what's up?!

okay, NOW I'm 25 weeks along! and boy, can i feel it. seems like suddenly juliet is more active than ever, aaaand i am having horrible lower back pains....i'm talking the kind that are so low it feels like the top of the butt cheek! yeee-ouch!! 

juliet is the size of an eggplant, according to my ticker. and here's a lil' sumpin' sumpin' i snatched off a website...

From crown to rump your baby measures at 9 inches, and weighs about 1 and 1/4 lbs.    Your baby can touch and hold her feet. Her nostrils which have been plugged open up now. Baby is beginning to explore her environment and structures inside the uterus

and this...

You are now in your third trimester - with this comes fatigue, dizziness and trips to the washroom. Your uterus is now the size of a soccer ball with your ribs and diaphragm and stomach all compressed. This compression causes you to feel full after eating just a little food. With the weight gain chances for developing hemorrhoids rises. You may have cramps in your calves, back and tailbone as your ligaments softens. Your lung capacity is continuing to increase this month - this change allows your blood to carry oxygen in and carbon dioxide out at an increased rate. Breathing slightly faster and experiencing some shortness of breath can be expected

jim left the night before Easter for some military training. i miss him sorely. it's bittersweet, having such a best friend for a husband. when he is away, i get by just fine....it's just that there is an achey longing for him that never dissipates. i'm so glad we were able to get away this past weekend to celebrate our 5th anniversary. with the help of my sister (watching all four kiddos!), we escaped to our favorite getaway - the chinaberry hill inn B&B. we stayed in the same room we enjoyed our honeymoon night, 5 years ago. we had such a wonderful time. sadly, they are looking to sell....so it may have been our final stay. who knows, maybe we can squeeze in one more getaway before that happens? i hope so...

24 weeks

for some reason i thought i was 25 weeks along. nope! i'm currently in my 24th week and it feels like this pregnancy is taking forever. and that's a good thing! if this is going to be my last pregnancy (aaand, now that i'm finally feeling good again), i want to savor and enjoy every moment. i can feel juliet moving all the time, and i love it! there is some sadness, knowing i will never feel this again...so i am relishing in it while i can. 

so here's the bod. people keep asking for belly shots and i feel like if you've seen one (of mine), you've seen them all. i have the belly progression here on this blog for all to see, and although it's from my pregnancy with jackson, i pretty much look the same at this point. i'll take occasional belly shots for juliet's sake, but don't feel the need to take them as i have in the past. 

still no stretch marks...yay! i've never had 'em and hope i never will - especially since this is my last pregnancy! that would be awful if i got them after all this time! *knock on wood*

zumba baby!

I may be crazyyyy, but... I've been doing a LOT of Zumba lately!! Perhaps I'm subconsciously trying to make up for those 4 months of being stuck at home, sick? I am sooo loving being back, although I must say I only feel comfortable when I am completely dressed in black - it's slimming, ya'll! I feel like a whale if I wear anything else, and I've tried! Strangely enough, I feel like I burn more, have better energy, when I am wearing all black....maybe because I feel less self-conscious that way?

This week has been particularly coo-coo. I went to Zumba Monday morning and again that evening. I was back at the gym Tuesday night for both evening classes. This morning (Wednesday), I felt exhausted and nauseated but made myself hit the gym, anyway. I figured I never regret going so... But MAN, class was soooo difficult!! I felt extremely fatigued for the entire hour. Honestly, I don't know how Michaela does it (teaching class no matter how she's feeling). If that had been my class, it would've been awful. My energy was so low and I was miserable. But..I powered through. Afterwards, Michaela and I (and Jackson) went to Subway for lunch. I needed fuel for my bod!! I felt better but continued to feel major fatigue for the rest of the day. Amazingly, despite feeling awful, I taught Zumba tonight. Crazyyy Ellen!!! I took a power nap and ate some healthy food for energy, beforehand. I was worried because as I was about to leave for the Church (to teach), I was still feeling terrible. Thank goodness some energy found me and we had a great class! Phew! I've missed teaching, and I feel like my confidence grows each time.....even though it's just by a little bit.

It's fun to take Juliet to all these Zumba classes with me. *giggle* She moves around a lot when class is over. I tell you, this girl is going to come out dancing!  I am 23 weeks and 2 days pregnant and about 143 pounds. I am so glad I feel well enough (finally) to exercise and eat healthier. Before, I was only eating whatever I was craving and it was usually bad for me. I want to enjoy this pregnancy and won't stress about it, but I also want to be healthy and fit. I don't want to have a lot of work to do (on my bod) once Juliet is born. One thing I've really enjoyed about going back to the gym is when people ask me about my pregnancy and discover I'm not having my first or second baby, but my fifth. Of COURSE it makes me feel good! I tend to feel old and fat so it's always nice to hear compliments.

Well, it's late - time to get myself some Z's (if Juliet lets me)!

changes!

what a difference a week makes!!

in the past week, i have felt less nauseous. in fact...i felt good enough to make a last-minute trip to the monthly zumba party! it was so fun. it felt amazingggg to be with my friends (although i was disappointed not everyone was there) and dance the night away with them! i didn't feel great, and thought i might only last a couple songs...but surprisingly i danced every song! i guess the adrenaline took over. after the party, a few of us went to mama stortini's for happy hour. wow, the food is divine! and again, it was so nice to be with my friends again. heck...it was just nice to be OUT at all!!

i have continued to feel better. better, not perfect...but i am so very happy. i am finally starting to enjoy this pregnancy! on sunday, we skipped church and spent some much-needed family time together. jim and i slept in together, which rarely happens. after lunch, we took off to bremerton and (after grabbing some subway) took a ferry into seattle. in seattle, we dropped by the yellow leaf cupcake company and ate some scrumptious cupcakes. ooooh, la la they are so tasty! i had the lemon lavendar. mmm!! i felt kinda icky the entire time (except when i am eating, which is why i'm constantly eating something). we headed home and i made pork chops in a homemade marinade and coated in pork shake'n'bake. they were gooood. we watched "here comes the boom" as a family then had scripture study - the story of david in the lion's den. wonderful sunday!

monday was the BIG day - the day we found out what we're having!! i've been referring to this baby as "she" for so long...i was nervous the sex would be different than what i was hoping for (and what i felt it was). my awesome sister, trisha, came over to stay with the kids while jim (who worked from home that day) and i went to the ultrasound appointment. it was fun being alone together, like a little date! i sure love that man of mine!! the ultrasound took about an hour and we were so lucky to get a cd of 94 images - wow! in all my pregnancies, i've never had a cd! plus, she gave us a longg strip of printed images. she was quite generous! it was such a joy for us to watch the baby move around on the screen. we were super giddy. finally, at the very end, she revealed the gender. it's a GIRL!!! we can't wait to meet juliet marie conner.

after the appointment, we hurried home to relieve trisha (and share with her the good news). jim headed  out with the kids to pick jessica up from cheer practice while i went to the party store and bought four white boxes to fill with an assortment of pink candies as a way of revealing the gender to our kids. as soon as i arrived home, i put them together and gathered the kids on the couch. all at once, they opened them. i don't think anyone was too surprised...we all wanted a girl and even felt like it was going to be a girl. after the big reveal...i was off to zumba!!! first class in over four months!! it was awesome, of course. kinda strange, being there with a big belly now, but awesome nonetheless...

nom nom nom...

19 weeks pregnant, tomorrow...and still nauseous. *sigh*

i only feel well better when i am eating something, and that "something" is usually not a carrot stick...

so, i am trying to just be fine with the fact that i am heavier than i'd like to be at this point. i am trying to remind myself that, since this is the last time i'll ever be pregnant, to enjoy it...even the nauseousness. yeah - easier said than done. but...

...when i feel that sweet little flutter inside my belly, suddenly the nausea doesn't seem so bad. it feels worth it. it becomes easier to endure. and those baby flutters always seem to happen precisely when i need them to. my baby seems to know when i am worried...or when i am feeling extra icky. those tiny thumps felt right below my belly button instantly calm, reassure & strengthen me. 

i have no idea when this nausea will end. perhaps i'll feel sick the entire time. i have never felt sick for this long in any of my previous pregnancies. so i now move into uncharted territory, and will keep munching on the journey....

valentine's day

woohoo!! 18 weeks and 3 days pregnant!! still nauseous, but that hasn't kept me from taking care of my four children, keeping house, and being a red hot valentine for my sweetheart! *rawr*

i was up at 6am valentine's day morning and prepared a breakfast feast for my whole family...including freshly squeezed orange juice for my love. i'd given him an orange a few days earlier (celebrating 14 days of love leading up to V-day). it had a note attached, saying, "you're my main squeeze!" with that, the promise of freshly squeezed OJ...and i make good on my promises.

jim left for work and as i went about my morning, i found surprise gifts. first, see's candies on my driver's seat on the way to take the kids to the bus stop. and later, a big pink box was sitting in my window when i drew back the curtains of my bedroom. he's so sweet to remember...my favorite perfume!

later that evening, i waited outside olive garden for my sweetheart to arrive. i'm so glad i got there early because there was over an hour wait. jim was already on his way from seattle. when he finally came into view, my heart leapt inside my chest. yes...the sight of him still does that to me after all these decade (inside joke).

so i was feeling quite nauseous as we waited but it was so worth the wait. we actually were seated earlier than expected, and the food came quickly. ohhhh man, it was good. and even it tasted even better knowing we were paying with a gift card from my parents! haha...

we are getting soooo excited about the upcoming ultrasound. last night, we lay in bed talking and i could feel the baby moving around. it was so fun. just when i worry that i'm not feeling anything anymore, she stirs - yes, i feel like this baby is a girl.

impatience!

okay, people. i am almost 17 weeks pregnant now and gettin' antsy!! i thought i'd be feeling better by now. nope...still quite nauseous, all day long. the ultrasound is just a few weeks away!! we are soooo looking forward to finding out the sex of the baby. i just hope i feel normal again at that time, and that i also have my energy back. i've never felt sick past 18 weeks and that's just around the corner.

the other thing i am impatient for...feeling the baby move! i thought i felt something last week but then i always second guess myself. but it didn't feel like anything else. it will be so fun when feeling the baby wiggle around in there becomes a constant thing. i *love* that part!

i'm also impatient about getting back to exercising. i feel way too sick for that right now. i miss zumba!!! i miss having energy and being active!

basically...i am still waiting to get to that point where i really enjoy this pregnancy. not there yet!