Pierogie #3 is a boy! --26 week ramblings--

Like most moms who are chasing around kids during pregnancy, I just haven't had the time to sit down and reflect on this little one a whole lot! So here's a brief run down of the first 2/3 of my third pregnancy.

First trimester:

• tired and nauseated. Surprised, anyone?
• cravings for steak and soft cheeses like NONE OTHER.
• Interviewed two birth centers and picked our favorite. What a totally different experience it is to be in the position to interview your midwife and make sure that her scope of care fits into what I want. Being a 3rd time stand alone birth center, water birthing mom, I had a lot of specific questions and preferences! I was so happy to find the perfect fit between the two birth centers and have been loving the care that I've been receiving, feeling supported and also the recognition that I'm a "no muss, no fuss" kind of pregnant gal. 

Second trimester:

• The love for food came back with full force! Woo hoo!!
• Energy to play with my kids came back too! Yippeee!!
• 20 week ultrasound - the only one we plan to schedule - revealed that we will be adding a BABY BOY to our family! Big Sister Penny (age 5) had guessed that baby is a boy and is really excited about it. Big Sister Ruby (age 3) was hoping for a baby sister and has recently warmed up to the idea of a brother. What a fun and exciting new journey this will be for all of us.
• Alas, starting around 24 weeks my hips started to ache. Thankfully I already knew about the benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy and was able to meet with a well recommended chiropractor in our area. She's been working on getting me aligned and subluxation free to help carry this baby effectively and comfortably.
• Pierogie #3 loves to move around the most in the evenings when we are relaxed in bed and quiet. It's become very obvious when he is doing somersaults and rolling from side to side. 
• We celebrated the big sisters' birthdays - they are two years and a week apart so the first part of March is a birthday extravaganza for us! It was so sweet to reflect on my births for each child and how the experience of being pregnant changes as your children get older.
  // Read Penny's birth story // Read Ruby's birth story// 
• At 26 weeks weeks and over this past week I've had to be very proactive about taking care of my hips and pubis. Thanks to a few specific stretches, hot tub date nights, more chiropractic adjustments and a ring sling I've been able to keep the pain and discomfort at a manageable level but the pregnancy waddle has started early!

The Pierogie Babies: 40 weeks - where's my kid? & someone turns 2

Ruby

Well, here we are at full term and I am shocked - no baby. I had Penny at exactly 39 weeks and for this entire pregnancy I was positive that I'd have Ruby on the same week. Well, 39 came and went without anything to write home about. It feels so weird to wait on a baby, because as Penny's birth story went, we were caught by surprise when she was born. I was expecting to go over 40 weeks with Penny and so I never had that anticipation feeling. This time I set myself up and was expecting an early baby so I've been on watch since 38 weeks - I would have never imagined still being pregnant 2 weeks later! 

So this girl continues to bake away and although I'm just ready to hold her in my arms, I count my blessings. I'm not in any extraordinary amounts of discomfort. My hips ache but a good chiropractic adjustment this week did the trick. My stomach skin feels stretched and itchy; but no stretch marks and my regimen of organic coconut oil during the day and having hubby rub down the belly with Motherlove Pregnant Belly Salve in the evenings has kept my skin nice and soft. Penny got to keep her birthday as her own. Ruby's due date was 3/4 and Penny's birthday is 3/3 so there was a chance for them to share a birthday. It didn't happen and we got to celebrate in a small, special way. I feel pretty prepared for this baby to come. The cloth diaper laundry is kept up on, I have lots of extra food stored in the freezer, our birth bag is in the car and I have labor food at the ready in the fridge. The blessings keep pouring in but one little blessing in particular is taking her sweet time and I just have to be patient and let her come when she is ready! :)

Penny

My big girl turned 2 on Monday but we kept it pretty quiet. Her paternal grandparents came over for dinner and cake on Sunday. We are postponing her big, fun birthday party until mid April and piggybacking a "meet the baby" event along with it.

When I remind myself about where we were 2 weeks ago in my last Pierogie Babies update, I'm again impressed at just how quickly children grow and change. Penny seems to have a good grasp on the concept of "turns" (even though she doesn't always agree with them) and is transitioning to consistently saying "please" and "thank you" rather than signing them. She working on 3 and sometimes 4 word sentences and surprises me daily with things that she picks up on. We were visiting a cousin yesterday and she pulled out a Finding Nemo book and asks me to read the Nemo book...but I haven't introduced her to Nemo yet. How did she know this? She's also become much more social at library time and at the bouncy house that we visit; which was a struggle until lately because of her shyness. We haven't been going to our MOPS group regularly due to battles with the crud or avoiding the crud so I'm not sure how she would do when she's put into a situation where I leave her but overall if she knows I'm around she appears to be totally fine leaving me and playing independently. That wasn't anywhere close to being an option 2 months ago, so I'm proud of her burgeoning courage and curiosity to play with other children.  

My pluses through Pregnancy

I've been revisiting my pregancy with a new mama to be lately.. and was reminded of some of the things that were near and dear to me during that time!
Our babymoon
Up until about 17 weeks, I think I only ate McD's chicken nuggets and scrambled eggs. I just didn't have an appetite for anything else. But by the time our babymoon rolled around, I was back to my regular self.. and more! Appetite and energy surged back very quickly. Adam affectionately began calling me "Two Dessert T-ton" on that trip. We went on a cruise from Barcelona, Spain along the western Italian coast (as far south as Naples) and having access to food 24/7 was AWESOME.
Saving my back
Even during my first trimester I began to feel aches and pains in my back and hips. One of my friends recommended chiropractic care to me and I can say without a doubt this was my saving grace for my comfort during pregnancy! You want to be sure that your chiropractor specializes in pregnant women (including Webster Technique) and preferably has a table that drops down in the belly portion - rather than propping you up higher with pillows. As a lifetime tummy-sleeper..it was heaven to get to lay on my belly. This was one of the few times in my life where I didn't mind a longer wait for the provider to come in ;) I fell asleep many a afternoon on that table before he came in, and of course he didn't mind!

I had intended on Penelope getting adjusted a few days after her birth, but decided to hold out for a little bit. I would have been more inclined to have her adjusted sooner if the labor was more difficult or had complications, but because it went to smoothly I think we can wait until her 2nd month to go have her first visit. Chiropractic care has so many benefits, for adults and children - I'd like to blog more about that when we get back into the swing of things.

O is for Organic
During pregnancy we began to switch to as many organic alternatives as possible. The biggest difference I have noticed in switching is for milk and strawberries. Adam and I used to go through a gallon of milk ever week and a half or so - once we switched to organic... a gallon of milk rarely lasts a week with us. It just tastes SO much better!  Strawberries also taste sweeter, and because they tend to have higher doses of pesticides, it makes this mama feel good to switch to the organic option.
Going organic is not always more expensive. I've been pleasantly surprised when sometimes it's the less expensive option - particularly in produce. For example, organic brocolli was about 20 cents cheaper per pound than the 'regular' type. It all depends on what is available. 

Dairy, eggs, and fruits / veggies where you eat the skin are the main switches for organic that we've done for the time being.  When we will start to introduce Penelope to solids, I'd like to have as much be organic as possible.

Nesting manifests itself very interestingly!
Because we were moving and planning to co-sleep, I didn't really have a nursery to spend my nesting energy in. It didn't really bother me until right around 33 weeks - I got this bee in my bonnet about needing to make something. Mind you, I am not a crafty person. I like to bake. That's pretty much the only thing I liked to create prior to the nesting phase.
I started out by learning how to make felt rosettes (thanks Pinterest!) and made a few wreaths as gifts. Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of them :(
I also made my own maternity sash for my maternity photos- which I reused for Penelope's birth announcement photos too!

34 weeks - TC Photography

9 days

My final project was embellishing burp cloths and making receiving blankets. The last time I had used a sewing machine was 8th grade Home Ec.  I had found a sewing machine from the 70's in my garage (left by the previous home owner! Score!) and attempted to figure it out through youtube videos, but no luck. When I began my "maternity leave" and moved up north, my mom showed me how to use one again and I went bonkers and spent the better part of 2 weeks sewing away.

Doggie burp cloth

Squirty felt like he needed to lay on any fabric on the floor

Penelope on her birth day in her giraffe "luly"
(what my little brother called his receiving blankets as a baby)

Actually, I quite like sewing now! Since her birth I've been dreaming up ideas of new things I can sew for her - like quilts, fun things with her clothes that are too small, etc.  Night time nursings are a wonderful time to cruise Pinterest for new ideas..because Lord knows I don't really have time for that during the day!