39 weeks!

This week we are 39 weeks pregnant!

This is officially our last belly picture... so bittersweet...

 

How big is baby? according to babycenter.com she is 20in and a little over 7lb... the size of a little watermelon! I can't wait to see how big she really is.

Weight gain/loss: Up 26lb.

Sleep: Not sleeping well at all if I don't take a Tylenol PM :( She is getting me prepared for sleepless nights in the very near future.

Movement: Miss K is still moving, mainly at night when I'm trying to sleep. I'm hoping she doesn't have her days and nights mixed up outside of the womb.

Symptoms: Feeling like a 9 month preggo! I feel like I'm going to cough this girl out she's so low and my back's killing me... I'm ready to hold her in my arms!
Food Cravings: Nothing this week, not had much of an appetite lately.

Gender: A girl- Khloe Margaret! I hope she's still a girl when we meet her on Friday!!
Belly Button: An outtie! Not for much longer though.

What I'm looking forward to? Having Miss Khloe!!! I can't wait to meet her, see what she looks like and snuggle her. I can't wait for Maddie to meet her and to see what she thinks of her.
What I miss? Being comfortable! But, I won't be 100% comfortable after she's here either!
Big sister: Had so much fun on Christmas, opening presents and playing in the snow (yep, we had a WHITE Christmas!!). On our last day as a family of 3, we're taking her to the Perot Museum of Nature and Science that opened up here recently and I think she will love it!
Dr. Appointment notes: We had our 39 week appointment this morning with one of Dr. C's partners. Weight, BP, Khloe's HB and fundal height checked in great. I'm 3.5cm and 60%, so not much progress since last week. We also confirmed our induction for 7:30am on Friday the 28th! Miss Khloe should be here be the afternoon/early evening if all goes well.

 

Our next blog post will be introducing you to our newest family member!!

Love,

The Vogs

 



38 weeks!

This week we are 38 weeks pregnant!

only two more weeks until her due date...

How big is baby? According to babycenter.com- Khloe is 6.8lb and 19.5in long... the length of a leek! Dr. C predicts that Khloe will be smaller than MK... and since she's coming at most a week earlier than MK she could be right... although she did say that MK was going to be no more than 7.5lb... and she was off by over a lb!

Weight gain/loss: I'm up 23/24lb depending on the day. Pretty happy with how my weight gain has turned out, especially since I've heard it's a lot harder to take off the baby weight with the second baby.

Sleep? I've been having a hard time getting to sleep and going back to sleep when I wake up. Several times this week I've woken up at 4am and haven't been able to go back to sleep. Miss Khloe's just preparing me for the next 3-6 month of very interrupted sleep!

Movement? She's still moving and shaking and hiccuping!

Symptoms: Still feeling Khloe really low- so feeling lots of pain and pressure in my pelvis, my heartburn and shortness of breath is gone! (yay!) Other than that I'm just generally feeling tired and ready for Miss Khloe to be here!

Food Cravings: This week I've been craving In and Out! :) There's just nothing like a cheeseburger with grilled onions on it! Oh and I've craved Mcdonalds french fries (very healthy cravings!!)... so MK and I made a trip to indulge!

Gender: A girl! Miss Khloe Margaret

Belly button: I'm rocking an outtie!

What I miss? Getting comfortable! I can't wait to sleep on my stomach in less than two weeks!

What I'm looking forward to? I'm so excited about meeting Khloe! I'm also excited about Christmas with Maddie this year... it's going to be so fun to watch her opening presents this year. I wish Khloe could be here to celebrate with us, but we are going to cherish this last Christmas as a family of three. I'm also super excited that after Friday, Mike has the next two weeks off!! :)

Mommy reflections: I've been writing some of my favorite verses in a little flip book that I can meditate on when I'm nursing, and I came across this one in Philippians that I've marked as my new prayer for my girls : I pray that your love will overflow more and more and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation- the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ- for this will bring much glory and praise to God. Phil 1:9-11

I know how hard it can be to keep in the Word and how important it is, so I'm hoping that having this flip book to meditate on will help me when I'm tired and feeling overwhelmed!

Big sister? Is getting excited about Khloe coming, but not because she's getting a little sister, because Gigi and Poppy are coming! She asks every day when Gigi and Poppy will be here or if she can go to "Fworda" to Gigi and Poppy's house! :)

Dr. Appointment notes: We had our 37 week appointment last Friday afternoon... it was a quick check up and my BP/weight/fundal height and K's heartbeat all checked out great! We see Dr. C again on Thursday morning, and then she's gone for Christmas until the 28th... so I'm telling Khloe she needs to come before Thursday or not until eviction day because I really really want Dr. C to be at her delivery. I'm praying hard for that now, although I know that the Lord is in control and whoever needs to deliver K will be there.

Today we went for our 38 week dr appointment with Dr. C. Everything checked out great- BP was perfect, weight gain on track and my belly measured 38 weeks. She checked me cause I've been getting crampy contractions on and off lately. I'm 3cm and 60%! She did let us know that we were on the waiting list for the 28th, so theres a chance that if no one goes into labor before hand, we wouldn't be able to induce then. I was totally ok with this- my prayer has been even after we decided to try and induce on the 28th that the Lord would pick her due date and make it incredibly clear if the 28th was it. Dr. C said she would keep us in the loop and would call L&D every day during her vacation to see if there was an opening. We go back on the 26th with Dr. Vu, since Dr. C is still on her Christmas vacation.

The end is so near!!! But it still seems so far...

 

Love,

The Vogs

 

37 weeks! Full Term! :)

This week we are 37 weeks!

3 weeks left until Jan 2nd, but only 2 weeks left until induction day!

Only (at most!) two  more belly pictures to take until I get to meet sweet Khloe!
How big is baby? about 6 1/3lb and 19inches according to babycenter.com- Khloe is apparently as long as a stalk of Swiss chard... strange!
Weight gain/loss? up 23lb... gained back what I lost last week with the stomach bug... looks like I'm right on track to gain about 25lb
Sleep? Sleeping ok, definitely waking up a couple times to pee in the middle of the night.
Movement? She's still moving in there and still having hiccups like crazy... usually at night while mommy is trying to go back to sleep.
Symptoms? Increased pelvic pain/pressure, frequent urination, fatigue
Food Cravings? Nothing really this week.
Gender? a girl! Khloe Margaret Vogelaar
Belly Button An outtie!!

What I miss? Being able to move around easily!
What I'm looking forward to? Khloe's going to be here in two weeks or less! Craziness! We've got our 37 week dr appointment on Friday at 2:45 with Dr. C. I've also got a long long "to-do" list to get done before Miss K arrives... and I love checking off "to-do" lists! The pic above is one of my crossed off "to-do" iteams- making "thank you" goody bags for the nurses and techs at the hospital.  Next up:  cleaning my car and installing K's car seat base.
Mommy reflections: Been really struggling with feeling sad about the limited time I have left with just MK. I'm sure this is normal for moms to go through, I just hate feeling this way. I'm also so excited about Khloe at the same time... it's such a strange feeling. Any other mamas of two plus kids go through this and have some words of wisdom?
Big sister? She and I had a fun Christmas date today- we went to the mall and went to Santa's story time and had lunch. She's such a sweet girl and I can't wait to see her take on the new role of big sister!
Labor signs? I had a couple of contractions today... but they went away within an hour... but I think my body's getting ready! I'm gonna ask Dr. C to check my cervix for changes and to do a membrane sweep at our 38 week appointment- which will be my last one before our induction on the 28th!

Love,
The Vogs

36 weeks!

We are 36 weeks this week! 9 months!!! :)
 only 4 more left (or less, but that's a tease so you read the rest for more details!)

Taken at 36 weeks 5 days due to the stinky stomach bug!

How big is baby? About 6lb and 18.5inches- the size of a crenshaw melon (whatever that is!)
Weight gain/loss? Well, at the start of this week I was up 23lb, but after the stomach bug I'm back to +20lb.
Sleep:Sleeping ok actually, only getting up a couple of times to pee and not having to take Tylenol PM as much!

Movement: K's still very active! She quited down when I was sick- prob cause she was starving! But once I was able to keep things down she reminded me just how active she could be!
Symptoms: Besides the nasty stomach bug- getting a lot more Braxton Hicks and they are getting stronger, I lost my mucous plus this week (tmi?!), feeling lots of pressure in my pelvis/pubic bone, leg cramps.
Food cravings: NONE... but that might be the remnants of the stomach bug talking

Gender: Girl! Khloe Margaret!
Belly button: Def an outtie!

What I miss? It's super hard to come down with a cold and then become violently ill while being 9 months pregnant... So I miss being healthy!
What I'm looking forward to? Christmas celebrations- we've got our community group dinner this week!
Mommy reflections: One minute I'm ready to have Khloe and the next minute I'm wishing for many many more weeks of just me and MK time... it's a confusing time in my head!

Big sister: Went to big sister class this week and had a blast! Most of it was over her head, but she had fun playing with the baby dolls and touring the hospital where mommy and Khloe are going to be. It's getting more real that MK isn't going to be our baby anymore!

MK's "swaddle"... lets just say she won't be doing that unsupervised with Khloe! :)

35 week Dr. Appointment notes: We had our 35 week Dr. appointment with Dr. Crochet last Friday. My weight and BP were great and my belly is measuring 34 weeks- Khloe has dropped quite a bit so that's totally expected. I also had my group B strep test done (lovely little test that is!) and Dr. C checked my cervix while she was at it to see where we were starting off from. I was telling her about how I was feeling a lot more pain and pressure in my pelvis/pubic bone, but I didn't think Khloe had dropped much cause I was still getting heartburn and feeling short of breath at times. As she was checking me she said "oh wow!" and that's never something you want to hear when someone has her hand up your woo-hoo! :) She said I was 2cm dilated, 50% effaced and that K's head was very low and pressing on my cervix (hence the dilation). I was totally shocked since when I was 35 weeks preggo with MK I was 0cm and 0% effaced... I wasn't 2cm until my 39 week appointment with her! So, all of that means nothing, since I could stay at 2cm and 50% for 5 weeks, but it was still kinda exciting to know that I only have 8cm and 50% until I meet Khloe! :) We also had a talk with Dr. Crochet about how we felt about inducing Khloe. Dr. C said she wouldn't even offer it to us if I wasn't dilated at this point. After talking about our complications last delivery, Mike's work PTO dilemma and the fact that Dr. C isn't on call the weekend of the 29th, NYE, NY or until after my due date we decided that Dr. C would schedule an induction for the 28th of December. She has to wait until Dec 14th to officially schedule it with BUMC, but unless something happens before hand or that date is full (not likely), we know Miss Khloe will be here no later than the 28th! :)

Now, I know induction is controversial, but I've done my due diligence and feel 100% comfortable with it. I know the risks, and after talking and praying about it with Mike we feel like this is the best option for our family. I would never induce if my cervix was not favorable. I actually loved being induced last time, even though I was post-dates with MK. It was so fun to anticipate the day and to prepare for it in the days before. All that to say, I'm still praying that Khloe comes on her own before the 28th... I'm secretly praying for the 21st (38 weeks)... so we shall see!

36 week hospital trip/Dr. appointment notes: On Tuesday of this week I came down with the worst stomach bug of my life. Anything I was eating/drinking was coming out violently from both ends. We called the doctor that night and she said to try and keep hydrated and call back in the morning. Well, after a night of not keeping anything down we called back and Dr. Crochet sent us to L&D to check out if I was dehydrated. Sure enough I was, and I had to get an IV to be rehydrated. Everytime I peed they checked my urine and if I still had ketones present (a sign of dehydration) I had to get another liter of IV fluid. I got a total of 5 liters and finally was hydrated! Thankfully the dehydration didn't cause early labor- Khloe needs to stay in there for atleast another week. They also gave me some anti-nausea meds and sent me on my way home. I felt so much better after getting fluids, but still battled the stomach bug thursday and half the day on friday.

So thankful for modern medicine and IV fluids! :)

My 36 week appointment was with the new doctor in the office- Dr. Vu. She is actually the wife of one of the vascular surgeons I used to work with in the ICU. She was very soft spoken and nice, but I wasn't a huge fan of her and really hope she's not on call when I have Khloe! Everything with K checked out great. Her HR was in the 120s, my BP was good, and weight was ok (even though I had lost 3lb since my last visit due to the stomach bug). Oh and I'm also group B strep negative- so no antibiotics in labor! Yay! :) 37 week appointment is with Dr. Crochet on Friday and we'll get to schedule the induction then! :)

 

 

Lots to share this week! Hopefully next week isn't nearly as eventful! :)

 

Love,

The Vogs

35 weeks!

This week we are 35 weeks! 5weeks until d-day!

How big is baby? According to babycenter.com Khloe is 5 1/4lb (the weight of a honeydew melon) and 18 inches long!

Weight gain/loss: up 23 lbs, Thanksgiving wasn't too bad on my weight gain! :)

Sleep: two words- Tylenol PM!

Movement: K's definitely running out of room in there. I'm feeling her nudges and pokes high up in my belly or on the sides, so I'm thinking she's head down, but we'll see on Friday at the check up! She hasn't been hiccuping as much anymore either.

Symptoms: Fatigue, nausea if I don't eat every couple hours, leg cramps, BH contractions, pain and pressure in my pelvis/pubic bone area, and I'm fighting off a cold/sore throat thing.

Belly button: It's def an outtie, but you can't always see it through my shirt- which is a good thing! :)

Food cravings: peanut butter and apples, pears

Gender: Khloe Margaret- a girl!
What I miss? Being comfortable! This pain in my pelvis/public bone is really not fun and I thought that yoga would make it feel better, but it hasn't really helped.

What I'm looking forward to? It being December on Saturday! Mike and I are having a day date in Waco to watch the last Baylor homegame of the season against OSU. I'm also so excited for Christmas. We decorated this past weekend and I just love the way our house looks with Christmas decorations! We also got a little real tree so my house smells amazing. We also have a doctor's appointment on Friday afternoon!



Fake tree on the table and real tree by the fire place! :)

We got Khloe's stocking in the mail this week! Now, it would be awesone if she came in time to use it!


Big sister: Is currently passed out on the floor running a high fever and throwing up every 1-2hrs. There's a stomach bug going around church again and if there's one out there, it seems MK will catch it. I hate seeing her like this :(

Next week we will be in our 9th month!! She's going to be here so soon!

Love,
The Vogs

34 weeks!

This week we are 34 weeks!

Only 6 more until our due date :)

How big is baby? per Babycenter.com, Khloe is 4 3/4lb and about 18 inches long- the size of a cantelope!

Weight gain/loss: Still hanging out at +22lb...not sure why I'm not gaining weight- it's not for lack of eating! But again, I'm not complaining!

Sleep: It's getting rough to sleep again, both getting to sleep and going back to sleep. And I've started waking up at least twice to pee in the middle of the night. Oh and if I don't get a nap in during the day I am a tired, hormonal mess around 4pm (just ask MK and Mike!).

Movement: Miss K is still moving and her movements are starting to hurt mama! I'm not sure if she's head down right now cause she's been jabbing me in the hips latlely.

Symptoms: Fatigue, difficulty sleeping, leg cramps, just feeling sore and huge.

Belly Button: definitely more of an outtie than an innie these days!
Food Cravings: Cheese and crackers, peanut butter and apples- lots of my first trimester cravings are coming back! Oh and I was craving chocolate chip cookies this week to!

Gender: Girly girl- Khloe Margaret

What I miss? Feeling like myself- not a hormonal, uncomfortable mess! I had my first "I don't think I can do this for another x weeks" thought the other day... but we are in the final stretch so I will persevere (like I have a choice!).

What I'm looking forward to? Thanksgiving this week and having Mike at home for 4 days! Our fun December plans- Christmas parties, family activities. Oh and decorating the house for Christmas this weekend!!  And my dr. appointment next Friday!

Big sister: Is cutting her two year old molars- need I say more?

Dr. Appointment notes: I had a dr appointment last friday with Dr. C's partner- Dr. Fields-Walker and it was very short and sweet. Weight, BP and K's heartbeat (158) were great and she said I'm measuring right on track. We go back next Friday for the lovely step B swab and a cervical check.

 

Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Love,

The Vogs



33 weeks!

This week we are 33 weeks!

Less than 7 until Miss K's due date!!! :)

How big is baby?  Khloe is about 4lb and over 17 inches long (according to Babycenter.com)... the size of a pineapple!

Weight gain/loss: Just as predicted, I'm back to what I was before I lost 3 lb last week! So, up 22lb... but I'm not complaining! At this point with MK I was so swollen I couldn't wear my engagement ring... right now it's still loose on me like it is in pre-pregnancy (my wedding ring is 1/2 a size smaller and wasn't fitting at 20 weeks!). I'm hoping to stay under a 30lb weight gain, but I'm not going to stress myself out about it... it'll come off in the end! :)

Sleep: Still sleeping just ok, but not having to take Tylenol PM this week, so that's WONDERFUL! I do have to take a nap every day to be a functional wife/mommy.

Movement: Still moving quite a bit and she has hiccups several times a day! I can't wait to see if how active she is on the inside correlates with her personality on the outside!

Symptoms: Fatigue, leg cramps, nausea if I haven't eaten in a couple hours... other than that I'm feeling so great!

Belly button: It really depends on how K is positioned! But most of the time it's an innie/outtie!

Food cravings: Still my favorite salad, and this week I was craving a good cheeseburger... and my sweet husband delivered! :)



Me and MK indulging in my craving for a cheese burger at In and Out!

Gender: A girl! Khloe Margaret!
What I miss? Getting to wear some of my pre-pregnancy fall/winter clothes... but I don't think I'll be wearing many of them at all this season!
What I'm looking forward to: My dr appointment tomorrow, our first Vogelaar (just our family and Mike's sister!) family Thanksgiving... but I'm not making a turkey for just 4 of us! I can't wait to bust out the china! :)
Big sister: Has been a real mommy's girl this week and has been wanting me to carry her everywhere.. which is hard with a Khloe bump. I'm thinking this might be just a taste of what's to come when baby sister arrives.

Next blog post will include how our doctor appointment goes tomorrow! :)

 

Love,

K & K Vog! 

Baylor Homecoming and Vero Beach, FL

We've had such a fun past couple of weeks/weekends!

 

Last week MK and I traveled to Vero Beach, FL to visit my parents for a couple days. They just came back from a 6 month stay in England (they live there half of the year) and I wanted to see them before Khloe arrived. My travel cut off date was 32 weeks, so we cheated a little bit, but it was so worth it! MK loved playing on the beach with Poppy and we had lots of quality time with Gigi and Poppy and Aunt Vicky! Here are some pics of our trip! 

Gathering shells on beach with Poppy!

Me and Vicky dressed up for a benefit one night! I loved getting to see her!



Building a sand castle with Poppy!

Mommy and Maddie getting pampered... she wasn't quite sure what to think at first, but ended up loving it.

Two weekends ago, our family went down to Waco for Baylor homecoming. Mike and I have created so many wonderful memories in Waco over the past 7 years, and as long as we live close to Baylor, we plan on creating many many more with our girls. Since we met, fell in love and got married in Waco, it's such a special place to us and we love getting to show MK all of our "spots" around campus and town. Friday night was the bonfire/pep-rally and we got to see some old friends we hadn't seen in a while. MK loved seeing the football players on the stage, but wasn't a huge fan of the fire works or bonfire. I'm not sure we'll travel down for the bonfire again with little kids since it's so late, but you live and you learn! Saturday morning was the parade and then we got lunch at my favorite place in Waco (The Olive Branch) and then headed back to our hotel for MK to nap... which she didn't! After nap was the game vs Kansas. Baylor played great and MK showed her Baylor pride by cheering loud! Her love for football warms Mikes heart!

The Vogs at the bonfire!

MK watching the pep-rally on my shoulders.

The fire... notice MK looks a little worried! :)

Me and MK in our matching shirts at the parade!

As Khloe's pending arrival gets closer, I'm getting more selfish of our family time and wanting to savor these last moments with just MK, since our family dynamic will change forever once miss K arrives! I've already got a bunch of fun family dates planned for the rest of this month and December.

 

 

Love,

The Vogs 

32!

We are 32 weeks this week!

Less than 8 weeks until D-Day! :) As I'm writing this I'm two days away from being 33 weeks... but it's better late than never!

No chalkboard pic this week... we were on our way to FL on the day we graduated to 32 weeks, so I took this one on the way to the airport!

How big is baby? Baby weights approximately 3.75lb and is about 16.5 inches long- the size of a large jicama... who knows what that is! :) Khloe has officially passed mommy in guestational age at birth.. my twin sister and I were born at 32 weeks.

Weight gain/loss? I lost 3lb this week, so I'm back to +19lb... but I think after eating out in Florida this week and at the wedding this weekend I'll be back up to the 20-22lb range! :)

Sleep: Sleeping ok... I was sharing a room with MK this week while we were in Florida so I didn't get awesome sleep and was getting up super early. I am definitely needing a nap every day or I'm a monster in the afternoon/evening... oh and I'm heading to bed around 9 most nights.
Movement: Miss K is a mover! :) Mom and dad and Vicky got to feel her moving and hiccuping this week!

Symptoms: Heart burn, fatigue, leg cramps, starting to get some nausea back- but nothing as bad as the first trimester, but I still have some zofran if it gets bad again.
Belly button innie/outtie: It's getting much more like and outtie than an innie, but also depends on K's position.

Food Cravings: Still my favorite feta/cranberry/almond/balsalmic salad, Kilwin's ice cream (a place in Vero).
Gender: A little girl! Khloe Margaret
What I miss: I'm starting to get sad that we won't be in Florida for Thanksgiving or California for Christmas with family... but on the bright side, it'll be our first thanksgiving at home since MK's been born and I'm excited about getting to start our own traditions with her.
What I'm looking forward to: We've got a dr. appointment on Friday that I'm looking forward to.

Big sister: Is going to get a tour of the post-partum floor at Baylor this week either before/after my dr. appointment. A sweet mentor mom at church suggested that and I thought it was such a fun suggestion! We had a blast together in Florida, even though she got a stomach bug as we were taking off on the plane and threw up every 15 minutes the whole 2.5hr flight on the way to Orlando. :(

 

Next blog post will be about our fun last few weeks at Baylor homecoming and in Vero Beach!

Love,

The Vogs

31 weeks!

This week we are thiry one weeks pregnant!

Only 9 more to go until her due date... we're in single digits for weeks...ahhhh!

 

How big is baby? According to BabyCenter.com, baby is around 3.3lb and 16 inches long (about the weight of 4 navel oranges). She's probably heavier at this point than I was when I was born at 32 weeks premature.

Weight gain/loss: Still holding at +22lb... according to my dr.'s scale I've only gained 2lb since my last visit 4 weeks ago. If I keep gaining between .5-1lb a week I should be well within the normal range of weight gain! Still hoping to be less than what I gained with MK since I've heard it's harder to loose the baby weight with number 2!

Sleep: Still having some trouble sleeping- both getting to sleep and getting back to sleep after waking up to pee in the middle of the night. And, I totally forgot to ask my dr. at my appointment on monday about sleep aids! Oh well, one Tylenol PM has worked well if I'm really struggling.

Movement: She's still very, very active and has hiccups daily... Mike even got to feel her hiccups the other day! :) She is definitely running out of room, cause I am feeling her stretches and flips and rolls and it feels like she is going to pop my belly sometimes. She's been sticking a knee or something bony next to my belly button recently, and it's SO painful! I'm thinking she's head down still because a lot of her movement is at the top of my belly!

Symptoms: Fatigue and trouble sleeping, leg cramps, heart burn, shortness of breath.

Belly button: Still an innie/outtie!

Food cravings: Still my favorite salad, mac and cheese, pears and rocky road ice cream.

Gender: A girl! Khloe Margaret

What I miss? Some of my non-pregnancy fall/winter clothes.

What I'm looking forward to? Going to Waco for homecoming this weekend and taking Mk with me to Vero Beach for a couple days next tuesday! Can't wait to see my family! I'm also looking forward to November being here... we are that much closer to meeting Khloe!

Mommy reflections (this one's new!): I've just been really convicted that I need to focus on the JOY in pregnancy and not the hard, not-so-joyous times. After 9 months of wishing to be pregnant and many friends who are experiencing infertility or are unable to get pregnant for a while, I have learned that pregnancy isn't a guarantee. I think for so long I took pregnancy for granted- especially when I was pregnant with MK. Khloe could be my last baby if that's what the Lord decides (although that's not our family's plan!), and I want to enjoy every single second of my pregnancy... the good, bad and the ugly. I am wishing that this pregnancy would slow down, the weeks are flying by and I am trying to soak in and savor every bit of it!

Big sister: Has been showing us that she is, in fact, a two year old! It's been a rough couple of days for her discipline wise, but we are holding strong to Galatains 6:9 and the promise of a fruitful harvest! :)

Dr. Appointment notes: I had my 30 week check up on Monday and everything was great. My BP was 128/68 (which is actually a bit on the high side for me, but not concerning), gained 2lb since my last visit (and Dr. C said my weight gain was excellent) and my fundal height measured in at 31.5cm. K's heart beat was great and both mom and baby are healthy and happy! We talked about what the next month looked like in terms of dr. visits: I go see one of her partners Dr. Fields-Walker in two weeks (I'll be 33 weeks) and then back to Dr. C the last week in November (35 weeks) where she'll do the lovely strep-B swab and a cervical check. I can't believe that's coming so soon! She mentioned something about discussing a plan after my 35 week check depending on how ripe my cervix is... not sure what that means, but we will see! My cervix was soft and partially effaced at 35 weeks last time and MK had to be evicted at 40.5weeks, so I know progress at 35 weeks means nothing! :)

 

Our weekly picture and blog post will be from Vero Beach, Fl next week! :) Maybe I'll do a beach belly pic!

 

Love,

The Vogs

Jacks and Roxanne Review!

A sweet friend from church, Dana and her friend started the most adorable Etsy store several months ago and she surprised me last month with a precious "K" initial onesie for Khloe.

I decided that I wanted fun, custom sister shirts for the girls when K arrives, so I contacted Jacks and Roxanne through their Etsy store and placed a custom order.

I got to pick out the color of the onesie, the type of fabric and the color of the lettering. It was so easy to order and an excellent price for custom shirts! I love that they custom dye their onesies so they have colors that you can't find other places.

Dana gave me the shirts yesterday at bible study and I was SO happy with how they turned out!! I can't wait to see my girls wearing them soon.


Jacks and Roxanne has a ton of adorable onesies and shirts for little ones, maternity wear and even something for your home! If you're looking for a gift for a mom-to-be, a new baby or a birthday present...check them out! Right now they have adorable Thanksgiving shirts and onesies, and I can't wait to see what they come out with for Christmas! Here's a link to their Etsy store!

Thanks so much Jacks and Roxanne for making these adorable shirts for us! You definitely have loyal customers in the Vog house!

Love,
The Vogs

THIRTY!!!

We are 30 weeks pregnant this week!

Only 10ish weeks left!!! That seems like nothing... it's only 71 days!!!! :) I've gotta make a paper chain!

This shirt doesn't do the bump justice! :)

How big is baby? Baby is about 15.7 inches long and roughly 3lb- the size of a head of cabbage

Weight gain/loss: up 22lb- no change from last week :)

Sleep: Definitely getting harder and more uncomfortable- I've taken one tylenol PM a couple nights this week (one of those being the camping trip night!) to help me get to sleep since I've had a hard time doing that lately. Last night was particularly rough- and based on my pregnancy with MK I know it's only going to get harder from here! Anyone have any good natural sleep remedies? I've heard different opinions on melatonin and negative side effects in pregnancy, so maybe I'll talk to my Dr. about that on Monday.

Movement: I think K's finally settled into a head down position- her kicks have been all high! She hasn't jabbed my ribs yet, but I know that's only a matter of time! She's super high up in my belly, I'm starting to have a hard time taking really deep breaths and my heart burn is getting way worse.

Symptoms: Heart burn, shortness of breath, braxton hicks, increased urination, colostrum leakage (lovely!).  

Belly Button: Still an innie/outtie

Food Cravings: This weekend I craved a thin crust pepperoni and onion pizza with a Greek salad (and gave into my craving!). I've also been craving Rocky Road ice cream- one that I had with MK. Oh, and I've also been craving pears... I've had at least one every day! :)

Gender: A precious girl! Khloe Margaret

What I miss? I went to Chuys with a sweet friend yesterday at happy hour and was SUPER bummed I couldn't partake in a margarita with her! :)

I'm loving that my belly is now at the shelf stage! :) So helpful for holding pumpkin chai tea lattes!

 

What I'm looking forward to? With a crazy busy November and the holiday rush in December, I have a feeling that the next 10 weeks will fly by- and I can't wait to meet my sweet Khloe girl! We go to the doctor next monday- I can't wait to hear her heart beat and check in with Dr. C! After that check up, we go every two weeks until 36 weeks when we go every week! :)

Big sister: Last night after bath time she asked if she could cuddle with Khloe. She made me bend down and she wrapped her arms around my belly. It was such a sweet moment. Today during our bath time, she asked if she could wash Khloe! She lathered up my belly with soap and then after she washed it off, she laid her head it and said "wuv wu Khloe!" Oh melt my heart sweet big sister!!  Also, during the rough times on the camping trip when I was cuddling with a scared and wimpering MK, Khloe was kicking her and I was just so overwhelmed by the incredible feeling of being so blessed with two sweet girls. I can't wait to watch them grow up together. I LOVE having sisters and I am so estatic that MK will get to experience the special bond of sisterhood. There truely is nothing like it! :)

 

Stay tuned for a fun blog post tomorrow- I'm doing a review for Jacks and Roxanne!! :)

Love,

The Vogs

Fun October outings!

We've been doing some fun fall things this month and I thought I would share:

2nd Annual Bluthur Camping Trip!
This past saturday we traveled an hour north to Lake Texoma to go camping with our community group and two others close friends. Unfortunately, the Vogs didn't get to stay the night due to 1. An uncomfortable mama (almost 30 weeks preggo+ a hole in the air matress= No way to get comfy!) and 2. A MK who was scared and not going down to sleep at all. But, we still had a blast hanging out with our friends during the day. And, we learned a valuable lesson: the Vogs aren't campers... at least not with a potty training toddler and a very pregnant mama! :)

The girls and their little girls!

The girls playing in the water

They look like pro campers!

The Vog family camping!

Our group- minus the Vog girls (Mike went back in the morning to help them pack up the campsite!) We love these peeps!

Fun with daddy!

My sweet happy (until 7pm) camper!

Owens Spring Creek Farm Pumpkin Patch!

Mama and Maddie at the patch!

Sweet girl sitting on a pumpkin!

MK feeding the goats!

We went this morning with our friend's Ashleigh & Lilleigh and Allie & Shepherd. This farm was literally 8 miles from our house and it was so fun for little ones. Our $6 admission included a little pumpkin from the patch, a cup of goat food to feed the goats and a hay ride. The kids had a blast playing in the pumpkins. They also LOVED feeding the goats. We will definitely be going back next year! :)

This next weekend we are going to carve our pumpkins and then next weds is Halloween!! Can't wait to show y'all the fun family costumes I'm working on... and Khloe is included! The next few weeks we have Baylor Homecoming, a quick trip to Vero Beach, a babymoon in Austin and then  a couple weeks after that it's Thanksgiving... December will be here in a flash... and then Khloe will be here!! :)

Love,
The Vogs

29 weeks!

This week we are 29 weeks!

11 weeks to go, and our last week in the 20s!!

 

 How big is baby? Baby is the size of a butternut squash!

Weight gain/loss? Up 22lb- blah!

Sleep: I'm sleeping ok, still a little hard to go to bed and to get back to sleep when I wake up in the middle of the night. I am definitely getting more tired during the day and enjoy a daily nap.

Movement: Still flip flopping between head down and breech, but she's definitely a mover! :)

Symptoms: fatigue, heart burn, braxton hicks

Belly button: innie/outtie- can't decide which one it wants to be!

Food cravings: Haven't really had much of an appetite lately. I think my stomach is getting squished, so I'm getting fuller faster and not enjoying food as much because of terrible heart burn afterwards.

Gender: A girl! Khloe Margaret

What I miss? Feeling confident about my physical appearance... I'm entering the "whale" phase of pregnancy- feeling like I am gaining weight in my face and not feeling super confident. The weight gain is totally worth it for Khloe's health and I'm eating heathly and exercising and I'm estimated to be in the "normal" weight range, but it's still hard to gain weight. :(

The Baylor shirt I made! :)

What I'm looking forward to? I'm super excited that we're getting down to the end and I'll get to meet Khloe soon. I'm also stoked that I'm taking MK to Florida right before my "no travel" cut off date to see my parents and twin sister who I haven't seen in a couple months. We're also going to Baylor homecoming in a couple weeks so I made a Baylor shirt for me and Khloe (like the one I made for MK last year at homecoming!) and I can't wait to wear it to the game and all the festivities!

Big sister: Still working on potty training and she's also entering the "terrible two's" with full force!

 

Love y'all!
The Vogs

An Rx for a change of perspective...

So, if you're on Facebook you may have seen a status I posted yesterday about it being a rough mommy day. It was the perfect storm for behavior challenges for miss MK: no nap, family in town (aka, she thinks she can get her way and she's trying to show off!) and being a two year old who is discovering her independence. She pushed all of the boundaries and threw many temper tantrums... Mike said she was like a hormonal teenager. He then started freaking out because he realized he was going to have two, possibly more, hormonal teenagers in the house in a few years!!!

Anyway, after a little time out for mommy and some reflection on Galations 6:9, I pulled it together and armed myself for battle against the terribe twos. And, surprise surprise, we survived! We were beat when she went down at 7, but we had survived our first hard toddler day and learned a TON for the many, many future ones we are going to face with MK and Khloe.

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss day and I have a couple friends, close friends and blogger friends, who have experienced loss- both miscarriages and stillbirths. So, today on Instagram and Facebook and blogs I was reminded of how incredibly blessed I am to have a temper-tantrum-throwing toddler. No matter how bad my days are, I need to be so incredibly thankful for a healthy Maddie.

A couple weeks ago at a pre-school mom talk at Watermark, the speaker spoke on thankfulness (as well as a wonderful talk on gender differences and celebrating the "boy-ness" and "girl-ness" in your children... you can find it here!). She was answering a question about when to reel in the high energy toddler boy and she basically said "you should change your perspective." She had delivered a little girl several decades ago who was in the NICU and suffered a brain bleed and eventually passed away. She told the group that when she was getting frusterated by her boys non-stop energy, she would remember her sweet daughter in the NICU who was unable to move and she immediately became thankful for her boys ability to run and dance and be silly and crazy with energy. That was such a powerful message for me... sometimes we just need a change in perspective! :)

To all of my sweet friends and readers for whom this day means remembering the loss of your precious babies- I can't imagine the pain you have endured and continue to endure. You are in my thoughts and prayers today, especially as you celebrate and remember the life that you carried. Thanks to the many of you who share your stories of loss in your blogs, your stories of faith and trust in the Lord in the midst of extreme pain is inspiring.

Love,
Katy Vog

It's finished!

The hybrid nursery/guest room is complete! I am so pleased with how it turned out... my vision came together so nicely! I wanted something sophisticated, but still girly, and shabby chic! I'm loving all of the white linens and pops of coral and blue.

This room provided a lot of challenges: 1. It really only has two full walls to put furniture against- they other two are a wall of windows and a wall of closets. 2. It's a pretty small room for cramming a queen sized bed, crib, glider and dresser into it. 3. LIGHTING!! Don't get me started on this one. None of our bedrooms in our house had ceiling fans in them when we bought the house (how you can live without a ceiling fan in Texas in the summer? I have no clue!). So, we outfitted our rooms with fans when we moved in. The one in this room didn't come with a light kit, and despite several trips to Lowes, we can't find a light kit that works. So, we are stuck with a floor lamp, which works fine, it just makes taking pictures hard (see below!).

Here are some pictures (sorry the quality is poor... I need a to start using a better camera than my iPhone camera!) and a list of resources for where we got everything!

Khloe's crib

Glider & dresser/changing table against windows

Rocking chair and lamp



View from the door

Guest bed!

Paint: Valspar from Lowes

Crib: Graco Sarah Classic crib in Cherry from Amazon.com (bought 2.5 years ago for MK).

Bumper pad: Pottery Barn Kids new in package with tags on from Craigslist... for only $15!!! :)

Crib sheets:Circo brand from Target in Khaki

Crib skirt: made by Sew Katy (me!) from some white linen curtains I had from Ikea

Mobile: Was MK's, but it had ducks on it and I replaced them with hand made birds from this tutorial

Frames above the crib: Hobby Lobby

Print of Micah 6:8 : Custom made from Sallie Kate Designs

Coral "K": Letter from Hobby Lobby, painted coral by me

Crosses throughout the room: A souvenier from a cool market in Albuquerque when I went there for spring break my junior year of college

Bed: From the guestroom in my grandparents house

Bedding for guest bed: From Dillards and Bed Bath and Beyond several years ago

Guest bed skirt: Lanna collection in coral from Anthropologie (my inspiration for the room... I wanted to get the Euro sham covers, but they don't sell them anymore and they are SUPER expensive on ebay!).

Euro Shams: Ralph Lauren from Dillards (bought after we got married), I added the chevrons using this tutorial and the same fabric as the curtains.

Shelves and frames above guest bed: Ikea

Prints in frames: Scrapbook paper from Hobby Lobby

Glider: A gift from Mike's parents when we were pregnant with MK. We painted it and recovered the cushions to match MK's room. I recovered the cushions again in a coral ikat fabric from Sky Reve Fabrics.

White linen pillow on glider: Made by me from the same white linen curtains as the bed skirt

Lamp: Target

Curtain rod: TJ Maxx

White linen curtains: Ikea

Coral roman shades: Made by me, fabric from Joanns

Dresser: Also from my grandparents, used in MK's nursery

Knobs on dresser: Hobby Lobby

Wire baskets: Target

Changing pad: From MK's nursery- got it at Buy Buy Baby

Changing pad cover: Boppy brand from Buy Buy Baby in Khaki


It's so fun to create a nursery! It is also so nice to be completely DONE with it! It was my goal to be done before the end of October because our November and December calendar is packed with fun stuff and I didn't want to stress the last two months of my pregancy. Miss K also has all of her newborn diapers bought and all of her clothes purchased, washed and hung up/folded. We are ready for you Miss K... Just don't come for a couple more months! :)

Love,
The Vogs

28 weeks!

This week we are 28 weeks!

12 weeks to go!





Got one of MK smiling... now she just needs to look at the camera! :)

How big is baby? the size of a Chinese cabbage (whatever that is!)... or approx 2 1/4 lb and 14.8 inches long... but according to our sonogram last week, she's definitely bigger than that!
Weight gain/loss: up 20lb... lost one this week, I'm not upset about it!
Sleep: What you'd expect in the 3rd trimester... sometimes hard to get to sleep, sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and have a hard time getting back to sleep. I started taking Tylenol PM with MK when I couldn't sleep and that helped a ton, but we aren't there quite yet!
Movement: Like last week, she's still flip flopping between head down and breech, and many times when I'm laying on my side it seems like she's transverse! She's not kicking quite so hard anymore, just nudges, thumps and stretching- she's getting cramped in there already poor girl!
Symptoms: leg cramps, heart burn, fatigue during the day again, frequent urination, braxton hicks.
Belly button: not and innie and not an outtie!
Food cravings: We've had another attack of the stomach bug for big sister, and that usually makes my tummy a bit queesy, so I've really not been craving anything lately. We did get Chick-fil-a chicken noodle soup today and that was delicious!
Gender: Khloe Margaret- a girl!
What I miss? nothing this week!
What I'm looking forward to? The next 12 weeks!! We have so many fun things planned before miss K's due date.
Milestones: No one could argue with me I'm in my 3rd trimester! :)
Big sister: Still potty training, despite coming down with her 4th stomach bug in 3 months. I ordered her and Khloe custome made big sister/little sister shirts this week from Jacks and Roxanne on Etsy and I can't wait to see both of them in them when sweet little sister arrives!

 

Hope y'all are having a wonderful week!
Love,

The Vogs

 

MK's adventure in potty training!

Mk using the potty while watching veggie tales!

A little over two weeks ago, we embarked on a new adventure: potty training MK! She’s been showing signs of being ready for a couple weeks and after reading the chapter on potty training in The Baby Whisperer, I was motivated to start working with MK towards being diaper-free.

For the first week, to gauge MK’s readiness, I would take her to the potty 30 minutes after eating/drinking and before and after naps/bedtime. I took detailed notes about the days, including what she ate/drank and when she had a dry diaper, a successful pee/poo in the potty or a dirty diaper. I learned a lot about MK during that week, including that she could physically hold her pee for 2-3 hours and that she had a very predictable #2 schedule. During that time she got “treats” for going to the potty and we talked a lot about wearing big girl panties and saying “bye bye” to diapers. I knew by the end of that week that she was ready, especially when she told me a couple times when she needed to use the potty before going in her diaper.

So, last Saturday we decided to go cold turkey on diapers and we haven’t looked back (although we’ve been tempted to!). On Friday, MK and I went to Target and she got to pick out two packs of “big girl panties” which she called “big gurl penies”…. Yes her “panties” sounds a lot like a male body part! She was so excited to get to pick them out and talked about her new present the whole way home and to everyone who would listen to her! Saturday morning was filled with lots of accidents and lots of reminders that “we don’t pee pee in our pretty princess big girl panties!” She learned quickly that she did not like to be wet and got very upset at herself when she had an accident.

Despite a terrible stomach bug on Saturday night, we stuck to our plans and kept MK out of diapers. She did progressively better with accidents all week, including two days of no accidents. This past week, she conquered a fear of public restrooms and even traveled in the car to Austin and back with no pee pee accidents (she did have one #2 accident, but something she ate didn’t agree with her so that was understandable… and those panties didn’t make it home to Dallas!). We are still working with her on telling us when she needs to go versus having to be reminded/asked, but so far I am shocked at how well she is going!

Here are some tips I have for anyone who’s going to be embarking on this adventure:

1.       Don’t give up! There were many days that I felt discouraged.  “Was she ever going to get this?” “Was she really ready if she’s not telling me when she needs to go all the time?” I know that for me to give up and put MK back in diapers would be communicating failure to MK. I would be saying to her “you can’t do this.” And I know that she can! J

2.       Pray! I have said more prayers asking for patience and wisdom this past week than I have in a while. Potty training has been by far the most challenging parenting task for my control-freak, perfectionist self.

3.       Accidents don’t mean failure. I was so afraid of accidents, that I found myself hovering over MK asking her all the time if she needed to go… and she was getting annoyed! So, I decided to back off and changed my perspective. An accident was an opportunity for MK to learn how to read her own body and to communicate with me…it wasn’t a failure for her or me! Having accidents didn’t mean that she wasn’t ready or able to potty train, it’s a necessary part of the adventure. I made sure to not shame MK for having an accident, but to remind her that we only go pee/poo on the potty.

4.       Study your child! The Baby Whisperer book really emphasized this point and I couldn’t agree more. Take some time to notice and write down their potty habits before you train. How long can they hold their bladder? How often do they go poo? Are there foods that make them poo more often? Also study what motivates your child. I thought that treats would motivate MK, but it turns out that a simple sticker chart with “special potty treats” (dollar spot toys from Target) when they reach certain milestones (the stars on our chart) was MUCH more motivational for MK.

Our potty rewards sticker chart... she gets more excited about putting a sticker on here than getting a candy treat!

5.       Diapers are WAY more convenient than potty training… It takes a lot of effort, planning and thought to have a child in panties versus a diaper. It’s totally worth it in the end I’m sure, but it’s a monumental change.

I am so thankful that we started potty training now. I’m sure that the older she becomes, the more it would be a battle of the wills and that would make this infinitely harder. The Baby Whisperer Book recommends starting the studying (taking them to the potty often) between 18-24 months to avoid this “battle of the wills.” Obviously this is totally dependent on each child and their personality… some might not be ready to start this until closer to 2.5 or 3. I’m also thankful that we’re doing this far enough away from Khloe’s upcoming arrival. I never had my heart set on getting MK out of diapers before Khloe arrived because I didn’t want to put that pressure on me or MK if we weren’t ready. But, now that we’re working on potty training, I’m glad we’re doing this now. J I’m already starting to pray that she doesn’t regress once she sees her sister wearing diapers…. But we’re doing a lot of talking about how babies wear diapers and big girls wear panties, so hopefully that doesn’t happen.

Any potty training advice from my experienced mommy readers? Would love to know your tips and experience!

The potty-training Vogs!