15 weeks & Anna is THREE!

So, my little baby is now three years old.  I must say that this age is the most awesome and the most tiresome.  Her little personality is out in full-force.  She’s funny, smart, kind, caring, loving and just all around wonderful.  If you’re sick, she takes care of you by rubbing your head or giving you her Dot (lovey).  She can speak in full sentences now and is always saying the most hilarious things like, “I AM ROSE NYLUND!” or “Mommy, look I built the Castle of Grayskull (out of Legos)!”  She has an old little soul and will sit contently with me while I watch old sitcoms like Three’s Company, Good Times and Maude.  She’s a mini-me and typically follows me around wherever I go.  

Here’s her castle:


She’s a rough and tumble kid who likes to play in the dirt with the boys and run and jump like she’s an All Star Basketball player.  Then she’ll spend hours sitting at the table carefully applying her make-up, putting on jewelry, walking around with purses and pushing her baby dolls in strollers.  She’s a well-rounded kid, and I honestly have nothing to do with her coolness.  She did it all on her own!

Anna is also a fiery little girl.  She can go from  0 – 60 in 2 seconds and be happy one second and frothing at the mouth on the floor the next.  There have been times where I’ve contemplated having her exorcised, and Joe was convinced at one point that she was bi-polar, but the more I learn about three year olds, the more I learn that this is just par for the course.  You take the good with the bad.  And even at her baddest, Anna is pretty darn good.  We’re very blessed to have such a special child in our lives.

Anna’s favorites:
Color: Yellow or pink
Food: Hot dogs
TV Show: Dora or Wonder Pets
Movie: Tangled
Song: Anything by Katy Perry
Saying: “OHHHHHH, MANNNNNNN!” Like Swiper on Dora.
Toy: She loves her baby doll and her flower slap bracelet
Person: Mom
Animal: Chloe although she calls her White Harley.
Snack: Gold fish or Phineas and Ferb snacks.
Drink: Milk or sweet tea
Pastime: Playing on the playground, specifically slides
Height/Weight: 37 1/2”, 32/33

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Happy Birthday to Anna!
We celebrated Anna’s 3rd birthday on Saturday, October 15th.  For a while there, I thought Anna would be the only kid at the party since the day I chose conflicted with other family events, but the turnout was great, and Anna had a blast!

I was a bit disappointed with the gym party, overall, because I had to keep asking the girl to guide the kids in what to do, but I also worked at a gymnastics club (different club) for 6 years, and we ran our parties much differently (and better).  Maybe I was just expecting too much, but I shouldn’t have to ask the leader of the party to get the kids 15 minutes into the party (when they only had an hour of play time). 

Aside from the lack of direction from the staff there, the party room was decorated great, and everything turned out nicely.  The kids had fun, the parents had a good time chatting – it was a really good day. 

Here are some pics:
She’s super happy the whole morning…until we get there.

My good friend Allison made this precious banner!


That pile on the right is a bunch of hand-made super hero capes that I gave to the kids at her party.  It was such a fun project!  I wish I would’ve taken more photos, but this is what one of them looks like on:



My nephew is the cutest Super Man ever!

Joe missed his golden NBA opportunity.

Shirley Temple reincarnated!

Super mom and dad (and 15 week baby bump)



The photos below are from later that night.  Anna was so exhausted, but she still wanted to open all 2,000 of her presents!

Happy birthday, my sweet baby, we love you so much!
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15 week stats:

—  My glands are making more and more hormones all the time.
   
—  My whole body (except for parts of my scalp) responds to light touch.
   
—  My brand new teeth are under construction.
— Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple).

 
The details…

How far along: 15 weeks

Total weight gain: I have no idea, but based on the way my clothes are fitting, I’m probably up about 30 lbs.  Ick.  I’m scared to weigh myself. 

Sleep habits: I’ve actually been sleeping a bit better.  If I wake up in the middle of the night, I haven’t been having as many problems falling back asleep – even with Joe snoring in the background.  My mind is also a lot more relaxed, less anxiety, so I don’t “think” too much when I wake up.  This allows me to just fall back asleep without many issues.  My dreams have been super intense and super vivid.  (SAME AS LAST WEEK)

Maternity clothes: It seems like my bump has made an official appearance because the little bump I have now is not really disappearing anymore.  I’m in that horrible stage where I look bloated, puffy, swollen, fat, like I’ve gained weight, and I’m sure people who don’t know I’m pregnant are just going to assume that I’m eating too many biscuits at Cracker Barrel.  Oh well!  My bump will be here soon enough, and I’ll miss this time when I can still see and paint my own toenails!

Best moment of the week: Anna’s birthday party was pretty great!

Food cravings: I’m still on a sushi kick, but at this point I have to keep my hands away for fear of eating them I’m so darn hungry all the time.  I guess my body is kicking into gear since I spent the first 13 weeks basically disgusted by food.  I knew I’d eventually catch up.  Here I am!

Aversions: I could still eat my arm. 

Symptoms: Exhaustion at night (I’m snoozing by 8 p.m.).  I’ve had a few hormonal flare-ups the past week but nothing to write home about.  My skin is kind of glowing which I’m digging.  It makes up for my ever-spreading ass. 

Movement:  I’m not sure if I’m psyching myself out, but I could swear I’ve been feeling little pops here and there the past week.  I know the baby is just above my pelvic bone, and since that’s where most of the pops are located, I’m going to assume it’s the baby and not gas.  It’s probably gas. 

What I’m looking forward to:  I’m actually contemplating going to a 4d prenatal pics place to get a gender read on my baby.  I just can’t wait until 20 weeks.  No way, no how. 

What I miss: Clothes that fit right.

Next appointment: November 1. I finally got my flu shot!  Joe and Anna got theirs as well, so we’re all covered!

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Something a little serious…

I’ve contemplated whether or not to blog about this, but since this is going on in my life right now, I feel like I should be honest and open with everyone on here since it’s an issue that is SO important.

Back in 2009 after I weaned Anna from breast-feeding, I developed lumps in my breasts (that word makes me cringe, but I know it’s better than saying boobies or teats).  I went in for an ultra-sound and MMG and learned that the lumps were actually dense scar tissue from over-pumping (I exclusively pumped for about 3 months). 

Fast-forward to now.  My very pro-active OB suggested that I get another u/s to compare to my scans from 2009 – just to be on the safe side.  So, I did. 

The lumps that I initially had issues with have all but vanished, but the tech did find another spot of concern.  When the Radiologist came in to check, he didn’t seem too concerned and kept saying words like “benign” and “cyst,” but unless you get an all clear from a breast u/s, you leave feeling like you’ve just been punched in the gut. 

This is basically what it looks like on the monitor (note - this is not my scan, this is just one I found online):

No one wants to see a black hole on a breast scan, right?  It’s a bit alarming, but I typed in “benign breast cyst” and found this image, so that’s a bit comforting. 

Anyway, the Dr. said that he didn’t think it warranted immediate action and to come back in 6 months.  The date they scheduled me for is actually my due date, so we pushed it up to four months from now. 

However, after Giuliana Rancic’s announcement yesterday, I feel compelled to get a biopsy.  She’s only 36.  She has no family history other than an aunt.  She’s me.  Well, she’s hotter, richer and a few years older, but you understand what I’m saying.

Even if it turns out to be nothing, it will be worth the peace of mind.  And, if it does turn out to be more than benign, then early detection is key.  I owe it to my daughter, my unborn child and myself to ensure that I’m here as long as I can be, and I’ll do whatever it takes to keep myself healthy for my children.

I think the minimum age for a baseline MMG should be changed to 30.  Plenty of women younger than 40 have breast cancer.  We live in a rose-colored world where we think breast cancer can’t touch us because we’re young, our family has no history, we take care of our bodies, we exercise, we eat right.  Don’t fool yourselves.  Cancer can happen to anyone.  And it’s up to us to make sure we arm ourselves with knowledge and take the necessary steps to get checked. 

Take that step today.  I am. 

14 weeks andplusalso.

I’ve been posting so much stuff about the new baby that I feel like I’ve neglected my other baby.  So, I’m going to start off this week’s post with some Anna cuteness.

We stayed at my mom’s house this weekend and decided to take a trip to the zoo aka rip-off central.  Look, I’m the first to admit that I’m pretty frugal with most things, so my opinion may be a bit skewed, but a simple day at the zoo shouldn’t set you and your mom back $80, should it?  $40 to get in, $40 on crappy food. 

I guess the part that makes me most bitter about our zoo experience, other than the fact that none of the animals were out and about and every square inch was being renovated, was that we had to pay the initial admission to get in and then an additional fee to do other “fun stuff” within the zoo.  Want to ride the “train”?  $5!  Cha-ching.  Want to play in the cool water part of the park?  $5!  Cha-ching.  Basically, the zoo is like the nickel and dime DirecTV packages – you pay for basics, but if you want the truly cool stuff, expect to double your bill! 

Being the cheap bastard that I am, I opted out of all of the fun stuff which was just wonderful every time Anna saw the train pass by.  There’s only so many times you can tell your child the train is full and that we won’t fit before she starts giving you the side-eye and totally doubting you as a mom.  And then the mom guilt sets in and you really feel like a piece of crap for not spending an extra $15 for the three of you to ride on the train for a whopping 5 minutes. 

Nah, I don’t feel that bad.

Here are some pics of our day:

Yay, we’re finally here!


I tried to get her to stand on one leg like a flamingo.  She obviously didn’t listen. 


Anna’s lovely locks!


This child refuses to pose for a photo!


Now that’s how you take a nap!


Yes, that’s a tongue.


Soooo serious!




This picture makes me laugh.


The coat of many colors.


Sill refusing to look at the camera!  Oh, and she refused to let go of that map for hours!

Despite the rip-off effect, we managed to have a very nice day at the zoo.  The weather was mild, Anna was relatively well-behaved – it was a good day.  I did realize, however, that she is impatient just like me.  We’d see an animal, and before I could tell her a little about it, she’d say, “More animals, mommy!”  No dilly dallying with Anna!

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Anna’s Birthday:

October 10th came and went rather quickly since it fell on a Monday.  Anna’s actual birthday party is this Saturday, but I still wanted to honor my baby’s birth date and do a little something special for her.  So, Joe and I blew up balloons the night before and put them all over her bedroom floor.  Since I had to leave for work early that day and wanted to sing her Happy Birthday before I left, I decided to wake her up by showering her with balloons on her bed. 


She woke up and said, “MOMMY, WHAT’S THIS?!”  She was so excited.  I really wish I had it on video because the images just don’t do it justice.  I also snuck in one of the cupcakes that we bought for her daycare class.  A child should never be without cake on her birthday!

Of course I’ve waited ‘til the last minute to do everything for her birthday party, so I have to spend most of my evenings this week getting everything prepared.  I’m not sure if many people will show up since it seems to be a busy weekend for everyone, but that’s OK – she’ll still have a blast!

PSA: No, that’s not a ring-worm on her shoulder.  It’s a mosquito bite.  Yep, every bite she gets looks like that. 

PSA: Yes, that’s her real hair.  No, it’s not a fro wig. 
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The New Baby Stuffs:
—  Growth spurt! My weight increased 60% this past week.
(Seems like mine did, too.)
—  There are taste buds all over the inside of my mouth.
   
—  I touch my mouth—a lot!
   
—  Now my arms don't seem so small compared to the rest of my body.
— From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces.

 
The details:

How far along: 14 weeks

Total weight gain: According to Natalie’s naked scale, +4. Up 2 lbs. from last week, ouch!

Sleep habits: I’ve actually been sleeping a bit better.  If I wake up in the middle of the night, I haven’t been having as many problems falling back asleep – even with Joe snoring in the background.  My mind is also a lot more relaxed, less anxiety, so I don’t “think” too much when I wake up.  This allows me to just fall back asleep without many issues.  My dreams have been super intense and super vivid. 

Maternity clothes: This past weekend I was convinced that I was officially bumped out.  However, today, nada.  It’s so insane to me how you can look 4 months pregnant on Monday and not pregnant at all on Tuesday.  I blame it on the fact that all of my innards are shifting and perhaps this is making digesting a bit slower.  All of the food just sits there creating a faux bump.  Oh well, I’ll enjoy these last few weeks of flat bellydom because once I do bump out and can’t even put on socks, I’ll be missing this time of ease!

Best moment of the week: Not really baby related, but singing Happy Birthday to Anna Kate!

Food cravings: Sushi, sushi, sushi.  And Flips chocolate covered pretzels.  I tried the peanut butter ones, and they’re equally delicious.  Hence why I probably gained 2 lbs. in a week!


Aversions: I will pretty much eat my arm at this point.  The ravenous hunger has set in!

Symptoms: Shortness of breath is the only complaint I have this week.  Oh, and I was super fatigued yesterday and fell asleep in Anna’s bed while she was cooking me dinner in her play kitchen.
 
Movement:  No conclusive movement yet. 

What I’m looking forward to:  I’m really looking forward to finding out this baby’s sex.  I don’t know if I can make it for another 6 weeks!

What I miss: Not too much this week.

Next appointment: November 1. I need to get a flu shot before this appointment or my OB will have my head on a platter!

See ya next week!

13 weeks.

Here’s where we are today:

— 
I'm making all kinds of fancy facial expressions.
   
— If you could get a look at my private parts, you could now tell if I am a girl or a boy.
   
—  My intestines absorb the amniotic fluid I swallow.
   
—  My nose and lips are in final form.
— Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.



The Details:
How far along: 13 weeks

Total weight gain: According to my Drs. scale (while dressed), +3.  According to Natalie’s naked scale, +2.

Sleep habits: What is sound sleep?  I’ve forgotten.  I can fall asleep easily, but staying asleep or going back to sleep after waking up is a true challenge.  I think this is due in part to a lumberjack husband sawing some logs next to me.  If I wake up in the middle of the night to pee and can’t fall back asleep, I usually watch an episode of The Golden Girls, and I’m able to relax enough (and block out the snoring) to fall back asleep.  I’ve been having super vivid and bizarre dreams, too.

Maternity clothes: While I don’t have much of a bump at all, I still prefer to wear my maternity jeans.  My stomach will start out flat in the morning and bloat by the end of the day, so regular jeans are unbuttoned by mid-afternoon.  Why even deal with all that hassle?  Maternity jeans it is!  All of my tops fit just the same. 

Best moment of the week: Hearing the baby’s heartbeat at today’s appointment (more details below).

Food cravings: Fruit, smoothies, milk, Mexican food

Aversions: After hugging the toilet after eating chicken salad, I’d have to say anything with chicken in it is on my aversion list right now.

Symptoms: I’ve been very luck to have very few symptoms with this pregnancy.  Other than mild nausea, this baby has been very kind.  I do have to say that I get winded very easily and have had some pretty significant indigestion the past few days – almost like something is sitting on my chest. 

Movement:  No conclusive movement yet.  I say conclusive because I feel movement in my stomach, but I can’t tell if it’s the baby or the Mexican food I ate for lunch.

What I’m looking forward to:  I’m looking forward to being pregnant in the winter this time.  I think baby bumps in sweaters are so adorable. Plus, it will be nice to not be so darn hot this go round!

What I miss: I miss having the ability to eat and drink whatever I want without having to worry or check Dr. Google if it’s OK. 

Next appointment: November 1.

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So, this past weekend the women in my family and I went to St. Francisville, Louisiana to celebrate our annual Girls’ Weekend. 

It started out wonderfully – we all met at Alexander’s in Baton Rouge for lunch and chatted away for hours. 
Can you find me?


My wonderful Aunt Elaine and me.  I <3 my family.


Then we caravanned to St. Francisville and purchased some tickets to tour The Myrtle’s Plantation.

The tour was great – our guide was fantastic.  I felt fine the entire time, but by the time we got back to the room, I was feeling anything but.  I tried to hang in there when we all played the Bad Santa game where you each pick gifts and then steal them if you want them (not sure what the technical name for that game is), but by the end of the night, I was feeling…off.

Then after a few hours of sleep, this is how I spent the next few hours.



Granted, I’m not a black lab, but this is much cuter than the real thing. 

I’m really not sure if I had food poisoning, if my body was haunted by a ghost from the Myrtle’s or if I had some weird bug, but it was not pretty, and it was beyond ridiculous that I had to suffer with this ON VACATION!  In a room with three other women.  All of whom got to hear the beautiful orchestra playing in my bathroom. 

Thanks to the miraculous healing power of Zofran, I was able to keep the urge to purge at bay most of the next day, but whatever demon I was battling took all of my life force and kept me from doing anything but sleeping and lying outside on the grass.  I missed out on an entire day of fun because of this crap.  I was not too happy.  However, how amazing is it to be surrounded by loving women (most of whom are nurses) while you’re sick?  It was like having my own personal staff of moms to take care of me.  Not to mention my own mom was there to make sure I was OK.  I’d have to say this was a decent sick experience just based on the love I felt from everyone.

I managed to recover the next day (the day we left) and got to go shopping and eat with my aunts and mom.  Here we are right before we left the place:

Standing: My Aunt Cyndi, my Mom: Seated: Me, my Aunt Elaine

This is where we stayed:


This is the view I had while I was dying in the grass:


I want to especially thank my wonderful mother-in-law and father-in-law for watching Anna while I was gone!  I came home to a clean house, a cooked meal, a cut yard, a cleaned off patio and a happy husband who got to spend lots of quality time with his parents.  It was wonderful!  I should go away more often!

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So, this blog entry is getting super long.  I do apologize if you’ve made it this far.  Only a little more to go.

I had my monthly checkup today to check on the baby.  It was kind of a tense appointment because the first girl who came in could not find the baby’s heartbeat on the Doppler.  Then my own Dr. couldn’t find it!  It was a very surreal few minutes when she kept going back and forth trying to find the h/b.  I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared.  Honestly, I was already preparing myself for the worst, but then I could hear that sweet little whoosh sound, and I saw a look of relief on my Drs. face.  She reassured me that it’s very common this early on to not hear the h/b on the Doppler.  The baby’s h/b was a perfect rate at 152 – 155 bpm.  She said it was a perfect heartbeat, so that made me happy.

Things to do:
Get a flu shot
Make a final decision on 2nd trimester screening for genetic abnormalities (still on the fence about this)

Now that I’m just a few days shy from 2nd tri, I’m going to get my flu shot.  I wanted to wait as long as possible to get it, but my Dr. really wants me to do it sooner rather than later.  She wants Joe to get one, too. 

That’s about it for now.  I’m just trying to finish the final touches for Anna’s Super Hero birthday party on the 15th and just hoping/praying that people show up!  Her costume came in, and it’s just too cute for words!  When she puts it on, she puts both arms up in the air and runs back and forth like a super hero.  She really plays the part well!  I love that little girl!

Week 12.

So, I’m nearing the end of the 1st trimester, and I’m truly ecstatic to have these weeks behind me.  While I’ve felt pretty fabulous this entire time, it’s always a little comforting when you have the first part behind you – just for peace of mind. 

Here’s where the baby is today:
—  My weight increased more than 75% just this week!
   
—  All my bones are getting hard.
   
—  My fingernails and toenails are coming in—just like the big kids.
   
—  The right and left sides of my brain are connecting with each other.
   
—  I now have my very own fingerprints.
   
—  When my upper eyelid is touched, my eyes roll downward.
— From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce.



I spy baby crack.

I feel like I haven’t been to the Dr. in ages.  My next appointment is on October 4th, and it can’t come soon enough!  Hopefully I’ll be able to hear the heartbeat on the Doppler.  I’m pretty sure I’m far along enough (I’ll be 13 weeks at the time) for that to occur.  If not, maybe they’ll squeeze me in for an ultra-sound.  Nah, probably not.  If I had the money, I’d seriously buy a machine and just walk around with it all day.  As it is, I can peek in on Anna throughout the day while she’s at school (thanks to the webcam there).  I should be able to do the same with my unborn child, too, right? 

Too much?  Yeah, probably so.

Being the impatient person I am, I decided to waste money on the Intelligender test. I say waste because how accurate can a urine gender prediction test be, but it was accurate for my sister, so why not?  I’m at least 8 weeks away from finding out on an ultra-sound what I’m having – that’s pretty agonizing for a person who can’t even wait for a bag of popcorn to pop.

Anyway, after testing with FMU (first morning urine), I got this result…

Wait for it…

Wait for it…



Here’s what it would’ve looked like had it been a girl:


Yellow…just like pee.

According to the Intelligender site, the tests have an 87.6% accuracy rate if tested with FMU.  Of course the odds are pretty darn high seeing that it has a 50/50 shot of being right, so I guess we’ll see!

Needless to say, Joe was pretty darn ecstatic at the prospect of having a son. 

How I’m feeling:

I’m feeling pretty great.  I have very mild nausea, almost non-existent.  I’m not really that fatigued.  I mean, I go to bed at 8:30 or so, but I’ve always done that because that’s what boring people do. 

I’m still only up about 1 lb.  Maybe 2.  I haven’t weighed myself the past few days.  I’m not concerned because I know it will eventually start piling on, and then I’ll be like WTF is wrong with me? 

Still not much of a bump, but that’s to be expected considering I didn’t show ‘til about 24 weeks the last time.  Once I actually start showing, I will be posting weekly belly pics comparing last time to this time.  You’ll just have to excuse my white trash clothes in these photos as most of the time I’m wearing pajamas and have my head cut out so as to not scare the children.

My hormones are much more in check.  Joe thanks Baby Jesus for this.  I feel much more stable and generally happy and well adjusted now.  For a few weeks there, I was fully expecting my head to rotate 360 degrees. 

What’s scary:

My sister and I are exactly 3 weeks apart in our pregnancies.  She and I both had our first babies exactly 3 weeks early.  So, if I go to 40 weeks and she has her second child early, we could technically have babies born on the same day.  Our hospitals are 2 hours apart.  My mom can’t break herself into two people, so what will we do?!  I guess we’ll just worry about that when/if it happens.  Let’s just hope that I go at 37 weeks again and she goes to 40.  That way, there will be 6 full weeks between the babies, and I can be there while she’s delivering her baby and not still be drugged up on pain pills.

What’s also scary to me is that I had a really easy labor and delivery with Anna.  Textbook.  Will that happen again?  My concerns at this point are that the on-call OB who delivered Anna said it was a good thing she came early as she wouldn’t have fit through my pelvis if she’d gotten any bigger.  That’s a bit alarming.  Will my body know to kick into gear again or is it too old to realize what the hell it’s supposed to do?!  Again, I’ll just worry about that when it gets here. 

In other news:

The count down ‘til Anna’s 3rd birthday is on!  Just a little over 2.5 more weeks until my baby gets to blow out three candles on her cake.  I can’t believe I have a 3 year old!  And let me just state, for the record, that terrible twos are a joke.  A JOKE.  That’s kid stuff.  3 is when it gets real, yo.  Prepare yourself.  Call in an exorcist.  Say a few Hail Marys ‘cause you’ll need them.  The good thing is that in between all of the madness, 3 year olds are the most hilariously cute and sweet kids on the planet.  My child is no exception. 

Our fridge is on the fritz.  It’s only 8 years old.  We’ve already had it repaired once when the fan went out.  Now we think it’s a compressor.  So, we had to just bite the bullet and buy a new unit.  The bad news is that it’s somewhere in Asia right now and won’t be here for another three weeks.  Lowe’s (the place where we bought it) is kind enough to give us a brand new loaner fridge for the next three weeks.  Now my child won’t starve!

Frigidaire SUCKS.  I will never own another Frigidaire appliance again.

I get to leave for my annual St. Francisville girls’ trip in just a few days, and I can’t tell you how excited I am.  I always have such a wonderful time relaxing with the women in my family.  Hopefully some of them will be up for touring The Myrtles Plantation again.  We all know about my ghost obsession!