Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Spent last night with Ben's side of the family. Went to his dad's side first and then his mom's. We had a very spoiled little girl just between them. And today we are spending time with my family and then going to my mother-in-laws for dinner. Lots of family time and fun. Hoping everyone enjoys their day!

30 weeks

How far along: 30 weeks
How big is Baby: Size of a head of cabbage
 Maternity Clothes: Everything is maternity now besides sweats! Although when I was at the doc last week I still was not up any from where I began my pregnancy
Sleep: Ok - I have been getting up with a lot of heart burn at night and of course going to the bathroom
Movement: A lot - but not so much the last few days so hopefully she's just doing some resting
Food cravings: No real cravings for anything specific. Here and there I want something specific but nothing all the time
Food aversions: Nothing
Gender: Another little girl :)
Symptoms: Lots of baby kicking, peeing all the time, bigger belly for sure!
Nursery Progress: None - we just got our basement finished and some of the stuff that is in the nursery has to go down there so we can just now start on everything
Best moment this week: Well I would say the ultrasound last week and seeing the baby again :)
What I am looking forward to: Making progress on the nursery now and starting to buy a few things hopefully. Appt on Tuesday!

24 Weeks

How far along: 24 weeks
How big is Baby: Size of a cantaloupe
 Maternity Clothes: Almost everything I wear now minus some shirts are maternity. It's more just for comfort, I'm still not that big. A lot of shirts I still fit into though that aren't maternity but I usually don't wear those out
Sleep: Pretty good so far. I usually wake up to go to the bathroom at least once but go back to sleep pretty quickly as long as I am not having heartburn or those pains in my stomach
Movement: I feel the baby a lot especially in the morning and at night
Food cravings: Not too much, I've started to eat some more sweets and chocolate but I'm trying to not eat so much of that anymore but it's hard with Halloween now! I do love my apples right now with carmel dip though :)
Food aversions: Nothing at all that I can think of
Gender: Another little girl :)
Symptoms: Lots of baby kicking, pains in my stomach, peeing all the time
Nursery Progress: None - I did buy a few clothes from Carters from the clearance online but nothing else. Going to try to work on some of that this week like going through old stuff and cleaning it all
Best moment this week: All the kicking!
What I am looking forward to: Next appointment on Nov 13th and then I think biweekly appts after that with ultrasound too I believe! I can't believe we only have 4 months left!!!

Small Update

So catching up….we found out that this baby is another girl. We pretty much suspected that anyways but it was nice to have it confirmed. I’ve started trying to clear out what I can of the room that will be her nursery (right now it’s our computer room). Not too easy when hubby isn’t home during the week and Tricia wants to help (aka destroy) everything. So it’s slow progress but it’s happening.

I did have a trip to the L&D ER Triage yesterday. I had some pretty serious pains in my stomach. They really can’t come up with anything – all of my blood work is normal. I’m not having contractions. So they think it might just be spasms of the muscles in my stomach right now. Man they hurt though! She said take Tylenol – that helps a bit but not completely. I do feel like I’m getting bigger now so maybe that is it but I know I certainly didn’t have this pain last time around! I just was scared because I know I ignored pains last pregnancy and it turned out to be the HELLP syndrome – not doing that again. I would rather go and make sure everything is ok then not.

Not much going on right now besides work, take care of Tricia and try not to fall over from exhaustion each week while Ben is gone. I’m hoping he starts being able to spend some more time home soon but I’m worried that’s not going to happen with some things that are going on. We will see though. I do know things are getting harder for me to do (laundry up and down the stairs, cleaning the house, etc.).

Next appointment isn’t until November 13 now so another 4 weeks to go again. And not long after that they will start the monitoring for my HELLP syndrome. Fun times!

Comparison

So as we come up on Monday finding out what we are having I wanted to write this down before I'm swayed by knowing the gender. I want to compare my last pregnancy to this one so I can remember how it was the same/different.

-Early nausea: About the same. Maybe a little bit better this time around because I could eat some real food not just soup.
-Weight: Well I started the exact same way with both - losing weight due to the nausea but this one I am not going back up as quick. I am starting to go back up at this point I believe but I know during my last pregnancy I was already going back up around 14 wks and here I am at 20 and just starting. I'm fine with this though - less to lose at the end! :)
-Bump: I feel like I'm slightly smaller this time due to the weight thing (I will try to post pics after I take a 20 wk pic on Saturday)
-Acne: I think it's been a bit worse this time around then last time but still not too awful
-Cravings: Pretty different. Last time I wanted lots of fruit and some sweets. This time I don't really have much of a craving for anything really (except Chipotle - SPICY - and Reese pumpkins but those would have been game last time also).
-Emotions: I think I'm a bit less emotional this time around probably because I don't have the time! I do know I am crying some over stupid things but I think it's a bit better.
-Tiredness: I think I'm way more tired this time around because I am running after a 2 year old all night!
-Sex drive: TMI but way better this time :) Enough said.
-Position: This baby is sitting on my left side very low near my bladder and it starts to get really painful if I don't go pee pretty often. It SUCKS. Definitely don't remember this with Tricia.
-Dreams: I remember having really vivid dreams when I was pregnant the first time around and this time not so much. But that  may have been further along in my pregnancy so we will see if that is yet to come.


So regardless I really don't have much of a feeling either way. And I really will be happy either way but I do lean towards another girl because we have done that already. I did have 1 dream that it was a boy about a month ago but that was after we had been talking right before bed about it being a boy. I really just care about baby being healthy and me being healthy. The gender is just not as important this time around!

18 weeks

How far along: 18 weeks
How big is Baby: Size of a sweet potato
 Maternity Clothes: I was at the doc  this week and I was down 1 lb from the last time I was there but I think that  means I am gaining a little bit back though. My maternity jeans are the only thing I have started to wear so far. 
Sleep: Not doing too bad but I still have a hard time going back to sleep if I wake up in the middle of the night which I usually do.
Movement: I have felt the baby some and also I feel like this baby is down in my pelvis - I feel it down really low a lot of times
Food cravings: Not many actual craving but steak and potatoes. I had a week where it was pickles but thats all
Food aversions: Nothing really that I know of right now
Gender: Unknown but strong feeling it's a girl again
Symptoms: Acne, moodiness, tiredness
Nursery Progress: None whatsoever!
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat Weds at the doc office.
What I am looking forward to: Gender ultrasound on Oct 1

Theres been a lot of other things going on in my life so I haven't been updating here as much but things are as good as they can be with the other things going on. Just trying to work on a lot of things in my life and hoping for the best. It's def not where I thought I would be at this point in my life but I just have to have faith that things will be ok. 

Tricia is doing really well though. She just makes me so happy and laugh all the time. She's very silly. Picking up a few more words now (or at least trying to). Her tantrums are something to be reckoned with but that's just normal for her age so we are dealing. 

New siding on our house end of this week or early next. Excited for that! Hopefully they can do it quickly and get it over with. 

Feeling Better!

So I've finally been feeling better :) My appetite is coming back (after being down 14 lbs now) and I can eat usually twice a day a small meal. I am glad this time I don't really have any aversions to food like I did with Tricia. With her it was mostly meats but I'm lucky I don't have that this time!

Ben was gone all week in MI so I'm glad to have him home today. I've been working all weekend on getting our closets cleaned out and specifically  our computer room that will be the new baby's nursery. I think it's coming along pretty well so far. I have a bit more to do but most of the stuff in that room can be moved downstairs now. Although we are doing some new drywall down there right now so we will probably wait until that's done in a few weeks before we move that stuff.

The plan for our basement is to make it in to a big playroom for Tricia. Since I'm going to be home in the winter time on my maternity leave I want to make sure she has plenty of room to play and lots of toys to keep her busy. So we need to pick up a few toys for down there and we are getting a new couch and TV also. I think Tricia will enjoy having the room to run around down there in the winter time.

Today we have some shopping to do at Sams Club and Toys R Us. I have another baby shower coming up for a friend that I am helping with so I have to pick up some stuff for that and we need a few things ourselves. Hoping to just enjoy and spend some quality time with hubby today!

Ohhh and I should mention - my sisters shower was great! I will have to come back and do a post on that!

13 Weeks

How far along: 13 weeks
How big is Baby: Size of a peach
 Maternity Clothes: Still losing some weight (or at least haven't gained any) so nope not yet. I bought some though since mine were mostly summer clothes
Sleep: Getting some sleep at night but still hard  to get comfortable and up a few times a night
Movement: I'm thinking I've felt the baby a few times, not flutters but more of the "rolling" sensation
Food cravings: Still not much, mostly potatoes any way they come
Food aversions: Doing better here, not really anything in particular at any given time. Just here and there things are gross. 
Gender: Unknown but strong feeling it's a girl again
Symptoms: Nausea, boobs, acne
Nursery Progress: None whatsoever!
Best moment this week: Starting to feel slightly better with the nausea that I have been. Hearing the hearbeat on Monday at the doc office
What I am looking forward to: Going back to the doc in a few weeks and my nausea going away (hopefully!)

Doc Appt

So had a doc appt yesterday - everything looks good so far. Took her a minute to find the heartbeat which started to freak me out! But she found it but the baby didn't want to stay for more than a second so we didn't get to hear it for long. I don't remember them having that hard of a time finding Tricia's. I know she moved a lot but they were always able to find it pretty quickly if they lost it. After talking to the doc I get to keep my original due date which was Feb 16th. So only 4 days but I'm sure towards the end of this pregnancy that will be a big difference to me :) Also, I'm down about 12 lbs at this point due to the nausea. Not good but they don't seem concerned. Hoping that fades REAL soon. Now I go back in 4 weeks - the day after my birthday!

We will be announcing the pregnancy in about 2 weeks to everyone. I still haven't told to many people, some close family, a few co workers and maybe 3 friends. The others I wanted to tell I haven't be able to see so I guess they will find out on FB with everyone else.

11 week survey

How far along: 11 weeks
How big is Baby: My ticker says its the size of a lime!
 Maternity Clothes: Nope haven't had to get into those yet...I'm losing weight! 
Sleep: Ughh not good, can't get comfortable because i am a stomach sleeper
Movement: None yet!
Food cravings: Not much...sometimes sweets, a few times pickles, potatoes mostly though as strange as that sounds. All I want to eat and all that ever sounds good is potatoes.
Food aversions: Pretty much everything most days
Gender: Unknown but strong feeling it's a girl again
Symptoms: BIG swollen boobies, some cramping here and there, heartburn, nausea, constipation (see last post)
Nursery Progress: None whatsoever!
Best moment this week: I wish there was one....
What I am looking forward to: Doc on Monday to hear the heartbeat for the first time - fingers crossed!!

Heartburn, Constipation, and Nausea Oh my!

Yeah those three words about sum up my life right now (graphic but hey it's my blog!). The nausea started about a week after I found out I was pregnant. About 2 weeks of that and I went to the doc and got a script for Zofran. It works ok at times - but doesn't last too long. Just long enough for me to eat something and then it's over. I get heartburn most nights when I lay down for bed. Blah but tums usually help that thank goodness! The constipation is a new thing that just started in the last week and it has been awful. It's been making me even more sick to my stomach. I talked to my doc office and they gave me something else to try but it's still not helping yet. Hopefully it starts - well the cramping isn't as bad which is a huge plus but man it really needs to start working. If it doesn't by tomorrow I will be calling them again.

I'm scheduled for an appointment next Monday which can't come soon enough. I'm very happy that my docs have assured me we have a solid plan since I had the HELLP syndrome last time. I will be monitored starting at 28 weeks with an ultrasound, blood test and non stress test. At 32 weeks I will start  going every week for them to test me to make sure my blood pressure and platelets are ok. And they have assured me that no symptom will be overlooked since the hellp symptoms are so vague which made me feel better.

Can't wait to hear the heartbeat of this little one in my belly :) We are so excited for this - it's truly a blessing to be having another baby to add to our family. Especially since for a time we didn't think we would be able to have anymore! So now it's time to start thinking about the nursery and start enjoying this pregnancy with the baby. I definitely want to do maternity pics and include Tricia in them.


Now if I can just get over this other stuff I can really start to enjoy myself!!

In A Surprise Twist-June 23

**Originally written June 23rd

So in a very surprising twist of fate, I am pregnant. I am still in shock. Last week on Thurs I realized I was late. I had thought all week I was going to start by the cramping that I had but it never came. So Friday morning I decided to take a test and I was shocked to see that it was positive. We really weren't trying. I mean we were but we weren't. I had taken an OPK on a Tues and he was out of town already. It was positive but I didn't really think much of it. So now I just pray that everything goes ok. I'm so scared and nervous that my HELLP syndrome will reoccur this pregnancy but I am going to just keep as healthy as possible and monitor my blood pressure all the time. My first appointment is on Weds so I will be asking a lot of questions about how they will be monitoring me this time around for any signs of that condition.

I'm also nervous about how Tricia will react. She already points to my belly when I ask her where they baby is which is really cute but I know she doesn't understand yet. But that's ok....I'm sure we will make it work. We are looking forward to finding out the sex - kind of hoping for another girl because we already have all the clothes and stuff for a girl. But I am ok with either as long as baby and me are healthy!

So here is to a happy and HEALTHY 9 months! :)

Potty

Just have to log this wonderful day - my baby went pee pee in the potty for the first time today. It could have been a fluke, she did it with Ben's aunt earlier today but I think it's time to get on buying that potty seat!

The last few weeks...

The last few weeks have been pretty status quo.

I have been travelling for work - I went to Nashville May 20-May 23 for one of my work tradeshows. It was a good time - got the baby 3 pairs of boots :) She looks so cute in them! We also had a performance by Phil Vassar. It was a really good time! Then last week I was in San Antonio - It was nice and warm. I love being warm! But I worked really long days so we didn't have a whole lot of downtime at all. It kind of sucked and I barely got any sleep but there were some fun parties we had so that kind of made up for it. I was so ready to come home though.

Ben is still working in MI - he says only a few more weeks so we will see. I'm so over it. I thought it would get easier to say goodbye to him but nope...not at all.

I'm busy getting ready for Tricia's 2nd birthday party now. It's going to be in about a month. The theme is going to be minnie mouse -so red and black and white. I got the invitations done already I will just have to send them in probably 2 weeks. We are going to do a burrito bar for the food - very easy. I will get the beef and chicken fajita meat from Sams Club and put it in crockpots to keep it warm. Then I'm making my own salsas (probably 2 different kinds - maybe 3 - a red, green, and then a spicy red). I am going to do a cheesy dip too. Then all the  trimmings for the burritos - beans,sour cream, cheese, lettuce, onion, tomatoes, etc. I'm excited about it because we can relax and enjoy the party this year because all of it can either be done the day before or just be pulled out. So we are really looking forward to that coming up.

So many people in my life are pregnant right now - my sister and 2 of my friends. They kind of hit me hard but I'm so happy for all of them. I have to start working on planning my sisters baby shower after Tricias birthday. We already know where we are having it but now we just have to work on everything else. I think she has an idea for her invites already so we will start working on those soon. We may be using the burrito bar idea too for her shower which would be nice and easy to set up. I'm excited for her little one to get here now - I don't know how I am going to wait until October! :)

Well I'm glad to be home for a while now but not ready to go back to work tomorrow. It's going to be a long week after not being in the office a full week in almost a month! But first up cooking dinner for some friends tonight!