21 weeks and Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Ours came and went so quickly, but it was a great day with family and good food.  I tried out the Pioneer Woman Mashed Potatoes, and they were delicious!  The only problem was that I made 10 lbs. of them.  I’m not sure why there was such a disconnect between my brain and the potato peeler, but I must’ve thought I was feeding an entire army of people or something.  I made WAY too much, and, sadly, threw about half of it away a few days later.  Oh well, at least I have a crappy cell phone picture to remind me of its short life span:





I also made baked macaroni and cheese – again, I made way too much! 

I finished it up with this dessert – Pumpkin Crunch Cake.  It was AMAZING!  I’ll probably make this every Thanksgiving/Christmas (or Monday in June just because I want to eat it).  It’s so easy, there aren’t many ingredients, and it’s a hit!

We spent the day at Joe’s grandmother’s house.  She has a lot of acreage, so Anna got to spend the day riding on a golf cart with all of us. 

 Anna with Paw Paw Bruce

 Joe and his mom

 My cute husband!

Our only family photo!

Anna with Maw Maw and Uncle Chris (and her slinky)

Enjoying the leaves



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21 weeks and counting…

Here’s where we are this week:
Your baby now weighs about three-quarters of a pound and is approximately 10 1/2 inches long — the length of a carrot. You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and if you're having a girl, her vagina has begun to form as well.


Content and images are from babycenter.com


How far along: 21 weeks

Total weight gain: +13.5 total.  This is +3 from last week.  I blame Thanksgiving and my insatiable appetite.  I figure I’m over halfway done at this point.  I gained 30 lbs. total with Anna, but I had her at 37 weeks.  I guess I’m on track for the same gain with this baby. I just looked at the weight gain calculator, and I’m exactly on track.  So, YAY!

Sleep habits: Since the baby refuses to move from my bladder, this means I have to pee every 30 minutes all day, all night.  I can always fall back asleep quickly if it’s before 3 a.m.  After 3 a.m., which I have lovingly deemed as my baby witching hour, I have a super hard time falling back asleep. My mind is racing about everything, and the only cure, besides cowbell, is watching The Golden Girls.  This has become my nightly (or early morning hours) routine. 


Maternity clothes: Yep, wearing ‘em and enjoying ‘em.  It’s especially nice to wear full-panel pants on Thanksgiving day.  I may make this an annual tradition even when I’m not pregnant. 


Now ask me if the clothes look cute on me.  Nope, they don’t. 


This is because my bump has somehow mysteriously disappeared.  Never mind, it’s not a mystery.  The reason it has disappeared is because my son is trying to fall out.  He just refuses to move up. 


Do you see what I’m talking about?  I am 20 weeks here. 



Believe it or not, he was even lower than that throughout most of my ultra-sound. 


While Anna was pretty low initially and in the last few weeks, she was middle-of-the-road for the most part.  So, my bump was nicely shaped and in a good position.  Right now I have a FUPA.  Iz sexy. 


Best moment of the week:  Thanksgiving was great!  Getting to spend the day with Joe’s family and seeing how happy Anna was really made my entire week.  It was such a beautiful day, too – perfect weather – chilly, but not too cold.  Sunny. 

Food cravings: Fortunately, I’ve actually been craving decent stuff this week.  Apples have been at the top of my list.  So have salads. However, my salads are not very healthful for any human to consume, so that probably Xs out the good factor.


Mmmm.  Cheese.  Mmmm.  Tons of Ranch Dressing.  Mmmm.  Lots of green olives.




Symptoms: I go from feeling tons of pressure on my bladder and having the inability to pee freely (sorry if that’s TMI) to having horrific sciatica.  Since he’s so low, I get to pick and choose between those two experiences.  The bladder pressure is the lesser of two evils, so I’m quite thankful my little bean has been camping out there for the past few days. 


Other than those issues, I feel fantastic!  Most days I’m full of energy.  2nd tri is bliss!

Movement:  Most days he moves quite a bit.  It’s pretty sporadic, though.  Lots of kicks here and there and the nothing for a while.  I have to shake my belly from time to time or talk loudly to wake him up.  If I could just attach an ultra-sound machine to myself 24/7, I wouldn’t have to do such things!


What I’m looking forward to:  Christmas with my family!


What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment. 

Next appointment: January 3rd.  I had an appointment today (after I totally spaced and missed my appointment yesterday by accident), and everything checked out great.  H/B was 149 average.  He’s measuring on track.  The u/s results were good.  I won’t have to have the gestaional diabetes test until my 28th week, so I’m glad I don’t have to drink that nasty stuff anytime soon.

It’s a… (20 weeks)

Decide for yourself:

It’s a…

Please excuse my bare belly.



























BOY!


So, my Intelligender prediction kit was correct!   Oh, and my mommy intuition was also correct!

If you watched the video above, you already know how ecstatic Joe was to find out he’s going to have a son.  He has a very close relationship with his own father and is looking forward to having a great relationship with his son (and daughter, of course).  Now we have the best of both worlds!

Other than finding out the sex of our child, everything else checked out OK during the ultra-sound.  We had an issue finding the left arm because he kept it beneath his head, but he finally moved it in the end and did a little wave. 

Here are some more pictures:

The money shot.


Little baby foot!  I can’t wait to nom on it!


He’s facing the scanner.  You can see his eye sockets (eeeek) and his little chest. 


This is a view from his left.  I labeled the parts since it’s always so hard to make out these photos.

We’ve decided on a name as well (I’m pretty sure).  Joe wants to pass down his name to his son, so this baby is going to be Joseph Bruce <lastname> III.  I’m not sure if we’ll call him Joe, Joseph, Little Joe or some other variation of his name.  Anna has tons of  nicknames, so I’m sure I’ll come up with quite a few for our son.

We are just so very excited and thankful that God has blessed our little family with a daughter and now a son. 

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20 weeks…


Here’s where we are this week:

Your baby weighs about 10 1/2 ounces now. He's also around 6 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel — the length of a banana. (For the first 20 weeks, when a baby's legs are curled up against his torso and hard to measure, measurements are taken from the top of his head to his bottom — the "crown to rump" measurement. After 20 weeks, he's measured from head to toe.)
He's swallowing more these days, which is good practice for his digestive system. He's also producing meconium, a black, sticky by-product of digestion. This gooey substance will accumulate in his bowels, and you'll see it in his first soiled diaper (some babies pass meconium in the womb or during delivery).




Image and verbiage from babycenter.com


How far along: 20 weeks

Total weight gain: I've gained 10.5 lbs. total (down 2 lbs. from last week - must've been water weight).  It's so odd because I don't remember losing any weight when I was pregnant with Anna (I steadily gained), but I actually feel fatter with this pregnancy.  I thought boys were supposed to make you cute and girls were supposed to steal your beauty.  My skin is glowing, but my ass is growing! 

Sleep habits: Since Anna’s toe disaster, I haven’t really wanted her to sleep in her bed.  Call it mama guilt or insanity, but Anna has been sleeping in our bed the past week.  Which means we get no sleep.  Old habits die hard because my child is still sleeping like this:

And we still have a queen bed.  And two cats.  And I’m less stick-like now.  I also have the inability to sleep late…ever.  Even on weekends when sleeping late is a requirement.  Nope, I’m still up at 6:30 a.m.  Even the roosters are like hell naw. 

Maternity clothes: I finally bit the bullet and bought some new jeans from Target and also a few new tops.  



I also bought some of these maternity leggings from Motherhood.  Oh man, are they comfortable.  However, I can’t help but feel like I’m wearing pantyhose, so it really limits me with the tops I can wear (even though they’re not sheer at all).

 
Since I’m long-waisted, normal tunic-length shirts fit me like regular shirts, so I have to be careful so as to not look like this chick:



I stepped out, for the first time, in boots over jeans and felt OK in them.  I actually sent this photo to my friend Kent (my personal stylist) to make sure I didn’t look like an asshat going out in public.  These are my Target jeans and my new tunic shirt that is supposed to be long.

I did put the other boot on, by the way.  And, yes, my mirror is disgusting.  Welcome to my life.

Best moment of the week:  Finding out about our son, of course!

Food cravings: Baked potatoes are topping my list lately.  So is cheese.  Lots of cheese.  Lots of cheese + being pregnant + prenatal vitamins = hell on earth.  Heed my warning.


Symptoms: Oh my gosh, sciatica is hell on earth.  I never had this with Anna, but my son enjoys tormenting me by sitting low on my ass nerves.  If you look at the video above, you’ll see how low she had to scan to see him.  He likes to hang out on my bladder and my ass nerve all day long.  Move up, son, move up!

Movement:  My son has been a bit quiet lately, so I like to shake my belly to wake him up.  Either that or I just talk – that always seems to get him moving.  I love how he responds to my voice.  It’s downright adorable! 

What I’m looking forward to:  Thanksgiving!  I’m going to attempt to make the Pioneer Woman’s Mashed Potatoes and also Pumpkin Crunch Cake.  We shall see!

What I miss: I miss nothing.

Next appointment: November 28th for my regular monthly appointment.

19 weeks and a banana catastrophe.

Let me preface this post by saying that there are moments in life where I royally fail as a mom.  Granted, I’m not giving my child steak knives or matches to play with, but sometimes there are mini-moments where I wish life was a DVR that I could pause, re-wind and erase.

An erasable moment came this past Tuesday in the wee morning hours – 5 a.m., to be exact.  I’m not sure if Anna is going through some toddler growth spurt, but my ridiculously picky child has turned into the human garbage disposal.  Now instead of forcing her on the ground and putting food in her mouth (not that I’ve done this…or have I), she’s always asking for something to eat.  I like this.  Except when it’s 5 a.m.

So, when she came into my bedroom at that time and asked for something to eat, I gladly pointed in the direction of the kitchen and told my little independent gal to get a banana and a Nutrigrain bar.  She fetched the bar with no problems.  The banana, however, came at a price.

A significant price.

The banana bunch was sitting atop a metal cooling rack on my counter.  When Anna grabbed the bananas, the cooling rack (and bananas) came tumbling down.  The problem with this is that they tumbled down in a very bad spot.  Her big toe.

I cringed.

She cried.

For an hour. 

And one surgery later, I now know why. 

Yes, I said surgery.  When it first happened, I had no idea where the rack fell.  She was in such a state of hysteria that I couldn’t get a word out of her.  So, I just assumed it was one of those crappy funny bone/hurts for a few minutes/you move on with life type of deals.  However, as the morning went on and my child’s poor toe turned bright red and the toenail bright purple, I knew this was going to be a significant deal.  Even still, I didn’t think it would be that significant. 

I kept her out of school that day since she couldn’t even put pressure on it.  When her pediatrician’s office called me back and recommended bringing her to a podiatrist, I was kind of floored.  I mean, certainly it will just fall off and she’ll be fine, right? 

Wrong.  Very wrong.

When the podiatrist came into the room, he immediately said, “Ouch, yeah, that toenail has to come off.”  I’m thinking, OK, can we do it now?  Obviously I wasn’t thinking clearly. Not many toddlers would sit quietly and sing kumbaya throughout this process.  Hell, not many adults would either.  OK, no one would.  Toe nails are disgusting enough.  The removal of them leaves me speechless.

Then he recommended the surgery first thing this morning, Wednesday morning.  We could chance it, let it fall off on its own and go on about our business, but he was concerned that if she had any lesions beneath the nail, they could eventually become infected and turn into something much worse than an ugly toenail.  I just want to do what’s best for Anna, what will leave her the least psychologically scarred in life. 

So, going under general anesthesia to have the toe nail removed was the best option.  We showed up at the surgery center at 6 a.m., and they took her back within 20 minutes.  Everyone on the staff was so wonderful.  They played with her and really calmed her down (and me, too). 

Once she was gowned up, she was given some happy juice (Versed).  The effects of it were quite hilarious.  She was acting like a drunk college kid, slurring her words, bobbing to and fro, laughing out of context.  Joe got some video of it, but I don’t want it to viral and then have CPS bang on my door for making fun of a drugged up kid. 

Since I like pictures, I’ll show you the Versed progression right here:
She’s starting to feel just fine.

Bwahahaha, mommy, I’m so happy and funny.

Hurt toe?  Pshaw – I could eat off my toe and still be happy!


Who am I?  Who are you?

Just call me little Cheech.  Or Chong. 



*R(*Q&*JCKA*(@&( drool *(@*(*$*( drool

After the Versed kicked in, Anna was really on board with going with whomever wanted to take her back, so I was glad. I was honestly thinking I’d have to lie under her the entire surgery because she would be freaked out.  She’s always such a trooper, though.  I have no idea why I doubted her for a second.

The surgery itself only lasted about 10 minutes.  We’d just sat down in the waiting area and were ushered back in seconds it seemed.  I’m glad of that because the longer I wait, the more nervous I get.  I didn’t even have time to be nervous.

The coming out of anesthesia part was the worst part of the whole experience.  Anna was inconsolable for about an hour.  She screamed, kicked, cried, pulled at her IV and bandages – it was a mess.  I’m so glad the nurses warned me about this because her behavior was certainly uncharacteristic and a bit frightening.  And Exorcist-like.

This is what mom laziness will do for ya:



I’m trying to keep the mom-guilt at bay and just understand that things like this will happen.  This is just the start of many more freak accidents that I’ll have to worry about for the rest of my life.  It’s the price we pay as parents!

I had a few doubts about the surgery, but I’m glad we did go through with hit.  The Dr. said that there was a significant lesion beneath the nail, and if we’d let it go, it probably would’ve become infected at some point.  From what I understand, foot infections are really horrible to get rid of, so for the few hours of craziness we faced today, we’ll save Anna lots of grief later.  I’m glad we went this route even if it means my child will be without a big toe nail for a while.  Thankfully, it’s winter, so no one will ever know!

And for those of you who are brave souls, here’s what the toe looked like the day it happened (it was actually worse the second day – 100% of her toe nail was black at that point).




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19 weeks and counting…

Here’s where we are this week:

Your baby's sensory development is exploding! Her brain is designating specialized areas for smell, taste, hearing, vision, and touch. Some research suggests that she may be able to hear your voice now, so don't be shy about reading aloud, talking to her, or singing a happy tune if the mood strikes you.
Your baby weighs about 8 1/2 ounces and measures 6 inches, head to bottom — about the size of a large heirloom tomato. Her arms and legs are in the right proportions to each other and the rest of her body now. Her kidneys continue to make urine and the hair on her scalp is sprouting. A waxy protective coating called the vernix caseosa is forming on her skin to prevent it from pickling in the amniotic fluid.


Image and verbiage from babycenter.com

How far along: 19 weeks

Total weight gain: +12.5 total.  This is +2.5 from last week.  If I don’t slow my roll, I will only be able to roll.  A 3+ lb./week weight gain is a bit startling.  If I keep this up, I’ll be twice the weight I was with Anna.  I do vaguely remember gaining rapidly during the second trimester and then evening out in the end.  I hope this is the case this go ‘round ‘cause mama’s joints are shouting at me right now!

Sleep habits: The constant peeing in the middle of the night is getting old.  I didn’t have this issue with Anna.  I think the baby is Occupy Wallstreeting my bladder and staging a sit-in there.  So, in light of the fact that I pee every 30 minutes/night, my sleep has not been peaceful.  I’m still having crazy dreams, too.  The other night I dreamt (or is it dreamed?) about the baby.  The love I felt in my dream was so incredible.  Oh, and the baby was a boy in my dream.  :) 

Maternity clothes: I’ve yet to buy any new maternity jeans or shirts (I still only have one pair of mat jeans).  I’m still wearing my regular shirts (the long ones) and one pair of non-maternity jeans and one pair of non-maternity pants.  The zippers are fully down by the end of the day, so I need to go shopping STAT! 

Best moment of the week:  Nothing really stands out.  I have to say that the whole banana-toe incident overshadows any good moments this past week.

Food cravings: It would probably just be easier to list the foods I don’t crave. 

Foods I don’t crave:
None

Symptoms: Super sharp lower back pain on my right side.  If I lie in a bad position or get up too quickly, the pain is so intense that it nearly brings me to the floor.  It almost seems like the baby is pressing against a nerve or some kind.

Movement:  Lots of movement throughout the day and night.  It’s still pretty low.  The baby also responds with a kick when I talk.  I’m sure lots of people want to kick me when I talk.  This baby gets a ring side seat!

What I’m looking forward to:  5 days until my big ultra-sound on November 21st.  It can’t come soon enough!  I’m so glad I have an appointment first thing!

What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment. 

Next appointment: November 21st for my big ultra-sound and then November 28th for my regular monthly appointment. 

18 weeks.

I realized last week that if I go into labor at 37 weeks again like I did with Anna, I am now more than halfway done with this pregnancy.  The thought is a tad bit…frightening.

Here’s where we are today:
— My teeth are growing enamel all over the surface for protection.
   
— All air passages inside my lungs have finally arrived and are well formed.
   
— My thigh bone (femur) is now about an inch long (or 2½ cm).
   
— My body releases stress hormones if I'm poked with a needle.
—  Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (about the length of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces.

The details…

How far along: 18 weeks

Total weight gain: +10 total.  This is +3 from last week.  Although it seems like a lot, the weight gain calculator I’ve been using tells me that I’m right on track.  This 3 lb. gain could very well be from the Halloween candy I’ve been gorging on the past week.  As a selfless act of motherhood, I’m eating Anna’s candy to prevent tooth decay in my child. 

Sleep habits: Insane dreams.  TOTALLY insane.  Other than that, the sleeping has been going well this past week.  Sure, I wake up to pee about 10 times/night no matter how I limit my liquid intake before bed, but I can easily fall back asleep now.  This time change has really screwed me up, though.  I actually wake up before my alarm clock now and am ready to turn in before 8 p.m.  I’m such a party animal.  I was thinking the other day how vastly different my life is now.  I used to turn in no later than 2 or 3 a.m. and sleep ‘til noon.  I never thought I’d be one to wake up before the rooster crows. 

Maternity clothes: My two pair of pre-pregnancy pants are hanging on for dear life.  I have one pair of maternity jeans that I really like, the other pair pretty much sucks and was tossed to the back of my closet a few weeks ago.  I ordered some tall boots, so I’m going to attempt to rock the skinny jeans, tall boot look soon!

Best moment of the week: I’ve started my nesting phase of pregnancy.  Perhaps early.  Not sure.  Regardless, my house (and my sanity) is loving it.  So, the best moment of last week was the fact that I actually spent my free time re-organizing closets, drawers, and cabinets instead of sitting on the couch eating potato chips (my usual activity).  I have to eventually clean out my craft room to make room for the baby, but I’m putting that off until the very end.

Oh, and watching my two favorite people spend time together:

Sorry for the crappy cell phone picture.

Food cravings: I’m on a chips and salsa kick, but that’s not necessarily a new craving.  I could pretty much eat chips and salsa for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  I’ve been making a lot of breakfast foods lately – biscuits (not out of a can), cheese grits, eggs, waffles, blueberry muffins.  Anna ate EIGHT muffins the other day.  She keeps telling me that her belly is big because of all of the muffins in it.  I’d say so.


Symptoms: I’ve been having some random vision issues the past few days, but I don’t know if it’s pregnancy related.  I had some pretty bad pressure and hip discomfort the other day, so I’m going to assume that things are shifting around or the baby is hanging out low.

Movement:  Lots of movement throughout the day and night.  It’s still pretty low.  Since I have a super long torso, I imagine this baby will hang low just like Anna did.  I don’t think she was ever in my ribcage. 

What I’m looking forward to:  The big ultra-sound on November 21.  Less than two weeks away!  I’m also looking forward to the holidays and spending time with family (and eating good food, of course).  I love this time of year!
 
What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment. 

Next appointment: November 21st for my big ultra-sound and then November 28th for my regular monthly appointment.  I just heard back from my OB regarding my PENTA/Quad Screen results – negative.
 

17 weeks.

Wow, the weeks are flying by.  I can’t believe I’m already 17 weeks!  Here’s where we are now:

— My belly is making digestive enzymes to break down food. Thank you belly!
   
— I am starting to make blood cells inside my bones—just like big kids!
   
—  My head is bigger than a golf ball—and much better looking too!
   
—  My foot is about one inch long (about 2½ cm). I probably have the best feet in the family!
   
—  My new body fat will keep me warm and store energy.
— Your baby weighs 5 ounces now (about as much as a turnip), and she's around 5 inches long from head to bottom.

The details…

How far along: 17 weeks

Total weight gain: +7 total.  This is –3 from last week.  I’m going to assume the day I weighed myself last week was a bad water retention day.  This +7 total weight gain was confirmed at my OB appointment yesterday, so I think I’m right on track.   

Sleep habits: Anna has been sleeping with me the past few nights, so I haven’t been sleeping very well.  It’s hard when you have 3 year old legs and arms jabbing into your sides all night.  Other than that, I’ve been sleeping fairly well.  In fact, this past weekend I managed to sleep in ‘til 9 a.m. on Saturday AND Sunday.  I can’t remember the last time I slept that late.  It was glorious! 

Maternity clothes: I can fit in two pairs of pre-maternity jeans/pants, but I’m primarily wearing maternity jeans and regular shirts/sweaters now.  Now that my bump has arrived, I find that people are staring at me and wanting to comment but not quite comfortable in doing so yet.  I’m tempted to get shirts that say, “Yes, I’m pregnant” printed on them just to satisfy their curiosity.   

Best moment of the week: Feeling lots of movement and getting to take both kids Trick-or-Treating. 

Food cravings: Baked potatoes have been on the top of my list this week.  I must be in my carb phase right now.


Symptoms: Not many symptoms this week. 

Movement:  I can definitely feel movement super low in my abdomen.  Some kicks are so obvious that I look at my belly to see if I can see them from the outside.  As I’m typing this, the baby is kicking right below my belly button.  I just love this!

What I’m looking forward to:  Finding out the gender, of course.  I found out at my last appointment yesterday, October 31, that I have to wait ‘til November 21 for the big reveal.  Are they insane?!  The ultra-sound tech comes to my OB’s office once/week, so she has no openings until then.  This is going to be so tough!  Joe wants to not find out at all until the day I deliver.  He’s so hoping that this baby will be a boy that he wants to go the rest of my pregnancy thinking he’s going to have a son. 

What I miss: There’s nothing I miss at the moment. 

Next appointment: My last appointment was Monday, October 31st.  It was just a regular, run-of-the-mill appointment.  I gave some blood to do the quad screening for spina bifida and other genetic abnormalities even though I was on the fence about any testing like that.  The baby’s heartbeat was 143 average.  My next official appointment is on November 28, but my official big ultra-sound/gender reveal appointment is on November 21st  - my mom’s birthday.  I hope I can hold out that long!  3 more weeks!  Eeek! 

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Halloween

Halloween came and went rather quickly, and my major mom FAIL of the week was not getting pictures of Anna in her costume.  Then again, she went as the Super Hero Girl (her birthday costume), so it’s not like I don’t have any pictures of her in this garb.  I just feel so bad!  I had my camera with me and everything, but the card was not in it. DOH! 

Joe had to work (and didn’t feel well anyway), so it was just Anna and me last night.  We went to a really nice neighborhood and hit up about 20 houses or so. Anna had such a blast!  She kept saying, “Mommy, we go to more doors now?”  She definitely had the “Trick or Treat” saying down, but I had to prompt her to say it each and every time.  She waxed shy every time we’d approach new people.  I think she loved being outside so late at night and actually getting candy from people.  I think she thinks this is normal – you knock on someone’s door and get candy.  Let’s hope she doesn’t try to do this throughout the year.