Monday, January 25, 2016

Baby Lowery #2: 24 Weeks





Oh my goodness. Has it really been a month since I last updated? Sorry sweet baby girl!

Let's see, what all has happened? We found out Baby is a GIRL!! Our sweet Evie Elizabeth will be gracing us with her presence this spring! You can read ALL the details, including how we chose her name HERE

We celebrated Christmas with our families---it was a whirlwind, but it was SO fun with Holt this year! It's weird to think that next Christmas we will have a 2 year old and a 7 month old…CRAZY! Plus, my husband hit Christmas OUT.OF.THE.PARK. this year with my gift---I get a girl's weekend complete with shopping, my nails done, and some sweets from Bliss cupcakes. PLUS, he is taking Holt to his parent's house for the weekend so I can truly relax. He got MAJOR brownie points! 

After Christmas, we were home for a week to unload everything Christmas, unpack, do laundry, and then repack. Daniel and I had the opportunity to go to Colorado with my grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousins---so we had to pack for us, but also pack for Holt to stay with my parents for the week. Daniel has wanted to go to Colorado and go skiing since we got married, but the chance has never presented itself until now. Since I'm pregnant, I did not ski. Instead, I hung out with my grandparents and we went shopping and rested, which was nice. Holt had a great week away from us and I'm not sure who had more fun--him or my parents!





As soon as we got back from our trip, I started Holt in Mother's Day Out at our church. He goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9AM-2PM and he does pretty well. So far, he has yet to take a nap longer than 20 minutes, so I'm praying that changes VERY soon, but they just rave about how wonderful he is and how he just talks up a storm to everybody so I'm glad my little social butterfly is enjoying it. 

As far as this pregnancy goes, it has really been fabulous. Since it was SO different from Holt's at the beginning, I figured that in all likelihood I wouldn't enjoy this pregnancy as much. But I'm so glad to be wrong! The only complaint I have about pregnancy in general is just how TIRED I am after doing so little. It is so frustrating, but I just have to remind myself that my body is literally working 24/7 at making a little human. One other complaint I have is that my legs have been itching like crazy the last few weeks. They only itch from the knee down to my ankle and I don't have hives or anything, so I know it's just dry skin, but oh my goodness it is annoying. It itches like I have mosquito bites all down my legs and no amount of scratching helps. I just try to keep lotion on at all times and when I take a shower, I exfoliate after shaving with a sugar scrub. 

I went to the doctor last week to check up on little miss and she checked out beautifully. Her heart rate was good and strong and she was moving everywhere! Surprisingly, she is head down (go baby girl!). This is new for me because Holt was breech up until he turned around 34 weeks or so.

People have been asking what our plans are for her nursery. As of right now, we plan on her and Holt sharing a room. I just don't want to give up my guest room yet, especially since all our family lives out of town. We really enjoy having people stay at our house so I don't want to give that up until I absolutely have to. She will stay in our room for at least the first month anyway and Holt is a SUPER heavy sleeper (the other night I tried to wake him up two different times to give him medicine…and nada) so I think he will adjust pretty quickly. We plan to get a convertible crib, move Holt to that and then put Evie in his current crib. I'll be looking for bedding for her that's girly but still complements what we already have in there.

It's funny the differences in expecting your first vs. subsequent children. At this point with Holt, we already had his crib and dresser and we were picking out fabrics for the bedding and curtains. I have nothing for Evie right now (except for a few clothes and a new baby k'tan carrier) but strangely enough I'm not stressing about it…yet. 

How far along? 24 weeks, 2 days
Maternity clothes: For sure! 
Sleep: Overall really good. Our heat vent is right above our bed, so I can get somewhat stuffy during the night, but it's not terrible. Plus I have two fans going, so it helps. I've also been better about going to bed more on time. 
Movement: Absolutely! So far, she seems to not be as big of a mover as Holt was. Also, since she is already head down, her movements are in different places than last time--much lower as opposed to higher with Holt. 
Food cravings: I still just want to eat out all the time, but I'm doing a little better. I have really been wanting donuts the past couple of weeks. No, I haven't had them yet, but I foresee some in my near future. Also, weirdly enough, I've been wanting hot dogs (the good kind). We had all beef hot dogs with slaw and baked beans for dinner last week and I ate leftovers of that probably 3 more times. I've also really wanted raspberries, or anything with raspberry filling, and cereal. 
Food aversions: Nothing really at this point. Although sometimes I don't realize it until it's right in front of me.