Bump Date: Week 26

Can I be honest for a second and say I have always wondered if I could naturally have kids. I have experienced some rather serious incidents at a young age, and honestly even though I wasn’t told I “couldn’t” I wasn’t sure I “could”. Looking back, I have always had “rough”, but consistent periods. When I say rough I mean, blood, sweat, and tears (literally).

I feel like a lot women experience some very traumatic events in life and everyone's experiences are different. The human body is amazing, yet unpredictable.

At age 15, my family and I were on a vacation in Orlando and I experienced the worst menstrual cycle which lead me to the hospital. During that visit I was told I had gallstones and tons of bile impacting my health. Talk about scary.

In 2013, I was going to a doctor I wasn’t too fond of. When I say I hated his visits, I dreaded them. He didn’t listen, was always in a rush, and didn’t seem to care. You know us women need a little bit of kindness in a doctor, it means something. Well, he felt because of my symptoms at the time, I had mild PCOS and placed me on Metformin for pre-diabetic and PCOS treatment. I took them for a month and stopped. I was never consistent, and it just didn’t feel right! I wasn't too sure about his diagnosis anyways. I mean, I'm no doctor, but I didn't agree with his half-shot evaluation. 

In 2014, I experienced Dermoid cysts the size of tennis balls in my left ovary.  These babies were filled with teeth and hair! My mom joked that I ate a possible twin when I was a baby. That’s when I found my current doctor who is the most amazing OBYGN in the world! I could be biased, but I’ve referred so many people to him who feel the same way. He removed the cysts and has been a guiding light ever sense.

A year before I got married my current doctor told me during my annual that my eggs were older than my actual age and that when I did find “the one”, if I was ready, “go for it”. I remember leaving there like what does that even mean? Older than my actual age...How?

Here we are today! 26 weeks and 3 days loving on a little seed that God saw fit to bless us with. When I first found out I was pregnant I was in shock because all that time, I wondered…would I ever experience a kick or jab. And at 26 weeks, I have felt kicks and tons of movement for the past two weeks straight!

I truly am amazed by this work and how my body is changing. The past two weeks have been full of back and hip soreness. Sleeping comfortably at night is becoming a little harder and the hunger during the day is becoming a little stronger; but I am so happy to have made it this far.

Current cravings: Butterfinger Mini's (they taste different than the actual bar), Strawberries, cold green grapes and pickles. I am still on a sandwich kick. I love, love, love a good sandwich with mustard and pickles. 

Weight gain: I have gained 11 pounds so far. My belly has made a leap out and I am showing more consistently. 

Hair and Skin: My skin is glowing, I mean I have only experienced one blemish since finding out. It’s been so clear and soft! My hair on the other hand, has not flourishing like I would have liked it to. I heard so many great stories about hair growth and thickness during pregnancy. Hopefully, since I skipped that part of pregnancy, I will also skip the post-partum shedding!

Gender: We do know the gender! We’ve also picked out the name. I wanted a name that was bold, neutral, and uncommon. I wanted the name to stand out and reflect confidence and strength. I was lucky enough to have my entire household love the name just as much as I do.

Upcoming:

I am super excited for next month because my girlfriends are planning a Babyette. A Babyette is a Baby celebration with your girlfriends similar to a Bachelorette for a wedding. When I told them about this idea/something I wanted to do, they jumped on board and started planning. I don’t know the details just yet, but I keep checking back for updates. 

The next few months are critical. I can’t believe in three short months I’ll have a little one running the household. Share with me some must have’s and planning points at 6/7 months, I’d love to hear.

-Whitney and Baby K