Pregnancy Journal: Week 21

Excuse my absence to the blogging world, I have been working and thinking of a plan of sorts for this blog. I hope to soon have a new blogging home and a more regular posting schedule about life, health, food and raising babies. Stay posted for that!





Week 21 is upon us! Over the half way mark! I cannot believe how fast this pregnancy has gone by and I know the holidays are coming up and once those pass it will be time to kick into baby gear. We found out this week we are having another GIRL! Hello MORE pink!! We are thrilled but a little surprised. I had totally convinced myself it was a boy, and most people agreed with me. There are so many things different about this pregnancy and I was so sure Ava was a girl that I just knew I would be right this time. But, I was wrong! I'm so glad Ava will have a sister that will be around 23 younger then her. I love that she will have a friend for life and I hope and pray they are best buddies!





I am feeling good for the most part! Finally! I have little to no nausea and am only getting sick a couple times a week now. Sounds like allot but I will take that any day over constant nausea!! I have reached the, there is no doubt I am pregnant and not just gaining weight around my middle phase. I love feeling her move more and more every day and sometimes when she is really excited I can feel her kicking from the outside. Seeing the sonogram I was again amazed at her little face, legs, spine, arms, chambers of the heart and all the other body parts you can see. I have seen many sonograms going through midwifery school but never cease to be amazed at how "fearfully and wonderfully" made we are!



Now that I am feeling better and have more energy most days my goal is to get back into more of an exercise routine, I hate that I loose that the first couple months of pregnancy but just the idea of it tires me out! I has been nice outside so we have walked some and I hope to pick up some workout DVDs at the library. If you have any good pregnancy exercises you did let me know! We are also on the name hunt! I was so convinced it was a boy that I had only looked at boy names, so now we are starting from scratch with girl names. I so wish names just came to you some magic way and we could have some cool story about how we got the name. Who knows maybe it will! :-)

What's Cookin?

Well, I guess technically lots is cookin around our house but what I was referring to was my plan and effort to get back to cooking more and the dreaded...meal planning! I can grocery shop all day long and stick to my budget but meal planning is a whole different animal for me. I like being spontaneous and I have to be in the mood to certain foods, and how on earth am I going to know a week in advance what I am in mood for? So my plan has been to shop and plan 5 dinners and then of course all the other things we need to breakfast, lunch and snacks. I started last week and it was a success and kept us from going out to eat! I'm always looking for good ways to get more raw vegetables in our diet but also simple and tasty recipes. This kale salad has become a new favorite in our house and I'm thrilled about that! I had never tasted raw kale but liked it cooked so I was a little hesitant. It is wonderful! Today for lunch I shredded a cabbage and then dressed it with this recipe of dressing and toppings and it was amazing! I love the sweet yet tangy flavors all blended together! Really, you should try it. Don't let kale scare you.

Photo Credit

Trimesters and Toddlers!

We made it, I am 14 weeks today which means the 2nd trimester has arrived! I was hoping that the first day of week 13 would be a magic day but it wasn't. I have slowly noticed my nausea becoming less and less though which I am SO happy about. I haven't gotten that burst of 2nd trimester energy yet but I am still holding out. Last night I was at a birthday party for a friend and ate so much food, grass fed steak, a loaded baked potato and kale salad. I looked down at my plate and laughed saying I think my appetite has returned! I devoured the food and when I got home Jeremy commented on my belly having popped. I think it was the dinner more then baby! I am starting to feel pregnant more every day, still wearing my normal clothes but by the evening I am usually popping the button on my jeans to let baby get some air. I don't remember exactly but I think around 20 weeks is when I started pulling out maternity clothes with Ava. I have thought several times this week that I felt baby move and then realize it is just my stomach. I'm ready to start feeling that but didn't feel Ava move until about 17 weeks.

Here is a little sneak peak of my adorable ALL girl toddler! This is a normal look for her when we are going to leave the house. She must wear her shoes and its not uncommon to see her in pajamas with her pink crocs on. She loved necklaces, hats, bracelets and always has to take her bag when we leave the house. She keeps me laughing that is for sure! Poor thing has been sick for the last week but is finally back to her active chatty self.

I was in the process and almost done weaning Ava when she got sick this last week. She ran a fever on and off for a week and was lethargic so I encouraged her to nurse as much as she wanted. So, we are starting back at the beginning I feel with this whole weaning this. I was glad to be able to comfort her when she was sick and as much as I don't think I will miss nursing her I will miss being able to comfort her like that. Her appetite has grown so much since starting to wean her which I was really hoping for because she has never been a big eater. Ava turned 16 months last week and has a list of words she can say now and daily adds to that list. I love this stage and am trying to enjoy every moment I have in the next 5 1/2 months with just her.

12 Weeks!

Hello last week of my 1st trimester! You couldn't have come soon enough!! I REALLY hope this next trimester lives up to all I have hoped it will!!

We traveled up north to see family for a couple weeks this month and it was a grand vacation! A nice break from the heat and a nice break for this Momma. There were many willing hands to help chase my ever moving toddler and boy was that nice! I got in a couple naps, slept a little later then normal, had wonderful meals I didn't have to cook and enjoyed a nice cool breeze on the porch every morning. Yes it was divine! But, anyone who has a toddler or kids at all for that matter knows that vacation is a relative term when you have said kids in tow. Ava doesn't exactly sleep well away from home and has been like that since she was tiny, I was on the tail end of nursing her and this trip did me in! The weaning process was planned for once we got home and this trip made me more then ready to begin that process. Just being honest people, don't judge!

Ok, so back to being 12+ weeks pregnant, I felt great most of the time we were gone which was wonderful! It all changed the day we traveled home and the days following that. It was horrid. I don't suggest traveling newly pregnant, nausea's and with a toddler. I don't think I have ever been so ready to get off a plan as I was that day! I headed straight for the bathroom to *ahem* discharge anything I had eaten or drank that day. I got a couple funny looks when I came out of the stall! For almost a week after getting home I felt like I had gone backwards and was 7 weeks pregnant again. Just yesterday I have started to feel human again and am hoping this lasts.

Today I actually cleaned the bathroom, went to lunch with a friend, grocery shopped and cleaned out my fridge as I put all the groceries away. Can someone say productive day?! I am counting on waking up one day SOON and feeling a burst of energy and not having to spend the entire day tired from doing nothing. On a more wonderful note, I got to hear bitty babies heartbeat on Friday! It made everything seem less of a bother and reminded my why this whole process is SO worth it!

I hope to post some adorable pictures of my hilarious toddler, but I have to take some first! I need to get on that and once I have a belly to show I will post that too. At this point there is nothing there. I'm enjoying that while it lasts! Happy almost middle of the week friends!

Week 9

We are moving along over here and you will have to forgive my absence to this blog. You see when I sit down at the computer I suddenly become more nausea's then I already was. The thought of sitting here and composing a post hasn't set well with me. My goal this week was to blog, just once! So here I am...propped up in bed with my chamomile tea and some of Ava's natural gluten free animal crackers...blogging!

Week 9 of our bitty baby has arrived! I can't believe how fast this is moving along, I honestly thought it would move soooo sloooowww this time, but I was wrong! Don't get me wrong being home all day with a VERY active toddler and feeling green and exhausted has made for some VERY long days but we have survived. My poor husband has heard more then his fare share of whining of my part, yet he still comes home from work cooks us dinner most nights and then puts Ava to bed. Yes, I have a good one ladies! I have been feeling very pregnant these last couple weeks. I was just at the point of thinking I might just cruise through this pregnancy morning sickness free, and then it hit! Literally that fast and I was down for the count. But I am seeing a light at the end of the tunnel! More good days this week and no puking which is nice!

According to medical science our baby has reached the "fetus" stage, it never ceases to amaze me that at an inch long this baby is beginning to look like a baby. Arms, legs, a beating heart, eyes and all the internal organs are forming. Wow, no wonder I'm tired all the time! I am counting the weeks till that second trimester hits and hoping and praying it is all I have hoped it to be!

I plan to do a better job of documenting this pregnancy then I have so far! Hopefully with this nausea taking a hike soon that will become a reality!

Baby News!

Yes, it's true! We are soon going to be a family of 4! Jeremy and I could not be more thrilled! In March this will become a reality, what a crazy yet amazing journey we are on!

I am 6 weeks right now and so far so good! Until today I haven't felt any different other then more tired and starving hungry all the time. Then today my stomach has been turning circles and reminding me how much is going on in my body right now. I am still nursing Ava and hope to continue that through the 1st trimester at least. That has added a whole new level of hormones to my body! Since we found out I was pregnant I have felt like my hormones are having an out of body experience! I don't even know what I am at times...happy, sad, mad, confused! I really do feel bad for my husband lately and hope these raging things settle down some soon! I feel like my baby stomach is already wanting to poke through, something that is totally different then when I was pregnant with Ava. Life with a toddler will for sure make this pregnancy go fast, she keeps me busy and I don't have time to sit around and think about how bad I feel or how much longer I have. For that I am grateful!

Speaking of that little toddler, she is awake from nap and needing some play time so I'm off to play!

CrockPot Rotisserie Chicken

Crock Pot Rotisserie Chicken

This is a recipe I have told many people about because of how easy it is, most have asked for the recipe so I thought I would post it here. I am always looking for creative ways to cook chicken that is full of flavor and this recipe has currently won in our house! I have stopped buying chicken parts and only buy whole chickens. They are better for you and much more cost effective. The chicken is so much tastier and healthier when it is cooked around a bone and with the skin on it. Plus, I LOVE a good crunchy chicken skin!

1 whole chicken, (4-5 pounds)

2 tsp salt

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

4 whole garlic cloves

1 yellow onion, quartered

Olive or coconut oil

In a bowl, combine all of dried spices. Rub oil on the bird to coat it then the spice mixture all over, inside and out. Put the bird breast-side down into the crock pot. Put 4 whole garlic cloves and a quartered onion inside the bird. Do not add water. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours, or on low for 8. The meat is done when it is fully cooked and has reached desired tenderness. The longer you cook it, the more tender the meat.