29 Weeks: Scarlett Kay

We're into single digit week countdown now!  We're estimating about 9 weeks to go!  No cute bump photo this week because we were SO busy this week!!  Scarlett is now the lovely size of a butternut squash!  She's between 2.5-3 pounds and now building up her fat storage!

Hiking while visiting Grandma and Jack!

I had an OB appt and glucose test this week!  First the appointment went great.  She's growing right on track and heart is strong.  Now I'm going every two weeks!  Next, my glucose test wasn't as lucky.  The doctor always wants it at 140 or below when they draw your blood and my glucose reading was 146, boo!!  So for the first time I have to do the 3 hour test.  UGH!  No one has time for that!!  Ah well, whatever I need to do.

This week our family had SO much going on!  I finally had my huge final test that stood in the way of myself and being an actual nurse.  The dreaded NCLEX!  I've been studying since the beginning of August.  I tested Tuesday afternoon and finished in 98 questions (min is 75, max is 265).  I found out yesterday I PASSED!!! Andrea McVay, BSN RN.  I can't believe it!!

The same day I found out my results we decided to put in an offer on a home we really loved.  This is our second time to bid for a home so it was easier to not get our hopes up as much.  The first time the sellers didn't even counter us, they just accepted the competitions offer.  It made us so sad!  So this time we were guarded and literally expecting anything to happen.  Our awesome realtor called us that evening to tell us...the sellers accepted our first offer over the competition's!!! WHAT!?!?!  It was almost too much good news to handle in one day.  My husband and I just grinned and stared at each other.  Holy Sh*t!! LOL We're so excited to buy our first home!!  The timing is pretty close to the delivery of our Scarlett, but we're excited nonetheless.  I'll be 35 weeks along when we close!  Eekk!  Here's a few peeks at the hopefully first, new McVay Nest!

If everything works out right we'll get to bring home our baby girl to our first home, celebrate Thanksgiving and our first Christmas as a family of 4 here!  We're so excited to get going, and NOT excited about packing haha.

Such a nice guy!

Until next week!

28 Weeks: Hello Third Trimester!

We made it to the last 1/3 hurdle to meeting our baby girl!  I can't believe how quickly this has went!  It seriously seems like April 1st was just a few months ago.  We're SO excited!!

First Bump Picture!

2nd Trimester

3rd Trimester

This month has been a great one...mostly.  I did sadly break my streak of never throwing up with a pregnancy during labor day weekend.  My poor husband was a ROCKSTAR and cleaned up puke, no questions asked.  Bless him!  Then I had fun diarrhea and acid reflux...all in the same week!  All these symptoms are new to me, but definitely expected.  Each pregnancy brings it's own unique gifts haha!  On the bright side I've lost 5lbs, so my OB will love that.

Scarlett is moving and kicking constantly.  I feel like Norah didn't move this consistently, but time dampens the mind so who really knows!  I do know it's my FAVORITE thing about being pregnant, is feeling the little life move inside me all the time.  There's just something so magical about it.  She's measuring at 2 and 1/4lbs and only has about a month left before her lungs are delivery ready!

28 Weeks with Norah vs Scarlett

My MIL has great taste!

I had to glance back at my old blog pregnant with Norah at 28 weeks and it seemed this last trimester held all the challenges that the first two didn't.  I hope that's not the case this pregnancy, but probably so!  For instance, last pregnancy at 29 weeks I had my first trip to the hospital for contractions.  Crazy!  This pregnancy thus far has really been nice and uneventful.  Here's hoping it stays that way!

Last baseball game of Summer

Bump + PSL

Speaking of, we've decided to go ahead and keep our current OB.  AND she scheduled our c-section date/time already!  We're so excited, but we both don't think I'll make it until then.  Time will tell!

Beside some nausea and GI issues, I've been feeling pretty to myself mostly.  I over did it with some rope climbs and pulled my round ligament, so I'm resting up a bit from that.  I'm constantly learning what I can handle and what I can't, and it's a challenge!  Luckily no damage was done and I'm scaling back more in CrossFit.  Mama has to keep healthy for recovery!  I have been spotting the last few weeks, but my OB checked me out and I'm still high, tight and closed so she's just recommending rest, water and relaxation.

Last week we finally found out my husband passed his bar exam and is officially and finally a lawyer!!  Very exciting and so proud of him!  Also I take my RN boards next week, then I'll be a BSN FINALLY!  Many exciting things happening and so glad to be getting all this wrapped up before baby comes.  We're SO proud of him!  I'm going to try to do weekly bump dates from here on out because it seems like this last trimester is definitely the most eventful and changes happen so quickly!  Plus you just NEVER know when that last bump date will be our last <3

Newest lawyer in Tulsa! And shout out to StitchFix for the nursing top I'm sporting!

Oh and as if we didn't have enough on our plate (I feel like I keep saying this!), we've lightly started to house hunt for this first time?? So Insane!!  It's time consuming.  It's exciting and exhausting!  We're aren't in any huge rush because we could easily stay put until I start my job this Spring, but we wanted to see what our money could buy on a cheap budget, so if we find the right one the McVays may make a move again!

Again, I can't believe we're less than 3 months out from being a family of FOUR!  Plus, um...Thanksgiving is less than 3 months away??  Geez!  I have a few Christmas gifts already bought because I know this season will creep up on us sooner than we think, and luckily we don't buy for many people these days like we used to.  My husband already promised to do most of the Christmas baking!  This holiday season will be the most sleepless and best yet!  We just can't wait.

25 Weeks: Scarlett Kay

Baby girl is growing right along!  It's hard to imagine we're only about 3 months away from meeting this little girl for the first time.  This pregnancy is going by SO incredibly fast compared to my first!!

Preggers!

The last couple of weeks the lower back pain/aches have really kicked in.  I didn't realize how uncomfortable I constantly was until I took a dip in a friend's pool and the weightlessness feeling on my belly was just incredible.  For once I didn't feel that constant tug on my lower back.  It was amazing, and I didn't want to get out of the water!  Other than that, no other real complaints!  My weight gain is still pretty steady at 20lbs now.  Not bad!

Running is so glamorous these days!

Now that I'm just studying for the NCLEX full time I'm able to hit the CF gym 4-5 times a week and still run once a week. (Maybe that's why my back is sore!)  It feels great to be active in this stage of pregnancy, but the 0450 wake ups are hard!  I just say to myself that I only get to hit the gym for about 3 more months before I have to take a long break, so enjoy it now!  Luckily I have a great support group at the gym and I love seeing them every morning.

Hard studying all day in a comfy position!

I'm interviewing a new OB this week so I'm excited for a little change up!  More to come on if it works out.  I hope so!  Next week is my last monthly appt, then from then on we go bi-monthly.  I'll also schedule my glucose test next visit.  Woohoo!

We started planning a celebration party for our little one this week!  It's not quite a shower (because we have the basics still from our first), but more like a sprinkle!  Mama can always use breast milk bags, diapers and wipes!  Plus, who doesn't like to get together for a party?  We're looking forward to having everyone over again!  I missed hosting parties when I lived in Florida.  It's nice to have people over again.

Cuddling next to sister on a lazy Sunday morning

She had to be in a picture too!

The question I get asked the most is how does Norah feel about the new baby?  I always answer the same thing.  Truth be told, she's still just a tad too young to really grasp what's going on under Mama's ever-stretching shirts.  She definitely knows what a baby is, but has no idea what's in store for her.  We think the first few weeks will be rough with me healing from a major surgery, her adjusting to not being the center of our attention and Dada not getting any paternity leave to help out much BUT we'll survive.  We'll find a new normal and it will be great once more.  She's a strong girl and we know she has so much love to give to her baby sister.

I can finally feel Scarlett move, kick, stretch and roll all the time now.  It's my favorite thing about being pregnant, feeling the baby move.  It's so incredible.  I'm anxious to see if she's still lying transverse or not next week.  I haven't been able to pick up her heart beat on my stethoscope yet, but I read it takes until about the 28th week to do so, so I'll try again in a few weeks.  She's as big as a head of cauliflower this week!

I had to let go of my 2 abs I had, but still hanging onto my traps!

He thinks he's hilarious!

As for nesting goes, it's coming along slowly.  I get so tired so quickly (especially on days I work out).  Also I have to put in 3-4 hours/day studying, so my purge is going slowly.  After Labor Day Weekend things should slow down for us a bit and I can start tackling the big items on our list.  I really want to get as much done as soon as possible for so many reasons.  I won't be getting smaller or more comfortable as time goes on! Haha.

Just a few more weeks until our FINAL trimester!!

23 Weeks: Scarlett Kay

Almost a month past our halfway point and baby and I are still growing right along.  We had our big anatomy scan a few weeks ago and everything checked out great!  She's in the 50th percentile for size so she's perfectly average.  One thing we noticed right away from our pictures was her NOSE!  It's a perfect match to her sister's ultrasound and it's the classic Daddy nose.  So funny!  We have a feeling these two are going to be twins earth side.

Last week I FINALLY graduated nursing school!  I can't believe I did it!  So my bump buddy and I had to get one last school photo!

Then the husband and I jetted off to California for a wonderful 4 day kid-free babymoon.  We loved sleeping in, long conversations at dinner and beach time but we talked about our little love the entire time.  We were so excited to get back to her!

Bump and I biked to breakfast!

Hiked 3 miles!

My selfie is changing all the time

Now my husband has started his big boy job at a local law firm in town and I'm studying for the next month for my nursing boards.  We are still trying to squeeze in weekend fun trips with our girl.

Blue Hole Park

Gilcrease Museum

Thus far (knock on wood), I'm still feeling great!  I haven't noticed really any big changes except it takes me longer to clean and do chores.  I'm not as quick as I used to be!  I'm still sleeping pretty well.  Only waking up once a night to pee, score!  The horseshoe pillow has really been a lifesaver.  I'm seeing a chiropractor once a month and I'm hoping it keeps that awful back pain I had with Norah at bay.  I'm still at CrossFit 3-4 times a week and running once a week on my own.  I'm feeling the good ol' Braxton Hicks contractions at least once a day, but they're pretty infrequent and not painful so I don't mind.  Still no nausea or vomiting yet!  I'm back to really no food aversions, so that's been nice.  I'm really hoping my body holds up this way throughout.

I've been hitting the thrift stores pretty hard lately and have been scoring some really good maternity shirts/nursing clothes.  Seriously, not many maternity clothes I own are brand new!  I've been lucky with picking up a few things here and there for Scarlett too.  I have to stock up on "little sister" onesies!  We started a small gift registry on Amazon, but really our list is so much more smaller and focused this time around.

Now that school and our babymoon are past us I can finally start working in my list of things to do before baby comes!  The nesting mode has really hit me hard this week for some odd reason.  All of a sudden I really want to de-clutter and organize!  I have to put in 4-5 hours a day studying, but I'm hoping to still work a few hours (or at least one) going through all of Norah's clothes, organizing them and slowly getting around to all the closets and cluttered rooms.  It's so funny how a one pound little girl makes me want to completely toss my house upside down!  By Mama's estimates I have about 15 weeks left and I'm sure I'll need every week.

She loved this "baby bed". Trying to set up Scarlett's space in our room but Norah has other plans!

Our old fashioned doppler

I know these next 15 weeks are going to fly by.  I'm both so excited and sad all at the same time.  I can say with confidence we're loving life right now with all these new changes just around the bend and enjoying what's left of our time as a family of three <3