39 Weeks with Baby #4

It's actually 39 weeks and a few days at this point, which I can't believe! These last few days/weeks has been a blur of busyness and the big day is quickly approaching!

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along: 39 weeks on 4/29, so now we're under a week from the due date of 5/6/15.
• Size of the baby: Huge, I'm sure. He may do an u/s next week at my 40 week appointment to measure, but they are usually pretty inaccurate at this stage, so I may not waste the time even if he offers.
• Total Weigh Gain: 30 lb! I'm 1 lb away from my max pregnancy weight, so hopefully I can keep it together until next week.
• Gender: Boy.....I'm so excited to see him! Bo was a really hairy baby and I'm curious if this one will come out with a little fur coat too. Haha!!
• Movement: Definitely still a lot of alien like movement going on. He's head down, so I can feel his butt and legs up high and every now and then, he will stick a knee or foot straight out the side. Quite possibly the weirdest thing ever, but fascinating at the same time. 
• Sleep: Don't get me started. I've always slept really well until having the baby, but this time it's not working out that way. I've never had a baby get up under my ribs until now, so every 30 or so minutes, I wake up with a jab in the rib on whichever side I'm laying on, so I roll over and try to go back to sleep. Usually by 3-4 in the morning, I have to get up awhile because my upper belly/ribs are sore. Training for those newborn nights! I've got a 'nest' of pillows all around me for rolling over. 
• Cravings: Nothing really, just enjoying the last week or so eating anything I want and having a really good excuse. :)
• Symptoms: Still going to the chiropractor each week until delivery, so I've not really had much back pain/sciatica. The only pain is when he moves a certain way and hits the sciatic nerve and the pain shoots down my backside and leg. Also having some leg cramps at night and I wake up with my legs feeling like I did in high school after tough basketball game, but I haven't actually done anything. :p No back pain, no contractions, nothing. 
• What's next: Dr. appt on Wed, 5/6 and we will see if there's any progress (I haven't been checked yet). 

The belly is a bit out of control in size. So many people ask when the baby is due, then say that it looks like he's about to fall out. :p

36 weeks with baby #4

I can't believe we are under a month from the due date!!!

Some friends from church gave me a little girls' night out/baby shower on Monday (so nice!), so we have diapers and I've pulled out some of Bo's baby clothes, so I'm slowly getting ready. :)

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along: 36 weeks on Wednesday April, 8th. 
• Size of the baby: The estimated weight at 36 weeks is 6lb 7oz. Dr. G commented that this baby shouldn't be as big as the others, but he has said that the last two times, so I'm still expecting a 9+ lb baby. Mae measured 6lb 4oz at her u/s around this same time. Baby boy's head was too low for a good picture of his face on the u/s. 
• Total weight gain: +27 lb. I am about 5 lb from my usual end of pregnancy weight, so looks like I'll end up about the same again...phew!
• Gender: Definitely a BOY on this last u/s. 
• Movement: Lots of big movements now and they often hurt. I do love this part of the pregnancy though!
• Sleep: Waking up more for the bathroom and because I'm sore from laying on one side and I need to roll over, but still getting a good night of sleep (for another month anyway!). 
• Cravings: Pretty much enjoying food (except steak and hamburgers). 
• Symptoms: Started having some sciatica here and there in the last week, so I've started going to the chiropractor weekly and will continue until delivery. 
• What's next: Weekly Dr. appointments from here on out!

One month to go!

32 weeks with baby #4!

The weeks are just flying by! Eight more weeks until the due date, so about 9 weeks until we meet this little boy!!!

I also can NOT believe we did Disney World when I was 32 weeks with Mae. Phew! Ha!

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along: 32 weeks on 3/11/15
• Size of the baby: I'll have an u/s at my next appt (36 weeks since the Dr will be out of town at the 35 week mark). Average baby size at 32 weeks is just under 4 lbs. 
• Total weight gain: Thanks to that awful stomach virus, I dropped 4 lbs since the last appt instead of gaining the expected 4 lb, so I'm at +24 lbs. Arabelle and I celebrated a good appointment with donuts and cupcakes. Haha!
• Gender: BOY!
• Movement: He seems to move all the time! Bo pulled up a chair the other day to sit and 'watch the baby move'. :)
• Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well and enjoying the ability to sleep ALL NIGHT LONG without interruption. 
• Cravings: Nothing really....trying to recover from that stomach virus still. I pretty much like everything except grilled meat/beef. 
• Symptoms: I'm still not having ANY back pain or sciatica! I can't believe it! I'll start going to the chiropractor around 34 weeks anyway to make sure things stay aligned. Just feeling BIG and tired. My hemoglobin is actually a little low (they checked it at my appt. on Wed.), so I need to start some iron supplements. 
• Best Moment of the Week: Bo has really been interested in seeing/feeling the baby move and talking to the baby. He's excited!
• What's next: There's usually a 35 week appt, but Dr G will be out of town, so I get an extra week off. At the 36 week appt, he will do an u/s to measure our fella and then I'll start weekly appointments after that. 

Arabelle took my picture while we were playing outside the other day.....32 weeks! 

28 weeks with baby #4....third trimester!

I can't believe I'm in the last leg of this pregnancy! The beginning seems SO slow and the rest just flies by.

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along: 28 weeks 4 days as of today (2/15)
• Size of the baby: Supposedly about 2.5 lbs and the size of a large eggplant. I'm sure this little guy is bigger than average though, like all the rest have been. 
• Total Weight Gain: 28 lbs....yep. I gained 20 with Arabelle and Bo, 30 with Mae, and probably going to hit 40 this time. I know I'm eating healthier this time than I did with Arabelle (night shift work + cafeteria meant a lot of macaroni and cheese!). I guess being 30 instead of 24 makes a difference. I've lost it all each time with little effort, so I'm hoping my body will do that just one more time!
• Gender: BOY!
• Movement: Definitely an active baby in there. Not a whole lot of movement in the mornings and it's sporadic throughout the day, but things pick up in the evenings and night. Some of the kicks are starting to hurt already. 
• Sleep: I've been sleeping really well, besides a bathroom break once or twice. Usually by 7:00, I'm done laying down and get to feeling nauseated and dizzy if I don't get up and eat something. I've started with a head cold/cough this weekend, so that is making sleep more difficult.
• Cravings: Nothing really. Still not liking grilled beef (no steak or hamburgers...yuck!). Grilled chicken is okay, but still not the best. I was STARVING for about a week a few weeks ago and was eating a ton of snacks (cereal,  apples with PB, yogurt, etc) but that's stopped, thankfully!
• Symptoms: Just generally feeling BIG, nausea in the morning before I eat and I get nauseated in the evenings some, no matter if I've had a snack or not, lots of tension headaches on the back of my head and neck (need to get to the chiropractor soon!), and other things that I'm sure no family members want to think about and I didn't even know existed before I had children (even after Arabelle and Bo.....my body is wearing out!).
• Best moment of the week: Feeling and seeing all the little kicks and trying to teach Mae that there's a baby in there and not a ball. :)
• What's next: I had my glucose test last week at my 28 week appt and passed that just fine. Next appt in 4 weeks will be with the nurse practitioner since the Dr. will be out of town, then 3 weeks after that (35 weeks), will be an appt with the Dr. and an u/s to measure the baby's growth. I am already feeling some kicks up high on my belly, so I think this boy is a whopper. 

This is hilarious to me.....28 weeks with Arabelle and 28 weeks this time. Things stretch out a lot quicker the 4th time. :p

16 weeks and it's a boy!

Ahhh, the Dr. appointment we've been so excited about! Wednesday, at my 16 week appointment, Dr. G did his freebie ultrasound and showed us if we were having a boy or a girl. Most OB offices have an ultrasound tech do all their ultrasounds and find out gender at the 20 week appt, so it's really nice to have the Dr do them and that he does this free sneak peek a month earlier than most people get them!

Here's a few pictures of our baby BOY!!! I'll try to explain them in case you can't tell what is what.

This is a profile picture with the head on the right of your screen.

This is the baby's face looking up with the hand right beside it's face. That dark circle on the head is the eye.

Close up of the baby's profile. I love that I can already see his nose and lips!

This is your money shot. It's not the best view we got, but pretty obvious there. You're looking at the baby's bottom from the underside (sorry baby!).

Alien baby view....baby's facing looking up. I have one of Bo like this and they already favor. Ha!

Pregnancy highlights:

• How far along: 16 weeks 3 days today. 
• Size of the baby: About 4.5 inches long and the size of an avocado
• Total weight gain: Back up to the positive side! +4 lbs. 
• Maternity clothes: Yes, when I put on regular clothes, which isn't very often! I live in stretch fleece or cotton pants at home. Regular shirts for now. 
• Gender: BOY!!! So excited that we get to have two girls and two boys! I couldn't have planned it any better! We ended up taking all the kids with us to the appointment because Mae and Bo were sick and couldn't go to pre-school. It was a zoo in that tiny room. Dr G measured the heart rate first, then started looking for the gender. I saw it immediately and said, "It's a boy!!!". He confirmed I was right and we were all so excited! Bo said, "I was right!" pretty quickly. Arabelle didn't say much, but was grinning. 
• Sleep: I had a good 7-10 days of sleep between colds. Back to coughing and sleeping sitting up because I'm too stuffed up to lay flat. :(
• What I miss: energy, enjoying food and water.
• Cravings: Not hating food quite as much as I had been. Not really craving anything though. 
• Symptoms: Nausea is fading away!!!! I have to eat pretty quickly in the morning and take the Zofran and keep snacking all day to keep it at bay. It gets worse in the evenings no matter what. 

Overall, feeling a bit better than 2 weeks ago and hoping to be feeling 100% in a couple more weeks!