39 weeks and 4 days

Well baby girl thank you so much for listening and not coming during last weeks events. It was a blessing. But now I'm ready to meet you! We all need some joy and seeing your lovely face will bring that and so much more!

I have been having contractions off and on everyday. But no luck...no active labor. I had my doctor's appointment this Tuesday and to my surprise I found out I'm 4  freaking cm dilated and 60% effaced. That explains why it's difficult to walk... home girl is hanging low. The doctor thinks she will be here really soon but I'm starting to be convinced that this Sunday is the day.

When I found out I was pregnant with her in May we looked at the due date, the day after the Superbowl. Hubs and me joked that the Ravens will probably go and will be in the hospital having a baby! Ha well the joke is on us. Not only did the Ravens make the Superbowl but little girl is still not here and the chances of her coming Sunday are looking more and more real. At least there are TV's in the labor and delivery room!

 

 And against my better judgement...the bare belly in all it's glory.

 

 How far along? 39 weeks and 4 days

Weight: +25 pounds as of this morning been holding steady since last week.

Stretch Marks? Yep...just look at the pictures above

Sleep? not to bad, contractions and peeing can get in the way

Best moment this week: getting everyday closer to meeting her, spending time with my Cole

Movement? Yes

Food Cravings: I can't stop eating, sweets are my weakness right now.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: Contractions everyday, but they always seem to calm down after a few hours. 

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Walking around without feeling like a baby might fall out of my who ha

What I am looking forward to: Meeting this little girl!
 

Emery's Nursery

Well her arrival could be any day so I figured it would be a good time to show you her nursery. Like I had talked about prior it all started with the bedding then just grew from there. It is a very girly room which I just love. It was hard to capture the in real life shade of aqua but you get the idea. Pink and Aqua is the general theme. I have to say my favorite thing in the room is the chandelier, it really wasn't to pricey ($90) but it makes the biggest impression in the room. I will never underestimate again how lighting can change a room.

So without further ado...Baby Emery's Nursery!

 

Full Term and A Shower!

It has finally arrived, the end of this pregnancy is here! We are offically on baby girl watch! I feel pretty great really...tired yes, annoyed my belly gets in the way of pretty everything and putting on shoes is just plain annoying. But besides that I'm not in a big hurry for her to be here. Of course I want to meet her and if it's time we will be ready but if she wants to chill out womb style till February...I'm a OK with that.

I had my first internal on Friday, it was awful. I mean what is the point of having them anyway? The doctor said I was barley 1 cm dilated and my cervix was soft. Basically he said there will be no baby anytime soon.Ha. Just as I had suspected. I may try to opt out of the internal this week if I can.

I also had an ultrasound done, she's in perfect position for labor and at this point I don't think there's much room for her to flip. They estimate she's around 6lbs and 2oz., I don't hold to much merit in this estimate. It can be off by a whole pound either way but she seems to be about 7oz more than her brother was at this point.

And lastly, my wonderful friends showered Emery and me with love this weekend. I'm so blessed to have such a great group of women in my life who I can share, laugh, celebrate and count on.

 

How far along? 37 weeks

Weight: +23 pounds as of this morning.

Stretch Marks? Yep...I'm destined to wear tankini's for the rest of my life. Oh well.

Sleep? Well if I didn't have to pee every freaking hour and a half then I would be fine.

Best moment this week: The shower for Emery and spending time with some of my favorite ladies

Movement? Yes

Food Cravings: Grilled Cheese, sweets, chips...I seem to be starving all the time now.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: Yes some contractions...nothing consistent.

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: WINE. I'm counting down the days till I can have a HUGE fat glass.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting this little girl!  

32 weeks...almost 33!

So we are under 60 days, I hit 32 weeks on Monday and have now entered my 8 month of pregnancy! I mean she could be here next month…though I’m still feeling like she will be a February baby.

At my doctor appointment, little lady is doing great and is measuring right at 32 weeks. She is also heads down already so that’s good. My blood pressure has been very normal and I’m hoping it stays this way till the end. With Cole around 37 weeks it started creeping up, nothing alarming but in the end it ultimately led to me be induced right at 40 weeks. My doctor explained to me the chances of preeclampsia happening during your second pregnancy is very slim. I did however find out this awesome itchy rash I have on one side of my lower belly is PUPP. Never heard of it? It stands for pruritic urticarial papules and plaques…it’s a mouth full. It occurs in 1% of pregnant women, it’s a hives like rash that is very itchy that can cover the belly. It causes no harm to the baby or me. From what I have read it’s very common in women’s first pregnancy, carrying twins or having boys. Yea I’m none of the above. I will however be making sure it’s still a girl at my 36 week ultrasound just in case. It’s a very minor case and thankfully has not spread but it can be pretty itchy and annoying.

For the most part I still feel pretty good. The pregnancy waddle has not occurred yet and I still seem to be able to cart around my 32 pound toddler with no real pain. Its amazing how different this pregnancy has been from my first. Yes morning sickness sucked and my short stink with back pain was no fun but I feel 100% better right now than I did the first time around. I really hope this lasts for at least a few more weeks.

How far along? 32 weeks and 5 day

Weight: +17.5 lbs, that’s 4 lbs in the last month. It’s coming on fast now!

Stretch Marks? Yes on my belly. Honestly I think they are from Cole it’s just now that my belly is bigger you can really see them.

Sleep? Peeing all the time. Sometimes it’s hard for me to fall back asleep.

Best moment this week: Emery’s Nursery, it’s basically done!

Movement? Yes, tons! She really likes to stretch out which can be a bit uncomfortable for me.

Food Cravings: Grilled Cheese, Chocolate

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: NO

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Normal clothes..I refuse to buy anymore maternity clothes and I'm just sick of what i have!

What I am looking forward to: Christmas and spending a ton of time with my family  :)

Nursery Project

Well I'm happy to report that Emery's nursery is officially done. There are a few minor things that need to be done but if she was to show up after Christmas we would be ready. Room wise that is :)

When it came to deciding how to decorate my little girls room I didn't know where to start, my dear friend Courtenay suggested Carousel Designs. The choices are endless and I fell in love with Love Damask right away. With the bedding all picked out I then started thinking about what I wanted for wall decor. I wanted to have something that would last more than her baby years, not forever but at least till middle school.

I found this on Etsy. I love the look of it and it even matched her bedding. It was just so perfect...except for the price tag.

 

I started brain storming and figured I could come up with something similar at a fraction of the price. I purchased three blank canvases from Hobby Lobby on sale and ordered a yard of fabric of the Love Damask. I cut the fabric than made sure it lined up just right by taping it first. Once I was confident that it looked good I stapled the fabric right onto the canvas.

 

Next up was painting the big canvas pink. I used a small handle roller and it went on nice and smooth.

 

I also found just the right aqua blue letter at Hobby Lobby to put on the canvas. I kept it simple and used heavy duty command strips on the E and it worked great.

 

So here is the final product,

 

Once I put it up in her room I decided not to add the white pok a dots. I'm in love with how it turned out. And in total it cost me around $75. Not to shabby.

 

Hello Third Trimester!

The last trimester is here! Wow, it's flying by and with the Holidays happening next week I have a feeling this last trimester is going to go by super fast.

Baby E's nursery is coming together but not as fast as I would like. I have picked just about everything out but none of it can come together till we have the crown molding and chair rail up. I'm starting to feel anxious about it ...in fact I have let it be known to the Hubs that i need it done within the next month or I will freak. Just a little warning. I don't want to be stressing about the nursery right before her arrival I will have enough to think about :).

 

How far along? 28 weeks and 1 day

Weight: +13.5 lbs, the boobs are starting to get uncomfortably big. I mean really its out of control. 

Stretch Marks? Not yet

Sleep? Our new mattress has been amazing, no sleep issues besides waking up to pee all the time.

Best moment this week: Picking out the art work for Emery's nursery.

Movement? Yes, tons! Not just jabs but I can feel full body turns..it's such a neat feeling.

Food Cravings: Grilled Cheese, thin mints

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: NO

Belly Button in or out? In

What I miss: Wine. Having a toddler requires a nice glass or two of wine some days.

What I am looking forward to: The Holidays and eating all the yummy food.  

24 weeks

Since my 20 week update the bump has defiantly grown. The weight gain is finally coming on, 4lbs this month alone. I feel like I'm hungry every 2 hours these days..must be a baby growth spurt. I'm trying my best to keep my eating it in check and not blow up like I did with Cole but the holidays are quickly approaching. Whaa.

I have had really bad sciatic nerve pain for the past 2 weeks. I went to see my doctor just in hopes for some relief but there isn't much she could do. The pain is caused by the weight of my uterus that is laying on the nerve. Its like no pain i have ever experienced its shooting pain on one side of my lower back and down my leg. It takes my breath away.The doctor told me to work from home for a week and rest, as well as start physical therapy. Trying to find some relief I decided to try sleeping on our guest bed that is much firmer then our bed. 5 Days later and I can tell a huge difference.

During my pregnancy with Cole I experienced awful hip pain at night starting right around this time. And wouldn't you know it..it's shown up again. I guess its just how my body handles pregnancy.

OK I'm done whining. I know pregnancy isn't a walk in the park so I just need to suck it up and get over it. Once I get to hold my baby girl it will all be worth it!

How far along? 24 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +9.5 lbs
Maternity Clothes? Yep
Stretch Marks? No
Sleep? These past 2 weeks have been awful, between back and hip pain and peeing every few hours sleep is not that great.
Food Cravings: Still loving grilled cheese and cereal
Gender: Girl
Belly Button in or out? In
What I am looking forward to: Our new mattress, yep this back pain has led to the purchase of a new mattress and it arrives tomorrow!  

20 weeks, half way!

20 weeks down 20 weeks to go. This was actually last week but I’m just getting around to posting this on the blog. For the most part I’m feeling pretty good, no sickness and lots more energy. Besides some minor lower back pain at night when I overdo it no real complaints here.

I had the full anatomy scan awhile back and thankfully everything looked perfect. Emery is measuring just right and was doing flips during the ultrasound. The tech said “good luck with this one”, I could only laugh. If Emery is anything like her brother we are well aware this means non-stop movement.

With 19 weeks to go I have some work to do with Cole and his sister’s name. When we were picking out names we would ask Cole to say them to hear how it sounded. Well one of those names was Sydney, we obviously picked the name Emery well Cole picked Sydney. Whenever you ask him about his sister he says Sydney with a big grin…like he knows it’s not right but he’s made he’s choice. I got him to say Emery a few times this weekend but this may take some work. Poor girl may have two names when she joins us :)

How far along? 20 weeks (now 21 weeks)
Total weight gain/loss: + 5.5 pounds (last week)
Maternity Clothes? I was able to button a pair of normal work pants last week but I think that was my last. Maternity Pants from here on out.
Stretch Marks? nope
Sleep? Good, besides peeing every few hours.
Best moment this week: Clearing out her soon to be nursery, it’s a blank slate right now.
Movement? Yes, lots at night when I lay down.
Food Cravings: Bagels. Bread. Mexican food.
Gender: Girl
Belly Button in or out? In
What I am looking forward to: Halloween Candy, Cool weather and figuring out what Emery’s nursery is going to look like. :)

She has a name!

Oh folks picking a name for your child is hard work. For me I like unique names but not so out there people have a hard time pronouncing it. I think it comes from me being a Sarah, I can name a handful of Sarah’s I know personally and as nice as it is it’s far from unique. Thankfully my loving husband Cameron agrees completely with me. He loved his name growing up and never knew any other Cam’s. So when we set out to pick a name for our little girl we both wrote down a few names we liked. We both vetoed some right off the bat…like hubs Sienna …all I think of when I hear that name is the Toyota Sienna Minivan. So that wouldn't work. We both really liked the name Avery but its become extremely popular recently and we really wanted unique. The list grew but no name jumped out at us.

And then I came across Emery, I loved it right away. I only hoped Hubs would share my feelings for it. And wouldn’t you know it he did! I know it was/ is originally a boy name but I just don’t see anything manly about the name Emery. It’s so pretty to us. And when Cole tries to say Emery it comes out sounding like Emmy. Oh swoon. How I love it.

So Emery Gail Shinaberry , we are so excited to have picked out a name for you and can’t wait to till February to meet you.  

17 weeks

17 weeks! I have now officially entered into my fifth month of pregnancy! Time is just flying by and I can only imagine the next 160 days will too!

So I haven’t exactly been basking in the 2nd trimester bliss just yet, just when I think I’m in the clear I find myself sick again. Thankfully it happens less often. Last week, as I was sitting on the bathroom floor throwing up my mornings breakfast my little guy was right there making sure I was OK. He kept asking me if I was done choking, ha yep baby mama’s done choking.

This time around I seem to be getting lots of headaches, when I told my doctor this at my 16 week appointment his response was “Take Tylenol, it’s either the hormones or dehydration .I’m sure it’s not a brain tumor, I have only seen that once in 32 years.” My response “Oh goodness that’s awful” His response, “Yea she died right after having the baby”. Ummm…well thanks for that, brain tumor really?!? Stop the crazy talk! I forgot how straight forward and blunt this doctor can be!

I do seem to have more energy now, dancing around the kitchen with family doesn’t make me winded neither does carting around my 30 pound toddler. But I’m sure in the next few weeks this will all change.

Bathroom Picture at work of bump at 17 weeks.

How far along? 17 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: + 4lbs
Maternity Clothes? Some pants…the great thing about it being warm is that I can still wear all of my dresses
Stretch Marks? nope
Sleep? I try to not drink anything after 8pm or else I pee 5 times a night. Otherwise sleep is good.
Best moment this week: Finding out we are having a little girl!
Movement? Yep!
Food Cravings: Grilled Cheese, bagels
Gender: GIRL
Belly Button in or out? In
What I am looking forward to: Buying clothes for a girl. They are so darn cute!  

It's A...

 

GIRL!!!!!

15 weeks

Oh poor Shinababy, it seems baby number 2 syndrome has taken place and I have not done a very good job of documenting this pregnancy. Things have been super busy with summer and my crazy never stop moving toddler but I must do better from now on!

The nausea has finally subsided and I’m starting to have some more energy. This time around the belly popped out at around 12 weeks. I have a serious beer belly going…it’s that in between stage when I don’t exactly look pregnant just fat. Joy. We got to see Shinababy a couple weeks ago at the genetic ultrasound scan, everything looks great! The profile picture they gave us during the scan looks very similar to Cole’s profile. For a brief second it made me think it may be a boy. But truly I don’t really have a gut feeling like I did with Cole. Will find out soon enough, I made my anatomy scan for September 7th but I think my impatient nature might get the best of me. I might go next week to find out, why wait if you can find out sooner?

So here it is, I tried to take a picture of the belly it turned out a little ghetto

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 1.5 lbs

Maternity Clothes? No, been able to wear lots of dresses and skirts.

Stretch Marks? Not yet

Sleep? This child is sitting on my bladder… I'm peeing every 1.5 to 2 hrs. during the night

Best moment this week: Vacation bliss…felt good all week!

Movement? Not yet

Food Cravings: nothing really, I guess any kind of carbs

Gender: Not sure yet…Hubs thinks girl

Belly Button in or out? In

What I am looking forward to: Finding out if Shinababy is boy or girl!  

Baby Number 2 Details

I’m happy to finally be able to share details of baby number 2! This time around it already feels like it’s on warp speed, didn’t I just find out I was pregnant? After 9 LONG months of ttc it finally happened! I would like to say we did something different the month we conceived but it was just like every other month. There is no rhyme or reason why it happened. In fact that month I had finally taken action to get both Hubs and me checked out. 2 weeks after testing was done I found I was pregnant. Isn’t timing such a funny thing? If you have never experienced having trouble conceiving it’s hard to truly understand just how hard it can be. On both Hubs and me. With Cole we never went through any of that, this time around I learned a lot. This baby is a true blessing and I’m so grateful I get to experience this again.

When did you know? Well like anyone who has been ttc for a while you start to ignore the possible signs that you could be pregnant. I couldn’t bear the thought to think I might be pregnant every month then have AF arrive the next day. So the last few months of ttc, I vowed to myself I would not pee on a stick until I was at least a few days late.
Well two days late and no AF I actually started to let myself think there might be a chance. We put Cole to bed and were getting ready to go over our neighbors to hang out. I turned to Hubs and said I have to take a test…I was anxious …so was he. We both agreed that before heading over to our neighbors for some drinks I should probably go get a test just to be sure. So at 8:30pm I went to get a pregnancy test. As we stood together in the half bathroom waiting…man that minute felt like 10 minutes…for the second time in my life I saw the word YES! We both just screamed and hugged. I cried like a baby…

How far along? I’m 11 weeks, baby is due February 04, 2013.

How do I feel? We’ll let me state I’m beyond happy to be pregnant and would suffer just about anything to be. That said…this baby is kicking my ass! I’m tired ALL day long. I retreat to bed almost every night 10 minutes after putting Cole to bed. I have also been oh so lucky to experience morning sickness with this pregnancy. I’m not sure why they call it morning sickness … vomiting can occur at any time of the day. It’s awful. The only blessing is I don’t have it every day so that’s good.

How is the baby? We have had one ultrasound already and baby is good and healthy. Very strong HB, 182. That seems very fast to me.

Does Cole know? We framed a picture from the ultrasound and have been explaining to Cole that it’s his baby brother or sister. He seems to understand it’s a baby and when asked what mommy has in her belly he says baby. Do I think he really gets it…no not really.


Who else knew? We told our families the very next day…we went out that morning to grab a big brother shirt for Cole. My mom was quick to pick up on it and was so excited…my dad not so much...even after reading it to him we had to tell him I was pregnant. Really?! Men. We phoned the rest of our family and shared the good news! I also spilled the beans with a close group of friends right away. 

 Picture from that morning

What do you think it’s a boy or girl? Hubs is convinced it’s a girl. I think because how different this pregnancy has been. I’m not sure yet. I haven’t had that gut feeling yet to make a guess.


What I’m looking forward to? I’m counting the days down till second trimester. I’m hoping to find some relief just in time for our vacation in two weeks! 


I’m hoping to be able to blog more about this journey …well about anything really …just as soon as I feel up to it!     

& then there were Four...

 

Yep! And we are SO EXCITED !!!