more energy coming...

this morning i received a phone call from my midwife's nurse. my heart sunk when i saw the number on caller id because i knew she would call only if i didn't pass my gestational diabetes screening. but when i answered the phone, she told me i passed the screening but that my hemoglobin was low. mine was a 10.6 and they like to see it in the range of 12-16. so she called in a prescription for some medication to help it out. i realized quickly that meant my iron was low and probably explained why i am so tired all of the time. so hopefully this medication will help me to feel a little less tired and then i can have some energy to work on the project list.

28 weeks...

wow, today i am 28 weeks prego! crazy to think i am in my third trimester. i love being pregnant and i am going to be sad when it comes to the end, but then again i will have a beautiful baby girl to hold and that will be so exciting!!!!

last week, i had my o'sullivan's test for gestational diabetes. i haven't heard from the doctor's office yet - so it seems to me that i have passed - yeah!!! that was a rough one. i woke up sick the morning of the test - weak, achy, chills, headache. i had to drink that yucky sweet beverage on an empty stomach, wait an hour and then have blood taken. not a fun time.

during the hour wait, i did get to see my midwife for my prenatal check up and everything is going great. i am measuring right on target with my due date. and the baby's heart beat sounded wonderful. i have heard that a girl's heart beat sounds like a galloping horse, i don't remember noticing that with jordyn but i really heard it this time.

with twelve weeks to go, i have the nesting instinct going on!!! i started working on the girls' room this past weekend. i have changed my mind on what i am doing in the room. and will soon post pictures and plans on what i am working on! just let me say it will be a room fit for two princesses!!!! i have also had the desire to shampoo carpets, clean out cabinets, drawers and closets, reorganize toys and the kitchen, hand mop floors, bathrooms etc. you name it i want to fix it, clean it and organize it!! the only problem is i don't have a ton of energy. so with the little spurts i get i will work on this list of projects i have going on!!!

hair or no hair???

with my other three pregnancies, i had heart burn and acid reflux. i remember it being pretty bad. even with my first pregnancy, my friend amy remembers me carrying around a big bottle of tums. with my second pregnancy, i took zantac or pepcid. with my third, my midwife gave me a prescription for an acid reducer. taking these meds was the only thing that gave me comfort.

for this fourth pregnancy, i started having it right around the end of the morning sickness, so going into my second trimester i had a lot of heart burn. i even got a prescription from my midwife. the prescription was outrageously priced - and amy suggested i try the over the counter prilosec. i used that for two weeks and felt much much better. now i rarely have any discomfort and when i do i just take a prilosec and feel better.

so i was thinking about the old wive's tale with heartburn... and wondering if having heartburn has anything to do with the amount of hair baby has... all three of my previous newborns have had a lot of hair...and i had a lot of heartburn. so i wonder if baby jaelyn will have way less hair or be bald??? here is some pictures of each of my babies...

Joshua 10/00

Jordyn 7/03

Jesiah 3/05

Looking at all three of their pictures shows me how much they looked alike as newborns.

14 weeks to go...

wow, only 14 weeks until we will meet baby j!!! i just started week 26 of this pregnancy. and i am thankful for my pregnancy calendar on the internet, because somewhere along the way i think i lost track of what week i was in. i have been really excited thinking about what this little girl will look like!! jordyn and josh think she will have straight hair and look like me. i guess we will see in 14 weeks or so!!!

i have been uncomfortable lately. and she has been moving a ton! i have noticed that she moves A LOT when we are at church. go elevation church!!!! she really reacts to pastor steven's voice. there were a few weeks when pastor didn't preach and she wasn't nearly as active when she heard the other pastors. yesterday, pastor was back and preached his heart out and she was moving around like crazy!!! how awesome!!

finally, i am tired of using "baby j" or "she" or "baby" to refer to this little one when writing. but since i hadn't really announced her name or used it when writing (because we hadn't decided on a spelling. ) i just haven't used it. well, i think we have chosen a spelling (although the name and spelling are subject to change - my personal disclaimer here!!) and i am ready to share it in writing on this blog!!!! i am excited to announce it and be able to use it in writing from now on!!! so here it is....

baby gear...

i had some quiet time yesterday while the kids were watching a movie and i began to research and create a list of the baby gear that we need! i was excited to make some decisions and chose some of the items we need like an infant seat and stroller. with it being our fourth and tagging along by three years, there are quite a few things we need to get. when i showed jamil the registry on amazon.com, basically everything i picked out was PINK, even down to the baby bathtub!!! it was fun -- when i was prego with jordyn, they were not making things in pink like they are today. and i had everything from josh - so jordyn didn't have a lot of pink gear. of course her bedding, blankets and clothing were pink and girlie but her car seat and stroller and stuff like that were a gender neutral navy and tan - practical and good for using for both a boy and a girl. but now that we have to buy a few new things -- they are all pink and girlie and i am in heaven!!! so is jordyn, she helped me pick out a few things by saying baby j----- needs this and has to have it in pink!! i have created a monster!!!!!

24 weeks...

today i am in my 24th week of pregnancy - wow... only 16 weeks to go. time is flying by very quickly. i can't wait to meet this new little baby girl! but at the same time i get sad thinking that this will be our last baby - my last pregnancy. that is a hard one for me. but i know four is enough - unless, of course, God shows us otherwise. i am so grateful to Him for giving us the three children we have and a fourth on the way!!

i was just thinking the other day about how people that i know or don't know will comment on how i must have my hands full and wow another on the way. or they will say wow, four, don't you know what causes that. and recently we had someone give jamil a newspaper clipping of a vasectomy clinic going on this month - which is apparently "National Vasectomy Month". i must say those little comments really get on my nerves. i would never say anything like that to anyone. if God has blessed them with four or fourteen kids - it is His plan - why would i argue with that.

i have been feeling pretty good lately. i generally start the day off with a ton of energy and then around 2 or 3 in the afternoon i get really tired. i have been just giving into the tired feeling and resting when i can. although it is hard when there is a lot to do especially when the kiddos are down for their quiet time. i haven't been sleeping that well at night, but thankfully it is summer break so i can get some extra sleep in the morning. the kids have been sleeping until around 8 or so!

the baby has been kicking and moving around quite a bit. it is so fun to feel those familiar movements!! and she has been strong enough for others to feel her and see her on the outside. she has gotten into a few uncomfortable (for me) positions and my bladder has been suffering and sometimes i will get short of breath.

i have had a lot of people ask me about her name!!! and yes, we have chosen a name for her. i am 99% sure although i have been known to change my mind. we are still working on the spelling for both the first and the middle name. so once we have the spelling decided i will post it!! if you see me, ask me and i will tell you, we aren't keeping it a secret but i don't want to put it into writing until the spelling is chosen.

we have picked out colors for the girls' room based on the quilt we have chosen for jordyn's new bed!!! my dad is making her a loft bed. we are using 2 shades of pink (light and dark), green and white. i can't wait to start working on it - which the project i'll begin in a few weeks!! although, if i could blink and the work would be done i would be ok with that!!!! i will post some before, during and after pics!!!

3D ultrasound pic

At our 18 week ultrasound we had a few 3D/4D images taken. It was really neat to see our baby girl in a more life like picture. She was really snuggled up and would barely move to get a better picture. You can see she is nestled in between the wall of my uterus and the placenta.