14 Weeks Pregnant: Baby #2

Well, here we are at 14 weeks!  I can remember being 14 weeks pregnant with August.  I remember that I was actually starting to look a little pregnant at 14 weeks with him, not just fat.  Haha.  This past week has been a very interesting one. I don't have a picture to show you today, because I'm still in my pajamas.  That's how I roll.

If you remember in my last pregnancy update at 13 weeks, I told y'all about my blood pressure.  I have really been keeping an eye on it since I had preeclampsia with August.  High blood pressure is 140/90.  It is considered high if either the top or bottom number is high; they don't both have to be up.  At my first midwife appointment on 2/6 it was 137/76.  A week later, I wasn't feeling well so I went to Walgreen's and had it checked.  It was 124/83.  A week and a half after that, which was this past Saturday, I had been feeling really bad since Thursday or Friday.  I was having trouble breathing, and my head was hurting.  I felt very jittery.  So we went to Walgreen's on Saturday and had it checked again.  It was 118/94.  Too high.  I didn't call my midwife since it was Saturday.  I stayed home from church on Sunday and just rested all day.  It seemed to help because a nurse that goes to my church came by and checked it on Sunday and it was 124/74 and then a few minutes later was 101/71.  I called my midwife Monday morning to let her know that it had gotten high, and she had me come in on Tuesday afternoon.  My BP was 134/86, and she checked it again an hour or so later, and it was 128/82.  So it had gone down some while I was there. 

Sorry for all the numbers!  I'm documenting this for myself mostly, so I can look back and see where my numbers have been.  They weighed me at my appointment.  The scale said I had gained 1 pound, however, my appointment was in the late afternoon, whereas it's normally in the morning, so I had eaten more that day than I would have on a normal appointment day.  Plus, she weighed me with a full bladder.  I chugged water on the way to my appointment because I knew they would take a sample, but I thought they would do that before they weighed me.  So I'm sure I haven't actually gained anything.  My scale at home has stayed the same.  I have really been watching it this time, since I'm starting with an extra 10 pounds from last time.

My midwife switched my next appointment to one of the doctors in the group. She wants him to be familiar with me in case I have to switch to him.  I really don't want a male OB, so if she ends up switching me I may switch practices so I can see a woman.  I'm not sure.   However, I have heard good things about the male OB she wants me to see.  My next appointment is next Wednesday.  I'll be 14 weeks and 6 days. 

My PUPPPS rash is starting to get out of control.  I can't believe it's affecting me this early!  My midwife prescribed me a topical ointment for it.  I read the insert that came with it, and it says that this is a Category C drug.  The insert said that 1/5th of the human dosage given to rabbits caused the baby rabbits to have cleft pallets, umbilical hernias, and cephalocele (protrusion of the brain through part of the skull).  Oh my goodness.  I used a little bit of it the day she gave it to me, but after reading the insert, I won't be using it anymore.  It is SUCH a shame too, because I think the stuff actually took the itch away.  It burned a little, but I welcome that.  Itching is horrible.  So now I don't know what to do.  I am going to take the cream and drug insert to my appointment next week though and ask why they gave this to me.  That is so scary to think that any of those conditions could happen to our baby. 

I haven't had any morning sickness this week.  (I'll have it tomorrow since I said that.  It always happens.)  I have really been trying to get things done around the house since that seems to be ending.  Yesterday, I deep cleaned our bedroom.  I will attribute that to nesting.  I dusted the furniture, laundered the curtains (yeah, that's nesting for sure), washed all of the bedding, washed at least 4 loads of laundry (it piled up with my high BP), and today I am going to sweep and mop the floors since I didn't get to that yesterday.  I am really wanting to tackle the spare bedroom.  You wouldn't believe the junk in there.  We actually have a pull out sofa, filing cabinet, desk, and coffee table in there (that's not the junk part, just taking up a lot of space).  If you need any of these items, let me know!  We will be more than happy to pass them on. 

I think we have decided that if the baby is a girl, she will get the spare room.  If the baby is a boy, we will let him sleep in the spare room until he can sleep through the night, and then we will probably move him into August's room.  I think it would be so neat for them to share a room.  Plus, that will leave the spare room available for future daughters, guests, and the elliptical!  That elliptical has been bothering me.  I really don't want it in the garage.  If the baby is a girl, we are going to try to fit it in our room.  If the baby is a boy though, we will leave the elliptical in there and I will set up a little area for the kids to play in there while I work out.  I have a little wooden table and chairs set that needs a little sanding and painting.  It would be a great place for August to color and play while I exercise. 

Ok, this whole post was probably way more info than you cared to know.  I have all of these thoughts in my head constantly, and it makes me feel less all over the place to get them down into words, haha.  Well I think August finally fell asleep for his nap, so I need to get busy.  It's hard to get anything done while he's awake.  I can't believe he will be 10 months on Sunday.  That's crazy!  I hope y'all have a great weekend!

Easy Bathroom Cleaning

I have been making my own cleaner for about 2 and 1/2 years now.  It saves us soooo much money!  We have seriously bought the ingredients to make it one time, and we still have plenty of the ingredients left.  I posted about the homemade cleaner I make HERE.  (Update on the recipe: I don't use the essential oil anymore, but I do use Gain scented dishwashing liquid.  It smells so fresh and clean!  I prefer it.)  I didn't come up with the recipe myself, it's from the Dr. Oz website.  I leave the cleaning concoctions up to the pros!  I also use some of these ingredients when I made glass cleaner, floor cleaner, etc. so I definitely get my money's worth.

I recently had this "duh" moment.  Whenever I'm in the bathroom, which can be quite frequent during these pregnant days, I always notice what needs to be cleaned.  Faucet needs to be wiped off, sink needs to be cleaned out, trash can needs to be wiped down, etc.  It's little daily maintenance things that would take 2 seconds if I had my cleaning stuff in there with me. 

But by the time I'm walking out the bathroom, August needs tending to, the phone is ringing, the clothes need to be switched over to the dryer, etc., and the bathroom gets bumped way down on the priority list.   So I decided I need to have my cleaning products in the bathroom with me so I can get it done while I'm in there.  I'm sure many of you already do this; I'm just a little slow.  :)

So the other night when I was mixing up some cleaner, I made some extra for a couple small cleaning bottles I got from Walgreen's.  They were $1.99 each.  I'm sure you could get them cheaper from the dollar store, but I just picked them up while I was in Walgreen's one day.  I just halved the recipe for each bottle.  Here they are, ready to use!  One of them was just shaken, guess that's why it looks different.  I bought the smaller bottles in blue so that they would match the bigger bottle.  Blue bottles = all purpose cleaner, Green bottle= glass cleaner, not pictured.

Side note, when adding the water, make sure you use warm water, otherwise your Borax will harden in the cold water.  I learned this that night.  You can kind of see the Borax chunks on the bottom in the bottle in the middle.  It will dissolve eventually.

So I just popped them under each bathroom sink with a roll of paper towels so I can clean while I'm in there.  I hope this was helpful for you!  If you would like to see a couple more homemade recipes I have tried, click the links below.


Homemade Laundry Soap (Liquid version.  This post also has a cost comparison, if you are curious as to how much money making your own really saves.) http://newlywedhares.blogspot.com/2012/01/homemade-laundry-soap.html

Homemade Laundry Powder (We currently use this and prefer it.  To me, it's easier to make than the liquid version.  I typically make a big batch by tripling the recipe.  The grating goes really quickly if I use my Kitchen Aid mixer attachment.  You can of course do it by hand though.  If I have enough time, I will run it through the food processor to make it super fine.  I think it's more like store-bought powder that way.  Also, instead of storing it in a class container with a screw top lid, I now store it in a glass container that has the metal latch flip up thing.  LOL.  Maybe you know what I'm talking about.  It's easier that way because I can get the powder out one handed since I sometimes have a baby on the hip.  Haha.  Tripling the recipe has lasted me for months and months!)  http://newlywedhares.blogspot.com/2012/04/homemade-powdered-laundry-detergent.html

13 Weeks Pregnant: Baby #2

I'm 13 weeks pregnant today!  Sometimes I feel like I should be further along, but then I realize that time really is flying by.  I weighed myself this morning, and I am actually the same weight as the day I found out I was pregnant, so yay for that!  Last time I had gained 3 pounds by this point.  I'm really not dieting or eating super healthy, I am just eating less.  I make sure not to overdo it.  I think it actually helps that I am home.  No more cafeteria food breakfasts and lunches.  Although I do miss that! :)  Here is what the belly is looking like these days.  I took this picture yesterday.

Please excuse the poor quality....and the fly aways that look like devil horns.

I have been feeling a lot of movement!  I don't think I have felt anything yet when I am standing or moving, but when I lay down or sit down, I can feel her (or him).  I think it's a girl.  I will be shocked if I am wrong.  I felt the same way about August.  I knew he was a boy.  This pregnancy has just been different.  I didn't really get sick with August.  I threw up once with him at 12 weeks, and then I threw up a few times at 16 weeks of all times.  This pregnancy I have been consistently sick at least 3-4 times a week if not more.  As soon as I think the morning sickness is gone, it's back with a vengeance. 

My legs are starting to get sore if I do a lot in a day.  I have been in a cleaning/organizational mood lately. My legs will hurt so bad at night that I just lay there and can't sleep.  I need to be exercising them.  I haven't been working out at all, and I know I need to start now or I won't start at all.  August and I have taken a few 3 mile walks around the neighborhood, but it has been so cold and windy lately that I don't want to risk him getting an ear infection. 

Oh, I almost forgot.  PUPPS rash is rearing its ugly head!  Last time it didn't show up til about 34 or 35ish weeks.  Right now I have an outbreak of it on the inside of my right elbow, on my upper stomach on the left side, and on the inside of my thighs.  It itches like crazy.  Also, when I get out of the shower, my feet, legs, and most of my body are itching.  I will see little bumps begin to appear when I scratch it, but thankfully the bumps in those areas go away after I have cooled off. 

I can't remember if I have updated on my blood pressure.  I don't think I have.  My normal blood pressure has always been 110/60.  Like every time.  I'm not sure if it is permanently higher since I had August.  I have heard some women's blood pressures go up by a few points after they have had a baby.  When I had my midwife appointment on 2/6, my blood pressure was 137/76.  That's quite a jump.  Then last week, I didn't feel right.  I had a terrible headache, and I was feeling dizzy.  I wondered if it could be my blood pressure.  So I went to Walgreen's and had it checked.  They always look at me funny when I go get it checked in there.  I guess they usually see old people who are on medication for it.  That day, 2/13, it was 124/83.  That worried me a little.  In a week, the bottom number had gone up 7 points.  They told me the bottom number was the one to watch.  If it hits 90, then that will be considered high, and I will have to be on medication.  I have a friend who is on blood pressure meds, and she is pregnant and doing great.  I'm not necessarily worried about being on it.  I just know last time I was on it after having August, my blood pressure plummeted, and I was very faint and weak.  My blood pressure dropped to 58/35.   No lie, they didn't see how I was still conscious.  I am going to try to keep a check on it.  I hate going to Walgreen's though.  They make you sit and fill out a form every time even though I have had it checked there multiple times.

Well, I need to get busy on a few things.  I hope y'all have a great day!  Wait, it just hit me!  Am I in the second trimester now?  I have no idea.  Everyone has a different definition of second trimester.  I am gong to say yes!  Yes, I am.  See y'all later!

August's 1st Valentine's Day

Well, I'm only about a week late writing about our Valentine's Day.  I really wanted to document it for memory though.  It's funny how Valentine's Day completely changes once you are married with kids, but I think it really changes for the better. 

When I woke up and came into the kitchen, I was greeted by a dozen pink roses, 2 packages of chocolate, and the sweetest card.  I love that Adam writes his own messages in cards.   I was a little surprised to see all of this, especially since we had decided we weren't going to spend any money on Valentine's gifts, but I know Adam couldn't stand the thought of ignoring Valentine's Day.  I didn't fuss at him for spending the money, I am just thankful that he cares that much.  He even put the roses in a vase!  That goes above and beyond in my book. :)

Excuse the poor quality of my pictures lately.  My old phone (that I had replaced about 3 or 4 times) crashed again.  It had an 8.0 megapixel camera....and the "equivalent phone" that they sent me as a replacement has a 2.0 megapixel camera.  Ummm.....not the same thing.

I had planned for August and I to make Adam something homemade, so we stuck to the plan.  I wanted August to make Adam a homemade card, and I would make him homemade Somoas, since that's his favorite cookie, but I ran out of time on the cookies.  I can share my chocolate. :)  I decided to let August paint Adam a card.  We also made one for my mom and dad, Adam's dad, my Nannie, Grandmommy, and Aunt Frances.  Everyone we made a card for, except for Adam and my parents, are widowed, so we thought it would help to brighten their day to receive a Valentine.  Here is August's first finger painting experience!

He started out with a paint brush, but I had to take that away since he kept trying to put it in his mouth.  The crayons are from a failed attempt at coloring.  He couldn't bear down hard enough for it to really show up.

He decided this is pretty fun!......

 

.....and then decided it's not actually as much fun as he thought.

After this, we both got in the bathtub where he screamed and held onto me and refused to touch the water.  We tried a couple nights a few weeks ago to give him a bath in the "big boy bathtub."  He kept crawling around and sticking his face underwater.  Needless to say he is now traumatized from the water and has discovered that he is not invincible.  So we are still bathing him in the infant tub in the bath tub.  I thought he would be fine since I was in the bath with him, but he HATED it.  Don't worry, there are no pictures of this. :)

We spent the afternoon delivering the Valentines and made it home in time for August to have his afternoon nap.  He didn't take a morning nap as much as I tried.  Here are some pictures of how the Valentines turned out!

 

I took the paper he had painted on and cut hearts out of it.  I had originally planned for him to make each of them a whole picture and I would glue it to the purple paper, but August didn't last that long.  So this was Plan B. :)

 

Here is Daddy's card!

 

 

Everyone signed it of course...including the dogs.  They always sign every card. :)

That evening after Adam got home, we decided to go out to our favorite local Mexican place.  Nothing says Valentine's Day like Mexican!  Haha.  We let Baby #2 pick, so that was "her" choice. :)  (I really think it's a girl.)  We had a great time with August in tow.  He was content most of the time, even though we didn't head out to dinner until about 7:45.  (His bedtime is 7:30).  They had t.v's so that kept him distracted most of the time. 

It was a great Valentine's Day for sure.  I wish I had a picture of us out to eat or something, but here is the picture we had made the night before at the church Valentine's dinner.  Thanks for reading! :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Just wanted to wish y'all a Happy Valentine's Day!  If you are looking for my posts from earlier today, I have taken them down because the Lord revealed to me that this is something I need to discuss with my husband before I post onto the blog.  Thank you for understanding.  Love you all!

Amanda

August's 9 month update!

Well, I am waaaay overdue for an August update.  He is doing so many new things now, it's hard to update on him, because he is constantly changing!  I'll try to break it down into categories.

Height: 28 1/2"
Weight:  19.1 lbs.
Diaper size: 3
Clothing size: 12 months (He can still wear a few 9 month tops, but not bottoms)

Food
As you read in August's breastfeeding story, found HERE, he is no longer nursing.  He now takes about 24-32 oz of formula a day.  I really have no idea how much formula he should be getting.  I know they take in less formula once they are eating food, but I can't find anything online that tells me exactly how much he should be getting.  He usually takes an 8 oz bottle when he first wakes up, and then he'll take 3-4 six oz. bottles throughout the day.  I have been trying to cut back a little in the last week.  We are just going through the formula way too fast.  We bought it twice last week!  That's $50 just in formula!  In a week!  We can't keep doing that.  Surely he is getting plenty.

August is also eating 3 meals a day.  For breakfast, he likes waffles, toast, banana, or oatmeal with fruit mixed in.  For lunch I usually give him a turkey, shredded cheese, fruit, or leftovers from supper from the night before.  For supper, he will have what we are having if it's something he can easily eat.  If he can't eat it (too spicy/greasy, too tough), I will give him something along the same lines as lunch.  He really prefers table food.  As far as table food goes, he loves Nana's chicken noodle soup, sliced cheese, shredded cheese, cheese toast, plain toast, spaghetti, waffles, biscuits, potatoes, chicken, turkey, rice, banana, carrots, avocado...I don't think he has met a table food he didn't like.  Wait I take that back.  He hates green beans.  Spits them right out.  When we are out, he wants to be eating if we are eating, so I will take some puffs, yogurt melts, and a fruit squeeze pouch with us to keep him busy.  He will also usually eat a biscuit or roll from the restaurant.  He usually drinks water out of a sippy cup or out of a straw during meals.



Eating Nana's chicken noodle soup!

Bedtime Routine
August has had the same bedtime routine since he was about 2 months old.  I think that's the key for him sleeping so well.  He knows that it's almost time to go to bed based on what we're doing.  He will usually wake up from his afternoon nap sometime between 4:30 and 5:30.  5:30 if he took a late afternoon nap because we were out somewhere.  We don't stick to the same hours every day but the same routine everyday.  However, our evening ends up kind of being about the same time as far as supper and all that goes.  So when he wakes up from his nap, that's when our evening begins.  He usually has a bottle right when he gets up from his nap.  Then usually sometime around 6:30 or so we will have supper.  He eats with us.  Then sometime a little bit after 7, Adam will give him a bath while I get the kitchen cleaned up.  After Adam gets his pajamas on, I will make August a bottle and he will take that while Adam reads him a story.  This is our family cuddle time.  One of my favorite parts of the day! :)  Then we lay him down in his crib, say prayers with him, turn the lights off, tell him goodnight, and turn the sound machine on.  We have a Cloud B giraffe sound machine.  It has different settings on it.  August likes the water setting that occasionally has bird sounds in the background.  The only thing I don't like about it is that it turns itself off after 45 minutes.  He's always asleep by then, but it would be nice if it played throughout the night since sometimes the dogs can get a little rowdy before we all go to bed.  That routine works great for us. 

Sleep
He sleeps through the night and wakes up between 7:30 and 8 each morning.  So he usually sleeps about 12 hours a night.  I am sooooooo blessed, I know!  If I can just make myself go to bed at night, then I'll be good. 

He takes 2 naps during the day- one in the morning, and one in the afternoon.  The first nap is usually about an hour and a half after he wakes up.  He will sleep anywhere from an hour to 2 and 1/2 hours.  It varies depending on how busy we have been.  The 2+ hour naps are rare though.  In the afternoon he will do about the same.  He is such a light sleeper though.  I'm really not sure why.  If I walk past his room too loudly, he will stir, so I have to tip toe past his door.  I always have the door to his room closed, so he has some supersonic hearing.

August NEVER sleeps anywhere except for his crib.  It is very very very rare for him to sleep somewhere else, particularly in my arms.  He never does it.  But this past weekend, we were at my parents' house, and he was exhausted.  He fell asleep for about 30 minutes in my arms, and I soaked it up.

Language
August is consistently saying "mama" and "baba" now.  His speech is very clear!  He has been sort of saying mama since he was 6 months old, but he used to only say it when he was really upset and screaming, haha.  But now, he will call for me when he wakes up or when I drop him off in the nursery at church.  Sometimes, he will say it just for fun.  It is so sweet!  I have to say, I am loving it!  Just this week, he started saying "dada!"  I got it on video.  Here he is talking away!

I'm pretty sure "baba" is not bottle.  I have sang the sheep song (you can find it HERE) every day to August since he was 2 months or so old.  It's a crazy, but funny song.  We learned it in vacation Bible school one year.  There is a part in the song that says, "I just want to be a sheep ba-ba-ba-ba....", so whenever August says "baba," I will sing the sheep song, and he just lights up and tries to sing along with me.  It is the cutest thing ever.  A lot of mornings he will wake up singing it.  No joke, he gets pretty close to the actual tune.  I'm thinking he will be musical.  Love that!

August understands the word "no."  Gasp!  We tell our child "no"?!?!?  Haha, I know the trend these days is for parents to let children explore and to not use the word no, which I think is hilarious.  What is it with parents these days?  Why is everything baby-lead?  When are people going to be parents and man up?  Ok, rant over. :)  But yes, we tell August no when he heads for electrical outlets, cords, pulls the dogs ears, etc.  As long as you are very serious with him (which can be hard to do when he turns and smiles at you), he will listen.  Sometimes it takes a few times telling him no, but he usually understands and goes the other way.  We always tell him good job and clap for him.

August also has these hilarious conversations.  Sometimes he will say "eh!" and if you will say it back, he will keep it going.  He and Adam did those for over 5 minutes straight in the car the other day.  It's cute, but enough to drive you crazy!  Here is a clip of him "talking" with me a few weeks ago.  I was on the couch all day with "morning" sickness.

Physical Skills
August is great at sitting up.  He has been consistently sitting up since he was 6 and 1/2 months old.  He is also doing a full crawl now.  I posted a couple videos a while back of him doing a belly crawl, but he is now consistently crawling up off of his tummy.  If I leave the room even to go to the kitchen for a second, he is right on my heels.  He doesn't want mommy out of sight.  He is also pulling up on everything now: crib, pack n play, ottoman, people, etc.  He has even started "surfing"- he was in his pack n play and held onto the rail while walking the perimeter of the pack n play.  He was so proud of himself.  Here is a video of the first time I found him standing up in his crib.  He was 7 or 8 months old? I guess 8.  I can't remember.

As far as fine motor skills go, August is very coordinated.  He feeds himself...with his left hand!  He is very strict about left hand only, so it seems we have a lefty on our...hands!  LOL, I crack myself up.  But Adam's mom was a lefty, my dad is a lefty, my paternal grandmother is a left, and my maternal grandmother is a lefty.  So it was bound to happen.  He is also great with grabbing things he needs.  Just this week he started clapping!  We have been trying to get him to clap for a while, but he just wasn't interested.  He is very proud of himself, and now I hear him clapping in the car, in his high chair, and everywhere else.  He loves it. Here he is clapping during breakfast yesterday morning.  He now claps after each bite of food.  Haha. 

Personality
August has quite the personality.  He loves to smile, and he loves for you to act silly, haha.  He is a very easy-going baby when we are out in public.  He is great about going with the flow and enjoys being out.  He prefers for me to hold him, and he can be unsure around other people, but usually handles others pretty well. When he is at home, he wants his schedule.  He wants his food when it's time, his bottle when it's time, and his nap when it's time.  He also knows if you have left him in the pack n play for too long, haha.  He doesn't like to do the same thing for long.  He definitely likes new things and new sights.

Teeth
Bottom 2 are in, and the top 2 have been barely poking through for months now! Not sure what the deal is with them.  Guess they were waiting on the bottom two...

Interests
- Books- loves to be read to or can look at them on his own
- Going for walks in the stroller
- Riding in shopping carts
- Playing with the dogs
- Bath time
- Cartoons (Don't judge, these are my best friends when the all day morning sickness hits.)
- Johnny Jump Up!
- Eating, of course
- Loves his pippy (pacifier)
- Emptying laundry baskets

Best friends....well, from his side at least.  Heidi is not quite as into it. :)




I think the look says it all, haha.

See the destruction behind him?  The only way to keep him occupied while I clean our room is to let him unclean it right behind me.  He loves to empty laundry baskets.  He's cute though, so I think I'll keep him!

First time in big boy bath tub!  (We usually have the infant tub in the bath tub.)  It ended up not working out so well.  He kept trying to crawl, and he would end up sticking his face underwater and then freaking out.

Reading books with Nannie!



His favorite activity right before bed.

Hopefully it won't be so long before I do another update on him!  Thanks for reading!

1st Midwife Appointment

Well, I had my first prenatal appointment today for this pregnancy!  How exciting!  If you are just catching up, we were just added to my husband's company insurance a week or two ago.  We had been on the 3 month waiting period.  So thankful to have insurance again!  I sleep a little better at night.  It's all in God's hands though.  He knows what we need, insurance or not.

So I had my appointment this morning.  Totally different doctor's group than my last pregnancy.  Also, I had an OB last time.  This time, I scheduled an appointment with a midwife.  You can read my reasons for switching in my last post...make that second to last post.

My wait was a good bit longer than at my old OB's office, but I kind of expected that since I used to get in and out of that office in 20 minutes or less.  Plus I had to fill out paperwork today.  When they first called me back, they checked my blood pressure and asked me a few questions about my history.  My blood pressure was 136/74, and it is normally 110/60.  I am hoping that was just nerves.  Plus my husband has had a stomach virus with a fever for the past several days and has been in bed, so I have been on August duty alone for 3 days.  That can be a little stressful.  I also didn't sleep much last night since I slept on the couch.  I am trying my hardest not to catch that stomach bug!  So I am hoping I can attribute the higher blood pressure to nerves, stress, and lack of sleep.  After weight and all that (I won't be revealing that lovely number, but am I the only one who hates doctor's scales??  They are always higher than my scale at home!), the nurse told me that I would be getting an ultrasound today so that we can get a due date!  How exciting!  I did not expect that on my first visit.  I thought those had to be scheduled.  I didn't bother telling them that I had an ultrasound at a pregnancy resource center, because I knew they would want to check for themselves anyway.  I told them I figured I was around 10 weeks though. 

The ultrasound tech was super sweet.  She acted almost as excited as I was to see the baby.  I was so glad I can get the belly ultrasounds now instead of the internal ones.  The internal ones don't hurt, but they obviously aren't on the bucket list.  The ultrasound estimated me at 10 weeks 6 days, so I gained 2 days!  That's exciting. :)  So tomorrow (Thursday 2/7) I will be 11 weeks!  I know that the 1st ultrasound is usually the most accurate in determining the due date, so I will keep that in mind when I hit 40 weeks and am "overdue."  Here is a picture of our sweet baby!  Check out the 4D!  That's crazy.

August used to always have his hand up by his face in ultrasounds!  He has also done that ever since he was born when he gets sleepy.  It is the sweetest thing ever.  The baby was moving and kicking around.  So sweet.  You can see that he/she doesn't have a ton of room in there, so it's no wonder I can feel the movements. :)  The heartbeat was 164 beats per minute!  How exciting!

After the ultrasound and a short wait, I met with the midwife.  I had to completely undress and do the whole paper gown thing.  I was happy to see that their tops were actually colored and had buttons.  At my old OB you just got a white paper shirt, which I somehow managed to rip every time.  Awesome.  So I thought the buttons were nice. 

It was kind of funny though, when the midwife walked in the first thing she said was, "You got a haircut!" 

I looked at her kind of funny and said, "You must be thinking of someone else, because we have never met." 

She replied, "I know we haven't, but it still seems like you recently got your hair cut off."  LOL.  Strange, but she was right.  I just got it chopped off not long ago. 

She spent at least 10 minutes with me, maybe even 15 talking about the ultrasound and how great everything looked, my history with preeclampsia, breastfeeding with August, and she even told me about her history and her family.  Her eyes got a little bit teary when she told me that she had 4 children even though she desired at least 6.  She said she let society get into her head, and the negative comments about having so many children got to her.  So she had her tubes tied, and she told me that she has regretted it ever since.  I thought it was so sweet and so human of her to open up like that.  I would have fallen off the table if my old OB had ever talked to me that way.  It was a nice change.  We also discussed my hopes for an unmedicated birth, and she told me that she thought that would be great.  She told me that she would labor with me as much as she could unless she had a waiting room full of patients that day.  She also said that she would tell me different things to try during the birth to avoid the medications that I will ask for.  She said after we have tried everything, if I am still asking for medicine, we will do a small amount of medicine through the IV first and then go from there.  She was very supportive of natural birth, which is refreshing! My old OB would not even discuss the labor with me until late in the pregnancy. She kept telling me it was too early to worry about that. Then we I told her I would like to labor naturally, she laughed.

The midwife ended up doing a pap (anyone else hate that word?), which was uncomfortable of course.  She told me that I have a very pregnant looking cervix.  LOL.  Nice to hear.  I am spotting and cramping now.  I wasn't really that happy that she did it since I have already had one since August has been born.  I know some doctors don't do that while you are pregnant because it can be a little risky.  I guess she just wanted to be thorough and start off with a clean slate. 

After all of that, she scheduled me to see her again in 4 weeks.  I can't believe the visit after this coming one will be the visit we find out the sex if we want!  Wow!  At first I didn't want to find out just for fun, but now I really want to know!  I don't know if it's hopeful thinking for a girl, but I kind of feel like it's a girl.  But it could totally be a boy, and I would be ecstatic with that too. 

At the end of my appointment, I had lab work.  6 viles of blood....super fun.  It was the blood work lady's first day, which was super scary.  Someone was instructing her on each step, but thankfully she did great.  I usually don't bleed very well.  My blood is usually thick and slow, but she must have hit an artery or something because it didn't take long to fill them up.  Haha.  After the appointment, I treated myself to a Bojangles chicken biscuit.  Delicious! 

Well, I need to get ready for church.  Gotta wake up my little sleepy head.  He refused to nap all day, and then he konked out about 30 minutes ago.  Talk to y'all later!

So....

I spoke too soon. Morning sickness is back.  On a good note, I felt tiny movements right before I got out of bed! :)     #10weeks3days      #IdontcarewhatanyonesaysIfeelthebaby  #Idonthaveatwitterbutthislookedfun

10 Weeks Pregnant: Baby #2

Wow, time is really flying by.  I can't believe I am already in the double digits!  That is exciting.  Let's get right down to this, y'all.  I'm showing....like woah.

Yeah, I have no idea.  The scale still consistently says that I have gained 1.2 pounds.  Looks like a lot more to me!  Oh well, I will definitely take it.  I need to be better about what I'm eating.  I don't eat a ton of calories, but what I have been eating is not the most nutritious.  Cheese and crackers (I like sharp cheddar or cream cheese, not the best, I know), orange juice (50% less sugar and calories...no artificial sweeteners though), turkey by itself (I buy Dietz & Watson when it's on sale at Bi Lo...no fillers or preservatives), eggs, and strawberries and oranges.  Ok, it's really not unhealthy I guess, minus the cream cheese and crackers.  This weekend was bad though.  That's probably why I feel so unhealthy.  I made a couple batches of cookies, so I had a big helping of those.....for breakfast....and every other meal and snack in between.  Ugh. 

My morning sickness hasn't reared it's ugly head in at least a week, maybe two.  Thank you, Jesus, seriously!  That was horrible.  I felt like such a bad mom and wife because I couldn't take care of the house, and I would let August watch has many cartoons as would keep him distracted.  I just laid on the couch all day long.  If I got up, I would feel sick.  So I devoured Ritz (low sodium) crackers and ginger ale and just laid there.  Thankfully, I am feeling mostly back to normal now.

I promise I am feeling movement.  I was laying on my back on the couch the other day, and I saw the side of my stomach do a huge twitch, and I also felt it on the inside.  I also feel movement at random when I am laying down.  I felt August early too, even though no one believed me. 

Yesterday afternoon, Adam and I found the baby's heartbeat with the Doppler!  I was so excited!  I tried to find the heartbeat around 8 weeks, but I couldn't find it.  I figured it was a long shot that early.  But we found it yesterday, down low, right in the center of my stomach, and it was fast and beautiful!  Here is a clip!

I ordered my Doppler off of some website when I was pregnant with August.  It was around $50 I want to say.  Way out of our budget for these days, but that was back when I was working. 

I finally made a prenatal appointment today.  We just got our insurance last week, so I was waiting on that.  I really couldn't decide if I wanted to go back to my old OB or not.  I really liked that she let me have a vaginal delivery instead of C-section.  But I also feel like she didn't listen to me in pregnancy.  I had preeclampsia symptoms since I was 20-something weeks pregnant (seeing spots, swelling, blood pressure going up), but she didn't seem to listen to me.  My blood pressure was still in the "normal" range, but it definitely wasn't normal for me.  I usually have lower blood pressure, so the increase was a lot for me.  But it wasn't verified that I had preeclampsia til I checked into the hospital to be induced.  I am scared to switch doctors, especially since I like my OB as a GYN.  But I made an appointment today with a CNM (certified nurse-midwife).  I am hoping things go much differently this time around.  The CNM works underneath OBs, so if complications were to arise, she would transfer me to them.  The only thing is that these OBs are male, which is not something I am interested in.  First of all, I don't want any men down there other than my husband.  It would just be weird to me.  Adam feels the same way.  Secondly, how much can a man really know about a woman's body?   He can know what he has read and what others have told him.  But he has never had a period, never been pregnant, and will never have a baby.  I just think a woman is much better suited for the job.  Personal opinion though.  Everyone is different. Did you have an OB?  Midwife?  Did you have a midwife after a complicated birth with an OB?  Let me know.  I like to hear other people's experiences.

Well, August is not wanting to nap, so I better go in there.  Thanks for reading. :)