24 Weeks!

We have made it to 24 weeks!  Only 16 weeks left to go! 

This week was a busy one.  Michael, Akuna, and I spent most of the week at my mom and dad’s house since Aaron was working long, crazy hours (16 hours, 14 hours, 12 hours, etc) throughout the day and throughout some nights. 

At the end of the week was Aaron’s birthday.  So, I took the day off to celebrate with him (after he woke up from his nap since he worked the night before).  For his special birthday dinner, we drove down to a pizza place owned by one of his co-workers.  We both ordered some wings for a starter.  I ordered lemon pepper flavored wings, and they were so good!  They were massive wings, and I felt like Henry VIII chomping on a turkey leg. J  For my dinner, I ordered a Buffalo Chicken personal pan pizza.  It was wonderful!  I know we will be heading back to this restaurant for future date nights although it is a 45 minute drive.  After we ate, we headed to a frozen yogurt place in Prattville.  It’s one of those places where you fill up your cup with as many flavors of frozen yogurt as you’d like (they have about 12 flavors), and then you put as many toppings on as you’d like, and then the cup is weighed and that determines the price.  This doesn’t have to be an expensive date if you monitor the amount of frozen yogurt you swirl into your cup.  I got three flavors of yogurt:  peanut butter, cheesecake, and Nutella.  I topped it with Reese’s, chocolate chips and rainbow sprinkles.  Yum. 

 

This week, I’ve had some interesting cravings:

·       “Homey food” like chicken & rice, chili & cornbread, hashbrown casserole. 

·       Salty things

·       Peanut butter spoon (my breakfast of choice for the past couple days)

·       Coffee (Folgers makes a Hazelnut Decaf.  Along with the French Vanilla decaf my mom got for me, I am feeling pretty set.  One cup of decaf with a little fat free milk and poured over ice makes a great breakfast drink!)

·       Broccoli

 

And I don’t think I have announced the gender of our new sweet, baby-to-be.   We are very excited to announce that we are having another boy!   His name will be Noah Scott Petersen.   The story of Noah in the Bible has always been one of my favorites.  Noah is mentioned again in the New Testament as an example of one of the most faithful men of God.   Faithfulness is very important to me.  When we were thinking of baby names, the name Noah popped into my mind for this reason.  I pray that our little Noah grows up to be a faithful man of God.   Aaron chose Noah’s middle name to reflect his own.  Since Michael is named after his grandfathers, we thought it was important for Noah to carry his father’s middle name.   So, come January, little Noah will arrive on the scene and add to the number of boys in our household.  I am feeling quite out-numbered.  J

 

This week, Noah is the size of a cantaloupe! 

 (Source: serenityacresnow.com)

And I think my belly reflects that size quite well!

We are always thankful for your prayers as we continue in this pregnancy journey!

Much love, Reba

Cravings Thus Far

So, like in my first pregnancy, I have had my share of cravings.  This post will recap my cravings from weeks 3&4 until now (week 22).  I forgot to write down my cravings each and every week, and some weeks I really didn't have an overwhelming craving, but overall, this is still a good synopsis.


Weeks 3&4:

• the grouper sandwich from 2 Al's At the Beach Cafe.  I haven't been able to give into this craving yet.
• fried pickles-- I ordered some from Sonic one evening as my side item to the Bacon Cheeseburger (hey, I'm pregnant after all).

Week 6:

• Bratwurst with LOTS of yellow mustard and grilled carmelized onions on a bun.  I told this craving to Aaron and he said "You want a bratwurst??? You don't normally want bratwurst."  I replied "I'm not normally pregnant either."  His response:  "I love you."  :) 
• salty foods
• Coffee Toffee Bars-- this was my first "sweet" craving.
• sour things like Pixi-Stix

Week 7:

• anything with yellow mustard
• sour things
• dill pickles

Week 10:

• Savory things.  If I got too much of a sweet taste in my mouth, I would guzzle water. 
• dill pickles
• lemonade

Weeks 14&15:

• water-- I was SO thirsty!  I could not get enough water!

Week16:

• Broccoli!  I could not get enough! 
• Pizza! I could eat it every day!
• Non-food item:  I was ready for Fall!  Ready for Apple cider, pumpkins, crisp air, picking up pecans in the yard, going to the Pumpkin Patch with Michael and my nephew! 

Week 19:

• apples!
• Steamed veggies!  I could eat my weight in broccoli

Week 20:

• spaghetti
• Apples-- especially granny smith
• Steamed veggies

Week 21:

• cottage cheese
• apples--granny smith or gala
• peaches or nectarines
• Chicken spaghetti-- I made this last night for supper because it was such a dominant craving this week! 

This week marks Week 22.  Little Baby P. 2 is the size of a papaya!

Photo Source

 

 



Today, I went to the doctor for my monthly check-up.  Little Baby P.'s heart-rate was 141, and he earned himself a "Perfect Heartbeat" award, just like his brother.  Next month, I will have the glucose test, where I am screened for gestational diabetes.  That means super healthy eating this next month!  In addition, we will have an ultrasound at our next appointment.  It's always fun to see Little Baby P. 2 on the ultrasound screen, so we are excited to have this next ultrasound.  :) 


Prayers are much appreciated!  Much love, Reba

Through the Produce Department (ie, Baby P.2's Development Thus Far)

When I read sites that discuss the development of babies in utero, I like to know how big babies can be at each week of pregnancy.  It's a way to help me connect with my little one on the inside.  Although some of this is review for me, since I was constantly up to date on Michael's development during that pregnancy, I still like to know how big this new baby is, and what new developmental milestones have taken place. 

Although we waited quite a bit to announce our pregnancy publicly, I have been keeping track of this baby's development.  As the weeks progress, we graduate to bigger pieces of fruits and vegetables.  Here is a size recap so far starting from week 3&4 and ending up where we are this week, which is 21 weeks.

Weeks 3&4:  Poppy Seed

 

Week 5: Apple Seed

 

Week 6: Sweet Pea

 

Week 7:  Blueberry

 

Week 8: Raspberry

 

Week 9: Green Olive

 

Week 10: Prune

 

 

Week 11: Lime

 

Week 12: Plum

 

Week 13: Peach

 

 

Week 14: Lemon

 

 

Week 15: Naval Orange

 

 

Week 16: Avocado

 

Week 17: Onion

 

 

Week 18: Sweet Potato

 

 

Week 19: Mango

 

Week 20: Banana

 

Week 21: Pomegranate

 

 

Photo sources in order of weeks:  lookieloophotography365.blogspot.com, Glassjarsoupcompany.com, Youngbloodcoaching.com, Floridahillnursery.com, leanraspberryketone.com,  weelittlez.wordpress.com,  wisegeek.com,  tasty-dishes.com,  harvesttotable.com,  blog.johnstonhealth.org, healthylivingguy.com, parkseed.com, whatscookingamerica.net, onion-router.net, home.howstuffworks.com, tasty-dishes.com, jezebel.com, theguardian.com.

 

I will write a post soon about all of my pregnancy cravings so far, as well as a post describing Baby P. 2's development during this week of pregnancy.

 

Much love, Reba