Baby Hunter updates

5 weeks of summer went by so quickly! I can't believe that we are 2 days away from having just 9 weeks left! We had a great summer! It started with Quinn and I being able to go back to MS for 2 weeks to see everyone. Jessica and I got the bumps together:)

 It was a great visit! I love that we are expecting together. I definitely realized how much fun I had at my following doctor's appointment with a 9 pound weight gain- yikes! But we are back on track and doing great:)- totally worth it. The heat never bothered me with Quinn, but I really realized when we were in Orange Beach that my body doesn't like it for long this time around. I just start feeling like my body is swelling after an hour or so. I can't complain about anything though. I've been so fortunate with both pregnancies. The driving to MS wasn't bad at all. Between Quinn and I, we had to stop a million times to go the bathroom:) We were able to stretch our legs a lot. Baby Hunter and I were 24 weeks/6 months the week after we got back to Charleston. We had a mini photo shoot in Quinn's room.

Quinn is getting so excited about her little sister. She talks about her all the time. I think she's growing a little impatient with waiting to meet her, but we just keep explaining that she has to get big and strong first. She really wants baby Hunter to sleep in the bed with her, and she says she will help with giving her a bottle, pacifier, and changing stinky diapers:) She even made the daycare make an extra maraca just for Hunter. I know that having a baby sister is going to come with some changes for Quinn, but I hope that she stays this excited.

The sixth month flew by with summer plans and trying to finish organizing the house. Hunter's room is almost complete. I just have a few finishing touches. I have to share the dresser. I found what I wanted on pinterest first. Then I got really lucky with a craigslist find. I was going to sand and paint it myself, but I was afraid that the original paint was lead. A mom on one of my (many) facebook swaps did an amazing job.  Here is an idea of the before and after of the dresser.

 





Jessica sent the boxes of clothes that she was storing at her house. This baby will not lack for any clothes! Seeing all the small clothes and getting them ready for Hunter brought so many emotions of realizing how big Quinn is now and also getting excited to meet our new baby girl at the same time! I really cannot wait. Which is going to make these last 9 weeks go by really slowly.

Next thing I knew, it was time to go back to work for this school year. Fortunately, I love my job, and that made it easier. The seventh month came, and I got to take a photo shoot all by myself this time.  I actually had a week alone at the house with both John and Quinn in Mississippi. This was a first since Quinn was born. It turned out to be a blessing since my first week of school turned out to be a little crazy, but I was ready for everyone to come home by the end of the week.

 

Hunter and I had a great 7 month check-up. I had to double up on my iron pills with Quinn around this time, and I started doing the same a couple of weeks before my appointment. I could just feel it. Sure enough, my iron was low, and I'm hoping the new pills my doctor gave me will help. I already feel better after a few days on them. I scheduled my keepsake sonogram for two weeks after the appointment. The last time we saw Hunter was at 20 weeks, and she was still so skinny. I'm was excited to see how much she had changed now that I would be 29 weeks along. She had different plans. After spending around 45 minutes trying to get a good photo, we called it a day. This was the best picture we got of Hunter at the first keepsake appointment.

Fortunately, they scheduled another appointment for the following week on 8/20/14 to try again. She didn't really want to cooperate at that appointment either. The sweet sonogram technician had me doing bending motions, laying on my side, and she even used a noise maker to try to get Hunter to roll over into a better position. Hunter was just really snug in her corner. I think we ended with her having both feet and a hand over her face.  She did let us get one good squished face picture.

 

I did get to find out that she is now head down, and I have an idea of where she is when I feel all the movements and hiccups. Her estimated weight is 3 pounds 8 ounces (55% for 30wks), and she is measuring right at 30 weeks and 2 days.  She also has a lot of hair. We got to see it going down her neck at both appointments.

Her movements are getting so much bigger now, and she seems to get the hiccups a couple of times a day. I don't feel like my appetite has changed any, but I'm still craving spicy food all the time. Pretty much jalapenos always. I went to my friend's baby shower a couple of weeks ago. Three of us are due in October. I ordered jalapenos for my taco as one of them pulled Tums out of her purse. I do not know what it is about spicy food this time around, but I cannot get enough of it. I have pretty much spent the summer eating heirloom tomatoes, pimento and cheese with jalapenos, avocados on everything that I can think of, and at least 2 bowls of Kashi cereal a day. This picture pretty much sums up my summer lunches.

I'm now scheduled to see my physician every 2 weeks, and we go back on 9/3/14. One month of 2 week appointments, and then we will start going every week. I'm making my final list of things to check off. Jay is our person to keep Quinn should I go into labor this time around. I pretty much told him that he cannot have any plans the month of October. John got our infant carseat when he was in Mississippi a few weeks ago. There are only a few more things to check off the list, and then we can just wait for her to be ready!