19 Weeks

19 Weeks with Baby Mo 2.0

Hurray! We’re about halfway!

Excuse the blurry mirror…only full size mirror around is at school…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total Weight Gain: Before Thanksgiving when I weighed myself at the gym, I had lost two pounds again bringing me to 176 which is down 7 lbs since I found out I was pregnant. Very possibly that has changed considering how much turkey I ate!

Baby’s Heart Rate: Right around 150 BMP at last doctor’s appointment. Which of course was wonderful to hear for the first time!

Movement: I’ve started to feel some kicks this week! I felt some on Thanksgiving night that were the strongest so far. I joked that I had eaten so much he or she was trying to make room. The most “movement” I’ve felt is like steady balls of pressure, mostly in the evening. I remember when Judah was much bigger how it felt to have him just sort of pressing on one side and this feels similar, just on a smaller scale.

Biggest Craving This Week: Well I finally got my Thanksgiving food so again, I haven’t had any strong cravings this pregnancy. I decided what to eat for supper last night based on the fact that I wanted lemonade to drink which seems to be keeping with the trend of wanting fruit and fruit juice and smoothies.

How clothes fit: I can still fit into everything that I wear on a daily basis but anything more fancy is really too tight. I found this out when Josh and I went to his CEO’s retirement party. And my t-shirts are toying with the slightly too short to go all the way over my belly fit. However, a friend of mine gave me a TON of maternity clothes this weekend so I think I’m well set from here on out!

Energy Level: Much better! I’m sleeping better at night which definitely means more energy during the day. Hanging out in the evenings feels more normal too where I don’t get so sleepy so early.

Rants/Random: A lot of people have asked me if I’m still doing boot camp while pregnant and the answer is yes! I’ll admit that my average is usually more like two days a week rather than three (and sometimes not even that many) but I know that keeping in shape now is going to help in the long run. It’s taking some getting used to for sure. I didn’t work out at all when I was pregnant with Judah so I’ve had to learn by trial and error how hard or not to push at my workouts. A few times I’ve pushed too hard only to give myself a massive headache all day and nausea. Other times I leave feeling like I hardly broke a sweat. I think I’m getting a better handle on it now though.

Some other things that I’ve noticed are different this time around have been sort of the unawareness I have of being pregnant. I feel like I remember with Judah being hyper-aware of every little thing, I’d check online community groups daily, research baby products, etc. This time around, I forget that I’m growing another human! That’s something that is kind of nice of about going to my doctor appointments in Chapel Hill. I leave Judah to hang out with my mom or Josh’s mom and it becomes a time where all I’m focused on is this new baby. It really is helpful to have these “pauses” in every day life to appreciate that we’re adding a whole new person to our family!

Looking Forward To: Our next doctor’s appointment which is December 5. This is also when we’ll find out if Baby Mo 2.0 is a boy or a girl!

The Best Things About Thanksgiving as a Pregnant Woman

First of all, congratulations! On a day set aside for over eating, you have double the excuse! (Bonus points if you’re breastfeeding, you have the extra calories excuse without having to share your internal space between the turkey and another human)
1) Timing Your Pregnancy to be Comfortably in the Second Trimester

This will take some planning but it’s well worth it to be in between the puking stage and the constant heartburn stage.

2) Nobody Questions your Stretchy Pants

Maternity jeans pretty much have a built in turkey pocket. Even if you’re only 3 weeks in, don’t be shy about busting out these wonderful inventions.

3) Taking a nap rather than cleaning up after is perfectly acceptable

Everyone knows pregnant women need lots of rest so feel free to put your feet up on the couch. Warning: if this isn’t your first kid, this tactic gets a little trickier. Be sure to start mentioning your sore back and tired feet well before the meal to maximize the sympathy.

4) Dipping into Leftovers After the Aforementioned Nap

After all, you’re growing a whole person! And babies grow the most while they’re sleeping so, obviously, you need to replenish your strength after that nap.

5) You Can Pass Over Any Dishes You Don’t Like and Blame it on the Baby

If your family is like mine, there’s a chance there’s always a dish or two that is someone’s “classic” that you just don’t care for. Each year you suck it up and eat some so you don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. Not this year! “Oh, this baby really just doesn’t like turnip”. This also works for breastfeeding “oh, asparagus gives him gas.”
Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂

15 Weeks

I meant to update last week but with Judah’s birthday, Josh being out of town and Halloween things got busy! Judah’s Thomas themed birthday was a big success and we had a great time visiting with family. Josh is safely back from Vegas and Halloween was so much fun this year! We went trick or treating with some friends in their neighborhood and my heart wanted to explode watching the cute toddlers carrying their pumpkins up to each house. Certainly a lot more fun than last year or the year before! Not to mention all the delicious candy I can now help myself to, at least for one more year 🙂

14 Weeks with Judah

 

15 Weeks with Baby Mo 2.0

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total weight gain:  I had actually lost some more weight the week before last, down a total of 8 pounds since I found out I was pregnant. But I gained another pound or two last week so down a total of 5 pounds. I’m actually kind of excited about this because I haven’t changed my eating habits or had problems keeping food down so thankfully this is just keeping me on track for my weight gain this pregnancy!

Biggest Craving This Week: No big cravings again this week, I’ve had quite a few deli type sandwiches so maybe that’s it?

Energy Level: Still about average, I’m not falling asleep on the couch at 9pm anymore but I’m still having a tough time sleeping at night. Most nights I can fall asleep ok but as soon as I have to wake up to pee or for any other reason it can take me hours to fall back asleep. This is by far my least favorite pregnancy symptom!

How clothes fit: I can still wear all my regular clothes but occasionally I’ll put on some of my maternity stuff just because it’s comfortable! I was never a big “lay around in your pjs all day” kind of person, I just never enjoyed it. But with the colder weather and general mom life, I’ve found a renewed love for yoga pants, t-shirts, and hoodies.

Movement: I’m fairly sure I haven’t felt anything yet. The good thing about the second time around is knowing what those early kicks feel like, the problem is that gas feels the same! I remember after Judah was born feeling a gas bubble and thinking it was a kick before remembering that he was already out 🙂

Next Doctor’s Appointment: Friday! We should be able to hear the heartbeat at this appointment as well as schedule the ultrasound where we will find out if it’s a boy or a girl!

Rants/Randoms: I joke with Josh that I’m only 15 weeks in and I feel like I have been pregnant FOREVER already! I think it’s because the first time, everything was new and exciting but this time around, though I’m excited to have a new baby, the pregnancy stuff is more utilitarian. We’re also still trying to sell the condo and move so it’s hard sometimes to not get anxious about what will happen. If you know anyone looking to buy…!

Looking forward to: The holidays still! I don’t know why, but this year I’m so excited for this season. I think it’s because this year Judah is old enough to “get it” so it’s a whole other level of excitement getting to experience it all with him.

12 Weeks (2.0)

In case you missed it, we’re pregnant again! And apparently a lot of people missed it, thank you Facebook algorithms. Josh and I had been hoping to sell the condo before we had more children (as we have no yard, and only one other bedroom) but decided that we didn’t want to keep waiting indefinitely. So it’s a lot of trust in God’s provision for whatever He has planned for us next!

I plan to update the blog like I did last time and I’m going to try to use the same format. I must confess I didn’t really want to upload a belly picture because I’m still a lot pudgy-er this time around than I was with Judah. BUT a bump is a bump and I still want to see how it grows over the next six months!

Total Weight Gain: Since I found out I was pregnant, I’ve lost two pounds! This pregnancy I have felt waaaay more nauseous than I did with Judah. Thankfully I still never had true morning sickness with barfing but food of any kind hasn’t really appealed to me. I joke with Josh that if I wasn’t trying to grow another human, this would be the best way to meet my weight loss goals!

Baby’s Heart Rate: We had our first appointment at the birth center at 10 weeks and baby was still too small to hear a heartbeat. Not worry, it should be loud and strong by the next one!

Biggest Craving this week: This week I feel like I’ve finally started to enjoy food again! My biggest cravings have been fruit and juice and smoothies. But this week I’ve noticed that when people mention something, I suddenly can’t get it out of my head. Like, my friend Natalie was talking about fried chicken last week and I had to have it for lunch. Or my other friend Heather talking about baked potatoes and suddenly that sounded sooooo good! Last night I asked Josh to pick up some Sour Patch Kids on his way home. So far all the food cravings have been very different than when I was pregnant with Judah.

Energy Level: This has been hard to measure because I get sleepier earlier in the night than normal (like I’m practically asleep on the couch at 9pm) but I’ve had a really hard time sleeping at night. Either I struggle to fall asleep or when I wake up in the middle of the night to pee, I can’t fall back to sleep. Overall this pregnancy I haven’t noticed a big difference in energy level like I did last time.

How clothes fit: I can wear all my normal clothes although on occasion I’ll bust out a pair of maternity jeans. Mostly because they are so comfortable and I don’t know why it’s not acceptable to wear elastic band/stretchy jeans all the time.

Movement: None yet of course. I’m wondering if I will notice sooner this time around since I know what it feels like!

Next Doctor’s Appointment: November 4. Since it’s my second pregnancy, I don’t have to go every month at first, just every six weeks which is easier since it’s such a drive to Chapel Hill. But we should be able to hear the heartbeat and schedule our ultrasound then!

Looking Forward to: Thanksgiving! I’ve been wanting turkey and cranberry sauce and everything for like a week. Plus, I love the holidays and I’m looking forward to enjoying them with family!

Asheville Day Three

After dropping Josh off, I went to this place called the Green Sage for breakfast. It was yummy French toast and fruit and I had a realization while I was there – if you want to be vegan, live in Asheville. Seriously, in every restaurant I visited there were at least two vegan options. 

I tried to take a picture of my breakfast but didn’t want to get caught doing that thing of taking a picture of my food. So it’s blurry.

After breakfast, I went back to the room and packed some supplies and drove out to this place called the Linville Caverns to explore some caves. It was about an hour drive and I had to stop at Goodwill to pick up a sweatshirt. The website had warned me that the tours were about 45 minutes and the temperature in the caves is 52°. It was so cool! There were blind trout swimming in the stream and tons of stalactites and rock formations. It was pretty amazing to think of how old everything in there is; the guide told us that it takes 120 years to add a single cubic inch to a stalactite.

By far my favorite part was the total darkness demonstration. The guide took us into an open area and then turned off all the lights. It was so freaky! At first, you expect your eyes to adjust after a minute or two but they never do. I literally couldn’t see my hands in front of my face. Our guide told us that it only takes about two months to go completely blind in total darkness but only about two weeks to go insane. Thankfully she turned the lights back on after that 🙂

Afterward, I drove back to the hotel and had my leftovers from the night before for lunch and once again did nothing for most of the afternoon 🙂

After I picked Josh up, we decided to go out for Japanese for supper and then mini-golfing. I was really proud of how well I was doing (I was tied or beating Josh for most of it) but he ended up getting a hole in one on a hole where you subtracted two strokes if you went through the volcano. Sooo, he won. Again. But it was really fun to go on a “date”!

Josh’s “prize” was me buying him an ice cream at marble slab. Which is basically Coldstone with a different name. Also, walking downtown at night to get ice cream, my sweet husband says, “That is weed I smell, right?” 😂 So funny because 1) he assumed I would know, I’ll try not to be offended by that and 2) the fact that he didn’t know. But yes, between the cigarettes, cigars, pipes and weed, the walk was quite an aromatic experience 🙂

We went back to the room at 9:30 and played chess and went to sleep. Because we are WILD. 

Asheville Day Two

After enjoying my morning of essentially doing nothing yesterday, I decided to make it the theme for the day. I did drive out to an apple orchard to do some apple picking. It’s about a half hour away from Asheville and the drive was really pretty. Although it would probably have been better on a motorcycle or in a cute little convertible. Going around all those narrow winding roads in my mom van didn’t have quite the same effect. 

When I got there, I was super disappointed with the lack of good fruit to be picked. I asked the woman working about it and she said they had been really picked over during Labor Day weekend and the next varieties weren’t ready yet. Oh well, I still got some apples and fresh cider and got to smell the truly unique smell of cider donuts being made. All of it reminded me so much of growing up, although this was my first apple picking experience where I could also get barbecue. Actually I had expected a lot of the scenery to remind me of where I grew up, but it’s just not the case. It’s so different, even though being surrounded by mountains and trees is similar – the feel isn’t the same.

After that, I went back to the hotel and went to a lunch place called the Green Sage. It was a tasty, healthy eating kind of place and the walk from the hotel was pleasant.

And that was the last “real” thing I did! I went back to the hotel and went for a (very short) swim, read and watched TV until it was time to pick Josh up from his class. I know, I party hard.

When I picked Josh up, we ended up walking around and exploring the crazy beautiful resort where he’s meeting every day. It’s the Omni Grove Park Inn and it’s super historic. Pretty much any famous American you can think of has stayed there at some point. It overlooks the whole valley and the best thing I can compare to is Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. But the real version. Josh and I ended up deciding to eat there at one of their three restaurants and it was delicious.

“I realized I’m more of a mountains guy. A beach is like, ‘here’s a park. Sit in some dirt.'”

After dinner we went to the Tervis store in Biltmore Village (I’m telling you, without Judah around, we go craaazzy) and then had a relaxing night in the room.

Until tomorrow folks…

Asheville Getaway (part one)

This week Josh and I are away in Asheville! He had some CPE to do and I got to tag along. We had originally planned to take Judah too but the logistics of the hotel and everything didn’t work out. So he’s having a ball spending a few days with Me-maw (Josh’s mom) and, as a bonus, Josh and I can go out in the evenings when he’s done with “work”.

The face of a toddler clearly missing me 🙂

Yesterday we drove out here and had a chance to walk around downtown Asheville. It’s such a funky place! I told Josh it might be the weirdest place I’ve ever been, and I’ve worked in Salem on Halloween. We were admiring a building last night when a man in a skirt, smoking a joint, offered to give us a tour. #sketchy. We also found this crazy cool book store that was all these different levels and nooks literally full of books. There were several first editions and vintage books too. It was very exciting.

First edition of the LOTR trilogy. Only $750

We ended up eating supper at Mellow Mushroom, which, considering we have one in Greenville, is not very exciting. But we were pretty hungry and worn out from walking by then and we could sit outside which was fun. After that, we went to see the movie “Bad Moms” using a gift card Jody and Kate had given us. Again, you may be thinking,”But there’s so much to do in Asheville! You went and saw a movie??” Yep. Because we almost never go see movies at home! We laughed until we cried and then came back to the hotel and went to sleep.

This morning, I brought Josh to his conference at another hotel. And by hotel I mean AMAZING GORGEOUS RESORT. We actually could have stayed there but would’ve had to change rooms after the first night and when we thought we were bringing Judah, that would’ve been too much work. Now I wish we had done it anyway because I think it would’ve been worth it!

When I pick up Josh today, we’re planning on doing some exploring

After I dropped him off, I went to place called Vortex Donuts for a donut and coffee to take back to my room. Unfortunately, I was not very impressed with the donut (sorry Christina! Maybe it was just an old batch?) but the coffee was delicious.

I sat trying to figure out what I’m going to do today when I realized I could get back in the bed and watch the Today show as long as I wanted. There’s no house to clean or toddler to take care of and it’s been rather glorious. More updates tomorrow!

What I Learned From Spoiling My Son (For a Day)

For those of you who don’t know, we follow the Babywise philosophy of parenting in the Morgan house. While this encompasses a lot of things, the main gist is that we have a set schedule – meals, naps, bedtime. And we do some other things like Independent Play and Blanket Time. Probably by a lot of standards we are “strict” with Judah but everything I do has a higher purpose and mostly revolves around the idea that it is easier to train my child in what is acceptable behavior now than it will be later. Of course, if you have any more questions I’d love to share (maybe over a cup of coffee) 🙂

This is our foundation, then enter our first real sickness this week. Judah has had his fair share of colds but for the most part those don’t interfere with normal life. This week though he seems to have some sort of tummy bug which means a lot more TV, snuggles, less Independent Play, and a much more go with the flow type of eating.

And it’s been really nice, actually.

Weirdly maybe, this time of “spoiling” has affirmed my parenting choices more than anything. I’m able to enjoy this extra neediness because it’s different. I know the hard work we’ve put in already means that this special day isn’t going to mess up his sleeping or his ability to play by himself. It’s nice to let things slide for a short period, knowing it’s only temporary and for a good reason. Maybe I’m loosening up a bit after all 😉

“The Power of Presence” Book Review

“The Power of Presence” by Neil T. Anderson is a short, but powerful book about experiencing the presence of God in the midst of the author’s journey through Alzheimer’s disease with his wife.

I was unsure whether the book would be a narrative about his journey with his wife, or if it would be more theological in nature. I was pleased to discover it found a great balance between the two styles of writing. He weaves the theological teaching and personal story together fluidly throughout the book in a way that makes the theology practical and his personal journey helpful.

The book is broken into 6 chapters covering the absence of presence, suffering in the presence of God, coming into God’s presence, serving other people in God’s presence, resting in his presence, and coming fully into his presence.

Anderson puts a powerful and contemporary spin on Brother Lawrence’s classic “Practice of the Presence of God”. This is a book I will keep on hand. I expect I will return to it time and again on my journey of learning to live the “with God” life.

[Note: This book was provided free of charge by Kregel Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.]

Money Saving!

This is my excited face. Why? I’m down another pound this week!!! Yay!! And I’m kind of proud of why.
If you’ve ever spent much time with Josh and I, you’ll know that we love to eat out. And in Greenville, where there are more restaurants than people, there’s almost no end of options. This wasn’t too much of a problem when we were both working but lately it’s been affecting our budget (and our waistlines). Every month we’d sit down to make the budget and say things like “we’ll eat at home more” or “we’ll eat out less” and then we’d get paid and blow through the restaurants budget in the first two weeks and struggle through the last two. This month we finally, FINALLY did something different. We decided what meals could be out meals and set a price limit for them. For us, that’s Tuesday lunch, Friday night pizza and one meal on Sunday (typically lunch).I looked at our budget app today and it’s the most”on track”it’s been in a long time! Not to mention we’re eating far fewer French fries this way which means more weight lost. 

Three times a week probably still seems like a lot to some, but considering there were weeks where we ate out 6 or 7 times (sometimes more) I’d say we’ve done a pretty good job cutting it in half. 

In other news, we’ve not done much this summer. May and June are always busy months with birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and various anniversaries in our family so it’s been nice to not really have any plans. We’ve been trying to keep cool because it is HOT in the south in July. All spring I sing North Carolina’s praises and am so glad I moved. Then July hits and it’s 90°with 85% humidity at 5:30 this morning and I think I’ve accidentally moved to Vietnam in my sleep. Judah has taken awhile but I think has finally warmed up to swimming in the pool. I put off getting him a puddle jumper in the hopes that we would be moving but I finally caved and used a gift card I had leftover from my birthday. In that vein, Dick’s wanted to charge me 26.99 for the same one that Target charged 18.99. I asked if they price matched and they do! So it never hurts to check.

It’s also consignment sale time and I was able to get a great deal on a train table for Judah (only $15!) at a sale in Raleigh this week. I learned something there though. Thomas is the sovereign emperor of toddler world. Seriously. The amount of money the Thomas brand costs is astronomical, even used! And I’m all for throwing in an off brand that’s a third the price but Judah really does appreciate the difference.

Judah’s reaction to the IKEA train set: “vroom. Vroom.” Walks away

Reaction to anything Thomas: “Choo Choo! Choo Choo!” Plays for hours.

Whatever corporate America, you’ve bought my child.

$10 for USED Thomas. Judah got Toby. Poor Toby was only $5

In August we’ve got Josh’s cousin’s wedding which we are very excited about. Almost as much as we are about the Harry Potter book release party at B&N this weekend. Almost. 😊