My Cabbage {30 weeks}

30 Weeks with Baby Shank

Baby Update:

Baby is doing well. Heartbeat staying steady at around 154 bpm. He is extremely active. He kicks and kicks and kicks. I remember Morgan being active, but I think this little brother of hers is even more active than she was. My last doctors appointment, my OB said baby is measuring spot on. ?? Does this mean he is big? OMG. I failed to ask her what this meant exactly. I took it as baby is healthy...and not small. I guess we will see :) 

Weight Gain:

+ 26 lbs. I'm not surprised that I am gaining more weight with this last pregnancy. Even though I'm still under my 30 pounds, my body aches and hurts more than any other pregnancy. I'm constantly waddling and hurting with pain in my legs and back. I know it's the weight and pressure on my legs and returning veins. I've had to rest a TON while cleaning and doing laundry. The worst part? I get almost to the top of the stairs and have to stop! It's nuts! I am taking a wild guess here but I don't think I will stay within my 30 pound mark with this baby. 

Maternity Clothes:

Yes. Everything is maternity except when I wear comfy lounge clothes around the house. I have surpassed the size small with all 3 of my other pregnancies a little earlier than expected. I started wearing size medium pants about a month ago. Everything else is size small still. I am carrying really low and needed the extra room with my waste. I noticed when I wore anything that was even remotely snug, I would have this feeling of pressure around my waste line even though the clothing wasn't too small. So I just decided to go medium and loose to prevent that feeling.

My favorite Moment:

Baby Shopping. Kale and I did some serious baby shopping this past weekend. With just weeks on the countdown...now was the perfect time to get started with all of our baby purchases. I got to watch daddy put together all kinds of baby gear this weekend. It was very comical :)

I really miss:

Sleep. I. Can't. Sleep. I get just a few hours of sleep each night. With 3 other children and stay at home mommy duties, I can't wait to get a good nights rest after baby is here :)

Cravings:

Nothing particular. Just food in general. COLD foods are my favorite again just like with Morgan. I have had a "thing" with ordering frozen virgin drinks like frozen pina coladas. YUMO!

Sleep:

Baby is backwards. He is up all night long. I fall asleep with his feet in my ribs and wake up with more jabs here and there. I finally exhaust myself and pass out. I've also been having severe leg cramps when I do wake up. My legs hurt so much everyday. I feel like I've put on 50 pounds.

On a note for memories sake: I am having some small fears about life with 4 kiddos. Is this me being pregnant? Not sure. Life with 3 is tough. Some days, extremely tough. I keep imagining life with 4 and see the bliss of having 4 beautiful children. But the other side of my brain kicks in and I see a chaotic household of 4!! A little terrifying but a little funny at the same time. Needless to say, it will take some getting used to I'm sure :)

I am also allowing myself to entertain the fears about surgery again. Not sure what it is about a c-section but the fear is slowly creeping in. Ugh. Dislike surgery.

Daddy Update:

We have put everything together for baby. Kale is a trooper in this department. When he gets started, there is no stopping him. He put together a swing, rocker and play yard for baby. The only thing we don't have that he will need to get is our car seat/stroller combo which they didn't have in stock. There's always something last minute ;)

Kale is working quickly in the house to finish up the projects I listed in a previous post. We are excited for so many different projects falling together smoothly in preparation for baby shank.


He continues his love with my belly. Always touching, hugging and kissing it. He is always feeling baby kicks and smiling and laughing with me when baby shank goes ninja. Its seriously adorable.


He's tired. We are constantly trading places on mommy duties and kiddo duties. Thankfully, this past week...he was so lucky and got switched to first shift (day shift) at work. This has been a blessing beyond. He leaves the house around 5:15 and returns a little after 4pm. Morgan stays with me daily. Tyler gets home around 3:45 and the days Colten has football practice after school (which is about everyday of the week) he gets home around 6:30. So, I LOVE having Kale arriving when he does to help me out with the kiddos, supper and bedtime routines.

We are looking forward to these next few weeks as we finish up small projects and buy last minute baby items we may have forgotten. We also can't wait to see Family for baby Shank's arrival. We are just so blessed to have the family, support and help with the 3 kiddos at home. We are in the homestretch and getting so excited!

~ The Shank Family