10 Weeks. 25% Complete. First Ultrasound.

10 Weeks. Baby is the Size of a Golden Snitch.

Total Weight Gain/Loss? 0 lbs.

Maternity Clothes? No. Mostly just feeling fluffy in all of my regular clothe as the day goes on. But I am not ready for maternity clothes quite yet.

Stretch Marks? Nope

Sleep? Super tired. Napping when I can.

Best moment this week? First OB appointment and ultrasound, FINALLY!
Miss Anything? Not really.
Movement? No.
Food cravings? Nothing specific.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Generally starting to feel a little better. Although I hope I am not jinxing myself saying that. I have thought this a couple times before and the nausea came back with a vengeance.
Gender?  The sickness has us thinking girl, because I was sick with Amelia but not really with Brannock.
Labor Signs? No.
Belly Button in or out? I swear it is starting to pop out a little bit already and I am not even really showing that much yet.
Wedding rings on or off? On
How is mama feeling? Excited. And tired.
Looking forward to?  Our trip to Bald Head Island, NC with friends. Kid free!!!! Well minus the one in my belly. Grandma Lude (Me-Maw) and Serena are coming to stay with the kids/dogs.

Tired pregnant mama here, with two kiddos that have no idea what is going on. But they sure do love being all over mama all the time. Where will I fit number 3?!

I had my first OB appointment at 10 weeks and 2 days. It was so weird having to wait this long! Office visit wasn’t that weird with COVID. Just the usual temperature checks, mask wearing, and going solo. Some of the initial appointments are a little more spread out, but I guess it is really only two less appointments than what I was used to. I had a transvaginal ultrasound and got to meet the new little one!! (Yes it is confirmed there is only one baby on board). The baby was wiggling around like crazy! I could see the little arms moving it was so cute. The HR was 167 BPM, and everything looks normal. It was so funny because before Dr. Turner had even started the ultrasound she was doing an exam and goes oh yea you are definitely pregnant! Lol. I am guessing she was feeling my uterus. I am also narrowly avoiding a “geriatric” pregnancy, and thankful to not have to worry about that.  So, here are our first pictures of Baby L 3.0!

We had a great Halloween. Bran wanted to be “dark Spider-Man” a.k.a. Miles Morales. So we ran with the superhero theme and dressed Amelia up as Superwoman. The weather was beautiful for Boo at the Zoo!

Trick or Treat, as usual, was cold! It had rained all day but luckily let up enough to make it an enjoyable evening. I handed out candy while Joe took the kids out. COVID ruined the Dublin Spooktacular so we didn’t go this year. Fingers crossed things go back to normal and we can go next year with all 3!

The Buckeyes are back in action! It’s exciting that we can have an 8 game season and a chance to make a run for a national championship. It is so weird not having any fans in the stands!

The dogs are still here! The kids love them. And the dogs tolerate all of the craziness. Get ready pups, more fun is coming soon!

Photo Ops

 Halloween Costumes Over The Years

8 Weeks

 8 Weeks. Baby is the Size of a Peanut M&M

Picture Next Time...I Forgot...I Blame The Children

Total weight gain/loss? 0 lbs
Maternity clothes? Everything still fits just fine. It helps Joe and I worked out a good bit leading into this pregnancy.  I can tell things are changing, and I am sure I will pop before I know it.
Stretch marks? Nope
Sleep? I am exhausted! This by far has been my most tiring first trimester of my three pregnancies. Napping when I can get a chance. 
Best moment this week? Hinting to Bran about Baby L 3.0. I am not sure he has caught on, but it is funny to hear his thoughts. His biggest concern currently when I ask him if he’d like a little brother or sister is how they would all fit in the bathtub.
Miss Anything? I miss feeling energized. I miss not feeling nauseous all the time.
Movement? No.
Food cravings? Nothing specific. I snack on random things to try to get rid of the nausea.
Anything making you queasy or sick? Early morning wake ups for work are probably the biggest trigger. Generally feeling sick all day every day. No specific triggers. This is the most nauseating first trimester I have experienced!
Gender? Joe definitely wants to be surprised. I am undecided. The thought of picking out another girl and boy name sounds challenging. Also, I have piles of boy and girl stuff in bins, it would be nice to know which ones I could start getting rid of. But I am sure Joe will try to talk me out of it.
Labor Signs? No, I am still waiting on a first OB appointment thanks to COVID. This is going to be a unique pregnancy.
Belly Button in or out? In. Still always misshapen because it’s been stretched out by two kids (haha).
Wedding rings on or off? On
How is mama feeling? Tired. Nauseous. Happy. Calm. Still a bit in disbelief, not that we didn’t try to make this happen lol.
Looking forward to? Hearing baby’s heartbeat and seeing him/her on ultrasound. This is the longest I have ever had to wait to “meet” my little one and I don’t like it. Also looking forward to officially telling Brannock and Amelia.

I am finding that being so busy taking care of two toddlers leaves little time to think about being pregnant with a third. But I have no doubt this baby will find a way to make themselves known (thank you all day nausea and exhaustion!). This picture of Amelia makes me giggle, it’s as if she knows what is coming! Also look at the pro swaddling skills she accomplished all by herself.

Winter in coming.  All the nice fall days are quickly sneaking away. Joe suggested we take the kids “hiking” at Highbanks last weekend when the weather was gorgeous. The leaves were pretty. The hike was short. Amelia got tired and hitched a ride. This is me at 7 weeks pregnant with Baby L 3.0.

Soon to be family of 5. Will it be a boy or a girl?!?!

We did our usual fall trip to Pigeon Roost, have spent a lot of time walking the dogs and riding bikes, and are anxiously awaiting Halloween! 

The next couple weeks will be busy with Halloween fun. Then it will be time for my first OB appointment! The new policy during COVID is patients aren’t being seen until 10-11 weeks. All appointments I will have to be alone (including ultrasounds). It makes me sad Joe can’t be there, thank goodness this isn’t our first! It’s hard to just have to trust that everything is okay and not be seen for essentially the entire first trimester. Also, it hasn’t been verified that there is only one baby, which is also slightly terrifying! So I am anxiously awaiting that appointment, only a couple more weeks! Also looking forward to our adult weekend in Bald Head Island, NC. Grandma Lude is going to come stay with Brannock and Amelia.

2020 Life Update. We Are Going To Be Outnumbered...

It has been a long time since I last visited this blog. Actually my last post was from right before I went back to work after having Amelia. Needless to say, a lot has changed since then! I can assure you it has all been insanely documented (I love taking pictures and videos!) but I have to admit there was no way I could ever realistically keep up with blogging everything. Two kids is busy! Luckily Joe and I have changed from hourly to salary at OSU, which gives us both more time at home.

The kids go to daycare at Hawthorn Academy. We love it there! Bran is 4, in Pre-K and absolutely loves being at school with his friends. He is so smart and really loves learning. He will be so ready to start Kindergarten next year. Brannock is outgoing, silly, funny, playful, sensitive, confident, and oh so sweet. He has mastered riding his bike (we started on a balance bike and skipped training wheels all together), and he really enjoys swim lessons.  Amelia is 2 and loving life in the toddler room. She loves Elsa (Frozen in general), taking care of her baby dolls, and wearing rain boots for all occasions. She adores her brother, is a total mama’s girl, loves dresses and getting dirty, gets the picky eater award, and can be quite sassy. 

2020 has been crazy!!! Bran had his birthday in February, we went to Disney a couple weeks later, Joe and I got the flu. We recovered, and then this crazy Coronavirus (COVID-19) that started in China made it’s way to the U.S. in March. In the blink of an eye we were in this global pandemic. Non-essential businesses were closed. We stopped doing elective surgeries at work.  Our daycare closed for 3 months. We went to a skeleton crew at work. Joe and I worked every other week, and had the kids on the opposite week. Amelia didn’t get to have a birthday party. We weren’t seeing family and friends. Even parks were closed. It was so hard on all of us.

Although Covid is still looming, some of the fog has lifted since June. It’s a “new normal” (and I really hate that term!). Masks are required just about everywhere, not as strict for the kids or depending on where you are some places are more relaxed.  But winter is coming, and with it cold and flu season. So who knows what kind of craziness is to come.

Speaking of craziness.  Joe has always wanted 3 kids, and I have always been on the fence. I thought the pandemic and taking care of kids solo while juggling work was going to do Joe in.  But it didn’t. As things calmed down, and my “geriatric” pregnancy age was looming...I opened up the discussion. And we decided we would try briefly.  Well first try was a charm! 

We were getting ready to leave for our (rescheduled from May) Destin beach vacation on Friday. I knew I was due to start my period on Tuesday, so figured I would go ahead and buy a pregnancy test and test a few days early so I knew if it was okay to enjoy some drinks at the beach. We had driven to Birmingham, AL on Friday and were staying in a hotel. I had a couple drinks on Friday but really just took it easy. Amelia and I were sharing a bed and I was up at 3 a.m. because my stomach was killing me (in hind sight, I think we all passed around a stomach bug that week). I also had been feeling nauseous (although I was in denial about that). So anyway, finally it’s morning and I go lock myself in the bathroom so no kids (or Grandma Lude who was also in the room with us) came to join me. I peed on the stick 3 days before my missed period and it read pregnant so fast! I showed Joe, and we kept it our little secret that morning.

Of course we ended up sharing the news with Linda, Nikki, Jeremy, and Chris who were on vacation with us.  I also messaged Mom & Jeff, sisters , Grandpa, and my college girlfriends while we were in Destin to share the big news. So here we go, Lude Party of 5 coming May 2021. Still a little in shock, but excited for our little tie breaker!

A Few Destin Memories