20 Week Update

These photos of my belly with my head cut off are getting kind of creepy. I'll probably discontinue those...

Well, here is my second try at this post. I was half way done with it last week and it apparently didn't get saved; I may or may not have had a small pity party. It still irritates me.

How far along?
20 weeks and 4 days (I am officially over half-way through this pregnancy! Whoo-hoo!

Baby is the size of a...
Banana, well, in length at least. She is 6.5 inches from head to rump, and 10 inches from head to toe. She is just now supposed to be 10.5 oz; however, at our ultrasound, almost two weeks ago, she was already 11 ounces!! We have a chubby baby on our hands, ya'll!

At my 12 week appointment, my doctor and I discussed the fact that Lucy was an 8 lb, 9 oz baby. Although that isn't too big, Dr. B said it was hard on me (I can imagine!). So, she said that we will keep an eye on this baby and if she gets too big, then we may induce a little early. Induction? That doesn't so much excite me. A week less of pregnancy? Yeah, I could be down with that! :) Plus, my sister and cousin Hannah's birthdays are that week. It would be pretty neat to add a girl to that birthday week!

Symptoms:
I feel pretty good. However, I am definitely approaching the uncomfortable stage. My tummy is starting to get in the way. It is becoming increasingly difficult to put on and tie tennis shoes, shave my legs, and squat to pick stuff up off of the floor. I am even having trouble getting situated next to Lucy's toddler bed at night to read her a story. I am so much bigger than before at 20 weeks!

Otherwise, I am feeling okay. My hip pain apparently comes and goes. I am trying to figure out if it is just sporadic or weather related. It really does seem to come and go. Sometimes, like last week, it is down-right painful. It wakes me in the middle of the night. I just hope, again, that it remains sporadic.


Anything New?
Something I just noticed a couple of weeks ago is that my veins in my hands, arms, and breasts are more prominent. And, no, I don't think it is just my pasty skin. My blood flow must be crazy! I am starting to wonder if it's the blood flow to my breasts that is making them itch so bad! I know male, family readers, it's a little too much information for you. At least I am not talking about constipation!

I have a doctor's appointment scheduled for the afternoon of May 11th. It will probably be, and hopefully be, pretty uneventful. I always love hearing the heartbeat; however, I think it will be the basic pee-in-a-cup visit.

It is just so different now that we know the baby is a girl! It puts a new perspective on everything. I can officially imagine my future with a...girl. :)

New with Heath?
He said the other night, "When the girls get older..." In my emotional state, it just tugged on my heart strings. I can already hear him saying, "our girls" or better yet, "my girls." :) It's so sweet. Perhaps he was just too good of a daddy to Lucy. God wanted to give him another baby girl to spoil.  I distinctly remember telling him that when another child came, he couldn't spoil it as bad as he does Lucy. His response was, "Watch me!" :)  Okay, we will see...two daddy's girls they shall be.

Heath is rubbing my belly a lot more and was able to feel Olive kick the other night too. :) She mostly kicks my bladder - strong, this one is! But, she must have been punching too and Heath felt it.

He still tells me I am beautiful, which I love to hear and sometimes need to hear. I am really starting to feel the weight! I literally rolled out of bed last week, looked in the mirror, and saw that my face was chubbier than before. I was like Tim Allen in The Santa Clause. It's crazy how you don't notice it and then all of a sudden, you do! My medium sized t-shirts are maxed out and my regular jeans will not fit for much longer. Thankfully though that isn't due to my thighs or butt! :) Yet...

Side Note: A cute, petite woman in our building at work just announced her first pregnancy. She is 7 weeks behind me. Ahhh! I'm going to look awful in comparison! I am not looking forward to that!

New with Lucy?
She will try to get in my lap and lean on my tummy a lot. I have to tell her that she can't push on it and so on. She just looks at me and says, "Baby in dere?" It's pretty cute.


Anything else?
 I don't really have much else. I did want to share this comic that I got sent from BabyCenter.com. I enjoyed it and thought you might too.

 
Have a good week!

Her Name Will Be...

We have had it picked out for over a year now.
Heath and I love "Olive." We think it is so cute and it compliments Lucy. Don't believe me? Well, then trust BabyCenter.com:

Here is some more information about the name "Olive":

The rank is #272 in the United States right now. However, it has become more popular, having been almost #1,000 in the 1950s. The origin is Latin and the meaning is, well, an olive. It is a form of "Oliver."

I'll cut to the chase and tell you that many of my family members don't like it. In fact, some of my family members openly despise the name. But, then again, my dad hated "Lucy" and it has now grown on him. :) They have been pushing us toward "Olivia" or calling her "Liv." Naming her "Olivia" is out of the question; it is far too popular for me. If they want to call her "Liv," so be it.

At the end of the day, I love you dad, and many others,...but, Heath and I love the name. And, I read this quote on Pinterest that explained it best...

That is so true. Dad - we never were a family that gave much of a damn what people thought about our decisions in life; why start now? :)

So, "Olive" it is...unless this baby shows off a previously hidden penis at our next ultrasound. Haha.

Baby Girl Names

Just to be mean, I am going to hold off one more day to tell you what we are planning on naming Baby Girl #2. :)  But, I thought I would do a post on the names we had considered. I am kind of breaking my own code here, by giving my favorite names to people. However, I don't foresee having to name another baby girl in the future...I say that; but, you never know! ;)

When naming girls, we like several names. We have always had an abundance of girl names. Some we liked for a while and for one reason or another we don't anymore. Some we have always liked, but just not enough. Some I like and Heath doesn't...that happens a lot (especially with boy names - we never seem to agree!).

So, without further adieu, here are some of the names we had considered, or at least I did, when naming a baby girl.  And, I must mention our actual pick is not on here. :) Evil, I know.

These were in-case-we-have-twins names (haha). I have also listed their popularity rank from BabyCenter.com:

I Like and Still Do
Violet (#68)
Hattie (#1,051)
Molly (#57)
Marnie (#4,384)
Elizabeth (#25)
Charlotte (#14)
Layla (#33)
Scarlett (#48)

Liked at One Time
Bree (#961)
Zoey (#22)
Gabby (#711)
Elle (#213)

I'll admit too. The name "Aurora" is growing on me, since that is the name of Lucy's baby doll (#158). It makes it easy to imagine a baby Aurora in the house. haha.

The fact that we liked some names and no longer do is scary to me. What if we would have named a child that and then later on wished it would have been something else? Eek! Oh well, I guess when you have a feeling, you have a feeling! :)

I feel pretty good and confident about our name though. Hopefully I will share it tomorrow.... ;)

19 Week Update

How far along?
I am 19 weeks and 4 days (139 days to go); I am 49.3% through my pregnancy! Yay! Half way there!


Baby is the size of a...
large, heirloom tomato? She is 6 inches from head to rump and 8.5 oz (although at our appointment the ultrasound tech said she was 11 oz!). We could have a chubby baby on our hands again! :) Here is a picture of an heirloom tomato:

Symptoms:
Thank you for all of the concern about my hips. They haven't been bothering me as bad the last few nights (knock on wood). It must be an on-and-off thing for now. I hope it stays away! It is really painful! I feel really good otherwise. I had been sleeping pretty well too; however, last night wasn't very good. I dream like crazy! I just wish I could get some real rest. Also, I got up to go pee four times! No more water for me late in the evening.

I also made the mistake of eating some chocolate candy around 10 pm... :[ I knew that I shouldn't have. I had indigestion then for about an hour following. Blech.

I feel like I am getting to be way to big for only five months of pregnancy. I also feel like I waddle a bit. :{ Already.

Anything new?
There really isn't much, since I have been writing about the baby every post lately. :) The big thing was to find out that it was a girl! :) I am still very excited and love being able to imagine life four months from now. :) Is that enough smiley faces for you? I guess I'm happy and getting a little crazy with them...sorry. 

I wore my first pair of maternity pants last Friday. Ehh...I hate maternity pants. I really do. They are just so baggy looking around the crotch area, especially the khaki ones. I immediately went back to wearing my regular ones with belly bands. We will see how long I can do this. I think I was around 24 weeks with Lucy before I had to give in. Then again, my body was very different back then.

Oh, but I did get a few pairs of yoga capris from Motherhood. They are super comfy! :) 'A+' purchase!

New with Heath?
He has started calling the baby by name and telling people about the name. So, it looks like a name post may be sent out this week. :) I think we will be telling my blog readers, family, and friends; but, we will probably keep the name off of Facebook, for now at least. Many of my family members, who hate the name, don't think anyone would steal it. But, I don't want to chance it. (Paranoid!)

I think being able to call her by name makes it more real to Heath too. It is so nice being able to say, "when the girls get older," and phrases like that. When I say, "Girls," I immediately think of my mom. When she would yell at my sister and I as children, it was always that term.

"Girls! Get away from there!"
"Girls! Don't touch that!"
"Girls! Come inside!"

I try to think back to myself as a child and I never imagined having two girls, just like my family, growing up. :) Heath probably didn't imagine it either! haha. Last night, Lucy and I were laying in mine and Heath's bed. We were snuggling, along with her baby doll, Aurora, and her stuffed horse, Bonnie. He looked at us, smiled, and said, "What am I going to do with three girls?"

New with Lucy?
I wish that I could say that we were closer to achieving all of our goals before baby is born. 1) Get Lucy moved to her big girl room and have her stay in bed at night. 2) Get Lucy potty-trained. 3) Get rid of the binkie.

I think Lucy is getting used to her big girl room and doing a bit better at night. But, the binkie isn't going anywhere anytime soon. I know it needs to be gone at least a couple of months before the baby is using one in front of her. It is just tough. I don't think Heath and I are ready for that battle.  The potty-training was looking pretty promising there for a while. But, now she is lying to us about it. When we ask her if she has to go or if she did go, she says, "No."  It is totally obvious though! Still working on it...

We have her practice saying the baby's name. She is really good at pronouncing it. :) Ahh...I can't wait to see them interact. I hope it is a smooth and happy transition for Lucy - being the baby, to sharing the spotlight!

Anything else?
Not really...we are pretty boring these days. We continue to prep the house and financially prepare for the baby. But, it still seems like forever from now. I tell you though, once September hits, it'll be the first of the year before we know it! Maternity leave, football season, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, winter break...I cannot wait!


Have a great day!

Ultrasound Pictures

I thought I would share the rest of our adorable ultrasound pictures of baby girl #2. I will also post them on Facebook; but, I wanted to share them with family who do not have an account.

As I mentioned yesterday, I am not usually very good with ultrasounds. So, I totally understand if you don't "see it." Being there and having the technician tell you what everything is makes it a lot easier. Nevertheless, I will try my best at describing them...

Oh, and I should mention that we had an ultrasound tech that loved little, baby feet. Who doesn't? But, seriously, she took a lot of pictures of the feet. :)

Here was our very first foot picture. You can kind of see the heel, just to the right of the word "foot." The toe bones are really easy to see. :)

This one is a little creepy. It is the baby laying on it's side - forehead to the far right. The eye socket is dark and you can kind of see the profile. The hump to the left is the body, or what looks like a baby belly. :)

This was our best profile picture. I don't know how you couldn't see this one...with a little fist ball to the left. :)

Here are some more cute, little feet! :) They are side by side, which the tech. said was unique to get a photo of. The baby had her legs crossed too at one point, lounging. :)

Another picture of the feet - this time they are in a "walking" form. 

Okay, this one is the creepiest. It is supposed to be the face. Which with these ultrasounds always looks like an alien face. :{ I'm not really sure I can help you out with this one either. The baby is supposed to be looking at the camera. And, the top of the head is on the right.

Here is a forearm and hand. The elbow is the pointy thing on the left, bottom. You can see the arm bones and the hand bones. She was waving them around like crazy too!

And, finally, here is a hand. With Lucy, we never got a clear look at the fingers. This little girl was showing off her hands and feet like crazy!

I have a few others, like the "Girl Parts" ones I showed you yesterday. I also have one of her foot and her big toe. Her toe is totally taking over the picture! If you are familiar with the "Harmon big toe," then you should find this comical.

The "Harmon big toe" is a dominant gene in our family. The big toe has a particular shape and is...well, big! It seems like it is bigger than the average big toe. haha. My dad's and mine are more prominent than most. I got made fun of a lot about it in high school. It isn't very feminine or pretty.  But, poor Lucy got "the toe." It looks like baby girl #2 may have it as well. haha. The toe continues...

The 19 Week update will be posted next week. Hope you have a great weekend everyone! :)

It's a...

GIRL! :)

Just in case you didn't catch that, we are...

I am so excited and love being able to say, "she..." Saying he/she was getting kind of old.

The first question I asked and I'm sure you are all thinking, "How sure was the ultrasound tech that it was a girl?"

Well, she was pretty confident. We have two separate photos that she labeled "girl parts," see below.

I will be honest; I am not very good with these things. I don't necessarily see "girl parts"; however, I know that I don't see boy parts.

It is absolutely crazy though, when everyone thought it was a boy....well, 23 of my readers, Heath, and I were all convinced. Again, my intuition is way off! haha. If we ever decide to have a third, I know that it will be exactly opposite of what I think or feel. ha.

Watching her kick and swing her arms (a ton!) was so joyful! :) I could watch it all day. I love watching her be so active. However, she is feisty! She kept kicking at the ultrasound...wand? monitor? You know what I am talking about. She kept hitting it and causing me some discomfort. If her movement and feistiness is any indication of what she will be like in the future, we may be in trouble! :)  Or, as Heath said later, "If she is even half as dramatic as Lucy, we will have our hands full!"

As soon as the technician said it was a girl, I looked at Heath and smiled. :) I was truly overjoyed and almost to tears. I love girls and another one is fine with me. :)  Heath smiled and said, "We'll have a house full of girls."  I wanted to remind him that he still had Chico, who has enough male dominance and testosterone for 3 males.

On the way home he commented on how expensive girls are. haha. I know girls can be expensive with their makeup, clothes, jewelry, hair products, shoes, etc. However, boys can be just as bad with all of their "toys." And, if they are as metro-sexual as Heath, they can have just as expensive shopping trips too!

It was a wonderful day! :) I couldn't have asked for a better one.  All of my family members were excited too! Oh, and I also got a call from the hospital that said all of the blood tests came back normal and all looked good! No abnormalities at all! Whew! :) More good news!

I am literally on a cloud this week. Hopefully work won't get me down. It's almost the weekend! :)

18 Week Update

 
Apparently I only have one shirt...I say that because I was wearing this shirt for my 17 week photo too. Oops...I'm a creature of habit; what can I say?

How far along?
I am 18 weeks and 5 days (149 days left!)


Baby is the size of a...
large bell pepper, 5.6 inches from head to rump, and 6.7 oz 

Symptoms:
I am feeling really good. My appetite is back, and out of control. I am trying to talk myself out of constant eating though, especially dairy. Yum! But, I do give into a large glass of milk almost every night. It's good for the baby right? :) I'm sure that is why Lucy was so chubby!

My hips are really starting to ache when I sleep. I am even putting a pillow between my legs and it isn't helping. It was helping for a few nights, but isn't anymore. I had this problem with Lucy too. I always thought that it could be attributed to the extra weight I had gained. I've only gained 4 pounds though, so far, so that can't be it! It just has to be the stretching and widening going on. :{ I'm ready to sleep well again! That isn't going to happen for a long while...

One other odd thing is that my boobs itch something terrible! That is weird right? I forgot to ask about it at my last appointment. They itch so bad though. This isn't a common symptom that I've heard of and it didn't happen with Lucy. I just keep making sure my skin isn't dry and try not to itch in public...isn't pregnancy great guys?

Anything New?
Well, we had our doctor's appointment last Friday, the 13th. It went really well. She found the heartbeat right away this time, which is what I prefer! I admit it was pretty uneventful, besides hearing the heartbeat. I did ask how fast the beating was and she said around 150. That doesn't help with the old wives tale. Oh well, we will find out soon. Actually, we will find out sooner than later! :) We have the ultrasound scheduled for Wednesday afternoon!! :) Can you believe that? It is almost here! I'm pee-pants excited.


I did get blood drawn too, to check for abnormalities. It is always really nerve-racking! We just want to know ahead of time, to see if we need to prepare for special needs. It is such a scary topic; but, that is reality sometimes. I hadn't really prepared to have my blood taken though and hadn't drank too much water that day. The nurse still did really well and I barely felt a thing; however, four days later and I still have this ugly bruise...

Yes - I have hairy arms. I've come to terms with it, since I got made fun of in elementary school. Whomp, whomp. :{

New with Heath?
He has been really stressing out about work and his graduate class, not to mention the weather distractions. I just try to stay out of his way for the most part. He did do another "gender test" with Lucy this last weekend. He put two post-it notes on my tummy and told Lucy to pick one. On the other side, one said "G" and the other said "B." Lucy first chose girl, then he repeated it over and over again. I think it was best out of three, then best out of five. He ended up with two picks for boy and three for girl. He summed that up as, "pretty close, either way."  Haha. Of course he wouldn't just concede and say Lucy picked girl, again.

He will be done with a big class presentation after Tuesday night, so hopefully he can fully enjoy Wednesday. And, hopefully the baby cooperates with us too!

New with Lucy?
Lucy will be a terrific big sister! I just know it! Yes - she gets jealous. She absolutely hates when Heath holds a baby. Me? She doesn't care if I hold one at all. (Sigh)...daddy's girl. Well, it looks like this next baby could be a momma's girl or momma's boy. :) Until they get old enough and daddy becomes the "fun one" and he steals them too! :-\ Oh well, I know Heath is the fun one. I understand.


Anything else?
I am still in my regular clothes, with the belly band occasionally. I had mentioned last week that I'm in the awkward stage of too small for maternity clothes and too big for my regular clothes, and then I got this cartoon from BabyCenter.com.

It's like they read my mind sometimes. I feel the pain. No, literally. I feel pain when I try to wear my regular pants. They put a lot of pressure on my tummy. I will definitely be looking for some maternity yoga pants! Lots of pairs! :)

Well, hopefully when you hear from me again, I will be telling you the sex of the baby! :) :) I can't wait! I will be sure to tell my blog readers before Facebook, so check your email!

Pregnancy & Old Wives Tale

Well, I guess this is a week all about the gender of Baby #2. Can you handle that? Or, did I immediately lose you since I've been blabbing about the same thing for...well...ever? You have to understand though, that with an upcoming ultrasound, I can't get it off of my mind. Plus, I'm a planner. Once I know the gender, we can start making a lot more plans (i.e. name, finances, nursery, additional baby products, etc.). So, I'm dying to know!

I took a little time this week to round up as many gender telling wives tales that I could. Below is what I came up with. Now, I understand some of these make no sense or aren't true for everyone; but, it's still fun to look into! :)

Wives Tale: Carrying the baby high means it is a girl. Carrying the baby low means it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? I am carrying the baby high, in my opinion. However, it is lower than where I carried Lucy. So, I declare this one as Inconclusive.

Wives Tale: If the mother craves salty or sour things, it is a boy. If she craves sweets, then it is a girl.
Baby #2 Verdict? I am craving salty snacks and have enjoy pickles more than in months past. Boy


Wives Tale: Put toilet cleaner in the toilet and go to the bathroom (#1). If the water turns green, it is a girl. If it remains blue, it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? I actually tried this. The color was a teal color. I deemed it Inconclusive.

Wives Tale: If both the year you conceived and the age of the mother at the time of conception are odd or even, then it is a girl. If one is odd and the other is even, then it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? I conceived in 2011 and I was 25 - both odd. Girl

Wives Tale: If your skin breaks out, then it is a girl. She is "stealing her mother's beauty." If you have clear skin, it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? I have about the same amount of break-outs on my face. But, grossly enough, my back and shoulders have had break-outs now, unlike when I was pregnant with Lucy. Inconclusive

Wives Tale: If you have bad morning sickness, then it is a girl. If you feel fine, it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? I felt much better than when I was pregnant with Lucy, that's for sure! Boy

Wives Tale: If your leg hair seems to grow faster than usual, it is a boy. If it slows or remains the same, it is a girl.
Baby #2 Verdict? No joke, this one took me by surprise. Because I just thought the other day that my leg hair was growing faster! Boy

Wives Tale: If the mother has a high libido, then the baby is a girl. If it is lower or the same, it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? I am the same, in my opinion. Boy

 Wives Tale: If the mother is moodier throughout the pregnancy, then it is a girl. If she isn't, it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? I really need to ask Heath about this one. I am not sure. I think I am moodier though. Girl

Wives Tale: If the mother is clumsier, then it is a boy. If she is graceful, it is a girl.
Baby #2 Verdict? I doubt I would call myself graceful; but, I don't think I'm clumsier. Girl

Wives Tale: If the mother has dry skin, then it is a boy. If it regular, it is a girl.
Baby #2 Verdict? I do have dry skin. I think it is the weather; but, no arguing with old wives...Boy

Wives Tale: If your hair is shiny and healthy, it is a boy. If it becomes wiry and greasy, it is a girl.
Baby #2 Verdict? At first my hair was really healthy and shiny. Well, now it is all of a sudden gross feeling. :( So, it is Inconclusive.

Wives Tale: According to a Mayan Tale, if you add the year of conception and age of the mother at the time of conception, and it's even, it's a boy. If it is odd, it's a girl.
Baby #2 Verdict? I added 2011 and 25, to equal 2036. Boy

Wives Tale: If you have cold feet throughout the pregnancy, it is a boy. If you don't notice a change, it is a girl.
Baby #2 Verdict? I have seriously had really cold feet and hands lately. Boy

Wives Tale: A mother dreams about having the opposite sex.
Baby #2 Verdict? I have had dreams about having girls. Boy

Wives Tale: If the mother has headaches throughout the pregnancy, it is a boy. If she doesn't, it is a girl.
Baby #2 Verdict? I have had really bad headaches, consistently. It is letting up a bit now though. Boy

Wives Tale: If the daddy gains weight with you, it is a girl. If he stays the same weight, it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? Heath never gains weight...ever. Inconclusive

Wives Tale: If the heart rate is over 140 (I've also heard 150), then it is a girl. If it is under 140 (or 150), then it is a boy.
Baby #2 Verdict? I didn't ask at the last appointment how fast it was. So, I will have to get back to you on this one...Inconclusive

Two more things...  


Chinese Birth Chart: Basically, you just use the chart and it tells boy or girl. Google it. :)
Baby #2 Verdict? The chart said it was a Boy.

I had a reader contact me on Facebook. She told me to point at my mouth or nose. So, I did. She went on to type that if I pointed at my nose it was a boy and if I pointed at my mouth, it was a girl. She heard it from one of her nurses and the nurse claimed it was 85% accurate. :)  I pointed at my nose. Boy

Old Wives Tale Results are:  11 Boy, 3 Girl, 5 Inconclusive

We shall see how accurate these "tales" are...here is a couple of weeks! So excited! Have a great weekend everyone!

Gender Poll Results

The drum roll please...here are the results from Tuesday's Gender Poll. :) Enjoy! I know I did!

I was really surprised at how many of you said that you were really good guessers. haha. 

And, since I love graphs and wanted to show the results in actual numbers rather than percentages, here are some more...

The comments are what really cracked me up! :) Thank you for everyone who made comments.

The comment about my emotions had to be made by Heath. I don't know though... Also, my sister obviously made the last comment about naming the baby after her. haha.

The first comment I received was the first one, about my Uncle Matt rocking. haha. It made my day. 1) I love that he read it and took part in the survey. 2) I love that he self-proclaims that he "rocks." And, 3) I think that he pretty much rocks too. :) haha. Hope you don't mind that I posted your comment Uncle Matt!

The perverted comment made me laugh too. It does sound a little weird; but, I understand that you don't have any experience - neither do I!

Finally, the twins comment made me laugh. Yeah...I don't think so! They only heard one heart-beat! Whew!

Again, I hope you all enjoyed reading the results as much as I did. I can now mark my pregnancy journal to, "Everyone else thinks you are a...Boy."

Gender Guessing

I was filling in my weekly update in my Belly Book...

I really recommend this book, by the way. :)

I was filling in additional pages about the upcoming ultrasound and was asked, "What does everyone else think I am?"

Hmm...I don't know. With Lucy, everyone kept telling me, "I think it's a boy." But, with this one, no one had said anything really. So, I decided to do a poll. :) Would you all help me answer the question in my baby book?

I made a two question survey. You can click on it to answer the two questions, completely anonymously. :) Please, please, please take a second to answer them. It's easy.  Also, just so you know, I randomized the answers; so, "boy" or "girl" will change from listed first.  The color of the survey means nothing as well. I tried just green, but blue was added to the top. :-/


Click here to take survey

Again, I really appreciate you taking part in my craziness. I'll share the results later this week! :)

Thank you in advance! 

17 Week Update

Just so you know, I had Heath take about four pictures of me this week. I kept trying to get one picture where I didn't look huge. No such luck.

How far along?
I am 17 weeks and 1 day (160 days left)


Baby is the size of a...
Turnip? Like I know what that is. It is 5 inches from head to rump. :) Here is a picture, according to BabyCenter.com, of the turnip we are comparing my baby to:

Symptoms:
I think I am starting to feel kicks every once in a while. I get really big jabs when I move weird or "squish" the poor baby while bending over. I am excited for this part! I know at the end it gets to be a LOT; but, in the second trimester feeling movement is the best! :)

I still feel pretty good. No more headaches in a while! Yay! My appetite is still really spotty. I don't want anything at all and nothing sounds good, then all of a sudden I think of or see an item and I want it really bad. I have been really wanting mozzarella sticks, or cheddar bites, or basically anything fried with cheese. Yum - I'm making myself hungry. Heath has let me indulge lately. I think he just wants to make sure I am eating.

Oh, I did wake up last night and my hips hurt for the first time. I am not looking forward to that again! :(

Anything New?
I am still in my regular clothes. I am in between right now, which is the worst. My normal pants don't button; but, maternity pants are awkwardly big. I have a lot of capris that I can wear; but, the weather started to get chilly again. :( Then, my legs are so pasty too that I'm self-conscience.

I have been dreaming a LOT lately. They are such odd and aimless dreams too. It is bugging me; I wake up and I don't feel rested. I did have a dream over the weekend that I had triplet girls. I apparently like to scare myself in dreams and have multiples; I think I'm accessing some tiny fear in the back of my mind. haha. Anyway, in the dream, I had to name the babies. I completely blanked on all of the names that Heath and I have actually discussed. I was trying to talk Heath into some names and all began with the letter 'A' - again! Remember I had a dream about the name 'Audrey'? More 'A' names...(perhaps I watch too much Pretty Little Liars). This time I suggested to Heath, "Amy, Amsey, Arie, Aria, Aurora" and some others that I couldn't remember. It is really odd to me, because Heath and I have never even considered an 'A' name.

New with Heath?
I really don't know. I'll be honest. He has been working really hard on Lucy's big girl room and talking about the finances when the baby comes; but, that is about it. I guess that is the dad's job - make sure the finances are set and get the house ready. It is my job to get all "mushy-gushy" about the baby and obsess over my growing bump.

Don't get me wrong, he still occasionally rubs my stomach and says things about having another one running around. :) It just isn't as "real" to him...not that I am any more prepared mentally.

With Lucy?
She is getting settled into her new room. She has been in there since last Saturday night. We are trying to get her used to the new room; so, when the baby comes, she won't have any attachment to the nursery still. I am crossing my fingers!

She still points are her own belly and mine to say, "Baby in dere." We tell her that, "Yes - there is a baby in mommy's belly." She makes me laugh, because she treats it like one of her dolls and says, "It cryin!" I always say, "No, baby's sleeping." Then, I had the crazy thought that maybe she has some baby ESP and the baby really is crying. Wouldn't that be creepy? haha.

We get to watch a friend's baby for about an hour on Saturday morning. :) I'm so excited. Plus, we think it is great for Lucy to be around a baby. It still bothers her when Heath holds him. So, we will see if we can warm Lucy up a bit to the idea.

Anything else?
Hmmm...dreams, symptoms, oh! I just remembered. I think my motherly intuition is finally speaking to me. For some reason the other day I was sitting in the living room and I told Heath, "I think it's a boy." At that moment, I just did. I just felt like all signs are pointing to a boy (except for my dreams!). Of course, Heath just smiled at that idea. I don't know how reliable my intuition is; but, we will soon see.

Oh, and I had a Facebook friend tell me that she had a dream about me and the baby too. I asked her what the sex was and she said that it was a boy. Who knows?! :)

"It hurt."

This is Lucy's arm. I bet you will never guess what happened there...

 - My Office telephone rings -

Blah, Blah, Blah, "This is Cori."

"Cori, this is K at DayCare." (That always makes me nervous!)

"Oh, hello!" I say all coy and stuff.

"I just wanted to call you and let you know that Lucy got bit today."

I admit; my first thought was, "by what?" But, it dawned on me quickly as I muttered, "Ohh..."

K continued, "We have a biter [in DayCare]. I put a cold cloth on it; but, it didn't break the skin. She just may have a bruise in the next couple of days."

I didn't really know what to say. I don't really remember where the conversation even went after that. We discussed Lucy's own demeanor and apparently she is a "pusher." To which Heath and I both agreed, if she shoved the girl after she was bit, then good for her! I certainly hope she sticks up for herself. :{

I just imagine poor Lucy staring at the girl in confusion, while she bit her arm. Then, slowly starting a silent, gasping cry. :( Poor girl. But, for the rest of the day, I tried to put it out of my mind. I mean, what was I going to do? say?

I know one thing, I wanted to know who did it. K didn't indicate who had. I knew that I would hold a personal grudge on said child...it was killing me.  I figured if I asked Lucy, she would tell me.

When I picked Lucy up at DayCare, I immediately went to her arms. I saw the same red, teeth shaped mark as you did above, with a little bit of swelling too. I said, "Well, someone small bit you." Lucy looked at me with a concerned face and said the name. I didn't understand her at first, until the other DayCare ladies told me who it was. Then, the name became clear to me. Ahhh....it was another little girl, just a bit older than Lucy. The ladies went on to tell me that the little girl bit two other kids that day too. I thought, hopefully her parents have been given some type of warning or something. That is a little out of hand! Three times? Three different children? That is a serious behavior issue.

All night, every time we said "arm" or "hurt." Lucy would say, "[So-and-So] bite me. It hurt."

It was pretty sad. These are the hardest parts of having a child in DayCare. I just want to protect Lucy every second of the day, at least until she's...um, let's say...18...haha. Or better yet, forever!

There really isn't much I can do. I know that the Director was concerned and knew that I'm the psycho mommy that she might want to call and warn. I guess that is kind of nice to know. I just hope Lucy doesn't start biting people now!

Big Girl Room: Update

Heath painted Lucy's room! :) He did a really, really good job too. I asked a hard challenge of him, by painting two walls white, one wall purple, and one wall teal. Meeting in the corners was difficult; but, he did awesome! :) I wish I had the pictures gathered to show you.

Disappointingly enough, I haven't gathered any of the photos yet. BUT, we did take a few photos on our phones! :) So, here they are - just a sneak peak until I gather more photos and we completely finish the room.

First of all, I gathered the paint samples, the true colors, for you to see. Hopefully the colors are true on my iphone camera (they are the top, darker ones).

Once Heath painted the walls, I started to paint smaller items that I had collected....

(You can see a teal wall in the top of the photo.)

 Like this candle stick that I have no idea what I'm going to do with...but, I thought it would be cute painted.

Or, this large wood frame that I hope to use on the wall in the room.

As you can see, there were some smaller frames that we also painted, and some letters.


 Do you remember in Lucy's nursery, how her name was on the wall?

 

Of course, we had to put her name in her new room too! :) So, we repainted the letters to hang.

Before:

(The picture looks yellowy because of the lighting.)

 

After:

The frame was a fantastic touch! Want to know where we got it? :)

My cousin had her mirror break in her dorm room. So, she was left with just a pink frame. When she asked if I wanted it, I thought, "Sure!" I knew I could do something with it. But, when I framed Lucy's name, it was perfect! :) We didn't have to do anything to the frame either; Heath just hung it! It was already a perfect color!

All I can leave you with now is a shot of the curtain rod we got at Lowe's.

It's pretty cute too! :) It doesn't add a lot to the room; but, it was too cute to pass up.

Hopefully I can show the entire room later this week. Stay tuned!

Optimistic at the Ophthalmologist

Back at Lucy's 18 month appointment, our doctor checked Lucy's eyes. A student from the Medical Center was in the room as well, as Dr. B explained that Lucy's eyes looked as if they had a slight... "stra.... something-or-another, but they didn't." I admit the word was way over my head and I had no idea what she was talking about.

Once she was done explaining what she was looking for to the student, in medical jargon, I asked her what it meant. She said that sometimes when she would look at Lucy, it looked as though one of her eyes was facing outward. Dr. B was basing this on how the light reflected off of Lucy's eyes. She said that sometimes it looked like the reflection was in two different spots on each eye. But, she assured us that it was probably nothing. I just figured, I have never noticed anything, so must not be anything...

Then, at my 14 week appointment with Dr. B in March, when we went to hear the baby's heartbeat, we took Lucy. When Dr. B walked into the room, she said something about Lucy's eyes. I then reminded her that she had mentioned it once before, a long while ago. She said the same thing this time, when she first looked at Lucy the reflection of light looked off, then when she looked at her again, it appeared fine.

Since this was the second time she had noticed it, she decided to get us an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist. She said that sometimes if one eye is weaker, then it will try to refocus and go outward. Since Lucy is so little, she may just not know that her eye is weak.

What was supposed to be a day of pure bliss, turned to slightly concerning. I was optimistic. I had never once noticed Lucy having a "wandering eye." I was certain that it was nothing. Heath, on the other hand, was purely bummed. He gets so upset when something is wrong with Lucy. I am just so thankful for the health she does have, that I don't allow myself to get down. If the worst thing for her to live with is glasses, so be it. I can deal with that.

So, the following week, we headed to the eye doctor...I mean ophthalmologist (I will never get used to the spelling of that word; no wonder people say "eye doctor").

Lucy was in good spirits, with baby Aurora in tote.

We went back, not knowing what to expect. How do you check a toddler's eyes? You can't exactly ask her if "the apple is on or off of the table," if you know what I mean.

The initial exam was great. The doctor told me what he was looking for and Lucy passed with flying colors. Now, she had to have her eyes dilated to make sure. In the mean time, he gave me brochure. It had sad pictures in it like this:

 

I just kept thinking, "I have never noticed Lucy's eye coming even close to looking like that."

He circled what they were apparently looking for with Lucy.

"I read and thought, "Aha! Strabismus must have been the word Dr. B used." Then, I read on. The final sentence was scary!

I was hoping even more now that it was nothing. Glasses are one thing, surgery is something totally different.

Then, there was this section of the brochure.

Wow, just when I needed something comforting...I just pretended that the next paragraph about risks didn't exist. They lost me at "bleeding"...(body shiver)

We were called back again for the second exam. It looked great! :)Whew! We have to go back for a follow-up, just in case. However, the doctor thought Lucy's eyes looked great!

Talk about relief. I threw that brochure in the bottom of the drawer. I hope to never see it again. I'm staying optimistic! :)