Four Months

This little one is now 17 weeks + 5 days old, and I am feeling…. round.

Other 4-month old baby bellies here, here, here, and here.

Ready to Twirl!

Anyone who knows Avery knows that she's got a dance in her soul and it has to come out!

She is incredibly excited about her 3-4 yr old ballet class, which is held at our church with other MOPS families and her favorite cousin Kip.  Grace and Leah's former ballet teacher offered to do the class, and it's the highlight of Avery's week.  Maybe even the highlight of Avery's life.  

3 Months

Here we are at (give or take) 3 months pregnant.  I'm 15 weeks + 2 days.

Nausea and extreme fatigue have gone away, although Steve and I both find ourselves worn out by the children's bedtime of 8pm.  That would probably be the case whether I was pregnant or not!   I'm trying to stay really focused on keeping myself well-nourished and well-rested; five pregnancies in 7 years has  depleted me, I'm sure, and I felt like I wasn't fully recovered from carrying Jane when we found out baby 5 was on the way.  I had been researching a traditional diet (pastured animal products, fermented food to keep a healthy gut and support immunity, soaked or sprouted grains, not being afraid of healthy fats, etc) and am putting some of what I've learned into practice to be sure I'm giving myself and little baby plenty of the good stuff.  Without becoming a complete Traditional Foods Hippie/Nutcase, this is what I've been trying to fill us up with:

-- homemeade soaked whole wheat bread (easier to digest and more nutritious… but let's be real, I was on a roll before the first trimester knocked me off my feet and I've baked bread like 2 times in the last 3 months.)   Also soaked granola.

-- fermented cod liver oil.  Yes, yes we do.  Everyone but Steve who is a complete sissy.

-- kefir, aka fermented milk (yum!)  Are you all still with me here?  I haven't made these since baby made his/her presence known, but it's my second trimester goal to get back to it.

-- Grass-fed, organic beef and whole milk from my favorite dairy, Prigel Family Creamery!  Such a blessing!

-- homemade bone broth (chicken stock).  Grace loves to drink this hot from a mug.

-- Kerrygold butter from happy Irish grass-fed cows, which Traditional Foodies declare to be a "health food".  I choose to believe them with my whole heart.

-- 1 or 2 eggs every day for me.  Hopefully from Jimmy and Laura's chickens when they start to lay again!

-- Homemade pregnancy tea for me.  Red raspberry leaf, stinging nettle leaf, and rose hips.  1-2 cups a day for the second trimester and more during the third trimester.

-- lots of water, fruits, and veggies, and limited amounts of WaWa subs (had one at 9:30 last night, thanks hubby for running out to get me one!  True love!), Cafe Rio burritos, baked goods, and Dunkin Donuts munchkins which my parents bring every time they come to get the girls.


Also, I found some fabulous prenatal yoga videos on YouTube that I try to do for at least 10 minutes a day.  The bonus is that the instructor is British and some of my new favorite people are British :)

Compare 3-month baby bellies here, here, here, [missed that month for Jane!]

Project 365

I don't get around to posting on this blog as much as I'd like to, but I AM posting one photo every day for this entire year over on my special projects blog!  Most of the pictures feature our growing girls, so it's almost like a family update, right?  You can follow the project by clicking on the link below:

Heather Grace Photography Projects

My three-month baby belly will be here soon, but for now, I thought you might enjoy some pictures of Jane.

Sometimes, after saying goodbye to Grace and Leah on school mornings, she finds the little backpack and asks me (not using actual words yet, though) to put it on her so that she looks just like her big sisters.