36 weeks- then and now

So I can't believe I'm gonna do this but here I go. I have really refrained from taking pictures of my ever- expanding belly this pregnancy (which is a shame) partially because I'm reluctant to share these pictures. I know, gaining weight and losing any shape that you might have had is part of the whole pregnancy deal. But the second time around, it just isn't easy to handle. When I was pregnant with the twins I knew that I was going to get really big and I felt that gaining weight was only going to lead to bigger, healthier twins. Looking back I did go overboard and gained more than what was needed, but I had two healthy babies and that is really all that matters. So with this pregnancy I have been more conscious about gaining weight and so far, I'm in the range that they suggest for a healthy weight gain. I attribute part of this to maintaining a vegetarian diet throughout the pregnancy which has just led me to eating healthier. But, my stomach is still really big! And it doesn't help that I'm surrounded by first time pregnant moms who have these tiny little stomachs. So yesterday, partially to make myself feel better and also to convince my mom that yes indeed, I do have a large stomach, I took some pictures. And gasp, I'm going to share them. So right now I'm at 36 weeks, which is when I had the twins. And this was a good time to really compare the size of a stomach with twins versus just one. And I hope you can see a difference (if not, just lie). The pictures below with the twins were taken one day before I went into labor- and the look of pain on my face is all true, I was so miserable at that point!

36 weeks- one baby

36 weeks- two babies

Tales of the dynamic duo trio

If anyone is even still following this blog- thank you! I know I have been really MIA from my blogging duties but you see, I've been really, really tired. And just not feeling too great. What could be causing this immense exhaustion you may ask (well, besides chasing two very fast and energetic toddlers)? My mom would probably say that I'm tired because I don't have enough protein in my diet, which may be true. But there is another pretty good reason for how I've been feeling, something that seems to take a lot of work and never gets easier as I've learned. Right now my body is working double time to support the growing baby inside of me!

And when I say double time, don't get too excited- only one baby in there this time. Yep, the dynamic duo is about to become the dynamic trio. Conner and Elizabeth are going to have a sibling, sometime around March 14th! And Chris and I weren't scared off enough by raising two babies at the same time to keep us from going through the adventure once again. We're just hoping that it might be a little easier this time with just one. I'm finally nearing the end of the first trimester and have started to feel better and gain some energy back (hence the two posts this week). I'm not sure how much I'll chronicle the pregnancy on this blog, because the second time around just doesn't feel so novel, but I'll be sure to keep you updated a few times along the way.