Baby G2 Belly - 34 Weeks

How far along? 34 Weeks

Baby size?  Baby now weighs about 4 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. 

What's going on with the baby? Fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she's born — are filling him/her out. His/her skin is also smoother than ever. His/her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well. Babies born between 34 and 37 weeks who have no other health problems generally do fine. They may need a short stay in the neonatal nursery and may have a few short-term health issues, but in the long run, they usually do as well as full-term babies.

Maternity clothes? Running short of shirt options (pun intended) that cover the bottom 2" of my bump.

Stretch marks? Negator

Sleep: So bad. The one time 6 hour stretch I got was such a tease. I'm back to waking up for hours at a time in the middle of the night. Hip pain & general bump discomfort are the main culprits. 

Best moments this week: Christmas Season is in full swing! Which means holiday parties! And thanks to Rent-the-Runway it means dressing up this bump! Joe's work was invited to two parties on the same night, so we hit up both with co-worker Adam and also-preggo wife Kendall... We all had a BLAST

We clean up alright...

Smuggling a disco ball

Bedazzled Bumps! (I think 34 & 23ish Weeks respectively) How cute is Kendall???

Also, Christmas decorations went up! And we had our FIRST fire in our fireplace. We haven't lived with a fireplace in a looooong time so that was a real treat.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Craziest dream this week: Dreamt that I could SEE the baby as it moved in my belly.... like waving at me. Not in a cute way, but an OMG that-is-terrifying kind of way. 

Miss anything? Standing without hip/sciatic pain, sitting without rib pain. I may need to get a girdle to keep my ribs from splitting apart... cute image, eh? You're welcome.

Movement: HICCUPS! I wasn't sure I was going to get them this time around, but baby G2 does not disappoint! Quick, repetitive flicks that last a couple of minutes. It's one of my favorite things about pregnancy :)

Food cravings: Chocolate milk and red meat - fortunately Joe's been BBQ-ing like crazy so I've been indulging in steak!

Anything making you queasy or sick? Sometimes milk. But that could have something to do with the fact that I will sit down and eat about two sleeves of oreos at a time... which requires about half a gallon of dunking-milk. 

Gender prediction: BOY-OH-BOY two more stranger predictions that I'm carrying a boy this week alone. That's gotta be a sign right?

Labor signs: Yep. Braxton Hicks, small slightly painful contractions that generally show up when I'm walking too much or not drinking enough water. But they go away so nothing to worry about.

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or moody most of the time? Depends on how much couch time I get that day. I don't remember my first pregnancy having this many aches & pains, but maybe I blocked that part out of my memory?

Looking forward to: Christmas week! I get the whole week off from work (then only one week back before I go on maternity leave) and we're hosting Christmas Eve for the Givens family. We are so spoiled to get to be surrounded by so much family! 

Pardon this week's image... the days are short and the nights are long, so sunlight is few & far between

Baby G2 Belly - 34 Weeks 

Baby Hailey Belly - 34 Weeks

Baby G2 Belly - 32 Weeks

How far along? 32 Weeks (please excuse the week 30 skip... life's been a bit nuts)

Baby size?  Baby weighs almost 4 pounds and measures about 17 inches from head to heel.

What's going on with the baby? Gaining weight (about half a pound a week). Baby has toenails, fingernails, and hair and skin is becoming soft and smooth as s/he plumps in preparation for birth. S/he's also head down and will hopefully stay like that until birth. And the best news: If  born now, s/he would have an excellent change of surviving without life-threatening complications. But baby's still on lockdown if I have anything to do with it!

Maternity clothes? Yes'm. Now if only they made maternity shoes... Some form of slipper that was socially acceptable to wear to work.

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Worse and worse by the night. It's officially painful to turnover.

Best moment this week: We moved!!! Well, we moved on Halloween when I was about 29 weeks and as exhausting as that day was, we survived with only a handful of Christmas ornaments as casualties. And after 3 weeks of unpacking, unboxing, ikea-tripping and furniture assembly, we're pretty darn comfy. Hailey LOVES her new home and we're all settling in nicely. 

Worst moment this week: An un-planned and expedited tour of Labor & Delivery. Last weekend I started feeling some small but regular contractions... very similar to the ones that started Hailey into this world. After a couple hours of contractions happening every 3 minutes at home and some calls into the nurses, we were directed to the triage room in Labor & Delivery... just to make sure everything was OK. Sure enough, everything was fine. Baby is still cooking but I was a bit dehydrated. After a ton of water and monitoring, the contractions lessened and I was cleared to go home. NOT a fun experience considering a pre-term delivery was the last thing on our radars. Talk about a reality check! And the worst part about it? ...

UN-MATCHING SOCKS! AHHHH!!!

Lesson learned... always wear matching socks. And stay hydrated, you bumbling pregnant woman!

Awkward moment this week: See sock dilemma above.

Craziest dream this week: This one's a little fuzzy... It took place on a big yacht and I was negotiating some kind of business deal with corporate Sees candy officials, who turned out to be playboy bunnies? Then a HUGE shoot-em up explosive battle ensued straight out of the movie True Lies. Don't ask me where that movie reference came from, I have no idea. Nonetheless it was a little intense.

Miss anything? Red wine on a chilly night. Especially because we have a fireplace now.

Movement: This baby is super responsive to Daddy. Anytime I sit down on the couch at night and Joe says hi to baby, there are kicks galore. 

Food cravings: Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts

Anything making you queasy or sick? The thought of delivering a baby at 31 weeks.

Have you started to show yet? Silly question at this point, I'm veto-ing this one from the list...

Gender prediction: Girl

Labor signs: Unfortunately yes. And it looks like Braxton Hicks are going to be a thing from here on out.

Belly button in or out? Out

Wedding rings on or off? Off

Happy or moody most of the time? Moody. 

Looking forward to: Being a little more pregnant so that if this baby DOES make its great escape, it's not as big of a deal. Oh and THANKSGIVING this week! We've got a LOT to be thankful for this year, plus I plan to use the "eating for two" excuse to its full potential.

Baby G2 Belly - 32 Weeks

Baby Hailey Belly - 32 Weeks

Lemos Farm Pumpkin Patch 2015

Let the annual pumpkin patch visit begin!

Love Hailey's expression in this one

2015

2013... what a difference 2 years makes!

Goat Feeding. Successfully kept all of her fingers in tact!

Family Selfi!

Wanna ride a pony? AH-YEP!

Hailey's First Pony Ride!!!

Fun, but not as cool as the real pony...

Maybe cooler than the real pony. Notice the name of this one...

Bouncy House - Hailey got a spec of dirt on her finger and was NOT having it. She's a little OCD.

Train ride!

Say Cheese!  - OM NOM NOM NOM

Diligent pumpkin selections

Hailey's prize possession pumpkin!

Baby G2 Belly - 28 Weeks

How far along? 28 Weeks - So we meet again, third trimester...

Baby size? Baby weighs more than 2-1/2 pounds and measures about 15 inches from head to heel.

What's going on with the baby? Baby can blink their eyes, which now sport lashes. With eyesight developing, they may be able to see the light that filters in through the womb. Baby's also developing billions of neurons in their brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world. The baby's main job right now is to put the finishing touches on major organ systems, such as brain, lungs, and liver. Baby's also working on gaining layers of fat. Their body fat is about 2 to 3 percent. Their sucking and swallowing skills are improving.

Total weight gain/loss: Too hormonal to even come up with something witty for this one. Let's just remove it from the list!

Maternity clothes? Do they make big & tall maternity clothes? Even some of my maternity shirts are creeping up on my belly. The worst part is I can't even see it when it happens, I just start feeling a draft. Maybe exposed preggo midriffs are coming into style.

Stretch marks? None

Sleep: I'll take two please.

Best/Worst moment this week: Results are in from the blood glucose test... NOT DIABETIC!!! woo hoo!!! Unfortunately the blood count results came back to and confirmed what I had been dreading... I'm anemic. Which means bring on the iron pills!!! boo. I was anemic with Hailey  too so it's not new, but I'm definitely allowed to still hate it just as much. Now if I can just stomach the insane amount of iron I'm supposed to be taking, maybe it'll at least give me some energy back. Those moving boxes aren't going to pack themselves...

Awkward moment this week: Constantly running into things with my belly. Car doors, wall corners, chairs, my toddler. Not sure which kid I needed to apologize to for that last one!

Craziest dream this week: I had back-to-back job interviews one day. One was for a bartending job, the next was to be a journalist at a cosmetics magazine company. I think I really nailed the bartending gig. 

Miss anything? Jackets that can actually zip up. Its cold enough that I need to find a maternity jacket that fits...

Movement: I get taps on every side or my belly, all at the same time. Pretty sure it looks something like this in there...

Food cravings: Taco Bell

Anything making you queasy or sick? Iron pills. And now that I'm taking them 3 times a day... it's like being in first trimester again. Joy.

Have you started to show yet? Silly question.

Gender prediction: As long as there's only one in there, doesn't matter ;-)

Labor signs: Nada

Belly button in or out? Half popped. This turkey's almost cooked!

Wedding rings on or off? Wah. Wah. Wah... off it went. I got tired of stressing over it getting tighter so now I'm sporting a wicked white tan line on my ring finger instead.

Happy or moody most of the time? MOO-dy. See what I did there? But seriously, between moving this week, work throwing me some wicked curveballs and all of these lovely hormones... I'm a waddling time bomb. 

Looking forward to: Being moved. Once we can get settled into our new home, I feel like I can get way more normal. I've been a basket case lately. 

Baby G2 Belly - 28 Weeks

Baby Hailey Belly - 28 Weeks

Baby G2 Belly - 26 Weeks

How far along? 26 Weeks

Baby size? Baby weighs almost 2 pounds and measures 14 inches from head to heel.

What's going on with the baby? The network of nerves in his/her ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. They may now be able to hear both my voice and Joe's as we chat with each other. Baby's's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the lung development. And his/her eyes are starting to open.

Total weight gain/loss: One meelliion pounds up. 

Maternity clothes? Yes-siree

Stretch marks? None

Sleep: Can't get more than a 4 hour stretch in at a time. And if anyone's ever up from 2:30am-3:30am, feel free to message me, those are officially my new office hours for mindless thinking time.

Best moment this week: Big News!!! The Givens clan is MOVING!!! We move on Halloween, which will be pure insanity and I will be a large 29 weeks pregnant. But it's a way bigger place, has an extra bedroom for baby and yard space for Hailey to run her laps. Now if only these boxes would pack themselves...

Awkward moment this week: See Dream question below...

Craziest dream this week: Channing Tatum came over to our house to watch a movie. And he was sitting WAY to close to Joe on the couch.

Miss anything? Having the lung space/capacity to belt out Whitney Houston songs on my commute to work. This baby is really cramping my falsetto.

Movement: Still most activity is when I'm driving. I'm curious if this means we won't be able to use the car as a last resort for getting this baby to sleep... worked like a charm for Hailey, but won't work if all this kid wants to do is pop & lock every time we're cruising.

Food cravings: Not much. Just green olives. And dunkable cookies. And pop tarts. Oh can't forget flaming hot cheetos. Plus peanut butter. Orange Chicken. California Rolls. Veggies & Ranch. Oh man, a cold deli sandwich sounds good too. mmm yeah.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Twisty car rides while I'm passenger. But I just got a new phone, so that would also be because I'm looking up lolcatz on my phone most rides instead of focusing on the road.

Have you started to show yet? "Are you having twins?" count this week... Only once so far!

Gender prediction: Boy

Labor signs: No

Belly button in or out? In for morning, Out by nighttime and a full day of preggo-eating.

Wedding rings on or off? On. But I give it another 3 weeks before this bad boy comes off. Nothing cuter than a giant, moody, swollen pregnant single chick right? Maybe I'll buy some big gawdy fake ring that fits my finger just as a place holder. Think Real Housewives!

Happy or moody most of the time? 50% Happy 50% Moody. 100% Unpredicatable.

Looking forward to: Moving! Well, not the actual act of moving, but the being-moved part. 

Dreading: Glucose screening test next week. AKA meet your maker. Time to see if those pregnancy cravings have tipped me over the edge into gestational diabetes land. Maybe I'll pass on the Oreos this week. Or at least limit myself to ONE sleeve at a time. It's all about self control. 

Baby G2 Belly - 26 Weeks

Baby Hailey Belly - 26 Weeks

Hailey May - TWO

Lookout Terrible Twos! We're coming for you!

Hailey May - Two

Commence Elephant Photo Shoot... The progression here is 100% reflective of your 2 year old tendencies. 

Hide!

NOT looking at your camera, Mom!

NOOOOOOO!

No, YOU say cheese!

Oh Chapstick? I'm happy now. 

The thinker...

OK, I'm done here.

Hailey May, 

You're TWO! Your little personality is not so little anymore. The independence we noticed about you as an infant is becoming more and more prominent. You like things your way or no way... fortunately you've got some pretty simple demands, and most of all you want to do things for yourself. Light switch needs to be turned off? "HAY DO!" (this means Hailey is going to do it) Shoes and socks need to go on? "HAY DO!" A piece of garbage needs to get thrown out? "HAY DO!" <--- this is your most favorite thing to do in the WORLD. 9 times out of 10 if we're out to dinner and you start having a meltdown, we crumple up a napkin, find a trash can in eyesight and ask you quietly to throw it away. You promptly snap out of your fit, grab that napkin and proudly march onward toward that trash can chirping "throw away, throw away" I have a feeling this method of therapy won't work on you for long...

Talking... words are coming out of your mouth left and right. Sometimes it's a weird Hailey gibberish language that goes on for a minute or two, and sometimes it's actual English that we can understand! What a difference it makes to understand some of the things you're thinking!! 

Walking... more like running. Everyday after daycare, we have to let you run up and down the sidewalk a good 20 times before you're calm enough to get in the car (which you demand to do yourself). There was definitely a chunk of time when you'd bolt free, thinking you were being funny and we'd have to frantically chase you down. Thankfully it's never been into the street, but you've sure given mom & dad a scare. It's a pretty common occurrence for a bystander to see how active you are and tell us we've got our hands full. Yes, we know... now please get out of the way while I chase this rascally 2 year old down the cereal aisle before she rounds the corner into the Doritos display case.

Pacifiers... We made the idiotic decision to attempt taking away your beloved pacificer about 6 months ago... didn't work so we've embraced the Paci, or as you call it, your "ty ty" probably because you only get it when you're tired, for naps and at bedtime. Fortunately you don't use it when you're awake and you don't take it from other babies, so we're hoping this won't be an issue when your little brother or sister comes along and has one.

Sleep... unless there's something developmentally going on or a new tooth coming in, you're still an amazing sleeper. Probably has something to do with wearing yourself out jumping, running and gabbing all day ;-)

Eating... you eat like a bird a lot of the time, picking but by no means scarfing. The only scarf worthy foods for you currently are: milk & cereal, pasta with butter, yogurt and anything with tons of sugar or sprinkles. 

Hair... slowly but surely you're getting some hair on that beautiful dome of yours. And those curls in the back? Whoa. Sadly you've got a mom with super straight hair and you REFUSE to keep a clip or pony in your hair, so most days you're rocking a very funky mix of crazy fro curls. You manage to pull it off thou ;-)

Play... you love toy kitchens, dancing, parks and "hide the monkey".... you run out of a room for no more than 2 seconds, to let mommy & dada frantically find a hiding place for your toy monkey. When you're back you almost always find that thing and cheer for joy, running out of the room to do it again. At least fifteen times. Or until we bribe you with something else.

Baths... You've been hit or miss with these lately. After a couple of meltdowns we had to revert to the toddler bath, set up in the kitchen with some kind of incentive for bathing. On our worst night, we literally had you in that tub, in the kitchen, pointed at the TV in the living room (playing your obsessively favorite show, Little Einsteins) with a pacifier in one hand and an Oreo in the other. Not a proud moment on our part, but you hated baths and daycare was going to quarantine you from stink if we didn't get you soaped up.

Big Sister.. yes, this next year you are going to be a big sister. Dada & I are of course terrified at the thought of two of you colluding with one another against us, but we are 100% confident that you are going to be AMAZING as an older sibling. You've been practicing for months now with the Wilder twin babies at daycare. You help get bumbos out, grab the wipes box, blankets, whatever. The only thing you may adore more than babies is helping. I can only imagine what a generous and caring person you're going to be when you grow up. Wait, what am I talking about, you're not allowed to grow up. ever. K, glad that's settled. 

They say the days are long but the years are short... truer words have never been spoken. You certainly keep us on our toes but seeing the world through your eyes is a blessing I never knew could be so incredible. 

Love you baby girl! (and yes, even when this new baby arrives, you will never stop being our baby girl)

~ Mommy & Dada