365 Challenge - Weeks 30, 31, & 32

Brooke and Harrison are going to be starting preschool in just 3 weeks! Between school and classes at the Y that start around the same time, our mornings aren't going to be as care free as they have been in recent weeks. I am thankfully still feeling really good most mornings, so we've been hitting up lots of parks, the zoo, and of course the library. 

I know we still have another 4 months until the babies are due, but I also know I could be told at any time that I have to start taking things easy.  I was very fortunate with H and B that I had only a couple weeks of modified bed rest, and that we made it to 37 weeks. I pray that we're blessed with another full term delivery, but just in case I'm making sure to enjoy every moment I can while it's just Harrison and Brooke. I know I'm already looking forward to fall fun with them, and they've been talking about the corn maze and apple orchard quite a bit lately. I think they're excited for it too.

7.30.2015

7.31.2015

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8.19.2015

18 Weeks and Gender Reveal

How Far Along - 18 Weeks 4 Days 
Babies' Size - 5.6 inches, 6.7 ounces, about the size of a sweet potato. Their actual estimated sizes at today's ultrasound are 8 ounces for Baby A and 9 ounces for Baby B
Total Weight Gain - 3 pounds last week and already another pound so far in the 4 days of this week. Total gain is at 17 pounds. All my weight gain is gauged by our at home scale. At my doctor's appointment I was up 9 pounds from my appointment 4 weeks ago, so I think my home estimates are pretty accurate. It's pretty safe to say I'm going to make it to 20 pounds by 20 weeks no problem. 
Maternity Clothes - Maternity clothes and yoga pants are my friends. I can still do a lot on non maternity shirts, and if I really want to pants with my Bella Band, but I'm more comfy in things with extra stretch.
Sleep - Lots of tossing and turning at night, but overall good sleep. I wake up on average 4 times per night to pee, switch positions, or because the babies are kicking me. 
Cravings - Anything that's easy, which could get me in trouble. While frozen burritos are super easy, there's not much nutrition there other than 20 grams of protein. I have quite a few easy dinners planned to make this week, so that should keep things on a healthier track. I posted on Instagram (@jennpargeon) earlier this week that I found Pumkin Noosa at Kroger. I have been eating some every day, and will probably continue to do so until they take it off the shelves. So amazingly good, and at 14 grams of protein, it's a perfect pregnancy snack.
Symptoms - Hip pain and general uncomfortableness sets in right about dinner time most evenings. While I'm still feeling pretty good and the weather is nice, I make sure the kids and I get out to do something most every morning. I pay for it in the evening, but it keeps us all sane, so it's worth it. 
Miss Anything - I'm going to say sleep. Even with almost daily naps, it feels like I'm not getting enough. Harrison waking up and coming into our room almost every night this weeks hasn't helped either.
Looking Forward to - Shopping and going through baby clothes. Now that we know what sex these babies are, I can go through all of Brooke and Harrison's clothes and see what we'll be able to use and what we won't. Since we're in opposite seasons, I know we'll need to supplement with a few warmer pieces in the beginning.
Best Moment this Week - Seeing the babes during the anatomy scan today. Both babies are measuring slightly ahead, and everything looks to be developing properly. Baby A's heartbeat was 143 and Baby B's was 133. It will be another 8 weeks before we see them again, so I'll staring at their sweet ultrasound pictures for the next 8 weeks. 

And now the news everyone has been waiting for. Robbie and Harrison have been firmly in the boy/boy camp for the last couple weeks. Robbie thought it was going to be two boys because when I was pregnant with H and B, I had a dream about boy twins. Harrison had previously thought it was boy/girl twins by switched teams. Brooke originally said she wanted two girls, but switched to one of each about 3 weeks ago. I have been in the boy/girl camp since the beginning, and decided Baby A was a girl and Baby B was a boy at our 10 week ultrasound. Baby A was very active, and Baby B barely moved, just like Brooke and Harrison, although they were B and A respectively.

Sure enough, I've been right this whole time. We are having another boy, Baby B, and another girl, Baby A. We are all very excited, even Harrison. Within 2 minutes of starting our ultrasound, we know Baby B was a boy. While the ultrasound tech was measuring Baby A's head we had a very obvious penis pop into frame. Little man was not shy about letting us know he was there right from the get go. It's a good thing we wanted to know, because he gave us no choice. Baby A waited her turn, but was more than willing to cooperate when it came time for leg measurements and gender determination. 

I can already see lots of Brooke's features in our little baby girl. Baby girl's profile looks very similar to Brooke's. Baby B wasn't to quick to give us a good profile shot because he was too busy sucking his thumb. I didn't even notice it, but the ultrasound tech pointed it out, and sure enough as she moved the wand you could see his fingers with his thumb in his mouth and the small movements of his lips. So adorable. Neither H or B were thumb suckers, or pacifier lovers for that matter, so it will be interesting to see if this little man is. We did finally get a profile pic in the end, and I'm not sure who he looks like. He looks like a baby, I know that.

Our balloon photo shoot yesterday was kind of a cluster, but we got decent shots so I guess that's all that matters. The wind was fighting us, balloons kept getting tangled, and we had a few balloons pop in the process. Since I was feeling boy/girl babies, I had H and B take a few extra b/g pics with all the balloons we had left at the end. I'm glad I did because this is my favorite shot of the day. :)

Cheers to keeping a balanced home!!!!!

Weekend Recap

Hello, and Happy Monday!! I hope you all are having a great start to the week. We had an interesting day to kick things off. While I was cleaning up after lunch today, Brooke tripped and fell in her room and by the time I made it to her, there was blood covering her face and chest. At first I thought she bit all the way through her lip, but thankfully she just fell hard enough to cut both the inside and outside. She was such a trooper through the initial scare and her trip to the doctor, so we had ice cream for dinner. Our weekend was eventful, and thankfully involved way fewer tears.

Saturday we had some morning pool time, early naps, and then we were off to a friend's wedding. The wedding was at a local farm and was complete with goats, sheep, and pigs. A few of the kids' close friends were there, so they got to play with their friends while we hung out with ours. The bride and groom were both gorgeous, and had a lovely event. After the wedding we headed home for chiminea night with our besties. Our church, which is conveniently located in our back yard, had their annual festival complete with a closing fireworks display. We ate s'mores, listened to live music, watched fireworks, laughed the night away, and stayed up way too late.

Not enough sleep and too much chiminea smoke left me feeling rough in the morning, so a big breakfast and coffee was necessary. While the H and B played in their pool, we cleaned up from the party and worked on our tans. I'm seriously sorry to any of our neighbors that were blinded by my big pale belly on display. I promised the kids a trip to the splash pad after naps, so that's how we finished off our evening.

August is my favorite month of the year, and I was excited to kick it off this weekend. I'm looking forward to the last few weeks of pool trips, outdoor concerts, and summer nights. Once September gets here I'll be ready for all things fall, but for now, viva la summer!

17 Weeks

How Far Along - 17 Weeks
Babies' Size - 5.1 inches, 5.9 ounces, about the size of an onion
Total Weight Gain - Another 2 this week, bringing the grand total to 13 gained. I haven't changed my eating habits over the last few weeks, but it seems we've moved from 1 a week to 2 a week. At this rate I may make it to 20 pounds by 20 weeks.
Maternity Clothes - Lots of maternity tanks and yoga pants around the house. Still doing a few pre-preg clothes when I venture outside the house. Trying to make my shorts last as long as possible with the Bella Band. With temps hovering around 90 most days, my maternity jeans are just too hot.
Sleep - Another good week of sleep, although I wish I could get myself to sleep before 11pm. Naps still happen frequently. I can bypass a nap if I drink iced coffee in the morning, but otherwise I'm ready to lay down for a siesta by 1pm.
Cravings - No real cravings this week. I have been thinking about a Chop Chop salad from Catablu for the last couple days, but it hasn't been so bad that I've dashed out to get one. I've been eating bacon, egg, and cheese bagels a lot on the morning, and they've really been hitting the spot. Yay protein!!
Symptoms - My plantar fasciitis has started acting up a lot this week. I think the extra weight is making a big difference. I've been doing my stretches every day, but I'm still feeling lots of pain in my heels. I ordered a sleep boot to try since the usual PT isn't working. Because sleeping isn't hard enough during pregnancy, lets throw in a bulky boot to make things more interesting.
Miss Anything - Nothing this week. We had friends over last night for a chiminea and a few drinks, and I surprisingly didn't wish I had a drink in my hand.
Looking Forward to - We're counting the days until the big ultrasound! 11 more to be exact. I've been trying not to think about names too much since we don't know sexes yet. The babes mostly go by Baby A and Baby B, although we occasionally refer to them as Miles and Maizy. I'm ready to affix a gender and hopefully an agreed upon name to these babes.
Best Moment this Week - There have been quite a few of them. Anything where Harrison and Brooke have been loving on the babies ranks as a best moment of the week. There have been lots of belly kisses, and Brooke got the feel Baby B move, even though she really couldn't feel anything. We were both very excited for her to be feeling on my belly when Baby B was moving around.