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.
22 weeks!! And this week’s pregnant belly picture is brought to you from our Starbucks bathroom road trip pit stop (we drove back from Kansas yesterday).
HIGHLIGHTS
I’m so grateful to be feeling great overall! It was such a blessing to be able to enjoy Christmas! I only had two days where I felt pretty nauseous and one really bad night. Besides that, other than moving at a slower pace than usual and lingering congestion and cough from my recent head cold, I am feeling so good!!
NOTABLE
This trip to Kansas to visit family for Christmas was our last big planned trip before the baby arrives. That’s pretty surreal to realize — that the next time we’re in Kansas, we’ll have a baby with us (and maybe another child or two from foster care, too!) It seems like the time is flying by right now and I’m trying to soak it up!
CRAVINGS
I was able to enjoy most all the Christmas food, including one of my mom’s amazing Peanut Butter Bon-Bons!
Weight gain: 14 lbs.
We traveled to Kansas to spend Christmas with both of our extended families. (We’re so blessed that they live about 5 minutes from each other!)
My dad — ever the practical one! — buys a live evergreen tree for their Christmas tree each year. They only keep it in the house for two days and then he plants it on their land afterward.
We all got matching blinking light hats for Christmas!
We’re getting ready to celebrate 17 years of marriage — oh how I love this man!
My dad usually does a scavenger hunt for the kids with their gifts, complete with poems that take them all over the house to find their gifts!
Christmas morning with Jesse’s side of the family always starts with group pictures in jammies.
Jesse with his siblings… this was the best picture I got as they were all giving each other a hard time and then only half of them would be looking at the camera at once. (Jesse’s face here is all, “Are we done with pictures yet??”)
My nephew was SO excited about this Batman costume he got!
We finished out the day like usual — with stockings. The kids were so anxious to tear into theirs, but they waited patiently so we could snap another picture! 🙂
Ileen Padilla says
Happy for your beautiful Christmas. I love your pics, it feels warm and cozy. So many kids, and going to be even more! Enjoy!
Teresa says
Just had to comment that I love your husbands beard. He looks great in it. Which I don’t say about most men, in fact I rarely find it attractive, but he wears it well.
Crystal Paine says
I shared your comment with Jesse and it made his day! 🙂
Ang says
I feel you on the nausea for 9 months part. Have you tried bromelain for the nausea? It is something in pineapple that was helpful for me. Obviously don’t take much but give it a try. Also the motion sickness wristbands saved me. Keep being amazing!
Crystal Paine says
Most of my nausea now is related to the extreme acid reflux I always get at the end of my pregnancy so anti-nausea stuff doesn’t help with it. But if I’m super careful with my diet, it does make a significant difference on most days.
Brenda Beal says
Glad you had a nice Christmas! I love your pregnancy updates!! Happy New Year!! I just enjoy you!!
Crystal Paine says
Aw, thank you so much for your encouragement!