{Hannah}: 27 weeks & I'm packing my bags

I've been working on my packing lists for the hospital for several weeks now (surprised?), which is exciting because in about 3 months, I will actually get to use them! (Imagine me doing a little dance here.)

I'm planning on packing 3 bags, and putting them in my car in about 8 weeks (that feels far away and so close all at once). I'm making my lists now, though, because I tend to do better with these things when I have more time to think about what I do or don't want to take, what I wish I had last time, etc. 

Here's what I have so far:

My Bag

DSLR Camera

phone chargers

stretchy pants

dark pajama pants

warm socks (2 pairs)

grandma panties

comfy nursing bra

kindle

glasses

contacts case

tooth brush & paste

hair brush

straightener

hair ties

my going home outfit

nursing cardigan

shampoo, conditioner, soap, moisturizer

mascara

Nursing Mother's Companion (book)

reed oil diffuser & YL oils (tutorial: http://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/02/diy-essential-oil-reed-diffuser.html)

Hannah's {Diaper} Bag

nursing pads

lanolin

medela hydrogel pads (or ask for hospital to give you some)

nursing pillow

sleep & play + hat to go home in

white onesie (for pics)

white headband (for pics)

socks

mittens

hats

swaddlepod

canvas for footprints (they will stamp it for you right after birth)

You'll notice diapers didn't make the list: hospitals give them to you. In fact, if you're like me and will meet your healthcare deductible anyway, it doesn't hurt to ask for hydrogel pads, nursing pads, lanolin, diaper rash cream... They will likely bring it!

The third bag I have to pack is Ethan's bag, with his typical overnight stuff for Grandma & Papaw's house. We plan to drop him off there on our way to the hospital, since their house is on the way. I haven't decided if we will do the sibling gift exchange yet (this is mostly for Ethan's benefit). If you have, what did you have them give each other? How else did you help get Baby 1 ready for Baby 2?

I should probably say I'm packing 4 bags because we all know that I will end up getting Austin's packed too! He did a pretty decent job with his last time so maybe he just needs to be reminded. ;)

How far along? 27 weeks! We are in the LAST trimester, folks!!

Maternity clothes? Yes! Just got a few steals at Motherhood today, actually. 

Stretch marks? No!

Sleep: mostly good as long as it's cool enough in here. It's not hot, it's just me.

Miss anything? Not taking heartburn pills daily. 

Movement: yes! You can SEE her moving!

Food cravings: sometimes I crave donut holes, but we have been working out 3x a week and I really don't want to undo that. I also don't carry cash and don't need to spend $5 on donut holes (the minimum CC payment)... But the struggle is real y'all. And tasty. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Only if I forget to have 6 small meals instead of 3 normal ones.

Gender: Hannah Girl!

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On, about to go back to the jeweler though 😕

Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy, like a room without a roof!

Looking forward to: White Linen Night tonight!

Prayers this week: that Austin and I would be more regular with reading Ethan's kiddo Bibles and Bible stories at night. Last night, it was 8:45 before we realized the time and had to rush him to bed! Praying for fewer nights like that and more time teaching Ethan about the Lord. We want a better and more Christ-focused rhythm with Ethan that we can include Hannah on after she arrives!

xo,

Elizabeth

{Ethan}: 22 months | {Hannah}: 26+ weeks

I just had to tear myself away from the first baby book I've opened in preparations for Hannah's arrival. I'm soaking up this info, as this little girl is due in 3 months and 5 days! (ALMOST the 3rd trimester, y'all!!)

{Ethan}
In the 22 months since Ethan was born, it's been easy to forget the newborn phase and its demands as we adapted to the next phase of Ethan's babyhood. Looking back, the time has flown by. I imagine that I will have a two and four year old in no time. That said, it's also sort of hard to believe that we have less than two months left before he becomes a two-year-old big boy. He's hilariously adorable in smiling BIG for the camera or phone, mimicking our words, counting to three, and singing his ABCs (especially L-M-N-O-P, which is 'lalalalala'!). We also try to find hilarity in the less-than-adorable moments... you know, for sanity's sake. There's a lot of whining lately, but at least he actually says please and thank you now (and signs them!). For several months, he was saying "mo" (more) and signing "please". Glad we straightened that one out!

This weekend, we took the little man to Austin. We love to visit the Thinkery, their children's museum, and we also LOVE to visit our friends Alex and Stephany, and their two adorable sons. We met Alex & Stephany in college, and we love getting to do this phase of parenthood with them. We're just sad that 2.5 hours separate our houses! We went to Zilker park, enjoyed a COLD spring-fed pool in a heat advisory, had a picnic lunch and rode the Zilker Zephyr train. We took a ride on Grammie's golf cart, explored several parks, ate great BBQ and got to play in the dirt with friends. It's almost enough to make us wish we lived in Austin. Almost. ;)

he loves trains

when concentrating, one MUST stick out one's tongue

all fruit are apples, all colors are yellow. this is Ethan's law.

getting ready to play with water!

that tongue again

Alex, Stephany and their adorababies

Alex teaching us to feed geese

trucks and trains at dinner at the Salt Lick

cruisin in a golf cart

more trucks

album cover

we seriously love this expression.

6'7"

I'm 5'10", and Hannah is 14-15", and weighs between 1.6 and two pounds.

How far along? 26 weeks - 14 to go, ONE WEEK left in the second trimester!!!

Maternity clothes? Yes!

Stretch marks? No!

Sleep: Pretty darn good, though Ethan did wake us up last night. Thankfully, that's rare, and all the more reason to re-read these baby books and refresh my memory on how to have a good sleeper!

Miss anything? Being on vacation ;)

Movement: A lot! And I love the reminder that she's there.

Food cravings: Anything that won't make me feel bloated.

Anything making you queasy or sick? I took my heartburn pills this week, so.. no!

Gender: Girl!!

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy, but harping on things when I'm not. Trying not to be a 'harper'.

Looking forward to: time with my mom before she goes back to work (teaching), White Linen Night this weekend, and an Astros game tomorrow!

Prayers this week: Still focusing on being quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to become angry. Sorry if that's redundant (it feels like it to me, wish I could flip a switch!) but I believe that He's working it out!

Happily hitting the hay now, friends.

xo,

Elizabeth

PS- Am I the only one who thinks the veggie/fruit comparisons don't do the baby justice? This week was zucchuni. Sorry, but a 14+" zucchini is rare, to say the least.

{Hannah}:25 weeks & a beach vacation

We went to Galveston (Jamaica Beach) with my family this weekend and we had a great time! My parents rented a 4 bedroom beach house and we all got to enjoy it! We got there Thursday and left this morning. While we were there, we took Ethan to the beach 5 times (it was walkable from our beach house), as well as to the strand, the movie theater (his first one! We saw the Minions movie, it was okay), and a small park nearby. We relaxed a lot, and I loved seeing him get to interact with his grandparents, uncles and aunt for several days. Because Austin has to save his PTO for his "paternity leave", he was only able to come for the weekend, but we made some awesome memories with daddy while he was there!

We have lots more pictures on Facebook, but these are from our DSLR. The only editing we did was to crop the maternity shot below (Austin got an umbrella in the frame). My computer just can't handle running my editing software right now, anyway - it can hardly handle the blog!

And now for some Hannah Rosalie!

How far along? 25 weeks - 15 to go, two weeks left in the second trimester! (WHOO HOO!)

Maternity clothes? Yes!

Stretch marks? Not yet

Sleep: I shared a room with Ethan for the last four nights, and a smaller-than-usual bed... so, pretty ok?

Miss anything? Not having heartburn, not taking a pill every day. When I forget, the consequences last for DAYS.

Movement: Lots! You can now see it from outside, and shes navigating a little higher. This does make it appropriate for others to feel but... I am still not a fan of the belly-touching.

Food cravings: Anything that won't make me feel bloated

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing aside from the bloating, the heartburn... I mean, who knew bananas could give you heartburn? I have GOT to remember to take my pills. Hard to do when I can't remember anything anymore.

Gender: Girl!

Labor Signs: None

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time? A little mood-swingy today. It's been a long day.

Looking forward to: Dr appointment tomorrow, hearing her heartbeat. NOT looking forward to Gestational Diabetes test in a few weeks.

Prayers this week: Praying again this week that the Lord would work in me to overcome bad "habits" that I don't want to pass on to my children.

I'm sort of happy to be home, but mostly sad that vacation is over. We had so much fun! Can we go back now?

xo,

Elizabeth