Happy fall!! Its officially the autumn season! & Oh my goodness! Are we really at the end of our second trimester? I still wake up some days feeling like its all a dream, until Baby H kicks my ribs to remind me that it is certainly real. We have decided to keep his name private (at-least from the social media world) until his birth, since we share a lot of our journey online, we wanted to keep some things to ourselves before sharing him with the world. 

It has definitely been an amazing journey thus far. A bit overwhelming at times, emotional even, but I wouldn't have it any other way. John and I have definitely created a whole new bond during this pregnancy. He's become a lot more protective thats for sure. Now that we're entering our last and final trimester, I just want to quickly look back and reflect on some things I've learned/experienced throughout this pregnancy so far. 

Im not a fan of...

Gas (& gas bubbles)- I was never a gassy person, but boy oh boy! Since getting pregnant I've definitely felt like a man.. burping and farting very often. John just laughs and jokes with me and says "Ew! Thats not very lady like!" But he's just teasing of course. He calls himself the fart king, and he says I am now the fart queen, and Pax too has been gassy. He says we'll be a family of farters. Haha! Its a little embarrassing when Im in the store, and I have to try and hold it until no one is around. =X

Bloody Nose - this was definitely a first for me! I don't know what causes mine, but its not the usual runny ones. My nose for a while has been very congested and dry. I read that some mommy-to-be's experience this, so Im assuming its normal. I will definitely have to ask my doc about it at my next appointment. 

Insomnia - this is the most frustrating one! Since about 22 weeks, my sleep patterns have been out of whack. I hear people talk about not getting enough sleep after the baby is born, but no one ever really talked about experiencing it during pregnancy. The first few weeks I started experiencing lack of sleep wasn't even because of the baby, I just couldn't seem to get my mind to shut up! 

Shortness of breathe - Lately, breathing is a struggle. I'm not sure if its him hanging out and squishing my lungs, but sometimes I have trouble breathing. It reminds me of cheer when Id get dropped from the air. Im constantly trying to catch my breathe. I could be sitting down and run out breathe. Its worse at night when Im laying down, mainly when Im laying on my left side. It drives me crazy. I definitely have a lot questions and concerns to address with at my next doctors visit. 

I love...

Movements - I started feeling movements very early, around 17 weeks, but they didnt get stronger and more frequent til about 20 weeks or later. I used to feel the most movements just before bed time now its all day. His kicks are getting stronger that sometimes it catches me off guard and Im like "whoa, what was that?" I can also see my tummy move up and down from my peripheral vision. Its so funny because he wont let me record him. As soon as I press record, he stops. His popcorn like kicks are my favorites because they don't hurt. The ones that are in waves and are slow, those are somewhat painful. It still amazes me that a life is growing inside of me. Its definitely a reminder that I am never alone. When I start to feel lonely because John's stuck at work, baby's kicks makes it all better. Lately, he's been snuggled up next to ribs or way below near my pelvic area and boy, do they hurt! He mainly hangs out on the left side during the day and then the right side at night. John is really good at figuring out where he is. He's been more responsive to his dada too. Before he'd shy away and stop moving as soon as John puts his hands on my tummy. But now, he lets his dada know that he can hear or feel him. 

My non-existent stretch marks - I dont know if its still too soon, but I am glad to say I have none. John has more stretch marks near his butt than I do! Haha! 

Being an outtie - Odd I know! But I have been waiting for my belly button to finally pop out, and it has! I usually check at night after I brush my teeth to see if it has poked out yet! I looked down two weeks ago and saw that it was slowly starting to stick out and when it finally did I went out of the bathroom with a big 'ol smile and showed John and said "LOOOK! My belly button is out!" We both started laughing. That just means my belly has definitely gotten bigger! Some people still say I'm small, but hello, I was petite to begin with! I love how big my belly is, its big for me. 

Compliments - People tell me that pregnancy looks good on me. I love getting compliments especially on days when I dont feel very pretty and instead feel really huge. I also like hearing it when its from random strangers when Im out running errands. I get the "Aww! you're such a cute preggo! When I get pregnant, I wanna be as cute as you!" I've gotten that twice! Or I'll be out with John and ill walk by people and they'll say "Did you guys see her? What a cute preggo." And i'll just look back and smile at them! Definitely a good ego booster! 

Im glad...

That this pregnancy has been going great and normal thus far, aside from being mildly anemic that is. Which Im currently taking iron supplements on top of my prenatals. But thats nothing new to me. Ive been diagnosed with anemia before, back in 8th grade. No major concerns gets brought up during doctor visits, so I guess its a good thing. I've also only gained 16 lbs so far, which I think is where Im supposed to be. I've got 12 more weeks to put on some weight. Yikes! I was told I should be gaining one pound every week from now on. That means by the end of this pregnancy, I should have gained around 25-30 lbs. Wowsers! I think all the weight has gone to my belly (& boobs, these babies have definitely grown! My bras are getting much much tighter nowadays!)  I'm one of those pregnant ladies where if you saw me from behind you would never guess Im pregnant! 

I know these next 12 weeks are going to fly by just like the first two trimester did! I've definitely been trying to treasure every single moment and experience, both good and bad. I told myself before that if we ever fell pregnant again that I was not going to let the bad outweigh the good. So I promised myself from the start that I will not let the negative parts of pregnancy keep me from enjoying this experience. I keep telling John that once baby is out, I know there will be days when I'm going to miss him being in my belly. So Im embracing it, rubbing it, and enjoying it, no matter how painful it may be. Its funny cuz Baby H isn't even out yet, and John's already talking about the next baby. Slow your roll, buddy! 

To Baby H, 

I can't wait to meet you. I haven't met you yet, but you've already made me fall so deeply in love with you. You've already changed the course of my life in more ways than one, in a good way of course. I love you son.

Love, 

Mommy

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Dada's thoughts: Its been a while since I got to write anything, work schedules has been a little crazy. I'm just going to make this short. Momma is starting to not sleep so well.   Baby H seems like he's either working on his black belt or breakdancing, or maybe both? I always joke with Jenn that the baby will come out with the karate stance. Also now that baby is getting bigger, Momma's back is starting to become more sore than usual.  You know what that means, more time for me to work on my massage hands.

So, I was told baby can hear me better now.  I wonder what kind of music he likes? We sometimes put my earphones on Momma's tummy and let him listen to songs. I get a kick out of watching him move through Jenn's stomach. Its so alien like. It used to freak me out, but now Im used to it.