20 Weeks~ baby i2

DATE:  May 30, 2013

How far along:  20  weeks = HALFWAY!!! Wooooooooo!

Total Weight Gained:  As of my last appointment I'd lost 8lbs. total. Next appointment isn't until June 11.

How big is baby?  "your baby's the size of a banana!"
"Baby weighs about 10.2 ounces and measures about 6.5 inches. "

  **taken from The Bump

 

How baby is growing:

She's got working taste buds.

Now, she's gulping down several ounces of amniotic fluid each day -- that's significantly more than before.

**taken from The Bump

Maternity Clothes:  Still wearing regular comfy pants and big shirts for the most part. I'm just lucky I don't have to put on real clothes.  I definitely have maternity shirts and a lot of dresses and skirts.

Sleep: Still worn out all the time. The last week or so I've been waking up for a few hours in the middle of the night then falling back asleep shortly before it's time to wake up. Blech!

Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: Our anatomy scan! Our baby girl is perfect! All parts accounted for and doing what they're supposed to be doing. This baby girl is a crazy mover! It took a little while for the ultrasound tech to find her heartbeat because she kept moving all over. She kept hiding her face which made it difficult to get a good picture of her. She did, however, keep stretching out her legs which appear to be really long!  I was 19w5d the day of our ultrasound and she measured 20w4d.

Movement: I still don't really feel much movement because my placenta is anterior which is crazy considering all the movement we saw her do! I did feel her last Friday kind of tumble/flip once. And a few more times last night, so I'm guessing the bigger she gets, hopefully I'll get more. :)

Food Cravings:  icees, cereal, water, lemon-lime powerade

Food Aversions: none really lately

Gender:  our second precious baby girl

Symptoms:  irritability, exhaustion, sore boobs--does this ever go away???

What I miss: not feeling exhausted all the time...

What I'm looking forward to: A not-so-hot summer. :) Wishful thinking!

♥ our sweet baby girl ♥

 

 

Hormones are No Joke

Pregnancy is seriously weird.

I find myself ready to either smash someone's face in or I'm a blubbering mess over nothing.  It's annoying.  Even to me.

Case in point.

A couple days ago, George and I were moving a new bed into our room, getting rid of Andrew's and moving our old bed into his room.  Sounds simple enough.

Not too long before that I was watching the news coverage about the Oklahoma tornadoes and also about a Phoenix police officer killed this week.  The officers daughter was graduating from kindergarten and hundreds of police officers showed up to her school to watch her graduate that day. It was moving and I was emotional about it.

For lots of reasons. 
I have an affinity for kids...especially kindergarteners.
It's almost the 18 year anniversary since my own dad died.
I'm pregnant and hormonal and everything makes me cry.

As we were moving the old bed out of our room and sweeping up the dust that was under the bed {keeping it real, folks}, we ended up getting into a ridiculous argument.  And of course, in the middle I started crying.  I full on own that I was the one yelling and crying while trying to explain my point.

After a few more moments of ridiculousness, George said, "I don't want to fight with you about putting a bed together. I'm sorry."  As I was explaining what I was mad about, I kept on crying, saying how annoying it was even to me that I can't help the waterworks. 

G with a vacuum in his hand, me with a broom I'm sure he thought I'd ride away on, standing on opposite sides of the room, all the while I'm just blubbering mess trying to explain all of this.  He laughed and I laughed.  He's lucky he laughed in an okay moment though hahahahaha!

I cannot wait until we have this baby.

Thankfully I have a husband who loves me and does his best to be understanding to my crazy.

 

One Year Coparenting

One year.

One phone call.

Seems like not a lot of time really, but when you think about the daily chaos that preceded it for years, it's huge.

We've made it a year!!

We've gone to activities together, counseling together, we've been flexible with schedules and days, we've worked together to accommodate each other's family plans.

We each are welcoming new baby girls this year.

So much has changed.

Does it mean that we always agree? Nope.
Does it mean that we don't still make each other mad? Nope.

What it does mean, is that we handle it all differently.

There simply isn't the blame game going on even when we have difficulties with our shared daughter.

Personally, it's been a harder last 6 months or so in my own relationship with Reagan than in my relationship with her mom.  Part of life, I imagine.

I'm so grateful for the renewed existence and appreciate the ability to be able to share how I feel about a situation even when I know mom doesn't or isn't going to agree.  I think being able to gain each other's perspective instead of simply being stubborn has been truly life changing for all of us.

What I did not anticipate was a lot of the resistance we experienced from Reagan herself.  There are still attempts on her part to stir up trouble, but I don't know that she still knows how to handle her mother and I saying, "Well, I'm sure your mom..." or "Well, I know that Stephanie..." in defense of each other and putting the accountability and responsibility back on her. We're still working through it.

It's definitely still a learning process, but safe to say... life is good.  And we haven't been in court since August of 2011!   With none of us having any desire to return.

Finding a new way to handle coparenting, blended families, and issues has been very, very good for all of us one year later.

Toddler Bestie Playtime

Lily's bestie,Victoria, recently got a new swingset for their yard and sure enough we headed over to try it out.  It's always entertaining when 2 year olds get together. 

The girls were excited to play outside, as they always are! 

Having a great swingset with so much to do right in your own backyard, these two were in heaven! At the top there's a telescope, a chalkboard, and a steering wheel.   Of course, they each had to be doing what the other was doing at the exact same moment.  Lily had a blast exploring her best friend's new "playground!"

 

 

 

 

After a little while, he headed up to the back deck and the girls played up there. Mostly making messes, throwing balls, jumping and falling down. 

I love that they love each other and the joy for life that these two amazing two year olds have just shines through them. They both bring me a lot of happiness and I feel so very blessed that Victoria and her mama are in our lives! Great friends are not easy to find and Lily and I are lucky we found a matching set. :)

 

 

The afternoon was not without toddler temper time...Lily wasn't interested in holding Victoria's hand and let her know and Victoria was not always happy about sharing her new swingset.  They're learning to navigate their world and with two headstrong little ladies, it always proves to be entertaining! 

 

 

Thanks for having us over, V and Amy! We're looking forward to lots of summer fun in your yard!



Playdate at the Park

A few weeks back, Lily and I met with our friends Stef and her girls Lily and Lexie to play at the park after Lexie was done with kindergarten that day. 

The weather was gorgeous--one of the first of the year. We enjoyed being able to be outside after a long winter. Stef and I actually got to sit and talk while the girls played which almost never happens! We spent a glorious 2 1/2 hours hanging out in the finally warm weather with our girls. 

Stef is pregnant too, due just six weeks before me, so next summer we'll have at least one more, possibly two more girls to add to the mix. :)  We, of course, are having a girl, but Stef and her husband find out at delivery! She's so much stronger than I am. haha

Anywho, pregnancy brain sidetrack....back to the park.

Lily looooooooooooooooooves going to the park. She's all about the climbing and the sliding and the running and the swinging! Safe to say it's her happy place. :)

 

The girls ran and played, colored with sidewalk chalk, had snacks and as my Lily told me, "We're workin' on the truck."  She and Lily filled up the bottom of this car with mulch and I mean filled up.

 They happily "worked on the truck" for a long time!

 

 

Before they decided to fill it up, they gave Lexie a ride. She's always a good sport with the little ones.

Before we knew it, it was time to head home to meet our big kids after school.  It was a fun, relaxing afternoon hanging out with great friends we love! We're lucky. ♥

Life Lately

Life lately has been pretty busy. Mostly with the end of the school year activities and lacrosse.  Of course, add in pregnancy exhaustion and a rambunctious 2 year old and I'm spent.

I'm definitely looking forward to summer and less we "have" to do and more of "want" to do.  Doesn't that sound divine???

Not that we won't be busy with other things, but more of the "want" stuff.  June is almost completely booked already.

~One of Lily's favorite things to do lately is "build a fire wif Daddy."  Just a little backyard fire in the firepit to sit by and/or roast "smarshmellows."  She loves it!  Last weekend, we had a cold front blow back in and Lily asked for her fire.  Daddy obliged. She helps him stack up sticks to throw in it beforehand and then throws them into the fire when he asks.  They're adorable and I'm so glad she loves it! She is definitely becoming more and more of a Daddy's girl.

"hi mommy!"

~Andrew had his last band concert of 7th grade recently.  I'm glad he likes band and wants to continue playing in the future.  Marching band starts in 8th grade here. After his one introduction to it last Fall, he is excited to join marching band next year as well as continue in concert band! Awww, my well-rounded kid. Band geeks, unite!

right in the middle of the pic

~Like I said, lacrosse has been a big part of life the last few months. Practice Monday through Friday and if there's not practice, there's a game.  Coming up this weekend, the boys have an all-day tournament, so we're preparing for a long day! It's been fun to learn a new sport! Even Lily loves "the cross." We found her a plastic little lacrosse set one day and she was in heaven! She loves to watch and yell for her "Bubby!"

 

~A few weeks ago, I got a fetal heart doppler for home just for peace of mind.  I used it the day I got it and found her briefly and decided to wait until after my next appointment so I could ask some questions before trying again.  Turns out, I was distinguishing correctly between my heartbeat and the baby's, so that was nice! I have an anterior placenta {all in front} which makes it difficult to feel movement, so as of 18 weeks yesterday, I still don't feel her move.  I check in with the doppler and will find her then she'll thump against it and move around.  It makes me laugh because she's super active and George says she's trying to get away from me pushing on her space.  But, I hate that I still can't feel her.  Booooooooooooo

~Speaking of baby girl i2, she's got a first name, still no middle.

~George knew I had been wanting to see the movie This is 40 for a long time.  Of course, it was coming out right around the time I was turning 40. Well, duh.  We redboxed it the other night and finally watched it last night.  He's not a Paul Rudd fan at all, so definitely not something he would have picked to see, but we both really enjoyed it.  We laughed pretty hard a lot of the movie! If language offends you, it is not the movie for you, but the marriage stuff,  stupid fighting and the sibling stuff was so true!

~The weather has been warmer for the most part, so we've been outside a lot! Park playdates, backyard playing, hitting up the playground at lacrosse games, going to friend's houses. After the longest winter EV-ER, it's been so welcomed! 

~We're wrapping up 7th and 3rd grades in our house. 
7th grade for Andrew has been great!  His grades are excellent! His social life is what I'd like to call "actual 13 age appropriate." He hangs out with friends sometimes, usually playing video games or some sport. Most often it's actually playing Xbox online with his friends. He's not interested in the crowd who just hangs out at the mall or the roller rink.  He says, "I don't understand it. They're not doing anything."  I'll remind him of that in a few years.

Earlier this year, when he had a specials teacher think he did something he did not do, the assistant principal asked him what happened and he explained his point of view. She then asked him what his core teachers would say about him if she asked them and looked up his grades before she called me with him still in the office with her. She told him {and me} that she had no reason not to take him at his word and would be giving him the benefit of the doubt.  It was a great lesson for him about being trustworthy.  That was the only "incident" of the year.   I can't believe he will finish up junior high next year and my boy will be in high school soon!

3rd grade for Reagan has been pretty good too.  Her grades are also excellent and she is successful in her classroom.  There is inevitably drama with girls and she gets her feelings hurt easily as she tries to be friends with everyone.  It's going to make the teen years rough, I'm betting! She does have a very good friend who has been in her class the last two years and also in Brownies with her. She has gotten to spend a lot of time at her friend's house this year--spending the night and being involved in normal 9 year old stuff. It's been good for her to see another family's dynamics outside of her own. We really appreciate the mom of her friend, as she truly adores Reagan and puts up with all of Reag's scheduling. :)  

~There's also been a lot of this going on the last few weeks:

Let's Go Pens!!!
Happy Friday!

17 weeks~ baby i2

DATE:  May 9, 2013

How far along:  17 weeks

Total Weight Gained:  I had a dr. appointment yesterday and I have officially gained 0 pounds this pregnancy and lost 8 total.  {not to worry, I've just eaten better and had lots of water}

How big is baby?  "your baby's the size of an onion!"

"Baby continues to beef up. Now she's about 5.1 inches long and weighs about 5.9 ounces. "

  **taken from The Bump

 

How baby is growing:

• Her rubbery cartilage is now turning to bone.
• And she's growing some meat on those bones -- putting on some fat.
• She's growing a stronger, thicker umbilical cord, too.
• She can move her joints, and her sweat glands are starting to develop.

**taken from The Bump and Babycenter

Maternity Clothes:  some maternity shirts for sure. Tshirts and comfy pants are my general wardrobe. Can't wait for warmer weather and skirts and dresses. The weather has started warming up thankfully!

Sleep: These last few weeks have been ok other than I'm exhausted all the time. I have been sleeping well, for the most part.

Best Pregnancy Moment of the Week: hearing the baby's heartbeat again at the doctor and then being able to find it easily at home with my Doppler!

Movement: I don't really feel movement yet. :(  My placenta is anterior and as they said and showed me during the CVS, it's also really thick, so even though I can hear her flipping and moving when listening for her heartbeat, I can't feel any of it.

Food Cravings:  icees, cereal, and German Chocolate cake.

Food Aversions: none really lately

Gender:  our second precious baby girl

Symptoms:  heartburn, irritability, exhaustion, sore boobs.

What I miss: not feeling exhausted all the time

What I'm looking forward to: Our anatomy scan on May 28

CVS & Gender

As I sat yesterday and thought about how I've been documenting this pregnancy, I felt badly.  Classic sign of the baby of the family getting the shaft already??  yikes!

On April 2, we had our CVS {chorionic villus sampling} testing.  We also did this testing with Lily back in 2010, so we had a clear understanding of what to expect.

A few days before I had called the hospital to find out who the doctor was that would be performing the procedure, hoping it was the same one as before.  No such luck.  I researched the doctor they told me would be doing it, considered rescheduling when the original one was available, and prayed about it.  Ultimately I decided that I didn't know the first doctor and trusted in him. This doctor is the head of the department and I would trust that too.

At first there was a little counseling about numbers with the genetic counselor before going in for an ultrasound to determine which way the procedure could be done.  The choices are either transvaginally or abdominally like an amnio.  I had no idea the needle through the belly was an option ack!!!!  It was all determined on the location of the placenta.

The ultrasound tech was awesome and made me feel comfortable by telling me that she'd want this doctor to be doing this out of all of them. 

Through the ultrasound, I learned that I have an anterior placenta. All up front.  Also, that it's really thick.  That bodes well for this procedure, but not for feeling the baby move.

With the placenta location where it was, they were able to do the procedure transvaginally.  I was relieved since that's what I was familiar with and knew what to expect with it.   The doctor showed me on the ultrasound screen where the needle would go exactly and what I would feel, what sounds I might hear.  His voice was kind, gentle, and comforting.  He told me what to expect and said although he knew I'd had this procedure before, he would explain it as if I hadn't. I appreciated that a lot.

I shared with him that my first experience the dr. hadn't gotten enough of a sample and had to come back to get more. He said, "I hope to beat Dr. Emery and get it the first try."  haha    He left to look at the sample under a microscope and came back in shortly and said, "Well, Stephanie, you're two for two. We have to get more."

The ultrasound tech checked the baby's heartbeat before the procedure and it was at 167.  Immediately after the first attempt it was 181, but after the second it was back to 164. 

I measured 12 weeks, 2 days, but was actually 11 weeks,5 days, so I'm curious to see if she measures a few days ahead the rest of the pregnancy.

Procedure complete.  No bleeding. Just told to take it easy for 24 hours and not to lift anything other than Lily.   Another fantastic experience.

They said I'd get initial results within 48 hours.  I said, "Well, last time I got them in 24, so I'm hoping for that this time too!"

Sure enough the next day, a little before 3pm, the phone rang.  {thankfully}

The genetics counselor said, "I have good news."  and that was enough for me!  The relief that flooded my body was indescribable.  I honestly didn't realize I was as worried as I truly was.

She said the baby had none of the trisomies and within the next week, we'd have the full results for all the chromosomes.  She asked if we wanted to know the gender and I said we did and learned we are having a girl!!

George was just as relieved as I was that everything was good!  That was the important part for us.  Learning the gender was just the icing.

About a week later, the genetics counselor called again and shared that everything is good! Only 2 sets of each chromosome!  Last time with Lily, we had "placental mosaicism," so learning we didn't even have this time was phenomenal!!

Yay for our new baby girl!!

Score at Just Between Friends!

My mission with this new baby has been to find a sit and stand stroller.  Knowing that I'd need containment for my Lily, who loves to run any chance she gets.  Remember Halloween? Ummm, yeah.  Containment necessary.

I'm not one who has to have brand new everything.  This baby will have her own new stuff, but the big stuff? Not necessary.  So, I've been scouring Craigslist and consignment sales to find one in good shape at the price I want to pay.

Remember when I told you about the Just Between Friends consignment sale in Pittsburgh this coming weekend?  Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a luncheon and then had the ability to shop early at the presale.

At the lunch, I met Kelly, the guru who owns and runs the JBF sale, and some of the great local ladies of Macaroni Kid whom I've "known" online for awhile, but had never met in person.  It was wonderful to put faces to names! By the way, if you're not familiar with Macaroni Kid in your area...find them! It's a wonderful free resource for all things family and mamas.

After lunch, we were off to explore the enormous sale! I mean, enormous! There were so many items--toys, baby swings, strollers, clothes 0-3months up to size 12, shoes, maternity clothes, outside toys, sport equipment, shoes, toddler tables, toy boxes, books, puzzles etc etc etc.  If you need it or think you need it for a baby or kid, they've got it!

I headed to the strollers first.  After all, this sit and stand stroller is my mission for this new baby!

Rows and rows of strollers. 

I saw three sit and stands.  All three were one brand in particular. One was more the double stroller type with the two actual seats and not what I was looking for.  So, then I was down to two.  Exactly the same except for color.  Then I noticed one did not have the infant seat attachement which is super important to me.  I headed over to the infant seat section and found a brand like the one I have to make sure it would fit on the one sit and stand that did have the attachment. Score!  I looked over the stroller, made sure the buckles all worked, noticed a tray in the basket underneath which was the snack tray after the infant seat is no longer being used.  Okie dokie, this is exactly what I was looking for!  Seriously, I scored this gem for thirty dollars!!

I strolled around the entire place just looking and thinking about what I might need for our new baby and knew I would be looking for summer dresses for Lily. 

The clothing racks were jammed full!! I've typically found that the older Lily has gotten the harder it's been to find clothes for her at consignment.  Kids obviously are harder on clothes as they get older, so there's less selection.  This was not the case this year at this sale! The clothes were in great shape with no holes and/or stains! I felt like the inspection of items before allowing into the sale was a legitimate action. One that is an important selling point for me! 

I was looking for specifics this time...sun dresses and 4th of July outfits. I found exactly what I was looking for and Lily will be set for the month of July, not just the 4th. :)

The time is also coming after our new baby girl arrives and begins to outgrow her baby clothes and items, that I will be consigning and selling since this is our last baby.  Just Between Friends is the sale for me!  I'm already looking forward to the Fall sale!

Be sure to head out there this weekend! 

Thank you, Kelly, for a great sale and a great time!!

Friday, May 3rd 9am-7pm: Sale Opens to the Public!
$3 admission fee all day
Join our mailing list to get your FREE ADMISSION pass!

Saturday, May 4th 8am-4pm: Public Sale & NEW Merchandise!
Admission is FREE!

Sunday, May 5th 8am-2pm: 50% OFF Public Sale!
MANY items 50% and admission is FREE!  

Disclosure: I was provided a presale pass for my honest review. All opinions are 100% my own.