Okay, so the fruit analogies are weird because one week, the baby is totally round and the next week, he’s long and skinny. And peel’able.

And also? Lucy LOVES eating bananas. So that’s kind of creepy to think about.

This week was the week of kicks. The kind you can actually see from the outside. The kind that shakes your laptop when it’s sitting on your belly. Feels like we’ve got ourselves a little soccer player in there.

And my bladder is the ball.

Be right back … gotta go pee.

We prefer ugly ripe tomatoes, actually. But heirlooms are tasty!

ps: I like to use exclamation points! a! lot!

My appointment was at 10am this morning, and I was obviously excited about finding out what we were having, but was also nervous about any issues with my placenta since it was sooooo disobedient with Lucy. I was just crossing fingers and praying that everything was a-okay.

Got there and checked in – weight [+7lbs so far], blood pressure was great, and hemoglobin level was 12.1, which is SO good because I struggled with anemia with Lucy. Of course, we realized later that the anemia was pointing at the placental abruption.

Went back within minutes for the ultrasound.

First things first, my placenta is perfect. No signs of placenta previa or separation. PHEW!! I can’t tell you how relieved I was to hear that all is well this time.

Secondly, the baby looks amazing. Heart, bones, spine, cerebral fluid, nose bone, kidneys, bladder … it was all absolutely perfect.

And then it was time for the gender scan, and there was no guessing. HE was not shy, and it was not hard to see that he is, in fact, a bouncing baby boy. Actually, when the ultrasound tech was checking my cervix during the ultrasound, she said that his boy part was right there on the screen, and she was trying to fly through that part so I wouldn’t see it. But since I’ve never seen one of those on an ultrasound, I didn’t realize it. Ha!!

I’m not going to post it here, because … well, it’s boy parts. But here is his foot!

Now, I get to go shopping!! On the OTHER side of the Target kids department!!

post is named after current size of baby

*post title = current size of baby

[side note: maxi skirts from Old Navy are awesome. “fancy” elastic? yes, please.]

In other news, I just can’t tell you how much I LOVE watching this girl play and explore and make messes.

And climb.

And relax. For about .0000381 seconds.

And crawl through an obstacle course made of chairs.

Actually, even though this third pregnancy was an unexpected surprise, watching Lucy change and make these huge leaps and bounds has made me about a gajillion times more excited about the new baby. And a teensy bit less scared.

17 weeks is a smidge past 4 months for those of you who don’t care about weeks. Ken.

And a growth progression for fun … I think this is 10 weeks, 14 weeks and 17 weeks.

By the way, the more kids you have, the more forgetful you are about how many weeks you are. I rely on my weekly update email to tell me.

And here I am pregnant with all three kids at 17 weeks. That first picture cracks me up because I clearly had NO BELLY, but man, was I trying to poke it out. Look at meeee … I’m pregnant!!!!!! HA!!

* I always name the post after the current size of the baby, which is a turnip. My beautiful pal, Megan, did a whole series of maternity photos with the comparable food – so cute! I’m not that organized or creative, so I’ll just link it over to her post every week.

*baby is currently size of an apple

I kind of feel like blogging again. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m in the 2nd trimester. Yeah, you heard that right.

2nd TRIMESTER, BABY!!

[I made it two whole weeks of wearing the same shirt for pictures, ha]

Anyway, I have a bit more energy, things are getting done, and I have the holiday spirit. Gifts are wrapped, the tree is lit, the oldest girl is super excited – she’s most excited about opening one present on Christmas Eve night – and we are thinking of our many blessings this Christmas season.

We haven’t forgotten the reason for the season, and I’ve been talking to Emma about the birth of Jesus. But she’s four and a half and, welllll …

Oh, dear.

I think part of the reason I want to blog more is inspiration. I have been so inspired by photographers, bloggers and friends lately, so I thought I’d share some of my latest inspirations:

* Stacey’s “list of happies”

* Xanthe’s “i love …” series

* Xanthe’s “one day on Earth” series [I love Xanthe]

* lila was here

* Sarah’s amazing ability to capture people as they are

Who or what is inspiring YOU lately?

please don’t hate me for saying this, but I love love LOVE that picture

And don’t forget that tomorrow is the last day to enter my most fabulous Kellie Hatcher LR preset giveaway!

I keep writing blog posts. I do.

But then I just delete them. Nothing really seems to be interesting enough or good enough to put out there for everyone to read.

Honestly, I haven’t been able to do anything. I have packages to mail, t-shirts to order for friends who ran half-marathons, thank you cards to send for small gifts received while I was on bedrest, cards and gifts to send to friends that need them, pictures to take for our Christmas cards, and a house to clean and sanitize [both girls have a nasty, snotty cold].

I find myself just taking care of stuff that I HAVE to do … like pay bills, make meals, put dishes in dishwasher, and do laundry so that my family isn’t walking around naked.

But no matter how unplugged I feel, life goes on.

Now is about the time most people see their baby for the first time and start sharing the news. But hey … I’m not much on keeping secrets. Since I was so. sick. with Lucy, I didn’t take any belly shots until I was 17 weeks along. I think that was about the time I could stand up without puking.

But since this one is being a wee bit easier on me [I like you already, peanut!], I decided to go ahead and start a little earlier. Because I can.

So without furthur ado … this little peanut makes it’s first blog debut at 10 weeks.

[currently, the size of a kumquat]

I know, I know … where is it? But, you see, that little bumpity bump isn’t usually there. It could be the sheer number of Chips Ahoy cookies I’ve been inhaling. Or the shrimp hibachi. Or the california rolls [they’re safe] or the chicken stir fry or the spaghetti or the … well, I’ll just stop there. Let’s just say that I’m enjoying this first trimester a LOT more than I did last time.

That is, when I’m awake.

I figure once I’ve been absent this long, I might as well just start a blog post as if I’m in the middle of a sentence. I mean, really … there’s really no way to explain what all has been going on lately. But here it is in a nutshell – bedrest is over [wahoo!], stomach bugs for 2 of us, teething cold for 1 of us, BAD allergic reaction to I-don’t-know-what, car shopping, house cleaning, and sleeping.

Oh … and this:

Holla!

Do people even care about baby updates and stuff when you’re pregnant with baby number three? By the way, it still feels really REALLY weird to say “number three.” I mean, sure … there were times … moments … seconds, really, where I thought another baby would be fun. But Ken was definitely not on board, and the memory of placental explosions and the first four months of Lucy’s life would bring me screeching back to reality FAST.

But here we are. Adjusting. Deep-breathing. Meditating. Screaming.

Anyway, I have been feeling very uninspired lately, mostly due to internalizing the thoughts that run through my head. My camera is lonely, my project 365 has all but been abandoned, and I don’t “see” things like I used to. I don’t know if it’s the morning sickness [which may be going away, but I don’t want to jinx it] or the daily panic of having a third baby or the catching up from that week I was on bedrest. But I just don’t have it in me right now.

So that little peek into my uterus will just have to suffice until I can get my brain back together.

So I have one more day of bedrest, and then it’s on to “light duty” for a week until my next ultrasound to see how the little bean is doing. And since I still have people emailing me and leaving FB messages that they had no idea … I’m pregnant. Yep. Sure am. Surprise!

You would think that bedrest means TONS of computer time, but it just hasn’t been that way for me. I’ve actually enjoyed catching up with programs and movies and documentaries on Netflix and Hulu. And reading. I’ve been reading books with actual pages. And napping. I’ve been doing that a lot. Really, when else can I just flat-out nap in the middle of the day?

It sounds like it’s been really fun, but not for me. I’m not a layer or a napper or a couch potato. I have kind of been bored out of my mind. But at the end of this, we’re trusting that there will be a healthy baby, so it’s worth it.

I didn’t share this initially, and I’m still uncertain about sharing it, but I’ve had people question why I am on bedrest for bleeding, which is fairly normal in early pregnancy. Yes, it is normal to bleed and cramp during early pregnancy. But I had placenta previa and a placental abruption with Lucy, so they are extra cautious with me, even in the beginning. Yes, there is a good chance I won’t have any placental issues this time around, but there’s also a possibility that I will. So better safe than sorry. And the second reason that I am only sharing to offer full disclosure is that I lost a same-sac twin. God had His hand in this, because same-sac twins often have very serious obstacles to overcome, so while it is sad, it is also part of His will for the remaining baby to be strong and have a chance of being totally healthy.

Anyway, I have enjoyed spending more time just being with my girls.

Lucy combs her hair, now. I melt into a puddle every single time she does it.

Bedrest = lots of daddy diaper changes with original score by Emma.

And sometimes, when I’m really lucky, she brings her “work” into the bed with me.

So, really … it hasn’t been that bad.

Get ready for a fabulous advertiser spotlight and giveaway tomorrow or Friday!! I am SO EXCITED!!!