Baby 3.0: 32 Weeks

32 weeks with Mr. Crosby man... that means 8 weeks or so left!

I am feeling: Let me just say I am getting SO EXCITED to bring this little guy into the world. It's becoming a bit more real every day! I also really, really enjoyed our weekend at home altogether. Tony has every other Saturday off and it is so so so great when he has two days off in a row. You can just tell the girls thrive with him home as well, too. So these days I'm feeling grateful. (Check back in with me after next weekend when Tony has to work Saturday... I might be feeling more frazzled!)

Tony & the girls pretend sleeping this weekend before bedtime

Cravings: I suppose my cravings lately would be Thanksgiving dishes. A few days ago I whipped up some green bean casserole and a few days later it was sweet potato fluff. Last night I made some amazing cheesy potatoes that hit the spot & made me miss our family get togethers every Thanksgiving! I am soooo craving having my body back for just myself - to be able to move with ease and to sleep on my back or belly! I'm craving easy breathing, too.

Baby's size: At 32 weeks gestation, Crosby is about four pounds & 18 inches long! No wonder I feel like I am really, really running out of room for him this week. Also, babies born this week have around a 90% survival rate!

L: 32 weeks with Crosby R: On top, 32 weeks pregnant with Molly and bottom, 32 weeks pregnant with Presley

High for this week: THE OLYMPICS!!!!! Yaaaaay! I've really been enjoying the indoor women's volleyball. It reminds me of watching Ashley play at Germantown and absolutely falling in love with that sport. Swimming and gymnastics have been super exciting to watch as well. I've also been cooking a lot more at home lately and while I'm totally not loving the constant dishes (though it's honestly not my least favorite chore) I have really enjoyed the yummy homemade food and saving money! Some of the dishes I've made recently: Stuffed pepper soup, chicken in coconut mango verde sauce, homemade lasagna, and a paleo chicken spinach stew.

The beginning of tonight's stuffed pepper soup

On deck for the rest of the week will include one of our FAVORITE dishes - coconut chicken curry! I plan on including this meal super soon in a blog about easy meals I plan to make to stock our freezer before the baby comes. I also promised a certain someone (aka, my husband!) that I'd whip up some yummy potato skins for us to eat while watching the Olympics so that'll be coming up here soon, too. Another favorite thing I've been up to this week is crafting various things for our upcoming co-ed baby shower!

Low for this week: The girls' play tent was on top of the guest bed in their playroom and both Presley and Molly were inside the tent hiding from Tony and I (neither of us had a clue this was going on) and somehow the girls and tent all tilted backwards and everyone fell off the bed and got hurt. We heard the screams and cries and that was an awful sound. Both girls were pretty upset and it seems like everything is okay but I hate that you can never be sure if there are any undetected injuries. I hate hate hate hate when my babies get hurt!!!! Another thing that sucks lately is sitting on the floor and then having to get back up... that's becoming increasingly cumbersome. Having to pee in the middle of the night has been no fun. Also having little to no energy throughout the day can be brutal.

What I'm excited about: I'm SO happy we're done looking at hospitals and have picked where I'll be giving birth. Baptist Women's seems like a wonderful place to bring our child into the world and that it'll be a great fit. They encourage baby to stay with mom but also offer a nursery as needed, the hospital was beautiful, the staff was friendly, and I love the separate rooms for birthing and recovery. Though, I would be interested to hear anybody's experience in an all-in-one birth/recovery room. For some reason I just find it comforting to leave the room where I labored and pushed after it's all said and done and time to recover. What do you guys think about all-in-one rooms versus separate labor/delivery and mother/baby rooms?

I don't know about you guys, but when it comes to sharing my thoughts, feelings, and experiences - especially when it comes to these big life moments - I'm very conscious of the balance between keeping it real and sharing my immense gratitude. I am so aware that so many precious couples are struggling with infertility and would absolutely give anything to be pregnant - and yet here I am complaining. I also really desire & strive to keep it real in my writing, though I don't ever want it to come at the expense of another's feelings. Pregnancy (and parenthood), for me, has been anything but glamorous but I have also been very fortunate with relatively good health. I don't ever want to be perceived as anything but grateful and extremely aware of the fact that the little things I am taking for granted or complaining about are directly attached to the big things that someone else is currently praying for. I know how fleeting this life is and more than anything I want to write down every big and little moment that I can so that when these moments pass that I will have something to look back on. And maybe even some day my kiddos will glance at some of the things I've written here.

Thanks for hanging with me through it all.

32 & 33 Week Pregnancy Reflection {baby TWO}

I know, I know... I failed to post last week!  Making up for it (a little) by posting a bit from last week AND this week.  :)

How far along?:  32 weeks along in my second pregnancy.

 Movement:  Just this week she has started to get a LOT more crazy with her movements.  I've also started to feel her hiccups occasionally!  (And they're just as annoying as last time!)

Cravings:  All things cottage cheese.  Also, gyros.  We had Kabob International - and our first gyros since moving back - and OH MY GOSH!  They are literally the best gyros I've ever had.  Yes, that means just as good as (or better than) Uncle Pete's to my QC people.  Kabob tops their gyros with tomatoes, lettuce, onions, & of course tzatziki (cucumber) sauce.  Seriously.  Amazing.

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How far along?:  33 weeks along in my second pregnancy - more than likely less than 7 weeks to go!  I can do this.  I can do this.  I can do this.

L: 33 weeks pregnant with Presley (January 8, 2012)
R: 33 weeks pregnant with Molly (May 20, 2014)

I am feeling:  After spending the long weekend with friends, family, my sisters, nephew, niece, & brothers-in-law... I am feeling soo great.  It's amazing how much your mental well-being effects the rest of your life.  I didn't think I would last very long at the Memphis Zoo when we visited yesterday afternoon with everybody... but we ended up staying for 3-4 hours and I felt 100% fine the entire time - up until the walk back to the car.  And even then, that was just due to my legs swelling up.  I have a feeling it just had everything to do with how much genuine fun we were having!
Size of baby:  She's the size of a honeydew - and I BELIEVE IT!  Around 19 inches and 4.5 pounds... makes sense!

Movement:  It's starting to get ridiculous over here... she is really out of room.  When she moves around in there, you've got a pretty good chance of seeing it from the outside of my belly.  Early tonight she stuck her entire hand/elbow/knee/foot or something up against the other side of my belly button and pushed it all the way outward!!!  Was a crazy thing to look at and feel!
What I miss most:  Uninterrupted sleep.  Goodbye, forever.
Cravings:  I can't think of any cravings I've really had lately.  I guess the closest thing is wanting to go have some authentic Mexican food for the past week or so... and we had El Mezcal tonight... thank goodness my husband is such a great man!!!!
Best moment of the week:  Having my sisters and their significant others and kiddos in town.  We don't get together often enough and so it was really, really awesome.  Matthew's baptism was a beautiful occasion to bring people together.  We also had our housewarming potluck this weekend and it went great!

The whole gang!
L to R: Presley & Tony, Jonathan & Ashley, Amanda & Matthew, John & Anne Marie and Me

What I'm excited about:  Starting the hunt for a church we could consider our home parish here in Memphis... even though it makes me miss Father Levitt & Christ the King in Moline so so very much!