Flashback: 10 weeks, 1 day

Major skip-ahead here since weeks 8-9 were spent feeling pretty gross. My favorite thing about reading back on this time just a month ago, is reading how fun Alice was being. This week has been the biggest test of our parenting skills. The slightest thing will set her off into a crying/whining fit these days. Very thankful for an overnight she will be having with Grandma Kathy tomorrow night. Good luck, Mom!

~~~

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

So, obviously I kind of started feeling SUPER sh*tty after my 7 weeks, 2 days post because I didn't find the time to write again until now. In between we had our 8 week OB appt and got good news that the baby was developing right on schedule and everything looked good on the ultrasound. Such a relief! I was 8 weeks 2 days according to my LMP but the baby was measuring 8 weeks 4 days on the ultrasound. They kept my due date at June 17th though because the doc said that your LMP is more accurate than the ultrasound. I still think my suspicions were confirmed that I ovulated early though but I will stick with June 17 as well because then if the baby is late like Alice was, at least it won't feel quite as late!

Due Date: June 17, 2013

Weight Gain: At my OB appt on 11/7 I weighed 128. Going into my pregnancy with Alice I weighed 130 and thought I was at least that this time. Good to know that I'm starting out slightly lower...should make losing the weight afterwards that much easier.

Symptoms: I have spent the past few weeks feeling sooo nauseous for pretty much most of every day. I started taking B6 twice a day around November 10th and that seems to have helped a little. I don't take it every day though. Not sure if that is the idea? I feel worse during the days I'm at work. Probably because I'm less distracted and thus more able to remember how crappy I feel. We went to Iowa to visit friends this past weekend and I didn't take any B6 but we were busy the whole time.

ALSO -- last night I developed a VERY painful, debilitating headache. I hesitate to classify it as a migraine because I've never had one and I've heard they are so bad they can make you physically ill and I didn't throw up or anything. However, it was the worst headache of my life. I got home, changed and prepared dinner and was all set to go to music class with Aaron and Alice until he finally convinced me to just stay home and rest. I felt awful about it because Alice has been SO much fun lately and she was in a wonderful mood last night but I knew Aaron was right and I just needed to chill out. I went upstairs, started to read, and just passed out. I stayed in bed from 6:30 pm to 7:00 am. Still had the headache this morning, but pounding water seems to have helped. It's going away...and of course my nausea is creeping right on back!

What's different this time: WAY more symptomatic. Pretty much whenever I mention that to anyone they declare that I am absolutely having a boy. Whatever.

Cravings: Pizza still, just in general. And then randomly I will crave certain things that pop up. Like right now it's baked Brie because I was just researching Thanksgiving appetizers on Pinterest.

Aversions: Nada.

Sleep: Awake for portions of every night. Maybe I should bite the bullet and just try Unisom.

I am loving: Not much about being pregnant, to tell you the truth. I really don't like being pregnant. Or maybe it's just the 1st and 3rd trimesters. In order to maintain some sense of positivity though...I am loving thinking about providing a sibling for Alice. She is such a sweet, affectionate child. Hopefully that carries over to love for her younger brother/sister.

I miss: Feeling normal.

I am looking forward to: Maternity pants on Thanksgiving. Oh yeah!

I'm spazzing about: Not much. Now that the viability ultrasound is out of the way I feel really relaxed about this pregnancy. I have my 12 week appointment with the Doppler on Monday 12/3 so I feel like that will be a huge milestone to get past as well.

Best thing about this week: Seeing a little baby bump pop out. I'm sure other people think I just look fat but I'm trying to put a positive spin on my fatness and refer to it as "adorable".

Milestones: Baby is the size of a kumquat, whatever that is. Seriously babycenter, try to think of a more obscure reference. Fingernails are forming and limbs are becoming distinct now. The liver is making its own red blood cells so the yolk sac will be disappearing momentarily.

Movement: Too early...so, no.

It's a...: [I'm just going to get rid of this one from now on, until our anatomy ultrasound in late January.]

Exercise: Yesterday I had to park across the street as our employee lot was full. That was a major undertaking. You should've seen the boots I was wearing too!

Diet: Whatever sounds good. I am trying to make an effort to avoid fried food as much as possible because that was just not agreeing with me for quite a while. I still eat some, but probably less than I normally would. Trying to eat a few veggies here and there but really I am craving carbs. I also started raiding the work cafeteria for a bowl of cereal around 4 pm each day. Seems to get me through from the afternoon hunger period to whenever I eat dinner.

Alice Anecdote: She is just flat out amazing lately. She is growing up so quickly and mimicking our actions to no end. She will even request a square of toilet paper when she "goes potty", wipe her butt with it, and put it in her potty and close the lid. Ha! Speaking of butt, she knows that word. She slipped and fell over the weekend (on her butt) and she kept saying "butt" and pointing at her rear end.

Flashback: 7 weeks, 2 days

OK so these were the dark days...I didn't even have the energy to finish this post. LOL! So it's incomplete...and I didn't write another one until 10 weeks, which I will post in a couple of days.

~~~

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Due Date: June 2013 -- I will have an official due date by this time next week!!

Weight Gain: I don't think it can be zero. I'm looking very roundish in the mid-section lately.

Symptoms: I spent several days this past week a little (uh...a LOT) backed up. Seems to be getting better yesterday and today though. I really hope this is only a 1st trimester symptom, as I think part of it is my fault for not drinking enough water. But drinking tons of water makes me feel bloated and nauseous! Pregnancy is just full of so many annoying Catch-22's. Still queasy in general from dawn til dusk. It tends to come in waves during the day without too much rhyme or reason. Sometimes eating a meal makes me feel better, sometimes worse. Sometimes I feel hurl-a-riffic the second I roll out of bed in the morning, sometimes I feel awesome until 10 am. Tired. If I stay up past 9 pm any given evening I'm doing well.

What's different this time: Time is passing so quickly. I'm much less anxious for my ultrasound next week than I was with Alice, but I'm still definitely nervous. It will be a relief to get confirmation of viability.

Cravings: I am craving feeling normal and energetic.

Aversions: Still nothing specifically. My bowl of ice cream last night didn't taste as good as it has in the past. Today was the first day where I really couldn't finish my lunch. I still don't feel great two hours later, and I'm fantasizing about taking a sick day tomorrow to just rest and relax.

Sleep: Getting enough. I definitely feel the post-lunch food coma every day at work and long for a nap but I push through. I try to get a nap each weekend day while Alice does.

I am loving: 

I miss: 

I am looking forward to: Getting an exact due date at my appointment next week. I'm only 7 weeks 2 days according to my LMP, but I feel really certain that I'm actually farther along than that. It will be fun to (hopefully) skip ahead a few days!

I'm spazzing about: 

Best thing about this week: 

Milestones: 

Movement: 

It's a...: This week's guess is girl. I just can't imagine having a boy!

Exercise: Learned my lesson from last week's yoga sesh. So, no.

Diet: Carb-a-licious. 

Alice Anecdote: Last night marked Alice's first trip out trick-or-treating. She really didn't understand the whole concept but enjoyed walking around randomly outside with Mom and Dad anyway. The best part was at the 3rd or 4th house we went to. She had collected a few pieces of candy in her bucket by this point. The nice older man held out the entire bowl to her and she glanced back at her bucket and started emptying her bucket into his bowl of candy. :) She'll figure it out eventually.

13-14 weeks

So this is a combined 13/14 week post because last week was crazy insane busy for me and my family and I just couldn't find the time or energy needed to devote to blogging. Tis the season for crazy time! Between myself and Aaron, we had 3 holiday parties last week, PLUS an overnight work trip to Dallas for me, PLUS the Holidazzle with my dad. And then Friday rolled around and we thought we were in the clear until our kitchen sink pipe sprung a leak. Someday we will be retired and lazy with nary a thing to do all day. How I fantasize about those relaxing, uncomplicated days to come....in 30ish years.

13 weeks, 1 day

Me in my swanky hotel room at the Four Seasons in Dallas on Tuesday 12/11. I kind of wanted to just move in there like Eloise at the Plaza.

14 weeks, 1 day

Due Date: June 17, 2013

Weight Gain: I'm hoping I'm still hovering around the 5 lb mark, but who's to say. I never weigh myself unless at the doctor, which won't happen again until Jan 2.

Symptoms: Let's add again to the list of symptoms that I didn't experience with Alice. The most recent one is ITCHY-AS-HELL legs, and sometimes arms, belly, and back. I am definitely prone to dry skin, and it is the height of winter dry skin weather in MN, but this is different. It's been bugging me so much lately that I've even created a few scabs on my legs (ew). Thank god for my FB mommy group though. I posted on there, and it turns out there is a woman who had the same thing as me about a month ago and she discovered the miracle that is coconut oil and encouraged me to run out and pick some up. So that I did, applied it all over my legs as soon as I got home, and lo and behold the itchiness completely ceased! It is a strange consistency -- much more that of Crisco than actual oil -- but I could almost instantly feel relief as I put it on. The itching seemed to be below the surface of my skin, and apparently coconut oil can penetrate deeper than regular lotion. You can also use coconut oil as a supplement to your salad dressing or to treat diaper rash. Miracle of miracles!

As far as the other usual symptoms...still not sleeping well unless I take a Tylenol PM at night, in which case I sleep like a baby and feel amazing in the morning. My OB told me I could take this every single night of my pregnancy without any risk to the baby, but I worry about the risk to me. What if I become sleep dependent on it? And obviously once the baby is born I won't be able to pop a PM and just pass out for 8-9 hours. I'm going to try not taking one tonight and see what happens. Wild guess -- I won't sleep well. :) Nausea is pretty much under control though it does flare its ugly head every now and then.

What's different this time: Besides the different symptoms (headaches, insomnia, itching...all so pleasant), it's just amazing to me how quickly time is passing this time around. I am already in my second trimester!

Cravings: Cheese and bread, and anything that is made from those two ingredients. And pickles.

Aversions: I guess I'm really not into chocolate right now. We have like 8 dozen Christmas cookies in our kitchen and I have ZERO desire to touch any of them. And they include my favorite -- peanut butter blossoms!

Sleep: See symptoms section above. Depends on my Tylenol PM status.

I am loving: Actually somewhat excited for Christmas this year, mainly to experience it through Alice's eyes. Sometimes the holiday season can just seem like a bunch of stress and obligations and harried running around, but this year I'm hoping to relax a bit and appreciate how much fun it will be for Alice.

I miss: Now that I'm generally feeling healthier I kind of miss drinking again, and I know that I will for sure miss it at Christmas time. Oh well. Each day down is a day closer to a glass of wine -- hopefully in my hospital bed this time!

I am looking forward to: Really, REALLY looking forward to discovering the gender. I just will get so much more excited at that point. For one thing, we have all the girl clothes that we can either get all sentimental about using again, or we can ship them off to a friend and be done with them. And then there is the name issue. I do want to give it more thought since we are currently extremely undecided, but it just seems silly since we will be able to narrow the list WAY down in 6 weeks.

I'm spazzing about: Aaron thinks I am crazy of course but sometimes I swear I don't look pregnant or that my belly isn't growing and then I freak out that something is wrong. But then I have times when the bloat is just overwhelming, including right now, and it's oddly comforting. Love you, bloat!

Best thing about this week: Having pretty much nothing on our social calendar after a whirlwind week last week.

Milestones: Baby can pee! It can also frown and grimace. Apparently it's kicking up a storm in there although I have yet to feel a thing...I think.

Movement: Nothing yet. I keep laying on my side and kind of squishing my belly hoping for a reaction, but so far nada.

Exercise: Uh uh.

Diet: Not super. I feel so lucky that we have a free cafeteria at work so it's at least effortless to get a lot of nutrients out of the way during the day because by dinner time often I'm either not very hungry, or just nothing sounds good. I'm still having my oatmeal with berries every morning so I feel like that counts for a lot.

Alice Anecdote: Holy God she is a royal terror lately. It's like it all happened in the matter of just a couple of days. Nothing changed about her routine, she's not sick, not [actively] teething as far as I can tell...she's just kind of a B most of the time in general. Last night she finished her dinner apparently, so she dramatically tossed her half-full plate on the floor and screamed "Barney!" like a little dictator, as if we would let her watch Barney after that display. Everything is kind of an emotional struggle with her, including such elaborate tasks as putting on socks. I know she is completely irrational and we are supposed to be the rational ones, but I think Aaron and I are pretty close to resorting to her level soon. Might have to pull out "The Happiest Toddler on the Block" for some tips.

On a lighter note, she somehow shifted over the last week from calling me "Mama" to calling me "Mommy", with the emphasis on the second syllable: "Mom-MEEEE!" So funny. No idea where that came from and it's just sort of strange to have a new name all of a sudden, however slight the difference may be. She is busy as can be lately and her favorite things to do are putting together her car/truck puzzle, and COLORING. She cannot stop coloring. Tammy even told me that when art time is over at daycare Alice often throws a tantrum because she doesn't want to be done. Apparently today Tammy just let her stay at the table and keep painting. One of the perks of having only 3 kids at daycare. Sort of makes it easier to go with their individual whims I suppose.

Flashback: 6 weeks, 3 days

I'm still trying to get the time/energy to write my 13 week blog post. Looking like it will happen this weekend since this CT school shooting has me numb. Meanwhile, flash back to week 6 below......

~~~

Thursday, October 25, 2012


Took me a little longer this week to muster up the energy to complete this post. Between work and Alice it is really hard to add anything else to my plate, given that my energy level is at about a negative infinity right now. And the fact that I generally want to hurl most of the day.

Also, I thought this would be an easy forum to use to keep up with Alice throughout this pregnancy as well, so I am adding an Alice Anecdote section at the end of each of these weekly posts. :)

Due Date: June 13-17ish, 2013

Weight Gain: Haven't checked and won't check until my first OB appt November 7th. My normal baseline weight is 130, so I'll assume I'm right around there still.

Symptoms: HOLY FREAKING NAUSEA!!! It has been there pretty much the whole time, but this past week has been the biggest struggle so far. There have been many times I've contemplated just making myself puke so the feeling will go away. Except I don't think that would probably work. I have had to actively suppress my nausea many times, most particularly this very morning when I was brushing my teeth. Gross.

What's different this time: Way more nausea. Boobs aren't sore at all, which I guess can happen, but it's still weird. Way less time for naps and just generally being lazy (AKA none). Thanks, Alice. :)

Cravings: Still enjoying pizza. Fruity ice cream (bought some raspberry sorbet at Target the other day). Sugary candy. I downed 2 mini boxes of Nerds the other day at work and had a reprieve from my nausea for about an hour...but then I had a different kind of upset stomach.

Aversions: Nothing specific, just sometimes the smell of food in general can be a little overpowering for me. Also, I was browning ground beef for dinner last night and I was very "averse" to the act of draining the grease out of the pan.

Sleep: Good. I've been starting the night in the bedroom generally...going to bed between 8 and 9 pm because I literally can't stand being awake any more. I usually wake up between 12 and 1 and move to the guest room because I feel an urge to just sprawl out.

I am loving: God this is hard to answer this week because generally I really, REALLY dislike being pregnant right now. I told Aaron the other day "I am never doing this again". Our plan of 2 and done seems to be solidly intact at the moment. But if I HAVE to answer...I will say mindlessly eating candy and ice cream because I "need" it to feel better.

I miss: Don't miss drinking anymore. I feel nasty enough that even the thought of that grosses me out. I do miss enjoying my coffee. I've noticed my taste for it starting to decline. I still pour a cup every morning but I am actually drinking less and less.

I am looking forward to: Telling a few of my close friends at a kids Halloween party this weekend...though I'm guessing they mostly suspect anyway since I had to cancel on girls dinner a few weeks ago because it was the morning I got my positive test. But come on! They were going out for sushi.

I'm spazzing about: The idea of laundry for 2 kids. Blech.

Best thing about this week: I've been telling Alice for a while that there's a baby in Mommy's tummy and pointing at my belly. She just gives me an odd look, like WTF are you saying crazy lady. I totally didn't expect her to actually grasp the concept, I was more doing it just to be funny or see how she would react. Well last night out of nowhere she pointed at my tummy and said "Baby". And then I asked her to give the baby a kiss and she leaned over and kissed my belly. Melt!

Milestones: The little heart should be beating away by now!

Movement: No.

It's a...: This week I am thinking girl.

Exercise: Like an idiot, I went to a yoga class on Sunday with my old neighbor. WHAT was I THINKING. I haven't done yoga in many months except for an easy peasy class at Lifetime once. I pushed myself through way too many vinyasas and came out with SUPER sore abs and hamstrings still 4 days later. After I got home from class I had to sit there and collect myself for about 15 minutes before I could do anything else. This led to me taking Alice to the McDonald's drive-thru for her very first Happy Meal because all I wanted was a nasty cheeseburger. No more exercise please.

Diet: Fortunately, despite the nausea, I've been able to eat all day long. Sometimes I have to kind of force it but usually I can consume full meals. I'm trying to get veggies where I can, usually in the form of a side salad at lunch at work.

Alice Anecdote: Little Alice has been completely OBSESSED with a couple of little scrapes on her body recently. She will point out her "ows" no less than 30-80 times a day and usually wants a kiss. We always oblige of course, lest we let her suffer alone! Yesterday I went to pick her up from daycare and Tammy told me that Alice has been talking about her ows all day long there too. As she was relaying this, Brogan walked over and pulled Alice's pant leg up to show us her ow on her knee. I laughed so hard. Need attention much, Alice? :) Last night before bed we actually put a bandaid on one of her ows. It was still there this morning and of course the first thing she did was point it out to us.

Flashback: 5 weeks, 1 day

Editor's Note: This week's 13-week Post will be late. An early morning doctor appointment on the other side of the city the day after a record snowfall made me about 2 hours late to work, and I have to leave early in order to pick up Alice in time to get her home, changed, and to my company Christmas party by 6 pm. Then tomorrow morning I fly out at 7 am for an overnight work trip, get back late Wednesday afternoon, work Thursday-Friday but have Holidazzle on Thursday night. So the 13-weeker will probably get posted on Thursday at the earliest. For now! Let's remember back to the grim old days of Week 5. Just for the record, I do believe that I might feel completely NORMAL again. Merry Christmas to me!!!

~~~

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Due Date: Mid-June 2013

Weight Gain: Haven't checked

Symptoms: Afternoon nausea continues to rear its ugly head. Some days I think it's not so bad and some days I feel uber pregnant. This morning my gums bled when I brushed my teeth - I remember that happening off and on with Alice. Very heightened sense of smell - I could've SWORN it smelled like cat pee in Alice's room when I was rocking her to sleep last night but Aaron checked and no - no smell of cat urine to be found.

What's different this time: Time seems to be going by much faster. Only about 3 weeks until our viability ultrasound and I know how fast the time will go between now and then.

Cravings:  I craved pizza for pretty much every meal over the weekend and managed to eat it twice in one day, lucky me!

Aversions: None yet. But it is getting harder and harder to eat lunch in the workplace cafeteria, what with my heightened sense of smell and all. I've noticed myself taking a few deep breaths before I start eating.

Sleep: Fine.

I am loving: It's sort of fun to have a little secret. :)

I miss: Still miss drinking. Don't see this one going away for me any time soon. Aaron bought some Beck's N/A for me and they are sitting in the fridge just calling my name. Maybe someday soon I will indulge.

I am looking forward to: Sharing the news with a larger group of people. All of my immediate family knows except my brother. None of Aaron's family knows (we just haven't seen them together in person to share the news). I will share with the rest of my world after our ultrasound.

I'm spazzing about: Ummmm my work just scheduled an event in London for September 2013 and rumor has it they will be flying all of the staff there for several days. I REALLY, REALLY want to go. And I know I can do it, breast pump in tow, but I just think it will be hard to leave a 3 month old baby. I didn't leave Alice until she was almost 7 months old and that was just overnight.

Best thing about this week: Completely non-baby related but we are teaching Alice to be nice to the kitty rather than clobbering him all the time, so last night she plopped right down on his head while saying "nice" at the same time. Nottttt exactly what we meant.

Milestones: I am forming a brain inside my primitive placenta.

Movement: No.

It's a...: Still thinking boy but last night I referred to "her" over the phone to my stepmom. Probably just out of habit.

Exercise: No. BUT! I did just schedule yoga with my ex-neighbor for Sunday morning.

Diet: Eating a lot. Very frequently eating. Especially in the afternoon to fight off the pangs of nausea. Granola bars are my friend, as well as my work neighbor's stash of pretzels and trail mix.

Flashback: 4 weeks, 1 day

Here comes the first installment of my Flashback posts from early pregnancy. So funny to look back on how bitter I was about not being able to drink. Fortunately, that has passed. Sure I would love to have some beer or wine but I do remember just how pissed I was at first about it. Not that upset anymore!

~~~

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Due Date: June 17, 2013 based on LMP; closer to June 13, 2013 based on when I think I actually ovulated.

Weight Gain: It feels like I've been gaining even in the short time since I found out I was pregnant but I'm sure it's just bloating. But still - my pants feel tight!

Symptoms: Queasy, especially in the mid-to-late-afternoon. I first noticed this symptom on October 2nd driving home from work. It felt the same exact way as it did with Alice. Slightly fatigued. No sore boobs yet, but they already seem bigger. I've been generally crampy, though nothing painful. I'm also almost positive that I felt implantation this time because I got really crampy for about an hour or so one day.

What's different this time: (Fingers crossed) - it was SO easy to get pregnant this time around. I didn't even think I really timed it correctly but I must've known subconsciously I was going to ovulate early. It's still pretty much a shock. It was a shock the first time around but I remember more of a sense of relief. This time...just shock.

Cravings:  No real cravings, per se, but I definitely desire foods that I know will help settle my stomach, like pretzels and crackers and ginger ale.

Aversions: None.

Sleep: Pretty much OK. I've been tending to wake up once at night and then have a hard time falling back asleep but I did that before I was pregnant too. I am trying to sleep on my stomach for as long as I can because I know I will greatly miss that.

I am loving:  Not having to change the cat litter (as if I did anyways)

I miss: Drinking. Really, really miss it. Especially beer. I never indulged in N/A the first time around but since Alice was born my taste for beer has really grown so I might have to stock up this time.

I am looking forward to: November 7 - our ultrasound appointment - so I can get confirmation that everything is OK in there.

I'm spazzing about: November 7 seems like a really long ways away right now! (29 days).

Best thing about this week: Feeling less guilty about relaxing on the couch after Alice goes to bed, while Aaron does more of the housework. I am surprised (pleasantly, really) at how symptomatic I already feel this time around. With my first pg, which ended in mc, I never felt many symptoms. With Alice I didn't feel any until around 5 weeks. This time they started around 3-3.5 weeks. I figure that can only be a good thing in terms of viability.

Milestones: Organs are beginning to develop -- even though baby is merely the size of a poppy seed!

Movement: Frequent bowel movements. Is that what they meant?

It's a...: I keep referring to Alice's "baby brother". Mostly to be funny but I might be starting to believe it?

Exercise:  Nope. I would like to get to yoga more. Wouldn't we all.

Diet: Trying to be more well-rounded. I'm fortunate that we have an extensive menu available for free to us at work for breakfast and lunch. I've been eating eggs and grits in the morning instead of my usual muffin. Can't give up coffee, but am trying to cut down. Only drinking about 1/2 cup in the mornings. I drank a couple diet cokes in the afternoons on the weekends too, because being prego with a toddler all day wears me out!!

12 weeks, 2 days

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Not so good at the self belly pics...I will work on my facial expressions. Also, I need to switch to maternity pants soon. Sick of the crease showing from my regular pants under the Bella Band.

Due Date: June 17, 2013

Weight Gain: Weighed 133 at the OB on Monday, up from 128 at my 8 week appointment. What the! I will blame it on my 8 week appt being first thing in the morning, and my 12 week appt being around lunch time. Much more time for the bloat to appear. I also had an extremely full bladder because I thought they were going to need a urine sample when I got there. Turns out my memory is foggy and they don't start doing those until the 28 week appt. The pee had to account for at least a pound.

Symptoms: Tapering off...however, I am generally still kind of nauseous after lunch for the rest of the day. Annoying. I was hoping that would be gone by now. I don't really know what to do about it. I am eating frequently, but that never seems to zap the nausea. Just hoping this will go away with time. If I look at the big picture I'm definitely feeling better these days than I was 2 weeks ago so I will just assume the same will be true for 2 weeks from now.

What's different this time: Fatter. Sooner.

Cravings: I have dinner with the girls tonight at a Mexican restaurant and I'll be honest, I've been daydreaming about what I will order all week. I am really looking forward to some cheesy enchiladas and some chips and salsa!

Aversions: Sort of not into chocolate lately. I used to be an automatic cookie consumer after lunch each day, but I have not been wanting my usual chocolate chip cookie anymore. Guess that is just fine! Chips, on the other hand...

Sleep: Same, same, same. I am sort of just used to it at this point. I will take a Tylenol PM this weekend for a little treat. :)

I am loving: Well, I was loving guilt-free eating, but then I weighed in on Monday. And I keep coming back to this question because it's the last one I can think of an answer for, and I just want to post this already. So I will say that I am loving my daily Frosted Mini Wheats snack around 3 pm. Always about the eating, I guess...

I miss: I know I am going to greatly miss drinking a margarita at Mexican dinner tonight.

I am looking forward to: A shipment of two maternity dresses and a pair of pants I should be receiving in the mail tomorrow. Sorry hubs, I don't think I told you! They were cheap! 

I'm spazzing about: I feel big. Which is great and all, but I just booked a plane ticket to visit my mom in CA in early February when I will be 21 weeks pregnant. Just Alice and I are going, and since she won't be 2 until May I thought it would be good to sneak in one last free ticket for her. So there we will be - 21-week pregnant mama with nearly 2-year-old Alice on her lap for the 3.5 hour plane ride. Won't that be comfy! I'm flying out on Super Bowl Sunday so I'm hoping maybe it won't be a desirable flight and there will end up being an empty seat SOMEWHERE on the plane. I mean, there has to be one, right? Fingers crossed.

Best thing about this week: Hearing the heartbeat, hands down! It took the doc about 20-30 seconds or so to find it, which was AGONIZING of course but she finally found it on the lower right side of my abdomen and it was just clicking right along. 165 BPM. While she was searching for it she even mentioned "well if we can't find it we will find it with an ultrasound" which temporarily freaked me out of course. But obviously all was well. It was such a good feeling to hear that little guy/girl in there!!

Milestones: Passed the 12 week mark...so viability is obviously a huge milestone! Also, the baby is developing reflexes and is the size of a lime.

Movement: I have felt some flutters, however I still think it is just too early. I know I will probably be able to feel the baby earlier this time because I'm aware of what the sensation is but I'm not allowing myself to be convinced that I have felt it at 12 weeks.

Exercise: Just, no. I do some yoga stretches before bed usually. And by usually I mean when I think of it, so like 3 times a week.

Diet: I really should be drinking more water. I've switched my breakfast routine from pancakes and eggs and bacon to a bowl of oatmeal with strawberries and blueberries. So, I get a little pat on the back for that. Still kind of bad about veggies.

Alice Anecdote: On Monday night Alice woke up crying in the middle of the night. Not the most unusual occurrence...I think she sometimes has nightmares. So I went in to rock her back to sleep. Only problem was, this was right after about a 2 hour stint of insomnia for me and I was FINALLY about to fall back asleep. I rocked her and rocked her and she just wasn't sleeping so I finally just put her back in the crib. She cried again as soon as I left the room and I just thought "F it. I need some sleep". So I brought her into bed with me and she snuggled right in and fell asleep right away. I never sleep with her anymore, and I considered it a little treat to be able to snuggle with her for a few hours. Obviously it can be a slippery slope, but "my kids will only be small once", right?

Here we go again!

Here comes Baby #2, AKA The Final Baby!!

I am stealing Erin's Q&A blog format for my pregnancy posts. It is fast, simple, to the point and most importantly makes it infinitely more likely that I will actually keep up with my blogging. Thanks, Erin!

~~~

Mini Baby at 8 weeks 2 days

Due date?/How far along? Official Due Date is June 17, 2013 although I am secretly dating myself a few days before that. I'm almost positive I ovulated early, and when we had our ultrasound at 8 weeks the baby was measuring 2 days larger. As if it matters though, as noted by my 41 week pregnancy the first time around.

When did you find out? Thursday, October 4, 2012. Woke up in the morning planning to pee on a stick. I remember walking downstairs quickly and Aaron was taking his time getting dressed first. He was very skeptical that it would be positive because earlier in the week I had taken 2-3 negative tests. However! These tests also happened to be past their expiration date, which is a HUGE asterisk in my opinion.

This was only 3 weeks and 3 days past my LMP, but I felt a wave of nausea driving home from work on Monday, October 1 and it was reminiscent of my early nausea with Alice. So secretly I was CONVINCED I was pregnant and the tests had just been wrong/expired/ineffective.

How did you tell Aaron? Well, he was standing there next to me in the bathroom watching the double pink line appear, so...didn't have to.

Was it planned? Yes. We originally thought about trying one cycle earlier but that would've meant a possibility of being pregnant while traveling to my good friend's wedding in the SF area, and I wanted one last hurrah so to speak. So basically this baby was planned around my drinking needs. I didn't really anticipate it happening right away though, and happen right away it did...very first try.

What’s different this time? Less anxiety, less reading books (aka haven't even looked at them...still read the weekly baby center email though, just out of curiosity). Lots of different symptoms which I'll get into below...

When did you tell your family? I told them as I saw them, so pretty much right away. I think I told my dad first two days after my positive test because he was dropping off his dog to be watched while he went to a concert. Having gone through a miscarriage before, I had no reservations about telling my family early because obviously I would tell them when/if I miscarried as well.

When did you tell friends? Told most of my girlfriends at about 7 weeks because we were all getting together, and if I wasn't drinking they would've known anyway.

What were some good reactions? Eh, none that I can think of. Second babies don't tend to spark very emotional reactions.

Will you find out the sex? YES, absolutely. And I cannot wait. We are having a real struggle thinking of names this time, so I'm excited to be able to cut the list of possibilities in half. I just scheduled our 20 week ultrasound for January 28th...

Do you have a preference for boy or girl? I really don't think so. Pros to both, Cons to neither. Another girl would be convenient and less scary. A boy might give me a sense of "completeness" in that I would be able to experience parenthood to both genders.

Do you have names picked out? No. I downloaded a Baby Name app for my iPhone about a week ago and during my bouts of insomnia I've been checking off ones that I like. I probably have 15-20 names on both sides. We won't begin seriously discussing this until after our anatomy ultrasound. And then it is my hope that we will come to an agreement fairly quickly...we had Alice's name picked out right away last time and I really enjoyed having that identity for her for so much of my pregnancy. We will not be sharing the name...unless Aaron spills the beans by accident over email again to my sister and BIL :)

How are you feeling? Finally starting to feel better. I've been blogging almost weekly for a while and will be publishing my flashback weekly posts over the next days/weeks so you can follow the progression of my symptoms. In a nutshell, I "felt" pregnant earlier this time (at 3 weeks!) and the sickness symptoms have generally been stronger. I still never puked, but I'm just not a puker. I definitely COULD HAVE puked on several occasions but I chose to fight it off and was able to do so. Still, the feeling of being sick for so long - even without puking - is really no fun at all. It's pretty much in my rear view mirror as I sit here at 12 weeks + 1 day though, thank god. Energy level is still pretty low but I'm hoping that will bounce back soon too.

Other miscellaneous symptoms that I'm having this time that I didn't have with Alice: insomnia (every night) and intermittent headaches. My OB yesterday told me I could take Tylenol PM every night of my pregnancy if I want with no risk or harm to the baby. But I don't like feeling dependent on a drug to sleep. I'll give it some thought and probably try it one of these nights just so I can get a complete night's sleep. The headaches...I can never tell if they're related to lack of caffeine or dehydration so I usually try drinking either pop or water and hope for the best. I probably get 2 per week.

Any weird cravings or aversions? In stereotypical fashion, I am loving the sh*t out of pickles lately. I think about them when they are not around. Otherwise just pretty much digging a lot of carbs. No specific aversions.

How are you decorating the nursery/where will it be? Baby #2 will be moving into Alice's current room, so we will just leave it decorated as is. All the baby furniture is already in there so it makes sense. The only thing we will have to change is the pink curtains if it's a boy. Alice will be moving into the other bedroom which we need to convert from basically a storage area to a big kid bedroom. I'm anticipating that this baby will not spend much time in the crib for several months, so there's no huge rush to get this done. We'll probably make the switch over the spring or summer, depending on how ready we think Alice is.

Are you showing yet? Oh yes. I think that right now I probably look closer to how I looked at 15-16 weeks last time. Finding fitting clothing is a challenge. Some of my maternity stuff looks too big and frumpy, so I'm at that weird in between stage. I will post a belly pic with my 12 week post...coming hopefully tomorrow.

Will you blog the same amount about #2? My goal is to blog MUCH MORE! Here's hoping I can hold the motivation to keep up weekly posts. Since this is my last pregnancy I do really want to remember just what it felt like.

Have you told Alice? Oh yes, Alice definitely knows. But knowing is different than complete understanding. When she sees my stomach she points and says "Baby" and sometimes will kiss it. But the other day she saw Aaron's stomach, pointed and said "Baby". So we are getting there. She has a baby at daycare (Madeleine) that she is completely smitten with, and a new baby will be starting in January, so I'm really grateful for that exposure she will get.

Alice Lately

Note: I began this post on June 28 when Alice was 13 months old. I am picking it back up today at 16.5 months old and will post my new commentary below the original section that I wrote. Kind of fun to read back on what she was doing a few months ago. I should blog more! (duh).

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June 28, 2012

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a toddler on our hands! To use the cliched line: "How did this happen??" It truly does seem like just the other day when my water broke on the dining room floor and next thing you know (uh....not really, more like 18 hours later, but whatever) we were holding our precious, healthy newborn daughter in our arms.

Out to dinner at the Groveland Tap on Alice's 15 month "birthday"

The most striking thing about raising a child to me is the dichotomy of emotions it presents. This year I have experienced the most blissfully happy feelings I could ever imagine - happiness on a level I never knew to exist before. I have also felt the depths of terror and fear (when I dropped Alice at 8 weeks old and she was admitted to Children's overnight with a minor concussion...I still need to blog about this because I have a lot of emotions that I haven't dealt with entirely yet about this experience). Largely though, this year has sparked the greatest amount of personal growth in my life in such a relatively short time frame. I never really used to feel like a grown-up even though I technically have been for almost 15 years. But becoming a parent? Instant  adulthood. I've definitely aged this year, but I like to think of it as wisening up, not just getting older.

Playing with a toy she had just stolen from the poor little boy in the background. She is a stinker!

Alice is such a delight and a joy to be around lately. She is a very Type A child and thrives around other people and especially kids. She is a mover and a shaker. She wants to touch and handle everything and climb up, on and over everything else. I like to tease Aaron that this is all his fault because I was truly a very shy little girl who didn't really push any boundaries, and he was known as the neighborhood rabble rouser. But truthfully I have so much admiration and respect for Alice's daring little personality. I feel like she is already someone that I, myself, would aspire to be. I love the confidence that she has in herself and her abilities, and I see it as my job, as her mother, to help her hold on to that into childhood, her teenage years, and adulthood.

Weirdo!

She is very vocal lately and it has become a lot of fun to ask her to repeat words that you say, because a lot of the time she actually will! When my dad was on his way over this weekend to introduce us to his new puppy Daisy, we practiced saying "puppy" and she would repeat it in a soft whisper like "pup pup". When you ask her to say something she gets this look of concentration on her face and sort of stares off into the distance as I imagine she is trying to process the sound and regurgitate it to use.

Here's a list of many of her vocabulary words lately:

• Mama
• Dada
• Up
• Nummy Nummy Nummy (when you ask her if she wants "num nums" at meal time)
• Hi (but it's more like "Hiiii-iiiii" with the first syllable at a higher sing-songy tone than the second syllable)
• Yep (I can never tell if this is intentional but a lot of times when we ask her a question she will respond with what sounds like "yep" and it's hysterical)

****

October 10, 2012

Picking up where I left off...Alice truly does become more and more fun as each month goes by. But with that fun comes a whole new load of challenges. As any parent of a toddler will attest, they are stubborn little creatures! Lots of things have become a "battle" now, including changing her diaper (the only time she will actually lay down when you change her is first thing in the morning -- otherwise she is standing up); meals (nearly impossible to find something she will eat a lot of unless it is a PBJ); and bedtime (ALWAYS says "nooooo" when you ask if she is ready for bed -- even as she is rubbing her eyes and yawning over and over).

Does NOT want to go to bed

One of many meals she didn't eat. How she continues to gain weight I have no clue.

We took two trips away from Alice this summer - one to Oregon/Washington for 5 nights and one to San Francisco/Berkeley for 3 nights. Both were for good friends' weddings and we were so happy to be able to attend. It was nice to have a little break from the routine and get to pretend like we lived our "old life" for a while. I was done breastfeeding/pumping as of the end of June, so it was also very nice to have my body back and not have to coordinate a pumping schedule into our vacations. Alice split her stay with mine and Aaron's parents both times and seems to have done really well. I won't lie though and say that it was "easy" to leave her - especially for the longer Oregon trip. I was absolutely dying to see her by the time we got back.

This was how we left her before our Oregon trip -- happy in the high chair at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Alice loves to be on the go and is extremely "busy" even for a toddler. This became ever so apparent to me when I brought her to the Red Balloon for story time and to meet Curious George a month or so ago. ALL the other kids were sitting and listening attentively to the story teller but Alice got up twice and marched right up front to try to climb all over the story teller's chair and table she had set up. We had to go play in a different corner of the store until the story was over. I know she will grow out of this phase and actually this experience really validated me for feeling so worn out from parenting a lot of the time. I have my hands full!

One seemingly peaceful moment caught on camera at Lego Land

She jabbers and jabbers ALL THE TIME and I can't even keep track of how many words she says. She comes up with new ones all the time and she will pretty much attempt to repeat anything we ask her too. Right now I'm working hard on "Love you Mommy". Ha. It is funny to me the words she does say and the ones she cannot (or just will not). There are only two other kids at her daycare. One is Brogan - 2 years old - and he has been there since she started in April. They are really good buddies. She will NOT say his name, not even attempt a "B" sound. But a baby named Madeline (pronounced Mad-uh-LINE like the French girl from the books) started in August and Alice says her name all the time, including a very elaborate tongue roll. It may be just the fact that I think she is somewhat intrigued with Baby Madeline but to me Brogan seems easier to say, no? She also has yet to say Tammy, the name of her daycare provider, but says Tammy's kids names repeatedly (Liam and Grace). She says "Papa" for Grandpa but no attempt at saying Grandma yet. She just started saying Leigh and Al for her auntie and uncle but no Brooke yet for her other auntie. She will say "Day-dee" all the time for Daisy, my dad's dog, but no mention of Karma (her own dog). The cat is simply "Dee" (presumably for the last syllable in the word "Kitty").

She says "please" all the time and is really beginning to understand that it will get her what she wants, even after she was already denied sometimes. Apparently Aaron's dad didn't know she knew that word until just the other day when she was trying to play with a broom at their house that he didn't want her to play with. After he kept denying her she finally said "PWEASE" and shocked him so bad that he handed the broom right over. It is really just too darn cute when she says it.

I caught a wild hair and took her to the Gopher football game on my own in September. She did really well for the first quarter, started to climb the seats halfway through the second quarter, and we left at half time.

Alice is really good at entertaining herself through play. We try to interact with her a lot but also to leave her alone a lot to experiment however she would like. Some of her favorite things to do are to empty and refill a laundry basket or any kind of bag or receptacle; play with her toy kitchen; move magnets from the fridge to the dishwasher and back; pull her toy lawnmower up and down the block; read books; do stickers; stand on her rocking chair and smirk at us; play "Peekaboo Barn" or "Peekaboo Trick or Treat" on my phone; and hug/sit on the cat. We get out of the house a lot to do things with her because our house is tiny and I feel like she gets easily bored if we are just sitting around home for too long. We go to the Children's Museum a lot, and go to the Riverview Cafe for breakfast a lot on the weekends so she can play in their kid's area - although she generally ends up just doing laps around the whole restaurant.

At the Children's Museum on one of our first visits after we got our membership

Out to eat at Which Wich

Visiting the ducks at St. Kate's

Older photo at Choo Choo Bob's - look at that baby pudge!!

Her daycare situation is fabulous and we feel so fortunate that we found Tammy to take care of Alice. As I mentioned before there are only 3 kids there right now total so Tammy is able to do things outside of the house with them sometimes. She took them to the Minnehaha splash pad several times over the summer, to story hour at the library and at the Red Balloon, and to an apple orchard last week. She goes there M-Th and Aaron's parents watch her on Fridays. The only tricky part about Tammy is her hours - only 8 am to 5 pm. Aaron is able to drop her off every morning but the afternoons vary. My mom picks her up on Mondays, Aaron's mom picks her up on Tuesdays, and I shifted my work schedule on W-Th so that I can pick her up on those days. I do miss having daily contact with Tammy because I feel like I don't always have the best idea of what all is going on at daycare, so I tend to chat her up lot on the days I do pick her up, so I can get as much info as possible. All in all she seems to be really thriving there, so that is all you can ask for.

I really relish the moments where Alice will let me snuggle her now, since they are becoming few and far between. Sometimes she will sit on my lap while reading books, but sometimes she just wants to sit next to me. She will always snuggle in during bedtime (which just consists of me singing "Barbara Ann" to her over and over until she points at her crib and asks for her "bed"), so I cherish that time. I know she still needs me, but she is becoming so independent at the same time and it's very bittersweet. :)

Cannot BELIEVE how much she looks like Aaron :)