36 Weeks Doctor's appointment and Ultra sound

Today I had my 36 week ultra sound and doctor's appointment. I had my ultra sound first to check and make sure everything was developed properly and that he was a good weight. He is weighing in at 5 lbs. 8 oz. which is a little smaller than Jax and Lucas at this point. his heart rate was 153 bpm. Jason and the boys went with me to the appointment. each of the boys took turns holding my hand and sitting next to me while she did the ultra sound. they were so excited to see little Elijah and get to hear his heart beat. We are all even more excited to meet this little bundle of joy! After the ultra sound Jason took the boys to kids club while I had my actual appointment. I weighed in at 157 lbs. i was really upset about this. I thought I had been eating better and working out even more than normal, so I was hoping for only a 1-2 pound gain from my last appointment and this was 5 pounds! I didn't get to see my Doctor this time because she is on vacation. I saw dr. wilking instead. She will be on call the weekend before I am supposed to have my membranes stripped and dr. Leinenbach will be out of town again, so it was nice to meet her ahead of time in case she ends up delivering Elijah. She was really nice and laid back so I think it will be fine to have her deliver elijah if i have to. I am really hoping to have him on the 13th or 15th before dr. leinenbach leaves. I hate that so much is up in the air right now. Dr. Wilking checked me and said that I am 50% thinned and almost 1 centimeter dilated. I am not as progressed with Elijah as I was with Lucas at this point and for some reason I had a feeling I wouldn't be. This pregnancy has been so different from the rest. I don't expect for anything to go normal or as planned at this point. Although all of my deliveries have been very different from each other. I have no idea what to expect this time. I am really upset that I have to wait a week and a half for my next appointment. I am supposed to be getting checked every week now and I couldn't get in with my doctor for a week and a half. I go back basically when I am 38 weeks. I was really hopping to get in on next thursday so I could talk to dr. leinenbach and see what her thoughts were on delivering me and stripping my membranes. Oh well! i'm sure it will all work out one way or another. Now if I could just get motivated to get myself organized around here. I really need to finish organizing all Christian's school work before he starts school next week. I need to clean out the boy's closets and get all the baby stuff cleaned.

34 Week Doctor's Appointment

Today I had my 34 week doctors appointment. I weighed in at 152 lbs. which was awesome! I didn't gain any this time. I was thrilled! I am still measuring a week small so  I am only measuring at 33 weeks. Elijah's heart rate was in the 160's and dr. Leinenbach isn't at all concerned with his size. She said everything is looking good. I won't get to meet with her next time because she will be on vacation, so she is having me see the doctor that will be on call when she is out of town again closer to my due date.

32 Week Doctors appointment

TOday I had my 32 week doctors appointment. I got to see Dr. Leinenbach this time which was great. I weighed in at 152 lbs. and am measuring 31, which is a week behind. Dr. leinenbach didn't seem concerned with the size at all. She said she would love for me to deliver a small baby. THis was a very short appointment. I go back in 2 weeks and see dr. Leinenbach again! this pregnancy is flying by!

31 Weeks

I am 31 weeks pregnant this week and I weighed in at 151 lbs. I am happy to say that I am back on my workout routine and I am loving it. Group power on Mondays, walk on Tuesdays, swim class on Wednesdays, walk On Thursdays and yoga on Saturdays! I really wanted to try and start running some but today when I got on the treadmill I was going to start off with my usual incline of 4-5 and pace of 4- 4.5 and I got this awful cramp in my lower abdomen. I ended up having to take it off the incline completely and only walk at a 3.5! I was so mad. I felt like a snail on the treadmill and after the cramp went away I tried to bump it up and the cramp came right back. I normally walk a 15 to 14.5 minute mile and I usually do at least 4 miles. Hopefully it was just the way Elijah was laying today and I will be able to go at my normal pace on Thursday. I don't think I will be trying running until after I have him though. I have been craving lunch meat sandwiches or anything grilled. I have also been craving homemade chocolate chip cookies and ice cream! I am still getting up about 2-3 times to pee and my heart burn is not getting any better. I am still not taking a prescription but I might have to be getting on one soon. My feet swelled for the first time Friday night, but I think it was because we ate outside and it was so hot out and I had been sitting for like 2 hours straight. I hope I don't start swelling bad the rest of the summer! I still have almost 2 months to go! I still have my brothers wedding to get through also!

30 Weeks

I am 30 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 149 lbs. which Really was not bad considering we just got back from vacation and had Father's Day on Sunday. I am helping with vacation bible school this week and trying to get caught up on laundry and get unpacked. I have loved coming home to a clean house. I think I am now going to have to work a cleaning lady into our budget. At least for the first few months of having Elijah. I think with going back to work so soon after I have him and jax and Christian going to school I am just going to have a lot on my plate and don't want to worry about cleaning the house. I want to spend as much time with Elijah as I can and not be worrying about my house all the time!  I am trying desperately to get back in my workout routine this week but it is not going well with vbs in the mornings and me helping with it. I was going at least 3-4 times a week before vacation and I was doing a mixture of cardio and strength training and I was really starting to see some results in my arms and legs, not to mention I was feeling great when I did get to the gym! I am so ready to get that schedule back. I might have to wait until next week though. I walked today but this might be the only day I can make it to the gym this week. I am still getting up several times at night to pee and that is getting really annoying. I am now craving cheeseburgers and hot dogs on the grill and Brussels sprouts, kale and squash all sautéed together. It is so good! I am also loving ice cream for dessert! I still have not had any problems with swelling which is good. I am still wearing my rings. I am running out of clothes to wear that are comfortable in the heat. Elijah seems to be moving more and more each week and Jason is finally starting on the nursery! It is going to take forever to get it all finished. I have got to register for the hospitals this week. I was supposed to do that months ago and still haven't done it! We still have no idea which hospital we are going to go to either. I am just going to register at both and decide later. It has been super hot lately so we have been spending lots of time in the pool to keep cool! 

30 week doctors appointment

Today I had my 30 week doctors appointment. I weighed in at 149 lbs. which
Really was not bad considering we just got back from vacation and had Father's Day yesterday. I didn't get to see my doctor today because she was stuck in a delivery, so I saw the nurse practitioner instead. Julie measured me at 27 1/2 to 28 weeks which had me concerned because that is what I measured last time. She said at this point it could be the way he is laying and that she wasn't concerned at all. I totally forgot to ask her what his heart rate was, but I am assuming it was in the 140's or 150's like it has been. I go back in 2 weeks! It's hard to believe that i am already going every other week!

29 Weeks

I am 29 weeks pregnant today and we are spending the day at Disney world! I weighed in this week at 148 lbs. which isn't horrible. I am clearly not going to make my goal of 150 lbs. though. 8 have been feeling pretty good pregnancy wise. I have a bad cold right now so that sucks. The car ride down my legs kept going to sleep and my lower back has started hurting me. I am getting up 2-3 times at night to pee which I awful! I have been eating my fill of seafood so far also. Vacation has been amazing so far and so relaxing! I wish we never had to leave!

28 Weeks

I am 28 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 147 lbs. which is good for this week! We are super busy packing and getting ready for vacation this week. I have decided to have someone come and deep clean our house while we are gone. I have never had anyone clean my house before. I usually do it all myself and I usually deep clean everything before we leave for vacation so when we come home everything is perfect and we are ready for a fresh start. With the yard sale last week and Christian having wrestling camp this week I just have no time to do it. I don't even know how I am going to get all of us packed in time! I am so ready to get to Florida and just hang out and relax for a week. My heartburn is getting worst, but I am able to still manage it with tums and Zantac. I get up at least once and sometimes twice to pee at night. This is making for a very restless sleep. I am really starting to feel big and my clothes are all getting tighter. I have been wearing mostly casual sun dresses because that is the most comfortable! I have been craving steak and rice a lot lately. I am probably going to have to wait until after vacation to satisfy that craving. I will be getting my seafood fill while on vacation for sure! I haven't started swelling yet either which is great! I am hoping to make it through my brothers wedding before I start swelling too bad.

27 Week Doctor's Appointment and Glucose Test

This morning I had my 27 week doctors appointment. I weighed in at 147 lbs. and Elijah's heart was beating in the 140's. I measured 28 this time. I was a little concerned because we tried to get a recording of his heart beat for the build-a-bear and we couldn't get a good heart beat that was loud. I was also concerned because it was lower than it is normally. Dr. Leinenbach wasn't concerned at all about it. We talked about how she will be out of town a little bit around the time of my due date and she wasn't sure who was going to be on call yet but she was going to have me see whoever it was when she goes on vacation this summer so I can get used to them. I will be so upset if I don't get Dr. Leinenbach to deliver possibly my last baby. Hopefully Elijah will come when she is here and we won't have to worry about that! Everything came back fine on my glucose test which is a relief! I also talked to Dr. L about Elijah not moving a ton and she said as long as he was moving 5-6 times it was good and he moves at least that much but just not as much as I remember the other boys moving!

27 Weeks

I am 27 weeks today! I weighed in at 147 lbs. today. I seem to be gaining a steady pound a week. I guess this will have to do and it's not horrible. I am busy working like crazy this week getting stuff ready for the yard sale this weekend. It is wearing me out. I definitely don't have the energy I normally have right now. I have still been working out about 4 times a week and I am really starting to actually love working out. I feel so good when I do it. I have been doing more classes at tristate and those keep me more motivated. I am getting up at least once a night to pee. My heart burn is getting worse. I really can not eat pizza at all anymore. I am going to have to ask for a prescription at my appointment on thursday. I am still craving tomatoes and I have also been in  the mood for steak and rice. I am also craving soft serve ice cream and just ice cream in general. I am usually not much of an ice cream person but I have really been wanting ice cream a lot lately. I haven't started swelling yet which is good. I and wearing mostly maternity clothes except for some of my regular clothes that are bigger. I feel huge right now even though I know I am smaller than I was with Jax or Lucas. Elijah is pretty active in the evenings when I am laying on the couch, but I don't notice him moving a lot during the day. This could be because I am so busy though also. Our vacation is coming up and I am so excited for it. We need a week away together as a family! We are not going to have the nursery done like I was hoping for before we leave, but hopefully when we get back Jason will start right on it and knock it out in a couple of weeks!

26 Weeks

I am 26 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 146 lbs. I have still been swimming a couple times a week, walking about once a week, and doing some strength training at least once a week. I have been trying to do more variety to give me and all over better body workout. I did yoga this past saturday and it was amazing. I have to say my balance is a bit off though. Some of the poses that used to be so easy for me were really challenging. I am craving fresh market chicken salad again and I have been addicted to cake lately and homemade ice cream. This is not good! My heartburn is in full force. I can not even attempt a bite of pizza without getting horrible heartburn. I have been taking tums at night to help it, but I think I am going to have to get on that prescription like I did with Lucas. We have still not started on the nursery yet. Jason has started on Lucas' room. I have come to terms that the nursery won't be finished by the time we leave for vacation. I am now hoping that It will be finished by the end of June. I am still getting up at least once at night to pee. I am officially in maternity clothes now unless it is a dress or skirt. I am still wearing my regular work out type clothes and I can wear my big girl jeans. I have been on a bit of a online shopping addiction buying clothes that I can wear when I am not pregnant anymore. I need to quit buying so much because who knows how long it will take to lose all this weight. I am also starting to get addicted to all these different workout classes. I feel like crap when I don't get to go to the gym. Our pool is warming up and I can't wait to be able to swim in it! Christian has been in it but I think it is still too cold. This is my last week of my second trimester! That just doesn't seem possible!

25 Weeks

I am 25 weeks pregnant this week! I weighed in at 145 lbs. this week. I am hoping to not gain any more until my next appointment. I have been doing the water cardio and water in motion classes at tristate and I am loving them! It is such a good work out, but yet I don't have the hard impact. I am still craving sweets especially cheesecake and ice-cream. I am still getting up at least once or twice at night to pee and I don't sleep great at night. The boys have all been getting up before 6:00 a.m. so this makes for a long tiring day. This past week was busy with my birthday and mother's day festivities. I had a nice girls lunch on thursday. The morning of my birthday I got to go to breakfast with my parents. It was so nice to have some one on one time with both of them. This never happens in our family. There are so many of us and we are all so busy. After breakfast I got to watch Christian play baseball which I love. Then Jason and I and the boys headed to new harmony for the day. We rented a golf cart and had a blast driving around town. We took the boys to get ice cream twice, played with them on the playgrounds and had a nice dinner at the red geranium. It was a perfect day! The boys were exhausted and fell asleep on the way home. We put them all to bed as soon as we got home. Then Jason and I watched the movie Labor Day. Jason and the boys got me new tennis shoes which I needed so badly and I love! Sunday was mother's day so we went to church with my Grandma and grandpa and mom and dad. After Mass we went to Cleavers for breakfast. This is my new favorite place for breakfast. After breakfast we came home and changed our clothes and packed up our stuff and headed over to mom and dad's to swim and have dinner with everyone. It was a nice relaxing day! My sweet boys got me the birthstone charm for Elijah for my Pandora bracelet. Jason said this was all christian's idea and its what he wanted to get me. I thought this was so sweet of him!

24 Weeks

I am 24 weeks pregnant! I weighed in at 144 lbs. this week. I have decided to incorporate water cardio and aerobics into my workout routine. I am hoping that that will help mix things up and keep my weight down. The walking only is not doing the trick. I really can't figure out what I am doing wrong. I am working out so much more than I ever have in my life and I am eating better than I have with any of my other pregnancies. Hopefully adding this water exercise will help. I have to say I do love the water classes and just swimming laps or running in the pool. It is a great all over body workout! I am wearing mostly maternity clothes. I can wear my 'fat girl' pants but believe it or not the maternity stuff is just more comfortable. I think because it is looser and the it has been hotter lately. I am still craving tomatoes and chicken salad. Specifically The Fresh Market roasted chicken salad. I have also been craving fresh berries and homemade ice-cream! I had a craving last week for Marx's shaved turkey, so I ran out to the west side and picked up a pound of that to have for lunch this week. The heartburn is getting worst, but I am still just taking tums. I am so excited to have our pool opened up and ready for swimming now. It is too cold for me, but hopefully it will warm up quickly. I have been on a face cream obsession lately. I never use sunscreen, but I am going to start using it regularly on my face if nothing else. I am liking Lancome right now. We still have not started on the nursery and I am getting anxious! I want everything done before vacation and that is not leaving us much time. I am still getting up once at night to pee. I am usually in bed or falling asleep on the couch around 9:30 anymore. I have such a hard time staying awake. I am awake by usually around 6:30 because my boys are up by around 6:00 most mornings. We have had awesome weather the past few days and it makes me so ready for summer! I am a little worried about how bad I will swell with the heat, but right now I don't care. I am just ready for lots of pool days!

23 Week Doctor's Appointment

Today was my 23 week doctor's appointment. I weighed in at 142 lbs. I of course was so not happy about this. That is a 7 pound weight gain this past month. I am right on track to weigh what I have with all of my boys. I forgot to ask what the heart rate was, but I am assuming it was in the 150's again. I measured 23 which is right on track. I did ask my Doctor if she had any vacations planned for August and she said she wouldn't be gone around my due date, but that she would have to be gone a couple days to move her daughter into college. That weekend happened to be the weekend I was hoping to have the baby. I was hoping to have her strip my membranes on that friday and go into labor that day or the next so I would be in the hospital over the weekend and we wouldn't have to worry about picking up and taking to school. It looks like I won't be getting my membranes stripped until that Monday now and will probably have the baby during the week. I know it will all work out and it is silly for me to try and plan anything. I just can't help but try to have some sort of plan. I have my glucose test at my next appointment. I feel like it is crazy that I am already that far along!

23 Weeks

I am 23 weeks today! I weighed in at 141 lbs. this week! I am going to start doing some group classes at the gym this week. I am going to try and get back into group power and try some water classes to go along with my walking. The walking just doesn't seem to be doing the trick anymore. I really want to do some yoga classes also. I love the relaxation and stretching of it! I have been having chocolate cravings pretty bad lately! I have also still been craving my tomatoes and now salads to along with that! I made some home made ranch dressing and blue cheese dressing the other day and it was super easy and tastes so much better than the store stuff. I doubt it is much healthier, but it tastes so good. I want to try and make some other dressings using more of a vinegar base rather than the cream base. I am trying to get back into breakfast shakes also. I am so excited to be getting our pool opened this weekend! I know I won't be getting it for awhile, but i love to sit and relax by it! i really hope we have better luck with our pool this year than we did last year! Lately I have been really feeling like such a failure as a mom with jax. I have been thinking about all the things I used to do with christian all the time and how I don't do hardly any of these things with Jax. I feel just awful about it. Christian and I had so much one on one time together and we went and did everything. We went to the zoo, the children's museum, New Harmony, The parks, to feed the ducks. We made train sets, did puzzles, played lincoln logs, and legos. We worked with his tools, raced trucks and cars, did finger paints, made crafts, read tons of books, drew with sidewalk chalk, did the 'spider' on the swings and just swung on the swings together. We did so much stuff and we did it a lot. I have done most of this stuff with Jax, but just not to the extent that I did with christian. I know a lot of it is because we are busier and I have Lucas also who is too little for some of this stuff. There is a million reasons (excuses) why I haven't done with Jax like Christian, but I still have this guilt that the days are going by faster and faster and I just can't do everything like I want to. I feel like Jax is getting cheated and its not fair! Last night Christian was taking a shower and getting ready for bed and Lucas was busy helping Daddy with the patio door. This was the perfect opportunity to have some mommy and Jax time. I asked him if he wanted to make a train set with me. His sweet little face just lit up and he was so excited to do this! It didn't take long and Christian joined in on helping us and the three of us built the biggest train set ever. Jax had so much fun setting up his area which was a zoo. It was a great night! I need to do this more often! I am worried that once Elijah gets here it will be even harder to give each of my boys the individual attention that they all need and deserve. My heartburn is back and getting a little unbearable, but I am still just taking tums for now! I am wearing some maternity clothes and still some regular clothes. I am still getting up at least once at night to pee and I have to pee every hour during the day! My goal for this week is to try and get the boys' closets cleaned out and organized and to have jason bring the boys' totes up stairs so I can goo through them and organize or get rid of stuff. I have started making piles of stuff to put in the yard sale. I am in the mood to really simplify and declutter my life. I am really stressing over what to keep on the kids' art work and how to organize it all. I need ideas and suggestions! I go to the doctor Thursday and I am looking forward to hearing the heart beat. I always love to hear that sound!

22 Weeks

I am 22 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in this week at 140 lbs. I haven't been making it to the gym as much this past week because the weather has been so nice. I have been walking outside though, but I think I get a better work out in when I am not having to stop to take care of the boys. I am still craving tomatoes a lot. I am also getting quite the sweet tooth. I am loving cheesecake, and chocolate, and I have been dying for some homemade ice cream! I am trying to get back on better diet of chicken and veggies, but I have been craving more beef and steak so that is hard. I really just want anything on the grill right now! I have been doing good on not eating as much fast food which is good! Elijah is moving all the time now. It hasn't gotten painful yet so that is good. I am going to have to break out the maternity clothes this week. I can still get my big girls pants on and button them but they are just not comfortable on my belly. Tunics and leggings are still working good. I just ordered a bunch of yoga stuff from victorias secret that will be nice to work out and lounge in this summer and after I have the baby. We have still not started on the nursery and I am getting anxious! Jason has been working on the yard and finishing up our interior doors. I am hoping to be able to start on the nursery in a couple of weeks. I ordered some super cute frames from Poppy Tree Frames that finally came in this week and I am so excited to get them all hung up. My heartburn really hasn't been unbearable this time which is great! I don't take tums every night like I normally have in the past. I am getting so excited to meet this sweet baby boy that I can barely stand it!

21 Weeks

I am 21 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in this morning at 138 lbs. I am still not good with this. It is looking like at this rate I am going to be weighing the same as I did with all the other boys at the end. Maybe my body just needs to weigh 161 lbs. every time! I have not been sleeping good at all this week. I have been having to get up twice at night to pee now and sometimes I can't fall back to sleep forever. Then the boys all get up around 6:00 am and are ready for the day. The weather has been so nice, except for today, that we are outside constantly and that wears me out more. I am not complaining though. I love the nice weather and wearing shorts and t-shirts and flip flops. I love going for walks with the boys outside and watching them run around the yard. I wouldn't trade it for anything, but I am more tired from it all. I am still craving tomatoes and I am also craving cheesecake now. I had to pick up a slice from the fresh market on sunday. I only ate half of it and I am saving the other half for another night this week. Cheesecake is a major weakness for me! I have also been craving grilled chicken and grilled veggies. Anything light and fresh has been sounding good. I am trying to count calories again to help with the weight gain. I would like to stay within 1500-1700 a day. this is not easy to do while being pregnant. I am so hungry all the time and I feel like a bottomless pit.

20 Weeks

I am 20 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 137 lbs. and I am not happy about it at all. Maybe I won't gain this next week. I have still been wanting tomatoes with everything. Anything grilled or fresh has been sounding good. I have been eating a lot of the rotisserie chicken salad from the fresh market lately and that might be where the extra weight is coming from. My clothes are all really tight now. Even my 'big girl' clothes are fitting a little snug. I can still button all those pants, but my 'little girl' clothes I have to wear a belle band with. There is no hope for buttoning those pants any more and they are starting to get snug in the thighs as well. My shirts are becoming too short in the length. I am still wearing my regular shirts that are longer. Luckily it is getting warmer out and I can start wearing comfy sundresses and sandals! I am so looking forward to summer and hanging out in the pool.  I have actually been making progress on cleaning things out around here. I think the warmer weather has given me some energy. I cleaned out the laundry room, all the kitchen cabinets drawers, closets and pantry, and I got the side entry way closet cleaned out. My goal for next week is to get the boys' closet cleaned out, my closet cleaned out, all my drawers cleaned out, and the craft closet cleaned out. It feels good to have gotten done what I did though! I am still getting up at least once at night to pee and I feel like I have to pee all the time! It drives me crazy! Elijah is moving around like crazy, which I love. I am trying to treasure every little moment I feel him because this could be the last time I get to experience this. The thought of that makes me sad. I am trying not to dwell on that too much. We haven't decided for sure if this is it for us, but four boys is a lot to handle and I want to be sure I can be a good mom and  not be too overwhelmed by the day to day craziness. I have still been walking 4-5 times a week and walking 4 miles at a time. We usually walk for about an hour each time. I am thinking to incorporate some swimming laps soon and maybe some light weightlifting to see if that will help with my weight gain. I have been shopping like crazy this week. I simply can not stop myself from ordering cute baby stuff. I am hoping to start on the nursery about beginning of May. I want to get Lucas' room finished and the rest of the interior doors finished before starting the nursery project. These weeks are just flying by! I would love to have everything finished inside and outside our house before we leave for vacation this summer.

19 Week Doctor's Appointment

This morning I had my 19 week Doctor's appointment. It was a quick appointment today. When I got there the ultrasound tech took me back because she forgot to get a couple pictures of the cord. Everything looked great and I got to see baby Elijah again which was wonderful. He was moving all over the place. His heart rate was 150 bpm. After the super quick ultrasound Paula my nurse took me to get weighed. I weighed in at 135 lbs. which I was expecting. I told Dr. Leinenbach and Paula that it was another boy and they were excited to hear that and about the gender reveal party. I also asked Dr. Leinenbach about the hospitals changing their policies on putting the baby in the nursery. She confirmed that both the hospitals were going to be changing things trying to promote better breast feeding. I am not happy about that. We have still not decided on what hospital we are going to yet. Right now our plan is if I go into labor on the weekend and I am full term I will go to the Women's Hospital. If I go into labor during the week or I am not full term then I will deliver at St. Mary's. I am trying not to worry too much about it just yet.

19 Weeks

I am 19 weeks pregnant! I can't believe I am half way done. I weighed in this week at 135 lbs. and I am not happy about this. I am still only 2 pounds more than what I was with christian and 10 pounds less than I was with Jax and Lucas at this point. Elijah has been moving like crazy this week and I love it. I can finally feel him with my hand on my stomach. This is the best part of being pregnant and I will miss it terribly. I have started with a cold today. I think it is from the weather change. I am not complaining though. I am loving this warmer weather. It has been so nice being able to walk outside the last couple of days. I thought I would go nuts shopping right away once I found out what I was having but I actually have not bought too much yet. I spent a good part of the day on sunday going through my baby clothes for the first 12 months and making a list of what we needed to get. I got rid of outfits that I didn't like or that might not work for the season. It will be so different having a baby when it is hot out. We decided on doing an antique/vintage car theme for the nursery. I am having a hard time deciding on bedding. Pottery Barn Kids has a couple that I like. I just can't make up my mind. I am hoping that Jason will finish Lucas' room next week and then finish paint the doors upstairs the following week. I am hoping to start on the nursery the week after Easter and hopefully have it finished by May. We have so many other projects going on around our house that I'm not sure how well that time table will work out. I haven't been sleeping well, but mostly its from the cold and having to get up once or twice to pee. Luckily the heartburn hasn't been horrible yet. I do feel like I have to avoid red sauces. I have been craving kanpai like no other and I am probably going to have to give in to it tomorrow night and get some carry out. I have also been drinking more milk and chocolate milk at that. I have also been craving oreo cookies! I try to only have 1 or 2 a day, but man they are good! My big jeans are getting tight around the waist. I am sure t won't be much longer until I have to break out the belle band. I am hoping to avoid maternity clothes as much as possible because I hate them. I can't tell you how excited I am to meet this little guy! I am dying to know what he looks like and I am dying to hold him in my arms.

Final Decision On The Name

Jason and I have decided to make it official with the name that we both agree on. We are naming this baby Elijah Jourdan Pickerill. Elijah is from the TV shows Vampire Diaries and The Originals. Jourdan was my Great Grandma Schmit's Maiden name. I am excited to have the name figured out already. It took us so long to decide with Lucas.

Gender Reveal Party

Tonight was our big gender reveal party! It was so much fun! Jason made barbecue and it was amazing. Martha came over this morning and helped me make spinach dip, a fruit tray, a veggie tray, homemade salsa and guacamole and a blue punch for the kids. I got pink wine coolers and blue moon beer for the adults and then we had pink lemonade and blue punch for the kids. Everything turned out great! After everyone had a chance to eat and do the raffle we were ready for the reveal! We were all so excited to find out if it was a girl or a boy. The boys couldn't wait to open the box! It took a little bit for them to get the wrapping paper off and the box open. When we saw the BLUE onesie we all were so excited! The boys were especially excited. They were hoping for another brother. I know most people probably think that I would be disappointed, but I was honestly happy and excited. Don't get me wrong part of me is worried that I may never get to experience having a daughter and when I think about that I am sad, but I would never trade any of my boys for a girl. Aunt Susan won the raffle which was exciting. She won $45 which wasn't too bad! The party was a huge success and we all had so much fun getting to share this moment with our families and friends!

18 Week Anatomy Ultrasound Appointment

Today was my 18 week anatomy ultrasound appointment! We brought the lil sis and lil bro onesies with us to the appointment along with a box and a bag. We had her put the onesie of the one that it is in the box and the other one in the bag along with the envelope of the ultrasound picture saying if it is a girl or a boy. She taped up the box so we could take it home and wrap it. I was so relieved to hear that everything looked good and normal on the ultrasound. I am always so worried that we will hear bad news at this appointment. Jason and all the boys went with me to the appointment. They loved getting to see the baby and get to hear the heartbeat. The heart was beating at 154 bpm. Baby P is actually measuring a day ahead now which makes the due date August 25th, but they will keep the 26th for my records. I have to say I am really curious what this baby is. I am so tempted to go peek in the box. I don't remember being quite this curious with Lucas! I do not know how I will make it until Saturday! That pretty much sums up everything at my appointment. It was pretty quick. She said that I was super easy to scan, so she was able to get all the measurements that she needed which was great! I go back next Thursday to see Dr. Leinenbach for my regular OB appointment!

18 Weeks

I am 18 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in this week at 134 lbs. I am pretty disappointed that I have gained so much this month! I was hoping to only gain 2-3 pounds a the most this month and I have already gained 5! The last couple weeks I have kind of slacked off on the healthy eating and have been snacking more. I was eating cinnamon toast crunch for breakfast most every morning last week and I had chicken salad on a croissant for lunch almost everyday. Dinner was kind of all over the place and definitely not very healthy. Then we went out for a big breakfast sunday morning after church. I also was drinking more juices or sugary drinks the last couple weeks and now I am trying to be back on drinking my Dasani water. I also hardboiled some eggs last night to eat for breakfast this week in the mornings. I love hardboiled eggs its just that I forget to take the time to make them. I will probably have a grilled chicken wrap for lunch the rest of this week except for friday and I will probably have maybe tuna or peanut butter sandwich.
I have felt a lot of movement  this week and it has been a lot more frequent and a lot stronger. I have still yet to feel any with my hand though.
I am still not in maternity clothes but  a lot of my shirts are getting too short and a lot of my pants are getting too tight. I might have to be breaking out the bella band soon!
I am still getting up at least once at night and sometimes it is twice a night. I have to pee all the time. It is driving me crazy! I have at least most of the time been able to go right back to sleep. It seems like I have 1-2 nights where I can't fall back asleep. That makes for a very tiring day the next day and then it also stresses me out on how on earth I am going to be able to work, take care of 4 kids, and keep up with my house. Jason and I are talking about getting a house cleaner. We are both all for, but neither one of us no where to start on finding someone that is good and trustworthy. I have just realized that I can keep up with the day to day tidying, but I can not keep up with the deep cleaning around here and I hate to clean bathrooms. I would love to find someone that could come once every other week to do bathrooms, floors, all over dusting and some deep cleaning. My mom always had a cleaning lady when we were growing up and she said it was the best thing she ever did, because then she didn't stress about the house and was able to relax and do ore with us kids.
Tomorrow is my ultrasound appointment! I can't wait to see this little peanut! I hope everything is going okay with the pregnancy and the baby. I am always so nervous that we will here bad news at this appointment. I am really looking forward to our gender reveal this Saturday! I finally have the menu all planned out. I don't know how much decorating I am going to do though. I might just get some pink and blue flowers to sit out and call it done. I am going to do the raffle again and the baby names. Even though we think we have the names. Jason and I are still on the fence about Junelyse. Jason loves Elyse, but I really want June and I don't want four names. I just like to have options for nicknames later and then she can also pick what she wants to go by later on. That's why I am wanting Junelyse, but I do worry that it is just too different. Gail is the middle name no matter what and we both agree on that. As far as a boy goes we both have boy names that we like better but Elijah is the one name that we both like and that we can agree on, so Elijah will probably be the boys name. The middle name will be Jourdan no matter what for the boys name after my Great Grandma Schmitts maiden name. Jason likes that for a middle name but he isn't crazy about the spelling. I like the different spelling though. Jason and I were talking last night what we think it is and he is starting to think girl, because he thinks I have been different during this pregnancy. I told him that I felt the same with this one that I did with Lucas. I am thinking it is a boy because of the heart rate and how I have felt. Although I do have to say that there are a few things that make me think girl. One is the timing of when we had sex and when I actually ovulated. Another thing is the little calendar test that I do. It has been right with all my boys and this time it is saying a girl. It is when you take the month you conceived in and the age you are when you conceive and add the two together and if it is an even number it is a girl and an odd number is a boy. Well, we conceived in december which is the 12th month and I am 32, so that makes 44 which means girl. Just 4 more days and we will know for sure! I am so excited to start planning and shopping!

17 Weeks

I am 17 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 133 lbs. This makes a total of 13 lbs. gained so far. I am not thrilled with this and this past week I have really not been eating good at all. I don't know why because its not like I am even craving that bad of things, but yet I have been eating bad and then I feel like crap afterwards. I have actually been craving fresh salads and sandwiches and fruits and vegetables for snacks, but yet I haven't been taking the time to actually fix myself these things. I have been better this week on snacking on fruits and veggies instead of chips or crackers. I cut up fruit on saturday so I would have it ready for the week. I need to still cut up some veggies for when I am not craving something sweet. I have been eating chicken salad with grapes and pecans on a croissant the last couple of days for lunch and it has been wonderful. I have to pee all the time now! I don't know what the deal is but I literally have been peeing 20 times a day. Luckily I still only get up once at night to pee, but I have to go all day long. I do not have time for this! My sleep has been ok lately. I have weird dreams and I am really restless at night. Hopefully this will get better. I am still wearing my regular clothes but they are getting tight and my belly is definitely growing. I have been feeling a lot more movement this week. They are still like flutters but definitely getting stronger and more often. This is the best part of being pregnant and I will miss it so much if this ends up being our last one. My boobs are still sore but not quite as bad as they were. I am getting so excited for the gender reveal party. I really don't care what we are having, I just want to know so I can start shopping and planning and cleaning things out! I plan on taking the month of April to hopefully go through all the totes of clothes and all the totes of toys and get rid of things I won't be needing or using. We still haven't decided on a hospital for sure yet and we actually haven't even talked about it. I think that will end up being a last minute decision for us. I have to say the time change and weather still have me messed up and I am more tired than usual. I can't wait for this weather to get nice, so I will have more energy!

16 Weeks

I am 16 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 130 lbs. this week. I'm not happy to be in the 130's but i knew it had to come sometime. I am actually 10 lbs. less than I was with Lucas and 7 lbs. less than what I was with Jax and I think I weigh the same as what I did with Christian. I just need to stay on track with eating somewhat healthy and exercising. I am walking 16-20 miles a week right now. I'm sure that will increase once the weather gets nicer. the boys love to go for walks around our street and I love taking them. Also once summer starts I will start swimming laps in the pool for more exercise. I wish I could get myself motivated to do planks and squats everyday also to help tone, but I just can't seem to fit that in my routine. We have finally had some nice days the last couple days and it has been amazing! we pent all day outside yesterday and we were loving it! Today is going to be even nicer, but then it is going to get cold again tomorrow. I am really hoping for a warm and nice spring break for the kids. Christian has so many things he wants to do outside together and I am really hoping we can do everything. I am definitely starting to show more, but I am still not wearing maternity clothes. My heartburn has gotten worst this week, but I think it is because I have been eating turoni's pizza lately. Their pizza gives me heartburn worst than any other kind for some reason. Other than that I have felt pretty good. I am still tired in the evenings and afternoons. My boobs are still sore, but seem to not be quite as bad. I just can't believe it is already 16 weeks and that we will find out what we are having in 2 1/2 weeks! I am hoping that we will have everything finished on our house inside by easter. That means all the new interior doors painted, Lucas' room finished, Patio door installed, trim all painted, full guest bathroom painted, carpet in the octagon room, and nursery finished. That way in May we can hopefully get most everything finished outside and then we can enjoy our summer relaxing. I haven't been craving as much this week. Tomatoes still sound good with everything and I have been drinking a lot more milk. I have been sleeping a little better. I still get up once at night to pee, but I have at least been able to get back to sleep pretty easily. Every now and then I feel little flutters, but its not all the time and they are really faint. I am hoping this week I will get to feel them more regularly and a little stronger. I need to get on the ball with planning the gender reveal party. I have told a couple people when it is but I haven't really invited hardly anyone to it yet! That is on my to-do list this week.

15 Week Doctors Appointment

Today was my 15 week doctor's appointment! Everything went well, which is such a relief! I weighed in at 129 lbs. I was so happy to still be in the 120's. I am not wanting to see that 130 mark just yet. I know it will be here next time though. The baby's heart rate was in the 150's again. The other boys were in the 160's at this same time in the pregnancy and typically boys have slower heart rates, so I am thinking boy even more now. I have my ultra sound scheduled for March 26th which is great because Christian will be out of school and can be there with us. He will be so happy when I tell him. We will do the gender reveal probably on that friday. My doctor will be out of town, so my appointment with her won't be until the following week. She did say that if something bad came up on the ultrasound they would bring another doctor in to talk to me in case I needed to see a specialist right away or something. Hopefully that will not happen though. I always worry though after alisann had the single umbilical cord artery thing with Patrick that they will tell me something bad after the ultrasound. So far we are still in agreement on names, but nothing is set in stone yet. We will probably do a fish fry for the gender reveal since it is lent and we can't have meat on fridays. Jason isn't thrilled with this idea, but I haven't been able to come up with anything better so far! I think we are going to wrap up the onsie and have the boys open it for everyone. I hope these next three weeks go by fast! I am ready to know what this baby is and ready to start shopping and working on the nursery!

15 Weeks

I am 15 weeks pregnant this week! I weighed in at 129 lbs. this week. I am hoping that holds true at my doctor's appointment on thursday. I have been feeling much better and not really been gaining much weight so this all has me a little nervous for my appointment. I am still kind of craving tomatoes but I haven't really been eating them a lot. They just sound good on everything! I have also been loving Wendy's spicy chicken sandwich. This is not a good craving to have! I haven't really had a huge appetite lately which is different for me. It seems like my stomach is not digesting food very well. I will eat a normal amount and it takes forever for the food to settle and for me to digest it. I feel like it is just staying with me for so long and normally I eat a lot and I am hungry again in no time. My clothes are fitting more and more snug. I am wearing my size 4 jeans and some size 6 jeans now instead of my size 0 or size 2. My shirts seem to be shrinking in length and are  bit tighter, so i am now digging out my medium tops or extra long tops to wear. I am not wearing maternity clothes yet and hoping to get by with not having to wear them at all. I think I have felt a couple of flutters this past week and that has been exciting. Its still hard to tell for sure though. It could be just gas. Christian is dying to feel the baby kick! I am still not sleeping well. I get up at least once a night to go pee and I have the hardest time going back to sleep. Then I am so exhausted during the day and I have had no time to take a nap lately and that kills me. I have still been walking for an hour about 4-5 times a week. We walk a 15 minute mile when we walk which is a pretty good pace. I am anxious for my appointment on thursday to see when we can have the gender reveal!

14 Weeks

I am 14 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 128 lbs. today. I was super excited, but also nervous because I am worried that since I haven't been gaining that maybe something is wrong. I do feel like my waist/stomach is getting bigger because my jeans all feel tight. I had to break out my 'fat girl' jeans from  after I had Jax and they are still a little loose but they fit me much better than they did. My heartburn seems to be a little worst this week especially when I eat too much. I ate 5 peppercinis with my pizza on Saturday night and I paid for it all night long with heartburn. I took a ton of tums and nothing helped. I have been craving hearts of palm lately and I am almost out, so I desperately need to go to the grocery. I have been wanting english cucumbers, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots and hearts of palm. I have also been wanting fresh pineapple and chicken salad with celery, grapes, and pecans on a croissant. I am so ready fro warmer weather I could just go insane. We had a teaser of it last week and it was wonderful and now it is so cold again! I am so ready to grill out and sit outside in the warm sun. As far as the gender reveal goes I think right now we have decided to go with having the boys wear big brother shirts and then have a pink onesie with lil sis on it or a blue onsie with lil bro on it and have the ultrasound tech put whichever one it is in a box and then we can wrap it later and have the boys open the box at the party and pull out the onesie to reveal what it is! I love the balloon idea so much and it makes such a great picture, but I like that the boys will all get to help reveal this way too and the balloon thing makes me nervous on taking it to the place in case something would be left out as a clue. We also I think have possible decided on a boys name. I know I definitely want the boys middle name to be Jourdan. This was my great grandma schmitt's maiden name. I was so excited when I found this out! I really wanted to name our next baby after my Grandma Folz's side in some way. Jason likes jourdan for a middle name but he wasn't crazy about the spelling. I actually like the different spelling the most about it. Now for the first name…. this is not set in stone, but it is the only name we can both agree on at the moment…. we both like Elijah. This is after the show Vampire Diaries and The Originals, so I am still sticking with naming our boys after TV show Characters that I like. We both are still liking Junelyse Gail for a girl. It feels good to have at least a name for a girl or a boy that we both can agree on and like. Now I need to get shirts ordered for the boys! I have also felt like maybe I felt some movement but then nothing has been strong enough or distinct enough to tell. It could just be gas. I am so ready to start feeling the baby move. That always makes me feel so much more at ease about things!

13 Weeks Hello Second Trimester

I am 13 weeks pregnant today! I am now in my second trimester and I am so glad to be done with my first trimester! I weighed in today at 129 lbs. I am just getting over the flue so  that helped me keep my weight down this time. I didn't eat much this weekend and then I ended up sick Sunday night and all day yesterday. This has put a damper on getting things done this past week. I know I won't get much done this week because I am so busy at work this week! I am not looking forward to that at all. I am so ready for to have energy and motivation to get my house deep cleaned and cleaned out and organized. There is no point in deep cleaning the house until Jason is finished with hanging our new interior doors. That is making everything a mess around here. I am going to have to say that my goal again this week is to clean out my bedroom and bathroom and clean out the boys' rooms and organize. As far as cravings go this week I have been craving chocolate covered strawberries, so I made some Friday night and they were delicious. Jason grilled stuffed shrimp and filet mignons for dinner friday night also. I normally always eat new york strips when I have steak and I haven't had a filet in a long time. I have to say I really loved it and I might have to start getting those from now on! Since I was sick the last couple of days nothing has sounded good to eat. I am feeling better this morning and eggo waffles sounded good for breakfast this morning with Simply orange juice. I have been on a bit of an orange juice kick the past week also, but it has to be the Simply orange juice for some reason. I am not sleeping very good at night. For some reason my left shoulder has really been bothering me and I am sure it is how I am laying on it. I also have to get up once at night to go pee and then it takes awhile for me to go back to sleep. I am looking forward to feeling the baby move and I am thinking that should be happening in the next couple of weeks. That is my favorite part of being pregnant and honestly probably about the only thing I like about being pregnant. We are no closer on names for a boy either. My top names are Michael and Jacob. Jason throws random names out all the time and usually I am looking at him like he is crazy. The names he comes up with I feel like are perfect dog names, but not something I want to name our son. Right now he is stuck on Tucker and I am not a fan at all of that. As of right now we are still liking Junelyse Gail for a girl and calling her Elyse. I am leaning toward just June Gail for a girl also. I am really starting to like the name June by itself. I just think Elyse is such a pretty name. We still have not decided on how to do the gender reveal party yet and we haven't really talked about it much. I am really hoping it works out to do it the last weekend in March, so that Christian can be at the ultrasound with us. He is so excited to have a new little brother or sister. Well that pretty much sums up this week, hopefully I can be more productive and get something accomplished around here before next week!

12 Weeks

I am 12 Weeks today! I weighed in at 129 lbs. this week. I am really not looking forward to seeing that 130 mark on the scale again. I have felt  a little more sick the last couple of days when I wait too long to eat. I still have not thrown up yet. I am still doing the gagging and dry heaving thing when I feel nauseous. I am still able to wear all my regular clothes, but my jeans I have had to start using a ponytail holder for the button to give a little more room and some of my sweaters are a little too short now. I am finding that the clothes are quickly becoming too small. I went to House of Blues and Saturday and got some amazing fleece lined leggings that are more stithy feeling and so comfortable. I also bought some longer sweaters just to get me through this next month of cold. I can not tell you how ready for spring I am. I am hoping to not have to buy any maternity clothes this time. I didn't buy any with Lucas and managed to make it through wearing regular clothes that were longer in the top and my bella band for my jeans. I am nervous about this one being in the summer though that I might be bigger and swell more. I have been walking 4 miles about 4 times a week lately so hopefully that will help me too not get too big. I also plan on swimming laps in the pool at our house and at my parents house for some added exercise! I am also thinking that tanks, maxi skirts, and sundresses will help me out this summer. As far as cravings go this week for breakfast I ate a sugar free applesauce bar from Maxine's everyday. I love those!  For lunch I had either pizza or chicken salad and dinner I was kind of all over the place. Just recently I have been in the mood for grilled chicken breasts that I can cut and dip in a wing sauce and ranch dressing or even make a wrap out of it. I think Jason is going to grill chicken breast tonight to have for the rest of the week for dinner and lunch! I have also been craving some chocolate. I was craving cheesecake and I got that for dessert when Jason and I had our date night Saturday night, so now I am onto chocolate. Not a lot of chocolate, just a piece here and there and I of course am loving my oreo cookies again! I am dying for my girl scout cookie order to come in! I have been wanting to stop into libs and pick up some chocolate from there, but haven't got around to it. I have not been in the mood for steak at all and chinese, mexican, or seafood has not sounded good either. I did eat some cooked sushi the other night and it was great! I am still getting up at night at least once to pea and I have a hard time getting back to sleep after I am awake. This makes me really tired during the day and I am fine if I can take a little nap in the afternoon but if I can't I am asleep on the couch by 8:00 on the nights that I don't work and i am completely worthless to get anything done around here. I will say though I have been a little better this past week on accomplishing some things. I pretty much have Jax and christian all moved in to their new room. Their new furniture got delivered today. I still need to have Jason hang a couple of pictures in their room and in Lucas' room. Jason has been busy hanging new interior doors lately and I love the look of the new doors but man does it take forever for him to get one door hung! My goal this next week is to finish organizing Lucas, Christian and Jax's rooms and hopefully get what will be the nursery all cleaned out, so that once we know what we are having Jason can get to work in there! I also want to get my room and bathroom cleaned out and deep cleaned this next week I have really let that go and I can't take it any more. I need to go through my clothes and get rid of some of them. I was so excited after my appointment last week that I had to order something for the baby. I ordered a carseat canopy and car seat cover set  that I am excited to get! I went with a grey and white chevron print so it will work with a boy or a girl. Even though I am almost positive I am having a boy. I have also started thinking and planning for the gender reveal party. I don't have anything decided for certain yet on it, but It will with be the last friday in March or the first Friday in April. It all depends on if my doctor is going to be in over spring break or not. And I won't know that until my next appointment because I forgot to ask her at my last one. I am leaning toward doing the box with balloons in it for the reveal, because I just love how the pictures turn out for that. I would love to think of something creative or different but It is hard since Jason and I want to find out with everyone else and I don't want anyone at the party to know ahead of time either. I haven't decided for sure on food yet, but right now I am leaning toward finger type foods and doing a slider bar and having lots of different appetizers. It will probably depend on what I am craving at the time on what we have to eat! i am really hoping for nice warm weather so we can be outside for it. Now that I have the boys' rooms pretty much finished I need to be looking more at nursery ideas. I know if we have a boy I am going to do a vintage car theme in his room and I am really excited to that. I have no idea what to do if I have a girl. I do know that I do not want pinks or purples in the room at all. I will probably have to go with grey and turquoise or some girly shade of blue. I am looking forward to being in my second trimester next week! In a way I feel like this first trimester has taken forever but then in a way I feel like I can't believe I am almost in my second trimester.

End Of First Trimester Doctor's Appointment

Today was my first doctor's appointment with my doctor and to hear the heartbeat on the doppler. I weighed in today at 128 lbs. And overall I am happy with that. I think it is a pound or two heavier than when I was pregnant with Christian, but it is 6 lbs. less than when I was pregnant with Jax and 8 lbs. less than when I was pregnant with Lucas. I was glad to see that I only gained 2 lbs. this time also. I would love to only gain 1 pound at my next appointment but I am sure that I will probably gain at least two. I was so nervous going to this appointment and once we got in the room I was even more nervous. Luckily it didn't take long for her to find the heartbeat! It was beating in the 150's which is a little slower than Jax and Lucas at this appointment. I can not tell you how relieved I was to hear that heartbeat! Jason, Jax and Lucas went with me to the appointment so they could all hear the heartbeat also. After they heard that Jason took the boys out to the car so I could finish my appointment in peace. We talked briefly about a V-back. obviously we are not going to decide anything right now. She wants to leave it up to me and I want to leave it up to her…. I think we will just see how everything goes with the ultrasounds. One thing that I was relieved to hear was that if we do decide to do a C-section then I can have another person in the room with Jason and I. I was really happy to hear this! We also talked about what hospital I should go to and some of the pros and cons of both hospitals. I asked Jason what he thought after the appointment and he really didn't care, but he said that the women's hospital felt like home to him. The convenience of St. Mary's is nice. The good thing is that we don't have to make a decision until we are on our way to have the baby. Going by how the heart rate has been and how I have been feeling this first trimester I have to say I am 90% sure that it is another boy! I am perfectly happy with another boy! I love my boys more than anything and another boy would fit in perfect with our family! The only problem is picking out a name! I do know if it is a boy I will do the nursery in an antique car theme! I am super excited about this! I am just so excited to plan things and find out what we are having! I am thinking we will do a gender reveal either the last weekend in March or the first weekend in April. My next appointment is in 4 weeks and then the appointment after that will be the gender Appointment!  I hope this next month goes by fast! I am tired of winter and ready for spring!

11 Weeks

I am 11 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 129 lbs. this morning. I am really hoping that the doctor's scale doesn't weigh me more than this. I am so nervous for my appointment on thursday I could just die! I felt sick Friday night, but then I felt fine on Saturday and Sunday. Then I felt sick yesterday. I haven't really felt that strong sense of nausea for a while though. It seems like I have just really bad gag reflexes right now. In the evenings I will out of no where just gag and almost throw up. I have managed to not throw up at all so far. I have definitely been more tired in the evenings. If I don't take an afternoon nap then I am struggling to keep my eyes open at 8:00. My boobs are still pretty sore. Strong and different smells still bother me but not quite as bad as they were. I just feel like overall this first trimester hasn't been quite as unbearable as it was with Jax and Christian. After reading my posts with Lucas I am thinking I felt more like this with Lucas, but maybe feel even a little better than I did with him. This all makes me nervous that there won't be a heartbeat on thursday. I will be so glad when that appointment is over and we can move on one way or another. I am so anxious to plan and talk about this baby! I have just been too nervous and don't want to get my hopes up too much. I haven't even been able to hardly talk about names with Jason, because I am too worried. I will say I know for sure that I will use Gail and June in the girls name if we have a girl. I want her to be named after my Mom, Aunt Susan, Grandma Folz and Grandma Emilie. Jason and I both like the name Elise for a girl, so we might try and tie that in there also and actually call her that. Jason's vote is to name her Elise Gail June Pickerill and my vote is to name her Junelise Gail Pickerill and call her Elise. I am also thinking about just naming her June Gail Pickerill and forgetting about using Elise. I don't know why I am even wasting my time thinking about a girls name because we all know it is going to be another boy and Jason and I can not agree on anything for a name! I want the name to be from a TV show that we watch and I really want to use the middle name Gail but jason is saying no to the middle name and he thinks I am stupid for wanting to name him after a tv show. My favorite name right now is Michael. Christian likes that name also, but Jason of course does not. The middle name will of course be a family name but we have not really gotten anywhere on that! I will post back on Thursday with a doctor appointment update and I am praying for good news!

10 Weeks

I am 10 Weeks pregnant today! I weighed in this morning at 128 lbs. I was happy to finally not see a gain on the scale! I would love to be able to maintain this for awhile, but I know that won't happen! I started to really worry again last night because I felt pretty good last night and I feel pretty good this morning. My heartburn doesn't seem to be as bad lately which also has me a little worried. My boobs are still really sore, so I guess that is a good sign and I felt sick over the weekend. I just think that overall this first trimester hasn't been quite as bad as my other first trimesters other than that week that Jason was gone. It could be that I started walking right after he got back and trying to eat healthier and taking my prenatal vitamins. Where in the past I don't think I did anything in the first trimester other than work and take care of the boys. I have really lacked motivation to get any kind of house work done around here. I hate it because this is the time of year that I am so motivated to get things cleaned out and organized and ready for a fresh start for 2014 and I have not been doing any of that. I am really hoping that I hear good news next thursday at my appointment and then maybe i can not worry and will be more motivated to get some things done around here. I did get christian's closet half way cleaned out and I plan on finishing the rest of his room when all his furniture comes in. It will be here on Feb. 11th. I am also hoping to clean out and organize Jax's room also then. If I can get all the bedrooms cleaned out and organized ours included this february I will feel pretty good. I also want to move the stuff in the guest bedroom over to the craft room and the stuff in the craft room over to the guest bedroom. I hoping that jason will have all the interior doors painted and hung by Lucas' birthday party! Along with the trim painted in the kitchen and side entryway! I really need to start planning his party since we are doing it on the 8th of March. That is going to be here before we know it! I am guessing if I can get the top two floors organized and cleaned out in february then hopefully in March I can get my blogs all caught up and then maybe April I can start working on photo books! I have so much I want and need to do before Baby #4 arrives. Okay back to pregnancy stuff! As far as cravings go this week I wanted McDonald's pretty bad on thursday and I of course gave in to the craving and got it. I have to say though I felt pretty bad after I ate it and I don't think I will be craving it like that for awhile now. Friday I craved pizza so we got carry-out from Kipplees and once again I was not impressed. It gave me heartburn pretty bad. I am not a fan of Kipplees myself. I prefer Turoni's and so I am still kind of craving turoni's pizza. I think It is more of a veggie pizza that I am craving and we just got pepperoni and sausage because that is the boys' favorite. Everyday when I pick up Christian from school we have to drive by Long John Silvers. I normally only want this maybe once a year to once every two years and every time I eat there I feel disgusting afterwards, but I have to say it has been sounding good. I think fried fish in general has been sounding good!  I can't wait until lent when we can go to the Boonville fish fry on fridays. I have also been dying for a piece of cheesecake lately. I haven't given into that craving yet, but it won't be long I am sure! I have to say I am so ready for warm weather! We have had the coldest winter that I can remember in forever! Spring can not get here soon enough! I am still wearing all my regular clothes but a lot of my size 2 and size 4 jeans are feeling pretty tight on me. I have developed this nice donut or tire looking thing around my waist and it is not the baby it is just fat! I am going to color my hair this week, wax my eyebrows, and get a mani and pedi and maybe even get a spray tan to help lift my spirits from the winter blues and this extra fat on me! I am hoping this week goes by fast. I am so ready to get my appointment over with, so I can quit worrying so much one way or the other! I hate feeling like I am in limbo all the time. I want to plan and talk about things but I am to afraid of getting too attached and getting my hopes up!

9 Weeks

I am 9 weeks pregnant today! I weighed in at 128 lbs. this week. I am just so upset on how much weight I have already gained. I am really trying to get my eating under control and quit eating out so much. We have been doing the drive through or carry-out thing way too much! the last couple of days I have been eating a bowl of cereal or a granola bar for breakfast, then having a plain turkey sandwich for lunch and then usually cracker and cheese or fruit for a mid afternoon snack and then actually fixing something for supper instead of going out. I also have to end my day with an evening snack otherwise I feel so sick when I go to bed. I have been trying to eat cracker and cheese or a plain turkey sandwich instead of ice cream like I really want. I have been wanting sweets a little more the last couple of days which is a normal pregnancy thing for me. I have not been in the mood for chips hardly at all. This is usually a weakness for me. I normally love chips! I have been continuing to walk this week. I made it 3 days walking last week and I am hoping to make it 4 days this week. I would really love to weigh 126 lbs. when I go to the doctor in a couple of weeks. I am just dreading seeing that 130 again. Smells are still bothering me but not quite as bad. I still need to eat every 3-4 hours or I will feel sick and dry heave. I have been feeling more sick in the evenings after the boys are in bed and then I wake up feeling pretty good and as long as I eat regularly through out the day I feel pretty much fine. This of course has me a little worried that something could be wrong and that I could have a miscarriage. I was so worried this past week because I was feeling so much better all week and then Friday night I started to feel kind of bad and I felt horrible saturday afternoon and evening. Then I felt good again on sunday, but started to feel sick sunday evening and that is how I felt yesterday and today! I really hope everything is ok. If it isn't I would rather have a sign before I go in like spotting or something. I just really don't want to go in there thinking that everything will be okay and then there just not be a heartbeat. I hate this first trimester so much. I am trying not to tell anyone but it is getting harder and harder. February 6th can not come fast enough! I did finally satisfy my Hacienda chicken enchilada craving last thursday and that was so good! My boobs have still been really sore this week. I have to get up once a night to pee and then i am so restless trying to go back to sleep and it takes me forever to fall asleep. This makes me so much more tired in the mornings. I haven't had a chance to nap in the afternoons as much this week, but I really could use an afternoon nap on most days. I have been taking tums at night for my heartburn. So far this is working ok, but I am sure that I will have to go on something stronger before this is all over with. My face has cleared up for the time being and I hope it stays this way. I am so ready for warmer weather! I am so over winter and this cold weather. I am going crazy being inside like this and not getting to go on my daily walks around the neighborhood! I am thinking I am going to need to make a trip to the nail salon for a mani and pedi. Maybe that will make me feel better! I am praying and keeping my tigers crossed that this week goes ok. I am always so nervous on the 9th week because that is when the baby's heart stopped beating before.