Quatro

Why didn't someone tell me when I had Teryn, not to do so much for my first child because I would never be able to do the same for the rest?  When I was pregnant with Teryn, I took pregnancy pictures and documented nearly every doctors appointment.  When he was born, I made baby books and took zillions of pictures.  Now here I am, pregnant with baby #4, and I've taken a few pregnancy pictures but have documented hardly anything.  I never got around to making baby books for either Ryder or Adria, so heaven knows I won't get around to it this time either.  This is only my SECOND blog post about this pregnancy and I only have TWO WEEKS LEFT!  My goodness!  More than anything, all I can say is "How time flies!"  And there's the ever-present two edged sword of "There is so much going on, I don't have time to blog!" and "I need to blog about everything that's going on!"  The merry-go-round. 

Well, better late than never I s'pose.  I am about 37 1/2 weeks along with baby Quatro.  That's what we call "it."  As per Tyson's request, we have not found out the gender, and I'm proud to say I've refrained from finding out behind his back.  He didn't think I could do it, so I had to prove him wrong ;)  We have no idea- -no intuition, no feelings, no dreams- -no idea what we're having.  Tyson went through a phase when he swore it was a girl.  Then another phase when he thought it was surely a boy.  Back and forth.  The other night I asked him, "What are we having today?"  He replied, "It will have reproductive genitalia."  I hope he's right ;)

I initially thought it would be a girl because my first-trimester sickness was exactly as it was with Adria.  But since the sickness subsided, I have felt great like I did with both of my boys.  I really haven't had many symptoms.  A little carpal tunnel, but that's about it.  Physically, I feel great.  I was just telling Tyson last night, this is the first pregnancy I've had that didn't leave me longing for the chiropractor every few weeks.  I slow down significantly if I do too much, but my joints feel great.  That might simply be thanks to the memory foam mattress pad we bought last year? 

On the topic of food, I have eaten a lot of Nutella.  A. lot. of Nutella!  Ha!  That's really the only significant craving I've had that I can think of.  I've lost my appetite more during this pregnancy than I remember ever losing with the others.  There are things I normally love, like instant strawberry oatmeal and toast, that I have lost taste for.  Only time will tell whether I get it back.

I started contracting about a month ago.  I actually wasn't aware that I was contracting, I was only aware that my abdomen was abnormally tender and that it hurt when the baby moved.  Dr. Williams ordered me to L&D where they monitored me for 7 hours and that's when I realized I was contracting.  The nurses were never able to pin point what would make my abdomen so tender and finally gave me a shot to make my contractions stop so I could go home.  I was tender for a few days following and had to take it easy.  But then at my next doctor's appointment, Dr. Williams looked at my chart and could see by the tests they ran in L&D that my white blood count had been high which meant I had an infection somewhere that my body was fighting and it made my uterus sensitive.  That being said, he wasn't concerned about the status of my pregnancy and sent me home with orders to stay hydrated and take it easy.  It took a few weeks to fully recover, but with the help of friends who vacuumed my house and brought food for my family, I made it through and I've felt great ever since.  I will say though, those few weeks during which I was "taking it easy" were SO hard!!  It was an experience that opened my eyes to those around me who have to endure bed rest during their pregnancies.  Whenever I am able, I will be the friend who takes care of my bed resting friends!  It was so miserable. 

(My sweet friend Lindsey mowing my lawn.  After she spent the morning caulking the trim of our remodeled master bedroom!  She is a gem.)

 

So I've just kept myself busy to pass the time.  Remodeling, preparing for the Holly Fair, play dates, fun with my kids, etc.  This pregnancy has gone by pretty quickly!  And now I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I can't believe I'll be snuggling a beautiful baby in just a few short weeks.

15 Weeks 

  20 Weeks

 

24 Weeks 

28 Weeks

  32 Weeks

 

34 Weeks

 

37 Weeks