Alexandria: Weeks 15-25

It's a girl!! My intuition was right! I'm so excited to have a little baby girl around again. I get to reuse all of Jane's super cute girl clothes. :) I'm also excited to get to see the sister dynamic develop. I've never gotten to see a sister-sister relationship up close before. Jane is sooooo excited that it's a girl. She said she wanted a sister from the very beginning. She hugs and pats my belly now and says "Hi baby sister!" Sam gets to have his Alexandria! This is the first baby we'll have that will have a bunch of nickname possibilities. We will call her "Xan" for short, but when she's old enough she can choose any nickname she wants. :) I find myself calling her the full Alexandria a lot, so it will be a mix of both for me for sure.

The ultrasound tech said she could teach a class from this one!

We still haven't settled on a middle name. We are completely open to suggestions, but don't be offended if we shut down all options you present. We are not in the "We like too many names to choose!" boat. We're in the "We can't find just one name that we both like as a middle name!" boat. We both dislike a lot of girl names so that adds to the difficulty. Here are some of our guidelines if you'd like to make a suggestion, No month names, (May, June) no verb names, (Dash, Whisper) no noun names (Faith, Joy, Ruby) that includes no flower names (Rose, Daisy). I kind of like the idea of a Biblical name, but I feel like I've already been through all the female Bible names and came up with nothing. The final decision is Sam's though. He gets priority since I got to name Jane Elizabeth. :) But of course as always, we both have to like it. I also would like it pretty short since she has a long first name, but it's not super important. My favorites are Rei, Ruth and Jael. Sam isn't sold on any of those yet. So we'll see! I'm excited to nail down Xan's middle name whenever we do, but to be honest it might not be until she's born! ;)

Best profile ultrasound pic I've gotten through all 3 babies!

We went to the same ultrasound place that I went to with Atlas. Inside Story is the best! They are reasonably priced and everything is very nice! The tech makes you feel at ease and she is so informative. I love the nice bed for me and couches for family. They have toys for the older siblings and big screen TVs for easy viewing. I love the sneak peek they give you to see your baby in 4D. They even give you a DVD of the whole visit! I would recommend them to anyone!

4D! Touching her nose with her toes!

Sweet baby girl!

My mom, my dad, my grandparents and of course Atlas and Jane came with me to the appointment. Sam is trying to save all his time off for when Alexandria is born so he stayed at work for this ultrasound. It was super special to have my grandparents there! It was the first time they got to come to a great grandchild's ultrasound. Technology has advanced a lot since the last time they attended an ultrasound. My grandma really enjoyed it! I loved having them there.

She gave us a smile! <3

The tech got the measurements she needed and then started looking for the gender. She was in a little bit of a hard position to tell right at first. The tech encouraged her to move a little so she could see. By this point I feel like I know what to look for and I was pretty sure I could tell it was a girl. The ultrasound tech said "It's confirmed. We have a little girl!" It felt so good to know for sure! We told Jane it was a sister! She smiled and covered her face a little. I think she got a little shy with everyone looking at her for a reaction. She was excited! The tech checked her cord and her heart and her brain to make sure everything looked right. Then we got to hear her heartbeat! I always love that! My grandma bought Jane a big sister bracelet. We went to Whataburger afterwards for a milkshake to celebrate! It was a great day.

Atlas was too busy for a picture

Jane got on the bed next to me for most of the appointment

I finally started feeling better around 15 1/2 weeks. It is always such a relief to be over morning sickness. I was still feeling it every so often at that point but it was no longer a daily occurrence. I finally got my house mostly clean again and the dishes don't make me gag anymore. Woohoo! Unfortunately almost as soon as I wasn't feeling morning sickness anymore I caught a stomach bug. YUCK! I hate them so much. I seem to catch one at least once a pregnancy. It was the worst stomach illness we've had since there were kids involved. While I was feeling bad my parents were able to help out with the kids. So grateful to have them close and available! As soon as I was feeling better the kids started throwing up and a few hours after that Sam was down for the count. At least I was better enough to take care of everyone. I'm seeming to get sick about once a month again. :( Thankfully it's normally just pesky colds. Each time I've been pregnant this happens to me. My immune system is severely compromised and then as soon as I have the baby I go back to only getting a couple sicknesses a year! Hopefully I can go a couple months without a sickness soon!

18 weeks and enjoying the fall weather!

I had the wonderful treat of getting to see my friend Esther on Thanksgiving!! She had come down from Ohio to spend the holiday with her family. She was in Houston for Thanksgiving at her Aunt's house. I was overjoyed that she was able to make a quick stop by my parents house on her way back to her home town. We got to chat about life and pregnancy for a little while and then we grabbed a bump picture together and she had to get on the road.

21 1/2 and 20 weeks!

It's so wonderful to share this time together! I miss her dearly. But I am so glad we are able to keep in touch over the phone and I get to catch her when she's in Texas to see her family. After our babies are born I hope to make the trip to Ohio to visit her one day! Jane and Atlas would be over the moon to get to fly in an airplane! They both love them. So we definitely need to take a trip in an airplane one day soon.

Perfect cup holder!

It's so much fun when my bump gets big enough to keep things steady. I'm drinking my yummy protein smoothie for breakfast here. My midwife Sallie recommended drinking protein smoothies for breakfast when I was pregnant with Atlas, especially since a lot of breakfast options are not very healthy. The kids like it too! I try to make one for breakfast about twice a week. My other healthy breakfast options are scrambled eggs with whole wheat toast and Oatmeal with strawberries and/or blueberries. Of course sometimes Jane asks for pancakes and I can't say no. I also can't resist having a couple when they are right in front of me. But I try to make the majority of my breakfasts healthy choices!

22 weeks

Let me take a moment to talk about my midwife a little more. This is my second pregnancy with her. She is amazing. I love her. It's great to be able to call her my friend and my midwife! It's so wonderful to have a midwife that is a Christian. She can tell me specific prayers to pray over Alexandria and I know she's praying for me and Xan too! I know a lot of midwives recommend becoming one with the earth and channeling your primate ancestors during labor. I'm glad I don't have to listen to that! She is informative and has so much wisdom as a midwife and a person. She gives me advice, but never makes me feel bad about my decisions. She respects me as an adult. If anyone is ever looking for a midwife in the Houston area look up Sallie Witte. She's the best.

All the babies at 22 weeks!

So you can probably tell by now that I love a good bump picture! Well, I also love comparing my bumps to previous pregnancies! The picture above is me at 22 weeks in the same top and pants. From left to right the babies are Jane, Atlas, Alexandria. Yeah I had fun putting this together. ;) I have another outfit that I can recreate at 38 weeks that I did with both of the previous babies too. That one I've done while standing in the pool. I'll have to make sure I get in the same spot for that one! Hopefully it won't be super cold that day. ;)

Feeling festive at 24 weeks! Just two weeks until Christmas!

I love Christmas!! Now Christmas is just 10 days away! So the other day I decided to get all dressed up in my Christmas gear. I've got on my cozy red maternity sweater, my LuLaRoe Christmas ornament leggings and my Christmas light Toms. It all makes me so happy and comfy! When you're pregnant comfort matters! It's hard to believe I'm nearing the end of the second trimester. The only complaints I have so far is a little heartburn and the same back pain I had around this time when I was pregnant with Atlas. I'm feeling like it could be cleared up by a chiropractic visit. I'll have to look into it. Xan is getting stronger everyday. I can feel all her kicks now. I haven't felt hiccups yet but I can feel just about everything else. I feel her most when Atlas is asleep. Probably because I'm actually still for once and not as distracted. Jane was the first one to see and feel her kick other than me. That happened just the other day. So special! The only thing is I still can't seem to wrap my head around the idea of three kids. I don't know what it is. I mean I know she's there and if everything continues to go well I'll get to meet her in 3 1/2 months. But I guess it's because I came from a two kid brother/sister family that a third baby seems so foreign to me. It also has to do with having two busy toddlers that keep my busy all day long. I'm trying to slow down and take moments just to watch her kick and bond with her so I can finally get it through my head that she'll be here soon!

Proverbs 22:6

Train up a child in the way he should go,

And when he is old he will not depart from it.

3 John 1:2-4

Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.