Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Lil Baby Nutt // 24 weeks

How far along: 24 weeks & 2 days

Gender: Boy! According to my pregnancy app, baby is about 13 inches long, the size of an eggplant, and weighs about 1.5 lbs.  Baby also has eyebrows, lashes, and hair coming in!

Weight gain: 10 lbs.

Maternity clothes: Half & half

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Sleep has been rough this week. I wake up often throughout the night because I'm uncomfortable and then my mind races with all the things we need to get done before baby's arrival. However, I have been sleeping in until 9 or 10 now that the kids are on winter break.

Best Moment This Week: We had a fun and relaxing Christmas.  It was full of blessings and probably my favorite Christmas we've had!

Worst Moment This Week: While we were at church, our Pastor began talking about the new year and suddenly I could not remember what year we were going into. Was it 2015 or 2016? I was confident that it was 2016, but I leaned over to Marvin to ask him just to be sure.  Well, the laughter that he let out let me know that my pregnancy brain had conquered again.  

Miss anything: Breathing with ease.

Movement: Heavy kicks with an established routine.  He's very active bright and early in the morning and late at night.

Cravings: Still Chipotle salad and recently vanilla ice cream at night.

Queasy or sick: Feeling good.

Looking forward to: APRIL. Too soon? :) Our hospital tour on Saturday and a fresh new year with new beginnings! Cheers to 2015!

Monday, December 23, 2014

Lil Baby Nutt // 23 weeks

How far along: 23 weeks

Gender: Boy!

Weight gain: 10 lbs.

Maternity clothes: Half & half

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Sleeping pretty good - I wake up a few times throughout the night to change positions. 

Best Moment This Week: My birthday! I was seriously spoiled by friends & family.  Thank you to everyone who wished me well and celebrated with an adult beverage for me. ;) Marvin and the girls made my birthday very special, so a very special "thank you" to the three of them.  I woke up to a living room filled with handmade paper snowflakes, coffee, and pancakes. Marvin made an insanely delicious dinner - steak, grilled asparagus, and mashed potatoes - followed by a homemade apple cinnamon cake. It was so good! There are pictures below from my birthday!

Worst Moment This Week: Just some soreness - nothing too bad.

Miss anything: MY MOM :) I haven't seen her since March - thank God for technology.

Movement: Everyday!

Cravings: Chipotle salad, chipotle salad, chipotle salad with extra pico….and sugary cereal at night.

Queasy or sick: Nothing is making me feel sick...feeling pretty good for the most part.

Looking forward to: Christmas Eve, Church, Christmas morning, and creating a little more Christmas magic before it's all over. :)

Monday, December 15, 2014

Lil Baby Nutt // 22 weeks

How far along: 22 weeks

Gender: Boy!

Weight gain: 4 lbs...I'll find out tomorrow the damage over the last month. That appointment I thought I had last Thursday is actually tomorrow. My pregnancy brain is beyond out of control. My mom is suggesting baby boy is going to be a genius because he's taking away whatever smarts I had. :)

Maternity clothes: Same as previous week - not needing maternity clothes. Sticking mainly to leggings or sweats for comfort reasons.

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Sleeping pretty good - I wake up a few times throughout the night to change positions. 

Best Moment This Week: Paris and Sophia both had a chance to feel their little brother kick! Paris was full of excitement and awe, whereas Sophia was less than impressed. 

Worst Moment This Week: Probably having a child catch Marvin & I laughing as I was pretending to try out a breast pump at Target. Which only made us laugh even harder and run over to the next aisle. We're so mature. Other than that disaster and potentially scarring that child for life, I'm still dealing with back pain and round ligament pain - not excruciating, but definitely annoying. 

Miss anything: My brain & holiday cocktails.

Movement: Everyday!

Cravings: Chipotle salad, vinegar, salty stuff, cereal, and almond bark or yogurt covered pretzels - sometimes with peppermint.

Queasy or sick: Nothing is making me feel sick...feeling pretty good for the most part.

Looking forward to: More holiday fun!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Lil Baby Nutt // 21 weeks

How far along: 21 weeks, 1 day

Gender: Boy!

Weight gain: 4 lbs...I'll find out on Thursday last month's gain.

Maternity clothes: Same as previous week - not needing maternity clothes. Sticking mainly to leggings or sweats for comfort reasons.

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Tossing and turning most nights this week.

Best Moment This Week: Feeling the baby kick from the outside and Marvin has been feeling baby boy too!  The past 3 days he has been so active and I love it! We also got baby's carseat this week, so this is really happening. :)

Worst Moment This Week: Feeling some aches and pains which I don't remember feeling this early with the girls, so I'm hoping that it's just the current position of the baby and not what I have to look forward to for the next 19 or so weeks!

Miss anything: Again, my brain. I won't even embarrass myself with sharing stories of my forgetfulness, randomness, and slowness. Ridiculous. All I can do is laugh at myself though!

Movement: Lots of it! I've finally had to "listen" to baby boy and stop laying on my stomach. Boo.

Cravings: Salads, tomatoes, avocado, vinegar, and a bowl (or 2...3...4...) of cereal at night.

Queasy or sick: Nothing is making me feel sick...feeling pretty good for the most part.

Looking forward to: Crossing off more Advent Calendar activities...I finally got around to planning our days. Also, looking forward to some holiday baking and finishing up Christmas shopping.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Lil Baby Nutt // 20 weeks

How far along: 20 weeks - halfway through!

Gender: Boy!

Weight gain: 4 lbs. 

Maternity clothes: Same as previous week - not needing maternity clothes. Sticking mainly to leggings or sweats for comfort reasons.

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Once I get to sleep, I'm out, but getting comfortable is becoming a struggle.

Best Moment This Week: Non-pregnancy related, serving our community and starting Helping Holiday Hands has been a joy.  You can learn more about Helping Holiday Hands here.  Also, we decked our halls & Lolly (our elf) returned from the North Pole!

Worst Moment This Week: Starting to have trouble getting up from the couch, bed, and floor without sounding and looking like I'm 100 years old. Attractive, I know. And Marvin, I see you laughing at me every. single. time. :)

Miss anything: My smarts. Literally having the worst pregnancy brain ever. I feel like a space cadet 95% of the time.

Movement: I've been feeling movement daily, but still no kicks from the outside. C'mon baby boy, your daddy and sisters are waiting patiently to feel you!!

Cravings: I made collard greens for Thanksgiving with extra vinegar and I've been attacking the leftovers.  Also, 5 Guys french fries with vinegar & loads of ketchup. And tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, feta cheese, and black pepper. So, basically I have a thing for vinegar. Pass me the bottle.

Queasy or sick: Nothing is making me feel sick...feeling pretty good for the most part.

Looking forward to: Advent calendar activities which I have yet to come up with.  Last year, I had our calendar filled by Thanksgiving. I'm hoping to get it done tonight. And, like a broken record, for baby boy to get his kick on!

Friday, November 28, 2014

Helping Holiday Hands

I hope you all had a blessed Thanksgiving! Last year I cooked our Thanksgiving meal in a hotel room in Charlotte, so I was very thankful to be cooking in a full-size kitchen in our home.  We started our morning with our usual tradition of watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade while eating breakfast.  I began cooking during the parade with glances into the living room to see the floats and witness the arrival of Santa Claus! 

I made great timing this year with all of our dishes, so we sat down to eat around 2pm.  Everyone had their Turkey Ticket that earned them a place at the dinner table. ;) The Turkey Ticket this year was 27 things we are thankful for.  Paris set a beautiful table for us and Sophia arranged our Turkey Tickets to the wall - I was so proud of both of them.

We have many things to be thankful for and all thanks goes to God.

If you follow me on Instagram (@brittneymcnutt), you may have noticed a post I made a few days ago regarding Helping Holiday Hands (#helpingholidayhands).  I'd like to encourage everyone to join in by preforming an act of kindness - big or small - during the holiday season and post it to Instagram using the hashtag #helpingholidayhands.  Then, tag a few friends to challenge them as well!  It will be fun to see what y'all are up to and hopefully motivate others to participate.  We started on Wednesday by providing breakfast for those in need waiting outside for financial assistance.  We brought Paris & Sophia along too.  It's so great to serve others with your children!  They feel great about what they were doing and I pray that they continue to do it when they're adults and have children of their own.

Today we headed out as a family again to share our Thanksgiving meal with the homeless.  I always end up making way too much food, so we packed up some of our leftovers into mason jars and attached a plastic fork.  We drove around the city passing them out.  It feels good to know they had a warm, home cooked meal tonight.

Here's a quick list of a few ideas you can do:

-Goodwill/Salvation Army Donations

-Bring coffee to a friend

-Donate a gift at Toys for Tots

-Shovel snow for a neighbor

-Feed a parking meter

-Volunteer at a homeless shelter

-Donate to a food bank

-Send Christmas cards to troops

-Visit a children's hospital

-Leave an encouraging note 

-Pick up litter

-Hold the door open

-Help carry groceries 

-Smile at a stranger

-Pray with someone

-Help your sibling or parents with a chore

-Donate a coat, hat, mittens, etc.

-Have a potluck

-Deliver cookies to neighbors 

-Volunteer at a school

-Organize a clothing or food drive

-Adopt a family in need of Christmas gifts

Monday, November 24, 2014
Lil Baby Nutt // 19 weeks

How far along: 19 weeks

Gender: Boy!

Weight gain: 4 lbs. 

Maternity clothes: Jeans are officially cutting off my circulation when buttoned. Most of the time I'm in leggings or rigging my jeans.

Belly button in or out: In

Sleep: Decent. I've got a pillow between my knees every night and wake up every time I need to roll over to my other side.

Best Moment This Week: Our final ultrasound. It was our anatomy scan and everything checked out great. We have been thanking God for a healthy baby - an incredible blessing.  Baby boy was pretty stubborn at our appointment.  He didn't move at all! The ultrasound tech had me change positions, so we could get a clearer shot of his heart.  He turned just enough for her to confirm all is well and that is all. Little brat. :) Also, Marvin set up the best date night! He set up our living room and cooked a delicious meal for the two of us! Marvin hired the girls as waitstaff. They were so cute and did such a professional job! ;)

Worst Moment This Week: Back pain & round ligament pain is killing me. If I get up too fast, stretch, or sneeze, round ligament pain is right there to remind me that I'm pregnant!

Miss anything: I will miss having my mimosa or bloody mary while I start cooking on Thanksgiving morning. Boo.

Movement: Feeling more movement late at night, but nothing that can be felt from the outside yet.  The ultrasound tech said that it's because of how my placenta is positioned. 

Cravings: Same as last week. I did have a random craving late one night for Queen City BBQ's collard greens smothered in one of their vinegar based sauces. I didn't act on it in fear of getting arrested for breaking and entering.

Queasy or sick: Feeling good!

Looking forward to: Tomorrow we are headed to Sophia's school to hear her read her "Thankful" essay and excited to hear Marvin and the girls' thankful lists this year.  The ticket to our Thanksgiving dinner is a list of 27 things they're thankful for. :)