Welcome to my weekly life update where I share about my pregnancy & give you a peek into our life this past week. If you want to follow a lot more behind-the-scenes and real-time updates every week, be sure to follow my stories and posts on Instagram.
In case you missed last week’s update, check it out here.
10 WEEKS! Double digits and 25% of the way done, people!
I was too sick last night to get a picture like I usually do, so here’s one sporting my outfit of the day today. 😉 I decided it was actually perfect to represent my week. Because it was a rough one, nausea-wise and exhaustion-wise.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Getting to see another ultrasound of our baby on my birthday. (My doctor had me come in for some testing to make sure all was well since I had been feeling so poorly. Our baby has grown so much and is looking so healthy! I still can’t believe that I’m actually pregnant. It’s just surreal!)
Also, my second round of labs came back and my hemoglobin hadn’t gone down anymore but had actually gone up a tiny bit — which we were so excited about! It seems that using the cast iron pan and taking a double dose of Slow-Fe with orange juice daily is actually working!
NOTABLE THIS WEEK:
I have moved multiple clothes from my closet into the storage section because they either don’t fit anymore or are super uncomfortable. I also think I’m mostly going to be living in leggings and workout shorts for the next month or two until I can switch to maternity jeans/pants.
CRAVINGS:
Cottage cheese and Chick-fil-A honey barbecue sauce (not together!).
I also am still usually able to eat Cracker Barrel pancakes (my brother and sister-in-law sent me a box of the mix and it legitimately tastes just like their pancakes!), macaroni & cheese + this week I added in Cream of Wheat and dry cereal. Apparently, this baby likes super bland food that is all the same color! 🤣
I’m still struggling to get enough liquids in (because most of them taste disgusting to me!), but this week I have found that drinking watered down juice or lemonade with ice works some of the time and I’ve also been able to eat/drink chicken broth or popsicles some of the time, too.
WEIGHT GAIN:
Even though I feel bigger this week and my clothes are fitting differently, I’m still holding steady at 3 pounds gained.
How are the rest of you pregnant mamas doing? If you’re expecting, I’d love to hear when you’re due and how you’re doing!
In other news, Jesse and I went to see the Downton Abbey movie for my birthday. We were both such big fans of the show so it was fun to see the actors/actresses altogether on screen again. The theater was packed out for a 1 p.m. on Tuesday showing… and Jesse was one of the only guys there. But we didn’t care!
We discovered we have at least one armadillo that has been roaming around our house! We have seen him two nights so far this week. I’ve never seen one anywhere near our house so we thought it was cool at first… only to find out they are very destructive and not the kind of rodent you want living near your house!
Silas had his last flag football game of the regular season this week. He’s been doing both baseball and football this Fall, so that has kept him quite busy.
He also had his Science Fair on Friday. This year, their school made a change that parents weren’t allowed to help and all of the Science Fair work had to be done at school.
So I hadn’t even seen any of his project before Friday! I was very proud of how it turned out and what he learned through it. And he did a great job on his presentation.
What I’m…
Reading right now: Try Softer (Also, my other reading this week was going through ALL 94 resources in the Genius Blogger’s Toolkit. I posted my top picks here and here. This Toolkit is only available until Monday.)
Watching right now: World’s Gymnastics Competition
Listening to right now: The quiet evening breeze coming from the open window. (It finally cooled down here enough in TN that we can have our windows open at night. It’s amazing!!)
Loving right now: Hearing my husband playing and laughing and joking with the kids upstairs.
In Case You Missed It:
- 10 Things I Learned When I Was 37 — In honor of my birthday this week. And wow! It’s been a big year!
- 8 Ways to Get Books for Free (or Almost-Free!) — Do you love reading but also want to make sure you don’t break your budget with book purchases?
- New from SmileDirectClub: Straighten Your Teeth While You Sleep — I wish this program had been available when I signed up!
- How I Got Over My Fear of Public Speaking — Some real honesty in this post here. Maybe you needed it today?
- 4 Strategies to Survive Stretching Seasons — Sometimes, you just do the best you can do. And that’s enough.
- We Stopped Buying Paper Towels — Why we stopped buying paper towels and how we live without them.
Bethany says
I am 37, and 17 weeks pregnant with my third! I have horrible morning (all. day.) sickness with all of them. I take zofran daily and it makes it manageable. Until about 15 weeks even on zofran I had a hard time keeping much down. Now that I’m over the 15 week hump, as long as I take my meds, I’m only slightly nauseous, but able to keep my food down. It’s certainly not fun, but the fact that I know there is an end date helps me get through it! I hope this time I’ll be able to stop taking the medication at some point, but with my other two, I was on it until the day I delivered!
Crystal Paine says
Congratulations!! And I’m so happy to hear that you’ve found something that works so well for you! My dr. gave me anti-nausea meds and they have been a lifesaver to me on the days I’ve had to travel/speak/present/be in all day meetings, etc.
Frances says
I loved reading through these comments and responses! I feel like I’m in the club: I’m 38 and 10 weeks pregnant with #5 (due May 3). Still sick off and on but not nearly as bad as some others. Magnesium lotion (I put it on my feet at night), ginger tea, and B6 every 4-5 hours help a lot. Seabands seemed to provide relief as well but they irritate my wrists so I don’t use them often.
Apple cider is appealing to me right now – we searched Walmart for another gallon today and my son asked me if I wanted it so much because I’m pregnant or because it’s the season. A little bit of both, I think!
Crystal Paine says
That’s so interesting about apple cider! But hey, it’s a great time of year to be craving it! 🙂
I’m glad all of these comments encouraged you — and congratulations!!
Alison says
I turn 38 this month and am due April 3rd. I’ve also had a hard time drinking enough fluids. Usually I am perfectly content to only drink lots water but now can hardly stand the thought of it. Glad to know I’m not the only one!
Crystal Paine says
I’m right there with you! I usually drink a gallon of water every day. Since getting pregnant, I’m working so hard to get 50-60 ounces of liquids in per day, and that is a big challenge.
Jen Lehr says
Great update! I’m glad you’ve found some foods that somewhat agree with you. And I had no idea that there were armadillos in Tennessee!
kim says
ugh – the iron! I struggled with that at every pregnancy. my midwife said to use multiple kinds as you might absorb one better than the other. slow-fe stopped working for me a long time ago. I had great success with rainbow light complete iron, solgar hematinic formula and gluten free floradix (I think it’s called flora vital). Also, I learned that anemia can be caused by a b-12 deficiency (which I had) so you might try taking a b-12 supplement too (you flush out what your body doesn’t need) use a methyl-cobalamin or a hydroxy-cobalamin for best absorption. I raised my hemoglobin by over one point in two weeks by taking a double or triple dose of iron each day. and perhaps an epsom salt bath (for magnesium) might help for nausea?
so excited for you all! love hearing your updates! 😀
Crystal Paine says
Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I’m so grateful that my levels have not gone down any! That is huge for me! In previous pregnancies, I’ve tried pretty much just about every remedy under the sun for iron! Most haven’t worked for me as it seems like my body just struggles so much to absorb iron when pregnant. With Kaitlynn, I had to be hospitalized and even induced early because my hemoglobin and platelet counts were so low. Last pregnancy, I worked SO hard and we were able to keep them out of the danger zones. I’m so hopeful that will be the case again this pregnancy. My dr and I are committed to be super vigilant so we’ll see! But thank you for the great ideas!
I’ve been taking magnesium and I think it’s one reason my nausea hasn’t been at all near the level that it has been in the past! (I was usually pretty bedridden for the first trimester and longer!)
Mandy says
What camera do you have that captured the armadillo ? Looking to purchase one soon. Thanks
Crystal Paine says
It’s just a motion activated camera that Jesse got off of Amazon awhile back.
Ayme Christian says
Wow. This was just the most positive, uplifting, encouraging post that I have seen in a long time. It’s not that you are TRYING, it just sharing normal family life. Thanks for sharing!
Crystal Paine says
Thanks for your encouragement! I started doing these update posts every weekend, so I hope you enjoy them!
Kay says
Glad to see your pregnancy is progressing well. I too craved Chick Fil A’s honey roasted barbeque sauce and would have their grilled sandwich at least once/twice a week with the sauce. We were traveling, stopped at a Chick-Fil-A, and they were out of sauce! I was about 32 weeks pregnant, hormonal, and started bawling at the counter. One of the staff must’ve understood pregnancy, since she went in the back and dug around to see if there were any misplaced honey roasted barbeque sauce packets. She found O-N-E, and made my day.
Crystal Paine says
That cracks me up because I know just how that feels to be so crazy desperate for something!! And it’s so weird, because usually I can forget to eat and food just isn’t a big deal to me!
Vanessa says
Cravings are so interesting! I remember being disgusted by chocolate and “needing” ribs from Gates.
Diane says
Agreed! I remember I couldn’t stand the smell of Doritos, and I craved fresh cranberries during my second pregnancy.
Crystal Paine says
I know! It’s so weird!
Brenda says
Crystal, has anyone suggested you read Pray Big Things by Julia Jeffress Sadler? You will love it! Julia and her husband prayed for multiples and then got pregnant with triplets. I’ve highlighted almost everything in the book. Highly recommend!
Crystal Paine says
Thanks for sharing!
Malinka says
Congratulations on your pregnancy! I’m 36 weeks pregnant. I am 40 years old with a 13 year old daughter, 11 year old and a baby girl on the way! I experienced nausea in my past pregnancy and I was able to handle it. But for my 3rd pregnancy it was a little harder for me. I remember one Saturday just laying in bed not wanting to do nothing. I did have some products that I used that gave some relief and hopefully they can work for you too. I would make peppermint tea and add ginger spice. Even smelling the ginger spice and peppermint esssestial oil helped. Also, I ate sour hard candies or peppermint hard candies.
Crystal Paine says
Yes! I usually spend at least a few hours to half a day in bed pretty miserable every day, but that’s better than all day every day like it has been in other pregnancies!
Laurie W. says
Congratulations!! I’m sorry about the iron thing. 🙁 I used Floradix after my first baby when I almost needed a blood transfusion, and my sister takes it when she is having a colitis flair and losing blood. We get it at Whole Foods and – bonus – it doesn’t cause constipation. That entire sentence was probably TMI, but wanted to share what worked for us!
Crystal Paine says
Floradix hasn’t worked for me, but I’m so happy to hear it worked for you!
Laurie W. says
Oh, darn. Well I hope your current regime works. I know how awful you feel when your iron is low!
Missy says
Loving your updates. I’m not currently pregnant but I hav a 5yo, 4yo, 2yo and 6mo little ones so lots of fresh memories of nausea.
Just FYI, armadillos usually carry leprosy so you do not want to touch one. Not sure how you would get rid of them in Nashville but we shoot them here in KS.
Crystal Paine says
Aw, thank you for your encouragement!
Stephanie says
I had extreme nausea through my pregnancies. I puked every. Single. Day. Even. The. Days. I. Delivered. And lemonade worked well for me so did sucking on Lemonhead candies. I don’t even like lemonhead candies normally.
We are also loving the GYMNASTICS. Simone is something else!
Crystal Paine says
I’m so sorry you were so sick in your pregnancies!
Beckisue says
I will be 10 weeks pregnant tomorrow so we are super close. I am almost 42 and after three miscarriages this feels like a miracle baby. I also have a 7 yo and and 3 yo. I am not as sick or tired as I was with my boys but still struggle some with nausea which isn’t fun. We have had a couple little scares this pregnancy but so far baby looks very healthy and growing well. I am so excited for you!!!
Crystal Paine says
When is your due date? Mine is April 30th. Congratulations!!
Beckisue says
Thank yiu! I am Due May 4th although according to my initial u/s it is May 1st. 🙂 The Dr didn’t change it though.
Jennifer Barham says
We saw Downton Abbey, too, and enjoyed it. I was surprised to see some explicitly gay scenes (especially close ups of men kissing) in a PG movie, though. I thought that would garner a PG-13 rating.
Crystal Paine says
My friend had been and had told me that was in there. I’m glad you were able to go see the movie, too.
Bailey says
I’m loving your pregnancy updates! I’m currently almost 8 weeks along. We too were finishing up our liscensing requirements for foster care when the Lord suprised us with this blessing. It will be child #5, joining an 8,6,4,2 year old siblings.
Crystal Paine says
Congratulations!!
Scotti says
21 weeks with baby #6 and my sickness has come back with a vengeance. I had a nice break for about 3 weeks! I keep telling myself that it is my body’s way of reminding me to get my labor squats in since they’re required to huddle around the toilet.
I hope you get some relief soon!
Crystal Paine says
I’m so sorry you’ve been so sick. But I had to laugh at your labor squats remark! Way to keep your sense of humor!