33 weeks!

How far along?  33 week, 2 days... this is huge folks!
Total weight gain/loss?  Enough :).  I only feel huge if I look at pictures of myself (or occasionally the mirror, but that's not as bad).  I'm over it, though, I'm growing a baby here... she can take all the space she needs (maybe I should stop giving Christmas chocolate so much room...)
 Maternity clothes?  Yep!  My sweatpants and pj pants still fit pretty well (I always buy them a size bigger for comfort anyway), but my "going into public" pants are definitely stretchy-banded and all.
Stretch marks? Some brand new ones the last few weeks!  They aren't too itchy, and I really don't mind.  Stretch away, self!
Sleep? A little better than it had been (Anni still is night-waking, but isn't needing as much rocking and comfort as a few weeks ago).  My main issue is that I keep leaving my water drinking until evening... and then I drink several (plus several more if we're playing Ticket to Ride like we have been the last few days) cups of water and, well, you get the rest. 
 Best moment last week? Getting to see Lil' Bit on the ultrasound today!  Actually, we mostly saw her kidneys (they were checking that the little fluid pockets hadn't grown, and that I wasn't showing any signs of pre-term labor), but we did get a few glimpses at her sweet little face, arm thrown up over her head as always.  Anni was SO excited and informed the technician that she was a big sister, and that Lil' Bit was going to be her little sister.  She also begged for a photo of her own, and felt awful when she realized in the car ride home that she forgot to say thank you. 
 Movement?  Oh. yeah.  I wish I knew exactly what was going on in there, because there is some kind of party going on.  There's a lot of funny rolling, I'm assuming things are getting tight and that's just her shifting around, but I'm not entirely sure.  She is also definitely more of a puncher than a kicker (the last two ultrasounds she has been head down, so I think I can assume what the punches are vs the kicking), and I love every funny little jab.  That being said, the few times she has had hiccups drive me crazy!  Something OCD in me about it not being a perfect pattern with my breathing.  Strange, I know, but at least she doesn't seem to have them often!
 Food cravings?  Oh, dear... Christmas and New Year's have meant that I've indulged a bit much in junk food.  So... yeah... lots of things I wouldn't recommend to anyone in great quantities, never mind a pregnant woman ;-).  That being said, yum!
 Gender? Still one sweet little girl.
Labor signs? Thank the Lord in so many ways, NO!  I was so relieved when all the measuring and checking showed no signs of pre-term labor!  I am officially more pregnant than I have ever been... so very exciting! 
Belly button in/out?  Still in, but getting closer!
What I miss: I miss... not feeling hormonal all the time!  Not that I was never hormonal when not pregnant, because that would be a big lie, but it's been a little ridiculous this week.  I definitely cried when I lost a board game to Daniel (sorry, honey!)   
What I am looking forward to: This week?  I'm ready to be done with shots.  They're wonderful, wonderful things, and I'm eternally grateful that they're picking up the slack where my body is leaving off (apparently I just stink at producing progesterone... who knew?!), but I'm sore.  Hematoma on one side and worn out sites on the other.  Thank goodness these do have an end.
Milestones: Well, the whole I've never made it this far in pregnancy thing is AWESOME (okay, okay, more kudos to the shots)!  I definitely breathed a big sigh of relief getting past this day... now just to get to full term!  We can do it!

Happy New Year!

 At five minutes to midnight, our sweetheart woke up needing some middle-of-the-night comfort.  Our last moments of 2012 and first of 2013 were spent rocking and singing Auld Lang Syne as a family.

Perfect.

I hope your New Year is as wonderful as ours has been thus far!

The Christmas Post: 2012

Our Christmas was, dare I say, idyllic.  The thing that started it off perfectly was that my mom drove out to see us the weekend before.  While we talk nearly every day and skype often, we haven't seen each other in person in nearly six months, and for a girl that was desperately bummed about missing this year's family Christmas... this was the perfect way to begin a season that is so much about family.

Miss Anni takes a little time to warm up to anyone that isn't Mommy or Daddy, including beloved grandparents.  My mama, being the mama of 6 other kiddos of varying degrees of introvertedness, was patient as can be.  With her, she brought Christmas gifts of lovely, lovely books for Anni.  (If you ever need a good gift for a little one, books are so perfect... you really can't have too many and they take up so much less space than toys).  One of the books became an immediate favorite.  By the time my mom left, she had read Interrupting Chicken at least a dozen times a day and both she and Anni had it nearly memorized. 

I am so grateful that our girls have grandparents that are so willing to sit down, read, snuggle and dance. 

And, I'm ever, ever, every so grateful that my mommy helped me finish my Christmas shopping and food planning.  This year, with my approaching the point that Anni came and not really knowing if my body would decide it was time for this baby to come, we decided to do Christmas at home.  Which meant, I was hosting an important holiday celebration for the first time ever (luckily with only two other -forgiving- adults, but still).  She sat down with me, got my sister's recipe for roast chicken (I only had the vague plan that the chicken went into the oven and hopefully came out yummy) and helped me navigate pre-Christmas store crowds to get everything we needed.

It was hard to see her leave before Christmas, but so fun to be able to send home all of our Christmas love to our family there and be filled up on some mom/grandma time.

 

We spent a little time at the in-laws the day before Christmas Eve, playing piano (Daniel and Anni), taking naps (me, not anyone else) and watching Anni strip her favorite ornaments off their Christmas tree.

Then came Christmas Eve.  We put ribbons on our heads, ate a big breakfast, and spent the day cleaning and prepping for Christmas.  We also ended up going to Mass on Christmas Eve.  It was absolutely packed!  Luckily, we went a little early to see the Christmas pageant (we thought Anni would love seeing all the kids in costumes acting out the story), so we did manage to get an aisle seat where there was a little air.  Anni kept the family next to use amused with her comments.  She was both very worried about where Baby Jesus was and wondering whether King Herod was Santa.  Her only experience with Santa is walking by one with her grandparents in the mall, so it kind of makes sense that she would equate fake white bears with him.  Either way, she did pretty well, considering we were in our seats for two hours (heck, I was hot and a little squirrelly by the time we were done as well).

Oh, and there was random digging into the closet to pull out plastic bags, mommy's stocking cap and "her" new umbrella from Ikea.

After Mass, it was officially Christmas in our house.  Anni reminded us where we had hidden Baby Jesus and brought Him back out into the world.  She told Him He could lie on the couch by her until it was time for Him to "go to bed with His mama."

We also pulled out some last minute gift-crafting as one of our gifts didn't arrive from Amazon on time (it's been relegated to a future birthday gift at this point).

Then, we made a batch of four chocolate chip cookies, because it's Christmas and who doesn't want to wrap up Christmas Eve with a warm chocolate chip cookie as the snow falls gently out the window?

I thought so.

Then, we finished up the night with one of my favorite traditions.   My Dad has read The Night before Christmas to us every Christmas Eve for years (with all our candles lit... though I think that part of the tradition has taken a back seat with all of the grandchildren until they're big enough to leave them alone).  Daniel continued that tradition with Anni, and I love watching her grow and change in each year's picture.  Next year, there will be another little sweetie snuggled up on her Daddy's lap.  I love tradition, and I love having gotten to start them in our own family so that our little ones will always have these sweet memories to look back on.

The next morning, we awoke to full stockings, presents under the tree, fresh cream cheese kolaches, and hot chocolate on the stove.

Anni's stocking stuffer was a set of these little mugs so she could start drinking out of a "real cup" at the dinner table, so she had her very first hot chocolate (and enjoyed it very much).

Then of course, came present opening.  We have a lot of fun picking out her gifts.  We limit ourselves to three (and a stocking stuffer), as it would be way, way, way too easy to go overboard and we don't really want the entire focus of the day to be on presents (I'm not sure our budget could handle it either).  This year we got her a couple of books, a bedding set (with hopes that it would help her keep blankets on at night!), and a doll bed. 

Then came the work.  While I didn't manage to actually get a picture of my beautiful roast chicken, I am immensely proud that it tasted delicious and that everything was *mostly* done on time to eat.  Daniel's mom provided the biggest, most gorgeous fruit salad ever as well as a few other sides, so we had quite the spread.
 

Probably the worst idea ever to take a picture right after a huge meal when already feeling self-conscious about pregnancy weight gain... but at least we took a picture together!

We spent the rest of Christmas in relatively inert stages, opening presents from the in-laws, eating Jesus' birthday cake and a double layer pumpkin pie (cream cheese and pumpkin... oh. my) and reveling in two-year-old enjoyment of Christmas.

We're determined to celebrate the entire season of Christmas, so we still have Christmas music playing, lights up in the apartment and a whole lot of treats to work through.  It's easy to feel festive when Daniel has work off all the way through New Year's Day (thank you, working for a great Catholic organization)!

Now that one season of waiting (Advent) is over, we're starting to see the end of our own waiting period!  What a beautiful thing it is to be pregnant while we remember Mary's pregnancy and birth of Christ.  Merry Christmas, my friends!  I hope that no matter what you celebrate, you are having a beautiful end of the year!

Merry Christmas!

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one
another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger.

-Luke 2:15-16

Blessings and a sweet, sweet Christmas season to you and your families! 

Lil' Bit: 31 weeks!

How far along?  31 weeks
Total weight gain/loss?  I'm going to start telling the nurse not to tell me my weight (which means I'll have to close my eyes... because I can read a scale, darnit).  Caring isn't going to change the fact that I'm pregnant and by golly... probably going to gain quite a bit more weight in the next 6-10 weeks.
Maternity clothes?  Oh, yeah.  I still wear normal comfy pants and t-shirts around the apartment, but the shirts aren't quiiiite covering my belly anymore (moving onto hubby's t-shirts which are a size larger!)  Even some of the maternity shirts aren't going to work much longer.  Grow, baby, grow!
Stretch marks? Well, I have a pretty lovely array of them from my first pregnancy, and while my tummy certainly itches, I seem to be stretching a little more reasonably this time... that being said, stretch marks are probably the least of my worries :).
Sleep? Once I get past the restless legs to fall asleep, I do alright.  Unfortunately, Miss Anni has been waking up a lot at night recently to ask for blankies/water/kleenex, so I have to go through the "attempting to fall asleep" process a few times a night (Daddy is wonderful and is perfectly willing to check on her, but she generally asks for both Mommy and Daddy, and it goes much faster if we both just head in and talk to her for a second.) 
 Best moment last week? Anni lovin' on her baby sister.  I love how she rolls through, "That's Lil' Bit.  She yivs in mommy's tummy.  Her my lil sister.  Is she comin' out soon?"  Sometimes she mixes things up and tells everyone that Lil' Bit is her big sister.
 Movement?  TONS!  This girl throws elbows, wiggles her little shoulders and responds strongly when I eat.  I love it... it helps so much that I'm not nauseous (I was still vomiting at this point with my first pregnancy, so movement was much harder to enjoy when ridiculously nauseous!)
 Food cravings? hmm... pizza just about always sounds good, and chocolate, and nectarines (though those are out of season, so I don't actually get to fulfill that craving) and really any fresh fruit.
 Gender? Still one sweet little girl.
Labor signs? Thank goodness, no!  My short-term goal is to make it past 33 weeks (when Anni was born) and then to full term (37) and then to whenever this sweetie is ready.  She is head down, which is nice not to have to worry about the breech issue.
Belly button in/out?  Still in, but it's definitely pretty shallow!  I'm actually hoping for the belly button pop this time ;-). 
What I miss: I miss... moving easily!  I'm starting to get to where it's harder to get up/ bend down/ walk quickly without some difficulty.   
What I am looking forward to: Holding this little one in my arms!  Also, admittedly, being done with shots!  We had to up them back to two shots twice a week... and I'm a wee bit sore (but also grateful that I have a great doctor making sure we get this baby here as healthy as possible).
Milestones: Passing the 30 week mark felt big to me, but otherwise we're really just truckin' along.  We see the doctor every two weeks and will have another ultrasound both to make sure I'm not headed into early labor and to check on Little Miss' kidneys (she has some small pockets that need to be watched).