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.
25 weeks!! And I’ve officially switched over to maternity clothes pretty much full-time.
Side note: I know some people are big fans of just sizing up in clothes instead of wearing maternity clothes. I tried that and things just fit me super weird. So maternity clothes it is. It’s not the hip and trendy influencer thing to do, but since I’m an “advanced maternal age” mama at 38, I just don’t really care. Comfort over trendy all the way!
Highlights
This week I had almost zero heartburn!!! As someone whose acid reflux got progressively worse with each pregnancy in the past and who often threw up from acid reflux and spent many nights sitting up in misery because of the fire going on inside of me, I just don’t even know what to say other than, “Thank You, Jesus!”
I’ve been super careful about what I’m eating to avoid all triggers, have been trying to drink a gallon of water every day, am exercising every day, and am trying to really pace myself and not overdo it. I have no idea if these things are contributing, but they certainly can’t be hurting anything, right?!
Notable
I’m starting to feel much more pregnant. I’m noticing a lot more pelvic pressure and the normal aches and pains related to getting closer to the third trimester. Plus, my bladder seems to be shrinking, the Braxton-Hicks are picking up, and I’m just having to move at a slower pace overall.
Time continues to be moving along quickly and I’m all *bring it on*! I know that it will likely slow down the closer I get to the finish line, but I’m loving that the weeks currently feel like they are mostly flying by! We’ve got a lot going on the next 9 weeks and I’m grateful!
Cravings
Lots and lots of dairy cravings this week! I seem to vacillate from feeling like there’s not a lot of room in my stomach to eat and having no appetite to being ravenously hungry. But overall, I’m noticing that my appetite is picking up as I near the third trimester. I guess baby is getting ready to gain weight!
Speaking of weight gain, I’ve gained 17 pounds so far — right on track with my usual 30-lb. pregnancy weight gain.
How are the rest of you pregnant mamas doing?
This week, I worked on decluttering the memento tubs we have in our basement storage room. Oh the memories these tubs contain!
Kathrynne had a basketball tournament in Springfield, TN on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. So we spent a lot of time driving and at games! Their team ended up coming in third place!
From My Heart…
I shared this on Instagram earlier this week:
There was a knock on our bedroom door late one night last week. A child couldn’t sleep and was struggling with feeling anxious so they wanted to come in and talk with us.
Honestly, I was tired, it had been a long day, and it was late. But before I could respond, Jesse was inviting this child into our room and wrapping his arms around them.
“What’s going on? Tell me about it.” I heard him soothingly comfort. And then this child poured out struggles and sadness they were feeling.
As I watched all of this unfold, it was a beautiful picture of the Heavenly Father’s love. No matter what time of day or night it is, we can go to Him and pour out our big feelings, hurts, heartaches, struggles, and sadness to Him.
He is there, waiting to wrap His arms around us, comfort us, listen to us, and be WITH us. We are never a burden or a bother to Him.
He loves us deeply and wholeheartedly. And He will never leave or forsake us — even on the darkest of days.
Note: Over Christmas break, we stayed at the Gaylord Opryland as a family. We were walking around the huge hotel complex together and I looked ahead and saw Jesse and Silas talking and walking and holding hands.
While a lot of people disagreed with my list, this week, I shared 10 Foods You Should Never Freeze.
I also shared before and after pictures of decluttering Kathrynne’s closet.
Did you see my post on the 3 books I read last week and the classic movie we watched?
Patti Smith says
Favorite post of the week, I love your updates. Glad you are feeling so good and your family is all doing well. Congrats!
Crystal Paine says
Aw, thank you so much for your kind words!
Cheryl Peters says
I used to suffer from chronic heart burn, it never stopped until I started a low carb diet. The heart burn stopped!!! It was amazing.
Crystal Paine says
It’s so interesting what affects people. For me, carbs actually make me feel a lot better. My triggers are any kind of spice, some herbs, things with yeast, anything acidic, some things with chocolate, and lots of other random things. At least those are the triggers right now. It could change as the pregnancy progresses. We’ll see!
Ang says
Your belly is so precious! I am happy for you all! God bless!
Crystal Paine says
Thank you so much!
Chris says
RE: Italian Chicken recipe
When making in the slow cooker, do you really not use any liquid?
Crystal Paine says
I use Italian dressing as the liquid.
Carin says
I am entering my second trimester of my first pregnancy and am already feeling so much better! I have struggled so far through my first trimester, but I know there are women who have had it far worse than myself. I would also love if you could post any maternity clothes deals!
Crystal Paine says
Be sure to follow me on Instagram if you’re looking for maternity clothes recommendations. I shared links to two tops I love last week in my stories there. They weren’t “deals” per se, so that’s why I didn’t share them here.
Nikki says
I sent a message on fb last week but never heard back. I’m an almost 37 year old surrogate in my 14th week. I enjoy following your pregnancy since we have many similarities with our pregnancies. I would love if you could post any maternity clothes deals.
Crystal Paine says
The best place to get a reply is sending a message through our contact form: https://moneysavingmom.com/contact/
A lot of the messages on Facebook are spam, so I don’t check there very often. So sorry that I missed your message! Do you follow me on Instagram Stories? I’ve been sharing a few maternity tops I’ve found from Amazon that I love there.
Nikki says
No, I don’t have Instagram.