Baby Girl #4, Week 21

How far along: 21 weeks

Baby is the size of: a large carrot!

Gender Prediction: Boy!
Gender Reveal: Reveal Post Here!

Weight gain: 14 pounds total

Starting to show yet?: Oh yes!

Maternity clothes: Yep! Mostly just my regular pajama bottoms and large t-shirts! I still need maternity clothes that fit me.

Stretch marks: Just a lot of old ones!

Belly button in or out: Partially in, partially out. My umbilical hernia. Which I've decided to take a picture of. For my own reference as I feel it is getting bigger, and also because people have been asking me a lot about it.

There it is! Old stretch marks and all! You can see that my hernia on the left side of my belly button. When I'm not pregnant, my belly button is normal looking. I started noticing my hernia around 17/18 weeks. But it's really started poking out more and more. And once my whole belly button pops out, it will look like a lump on the side of my belly button! It still hurts, but it's getting easier to manage. My support tank isn't here yet, but I am looking forward to it's arrival in the mail!

Sleep: Really good! Still very tired all the time, even though my sleep has been wonderful. I'm going through a comfortable phase in my bed! I am LOVING it! I look forward to bed time! 

Movement: Lots of kicks from my sweet baby girl!

Best moment this week: The ultrasound and gender reveal! Lots of amazing moments this past week! Our ultrasound went very well! Baby girl was on one side of my belly so it made it difficult to get accurate photos. Ultrasounds generally take 15 minutes. Ours took almost 45 minutes! Everything looked good, though! The ultrasound tech wasn't 100% about baby's gender, but gave us her answer!

Worst moment this week: WAITING for our ultrasound and then waiting for the gender reveal!

Miss anything: Sushi

Wedding rings on or off?: On during the day, off at night.

Cravings: Pasta, Cheeseburgers, Fresh Fruit, Raw Almonds, Tropical Starburst Jellybeans
Aversions: Raw Chicken
Appetite: Hearty! I'm making sure to get my water in each day, but I still feel like eating ALL THE FOOD.

Queasy or sick: Neither! WOO HOO!
Workouts: FINALLY got back to Zumba! I am surprised how much I am still in shape, but I can tell that I'm becoming out of shape! I very much enjoyed class! I also went to Aqua Zumba on Saturday! It felt SO good to get in the pool! I kept giggling like a kid!

Emotionally: Feeling much better lately! I think that everything is becoming more and more real. So my anxieties are becoming calmer and calmer. I can feel the baby move all the time. Which brings me so much comfort. Seeing baby move on the ultrasound was such a wonderful moment! Knowing that the life inside of me is healthy and strong! Such a blessing from God!
Physically: It felt SO good to move my body at Zumba this week! The sweating from class made my acne flair up again! But it's worth it! My hips bother me mostly in the mornings, but the pain is starting to go away! My hernia still hurts, especially when Vivian hits it on accident. I am anxiously awaiting my support tank for my belly! I feel like I have energy while I'm working out, but afterwards, I just want to take a long nap!

Looking forward to: Finishing the girls' room now that we know that there will be four little princesses in that room! Running Jogging again!

He or She?! The REVEAL!!!!

We had our ultrasound on the 19th, in the morning! We were very excited to finally see our little baby for the first time since our 7 week ultrasound! Baby was laying to one side, which made it very difficult for the ultrasound tech to get decent pictures. It took about 45 minutes to get everything measured: head, diaphragm, bladder, heart, legs, etc. Not to mention the fact that our baby had his/her legs crossed and all kinds of twisted! One foot was down towards my cervix, and the other was crossed and pointing towards my left side!

Our sweet, healthy baby!

I asked if we would even find out the gender of our baby today... the ultrasound tech said that she had a pretty strong feeling about the gender and went with it. Though it is not 100%... which scares me a little... What if we cut into a blue cake and then have a girl? What if we cut into a pink cake and then have a boy?

I had my 20 week prenatal appointment right after, so I had to get going! I was late for it, but my doctor is awesome and saw me anyway! (Considering his nurse was the one who scheduled my ultrasound for the morning of my appointment!) Everything went well and I am measuring right on for my due date of July 7th! Baby's heart rate was 147 bpm.

I drove the results of our ultrasound over to my friend Amanda's office! It was hard handing her the envelope, but she refrained from opening it until I left! But she did post a picture on Facebook telling me:

"I know something you don't know!!!! Lol"

Made me SO jealous! She called our friend Karmen to tell her what the card said since Karmen will be helping her with the gender reveal cake.

So the rest of the day Wednesday, then Thursday, Friday, AND Saturday were very hard for our whole family! Waiting was the hardest part of this whole thing! Our plans changed on Friday. We were going to have our reveal on Saturday, but some of Charles' family would be out of town, so we had to change the party to Sunday evening.

But it was well worth the wait! The cake was AMAZING!!!!

So I know you are all wondering....

Yes, this is my husband and I dressed as Darth Vader!

And for the REVEAL:

Our family!
Rosalie, me, Caitlin, Charles, and Vivian!

PINK CAKE!

PINK CAKE!

We will be welcoming our FOURTH daughter, Miss Adeline Virginia, into our forever family sometime in late June, early July! Adeline is pronounced like "Madeline", but without the "M". It means "noble"! And Virginia is Charles' Grandmother's middle name, which means "pure". We will probably call her "Addy" for short.

Everyone was very excited! And yes, there were tears. All from Caitlin. Once she realized that the pink cake meant that she would be getting a baby sister, she started sobbing and saying, "But I wanted a brother!" She cried and cried. Snot, slobber, tears... the whole package. I told her that it was okay to be a little sad, but that she would love her baby sister once she gets here. To which she replied, "Mommy. It's a boy baby in your tummy." So Caity remains unconvinced that our baby is a girl! And since the ultrasound tech wasn't 100%, there is a slim chance that we might welcome a boy into our family. But I'm not going to hold my breath!

I couldn't help but think after we cut the cake:

"May the FOURTH be with us!"

He or She?!

TODAY IS THE DAY WE FIND OUT WHAT WE'RE HAVING!
TODAY IS THE DAY THE ULTRASOUND TECH AND TWO OF MY FRIENDS FIND OUT WHAT I'M HAVING!

Charles and I have three beautiful princesses! When we found out that we were pregnant with our fourth child, truth be told, we started hoping for a boy! Visions of a Star Wars nursery danced in our heads! God has blessed us with our three princesses, so we'd love to have things changed up a bit and have a prince in our family!

Also, we really had no ideas for another girl name! It took us up until about week 17 to land on one that we loved! Even though we had a boy name picked out for years, Charles felt strongly that it wasn't the right name anymore. The name he told me that he decided on made me cry... I was so overwhelmed with emotion and love. I honestly felt like that was the right name. Which is when I started feeling sure that I'm carrying a boy. But then, I started thinking that since I feel like this baby is a boy, this baby will probably be a girl!

Either way, we will be overjoyed! Another healthy, happy baby is all we really want! No matter what the gender. Each child is a gift from God and we are thrilled to be having another baby!

Although we won't know until Saturday what we're having, we thought it would be fun to do the old wives tales and see what gender was revealed with those! There are SO many different wives tales. We opted for the easier ones! I didn't want to do the Drain-o one or the one with the boiled cabbage water... it was just extra work! And I'm pregnant and tired!

Here are our results:

So of the 10 wives tales we chose, it ended up being Boy - 6, Girl - 4. Does this have us convinced that Baby #4 is a boy? Not at all! But soon enough, we'll know! Hopefully baby will cooperate at our ultrasound and we'll know!

Let us know your vote!

Baby #4, 20 WEEKS!

How far along: 20 WEEKS! Halfway there!

Baby is the size of: a banana!

Gender Prediction: Boy!

Weight gain: 13 pounds total

Starting to show yet?: Oh yes!

Maternity clothes: Yep! Still needing ones that actually fit me! I've been wearing my workout pants with large t-shirts most days! Or just my pajamas! 

Stretch marks: Just a lot of old ones!

Belly button in or out: Partially in, partially out. Why? My umbilical hernia. It's off to my right side, so my right side belly button is now an outie, while the left side of my belly button is an innie! 

Sleep: Not too shabby. I am exhausted most days, so I cat nap about three times a day AND go to bed early. But there are nights where I'm wide awake around 2:00 a.m. and I can't shut off my mind. 

Movement: Lots of kicks and nudges!

Best moment this week: Valentine's Day and Charles feeling the baby kick really, really hard! Charles and I surprised the girls Valentine's morning with a small box of chocolates, a ring pop, and some tootsie pops! Then the girls and I made Charles a HUGE Valentine! We got him two Star Wars mugs, a Star Wars tin mailbox, a box of Ferrero Rocher, and a box of red velvet snack cakes! Charles bought me a bouquet of orange roses and a box of petite desserts! And then we got to go out with our friends D, Vanessa, Mike, and Karmen for supper at El Ranchito! It was an amazing night! I love sharing special holidays with friends! 

Worst moment this week: The pain from my umbilical hernia. It's almost TOO much for me at times. Walking hurts. Moving hurts. Sneezing really hurts. My uterus is right at my belly button, so this is the most painful time for me. Just a few more weeks and it will be higher up and I'll be more comfortable. 

Miss anything: Working out. My umbilical hernia has made it difficult to walk, let alone work out. Though I am going to try Zumba later this evening! See how I feel! I am getting a maternity support tank to help with the pain and keep my stomach lifted. I hope it helps!

Wedding rings on or off?: On during the day, off at night.

Cravings: Grilled Cheese, Pasta, Bread, Fresh Fruit, Raw Almonds, and Skittles
Aversions: Raw Chicken
Appetite: Hearty. But my stomach is getting smaller, so I just get more frustrated! I had pasta and bread for about three days straight. Which is probably why I had a gain on the scale, but it was worth it! Baby was moving and kicking while I was eating, so I know that he/she enjoyed it, too! It was delicious!

Queasy or sick: Neither! WOO HOO!
Workouts: None. Stupid umbilical hernia...

Emotionally: Still emotionally drained, but things are looking up! Now that I'm 20 weeks, everything from here on out is a countdown! About 20 weeks until we meet our baby. About 20 weeks to prepare. Etc. Still seems a little unreal! But I am becoming more and more optimistic and thankful that I've made it this far! And that I only have about 20 more weeks to go! When I think of my upcoming labor, delivery, and breastfeeding, I get very emotional! In a good way! I am very much looking forward to welcoming this little person into the world and getting to bond with him/her!
Physically: Hips are still bothering me, but it's shifting more to lower back pain. Walking is easier now, thank goodness! Almost cleared up from my acne! (YAY!) My hernia is terrible. I hate it so much. It has Charles and I reconsidering how many children we will be able to have. We won't make any decisions now, but umbilical hernias are tricky. It could get worse this pregnancy, or it could stay the same. We won't know until I deliver Baby. We want six children. I pray that we will be able to do so! I pray that my body will hold up and I will be strong! But no matter what, we are grateful for each and every single one of our pregnancies and babies! I am looking forward to working out and running jogging! 

Looking forward to: My ultrasound on WEDNESDAY!!!!!! AHH!!! Thank goodness it's in the morning! The gender reveal cake on SATURDAY! I'm not sure what's going to be the harder wait: the one to see Baby on the ultrasound, or the cake that will reveal the gender! We're also excited to call the baby by his or her name! (We're still praying that baby will cooperate with us and SHOW us his/her parts!)

And for fun, here is a 10 week and 20 week belly comparison! It's crazy to me how much difference there is between 10 and 20 weeks! I'm glad that I have photos for keepsakes!

Baby #4, Week 19

How far along: 19 weeks!

Baby is the size of: an heirloom tomato!

Gender Prediction: Boy!

Weight gain: I forgot to weigh myself this morning... 

Starting to show yet?: Oh yes! Although I feel like some days I'm bigger and some days I'm smaller.

Maternity clothes: Yep! Though I still need ones that actually fit me!

Stretch marks: Just a lot of old ones!

Belly button in or out: In.

Sleep: It depends on the night. Vivian has been sick this past week and ended up in bed with us. I sleep horribly when she's in bed with Charles and I. I really, really, really hate it when she ends up in bed with us, but Charles says that it's that or she'll scream until the other two wake up. So he'd rather her be in bed with us than risk waking the other two. Next time it happens, I'm going to sleep on the couch. I really can't sleep with a child in my bed.

Movement: Lots and lots of movement! Baby is SO active! Especially after I eat!

Best moment this week: Charles feeling a super big kick from Baby! It was so big that I watched his hand bounce up when it happened! Such a neat moment for the three of us!

Worst moment this week: Feeling like I can't control my anger/frustration. My girls want to go outside and play. They have cabin fever so bad right now. So my house is a constant crazy house. Every five minutes, someone is screaming, crying, or fighting. It's getting bad. And I'm so frustrated with it. Caitlin is the tattletale, Rosalie is the crier, and Vivian is the screamer. It gets old fast. And I love my girls, but there are days where I end up just screaming my head off and crying in my room. I'm an emotional wreck most days. I laugh about it after the girls go down for bed, but on the inside, I wish I could get a hold of my emotions. I hate yelling and screaming at my girls. 

Miss anything: Feeling "normal"... working out... Zumba... running... smaller boobs.

Wedding rings on or off?: On.

Cravings: Grilled Cheese, Snickers Apple Salad, Avocados, Fresh Fruit, Raw Almonds
Aversions: Raw Chicken
Appetite: Normal! I went to a quilting party on Sunday and didn't have enough room in my stomach for all of the delicious foods! I was a sad panda! I had to pace myself, which is a good thing, but I really wanted more food!

Queasy or sick: Aside from a stuffy/runny nose, this week has been great for me! I still feel run-down, but I'm not sick! (knock on wood!)
Workouts: Lots of walking! Lots of house cleaning, which had me sweating! I'm not sure if I'm "out of shape" or if it was because I was lifting heavy things? It felt good to sweat, though!

Emotionally: Still emotionally drained. I cry on my own now, not in front of Charles or the girls. I don't want them thinking it's because of them. I just have a lot going on in my head that I'm having some trouble dealing with. And I don't want them to think that they are the reason I'm sad or crying. I just feel like I have no control over my emotions. I feel like I did before my doctor told me I had postpartum depression. Will I have it again? I'm not sure. I just don't like feeling so much all at once. It's overwhelming for me. And I feel crazy talking about it...
Physically: I. Am. Exhausted. Which is an understatement. Most days, I take an afternoon nap, go to bed early, and by the time I've woken up and been up for an hour, I'm ready for bed again. It's nice to have a book to read now, I'm reading Divergent by Veronica Roth. The movie is coming out in March and I wanted to read the book first! I LOVE IT! The frustrating part is that even though I am loving the book, I get 10 minutes into reading and I've fallen asleep! I keep losing my place! Haha! My hips haven't been bothering me as much, but there are still times where it flairs up and I can't breathe. My acne is clearing up! And I've been having issues with my umbilical hernia that I got while pregnant with Rosalie. It's not big, but it hurts. It's off to the side of my belly button. I only have issues with it while pregnant. And it's so, so tender right now. Probably from sneezing, coughing, and blowing my nose so much. I have to hold my stomach now when I walk, cough, sneeze, blow my nose, etc. It also starts bothering me around the 20 week mark, when my uterus is right at my belly button. I am excited to get over this point in my pregnancy. It gets better around 23 to 25 weeks. At least it did when I was pregnant with Vivian. I want to get it repaired, but there's no point just yet since we want more children. And having it repaired now would mean that it would tear apart with a later pregnancy. We want to wait until we're done having kids in order to have it repaired. 

Looking forward to: Our ultrasound in NINE days!!!! The gender reveal cake/party! The name reveal! Working out! Zumba! Running!

I also wanted to show you the fabric I've chosen for the quilt I'm making for Caitlin! Charles helped me pick out the elephant pattern, then I matched the four solid colors the best I could!

I bought them all at JoAnn's in Des Monies. They were online the day I went to the store, and I cannot find them on the website now. I am excited to start quilting, though! I have so many ideas in my head for my other girls' quilts! And for a quilt for the new baby, when we find out the gender, of course!

Baby #4, Week 18

How far along: 18 weeks! 

Baby is the size of: a bell pepper!

Gender Prediction: Boy!

Weight gain: 11 pounds total

Starting to show yet?: Oh yes! I feel like the baby has popped out! My belly doesn't disappear once I lay down anymore!

Maternity clothes: Oh yes!

Stretch marks: Just a lot of old ones.

Belly button in or out: In.

Sleep: I have been really sick this past week, so I didn't sleep that well. But Friday, Charles stayed home from work and I was able to rest and take a five hour nap! I felt so much better afterwards! Since then, I've been sleeping great!

Movement: Yep! Feeling baby move more and more! Still not all the time, but it's starting to become all the time!

Best moment this week: Getting some much needed rest! Sending out our 2013 Christmas letters... in late January 2014! Caitlin and I donated 10 inches of our hair to Pantene!

Worst moment this week: I've been having a lot of issues with severe (TMI warning!) yeast infections. As soon as I get one to get better and go away, I get another one. It's terribly frustrating for me since I've NEVER had one before this pregnancy. I had the worst discomfort/pain that I've ever had over the weekend. I had a hard time walking because of it... I called my doctor today about it all. 

Miss anything: Sushi! 

Wedding rings on or off?: On.

Cravings: Grilled Cheese, Cantaloupe, Taco Salad
Aversions: Raw Chicken
Appetite: Normal! Since I started eating more raw almonds/vegetables/fruits and drinking more water to kill my never-ending hunger, I've found that I get fuller faster when I eat meals and I don't feel the need to EAT ALL THE FOOD!

Queasy or sick: I got really sick this past week. It wasn't the flu, although we thought it was for a day. My body was just run-down and it all caught up to me. I crashed hard Thursday afternoon and wasn't myself again until Saturday morning.
Workouts: None... again... 

Emotionally: When I woke up sick this past week, I broke down and threw a little pity-party for myself. But really, I just want to be well again. I have been sick since after Thanksgiving. I got sick on the ride home from visiting family over Thanksgiving weekend and I haven't had but a week and two days where I felt okay enough to get out of the house. It's been hard on me. Not working out is hard for me when I use that as a way to relieve stress and tension. So I broke down. I begged and pleaded in prayer that I would start to feel better soon. So I am just emotionally drained!
Physically: I felt very, very weak. Very tired. "Zombie-mode" is what I call it. I went to the store Thursday before I got really sick and was told by THREE different people that I looked sick/awful. Which I could have gotten upset over, but they were right. I felt sick and awful! Today, I feel great! Still a little stuffy and I have a residual cough that won't go away, but I feel so much better than I have! I hope that I continue to feel better! My hips are still bothering me, though not as bad as last week. Thank goodness! I still have some acne that comes and goes. I'm hoping that will clear up soon, too!

Looking forward to: Ultrasound on the 19th! Our gender reveal cake! Getting better! Running! Working out!

Also, in a change of plans, Charles and I decided that we ARE going to announce our baby's name when we find out the gender! I know that we said that we were going to keep it a secret, but after further discussion, we've decided that it would be best to have our girls learn the baby's name before the baby gets here. We waited with Vivian, and everyone called her "Baby" for the first two months of her life! And some people kept calling her the WRONG name! Violet, Virginia, Veronica, etc. At the time, I was crazy hormonal and weepy when people would called her by the wrong name! I don't want to go through that all over again! I want to be able to call the baby by his/her name BEFORE he/she gets here!

So be prepared! We have some AWESOME names picked out!

Well.... at least WE think so!