Baby Bump @ 25 and 26 weeks

How I'm feeling:
I'm doing okay except for my continued back pain from what I'm now calling scatica. I hadn't thought that's what it was but this past week the pain has been radiating down the back of my right leg so I guess it is.
I'm feeling some stress of only having 3 months left before Ryleigh is born to get lots of schooling finished with BR and get Ryleigh's nursery put together. I know it will be okay but I'm needing to refocus on my priorities and make a plan. I'll be taking a Facebook break for the beginning of the year so that will be one less distraction during for me.

Baby's Development at 26 weeks:
- Beginning at 25 weeks Ryleigh would have begun packing on fat to fill in her wrinkly skin. This will help her skin to be less transparent.
- The network of nerves in Ryleigh's ears is better developed and more sensitive now. She may now be able to hear both my voice, as well as, Chase's and the girls'.
- She is beginning to inhaleand exhale small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of her lungs.
- Ryleigh is continuing to put on baby fat. She now weighs about 1 2/3 pounds and measures around 14 inches (about the size of a scallion) from head to heel.
(Information taken from the What to Expect When Expecting website.)

Ryleigh's Movement:
She is definitely a wiggly girl at night when I get in bed or whenever I sit down to treat during the day. I can tell she is getting stronger as her kicks are becoming more powerful. I often wonder about her position because I feel kicks and punches all over my belly. At our 24 week ultrasound her head was on my left side and her feet over on my right. The ultrasound tech said that was a good thing at that point. I'm hoping she had moved head down by our next appointment at 28 weeks.

Let the Christmas Celebrations Begin for 2015

We kicked off our family Christmas get-together yesterday afternoon at Chase's granddads house for lunch. We had a great time visiting with Granddaddy and Janet, as well as, PawPaw and Bebe.

We enjoyed a wonderful meal prepared by the lovely GranJan and exchanged gifts. The girls LOVE their new Puppy Surprise pets. We are so thankful that Granddaddy is feeling good and cutting up with us and the girls.

After our visit with the Brantley's we headed back to my parents house for Christmas with my PopPop, Nana and my brother, SIL and niece, Alyssa. Again, we had a great meal and exchanged gifts. We all had a great time talking and playing with new toys.

We goofed and didn't get a family picture of our sweet little family, but I am determined that we will get one before the week is over.

And today, we enjoyed a great message and time of worship this morning at church before heading to my Aunt and Uncle's house for our Harris Family Christmas celebration. My mom's side of the family always has a great time together! We had our fifth annual Christmas play after lunch. Chase and I were Mary and Joseph, Brantley was a shepherd and Savannah was an angel.

After a weekend filled with loving family, I can't help but be filled with joy, thankfulness and love as we move on into the week and continue to celebrate God's great gift of His Son Jesus. Thank you, Lord!! Your gift is too great for words! Merry Christmas!!

Baby Bump @ 24 Weeks

How I'm Feeling at 24 weeks:

• Oh gosh, this is getting real and my belly is getting big and uncomfortable. At just 24 weeks, I shouldn't be this uncomfortable, but alas, I am. 
• My back/hip pain is still there and intense at times. I'm still going to the chiropractor for relief but it honestly doesn't seem to help much at all. 
• I am loving that I can now feel Ryleigh moving more during the day, which means she is growing and getting stronger. Her sisters still haven't felt her kicking but that is mostly because they haven't been patient enough to feel her move. ha! 
• I'm still sleeping pretty well (knock on wood)....but I know that will at some point change as it did with both of the girls in the third trimester.

Movement: As I said above, I can now feel and sometimes see Ryleigh moving around in my belly. It is still the coolest and strangest feeling ever. I love it! During my ultrasound on Thursday we could see her moving her arms and legs around like crazy. 

Baby's Development this week:

This is the 24 week video from the What To Expect When Expecting website. Doctor Appointment: I had my 24 week check up this past Thursday morning. During that appointment I had my follow-up ultrasound, the glucose test and saw my doctor. The ultrasound showed that Ryleigh's ureters are now within normal range and that there is nothing to worry about. She is perfect!! Thank you, Lord for healing her and creating her perfectly!! Ryleigh also cooperated this time and let us get a good profile shot of her tiny face. 

At this point we're thinking she's going to look much like her big sisters. I can't wait!!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Right now I'm looking forward to continuing to celebrate Christmas with family and friends. We're already had three wonderful family meals and celebrations. I'll have to post about those next. I'm also looking forward to hopefully having a 4D ultrasound done around my next doctor appointment around 28 weeks. 

Nursery update: We have purchased the crib, car seat, stroller, and were given a Rock 'N Play Sleeper by my parents last night. Slowly we are starting to accumulate all the necessary baby items that we will need for Ryleigh's arrival. Our house situation is up in the air right now so we won't be setting up the nursery for another few months in the hopes of actually moving to the new house before Ryleigh is born. We shall see what the Lord has in store for us. We are prayerful about it and trusting in God's plan and timing in regards to moving.

Bump picture at 24 weeks, 3 days:

Baby Bump @ 21 weeks

How I'm Feeling at 21 Weeks: 

• It's officially hard for me to get up off the couch or out of the bed. I feel like it's a bit early for this but unfortunately, it's the truth. Baby girl is low which makes it hard to bend over or sit comfortably for very long at all. I'm feeling very pregnant these days!
•  My back/hip pain is still bothering me a good bit at times but thankfully, it's not constant. I'm planning to get a chiropractor appointment for this week so I can get some relief. 
• I'm still sleeping pretty well at this point also, which I am so very thankful for!

Movement: I'm feeling Ryleigh move a good bit now, especially when I sit or lay down. Chase hasn't been able to feel her kicking yet but I think that because of the anterior placenta. It's blocking her kicks from being felt.

Gender & Name: It's a GIRL and her name is Ryleigh Jean.

Baby's Development at 21 weeks:

• As her digestive system preps for the outside world, she's manufacturing meconium -- the tarry black substance we'll find in her first dirty diaper.
• She's already got a lifetime supply of eggs in her womb -- about six million of them!
• She's beginning to swallow small amounts of amniotic fluid this week to practice digestion, which means she will be tasting the things I'm eating.

What I'm Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to my next ultrasound at 24 weeks to check on her ureters. We're still praying that they will be normal size by then and that all will be well. I'm also looking forward to beginning to put her nursery together. We've talked about the purchases that need to be made but no definite plans have been made yet.

Nursery Update: I bought Ryleigh's crib bedding today! I bought it off one of the FB trading sites and I LOVE it!!

The boppy and blanket weren't included but I got the other things. We're still planning to buy a white Jenny Lind crib like this one.

Bump picture at 21 weeks:

Baby Bump @ 20 weeks

How I'm Feeling at 20 weeks: I'm still feeling pretty well, thankfully. I do have a new complaint that started this afternoon. There is a spot on the right side of my belly button that hurts pretty bad to the touch. It feels like a bad bruise but there is no discoloration and I haven't bumped into anything. I can't be certain that I haven't been hugged with a little too much force by the big sisters though. Maybe it's just my skin stretching, I don't know.

Baby Movement: I'm definitely feeling Ryleigh move around more and more. I found out today at our 20 week ultrasound that I have an anterior placenta, so Dr. S said that's probably why I'm not feeling her kick all that much. We saw her wiggling around a good bit during the ultrasound this morning, so I know she's on the move.

Gender: Baby is most definitely a GIRL!! The U/S tech confirmed her gender this morning.

Baby's Development: 

This week Ryleigh is the size of a big banana.

This morning at the ultrasound we got to see lots and lots of Ryleigh. She was facing out so we weren't able to get a good profile shot of her this time, but we saw arms, legs, hands, feet and all her sweet little organs. She measured exactly 20 weeks and weighs 11 ounces. Dr. S said she looked nearly perfect. Her heart, brain, mouth and limbs looked great.We are going to keep a watch on her ureters (the tube that connects the kidneys to the bladder). They were a bit swollen today so I'm going to have another ultrasound at 24 weeks to see if there has been any change by then. If they have not improved or have gotten larger, I will then have another ultrasound with a high-risk doctor to take a closer look. We were told that this will not be serious, but that Ryleigh could be more prone to kidney/bladder infections. 

Please join us in praying for improvement at our next ultrasound and 

that God would heal her sweet ureters. Thank you so much!

What I'm Looking Forward To: I'm looking forward to feeling her move more and for Chase and the girls to feel her kicking and moving around. I'm also looking forward to beginning to work on putting her nursery together. We probably won't do much until after Christmas, but I'm still excited about seeing my ideas come together.

Doctors Appointment: My next doctors appointment will be at 24 weeks. I will do the sugar test (oh joy!) and have the ultrasound to check Ryleigh's ureters.

**Note: So far I have gained about 12 pounds during this pregnancy and I'm super happy with that. I feel like I've gained more than that but it's all in the baby belly.**

Belly Picture: 

Baby Bump @ 19 weeks

How I'm Feeling at 19 weeks: I'm thankful to report that I'm still feeling pretty good at the halfway mark. I know I'm a week shy of 20 but since I've delivered both big sisters a week or so early I'm considering this my halfway point. ha! I'm still experiencing some pretty intense back/hip pain at times but despite the pain I know that it's worth it because my body is preparing again for delivery. I'm praying that this delivery goes as smoothly as with Brantley and Savannah. 

Baby Movement: I have been feeling her move at times this past week, mostly when I'm laying in bed at night. I know that the kicks and stretches will only get stronger as she continues to grow. Before long she will be jumping around like crazy and keeping me awake at night, I am sure of that. haha

Gender: We're having another beautiful baby GIRL! 

The name Ryleigh is Irish and means "courageous".

The name Jean is after my Mom, Lara Jean. The name also means "God is gracious".

Baby's size and development at 19 weeks pregnant:

At six inches long this week and about a half a pound in weight, Baby Ryleigh has gone through a little growth spurt and is the size of a large mango. Little Miss Ryleigh is able to choreograph matrix-like moves at 19 weeks pregnant. Arms and legs are finally in proportion, neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles and cartilage throughout the body is turning into bone. All these upgrades combine to give her more control over her limb movements. Which explains all that kicking, stretching and bodysurfing (or rather bellysurfing) that I've begun feeling more this past week.

What I'm Looking Forward to: Next Thursday, the 19th, we go the the doctor for our 20 week anatomy ultrasound where they will measure all her organs and check her growth. I'm looking forward to seeing her on ultrasound again and getting confirmation that she is developing just the way she should. We are praying for her development and growth every day. She is already so very loved by all of us. The girls love to give my belly huges and kisses. It's really sweet!!

Doctor's Appointment: Next Thursday, November 19th.

Belly Pic at 19 weeks: 

Baby Bump @ 18 weeks

Here we are at 18 weeks pregnant!! I'm still feeling really great, with the exception of some back/hip pain. Other than that, I'm great!

My goal for today is to take a 19 week picture and do a full update. Staying on top of the blog posts (not to mention many other things) is so much harder the third time around. I'm not beating myself up about it but I do wish there were more hours in the day. Ta ta for now!

Baby #3 Gender Reveal

Last night we had a little gender reveal with the girls and our parents. Since I didn't find out the gender at the ultrasound, our neighbor took the envelope and put the correct color confetti inside before having them blown up. Once our parents arrived we went outside and let the girls each pop a balloon.

These BIG SISTERS are excited to be getting a baby sister in late March/early April.

Let the name game begin!!

Baby Bump @ 16 weeks

How I'm Feeling: I'm still feeling great. The baby and my belly are growing pretty fast. I find that it's getting harder to reach things in front of me when I'm sitting down. Not something I was expecting this soon. ha! I'm also experiencing lots of sharp pain in my hips and lower back due to the widening of my hips. I'll be heading back to the chiropractor next week for another adjustment.

Movement: I still can't be sure that I've felt the baby move but it shouldn't be too much longer. I was feeling Savannah move a lot by 18 weeks.

Gender: I went for our gender ultrasound yesterday morning to find out BOY or GIRL. I had the tech mark a card I had taken with me for boy or girl after she had looked. I wanted us all to find out together yesterday evening so I didn't let her tell me what it was. That was really hard!!

It's a GIRL!!!

I pretty much knew that all along because of the heart rate, how I've felt and pretty much every old wives tale pointed to a girl. Chase and I still had a tiny bit of suspicion that it could have been a boy, but nope, God is blessing us with another beautiful baby girl. We do make pretty girls!

She had her legs crossed during the beginning of the appointment, but with lots of encouragement, jiggling and a trip to the bathroom for me, she finally opened up enough to catch a picture of those parts. Her heart rate was 144bpm yesterday! It was beautiful!!

What I'm Looking Forward To: Feeling baby girl kicking and moving around in my belly. We'll be going back in 4 weeks for our 20 week anatomy ultrasound and visit. We'll get more detail pictures and a second look at her girl parts to ensure that nothing has changed. I'm also looking forward to shopping and planning for this sweet baby girl.

Name: This is going to be harder this time than the other because we really have no idea. The girls and I came up with a name that we like but I haven't shared it with Chase yet and I'm having a hard time coming up with a middle name to go with it. Hopefully, we can decide on something in the next couple of weeks.

Doctor's Appointment: My next appointment will be November 19th when I'm 20 weeks. 

Baby's Size and Development: 

Baby GIRL is the size of an Avocado this week.

- This week she is beginning to hear our voices because the tiny bones in her ears are forming and beginning to work. I think that is super special. "Hey, baby girl!!"

- She is growing hair (yeah right, we have bald babies), eyebrows and eyelashes.

- And she's forming taste buds.

- As I said eariler, her heart rate was 144 bpm yesterday.

Belly Picture at 16 weeks:

Baby Bump #3 @ 14 weeks

How I'm Feeling: I'm feeling great! Nothing to complain about really, and I am so thankful. The baby and my belly are really growing. It's so fun!

Movement: A few times I've felt something that felt like a baby flutter but it only happens once at a time and is VERY faint, so I'm not real sure. I expect to start feeling really kicks in the next few weeks.

Gender: I've pretty much convinced myself that this baby will be another sweet baby girl based on the Ramzi method, the fast heart rate and the fact that I feel almost exactly the same as I did with our big girls. We have an appointment to find out gender on October 22nd (I'll be 16 weeks).  That's only 12 more days! So we're going with GIRL expectations but if they say BOY, we will be totally shocked and oober excited!!

What I'm Looking Forward To: I'm ready to know gender so that we can actually start planning the nursery and purchasing a few things here and there. We're having to purchase all of our baby gear again, because we've sold everything we used with the girls. (oops!) We have a crib mattress and some girl clothes...that's it. I'm also looking forward to revealing the gender to the girls (and our parents) after our appointment on the 22nd. They aren't going to the ultrasound with us so I think we'll just do something cute to reveal it to them and our parents. I've got to figure that part out between now and then.

Doctor's Appointment: I go back for my 15 week visit this Thursday afternoon. I'm praying that my weight gain isn't too much. I don't feel like I've gained much at all since my 10 week visit but I'm sure I have.

Baby's Development at 14 weeks:

Our baby is the size of a LEMON this week!

• *What to Expect When Expecting says that the baby is possibly right at 4 inches long already. So I guess it's somewhere in between 3.4-4.0 inches.*
• He's probably sucking his thumb and wiggling his toes in there!
• His kidneys are making urine, and his liver and spleen are doing their jobs too!
• And he's growing lanugo, a thin, peach-fuzz-like hair all over his body -- it will keep him warm until closer to delivery when the lanugo will begin to sluff off.
• Note: The HE wording is just the way I copied it from TheBump, we do not know gender at this point.
• I've been listening to the baby's heart rate every couple of days and it's still in the 150's.

Belly Picture at 14 weeks:

Baby Bump #3 @ 12 weeks

How I'm Feeling This Week: I'm feeling good this week. Not much has changed in that area or really at all for that matter. The baby is growing though, so that's wonderful!

Movement: I haven't felt the baby move yet however, I've heard it moving around. On Thursday, the girls and I went over to a friends house so that I could use her fetal doppler monitor to hear the babies heart beat. We heard it!!! That is the sweetest sound ever!! We could tell the baby was moving around a lot because it would bump the doppler and wiggle away from where we were hearing it. It was almost like hide and seek. I loved hearing the heart beat again. It was very reassuring!

Gender: We're almost certain that Baby#3 is a girl. The heart rate was 176bpm at 10 weeks and the Ramiz prediction method also says girl. We will be very shocked if this baby ends up being a boy, but seriously overjoyed! We are praying that this baby is happy and healthy regardless of gender.
Note: We're planning to have a gender reveal ultrasound at 16 weeks in hopes that little one will show us his/her parts. We'll see!

What I'm Looking Forward To: I go back for my next check up at 15 weeks, so I'm a bit anxious about having to wait 3 more weeks. I'm buying my own fetal doppler so that I can check on the baby every few days just to reassure my heart that it's okay. I'm also looking forward to having another ultrasound done at 16 weeks!! **Update: I bought the doppler yesterday and listened to the HR this morning. Little stinker was hard to find but once I finally found it, the HR was around 156bpm.**

Doctor's Appointment: My next one is at 15 weeks.

Baby's Development at 12 weeks:

Baby is the size of a plum by now!

• Most of baby's critical systems are fully formed!
• Baby is about to enter the growth and maturation stage, in which the organs and tissues will grow and develop rapidly.
• Baby is now developing reflexes.
• Baby is opening and closing his/her fingers and curling those toes, too.
• Baby's brain is developing fast!

Baby Belly #3 @ 11 weeks

Baby Belly #3 @ 10 weeks

I'm going to do this best job I can to keep my blog updated each week so that #babywilliamson3 can have posts just like his/her sisters do. We've got a lot going on these days, but I'm going to try my hardest to not get behind and forget things.

How am I feeling: At 10 weeks, the nausea has pretty much gone away thankfully! I'm still pretty tired but I'm probably going to be tired this whole pregnancy. Haha! I've been going to the chiropractor regularly so far to hopefully keep from having any terrible back or hip pain this time. So far it's helping!

Maternity clothes: I've been wearing maternity pants for a couple of weeks now. They are so much more comfortable and I really don't enjoy wearing the belly band. I'm going to be getting the rest of my maternity shirts out in the next week or so if it continues to stay cooler outside.

Baby's Development at 10 weeks:

Baby is about 1.2 inches long and weighs about .14 ounces. His/her body will almost double is the next three weeks. 

• Baby has working arm joints, and his/her cartilage and bones are forming.
• The vital organs are fully developed and they're starting to function.
• Baby is starting to growing fingernails and hair.
• Plus, he/she is swallowing and kicking around in there.

Doctors Appointment:  Last Thursday I had my 10 week appointment. We were able to hear the babies heart rate with the doppler. It was 176bpm. That is such a reassuring and wonderful sound. I wish I had a doppler to use at home! (Note: If you have one that you wouldn't mind my borrowing, please let me know. Thanks!) Since this is my third pregnancy and the other two have gone so smoothly, my doctor and I have decided that I'll go to see her in 5 weeks (when I'm 15 weeks) and then another 5 weeks (when I'm 20 weeks). We'll get to find out gender on November 19th!! I am seriously anxious about this one!! We're totally expecting another little girl but we would LOVE to have a boy in this family. Chase needs a boy to pal around with! The good Lord knows what is best for our family, so we'll be delighted either way!

At this point we have decided against doing genetic screening this go around mainly because of the cost. We're on a high deductible insurance plan this go around and since we haven't met the deductible for me, we'd have to pay the $300ish out of pocket. Yikes! As much as I would LOVE to have more pictures of our sweet little one and see him/her kicking around, that is a lot of money that we will need come 2016 when we'll have to pay for baby's delivery.

What I'm looking forward to: I'm looking forward to hearing the heartbeat again at my next appointment and finding out the gender in November. 

Baby Williamson #3

Back in July we found out that we are expecting again! We are so surprised and excited that the Lord would bless us with another one of His children. I cannot wait!!

First doctors appointment:

Our pregnancy confirmation appointment was on August 13th. Going in we thought I would be around 7 weeks based on the date of my last period. Well, the baby only measured 6 weeks so that raised some concern for my doctor. The heart rate was 97 bpm which she also thought was low, if I was really suppose to be measuring closer to 7 weeks. Honestly, I wasn't really all that concerned because Chase and I had thought I must have ovulated late that last cycle anyways. (Sorry if that's TMI.) My doctor scheduled for me to go back for another ultrasound on the following Monday to check on the baby's growth. We were given great news on Monday morning. The baby had grown to measure 6 weeks, 4 days and the heart rate was up to 122 bpm. My doctor and nurse were pleased and felt that the pregnancy was just a little behind what a typical pregnancy would have been.

Here are the pictures from those first two ultrasounds. The baby was TINY but growing just like it should!!

Announcement:

By this time many of our close friends and my family knew we were expecting again, but we hadn't announced it on Facebook. So on August 31st I posted this little picture to let the world know that #babywilliamson3 is on his/her way!!

I was 8 weeks when we made the announcement. Up to that point I hadn't been feeling all that great. I was nauseous most of the day and tired all the time. I expected the tired symptom but the yucky feeling was new for me. My baby belly has popped out pretty quickly this time around, which I have mixed emotions about. On one hand I'm super excited to see the bump but then I also know it's most just weak abdominal muscles and extra weight I needed to loose before bringing a baby on board. Haha Oh well, I guess it's a wash now. I need to find time to exercise every day but so far that hasn't happened much. 

These two BIG SISTERS couldn't be more excited about having a real baby in our family. They both insist that the baby is a BOY and I'm pretty sure they might be a tad disappointed the baby ends up being a girl.

We are so thrilled, excited and a bit nervous about welcoming a third little one into our crew but it will all work out perfectly, I know. God has a plan and it is perfect!

One year later...

It's been just over one year since I made my last blog post. Wow, time flies when your busy and having fun! Brantley is now 5 and Savannah will be turning 3 next Saturday!! Ahh!! They are growing up WAY too fast.

Brantley will be graduating from preschool this Thursday and will officially be Kindergarten bound! I am really super excited about her finishing preschool because that also means we will be beginning our journey as a homeschooling family. Chase and I have talked and prayed about this decision for months and are confident that homeschooling is the right choice for our family. The Lord has confirmed this to me over and over again, and He has brought so many wonderful new homeschooling friends into my life already. We have chosen a program that is going to provide a wonderful education for the girls, as well as, a great support system for me/us along the way. 

{I'll be posting more about our homeschooling as the year gets going in the fall.}

As a little recap of the past year...

Brantley had her first dance recital at the end of May 2014. She did so great!!
She didn't take dance again this year, but has asked the take again next year.

May 2014 - The girls had a joint Princess Birthday Party at Sertoma Park

June 2014 - The girls has Princess Photos made with Codie from
White Cotton Photography. They turned out so cute!!!

Summer 2014

September