Baby Bump Update: Week 12

I meant to get to this yesterday (right at 12 weeks), but like most things in my life lately, it got pushed to the back burner. I was doing pretty well to just get dressed and get hubby to take my bump pic, so I guess that is a start? And now, as I realize I need to transfer those pics from our camera to my computer, I'll try to forget about the fact that I haven't edited and posted pics since before Christmas. Ugh. As we speak, I should be getting ready for Ethan's birthday party this weekend, but I have exactly zero motivation. I hate that. I'm going to blame it on the pregnancy, but it's hard to say if that's the true cause. This baby is definitely sucking the life out of me lately though. I am fortunate that both boys still nap, so most days I'm able to sneak one in myself. That helps, but then it also means the house isn't sparkling. Oh who am I kidding, is it ever sparkling?!? The naps do cut into my DVR time though, which is unfortunate. ;)

I suppose my luck ran out with this one. Three easy pregnancies is too much to ask?? I just keep trying to tell myself that it's because this one is a girl. That makes me feel better for about a minute. We'll see in a couple of months! I have finally come to terms with the fact that my new BFF is a tiny little Zofran pill. I don't get morning sickness...it comes in the evenings instead. Just about the time we're finishing up dinner, my stomach decides to revolt. Fortunately, the pill helps a lot with this, along with copious amounts of TUMS, but it has still made me pretty useless in the evenings now, my normal productive time. :( I'm hoping this goes away any day now. Really, really hoping. I know I shouldn't complain, because I know there are women who are much sicker with pregnancy, but after 2 super easy pregnancies with the boys, I was not ready for this! Yikes!

Here I am at 12 weeks. You can see the bump a little better in the 2nd pic, though for now I prefer to keep it more covered, like the 1st pic (at least until I look more pregnant vs. more like I just ate my weight in pancakes!). ;)

I have finally stopped losing weight now after the stomach bug that ravaged my body a couple weeks ago. If I have to go through that again in my lifetime, it will be too soon. My appetite still has not returned completely, which is probably partially from the bug and partially from the little one growing inside me. Most days, I only want cereal, bagels and rice. Not exactly balanced meals the whole family is interested in. Sigh.

Week of Pregnancy: 12 weeks, 1 day

Baby size: Baby is the size of a lime, or plum (or some other small piece of fruit), this week!

Baby is just over 2 inches long from head to bottom and weighs ~1/2 ounce. 

So, I guess my bump is just a result of my uterus now doubling in size, and not from the actual baby. I think this comes earlier with each pregnancy, as if it somehow remembers that this little lime will eventually be as big as a watermelon. It's not wasting any time getting bigger. ;)



Symptoms: Hmm, nausea anyone?? Back pain has fortunately subsided for now, as it was really bad around weeks 8-10.

Food cravings: Cereal (the more sugar, the better!) - Greek yogurt and granola has been replaced with things like Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cap'n Crunch and Frosted Mini Wheats, bagels with cream cheese, string cheese, other comfort foods

Food aversions: Lots of things, but mostly pizza right now after the stomach bug (really sad, huh?)

What I'm excited about: Finding out the sex!!

What I've done to prepare for baby: Nothing, at this point. Once I know what it is, there will be lots of shopping involved, of course! I really need to start on projects I want to accomplish before its arrival though, as I know nothing gets done for another year or so after that!

Funny moment: I love when you ask Noah where the baby is, and he'll lift up my shirt to show you. Then you can ask him where his baby is, and he'll lift up his shirt to show you that one, too. ;) Ethan's best comment to date was when he said that he didn't want to get rid of Noah when the baby comes, because "he's [Noah's] a little bit funny." I guess he thought we were only able to have one baby around the house, though Noah is far from a baby now, and he likes Noah enough to want to keep him around for awhile. It was cute. :)

So, sorry this isn't the most upbeat post I've written, but it's not exactly the brightest times around here these days. So for now, I'll leave you with a happy video of the first time I heard baby at my ~8 week ultrasound! Baby ended up measuring closer to 7 weeks, so my due date was moved from the 5th, to the 10th of September!

Baby #3 is sounding good!

The Wednesday One: Week 8

The Wednesday One: Week 7

A, B, C...1, 2, 3!!

We'd like to wish everyone a very Happy Valentine's Day today and share some exciting news as well! In tribute to one of our favorite shows around here these days, today is brought to you by the letter B and the number...3!! ;)

Yep, we're expecting baby number 3!! We are super excited that we will have an addition to the family arriving in September this year. And though I love my boys dearly, it's no secret that I'm hoping for a girl this time! ;) I am currently a little over 10 weeks along (and I've been dying to share the news!!) and excited to be soon entering the 2nd trimester. A little anxious about the fact that the kiddos will now outnumber us, but what's one more, right?!? Please tell me it won't be too crazy! Haha! Stay tuned for updates and bump pics, of course!

Saying goodbye to Mommy at the hospital! :(

So, as I briefly mentioned in last night's post, I have been quite sick since Monday. Nope, not morning sickness, full-blown norovirus sickness. Ugh. Both Noah and I awoke very early Monday morning, sick to our stomachs. :( It wasn't a pleasant day, to say the least. Fortunately, Josh was able to stay home from work and take care of the boys, since I was pretty much dead to the world on the bathroom floor all day. I must give him huge props. Not only did he have to clean-up after and bathe a very sick Noah, along with laundering, disinfecting, sanitizing, entertaining a healthy, energetic almost 4-year-old, cooking, chauffeuring, multiple trips to the pharmacy/store for me, etc, etc, etc, but he did it without a single peep. In one word, he's amazing, and definitely deserves the Dad of the Year award! Back off ladies, he's mine! ;) To top it all off, since I couldn't keep anything down, and I couldn't force any liquids down either, we made a trip to the emergency room on Monday evening, so that I could get an IV. Fun, fun, right? :/ Normally I wouldn't have worried so much about it, but being in the earlier stages of pregnancy, I was petrified about the baby's well-being (as I've never been sick before while pregnant, and definitely never this sick in my entire life), so I wanted to make sure that both of us were ok. After a long wait for a bed, I finally got one and they started the fluids. It was a very long evening, but all of the staff were wonderful, and I went home more hydrated and feeling a bit better. I was able to get another look at the little peanut via ultrasound, and the little peanut was looking great, all 4 limbs flailing all over the place! :) I also need to give another huge shout out to my dear friend, Lisa. She's a nurse-midwife, who happens to work with my OB, and her help through this ordeal was immeasurable. She got me answers when I needed them and went above and beyond the call of duty when she offered to bring me home from the hospital at midnight (after putting in a long 12-hour shift there that day!), so that Josh could take the boys home and get them to bed at a decent hour! I seriously can't thank her enough!

Fortunately, Noah appears to have made a full recovery from this super nasty bug, and is pretty much back to his usual self now. I have continued to suffer the wrath of the virus, but I think I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel now today. Thank goodness! I've never been so sick in all my 30+ years, and certainly hope to never be so sick again. I'm hoping for an uneventful ~30 weeks to go!

Happy Valentine's Day! And please, share the love, not viruses. ;)

The Wednesday One: Week 6

Whew! I almost didn't make it on time this week! Busy day working on a project for a client and I've been quite sick since Monday, too. Fortunately, Noah seems to have fully recovered and Josh and Ethan are staying healthy. More on all of that tomorrow, along with a big announcement for Valentine's Day! :) Stay tuned!!

French Bread with Carrabba's Bread Dip

I'm sure I'm not the only person who will admit that they are in love with Carrabba's special mix of herbs and spices that accompanies their delicious bread. It's the perfect addition to any Italian meal and I am excited to share this recipe today!

I found the recipe on one of my favorite, go-to recipe blogs, Plain Chicken. She swore it tasted just like Carrabba's version, so I had to give it a try myself to see. I have indulged in this dip more times than I can count over the years, and I assure you that this recipe is spot on. Perfection.

Carrabba's Bread Dip

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp dried rosemary
• 1 Tbsp dried basil
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic, fresh
• 2 tsp garlic salt

Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients together. Store the mixture in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to serve. To serve, place about 2-3 tsp of the mixture on a saucer or in a small bowl. Pour EVOO over the mixture, and allow the flavors to meld together. Dip warm French bread into the mixture and enjoy! Leftover mixture can be stored in the refrigerator for a long period of time.

This recipe makes a lot!! We definitely had plenty to store for later, which isn't a bad thing. Just means I need to make more bread, right? ;) The original recipe did not indicate if fresh or dried garlic should be used. I chose to use fresh garlic because the mix you get at Carrabba's looks like it has at least some fresh herbs in it. I thought the fresh garlic worked great, but beware that it can be a bit overpowering since it is raw. I don't mind it, but if you are sensitive to it, you may want to use dried garlic instead.

To serve with this dip, I made my usual loaf of French bread in my bread machine. I use the WestBend Hi-Rise breadmaker. You can find it cheaper online at several major retailers, like Target and Walmart. I love this bread machine! Here's the recipe. It's delicious and I guarantee you'll love it!



French Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup + 3 Tbsp water, at 80 degrees Fahrenheit
• 4 2/3 cup bread flour
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 1 3/4 tsp active dry yeast

Directions:

Add the warm water to your bread machine first. Then add the flour, sugar and salt. Quarter the butter and add to each corner. Make a well in the middle and add the yeast there (keeping it away from the salt). Choose the settings on your bread machine. Instead of using the "French" bread setting, I normally select the "Super Rapid" setting on my machine, so that the bread will be ready in 2 hours, instead of nearly 4 hours. The only change I need to make to the recipe to do this, is to use an entire pkg of active dry yeast (2 3/4 tsp). This recipe yields a 2.5-pound loaf, and I also select "light" for the temperature, as I don't like my crust to be overdone.

This yields a delicious, large loaf of bread. For our family of four, it provides plenty of leftovers. One loaf makes 12-14 thick slices. If you want to make a smaller, one-pound loaf, use 1/2 cup, plus 3 Tbsp water, 2 cups bread flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbsp butter and 1 tsp active dry yeast (2 tsp if choosing rapid cycle). I have not tried making a smaller loaf, but I would hope this recipe would turn out the same. :)

I hope you love these recipes as much as I do. If you give them a try, please let me know what you think!

The Wednesday One: Week 5