Keep’n it real!
Y’all this is real life lol
Dutch absolutely loves to have me read him books, all day everyday.
This is usually what it looks like as we’re trying to get our weekly bumpdate picture.
Date: 11/6/15 
How far along: 29 weeks
Fruit-size comparison: Butternut squash
Developmental milestones: Baby girl is about 2.5 lbs. already (and this number will probably triple by birth). Her skull is growing to make room for what I know is going to be a gorgeous brain. Teeny Peep’s skeleton is beginning to harden and prepare for life outside of the womb.
Maternity clothes: This is probably the same as last week: a mixture of both maternity and my regular clothing.
Weight gain: I’m up 11.5 lbs so far
Stretch Marks: I've got plenty of kisses from heaven from carrying Dutch. I applied lotions and such daily with that pregnancy, but to be honest I don't think I'm even going to try to prevent future stretch marks. I absolutely love these badges of honor and I'm so proud to wear them.
Sleep: I’ve definitely been exhausted & can go to sleep without a problem. However, this week it has been a little bit harder to stay asleep. I’m getting up a lot to use the restroom of course, and her movements are getting stronger and waking me up, but also I am just restless in my sleep. My brain is working on over-drive these days.
Best moment of the week: 1- We finalized our birth team this week and I started working on my birth plan. I am so much more excited about labor and delivery this time. I think last time I was looking forward to after delivery and I cognitively knew about L&D but I wasn’t really looking forward to the process. This time I am definitely more motivated and looking forward to the results as well as the process. 2- Remember last week I said that I was really committed to making the decision on Teeny Peep’s scripture? Well I made my decision, and I’m excited to share it with you soon! 3- Dutch and I spent some time going through my consignment sale shopping piles for Teeny Peep. He helped me organize by size so that I could start washing. He loved putting clothes in “sisters” bed.
Movement: Teeny Peep’s movements are getting much bigger and you can see my stomach moving A LOT. Since my stomach is smaller than my pregnancy with Dutch and she is growing really fast, you can see all of her movements, but her movements are also just much bigger than with Dutch. I wouldn’t say that she is stronger, because her jabs generally aren’t painful or hard, they are just way more frequent & larger. I think she does more rolling around, whereas Dutch was more of a kicker. However, I will say that Dutch never woke me up from sleep with his movements (except one time when he flipped head-down at 27 weeks) but she definitely has with a swift jab to the bladder. Based on her movements right now, I think she is in a transverse position, so I’m still praying that she makes the big flip soon.
Cravings: Sweets….yummmmmmmm! I finally got my glucose results back last week & thankfully they're fine so I can keep eating my cookies :-)
Gender: Baby girl!!
Belly button: I think that I can officially say that I’ve got an outtie :-)
Wedding Ring: Still on and not feeling tight yet thank goodness
Anything making you queasy/sick: Nothing except how long my to do list is growing ahhhhh!
What I miss: Sushi!
What I’m looking forward to: The holiday season has me thrilled, but I’m not wishing time away at all. I’m enjoying one day at a time..
Labor signs: I had more Braxton Hicks this week, so it looks like my body is getting ready for labor again.
Symptoms: I am starting to definitely feel very large, and things are getting much harder to do on my own (without grunting). I am having to use the restroom a lot more because of how low she is getting and all of the pressure that is building up on my bladder. Every time I stand up, I have to use the restroom simply due to gravity. My heartburn has been flaring up again despite taking my meds morning and night; occasionally I’m watching the clock for when I can take another heartburn pill. This baby girl must be really needing a lot of calcium for her hardening bones right now, & I probably need to eat smaller meals now since she is growing fast now. My waddle is getting more and more pronounced lol And lastly, I’ve had some acne flair-ups on my face in hormonal regions.
Nursery: There isn't going to be a new nursery. We plan on having Dutch and Teeny Peep share a room. It's not that we don't have the space; we do have another bedroom, but we would like our kiddos to share a room when they are younger. We're thinking this will be a great opportunity to continue building character with our children. And to be honest, Dutch didn't move into his nursery until he was eight months old, and even then only for a few hours a day until he was 11 months old, so the new baby will probably stay in our room about the same amount of time and then we will do a transition of some sort. Of course we don't know what it is like to have two children and exactly what it will be like, but this is how we think we are going to try to start.
Emotions: One evening this week I got up off the couch grunting, and raced to the bathroom to beat gravity. When I returned, the Mr. asked me, “are you ready to be done being pregnant yet?” And honestly, my answer was “No”. I know I just listed a lot of pregnancy symptoms above like not getting consistent sleep, acne, feeling the size of the White House, heartburn pill count-downs, and a waddle that could rival the ugliest of ducklings, but, BUT, I wouldn’t change this for the world. I absolutely love all of these pregnancy symptoms and I’m so grateful that I have them because it means there is a baby in my womb. The Lord is growing a daughter for our family in my womb, and that makes me so incredibly grateful. I adore being pregnant, and I adore all of the symptoms that come with it. I would do this all over again if it meant that we could add more babies to Team Hawley. I’m not annoyed in the least. I continue to sit in awe of the Lord's sovereign majesty.
