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: