxton Hicks contractions and they are wayyyy worse when I'm dehydrated!!!
Happy or Moody? I was a little moodier than normal this week only because I have had the worst insomnia! I keep waking up at 2 am and can't fall back asleep until 4:30... ugh.  I take Unisom every now and then but really don't want to rely on it!
Doctor Appointments: As mentioned above, I had my 21 week ultrasound and baby's looking great! We received the second part of the trisomy 21 sequential screening and all the results for downs syndrome came back negative!! Baby girl is also weighing in at a whopping one pound and has a healthy heartbeat of 134. In the sonogram pic you could clearly see the umbilical cord by her head and of course my first question was, "this isn't going to strangle her is it?!??" They reassured me it's fine and she is much too small for it to strangle her or anything to worry about. Phew. She is however sitting breech right now but since I am still a little early they told me we still have plenty of time to flip her back around :) My next appointment isn't until August 11th with my regular OB.... and she should be scheduling my yummy glucose challenge test around then. Excuse me while I throw up in my mouth. The thought of it makes me GAG. 
Looking forward to: As much as I hate that my husband will be back to the grind with late nights and long days, I am really looking forward to football season this year!!! Two-a-days start next week and then first game is September 5th! Wreck 'Em!!!! 

Halfway there!!

I still can't believe how fast this pregnancy is flying by. I know the last trimester will make it all slow wayyyy down as I will be ready to have sweet girl here already but for now I'm just enjoying every minute of it! I am officially at my halfway point, (20 weeks!), and am definitely starting to feel the muscle aches, leg cramps, etc that go along with having a larger torso ;) I'm not sure why, maybe because I have a short torso, but this baby is sitting just as high as Tripp was and it's seriously killing me! Anyways, this week is not only the halfway mark but also we got a chance to celebrate our 4 year anniversary last night! Our actual anniversary isn't until next week, (July 30th), but Trey was supposed to work that night and is leaving for a coach's retreat the next day so we decided to go ahead and celebrate a week early! Something I should probably get used to by now, seeing that we got married so close to when season picks back up.... Hey- it was the only weekend our wedding venue had available back  in 2011 and I chose that over having to wait another 6 months to marry my husband! So, we had a nice relaxing evening at my favorite restaurant here in the LBK, The West Table! If you are ever out in west Texas and looking for a delicious meal with a fabulous atmosphere then The West Table is your place! You won't be disappointed. Anyways, here are a few shots we got before leaving little man with his sitter....

So, in other news, I read online at a few different places, (ok, maybe it was just Pinterest), that one way to prepare your toddler for a new little sibling is to buy a little babydoll and talk to it and introduce it to your toddler so by the time real baby comes they have already somewhat adapted. Sounds easy, right? Well, we didn't end up making it out of the store with this doll.... my child wanted NOTHING to do with it. (Needless to say, my husband was doing the happy dance and thrilled when I came to this conclusion since he was against it from the start!) Here we are in the store before I decided to put his stuffed baby sister back on the shelf where she belonged.... #mommygetmeoutofthispinkaisleSTAT #bringonthetrucksandairplanes 

Here is my 20 week update!!

How far along? 20 weeks
Wedding rings on or off? On
Maternity clothes? Bought a few adorable dresses at Target but besides that as long as they are flowy and FORGIVING I have been able to get by with wearing non-maternity as well.... for now.....
Best moment this week: I think Tripp is starting to understand he is getting a little sister, (or sibling). He comes up and points to my belly and leans over and kisses it. Its super sweet and I can promise you I did not teach him or force him to do that- its super crazy. However, he does see Trey talk to my belly when he gets home from work so that may help... 
Food cravings: Still loving my onion toasted bagel from Einsteins but also loving frozen grapes since its been so hot out.... also loving pretzels with this amazing basil &garlic infused grapeseed oil I got in Fredericksburg a few weeks ago. Seriously I hope you can order this stuff online because it's truly a party in my mouth! While the other girls stocked up on bottles of wine this girl was stocking her backseat with oils and the best homemade fudge money can buy! #alreadyplanningatripback

Anything making you queasy or sick: Just this heat! I seriously chug water allllll day, (I am SO not a good water drinker at all and only drink it large quantities when I'm pregnant). I have extreeeeemely low blood pressure again, (I had the same prob with tripp until delivery then it shot up and was super high). Last appt it was 90/60 so they told me to eat more salt which I am happy to do! Hence, the pretzels ;) Anyways, I get severely bad headaches and am really lightheaded most of the day so I am trying to hold out and get this blood pressure raised!  
Happy or Moody? Happy happy happy!!!! 
Doctor Appointments: Not until July 31st, my next ultrasound!
Looking forward to: My parents coming this weekend and next week to visit and getting started on baby girl's nursery! Eeeeek!!!!

Summer Update!!!

Well, I started this blog in hopes of updating my weekly progress throughout this pregnancy but I have failed to update the last 3 weeks of my life. To say things have been chaotic around here would be an understatement! Since my last post from Houston, we have had quite a crazy summer! We received some very sad news while in Houston that a very dear friend of ours passed away due to a terminal illness she had been battling for a very short two years. While we were indeed very much looking forward to our vacation in Mexico we decided our hearts belonged back home in Lubbock to attend her memorial and pay our respects to her family. So the trip has been put off until next year! Plus, this mama will finally be able to enjoy a few margaritas on the beach so I have plenty to look forward to then!

We spent a wonderful week in Houston with my parents and took Tripp to Galveston where it was SO miserably hot we only lasted about an hour on the beach before heading to The Spot for lunch!! The next day we headed to to the Kemah Boardwalk for lunch where Tripp played on the splash pad and we got to feed the stingrays! He wasn't too sure about the latter, so maybe we will try again next year! Once again, it felt like 100 degrees so we had lunch and called it a day. I didn't get any pics in Kemah due to the unbearable heat, but I'm sure we will be going back soon! My parents may live on the complete opposite side of Texas from us, (boo!), but I love that they live so close to the Kemah boardwalk and Galveston, so we always have fun things to look forward to when we visit them :)

We got back to Lubbock just in time to get ready to have our dear friends the Glynns in town! Trey & Jason have been friends since high school and its always fun when we get together with them! He and his wife Courtney have two little girls and one of them is a month older than Tripp! We had so much fun grilling out, getting in LOTS of pooltime, and attending the 4th of July family picnic at the Lubbock Country Club. They live in Austin which in our opinion is entirely too far from us! We try to convince them to move out to the LBK but there's a slim chance of that happening, especially considering they are both die hard Longhorns ;) It's ok, we won't hold that against them. Well, except on Nov. 26th.....

The following Monday, Tripp started his ISR swim lessons! They are EVERYDAY (M-F) for 15 minutes. And they last 6 weeks. And they are about half an hour from our house. Yes, do the math.... #byebyesummerafternoons It's quite the commitment but we couldn't have asked for a better instructor for Tripp. He has already learned SO much in one week it's truly amazing and I cannot wait to see what his progress is like over the next 5 weeks! If you aren't familiar, this class is essentially a 'survival' skills class. Mostly recommended if you have a pool or live by a large body of water, but anyone can take it. It teaches them a technique called 'swim-float-swim' in efforts to prepare them should they ever fall in without an adult or supervisor around. Our summer days are crazy around here, his entire schedule has been completely thrown off, (not good for the control freak like myself), so we basically just have the mornings to get out and run our errands! He eats lunch at 11 now so he can go down for a nap around 11:30, (even though he doesn't ever fall ASLEEP until 12ish) and then I have to wake him up to leave our house by 2:30. One thing about this child is he sure loves his sleep! #canIgetanAMEN By the time we get home its 4 o'clock! I have a feeling the rest of this summer is going to FLY by and August will be here before we know it!!!!

19 weeks.... AND gender reveal!!

I'm working on a summer update since I haven't blogged in the last month! Things have been a tad chaotic around here, so more on that with the next post. For now I thought I would get my 19 week update completed!! I am SO ecstatic to finally have my energy back! Even though the 'texas summer' heat has officially arrived, I refuse to let it knock me down! We have certainly kept ourselves verrrrry busy the past few weeks. With that being said, I am VERY much looking forward to the Fall and one my favorite times of year....PUMPKIN ERRRRRRYTHING! Pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin candles, pumpkin soaps, pumpkin bread from Starbucks... you name it! And of course let's not forget to mention the arrival of football season, just a little important around here ;) #50daysuntilkickoff

Ok, back to my post. As you will see in my next post our trip to Cabo has been postponed, I refuse to use the word CANCELED so I will say postponed.... until next year that is. We ended up coming back to lubbock and going to my doctor appointment the following week to find out the BIG reveal. I wanted to do something different this time than just have the ultrasound tech tell us what the gender would be. I pinned adorable ideas on Pinterest for fancy gender reveal parties but then reality set in and all of our family live so far away that they would never get to attend so I scratched that idea out of my head immediately. Then I have always heard of the uber cute idea, (is uber even a word? Like besides a car service? Whatever, back to my point), where the ultrasound tech writes down the gender and seals it an envelope and you and your spouse go to a nice dinner and open it together, (cue the violins and romantic soft jazz music in the background). While that sounded great and all, we just decided that this time would be special regardless because we would be there together. When I found out Tripp was a boy, Trey was working and couldn't attend the ultrasound so the tech, (not knowing we wanted to wait to find out), just blurted out it was a boy. I was thrilled! But it's not quite the same when you make a phone call versus being there together. I digress, back to my story.... So we ultimately decided to just find out right then and there! Of course the appointment seemed to take FOREVER, (they had to do a FULL anatomy scan and they start at the head and slowwwwly make their way down to the....you know, private parts). What seemed like HOURS later, she finally asked if we wanted to find out the gender in which then revealed it's a GIRL! We are SUPER excited and cannot wait to have Tripp be a big brother to a little SISTER! I cannot wait to start planning for the nursery and bedding and all the frilly girly stuff that goes with it! Here is the pic we posted to social media a few days later, (because it's not OFFICIAL until its blasted on Facebook & Instagram, right?!) 

Side note: There is just one little babe in there.... I had a few people message me if we were having TWINS due to the two balloons. Nope, little man just had to have two when we were at the store ;)

So there you have it, I am ready to get started tackling my next project....the NURSERY! I already have a good idea of what I'm doing so I'll just post updates from time to time. 

How far along? 19 weeks

Wedding rings on or off? On
Maternity clothes? Since it's the summer, I have been able to get away with tunics and maxi dresses as well as regular tank tops and such. But as the Fall draws near, I will be ready for my maternity jeans and comfy pants! 
Best moment this week: Felt our little princess kick for the first time at 18 weeks! It feels like little fluttters and I know they will get stronger over the next few weeks but I love feeling her little kicks! 
Food cravings: Still LOTS of pasta and carbs.... we just got back from a girls trip to Fredericksburg and while this preggo couldn't do much at the wineries, I did get my fair share of fresh picked PEACHES! If you have never had a Fredericksburg peach then you are MISSING OUT! They taste nothing at all like what you pick up at your local grocery store. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Just eating TOO large of meals at one sitting. I have been having to eat smaller portions every couple hours and can't eat anything after 7 or I get MAD heartburn. 

Happy or Moody? Happy I think! ;)
Doctor Appointments: Besides getting to find out the gender this week, they also shared the results from the first half of the Trisomy 21 test that shows any indications of down syndrome, which came back negative. We get the second half results on July 31st but the nurse said so far it doesn't look like we have anything to worry about. When I was pregnant with Tripp, my doctor called me when we were out of town, (of course), to share that the results appeared to be in favor of downs syndrome and to come back in for more testing. So, we packed up our bags and booked it back to Fort Worth for further testing in which ended up being negative in the end. So, while this test may be standard procedure for some, I really prayed we didn't have to go through all of that again. 
Looking forward to: Savoring the rest of the summer and getting in as much pool time as possible! Also can't wait to start ordering things and planning for baby girl's room!!!