22 Week Update

I forgot to take a picture! :{ I owe you one. I will take one tonight.

How far along?
I am 22 weeks and 5 days, 121 days to go!


Baby is the size of...
a spaghetti squash?  Or, in my book, a large squash.

My sister suggested that I take photos and give updates with the item compared to the baby. I really liked it; but, at this point in time, I have no idea where I would find a spaghetti squash. At the local farmer's market?

Symptoms:
I still feel about the same. The under-side of my tummy is feeling lots of pressure lately. I think that Olive is pushing down sometimes; but then, sometimes it just seems like my stomach muscles can't carry this big ole' uterus of mine! haha. I had to lie down for a while the other night, because it was so uncomfortable.

I asked my doctor about my veins popping out like crazy! She said that it was the increased blood flow and that the older I get, the more susceptible I am to it, since my vein walls get weaker. Good to know - I just hope to avoid spider veins or varicose veins. It is bad enough that I am one of the 50% of women who get stretch marks. :{

Anything New?
Well, I had a doctor's appointment last Friday. It was pretty basic. Olive's heartbeat was loud and clear! She kept kicking at the monitor again though. I tell you, this one is going to be feisty! I can't imagine her being more feisty than Lucy; but, I think it's going to happen!

I will be going in for my gestational diabetes check next month. I don't think I have much to be concerned about; however, one of the indicators is having diabetes in the family, which I do. So, I always have to be prepared. If so, we can handle it. They also mentioned having a RhoGAM shot and/or screening. I wasn't too sure what that was and it was mentioned with such little importance that I didn't bother asking.

Well, I got a call from the doctor's office to set up an appointment and they mentioned getting a shot. I asked what the shot was for and the scheduler told me that it was better that I talk to a nurse about it. The nurse was busy and is supposed to call me back. Naturally, I googled it. It is a precaution, apparently because I have a negative blood type.

Basically, what I understood, is that when the mother is negative and the father is positive, the fetus can inherit the positive from the father. Problems can arise when the fetus's blood has the positive factor and the mother's blood does not. If our bloods were to ever mix somehow, which I guess is somewhat common, my body could start attacking the baby's blood, and essentially the baby, as a "foreign object."

Now, my first question is, "Well, why don't we take Heath's blood and see if it is positive and if we even need to worry." But, I am sure that they can't simply just take my word for it that Heath is the father. They have to take precaution because of the baby...which makes sense I guess.

Overall, my doctor made it seem like not a big deal at all. And, my co-worker who has three children said that she got the shot with her children and no big deal. So, I'm not going to fret quite yet. It is something that I literally can't control. I know my doctor will do what is best for Olive and me.

If you want to read more about this whole RhoGAM and blood type thing, go here: http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancycomplications/rhfactor.html. I admit. I am still a little fuzzy on it all.

I will definitely ask the nurse why I didn't have to do anything with Lucy, and now I do...hmmm...

New With Heath?
Well, he gave me the best Mother's Day weekend ever! :) He was so sweet and spoiled me like crazy! :)  I appreciate him so much as a husband and a daddy. I woke up Sunday morning to breakfast croissants! Yay! :) Soooo delicious! As you know, they got me in trouble with Lucy, weight wise. I had to give them up. :( But, an occasional one or two, here and there won't hurt...too bad. :)

Lucy and him also gave me an awesome present and picked up Chinese food for me, for supper. It was delicious. I think I ate all but one Crab Rangoon on my own. Oops! Mmm...I'm making myself hungry.

Anyway, he has been really good about taking the helm with Lucy. He gets up with her in the middle of the night for me. Granted, she does go to his side of the bed and I don't even wake up sometimes. And, he often ends up just putting her in bed with us. :[ But, I appreciate it, even if I wake up to her wheezing in my ear. He has informed me that our bed allows room for one more...which worries me and my future rest. Heath, Lucy, Olive, and me, in a queen-sized bed? Oh boy!

With Lucy?
It seems like in the past week, she has just grown up so much! She is getting so big, not only physically. She is talking so much and is so smart! I literally cried the other day because she just amazes me. Yes - I think this time it was the hormones. haha.

We are in the middle of week 2 of no binkie and I think I can officially say, without jinxing myself, it is gone (knock on wood, just in case). I don't think we will turn back now. :) Also, in Lucy news, she went potty on the big girl potty again!! :)

After changing her diaper, I just decided to leave it off. I thought if I let her run around the house naked (since it is hot out), that she will either pee on the floor or tell us when she has to go. Her telling us has been our biggest issue. To be honest, Heath and I didn't think that she would just pee on the floor. We were kind of right. She went pee a little in her booster seat and immediately panicked and told me that she needed a diaper. I took her to the potty and she didn't want to go. It was about 20 minutes later and she told Heath that she had to go and went! :) We were really proud. It looks like being naked in the evenings will become "a thing" until she starts telling us on her own.

The checklist is getting done! We have 18 more weeks!

Anything else?

How could there possible be? This is the longest post ever, right? Well, there is more!  My sister got Olive her first "official" gift.

 How cute is that?! The blacked-out area is our last name. I absolutely LOVE this onesie. I can't wait until she is here and can wear it. :)

By the way, how unbelievable tired do I look in this photo?

Well, that is all for today. Have a good week. We will be going to the zoo next week; so, the days can't go fast enough for me. I'm so excited! :)

21 Week Update

Here we are again, outdoors, with a head! :) The bump is getting kind of crazy and out of control!

How far along?
I am 21 weeks and 4 days (129 days left)

Baby is the size of...
or rather, the length of...a carrot. She is 10.5 inches from head to toe and 3/4 of a pound. Although, I have a feeling that Olive is probably closer to a full pound, considering her weight three weeks ago! :)

Symptoms:
The last few days have been getting rough. I was feeling pretty good; but, I carried Lucy quite a bit this weekend, sat on some gym bleachers a couple of hours, and squatted to give our chihuahua a hair cut. It really did a number on my muscles! I was and still am sore from it all. My back and shoulders are so tight. I think my husband should massage them! :)  I have to give him credit, he has a little bit...

The one thing that I am not really supposed to talk about (bowel movements) are completely irregular and annoying. But, to save you all, that is all I will say. Annoying!

I am starting to have a tough time sleeping again. I wake up a lot and dream constantly. I sleep, but don't really feel rested. So, I am feeling really tired lately. The smallest activity, like walking around Target for an hour, just about lays me out. Aww, I'm making myself tired. Let's move on...

Anything New?
The name is the same. I haven't gone to the doctor again. The belly is just getting a lot bigger! She is moving quite a bit more, or I am just feeling it more. Unlike Lucy, who used to kick and punch mostly up by my ribs, Olive's kicks are all downward. She hits my bladder like crazy and I am not as confident about my bladder control as I was with Lucy! :{ Constipation, then diarrhea, possible incontinence...get back boys! I know I'm a catch, but I'm taken!

New with Heath?
This last weekend, since I didn't feel well, he spoiled me pretty bad. I appreciate it a lot. I was just out of it and still am a little bit. I am so thankful that he takes care of Lucy and me. He is a great daddy and husband. Thank goodness for me!

He has really started to talk about Olive. He talks to Lucy about her and talks to me about our future, all while referring to her as "Olive." It helps us to better realize that a fourth family member is on the way! It gets kind of hard to believe at times. Although I am absolutely positive nothing can prepare you for having a newborn baby! And, in our case, adding another one to the family, while also having a 2 1/2 year old!

We continue to think about what we need to buy and what we need to do. It isn't as overwhelming this time, however, we probably need to get on it! I've been nesting a lot, but mostly in other rooms of the house. The nursery needs some TLC, since Lucy moved out.

New with Lucy?
Although she still occasionally gets out of bed at night, I would say that we have successfully made the transition to her big girl room. She doesn't really talk about the crib or her old room at all. And.....we have been binkie-free for over 72 hours!! Small victory in our house! :)

I'd love to say that we did some type of ceremonial goodbye to the binkie, or "mailed them" to her baby friends. But, we didn't. She got in trouble Friday night and we took it away. And, well, we decided since we were on a roll, we should continue with it. When she asks for it, we just say, "No binkie. Sorry honey." Surprisingly, her response so far has been, "Okay..." - of course it is in a whiny tone.

Now we need to move on to our third feat - potty training. More about that some other time...

Anything else?
I was recently approached with this question, "You aren't seriously naming your baby Olive are you?"

I expected it from the person it came from. I tried to be cordial, "Yeah. I know it isn't very popular." She continued to make disgusted faces, while ridiculing the name. I just smiled, in the bitchiest way I could possibly come up with, and nodded. She ended her rant by saying, "I just worry about other kids making fun of her."

Ohh...I see. She was telling me the name Olive was horrible, as a favor! Silly me! "I told her that I didn't think there was anything to make fun of and to be honest, "if she is a good person, then I don't care."  Her response was, "Yeah, I guess. Was Olive Oil one of your favorite cartoons growing up?"

It wasn't, but oh my gosh! God forbid that children call her "Olive Oil." That would just be the absolute worst! Riiiiight...they won't even know what Popeye is in that generation.

Finally, I just said, "Yeah, many of my family members don't like it too much, but they are too polite to say anything." I was hoping that would shut her up.

Fun times!  I still love the name and no one is going to convince me otherwise. I just have no use for rude people. Get a clue....what a way to start the week! I hope the rest of it goes better!

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!

The Winds are Changing

The Lucy household is in for some changes in the coming months. We are approaching the age of potty training and binkie removal. I cringe as I type those.

Potty training? I assume it is a lot harder than it seems. I, for one, have always been that person who would be shocked when older children weren't potty trained and would ask other people, "Shouldn't they be potty trained by now?"

Now, I just might have been putting my foot in my mouth all of that time.

I'm nervous.

What if Lucy has a hard time with it? What if it takes forever? She is in daycare, as you know, so the consistency will be a little difficult. And, to be honest, TMI, she has become a little inconsistent in the timing of messy diapers.

I've been told by several people:

"It isn't a big deal."
"Girls are easier than boys."
"I had mine potty trained before they were ___(insert unbelievably early age here)__."

It is a lot of pressure. I just don't want to start too early or start too late. Because according to my Granny, a cousin of mine was started too early, was potty trained for a while, and then reverted back to messing her pants. (haha - no, it wasn't Hannah.)

BabyCenter.com says that you shouldn't start until they are at least 18 months; but, people keep asking me when we are starting and why we haven't started yet. :{ I have to sadly say...I'm a "going by the book" kind of gal, for the most part. I was the youngest in my family, so I didn't really get to experience all of this stuff first hand. All I have are the answers from different mothers (which are always different), or references, like my doctor, BabyCenter.com, or What to Expect....

For Lucy's 18 month "birthday"? She is getting a big'ol potty chair. :) If for nothing else, then to sit on...naked. :)

We'll see how it goes. I'll be sure to let you know how hard or easy the transition is for Lucy and us. Watch - it will be really easy and then our next child will be super difficult (as my mom claimed it was with my sister and me).

As for binkie removal? Ugh...we really need to start weaning her. We've been trying. In fact, a couple of nights ago, I almost put her to bed without it! When I gave it to her, I realized that she hadn't had it the entire night! It was a small achievement. :) Perhaps it will be easier than we thought too...

My biggest worry with it? Is that we use it for this:

Is that awful? haha. Heath calls it "the plug."

Screaming in the grocery store? Oh, just get "the plug."

If you are interested in this particular pacifier, they sell it on Amazon.com for a decent price. :) I think it's great. haha.

The winds are changing...I just don't know if I want to put up my sail up yet or not. :{