29 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: Up 18 lbs.

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of a butternut squash.

Maternity Clothes: Yes!

Sleep: Okay. I now go to sleep most nights propped up against the wall in bed to avoid the choking episodes I've been having. It's not ideal but I'll do pretty much anything to avoid choking/throwing up every week.

Movement: Yes - it has really increased over the last week! She is constantly moving around in there and I love it! It's fun seeing my stomach move too.

Cravings/Aversions: I'm craving sweet stuff because it's been basically off limits this week with all the testing I've been doing.

What I Miss: Going to sleep lying down.

Gender: Baby girl - Claire Campbell!

Mood: Okay. It's been another tough week. I'm looking forward to the fun stuff ahead though!

Symptoms: I've started swelling up really bad and it's not just in my ankles anymore. My hands feel like balloons and I've officially had to make the switch to a fake wedding ring. :( My feet are so swollen that my shoes barely fit.

Milestones: We took our childcare/infant care class on Saturday and a breastfeeding class last night. Both were really helpful and informative, and I feel like I have a better idea now of what could happen during labor. Everyone's labor and delivery experiences are so different, and it's exciting/scary to think about what mine could be like!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: Unfotunately I flunked my 1 hour glucose test and had to go for the 3 hour full test on Monday morning. Thankfully I passed the second test, so I do not have gestational diabetes! A couple of my numbers were borderline, so they just said I need to watch my carbs.

What I Look Forward to: My first baby shower in Houston this weekend! It's being hosted by several of my mother-in-law's sweet friends and I can't wait!

Also looking forward to turning 30 next week-crazy! I like that whenever I look back on turning 30, I'll always remember that I was expecting my sweet girl then.

And this week's bump picture. Can you spy someone else in the picture? :)

28 Weeks

Total Weight Gain: 19 lbs according to the doc's scale; 17 lbs on home scale

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of an eggplant!

Maternity Clothes: Yes, almost always! But tomorrow I'm going to attempt to wear a size 6 maxi dress from my honeymoon to my school's Student of the Month Ceremony. It's pretty forgiving, but wish me luck!

Sleep: It's okay. I wake up a lot. My doctor told me at my appointment today that I will need to start sleeping sitting up in bed or a recliner to stop the nighttime choking episodes. She also said it would help the problem if I stop eating 6 hours before I go to bed so that my GI tract is all clear. So...I guess I'll be eating dinner at work. Yeah, sure. 

Movement: Oh yes! Sometimes it feels like she's turning flips...and she probably is!

Cravings/Aversions: I crave breakfast foods in all their many glorious forms!

What I Miss: Not a thing. I wouldn't trade getting to have a baby for anything.

Gender: Baby girl - Claire Campbell!

Mood: Alright. I have a lot of anxiety about my job right now. Wish I could just toss all that mess to the side and treasure every second of my pregnancy. Sorry to sound like a broken record, but I'm just keeping it real.

Symptoms: Starting to feel pretty achy - I know that's totally normal at this stage. Lots of pain in my left ribs - my doctor says this is just the way my uterus is positioned and that when baby drops in about 8 weeks, it'll get a little better. And we've reached the stage of constantly needing to pee!! 

Milestones: We've officially reached the 3rd trimester! Crazy how fast the 2nd trimester flew by! I hear the 3rd trimester drags, which honestly is fine by me. I need a second to catch my breath and get things ready before our sweet girl arrives!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: Cam's brother and his wife are expecting a baby in March and we found out today they're having a girl too! Exciting! Everything's coming up pink!

I had a doctor's appointment today too! It was a busy one - I had my glucose test, saw my doc, and had my next Rhogam shot. I've heard so much hype about how terrible this sugary drink is - I guess it affects everyone differently. I really didn't see what the big deal was. It just tasted like really sugary Gatorade that burned a bit going down. The shot I got was much more unpleasant than the drink. Dr. Orth was really pleased with how everything's going and Baby Claire measured exactly on target this time!

What I Look Forward To: Hopefully finding out that I passed my glucose test! Also looking forward to our childbirth & infant care class this weekend! And my first baby shower the weekend after that - we are so blessed by the people in our lives! 

Election Day Bump Picture - Claire was a good citizen and voted with Mommy and Daddy last night! It's hard to tell, but I'm pointing to my "I Voted" sticker!

27 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Up 17 lbs.

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of a rutabaga! Is it bad I don't really know what half of these size comparison things are?!

Maternity Clothes: Yes please!

Sleep: Eh...it's inconsistent. I had several nights of INCREDIBLE sleep when it was cold for a few days. I sleep better when it's cold and Aurora the cat was sleeping through the night, which meant we all slept through the night (haha!). But then two nights ago, I had a rough night. Between two minor choking episodes, an overwhelming feeling of being really full, and a touch of insomnia, I had to sit up in bed propped up with some pillows to finally go to sleep. It was rough! I'm usually someone who can function pretty well on little sleep, but that is not the case when I'm pregnant!

Movement: Lots of it! Tonight she must have liked my dinner - it felt like she was turning flips!

Cravings/Aversions: I had a craving for Raising Cain's tonight so we had it for dinner - it did not disappoint! Otherwise, Cam's been doing lots of grilling for the past few weeks so that we eat lots of protein - it's been awesome!

Gender: It's a girl - Claire Campbell Todd!

Mood: I cannot lie - I've been a hot mess the past few days! I've left my classroom keys at work twice in the last week so I've been locked out of my classroom when I get to work in the morning. Wednesday morning, after my bad night of sleep, I had a full-on freakout because I thought I'd lost my wedding rings. I was crying my eyes out and Cam & I were tearing the house apart. I had to leave the house without finding my rings so I could get to work to tutor a kid who didn't even show up. On the way to work, I realized I'd left the rings soaking overnight in a jar of jewelry cleaner. See what I mean? A total mess. Working 50+ hours/week and being 6 months pregnant do not go well together and it has seriously caught up with me. My job feels out of control right now - I can't get my head above water. I feel like a terrible mother already before Claire's even here because I haven't been able to cut back at work. It's an awful, awful feeling and it's something I've been worrying and praying about a lot lately. Something has to change. 

Symptoms: Just the usual stuff, except my heartburn is a thing of the past - Prevacid is a miracle drug!!! Such a huge relief and something I will never take for granted!

Milestones: Tuesday of this week was October 30th - so we're less than 3 months from the due date! Crazy!

What I Look Forward To: Celebrating Halloween next year with my little girl! Seeing all the kids dressed up last night made me so excited for Halloween with Claire!

Halloween bump picture -

Happy Friday!

I really like this song - it makes me happy!  And what I love most about it is it reminds me of my little Clairebear!



Enjoy! Happy weekend!

26 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: Up 16 lbs. This is getting less fun to post every week - ha! I think that's because the weight has gone up so fast, seems like. Up until around 18 weeks, I had gained just 3 lbs. And as a first timer, it's surprising how quick the number on the scale has gone up since then.

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of a head of lettuce!

Maternity Clothes: Oh yeah!

Sleep: It's okay. I'm curious how that answer might be different if we didn't have a cat! She is a terror at night, but I can't blame it all on her. I've been having lots of leg cramps in my calves and of course I'm waking up to go to the bathroom too.

Movement: I love feeling movement. It is the sweetest, most reassuring reminder ever!

Cravings/Aversions: Craving pancakes! I have been craving Cam's grandpa's famous pancakes for days. Y'all, I craved them so much all I could smell was syrup the other day at school! Saturday I spent the day with my mom and sister doing baby shopping and we decided to have brunch first - we went to 4 different places and every place was so packed that we finally gave up and settled for a burger place. But thankfully Cam made me delicious pancakes on Sunday - I was doing a happy dance!

Gender: Sweet baby girl - Claire Campbell Todd. I love her and her sweet name. I have the itch to get something monogrammed!

Mood: Pretty good. I have my moments...8th graders beware!

Symptoms: Choking very easily! This is weird, a bit scary, and unexpected. My doctor confirmed that it is easier to choke now because pregnancy slows down the GI tract so much. Friday night, one of Cam's best friends came to stay with us while he was in town for a work conference. We waited to have dinner with him until he got in after 9 pm (yes, I know this is a recipe for disaster, but I was trying to be a good hostess!). We took him to eat at Bellini's. A little backstory on Bellini's: We found this place after we moved into our house and fell in love with it. It's good food and it's not a chain. Through a random set of circumstances (taking different sets of company there, etc.), I ended up eating at Bellini's FOUR TIMES IN ONE WEEK during my first trimester, before anyone knew I was pregnant. By visit #4, Bellini's and I were dunzo for a good long while. The thought of even setting foot in that place again for a long time was enough to make me nauseous. Friday night was my first visit back. The food was fine - it was never a problem before, I just ate there too many times during a time when my tastes/stomach were very sensitive. Anyway, when I got in bed that night, I had a glass of milk (helps with the heartburn) and a bottle of water. I'm trying to get in my 80 ounces of water a day, so I drank the bottle and went to sleep. At this point, I felt like a balloon that was very close to popping. A little bit later, I woke up choking - this time, it wasn't heartburn acid, it was just straight up choking. I ran to the bathroom and proceeded to get incredibly sick - like I haven't been that sick since before 15 weeks when I was a lean, green puking machine! It was crazytown! So I learned several lessons: 1) I cannot eat late anymore, no exceptions, 2) Bellini's and I are broken up again, 3) No water right before bed!

Milestones: I found a beautiful Feltman Brothers coming home dress on Saturday and a matching bonnet! I can't wait to see her in it. I also got a baby book. Cam and I have finished registering. Cam finished painting the trim in the nursery and set the furniture up. It looks great! We are getting somewhere!

Daddy putting a crib together for his baby girl-

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: On Monday I had an unexpected ultrasound. I hesitate to even bring this up, because I hate to seem like I'm trying to get attention because I'm not, but this blog is my little record of this pregnancy so I want it to be an accurate reflection. I had a little issue and had a precautionary ultrasound to make sure I wasn't leaking amniotic fluid. The nurse and I didn't really think I was, but they had to check it out just to be sure. Thankfully, I'm not and everything looks absolutely fine! All that to say, Cam & I got to see our baby girl again! She is just the sweetest little thing ever - just like last time, she was moving her mouth a lot and had her legs closed like a little lady. Here's her sweet little profile. Can't wait to see her live and in person in just a little over three months!

While I was there, we talked to my doctor about the particularly rough night I had with heartburn last week and the sore throat I had afterward. I was minimizing things a little bit because I'm a little hesitant about the whole prescription medicine thing, but Cam piped up and gave her his perspective. When he mentioned that on bad days, this is waking me up at 3 am, she said we definitely need to try something different and wrote me a prescription for Prevacid. I've been taking it for 2 days and so far it's completely eliminated my heartburn! I am so thankful this is an option! Between nausea and heartburn, I've been feeling pretty bad for about the last 20 weeks. Praying the relief continues!

And a bump picture from last night -

Thanks for reading my blathering!

25 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I forgot to weigh myself this morning when I got up...oops.

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of a cauliflower.

Maternity Clothes: Yes indeed!

Sleep: Been pretty good until last night, when I had another reflux/choking episode at 3 am. My throat is torn up now, and I look and feel like death today because of it! :(

Movement: Lots of it! It's the best feeling! One night last week, Cam laid his head very gently on my tummy and Claire kicked/punched harder than ever repeatedly! It was clear she knew that was her Daddy! She moved for 20 minutes straight for us - it was one of my favorite pregnancy moments yet!

Cravings/Aversions: I'm craving peanut butter crackers!

Gender: It's a girl - Claire Campbell Todd!

Mood: Pretty good. If I could ditch this job, my stress would lessen by about 95%.

Symptoms: All the usual things. I think the swelling in my ankles is a little better - I've been making a real effort this week to put my feet up more. We went out of town this weekend again and traveling is getting tougher - it hurts to sit in a car for very long.

Milestones: 15 more weeks to go! Can't believe how fast time is flying!

What I Look Forward To: Seeing what Claire looks like! Cam and I wonder about this daily. It's such a unique, amazing experience to carry around this little mystery for almost a year and not know what she will look like or be like personality-wise!

Bump picture from last night-

24 Weeks

Total Weight Loss/Gain: I was up 12 pounds total on my scale at home this morning, but between my clothes, the swelling, and having eaten during the day, my weight was ummm....several pounds higher this afternoon than it was in the morning. No fair.

Size of Baby: Claire is the size of a cantaloupe!

Maternity Clothes: Yes, please.

Sleep: Last week my reflux woke me up pretty frequently, but it's been better the last few days. This week I've been sleeping pretty well until about 4 am. Then the cat wakes up and starts acting crazy and I usually have to go to the bathroom by then, so the hours between 4 and 6 are pretty inconsistent sleep-wise. 

Movement: Yes. I feel it everyday and it makes me so happy! It's such a neat reminder that no matter what I'm doing, she's in there, and that is a beautiful thing. Cam felt a kick on Friday night - it was so cool to see how excited he got! When I think about him holding Claire, I just melt.

Cravings/Aversions: Goldfish - I'm all about the cheddar kind right now.

What I Miss: Normal sized ankles!

Gender: It's a girl - Claire Campbell Todd

Mood: Pretty good. Still stressed but I'm making it!

Symptoms: I had my 24 week appointment today so I have lots to share. 

I talked to Dr. Orth about how bad the reflux has gotten. One thing that's happened a couple times lately is I fall into a deep sleep and then, all of the sudden, jump out of bed because it's like I'm choking on the acid. The other night I ran to the bathroom and got sick right afterward. It's awful. I've tried all kinds of home remedies like eating mustard and drinking apple cider vinegar. She gave me some tips that might help and gave me the okay to take a higher dose of Zantac. If that doesn't help, she's going to prescribe me something. 

In the last couple of weeks my ankles have started swelling. I'm trying to be really conscious about putting my feet up more. Dr. Orth noticed it before I even mentioned it to her today, which worries me a little bit. She said usually swelling doesn't start until about 30 weeks, so this is a little early. We both agreed this is likely a result of my job - I'm on my feet so much. At this point in pregnancy, she says the only way to relieve swelling is to lay flat, so sitting down won't even help, although I think it does help some. It's something we're going to watch, but she seems to think it could continue to be an issue. 

I've been having lots of pain in my left upper rib area. My doctor thinks it's probably a muscular/skeletal thing that will continue as my body shifts and makes room for the baby. 

Milestones: I found the perfect toile bedding! I'm a toile fanatic! It's beautiful and exactly what I had in mind! Claire also made her first trip to East Texas this weekend for my family reunion. If her childhood is anything like mine, it will be the first of many trips up that way! Can't wait until she can attend the reunion "on the outside" next year!

Anything Else You'd Like to Share: Claire measured a week ahead today so she could be a big baby! She would certainly come by that honestly, given that her Daddy weighed almost 10 lbs. Of course, last month she measured right on time, so it'll be interesting to see how she's looking next visit. Dr. Orth thinks I probably won't make it to my due date, between her possibly being big and my swelling...eeeek!

Sometimes I think about what it will be like after she's born and I realize how much I will miss being pregnant. Yes, I go on about reflux and all that, but it's such a nice feeling having my baby with me all the time. I know we'll be together all the time after she's born and the joy of having her here will outweigh any sadness about pregnancy being over, but I will miss it.

What I Look Forward To: Not worrying about my job anymore and being able to focus on my baby girl once maternity leave begins. That whole maternity leave process has been very challenging....far more challenging than it should be, quite frankly. Not gonna lie - it's been hard on me.

And I'll close with a bump picture. I look huge! The shirt I'm wearing is not maternity and I feel like I look bigger in regular clothes.