Tuesday, June 7, 2011

30 Weeks

ACK!! Almost 30 weeks!

When did that happen?

I always get nervous around this stage in pregnancy because I was a preemie born at 29.6 weeks. I try not to dwell on the fact, and instead think that in 8-12 weeks, we will be adding another child to our mix!

So far, all is going well. Had my gestational diabetes test a few weeks ago, and since I have not heard anything yet, I am assuming I passed. I declined drinking the nasty sugar drink and opted instead to eat a certain meal for the test. It was much easier to eat breakfast then to fast and drink that nasty syrup.

We started our birth classes last weekend. I am so excited to be gearing up for another natural water birth! I am trying to tell my body daily to take it slow. I do not want to have another unassisted home birth! I want a longer labor with this one. I know, that sounds really odd to most women, but if you had the experience I had last time, you would probably be saying the same thing.

We still do not know what we are having. We have names picked out for each gender, and a coming home outfit for each also. I am beginning to think we will be having Little Miss just by the way I am carrying and how different my cravings are this time around.

With Little Man, I wanted puffy Cheetos, watermelon and Skittles. Little Miracle had me craving hot dogs. This one has me craving crunchy foods (apples, carrots, cucumbers). Really different!

Tell me what you think? Is this my Little Miss or my Little Mister?

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No more naps for Little Man

I know I said 6 months ago I was going to write this post, and here it is. A little late, but life is super busy over here!

I always LOVED nap time. When I only had one child, it was MY time. I could nap, clean, read a book, do whatever I wanted to do! Then we added Little Miracle to our house, and both he and Little Man eventually napped at the same time. Mama still had "me" time.

I had both boys napping at the same time for a few months. I always dreaded the day that Little Man would give up his nap time.

Then it happened.

Little Man started fighting his nap for 2 hours, then finally sleep, then he would fight bedtime for 2 hours. It was just not worth it anymore to force a nap on him when he clearly did not need one. So I started to just skip his nap.

And I was TERRIFIED.

Then I realized all the possibilities this opened up. We could stay out later if we were out in the morning because Little Miracle would nap anywhere at that age. It gave Little Man and I "our" time back. When you add a second child into your family, you no longer get the one on one time that you get all day with only one child. Little Man and I could do things that we wouldn't do when his brother was awake. We could bake, paint, build with blocks and have them stay up. All the things that Little Miracle would make difficult at his age.

Now most days Little Miracle's nap time is Little Man's quiet time. He needs time to wind down and relax after our busy mornings. It’s our time to watch movies on the couch. We snuggle up and watch a movie or his favorite shows. Quiet time usually lasts about an hour, and then we get to play, just him and I. We have started working on writing letters and hearing the sound letters make in this time too.

I guess the moral of my story is this: don’t dread the day your child gives up their nap. It will open up a world of possibilities for you!

When my Little Man gave up his nap, it made a happy mama!

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Friday, April 22, 2011

Earth Day


Today is Earth Day. The day where people try to bring awareness to the things we are doing that harm the Earth and bring awareness to things we can do to lessen our impact on the Earth.

I consider our family pretty Earth friendly. We try hard to keep our impact on the Earth small.

What do we do? Here are just a few that I can think of off the top of my head.

We use cloth diapers so no waste going into the landfills. We have used the same diapers for both of our children and will use the same ones for the third and any more children we are blessed with.

I breastfeed my children, so no formula cans or bottle liners going into the trash and no extra water used on washing bottles. Plus, its free!

We don't use paper napkins or paper towels, we use washcloths and rags instead since these are reusable.

We turn off lights when we are not in a room or when we are not at home. Gotta save energy too.

I shop with cloth bags most of the time, so less plastic ones that never go away.

We try to get most of our food from local sources. Eggs and meat come from a farmer that is about an hour and a half away. Fruit and veggies are bought from the farmers markets (looking into the cost share from our farmer this spring/summer). Buying food local saves fuel and you get fresher food!


These are just a few things you can do too. What does your family do to lessen your impact on the Earth? Any ideas for us to add this year?

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Spring Cleaning


We have been doing a lot of spring cleaning around here. Other than cleaning out closets and such, we have been doing house repair. So far we have:

Replaced the play room (was dining room) light and put up a celing fan

Replaced the very old and very noisy garage door opener

Pressure washed the deck

Painted the garage

But the biggest project yet? We painted the house...

Before:
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After:
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And replaced the french doors that lead to the deck

Before:
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After:
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Next up? Staining the deck, redoing our bathroom, the boys bathroom and yard work.

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20 weeks!


I hit 20 weeks last Thursday. Half way there.

It is going by so fast, partially because I am so so busy with the two toddlers.

Yes, toddlers.

Little Miracle decided to take off walking a few weeks ago. He is now almost running! Mamas life just got more fun!

Back to Little Bean.

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We had our 20 week ultrasound last week. All looks great! Baby is measuring right on track (20 weeks, 1 day at 20 weeks). They estimated the baby weighed 11 ounces. It was great to see the little one that I am growing.

We stood firm and did not find out the gender! I can not WAIT to see who I am carrying. Stephen is so strongly convinced it's a girl (he swears that he saw the gender, even though I was watching too, and the ultrasound tech did not even go near the goods) that he has agreed to the boy name he hated before.

Here I am at almost 20 weeks.

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sorry for the crappy cell phone pic, again....

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Hide And Seek


Little Mans new favorite game is hide and seek. It consists of him hiding, then telling you when he is ready. When we go to look for him, he starts telling you where he is. The latest one sounded like this:

Daddy: Ready or not here I come
Little Man: I'm in here Daddy
Daddy: Hum, I can't find him
Little Man: I'm making noise (bang, bang, sing, bang)
Daddy: Is he in the bathroom?
Little Man: I'm in the game closet

He is also under the impression that if you can’t see his head, you can't see him. Point in case. His other favorite hiding place? His head under his slide, with his butt sticking way up into the air.

Life is great with toddlers!

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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Rainy Day


When we wake up to this....

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We build blanket tents and watch movies all day

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We color

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We bake cupcakes

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(OK, so we made these yesterday, but had we not made them yesterday, we would have made them today when it's rainy)

We wear our rain boots all day in hopes that it will stop raining soon so we can go outside and jump in puddles.

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(Little Miracle does not have rain boots yet. He still refuses to walk. He is taking a few steps on his own, but not full on walking yet)

I love rainy days. They are good for the soul.


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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Fun With Chemicals Again

I am now 16 weeks pregnant. We are staying strong on not officially finding out with ultrasound the gender of this baby, but that does not mean we can not play, right?

I did the draino test again. If you have been reading this blog for a while, you know we did this with Little Miracle too.

I got the same results. Dark color. Boy.

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Also took the IntelliGender test. Same results as Little Miracle. Boy.

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I have been feeling boy for a few months now. I just know. But then again, with Little Miracle I felt girl, but with Little Man, I knew he was a boy, KNEW. So who knows.

We will see in 24 weeks!

Anyone know of any other fun tests? I just heard something about a baking soda one, I will research it and see how to do it in the next few days. What else can I do to play?


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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Random Things

• I am now almost 10 weeks pregnant and feeling ok. I always get a stomach bug in pregnancy. With Little Man, I got it right after I found out I was expecting, so I was 4-5 weeks. With Little Miracle, I was 12 weeks and with Little Bean, I was 9 weeks. I got it twice in 4 days this time. NO fun!

• I have a Doppler at home to listen to the baby’s heartbeat. I found it at 8 weeks, 6 days. I don’t listen to it that often, but it is nice to have. I am also feeling the baby move every now and then. About every 2-3 days I get a little flutter.

• We were snowed in all of last week. Atlanta got hit with a huge snowstorm. For some reason, or DOT was not prepared, so they did not start to clear the roads until Tuesday. The snow came on Sunday night. The weather man said all week it was coming, but the DOT did not listen. It was below freezing all week, so it did not start to clear until Friday.

• Little Miracle is still not walking. It is bugging Stephen, but I know he will walk on his time. Little Man walked at almost 14 months, and Little Miracle is there now. He will walk holding onto your hands. I know he will take off soon!

• Little Miracle is starting to talk. Its all sorts of fun. He also points to what he wants now, and shakes his head no if you pick the wrong thing. This has made him a much easier baby. He never caught onto the sign language like his brother did, but then again, I did not try that hard.

• We decided to not find out the sex of this baby before birth. It is my dreams to push the baby out and have no one announce the sex. I want to look for myself, and then get to announce it myself.

• I am already tired of the “do you hope it’s a girl?” comments. Seriously guys. I love my boys and would be THRILLED if it’s a boy. Yes, I would be equally thrilled if it is a girl too, but I do not hope for one sex over the other. So stop the comments!

• I “interviewed” Little Man today. Mainly about the baby in my belly. Here are his answers:

How did the baby get in my tummy? I don’t know

How is the baby going to get out of my tummy? Your pee-pee

Is the baby a boy or a girl? A baby.

But a boy or a girl? Boy

Are you going to have a brother or a sister? A sister

What are you going to name the baby? Ella (a name we are considering for a girl. I think he heard Stephen call the baby this)

What is your favorite toy? Um, this car (handing me the one he was playing with)

What is your favorite show on tv? Dinosaur Train

How old are you? 3

How old is Mommy? 3 like me

How old is Daddy? 3 like me

How old is Little Miracle? 3 like me

So everyone is 3 like you? Yeah


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Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Introducing...

Introducing....

My Little Bean. (And it's yolk sac)

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I had an ultrasound today (7 weeks 5 days) to rule out another molar pregnancy. We saw a healthy baby with a strong heartbeat of 144 beats per minute! Little Bean measured right on for my 31 day cycle!

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So excited!!


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Saturday, December 25, 2010

Merry Christmas!!

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!

We had an awesome one here! Atlanta got a white Christmas!! The first measurable one since 1882, when we got 0.3 of an inch. Today we have over an inch and it is still coming down. Little Man is SO excited to be able to build a BIG snowman tomorrow!!

I have not heard anything back from my midwife on my blood work yet. So far, she thinks everything is OK. She measured my uterus and said it felt right on for 6 weeks. We will see what my blood work says! I also asked about getting an ultrasound and have not heard back. I am sure I will hear something on Monday, after the holiday is over.

I will post pictures from Christmas tomorrow, or Monday. Tomorrow we will be out playing in the snow all day!!!


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Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Trying Not To Stress

I'm trying really hard not to stress and worry about this pregnancy.

But its almost impossible.

Once you have had one loss, you lose the innocence of pregnancy. Your brain can not "not worry" about every little thing.

I am going in to see my midwife tomorrow for blood work. I have had low progesterone in every pregnancy so far, so I do not think this one will be any different. I need to get started on progesterone quickly so my levels stay high enough to support the pregnancy.

I am also going to see if they will do an early ultrasound. I know some of you do not believe in early ultrasounds, but I am considered high risk. Since I have had a molar pregnancy, my chances of having it reoccur are 1 in 100. I need the ultrasound to make sure it is not a molar pregnancy again and to make sure everything is growing like it should. Once molar is ruled out, I will only have the 20 week ultrasound unless something comes up.

I have already decided to opt out of most of the screening tests. The ones that made me stress out with Little Miracle. If they will not give me a definite answer, I do not want them.

We are also considering planning a home birth this time around. I am still not sure if that is what I want but since Little Miracle came so fast, it may be the best option for us.

I am trying to think of a nickname for this baby for the blog, but so far I am hitting a wall. I have nicknames for either sex, but not one that will work not knowing the sex yet. I will try to think of something soon for you guys!

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Monday, December 13, 2010

Getting It Out...

I hate people that talk about you behind your back. I hate it even more when what they are saying is untrue.

I found out recently that someone who I once considered a friend has been spreading nasty lies about me. Someone who I have gone out of my way to help and befriend. Someone who I went over and above to help them when they needed it most.

I know the things they say are untrue, but it hurts to know that someone has been saying nasty things about me. Someone I once considered a good friend. And apparently this person has been saying things to my other mommy friends. Guess that explains why I get the cold shoulder from my mommy friends now.

If you are naive enough to believe everything you hear about me, then go be it. I wish you would be adult enough to come to me and see if these things are true.

If you are going to talk about me behind my back, grow up and say it to my face.

I try very hard to not talk about people behind their back, guess I need to choose my friends more wisely from now on.

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Thursday, December 9, 2010

I Need A Glass Of Wine

Stephen left the house at 4:30 this morning. It is now well past 7 pm and he is not home. We had two strange men in the house all day working on the heat and AC unit. Little Miracle only got one nap, and Little Man does not take naps anymore (yes, there is a blog post coming on THAT one)

It’s been one of those days where I would love to fill the bath tub with water as hot as my skin can stand it, crawl in and soak for hours. With a glass or three of wine.

But… Oh, I can’t! Did I mention I am pregnant? Again. Yes. Baby number three is on the way.

We are thrilled, overjoyed and excited… but scared at the same time. Little Miracle is still so fussy and does not sleep at night very well. He has 8 months to learn how to sleep thru the night, or longer than 4 hours at a time.

Welcome back to this journey. I forgot how exhausting it is!

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Wednesday, December 8, 2010

To My Little Miracle

To my Little Miracle,

I spent my entire pregnancy worried. Worried at first that you were the molar pregnancy re-growing. Worried later that you had Down Syndrome. Worried about your health. In the middle of a move and trying to buy a house. It was a very stressful time.

Your birth was just as crazy. You came in almost 50 minutes from the first contraction to being birthed. You were birthed in my bathtub with just your father there. I was in shock then, but looking back I wouldn’t change much from your birth.

You nursed great from the beginning. I was so thankful. You were the best baby in the hospital. We were there for 2 nights, and you slept so well. I was so thankful.

Then we brought you home.

You screamed for the first 6 weeks of your life, non stop. Mommy and Daddy did everything they could think of to comfort you. You slowly started to calm down and become more manageable.

You slept with us from the day you were born, even in the hospital. You started going to your crib for a few hours at 6 months old, but you still ended up in our bed every night and you still do.

You nursed like a champ and still do. You love nursing. I think you would nurse all day if I would let you.

I swore up and down you would walk before 12 months. You proved me wrong.

You have a strong will. You don’t like me to feed you anything that you can do yourself. When we try to make you stand to walk, you fall to the floor and crawl. You have Mamas temper and that is not a good thing.

The first year of your life was the most trying year of my life but it has only made me stronger.

I love you with every ounce of my being. I love the way you and your brother play together. You adore your brother. You are a mama’s boy thru and thru.

Happy first birthday my Little Miracle. I am looking forward to seeing the fun you have in store for us this next year!

Love,
Mama

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Monday, December 6, 2010

Making It Snow

It got down right cold around here the past few days. Little Man has been asking when we can play in the snow.

I don't have the heart to tell him I don't think he will get to this winter.

On the way to church on Sunday, it was snowing. Tiny, tiny random flakes, but still snow! We got to church and the entire inside of the building was set up for winter. It was magical. His room had snow flakes hanging from the ceiling and cotton balls on the wall for snow.

He LOVED it.

I loved seeing the look on his face staring at the ceiling looking at the snow.

When we got home, I decided we would make it snow at our house!

Today we cut out snow flakes from paper we have here and then we painted them.

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After they dried, we hung them in the living room.

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I think we will make a few hundred over the next few weeks and hang them all downstairs. Why not?


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Little Miracle Is Almost One!

We had Little Miracle's birthday party on Saturday. Here are a few pictures from it.

Setting Up

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Cake

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Digging in

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Sleepy Baby

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The aftermath. Little Miracle loves chocolate just like his mama. Notice he hardly touched the vanilla.

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Clean up time

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Presents!

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Little Miracle had so much fun. He slept for 3 hours after his party was over. Thank you to everyone who came out to help make his day a special day!


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Mama's Birthday

My birthday was Saturday. Ack! I am 30 now. I guess I am officially old.

Stephen took Little Man to the Dollar Store so Little Man could pick out presents for me. Little Man actually wanted me to come with him, so I came, but I stayed in the car. About 45 minutes later, Little Man and Daddy emerged, with two Christmas gift bags in hand.

We headed home and I started setting up for Little Miracle's birthday party. After a little setting up, I hear Little Man calling me to come in the living room. He wanted to give me (and Little Miracle) my birthday presents. I tried telling him that my birthday was the next day and Little Miracle's was still a few days away, but he insisted.

Little Miracle opened his first. Little Man picked out a basketball night light, a Spiderman book and a box of brownie mix for Little Miracle. We put the night light in his room then Little Miracle proceeded to chew all over the book and brownie mix box.

Little Man then handed me the bag. I opened the card. It was a Christmas card with a place for a gift card, but he picked it out himself, and that was the card he wanted Mama to have.

In the bag was a Toy Story Frisbee that both boys tried to steal from me.

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A container of zip-ties.

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And a hair brush.

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Little Man did good.

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Thursday, December 2, 2010

Paint and Birdseed

We had fun with this today.

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Paint!

I bought a "build your own bird feeder" last night and Little Man helped me put it together. It took several tries, since there was no need for glue or nails, it all fit together like a puzzle. Kinda hard to do with a 3 year old.

We broke out the paint today to decorate it. He had so much fun! Here are the pictures.

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He wanted me to help him, so I painted the top while he painted the rest.

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Once it dried, we filled it with seeds and hung it on our tree. Now we just wait on birds!

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