Great Expectations II: 33 weeks

How Far: 33 weeks

Weight/ Clothes: My weight stayed pretty much the same from my last check up, up about a pound...so I'm in a good place according to my midwife. I'm glad things have slowed down some in that department. My guess is I'll come in right at what I did with Levi.

This dress was my Mother's Day gift from Adam. I love it and need a few more excuses to wear it before Jellybean is born!

Cravings: Watermelon! I'm loving some watermelon. YUMMY!! We actually got one from the Haymarket...my first experience buying produce there. It was wonderfully sweet! I'm very happy with my first Haymarket buying experience. I'm going to have to shop there more often cause you can get quite the bargain on some produce.

Gender: Just trying to find the perfect take home outfit for Jellybean ... I've found something I like that is a variation on what we brought Levi home in, but sadly I've yet to find it in newborn size...so the hunt continues. Fingers crossed I can track down what I want or it's back to the drawing board.

Movement: Nothing new in terms of movement...active little guy even as space gets tighter and tighter.

Symptoms: This is the first week I've started having a hard time turning over in bed as if the whole sleeping thing wasn't already a bit of a challenge. Guess it's good practice for those sleepless nights that are once again headed our way. The good news is even those will ease up eventually.

I also spotted my first possible stretch mark of this pregnancy. I was really lucky with Levi that I didn't have any when all was said and done though I did see a couple lurking here and there at different points, SO I'm moisturizing A LOT and hoping to stave them off like I was able to do last time. We'll see how it goes.

Mental State: We took maternity pictures this week at Crane Beach in Ipswich. We had never been to that beach, but we'd heard it was lovely. Thankfully we could not have asked for better weather that evening and it's green fly season, but they left us alone as well. I was SO thankful! I can't wait to see them myself and then share them with you! I am so blessed with talented friends because I adored the maternity photos Allison took for us with Levi and I know Amy will put her special touch on the set this time around! My plan is to keep one of us expecting Levi in the nursery and then print one of just Adam and I reflecting on Jellybean and one of our whole family excited about Jellybean's arrival.

Adam and I also celebrated our 9th anniversary this week. 9 years has really flown by and we have had so many fun adventures, our latest of course being embarking into the land of parenthood. Every season of our lives together have been so special this one included. I can't wait to see what's to come as we watch our boys learn and grow.

The week wrapped up with Adam heading out of the country as he leads the youth missions trip to Colombia. Levi and I took him to the airport to see the team and Daddy off...Levi has been such a daddy's boy lately (which was a little challenging at the maternity shoot when he only wanted to be held by Adam), but in the end I guess it's good timing since I'll be holding and nursing another little guy in just a few weeks. Levi was also really sad to see Adam leave, but I kept reassuring him that Dad would be back soon enough. I am also so thankful that Adam's mom is coming to stay with us the entire time that Adam is away. Grandma and Grandpop will be here for a long weekend and then she's staying until Adam gets back. Being this pregnant and having the extra help with Levi is such a blessing! My mom may try to swing into town for a girls weekend as well while she's visiting. Fingers crossed that works out too. I'm so glad our parents and Levi have gotten to see so much of each other since he's been born. I'm hopeful the trend continues once Jellybean arrives as well!

Appointment Updates: I had a check up with the midwife to start out the week and we discussed what's been on my mind recently. I've been a little bummed that I haven't been able to track down the wonderful doula we used the last time around. I've emailed and texted her, but I've gotten no response. She was a grad student when Levi was born, so it's very likely she's moved away from Boston. I'm still bummed though because it would have been so nice to work with someone who's done this whole birthing thing with us before. My midwife said if I don't find someone this time, she wouldn't worry as much about it because we've been through the drill, Adam is familiar with how I handle labor and most likely this delivery will go quicker than Levi's (we can hope!) We're still discussing if we want to find someone else, it's just a little later in the game than I was hoping to be on the search.

I also told her I had some concerns about traveling when Jellybean is around 4 weeks old because we're scheduled to fly to Virginia for cabin weekend, but he may not have his vaccines yet, so I was beginning to stress out about all of those details and the timing of everything. She assured me it would be fine and I plan to talk to our pediatrician at Levi's 18 month appointment as well. I'm really excited for that weekend because it will be the first time some of our close friends like Haley and hopefully Thais get to meet Jellybean as well as Tati and Uncle Chris since Anna will be too pregnant to visit when Jellybean is born. I'm sure the timing will work it's way out, and I did feel some relief discussing things with her at my appointment.

To wrap up the appointment, my midwife did the quickest ultrasound to check that Jellybean was head down since he'd been breach at the 20 week sonogram. Good news is he's head down now, so yay for that! His heartbeat also sounded great!

Best Moment of the Week: Celebrating 9 years of married to Adam and taking time out to have our maternity pictures taken!