Hiccup at 28 weeks

Well, here we go! 

The 3rd trimester!!

Today I hit 28 weeks.

I know I still have 12 weeks left until the big "40" but I can't help but feel like 28 weeks is finally kind of far into this pregnancy thing. Yay for that!

So I thought I'd just give you a rundown of how things are going at this point. I love reading weekly updates on various blogs, matter of fact, its how I celebrate reaching a whole new week. I like to compare my progress to what other people experienced at about the same point, but I'm starting to realize this may not be the best idea. A lot of times it leads to questioning whether or not my pregnancy is going accordingly, making it rather stressful at times. Not so good. 

I've been trying so hard to keep up with life. Work, exercise, making meals, and trying to eat/drink enough every day. My last run was two weeks ago. Oh how I wish I could be one of the girls that was able to run throughout her whole pregnancy. But honestly, it really got to the point where it DID NOT feel right. On days I would run, I wouldn't feel the baby move very much and also would have more contractions. Two things I think were good signs that it was time for me to call it quits on running for the next 3 months. I kept telling myself that I would try again when I wasn't working quite as much and could rest more throughout the day. I'm starting to realize that's just not going to happen. So instead I began to rely on long/inclined walks on the treadmill, core and workout videos. I felt like I was getting a really good workout from the three combined and I was satisfied. I haven't been able to do any of the 3 for the past few days, I hope that changes at some point though! More on that in a bit...

Gaining weight was one thing I feared before ever getting pregnant. I have ALWAYS been very health conscious, some times a little obsessive, about calorie consumption and the quality of those calories. I have actually surprised myself throughout this pregnancy. I haven't feared weight gain like I thought I would. I actually welcome it becomes it means baby is growing and I'm progressing as I should. So far I have gained 11 pounds. It's a little low at this point in pregnancy and my midwife says I need to get in more calories throughout the day. Easier said than done. But I am trying! 

In early December I started having random contractions. Just figured they were braxton hicks that I had heard so much about. The day after arriving Arizona, I had very consistent contractions. They say you should call in to the office if you are having more than 4 an hour. On this particular day I probably had 10 an hour. Finally that night I decided to call. Ended up going in to get checked the next day and concluded everything was okay. They continued randomly throughout the next month. 

During work last week, I had more than usual but just figured it was all part of the deal. By Saturday they didn't feel quite right so I left work early so I could go home and rest. Sunday they continued randomly but nothing too bad. Around 3:30 am early Monday morning I woke up having more. Fell back asleep then woke up again around 4:15. They had become consistent every few minutes and were starting to hurt. I finally woke up Joey to help me. After heat pads and liberal doses of Lavender and Frankincense essential oils I was able to fall asleep close to 6 am. I woke up a couple hours later, rested before getting up but still had a few more. I was already scheduled to meet with my midwife that day so I waited for that. I was measuring a little behind so she ultimately decided I should go to the hospital to be monitored for a bit. I thought we'd be there for maybe an hour max. Yeah not so much. They monitored the baby's heart beat (nice and strong) and my contractions. It was super interesting to feel the contractions happening and seeing the line on the screen go up. Though I wanted them to stop! They did an ultrasound, and our little guy had grown so much in the past 10 weeks. We loved being able to see him again! Ultimately they ended up deciding they needed to give me some medication to stop/slow down the contractions. The nurse injected my arm with one call Terbutaline. She said it may make me feel shaky. Understatement of the century! Within minutes my heart was about to pound out of my chest and my whole body was a shaking mess. It was awful. They also gave me a capsule of another drug call Vistaril. 

Let me just say, I HATE taking any medications. As soon as she came in with the syringe of Terbutaline I was grilling her with questions, what is this going to do to the baby? Will it slow down his heart beat or increase it? Will he be agitated? IS THIS OKAY FOR HIM?!? I was a wreck. I hated not being able to research what they were giving me! Made me even more passionate about not using meds when it comes time for birth.

I left the hospital 4 hours later, with 2 prescriptions in hand. One to help the uterus relax (Vistaril)and an antibiotic (macrobid) to treat a potential UTI. That dang injected drug made me feel so crappy. After talking to my mom about it, she pretty much guessed what drug they gave me. Turns out she was on it for a WHOLE MONTH when pregnant and on bed rest with me. I can't even imagine. We got home around 6:30 and I was asleep on the couch by 7:15. 

I'm still waiting to hear the results of the various tests they did. One of the nurses kept talking about being on bed rest and how it would be worth it in the end. I definitely agree that all of this is worth it to meet our healthy baby boy, however PLEASE don't talk about bed rest. I am praying it doesn't come to that and that he just stays put for at least 9 more weeks.

Anyone else have any experiences like this?? Or used any of those drugs I mentioned?? Would LOVE to hear from you! 

So excited and thankful to one day meet our little man!!  Just praying he waits a couple more months!

Christmas Holiday

Two days after Joe finished up his finals, we hit the road for the great state of Arizona! We left super early, drove ALL day to Santa Fe, stayed the night there then got up early for the final 6 1/2 hours to Gilbert. 19 1/2 total hours of driving and we were there! I was 22 weeks pregnant at that point and man was I feeling it! The drive traumatized me a bit in that regard so I was dreading doing it again to get home to Lincoln. 

We had a wonderful time being home with our families. We tried to soak up all the time we could get with everyone, spent waaaay too much time on the couch getting sucked into Parenthood on Netflix, had delicious food, got sick (boooo!), celebrated Christmas multiple times, and even fell asleep at 11 on New Years Eve. Yes I know, we are p-a-r-t-y animals!

We also bought our first baby items there. Craigslist is SO much better in AZ than in Nebraska so we took advantage. We ended up buying our car seat, 2 strollers (including a NEW BOB JOGGING STROLLER for a smokin' deal that I am pretty much dying to use!), a super cute new crib, and various other little baby items. The first week was spent waking up early every day scouring the latest craigslist ads. 

If you live in AZ and are buying a crib, or really anything, any time soon heres a tip - we went to this store on Val Vista and Baseline called Shoppers Outlet. They are only open Thursday - Saturday with each day getting progressively higher in discounts applied to the WHOLE store. They have so much random stuff, baby items are just a smidge of what they carry. GO THERE! You will likely find something you need/want. All of the items are rejects or leftovers from Amazon. We got our brand new crib that is normally $200 for less than a hundred, including tax!! Awesome. 

Anyways, now for the good part. Pictures!

We took family pictures since this was the first time the whole family had been together in almost 3 years. Crazy to see how many grandkids are born in 6 years!

Bennett and his suspenders!! Too cute to handle!!

Baby boy Grimes was spoiled! We should have showed off the ridiculously awesome elbow patches on the yellow/gray cardigan! Jimmy and Meghan's other gift just arrived this week, a super cute Pack N' Play! 

Christmas night with the Grimes! 

This was also when we had to say "see ya later" to Rochelle and Eric until July! They left to Taiwan to teach English the next morning. So excited for them and their grand adventure!!!

Birthday celebration for Kate (middle). 

Nana and Kate share the same birthday, January 3rd, so we celebrated before we left town!

My mother-in-law, Vicki, is pretty much AWESOME! For Christmas she surprised us with the cutest, softest, swaddler (left) along with burp cloths. She and Corinne (sister-in-law) also filled my maternity closet! Finally some jeans and tops that fit right!! I was so taken back and excited!! A couple days later, Vicki took Joe and I to pick out fabric for a baby quilt and crib bumper. The next night, she surprised me with a totally finished and adorable crib bumper she made!!!!!! Also, a crib skirt to go with it!!!!!! A-m-a-z-i-n-g I tell you!!! I am sooo grateful for these perfect items made with love for her first grandbaby! We will love it all forever!

Our trip was perfect (minus all of the sickness that seemed to be running rampant throughout the LeSueur family) and it flew by. The road trip home wasn't nearly as bad as driving there thankfully and we were welcomed with snow covered grounds. Beautiful! We were so excited to be home in Lincoln!