32 weeks

Oh boy has life been crazy the past few weeks. =)

How far along are you? I am 32 weeks and 1 day at the moment

Best moment this week?  We had Linnea's first birthday party this past Saturday. It was the hottest day so far this year in Seattle. haha. I'm just happy and thankful it was sunny and not raining... like it did today. My sweet girl turned one this past Sunday. I can't believe how quickly time has gone by already.

Prayer Requests? I started bleeding randomly last Wednesday. After a few appointments and an ultrasound, we have found out that Tobin is completely healthy and fine, and that everything looks fine. I've been having lots of prodromal labor as well. Prayers for rest and that I would stop bleeding would be much appreciated.

Baby's growth:  I had an ultrasound yesterday, and Tobin is 4 lbs, 15 oz. He is looking nice and healthy. =) He does have a big head though like the rest of my husband's family.

Weight gain or loss? Loss. The heat made it really hard to eat... aka I didn't eat enough calories. I lost 2 pounds. Now that it has cooled off, eating is a lot easier again.

Cravings: French fries, watermelon and ice.

Sleep? Haha. Oh goodness I would kill for a 3-4 hour stretch of solid sleep right now. I know it will get better when he finally gets here.

What I miss: sleep. I have serious bags under my eyes at the moment. They're getting so bad that they look like I got punched.

Something that I am looking forward to? The drier going off, as it means I have washed ALL of the laundry in the house. haha. Oh I feel so domestic all of a sudden. 

30 weeks

Wow. I can't believe that this pregnancy journey is almost over.

How far along are you? I will be 30 weeks tomorrow!

Best moment this week? My father in law is buying shetland ponies, and I got to go with him to look at them. Being able to play with some horses was AMAZING!

Prayer Requests? We've gotten to the sleep? What is sleep again? point in this pregnancy. Prayers for a restful night or two of sleep would be appreciated.

Baby's growth? Tobin is 2 weeks ahead of schedule and has a strong heartbeat. They still see a peri- gestational bleed, but I think it could be another heartbeat. I'm feeling kicks simultaneously on both sides, and I'm way bigger than I was with Linnea. Only time will tell though. I'm trying not to get my hopes up for twins again. But he is at least the size of a cucumber this week. =)

Symptoms? Lack of sleep, fatigue, the normal sciatica pain. I'm on calcium and iron now, so they have been helping with my carpal tunnel and the foot cramps. =)

Medical Stuff? I got the results from my 2 hour glucose test and found out that I do not have gestational diabetes! Praise God! This pregnant woman loves her cookies and cream ice cream. haha. I am very anemic again, which isn't surprising.(I'm anemic even when I'm not pregnant) 

Cravings? Ice cream, berries and fruit.

Weight gain or loss? Gain!!! I've gained 10 pounds woohoo!!!

What I'm looking forward to? Linnea turns 1 in 2 weeks. =O So we are having a small birthday party for her on Friday night with my family since one of my sisters has to work and the other will be out of the state for her actual birthday party. I'm looking forward to working on the decorations for her party more though. =)

27 weeks

Wow. It is my last official week in the 2nd trimester! I'm quite excited to get to the 3rd trimester. =) I just realized that I haven't updated in a few weeks. My parents bought their first house! So I helped them move and clean. My grandparents from California also came up to help with the move in stuff, so I've spent the past couple weeks hanging out with them.

How far along are you?  27 weeks 1 day

Best Moment this week?  My husband only works 2 days this week thanks to Independence day being tomorrow. =) I'm really looking forward to all of the time I get to spend with him. He's been working 50+ hours a week and working on school stuff, so I haven't gotten to really see him lately. 

Baby's growth? According to the bump.com, the baby is the size of a rutabaga. He is 13.6 to 14.8 inches and 1.5 to 2.5 pounds. I don't know about any of you, but the rutabagas I've seen up here are pretty small. Definitely not over a foot long. Hmmm....

Cravings?  Frozen yogurt. And french fries. I'm pretty sure I could live off of those two things.

Maternity Clothes?  Only in the shirt department. I am still fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans.

Movement? Tobin is transverse, and so when he kicks, I can definitely feel it in my hips. He likes to chill more than anything else though.
What I miss.... having a real diaper bag. My diaper bag broke about a month ago. I've been searching for a diaper bag that could hold two babies worth of stuff easily and keep it organized, and I finally found one. My husband and I just have to see where we can fit it into the budget before Tobin comes. I've been using a big purse to haul around Linnea's stuff.

Thoughts from the family....  My mom keeps asking me if we are done after this one. (I'm pregnant with baby #2) She keeps pushing my husband towards a vasectomy, when in all honesty she should have nothing to say about it. 
Something I'm Excited About.... My sister in law graduated from college! Which means that she and I get to hang out a lot more now! 

Discussion Question: My plan is to have a natural drug free childbirth. If Tobin stays transverse however, we'll be looking at a c-section. The idea of a c-section really scared me at first, but I know that God is in control of everything and that whatever happens during this pregnancy, he has his hand in it. I'm thankful that if I do have to have a c-section, I won't have to have labored for hours before it.

24 weeks

How far along are you?  24 weeks and 1 day. Can't believe I'm almost out of the 2nd trimester

Prayer requests?  Prayer for rest. Tobin has been chilling on my hips, and it makes it really hard to get comfortable and sleep.

Medical Stuff?  My carpal tunnel is back in both arms. Ick. I saw my midwife yesterday and everything looks good! I do have to do another glucose test at my next appointment, but it should be negative.  I've even gained 2 pounds since the last time I was there, So that's pretty sweet!

Cravings?  Chocolate...which only happens when I'm pregnant, watermelon chip ice cream from Baskin Robbins, donuts, jalepeno poppers. Pretty much everything bad to eat. haha

Gender?  It's a boy!!!

What I miss.... being able to dye my hair. I get bored with my hair color easily. haha. I get bored with lots of things easily. Oy.

What I'm looking forward to....  Being able to meet my sweet boy. It'll be interesting to see who he looks like( our daughter looks a lot like my husband) and it'll be interesting to see how his personality develops.

Discussion Question:I'm pretty sure we are done having kids. We want more kids but my husband hates me being pregnant, because it adds a whole bunch of extra responsibility on him. (The joys of HG) We are thinking about fostering kids in the future. I feel called to it, but we need more space first.

Crockpot applesauce

We found out that our daughter (10 months) has issues with gluten, so to help save money and for the fun of it, I have been making home made baby food. Her favorite food is applesauce. She'll eat just about anything if it's mixed with applesauce. We were using Gerber baby food before, and for 2 containers of applesauce, it was $1.10 on sale. I made enough applesauce to fill 15 containers for $3.28. That is 21 cents per container. Big time savings! It is SUPER simple to make. =)

Step one: Pick out your apples. You will want the sweeter apples, like Red or Golden Delicious, Gala, or Braeburn. It means you will have to add less sugar in the end.

I used Gala this time since they were on sale

Step two: Peel your apples. Simple but time consuming. Linnea (my daughter) and I watched The Lion King while I was peeling. Maybe I am just a slow peeler.

I only peeled 7 apples because that is all my crockpot can fit.

Step three: Core and slice up your apples. It is okay if they have bruises. You won't be able to tell when they are done cooking. You want to cut out rust spots and worm holes. Those will affect the taste of your applesauce. It doesn't matter what size you cut the pieces into, as long as all the pieces are close in size. This will help with uniform cooking.

My pieces were about quarter size

Step four: Place the apple pieces into your crock pot and turn it on low.

Step five: Add about a cup of water or apple juice to the crockpot. This will help the apples retain moisture, so they soften, not dry out.

I used apple juice so I could use less sugar later on as this is for baby food.

Step six: Let it cook for at 6+ hours, or until the apples are brown and mushy. You'll be able to tell the difference between a raw and a cooked apple. There will probably be some water or juice left in the bottom. This is okay and normal.

It's a little hard to see but the apples are brown.

Step seven: Mash the apples up. A potato masher works great. A food processor also works just fine. I lost my masher when we moved, so I used my food processor. You will want to mix the left over water or juice into whatever you're mashing. It'll help give the applesauce a smoother texture.

We like our applesauce a little chunky.

Step eight: Add cinnamon and sugar(or juice) to taste. You will want to do this while it is still warm, as the sugar will absorb better.

Step nine: Chill and enjoy. (Or if you are impatient like me, enjoy now)

23 weeks

Oy. Where has this week gone? I woke up this morning, realized it was Thursday, and that I had not done my post for this week. Linnea got really really sick on Sunday, so I skipped church and took her to the doctor. She got tested for Whooping Cough. The test was inconclusive since her nose is so stubby, the nurse couldn't get the swab as far back as she needed. So she got put on the medication for it, and 4 days later, she's acting and feeling a lot better.I am also thankful she has had all of her DTaP shots.  I got sick with whatever she has on Tuesday. The antibiotics for it are definitely helping, but I'm not 100% better yet. I'm very thankful my husband has not gotten sick. I'm praying he doesn't get sick.

Anyway...
I am 23 weeks as of Tuesday. I have gained a pound!!!!!!!! I cannot tell you how excited by this I am. I'm hoping to continue to gain weight. I'm praying that I actually get to wear maternity clothes and look pregnant this time around. Tobin is still healthy despite my sickness! PRAISE THE LORD! Having a fever and having a hard time eating makes this mama worry about her jelly bean. I haven't had any nausea this past week at all. Which is pretty awesome. I think not being able to smell anything has really helped with that. haha. Tobin's head has been firmly lodged in my ribs, and he has been kicking my hips. I'm praying that he moves head down soon. I know that he still has time, but Linnea was head down and engaged from 18 weeks on, so this is a new occurrence for me.

Making Babyfood

I'm linking up at Teach me Tuesdays and Gluten free Wednesdays. You can find the linky below the post. I still haven't figured out how to get it to work in the post.

My sweet daughter has been having some tummy issues for the past month or so. She went from being an AMAZING sleeper (read this as 2 naps and sleeping at least 9 hours straight at night ) to being a HORRIBLE sleeper. (read this as no naps, and waking up several times during the night) She started crying everytime she had a bowel movement and they went  from the normal solid to very very watery. ( I know TMI. Sorry) She started spitting up after every meal.  I've heard of food allergies doing this, and I already have a gluten intolerance, so we decided to try cutting it out from her diet. After a few days of just formula to clear out her system, her poos were normal again, and so was her sleep schedule. She was back to her normal happy self.

How can you not love her scrunched up smile?

I gave her a jar of baby food that had pasta in it, and she threw most of it up. She hadn't done that in days. She also had watery poo again. So, we gave her one more day of just formula and I set out to the grocery store to pick up a few items. I looked originally at already made baby foods. It is very hard to find ones with protein in it that don't have some sort of pasta in it. Even the "breakfast" baby foods are made with oats or some other gluten filled grain.

I've been interested in making my own baby food since Linnea started eating solids. For lunches she normally eats whatever I'm eating for lunch (great way to start eating healthier). Dinners and "breakfasts" were harder since she is normally asleep when I start making dinner, and I eat a bowl of cereal for breakfast. As much as she wants me to share, I don't. This requires having baby food available.

  I started looking at the types of foods I had been giving her in the past. All were well balanced protein-carb-veggie wise. All had low or no amounts of sugar and salt. And all had some sort of grain in them, pasta, oatmeal, etc. I realized how easy(effort wise) it was to make my own baby food. I started my baby food making journey this week with what I think are simple recipes. I made them up as I went along. =)

For her breakfast food, I made applesauce in my crockpot, added pureed raspberries, and rice cereal. I'll post how to make applesauce n a crockpot later this week. I need to make another batch. The cool part about making applesauce at home, is that you decide how sweet to make it, aka how much sugar you add. I didn't put any in Linnea's applesauce, but did in mine. I think I'll add a little juice to hers next time. The raspberries made it a little sour.

For her dinner food I made a mixture of ground chicken, sweet potato puree, quinoa pasta, carrot puree, and bell pepper chunks. Linnea loves bell peppers. =) This mixture was put through my food processor until it became kinda chunky, but soft. My sweet girl has 7 teeth and loves "grittier" foods, so it was the perfect combo.

For next week I am going to attempt to make my own tomato pasta sauce, since all of the store bought ones have LOADS of sugar and salt.

Blessings.