30 Weeks

How far along: 30 weeks
Weight gain: 19 lbs -  I feel like I'm a lot bigger this time compared to my pregnancy with Graecyn, but when I look back at my records, I've only gained 3 lbs more than I did at 30 weeks with Graecyn.  I'm attributing it to not being able to exercise much due to my pelvic pain and the fact that he's just a bigger baby than Graecyn was.
Exercise: Limited.  I saw a physical medicine & rehabilitation physician last week who diagnosed me with pelvic symphysitis.  Basically, my body has released the relaxin hormone a bit too early, which is causing my pelvis to be unstable and my pelvic bones to rub together.  It is NOT comfortable!  I was prescribed weekly physical therapy with a therapist who specializes in pelvic issues as well as a maternity corset to provide additional support.  I start PT on Friday and cannot wait.  When discussing this with my OB, her first question was whether I need a cane yet.  What!?!  She indicated that the PT should help, but often this gets worse before it gets better and often delivery can make it worse requiring many women to need the additional support of a cane or walker!  I really hope I don't get to that level.  They do still recommend a vaginal delivery, but I will need to be careful not to exacerbate the pelvic symphysitis.  If I can manage, I should try not to get an epidural...we'll see how that goes!
Sleep: I rarely need to get up in the night to use the bathroom, but am tossing and turning more.  It's difficult to get comfortable and if I move the wrong way, my pelvis hurts.
Best moment: Last week's 3D ultrasound.
Worst moment: Pelvic symphysitis
Miss anything: Exercise, wearing my wedding rings - I can still get them on, but by the end of the day, they are pretty tight.  I'm now wearing my great, great grandmother's wedding band as a replacement until I can wear my rings again.
Symptoms: Tired, heartburn, pelvic/pubic pain
Cravings: Cran Grape juice, grapes

Graecyn picked out this puppy for her new baby brudder

Happy Easter

We had a great Easter.  It was so nice to have Mom and Dad here to celebrate with us.  The Easter bunny arrived Saturday while Graecyn was getting dressed for gymnastics and left his Easter eggs in the back yard; Graecyn had a great time hunting for the eggs.  She kept running around saying to Eric, "Yet's run..come on, yet's run" and pulling him along.  The Easter bunny left her some money and jelly beans in the eggs.

Sunday morning Graecyn woke up to learn that the Easter Bunny had come back in the night to leave her a few toys.  She got a baseball/T-ball set, gardening gloves and tools, notebooks, sunglasses, bubbles, and puzzles.

We went to church and heard a great sermon and then Mom and Dad had to get on the road back home.  We rested for a few hours and then headed out to a friend's house for Easter dinner.

It was a great Easter!

Happy Birthday to Me!

I turned 36 over the weekend and had a great birthday.  My parents were able to come for the weekend, which was so nice - I can't remember the last time I was able to celebrate my birthday and Easter with them.

Will and Danielle had their baby boy last weekend on 3/30 - Theodore William Johnson - so Mom and Dad squeezed in the trip here in between visiting him at Will and Danielle's home in Wisconsin.  He's a big boy - weighing 10 lb 4 oz at 1 week early - and has a head full of black hair.  He's such a cute baby and we can't wait to meet him...unfortunately, it's not likely we'll be making a trip to Iowa until after baby boy Taylor arrives, so for now we'll settle for pictures and face time.

I really had a great birthday.  We packed as much fun as we could into the day starting with a great breakfast from Eric - homemade biscuits with sausage gravy (yum!), an Easter egg hunt for Graecyn, Graecyn's gymnastics, shopping with Mom during Graecyn's nap, dinner out at Joe's Crab Shack, and Dairy Queen Oreo ice cream cake and presents to finish off the day.  I got a new yoga mat, phone holder for when I run, a coat rack I've been wanting for a few years now, new shoes, and gift certificates towards prenatal massages, which I can't wait to have done.  It was a fantastic birthday spent with loved ones.

The birthday celebration continued into Easter.  We had Easter dinner with good friends (Mom and Dad had to get on the road home after church) and they spoiled me with cake and birthday gifts too.

28 Weeks

How far along: 28 weeks 5 days
Weight gain: 16 lbs as of 27 weeks 5 days -  I think I've gained a few more pounds this time compared to my pregnancy with Graecyn (probably due to all of the sweets I've been craving lately!)Exercise: I took my last run on the treadmill at 24 weeks...I was having a lot of pelvic pain and discomfort, so decided that was it.  I had plans to instead walk and do yoga, but even that is getting uncomfortable now. My OB referred me to physical therapy to see if it will help alleviate some of the discomfort and I am hoping it will.  This baby just seems bigger and lower than Graecyn was.
Sleep: I'm still sleeping pretty well and rarely needing to get up in the night to use the bathroom.  Eric complains about my snoring, which only makes an appearance when I'm pregnant...and apparently is quite loud.
Best moment: We had a 3D ultrasound today and got some great images of baby boy Taylor.  He is definitely a boy and seems to have his daddy's button nose.  The ultrasound shows he's measuring around 3 lbs 1 oz, which is in the 63%.  If he continues to grow at the same rate and I go full term, he could be an 8+ lb baby!  Hoping he comes a week or 2 early! :-)
Worst moment: Pelvic/pubic discomfort - the best way to describe it is that my butt/sit bones feel like I've been riding a bicycle for 100 miles every day - it hurts to walk, stretch, etc.  Really hoping the physical therapy and prenatal massages I got as birthday presents will help with some of the pain.
Miss anything: Energy, being able to move without discomfort
Symptoms: Tired, heartburn, pelvic/pubic pain
Cravings: Lots of cravings for sweets (Easter candy...yum!), green grapes, string cheese

Graecyn loves talking about her baby "brudder" and all the things she's going to teach him how to do.  She loves to sing to him and try to feel him kick.  She has started doing a few "baby" things to get attention - asking to be carried like a baby, saying her tummy hurts and that it will feel better when baby brudder gets here.  She's now starting to say that she's growing a puppy in her tummy!

Graecyn looks like Mama

Baby Boy Taylor