23 Weeks and feeling super pregnant!

23 Weeks this week and feeling beyond pregnant. 

I've been dealing with a lot of pain and it's really upsetting.

Thankfully no L&D trips yet, but I think there's going to be one in the near future. 

I am having lots of round ligament pain and pain in my lower abdomen. It makes even basic mundane tasks like walking up the steps, walking, or switching positions in bed extremely painful.

My OB suggested I go to Motherhood Maternity or another baby/motherhood store and get myself a good belly support band to help me with the discomfort I'm feeling.

She said that it's all the pressure that's happening down there and a belly band will help lift everything up and will hopefully help with my discomfort. I've never had this issue before, so this is something new to me and extremely painful. Some days are worse than others, but yesterday I could barely move.... I took Caleb to Bounce U and I think I overdid it...but I was in pain before that.

This week baby girl is the size of a grapefruit, papaya, or large mango!

So many different food comparisons!! 

Measuring at 11 inches and weighing in at over a pound already she can sense and feel my movements and listens to my voice and my heartbeat. <3 

Besides the pain in my abdomen/groin area, I have shortness of breath, I'm pretty tired, and dealing with insane heartburn/indigestion/acid reflux. I carry Tums and Zantac with me wherever I go.

Pretty awesome right? LOL.

I just hope I start feeling better soon, because I am so incredibly uncomfortable and not being able to do basic things makes me upset. Like I want to workout and do things like squats, donkey kicks, fire hydrants and all of that, and I'm just in so much pain that I can't get through anything. I'm going to try and focus on working my arms out at least and I'm hoping that getting this belly band is going to help me out significantly and I can get back into somewhat of a normal routine. 

I also have been dealing with swollen feet and ankles. Specifically when I'm on my feet too long. Nothing I am too concerned about just yet. 

But uncomfortable nonetheless. 

Still dealing with hemorrhoids which apparently a belly band will help with because of the pressure going on down there. 

If getting this belly band doesn't help me out at all I'll be calling my OB and asking them what I can do or what can be done to alleviate some of this pain. Which I'm hoping they don't recommend bedrest.... because I'm so busy! And I have a crazy toddler that keeps me on my toes 97% of the time. But with every one of my pregnancies I've suffered from bedrest and preterm labor. But I can never go into labor ON MY OWN I've always been induced.... So I'm thinking that this pregnancy wont be any different... I usually go into labor a month early and I get bedrest. With Caleb I got the steroid shots for his lungs and I'm expecting the same to happen this time around. But I've also never experienced this type of pain before so I don't know when I'll be put on bedrest or anything else. 

Only time will tell I guess.

I'm trying my best not to overdo it. And to take it as easy as I possibly can. 

(Its hard sometimes though because I get restless)

So we shall see what happens. 

My baby girls health  and well being is first and foremost. <3

We chose her carseat: 

Chicco NextFit Convertible Seat. <3 

A friend of mine has this one and she absolutely loves it. 

I saw this one at Babies R Us and felt this compared to the Graco 4ever 4 in 1 seat, and this one feels much more comfortable and versatile. It's also got the 9 recline positions and it looks more comfortable for an newborn... 

Originally we were going to go with an infant car seat. 

& then we got to thinking about how Caleb didn't use his infant seat for longer than a month or two, if that. This NextFit seats seems more practical because it'll last longer and she will get more use out of it. So we are thinking of just going with the convertible seat. 

Which is completely safe for newborns to use. 

And one of the officers at Ray's PD is carseat certified and all of that so he's going to install it for us. 

Thankfully. So he said there's no way we won't pass inspection at the hospital :) <3

Now I'm trying to find a stroller thats versatile for both Caleb and for the baby! 

**Any suggestions would be seriously helpful** 

This is the Graco Ready2Grow Click Connect Stand & Ride Stroller.

The front looks like it's got the infant carrier part but I'm not sure. Based off the website it says it works for newborn to toddler but I am not really sure. 

We have the Sit and Stand stroller already but this was when we had expected us to get an infant car seat, and while I plan on doing a lot of baby wearing, it's not something I'm entirely sure of ... Car seats are helpful, but they do get bulky.

any suggestions!? 

Follow me on Instagram and give me your input!

@jennaliczbinski

Have a great weekend <3 

22 Week Bump Board & Some updates....

To all my blog readers: I am so sorry for my lack of updates as of lately... Blame the pregnancy brain ;) I start doing something else & I tell myself that I am going to update my blog and then I get completely sidetracked and end up forgetting. I'll say to myself, "I'll just do it tomorrow..." & then I never do it. So my apologies to anyone who reads my blog & looks forward to my posts. I've still being doing my bump boards religiously and you can always follow my Instagram page for more frequent updates on my pregnancy, family, prepping for our baby girl & more =) I really try to stay off my laptop as much as possible and if updating from my phone wasn't a pain in the buns I would probably try and do it from there more often... 

Enough about that. BABY NEWS! <3 

I'm 22 weeks this week <3 

& it's hard to believe that I have made it to this point

and that I'm more than halfway there :) 

Knowing this & feeling my baby girl move brings me so much happiness and joy <3 

My little lady is the size of a spaghetti squash this week <3 

& is measuring at [around] 11 inches & weighing about 1 pound. 

& she's looking even MORE like a baby now! 

We also had our full anatomy scan on Monday & we were shocked when the doctor let us see our precious little princess in 4D real time, rather than just the standard gray images. 

Look at her little nose <3 

So completely obsessed with her! 

What made it so amazing - besides the fact that this perfect little mini-human is growing inside of my belly and she's something that Ray and I created is that last time we actually saw her on 3D was back in February when we went for our gender scan. I was only 16 weeks and a few days so while she looked like a baby, she was still almost "alien-like" if that makes sense. Seeing her now she looked like a newborn. She always lays that one way too, and refused to turn her face straight towards us, but it's okay <3 the picture we got is just precious and perfect. & I am so excited for July to get here so I can hold her in my arms and kiss her perfect little face. 

Plus! She looks like her big brother! <3

Which I mean, in the right picture of Caleb he kind of looks like me, so MAYBE I will luck out and my little girl will look like me & not be Daddy's replica like Caleb is ;) 

Either way, how precious is that!??! 

Love my babies. They make my heart so happy. <3 

This week: 

I'm feeling more frequent kicks. Last week Caleb felt his sister move for the first time too :) 

(This was from my board last week, but I forgot to update for you guys!)

This is my board from last week as well. Again,

my apologies for no update!! 

So more on this week -- 

I'm suffering from crazy bad heartburn and acid reflux. To the point that it's had me throwing up it gets so bad :( Absolutely terrible... I was doing pretty good with it, and then BOOM. I've been taking Tums, Maalox and Zantac (2x a day) for it, and I'm basically sleeping sitting up. 

Itchy belly and boobs... crazy itchy. Sometimes more than others.

Backaches :( I need to go get a prenatal massage. Because these backaches are for the birds. Along with the back pain I'm suffering from hip pain and sciatica (thankfully it isn't too bad...yet)

I'm feeling pretty uncomfortable and really sleepy a lot. Hard to believe I was an insomniac before because I have no problems sleeping these days. 

Shortness of breath isn't AS bad as it was before but it still gets bad at times. It's the worst when I'm walking up the stairs or even when I'm getting ready for bed at night... because it's such a process anymore. I have about 837492 pillows I lay on just to get comfortable.

I have an increased sex drive...which is making me feel crazy and like a teenager going through puberty who just discovered boobies.

I have gained 15 pounds so far, and to be honest seeing the numbers going up on the scale is giving me a lot of stress and anxiety. It might sound shallow but getting fat is one of my biggest fears. And believe me I know that weight gain is a part of pregnancy and I know it'll happen. And I know it'll come off but it's not that settling to think that way as the numbers on the scale go up. I haven't been working out (eating pretty healthy) because I'm so sore or tired all the time... but I definitely want to change that. Now that the weather is going to be warming up I am going to be trying to go for daily/nightly walks to get some exercise in. I am going to try to find some type of energy - deep down - to do minor workouts at home. Bicep/tricep stuff, some abs, and legs/butt workouts. Like I said I know this is all temporary.... And I had plans on working out my whole pregnancy but sometimes nature and baby have other plans and it becomes difficult.

Minor foot/ankle swelling... mainly only happens I'm on my feet too long. It goes away and it's manageable. 

Next doctors visit = glucose test... YUCK!!! 

When I did Caleb's I felt SO SICK. It was awful. I don't know why anyone says that stuff tastes like "flat orange soda" because it takes like crap. Made me wanna barf everywhere.

My Little Munchkin This Week: 

Is sleeping more in cycles 12-14 hours per day. Which is usually when I'm not feeling kicks, but she's pretty active so far :) which I love <3 

She is also looking more like a newborn :) 

She has eyelashes and eyebrows & is

developing her sense of  vision, hearing and her grip :) 

 She can also hear my voice, my heartbeat, my gurgling stomach and the whoosh-whoosh of blood circulating through my body.

<3 

Also, a sneak peak of some of our baby girls clothes! <3 

She isn't here yet and she's already got a full drawer of stuff 

& stuff hanging up in my closet :) Lol. <3 

Baby girl clothes are too dang cute to pass up. 

Family News: 

Caleb is signed up for t-ball & he's registered for preschool! 

He starts t-ball on April 8th & starts school the Tuesday after Labor Day.

I'm so excited for him to try new things and interact with other kids his age. Right now it's just been him and I since he was born (and Daddy of course). But it's bittersweet for me because he's going to be away from me. We took him to meet his teacher and he was able to interact with some of the other kids and he really meshed nicely with everyone and played well which made me happy. He will go Tuesday and Thursday mornings from September thru June. I keep telling him how sad I'm gonna be when he goes and he tells me, "Mommy you can come to school with me so you won't be sad." <3 

He melts my heart, I swear. 

I feel so blessed that God chose me to his mommy.

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

Just some more pictures from our family t-ball practice session the other day!! 

It was to nice out to be indoors and I'm glad we got out when we did, because yesterday was the 

first day of spring <3 and it freaking snowed -___-

I'm hoping that's the last snow of the season & we won't see any until next December, IF AT ALL. 

I keep telling Ray we need to just move to Florida or somewhere that isn't cold and is always like 65 and sunny. LOL. =) I hate the winter and the snow. Too cold for me. 

More big news for my little man <3 

He has graduated from the 5 point harness to the regular seatbelt, "just like mommy & daddy" =) 

He is well over the height requirements and weight. And he just looked flat out uncomfortable with the 5 point harness.... Before anyone says anything about car seat safety...I would NEVER put my son in harms way...ever. I am well aware of car seat regulations, safety, etc. He is safe and I would never jeopardize that out of convenience for myself. 

This is much more comfortable for him and everything is the way it should be <3 

Keep your negative comments to yourself! kthanks.

Also moms & dads: if you're looking for a fantastic carseat? 

We have the Graco Nautilus 3 in 1. <3 

It's a little pricer than some, but it's honestly one of the best around. 

It has the safety surround system and its rated one of the best car seats. 

We found ours at Target on sale for $149.99

<3 

Look at how good my baby boy is writing now too! 

He's getting too big for me!! & he is SO SMART. 

He wrote all those letters all by himself. <3 

I am so proud of him!!! 

Words can't describe it. 

<3 My little nugget :) I just love him so much.

And he's going to be such an amazing big brother! 

Daddy took this picture of us yesterday because Caleb wanted a 

"picture with mommy" <3 

My beautiful family <3 

This is 

Life with the Liczbinski's 

<3 

Xoxo, Jenna 

Follow me on:

Instagram // @jennaliczbinski

Pinterest // Jenna Liczbinski

or you can add me on 

Facebook // Jenna Liczbinski 

<3 <3 <3 

Have a great weekend!! 

50% Complete... Half Way There.. 20 Weeks!

**50% Complete!!!**

I honestly can't believe I am already HALF WAY through my pregnancy already!! And after all I've been through to get to this very point...I just feel so truly blessed. Every day stresses happen, but nothing can take away the joy and overwhelming happiness I'm experiencing in this moment.

This week, Baby Girl is the size of a:

All the food comparisons kind of confuse me to be honest...especially because some fruits/veggies seem larger in comparison to others. Any who.... she is around 6.5 inches long and weighs around 10.2 ounces right now.. she also has working taste buds now and is gulping down several ounces of amniotic fluid each day -- compared to the lower amounts before!! 

Baby has grown a lot this week compared to last and that's because until week 19 the length of the baby is measured from the top of the head to the bottom (you might hear your doctor refer to this measurement as crown to rump) because they are still too curled up and therefore are very hard to measure. And at 20 weeks the baby's length is also including those precious little legs - and baby now is measured from top of the head to the heel. 

My little lady will also be developing some more "regular" sleep patterns at this stage in the game and I may become aware of them -- considering most babies become the most active when mama's go to sleep ;) Baby Girl's uterus is also completely developed & if you're having a boy the little guys testes will start descending. Most of the energy is utilized in gaining weight now for the little one. My placenta has also reached it's maxi-mom thickness and is busy supplying baby girl with all the nutrients, oxygen & disposing of wastes! 

Mommy this week: 

On edge... I feel overly stressed out - and I do have a lot going on personally right now. I think miscarrying prior to this pregnancy doesn't help matters because I am constantly worrying and wondering what's going on with my little lady in there. Miscarriage really changes a person & I would be lying if I said it didn't suck... The last thing I want is to be nervous at a time where I should just be over the moon with happiness. Once I start feeling more vigorous kicks and seeing the movement I think I will balance out a little bit more. I swear, I need an ultrasound machine in my house. It would make me feel so much better. I'm also BREAKING OUT LIKE A TEENAGER GOING THROUGH PUBERTY. How fun is that -____-  it's extremely gross and unattractive and it's happening a lot on my chest. Gross. My energy is pretty high - to an extent, and my libido is pretty much at it's peak. Although I'll be honest -- I get self conscious and feel kinda gross about the way I look now. I know pregnancy is a beautiful thing and all of that, but it's still a big change - no matter what. I'm restless at night, and have serious problems getting comfortable at night. Even the body pillow doesn't seem to help me right now... I have trouble falling asleep - it's almost like I'm back to being an insomniac, but then I'm up early. I toss and turn and can't seem to get comfy. And I have horrendous backaches that make me want to cry. Luckily my husband massages my back for me a lot which helps a great deal. Also I'm still dealing with the whole hemorrhoid thing - which I've just come to accept that I don't think they're going away any time soon. Not symptomatic so I guess I can't be too concerned but they are annoying to say the least. 

Other symptoms:

- vaginal discharge: it just keeps increasing until delivery.

...how attractive.

- Leg cramps: so far so good... I had them bad with Caleb and I would wake up screaming. I have a really high water intake, so I'm hoping it keeps me in the clear.

- Heartburn/Indigestion: on occasion, nothing majorly terrible though. I've gotta feeling the next few weeks will prove me wrong.

- High Energy/Libido: both are in high gear...for the most part

- Mild swelling: yup. ankles and feet. Especially if I stand too long. :( 

- Shortness of breath: probably the biggest one I'm dealing with at the moment. 

- Belly pain: accommodating that growing baby and uterus.

I'm feeling pretty good for the most part. I have some minor aches and pains, I feel like I'm waddling, and my baby bump is getting bigger. I feel little flutters and I'm looking forward to them getting stronger and having Caleb feel them. <3 Restlessness sucks, but it's all part of it. Confused on if we are doing the nursery design or not - because we might be moving and we aren't sure. I don't want to put money out for no reason. So we shall see. I did get a bunch of baby girl clothes though, which is exciting for me. Heres a contender for a coming home outfit:

How cute are those little shorts! & the tank top onesie<3 

UGGHHH. LOVE IT ALL. 

And I love Carter's.

Here are some more clothes I grabbed: 

I got SO much stuff from the Carter's outlet for both the baby and for Caleb <3 Love love LOVE it there so so much. 

I also got these and I can't wait to see my babies in them come July.

& for the first time since starting this blog, I am going to share a recipe with y'all.

If you're like me and you love the crockpot then save this one!! 

It's called Lemon Garlic Chicken and it's delicious.

You need 1 whole chicken, about 4-5 pounds. 

4 lemons

Seasonings - I used steak seasoning, fresh basil, thyme, rosemary, lemon pepper, sea salt and some pepper...and of course garlic. 

Slice up some lemons and lay them flat on the bottom of the crockpot along with some garlic *I used garlic salt Lawry's* and I just did it according to my taste and what I know everyone likes.

You're going to want to remove the innards (if there are any) wash the chicken and pat it dry. Season the inside of the chicken first... I used steak seasoning, some sea salt, pepper, basil, and then I sliced up some lemon and put in on the inside of the chicken - 2 or 3 slices at most.

I placed the chicken on top of the sliced lemons and garlic and then seasoned the outside of the chicken with everything and covered it with some lemons *as you can see*

Cooked it on high for about 6 hours.

Internal temp read 170 degrees when it was done -- chicken should be at 165.

Take it out and let it stand for about 15 minutes. The juice in the bottom of the chicken goes great over top of the chicken.

This came out SO GOOD. And the chicken stayed so juicy. It had the right amount of seasoning and taste and it was so delicious. I served it with green beans and brown rice. Definitely something I'll be making again in the near future. 

Just wanted to share that with y'all! 

Have a great rest of the week and weekend.

And in the meantime...

Make sure to follow me on Instagram, Facebook, & Pinterest! 

Xoxo, Jenna