The Half-Way Mark

Hello 20 weeks! I can hardly believe how this pregnancy is flying by and how smooth it has been so far! I'm so grateful!

Here are a few highlights thus far:

How we found out: It was a few days before Christmas and I noticed my period was late. This would have only been the 3rd period I had since having Brooklyn and I really believed that maybe I was a little off because I was nursing so much. However I tested anyway and much to my surprise-it was positive! It took several weeks for me to wrap my mind around being pregnant because it was such a shock and I was really nervous considering past issues. Now-we are nothing but thrilled! 

Gender: We had a sonogram at 16 weeks and it's a BOY! Everything looked great and he seemed to be developing just as he should.

Name: Easton James Crouse

Nursery: Maddie is going to move into Brooklyn's room and we are going to turn Easton's room into a sports nursery. It totally fits since his daddy is a coach and his mommy loves baseball so much. (hence the name Easton which is a name brand in baseball sports equipment!) I found some really cute bedding at babies r us and I can't wait to decorate with Ranger's gear, a wood bat I got at the Louisville Slugger museum, and a shadow box that holds his daddy's college soccer jersey!

How I'm feeling: I felt awful for a solid 12 weeks. I never got sick but was constantly nauseated and gagged all the time. I have had terrible heartburn and restless nights. But now, Im starting to feel better. I don't have as much 2nd trimester energy as I have had with my past pregnancies, but I blame that on having two children all ready. (one of which-is barely a one year old!) My thyroid has gotten off several times, which is to be expected, so that can make me feel drained. But once my medicine is adjusted, I typically feel better!

Cravings: A lot of healthy food....salads, grilled chicken, fresh fruit and veggies! At times, I crave something sweet or a cherry vanilla coke from Sonic (which is rare for me considering I hardly ever drink caffeine). Fast food is pretty much a turn-off to me!

Weight gain: At my last appointment, I had gained back the 3 pounds I originally lost, putting me back at my pre-pregnancy weight. It's all uphill from here but Im so excited to be 20 weeks and so much smaller than I ever was with my girls. If I can end this pregnancy, gaining less than 40 pounds, I will be thrilled!

Baby #3 Update

On Monday, Jaime and I went in for our next ultrasound and was so excited to see that heartbeat once again! My doctor said that everything still looked good and Im anxious to make it through the rest of the first tri-mester with no signs of miscarrying. I know, after week 12, the risks decrease greatly. Im currently about 10 1/2 weeks now and have been given the due date of August 28th! Please keep sending prayers for me and this little one as we keep moving forward!



9 Months & A Surprise

Brooklyn bear turned 9 months old yesterday! I can't believe that in a few short months, we will actually be celebrating her 1st birthday! She went for her well-check and here are her stats along with a few other pieces of info about our growing girl:

-weighs 17lbs. 6oz. (30th %) and only 26 inches long. Dr. Smith says you are a petite girl and you are smaller than your sister was at this age.
-wearing 6/9 month clothing and size 3 diapers
-eating 3 good meals a day. You can easily eat stage 2 1/2 foods (which is something new since having Maddie) and can even slowly handle some stage 3 foods. You can self feed yourself a snack but only if it's something large, i.e. a cracker or cheetoh puff. You rely on my help if it's a smaller baby snack. You also still nurse but we are trying to wean you onto a sippy cup. This has not been a fun process!
-Your good sleeping habits have been interrupted as of late. We are blaming the weaning process and teething. You use to sleep through the night and take two great naps. Now, for about 2 weeks, you have been waking up every night atleast once and taking only semi good naps. Im a little worn out and ready for you to adjust back to sleeping well!
-You have 2 teeth coming through on the bottom and will probably have 2 on the top before we know it.
-You can officially crawl and pull up. We've lowered your bed all the way down now.
-learning to sign the word "more"
-will say "dada", "ma" and will sometimes imitate us if we clap our hands

You have, so far, been a very healthy girl. Other than the sniffles from time to time, you haven't been sick. Praise the Lord! Now knock on wood, that that lucky streak only continues!

It's become increasingly more difficult to get a good picture of you these days because you will not stay still. But here are a few:



A few days before Christmas, I began to have a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach. That weird feeling progressed into me taking a home pregnancy test and much to my surprise, this is what I saw:



I almost fainted! We were very much not trying to get pregnant, but low and behold, pregnant we are! I remained in a state of shock for several days. My risk of miscarriages and hard pregnancies always puts such fear in me. Now what was I going to do?!?!? Could my body even handle another pregnancy right now?!?!?! I was really nervous. But after talking with Jaime, my parents, and a few close friends...the consensus was finally this: that this 100% has to be in the Lord's plan because it certainly wasn't in ours! Once again, He is reminding me that I am not the one in control and He can handle anything. We've since been to an early sonogram with my doctor to check for viability. We weren't able to see much because it's so early, but inside the gestational sac was a faint little flicker. We saw a heartbeat! That's always a good sign and I am praying that I can continue to make it through the first trimester, especially, with no signs of miscarriage. For now, we think that this baby is due sometime around the end of August. Between now and then, we are just taking it one day at a time at praying a lot! We would welcome any and all prayers that we can get for a smooth pregnancy and healthy baby!