Third Time Around!

I have gained 31 pounds so far! I gained 32 total with Brennen and only 22 with Dean. I started out at 119 this time and thought I'd happily end under 150. HA! By the time I'm done I'll probably weigh more than I ever have in my life.
I think another problem is that the docs told me to stop exercising early on because of a whole lot of spotting in the first two trimesters and braxton hicks contractions that started before 20 weeks.
I have embraced the weight, though, and have decided that I shall eat all that I want now until I have to start counting calories again. (side note: I have never been a healthy eater but I don't binge eat while pregnant! I just eat the wrong stuff therefore become a fatty.)

This time is a lot like with Brennen. Lots of weight gain, swelling face and feet (cankles!) and exhaustion. Dean's was lots easier on me. I gained less weight and had a good amount of energy the whole time (until I got sick and hospitalized at 32 weeks). I hope that doesn't mean this baby will also be a lot like Brennen. He's amazing now but the newborn stage was really rough. 

Speaking of newborn stage, I keep telling the boys that I won't be so tired and will be able to do more things with them after the baby is born. Then I laugh to myself when I remember that I'll be like a walking zombie for several months. 

I haven't felt as close to this baby as I did when I was pregnant with the other two. But a couple weeks ago I noticed a drastic decrease in movement over about 24 hours. When I called the doc he was concerned and told me to come in if I didn't get good movement in a couple hours. That time sitting still just focusing on this little one and the fear that something could be wrong with him helped me feel closer to him. And thank goodness he started moving more.

He also still doesn't feel quite real to me... I know a baby is coming in about 5-6 weeks but it really hasn't sunk in all the way...

My ward gave me a baby shower on Saturday. The girl who organized it is one of my visiting teachers and SO nice. I felt awkward about it because I didn't want people who hardly know me giving me stuff that I didn't really need since I already have two boys. But it was nice and I got some gifts that I can really use. I was very thankful for the thoughtfulness of everyone.
An elderly lady who I don't know gave me a present at church and apologized she didn't make it to the shower. It was a crocheted blanket, hat, and booties. It made me cry that someone I didn't even know made those things for my little baby! Seeing that tiny hat made him more real to me. Brennen doesn't believe that he'll be able to wear it. He says, "He won't be THAT small will he?" Yep, he will. But unfortunately not for long!

We finally have a name list, yay! It had 15 names but we crossed some off and are down to 9. I'm hoping to get it down to 4 or 5 to take to the hospital. We have 8 middle name possibilities that are all family names. We'll pick one of those based on what we choose for the first name.

And because I can't help it, here are a few pics of the boys. There is a ton of private land here but we found some national forest about 25 miles out of town so the boys and I went exploring that area the other day. We've also been having a lot of fun doing preschool here at home 3 mornings a week (Brennen goes to his preschool the other two).