Don't trust the Old Wives...

Because they are WRONG!  We had a wonderful ultrasound on Friday that clearly revealed to us that we are having another healthy little BOY!  OH how precious he was.  I am going to go ahead and admit to you that I completely thought it was a girl...mostly because my pregnancy has been weird and different from Carter's pregnancy.  I was pretty set on that thought, but I started getting a little nervous that I was wrong closer to the ultrasound.  I think I was nervous that I would be disappointed because I had thought girl for so long (I guessed correctly on Carter, that he was a boy, and I was nervous I would be disappointed with him if he had turned out to be a girl...but I was right so I didn't have to worry about that for long!)  Well since I was wrong with this one I shortly discovered that I was not at all disappointed!  I am so excited!!  As soon as I saw his boy parts I just knew that he was exactly who God made him to be and the Lord created Him to be our child and it is His Will for us to have 2 little boys, and I will rejoice in His plan for our family!  Chad and I have the important job of raising two Godly men, and what a big job that is going to be.  Oh how I dream and pray that they will be men after God's own heart! 
Not to mention...I adore the boy name I have picked out..."Max"  I believe we have decided to use my maiden name as Max's middle name, so Max Daniel, but we will just call him Max : )

Carter is excited to get a brother (I think), and I know he will love having someone to teach the ways of Lightning McQueen.  I know they will have such a special relationship, and I'm glad they will have each other to share life with...and we will have to see down the road if we add #3 to the crew ; ) 
Carter and Max will be opposite seasons so we will have to do some shopping for baby clothes (Oh darn!...do you sense the sarcasm here?)

Here are some of the great pictures we got at the ultrasound:

 My Max

Feet!

Look Mom and Dad...I'm a BOY!

17 weeks

Can someone please tell this baby that it is 17 weeks gestation age and it's time for Mama to start feeling better?  So I think I'm finally going to have to admit to myself this is going to be a rough pregnancy.  I have been telling myself..."maybe tomorrow", "maybe next week", "maybe after 18 weeks"...but I think I need to stop fooling myself so I won't be disappointed...I feel like POO most days!  Don't get me wrong, I do have good days and I can definitely function more normally than I could in the 1st trimester.  I remember having more energy in the 2nd trimester with Carter, I am still very very tired with this little one.  I get pretty bad headaches, I get dizzy really easy, and if I don't eat every 2 hours on the dot my sugar starts to get really low and I feel faint.  It is hard to plan the day around having to eat a good protein rich meal every 2 hours.  I still throw up 3 or 4 mornings out of the week, and 2 weeks ago I was at an unexpected doctor's appointment feeling awful and found out I was dehydrated...then it took me a week to get over the effects of the dehydration.
We go through a lot to get our little ones here, don't we??
On a very exciting note, two weeks from tomorrow we find out what our little booger is!

Just for fun let's see what the Old Wives have to say about baby #2 being a BOY or a GIRL...
It's fun to pass the time by guessing a little!

1.  Sleep Position

Left Side- Boy

Right Side- Girl

2. Bad Nausea

Yes- Girl

No- Boy
(side note, I had horrible nausea with Carter too...actually Carter's nausea seemed a little worse, so not sure how accurate this question is for me)

3. Soft or Dry Hands?
Soft- Girl
Dry- Boy
NO CHANGE

4. Food Cravings

Sweet, fruits, and Citrus- Girl

Meats and Cheeses- Boy

5. Adult Acne

Breakout- Girl

Clear Skin- Boy

6. Mood

Moodiness- Girl

No change- Boy

7. High or Low Belly
High-Girl

Low- Boy

I am carrying VERY low...much lower than I did with Carter...so I think it might mean the opposite for me

8. Weight
Carried in Front- Boy

Spaced over Middle- Girl

9. Pendulum Test

Back and Forth- Boy

Circle- Girl

10. Model your hands
Palms up- Girl
Palms Down- Boy

11. Toddler Advice- get advice from a boy toddler about gender...
Toddler Ignores Belly- Boy
Toddler Shows interest in Belly- Girl

12. Even and Odd Numbers-

If your age and year of conception are both even or odd- Girl

One Even, one odd- Boy

13. Baby's Heart Beat

Greater than 150- Girl

Less than 150- Boy


BOY= 4/13
GIRL= 8/13

Looks like PINK is winning with the Old Wives, I guess I'll have to wait 2 more weeks to find out for sure ; )

14 Weeks and a Happy 3 year Old Birthday

I am 14 weeks 1 day today!  Yay 2nd trimester!  Sickness is much much better and pretty much non-existent except for sometimes at night.  I'm still having some food aversions...mostly to chicken type stuff...chicken fingers is the biggest "gag me" right now.  New symptom of the second trimester...almost passing out, yay.  I have had about 3 instances where I have almost hit the deck!  Not to worry though, passing out is apparently very common in pregnancy, so I'm told by my nurse and doctor- go figure.  Just goes to prove my point that I am a disaster in pregnancy...I also would like to say that my children try to kill me while in utero. 
I am also eating us out of house and home.  I have to eat a lot, or apparently I pass out.  I actually need to go eat something now, but I'm trying to finish out this blog post.  AND I JUST ate chick-fil-a.  It is seriously ridiculous, and I don't feel like I had to eat this much with Carter.  And YES, it is just ONE baby.

I had my 14 week appointment today, and it was very QUICK.  It was at 10:15 and I was on my way home by 10:37!  Props to my doctor's office.  I think it also helps that my appointments are on Fridays, and they close at 12.  So I'm sure they have to stay on schedule to get their half day :)
Dr. Johnson found baby rather quickly with the doppler, and it's heart rate was a strong 150.  He started smiling really big when he found it and said "there it is!".  I wonder if the doctor gets nervous at these appointments when they are trying to find the heartbeat?  I bet they are relieved when they find it.  I'm sure there are some women he has to tell bad news to or send to ultrasound for a closer look.  I am thankful I got to hear that little thumping sound today.
We scheduled the big ultrasound today for February 17th at 8:30AM!  I think we're going to take Carter with us.  Not that he knows what is really going on that much, but we can still point to the screen and say "that's baby" and he will repeat it : )  Well, I don't know, he is 3...maybe he knows more than I give him credit for!
Here is a 14 week belly picture. 

 

That's about all in baby land...I have a big boy that turned 3 last Friday!  I can't believe I have a 3 year old.  We had his party at our church in the Kid's Area...and it was a double party with his cousin Owen!  It was so much fun, and Carter loved every minute of it.  It was CARS 2 themed so that made it even better.  He is just a little bit obsessed with anything Lightning McQueen.  I love my sweet little boy.  I am discovering that he has such a tender heart and is really starting to care about others and put them first (one of my prayers for him!).  He is still my laid back little guy that loves his naps and still often wants to be held by me.  His Daddy and I love him more than he will ever know...so here is to a Happy 3 years Carter Steven!  

Here are some pics from the party.

12 weeks

 People are not joking when they say you show sooner with your second baby.  You could hardly tell I was pregnant with Carter until I was around 22 weeks!  I was actually about this size!!  For comparison sake, below is a picture of me pregnant with Carter at 21 weeks...

Crazy, right?  I have heard that if you have one baby that your muscles are already separated, so everything is able to expand out easier than the first time (I just must have had really strong ab muscles before I got pregnant with Carter- ; ) yeah right, haha).  But there has got to be some kind of truth to the muscles being separated because this baby is only about 2 inches long right now!

My nausea has calmed down quite a bit since my last post (knock on wood and thank the LORD).  Still sick at some points during the day but it's not nearly as intense and my nausea meds usually clear it up quickly.  I am still pretty tired though and have not hit the stage where I have gotten my energy back yet.  I still just want to sit on the couch.  When I start to feel completely better, I want to start walking on the treadmill at least a few times a week and I hope to follow some round-abouts of the gestational diabetes diet.  I wasn't diabetic with Carter, but I just think the diet would be something healthy to go by for the majority of the pregnancy.  Now, I'm not going to be lame enough to say that I will follow this diet to a T...given I just ate a bunch of M-n-M's, but I want to try to eat healthier than I did with Carter (hey, don't judge my M-n-M's, I'm still in the not feel good stage).  I think all of us Moms know how hard it is to get that baby weight off postpartum....

Maternity pants are still a little big, but wearable.  My normal pants are a no-go though...so I guess I'll just have to look frumpy for a few weeks.

My next appointment is January 12th.  I'll be 14 weeks and we will just get to do the doppler to hear the heartbeat and a normal office visit.  Next ultrasound will be in the middle of February and we will get to find out what baby is : )

Long time no blog...can you guess why...???

 I'm sure you guessed it.  Yes, I am throwing up multiple times a day PREGNANT! 
We found out we were expecting again in October, so I am due in July.  We are very excited and feel super blessed, especially since we lost our last pregnancy back in July this summer.  And let me just say, having a miscarriage under your belt does not make the 1st trimester any easier.  My poor husband and close friends have listened to every worry in the book, it has been hard.
A couple of days before my first ultrasound, I started spotting, and it started out exactly like the miscarriage did.  I just KNEW it was over, and I could not believe it was happening again.  It started happening in the evening, so the next morning my sweet nurse got me in asap to see what was going on.  I went straight to ultrasound, and I was ready to see nothing there but an empty sac...I was fully prepared, ready to ask my doctor questions about tests for my early losses, etc.
So, we saw the sac and she said it looked good but not to get my hopes up, that I was exactly at 6 weeks and it may be too early to see anything just yet, even if everything was okay. She kept looking and measuring and I saw it, A DOT.  Oh how I loved seeing that dot!  She pointed it out and told me it was the baby and she was glad she could see it; she continued to measure and as she was measuring I saw this little flicker inside the dot, and I knew immediately what it was!  A heartbeat!!  My dot had a flicker, I could not believe it!  She noticed it too, and we were able to hear it on the ultrasound machine.  It was only 104 bpm but she said that was really normal for being just barely 6 weeks.
I went on to see my doctor and he confirmed that everything was looking right on track, but went ahead and checked my progesterone levels.  Sure enough, they came back low, so I am now on a progesterone supplement through the 1st trimester.  This was the reason for the spotting.

I thought I knew it all, and I am so happy I was totally wrong.  I knew it was over, I told myself I knew my body and I knew exactly what was happening and it was over...again.  But, God had other plans.  He very lovingly showed me that day that I do not know it all : ) HE does.

Today we had our second appointment.  I am 10 weeks 1 day and baby is measuring 10 weeks 2 days with a heart rate of 162 bpm.  Little one was sleeping most of the ultrasound (yay, maybe I have another good sleeper!!...my friends will hate me!), but did start kicking its little legs around at the end.  I am in love.

Onto the next pregnancy subject.  I am SICK.  I prayed for this, I asked for it, I wanted my head in the toilet and buddy I got it.  I am now down 7 lbs and on my second prescription of nausea medicine.  I thought it was hard working and being sick with Carter, but now that I don't work (in an office that is) I have discovered it has been quite challenging being sick and responsible for a 2 year old.  Oh how I count down those minutes until nap time!  Every second of nap is cherished...on the couch, with my head on the pillow.
One really odd symptom I have had with this pregnancy that I didn't have with Carter is feeling like I have a fever.  Weird, right?  It's not like I'm hot or anything, but you know how you feel when you have a fever?  You just feel really bad all over and you can't really say "this hurts" or "that hurts", you just have a bad all over feeling?  Well, I have had that with this pregnancy and it has been rough.  I go to bed every night at 9:00 on the dot, and I usually fall asleep on the couch the hour before.
Well, enough of the complaining, please know that I am ever so grateful for this pregnancy and if this is what it takes to get another precious one here, I'll suffer through it.  But, I don't have to enjoy this part, do I?


Here is a laundry list of things I have learned this pregnancy:

1. I have discovered it is much easier to throw up while sitting on Carter's potty stool.  It puts you the perfect height above the toilet and it much more comfy than sitting on the tile floor with your mouth directly above the area where your husband misses the hole. If you are pregnant and sick, I would definitely say it would be worth the purchase!

2.  Chad can only handle approximately 5 weeks of a dirty bathroom; then he has HAD IT and will halfway clean it.  I enjoyed throwing up in a clean toilet this morning- thanks HUN!

3.  Contrary to what others may believe, Vlassic Dill Pickles really are not as bad coming up as you would think they would be....but apples ARE.  Go figure.

4.  Drinking Ginger-ale is really only good for about a week and a half.  Then it makes me nauseous to even think about it.

5.  I have wished to Chad several times for a feeding tube that goes directly into my stomach, so as to by pass my mouth so I don't have to taste any food.

6.  When I'm sick, nobody has any clean underwear.

7.  The sight of Christmas decorations makes me nauseous.

8.  I have never wanted my husband to have an off day so bad in my life.  I have cried numerous times when he leaves for work.  He is just so darn helpful!

9.  If you ask me how I'm feeling you will probably get an earful.  It is an outlet for me and makes me feel better to say how crappy I feel : )

10. The way that I say I feel is not equal in anyway to how thankful I am.
       Illustration:  My Complaining (not equal to) My thankfulness
(I wanted to do an equals sign with a line through it, but I don't have one of those on my keyboard- I would have put more effort into it, but I'm feeling sick right now)

There you have it folks, the top 10 things I have learned so far this pregnancy.  I'm sure there will be MUCH more to come : )  Especially if my nausea continues.

You have made it to the end of my post, yay!  So you are now rewarded with pictures.

6 weeks 1 Day...our DOT with a FLICKER.



10 Weeks 1 Day
 
 

Whew.

It has been a whirlwind the last week!  Last weekend we said goodbye to our first home and hello to our new (more spacious) second home.  Well...not sure I would call it goodbye, considering we still own the first house.  We have had our cute little home on the market for about a year and half and it became completely obvious to us it was not going to sell anytime soon.  Unless you have had your head in a hole for the last couple of years you know that the housing market sucks stinks right now : )  Not too many people are in the market for a 1,000 square foot home at the moment. Yeah, we're not in the market for one either, so I guess I can't really blame anyone.
After giving the house a fair amount of time on the market, we knew it was time to consider renting it out.  It's funny because even thinking about being a Landlord used  to make us nauseous, but one day we both just seemed to have a weird peace about it.  Chad and I had decided to completely commit ourselves to prayer for God's Will with our situation.  We prayed together and we prayed separately for guidance for our family.  We by NO MEANS wanted to become "landlord's" without being under the umbrella of the Lord's protection.  And we knew we were guaranteed that protection by being right in the center of His Will.  We prayed if it was His Will that the process would go easy and without glitch and He would make the provisions we needed to get things started.  Our first step was to get our house out there for rent.  On Craig's List it went at 9pm on a Wednesday night.  By Thursday at 12 pm we already had 2 people coming to look at the house that evening!  The first renter to walk in the door loved it and was very anxious to get the house.  Chad and I both had a huge peace about her and felt so confident that we called her later that night to let her know she could rent the house. 
Now onto the next step, finding a new house!  We had narrowed the house list down to a handful we wanted to go and look at.  There was one house in particular that just stood out to us and Chad let me go and look at that one first, while he was out of town that weekend. It was perfect and every box on my list was checked.  He told me if I liked it to put an offer in...and I did!   They soon countered back with a reasonable offer that we accepted.  Our next obstacle was the tricky process of getting approved for a 2nd mortgage when you already have 1 mortgage.  Praise the Lord, we were approved and we closed in 17 days.  Chad said that is the quickest he has ever seen a closing happen at the bank.
It is the absolute best feeling to know that our family is in the center of God's Will.  It is a very free feeling!  It was incredible to watch God work as we went through the whole process and to see everything just fall into place.  I love that the Lord cares about the intricate details of our lives.  He cared that we were busting at the seams in our last house, and He cared that Carter was running out of room to play the bigger he got, He cared that he had no place to ride his toys outside, and that our closets were overflowing.  I cannot tell you enough how perfect this new house is for us, it is everything we have wanted and needed in a home.
Also, what a great distraction this has been from my miscarriage I had last month.
We bring all of our thanks and praise to our God because He made it all possible and we would not have had the faith to step out of the boat without His promises.

"Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4

Bye, Bye Sweet Home....

Hello New Home!!

Let me also mention that we are on a culdesac with a huge flat driveway and we have a downstairs playroom.  I love that HE cares and shows us His love in so many different ways in our lives.  I pray that our family will always reflect the goodness of His provision in our lives.

I hope to soon add a few more pictures of the inside as we get everything decorated and painted.

Finished!

I finally got the room finished!!  It has been done for a while for the most part but I had not finished the letters to go on his wall.  So once those were done I finally got to take pictures.  Here is a view of the room from the hallway...don't you just love it?

Here is a view of the dresser

Picture frames just for him : )

This is his lamp I found at the Thrift Store for around $6 and bought a new shade and spray painted the base

 Shelf for bags

Book ends $1.30 at the Thrift Store!

All in all it turned out really cute and CHEAP! Now I won't feel bad redecorating his room again when he gets a little older, because everything I found was such a good deal.  In the future, we plan to get him his own nice set of furniture to take with him when he leaves, but for now, all of this will do just fine.

I think I speak for everyone when I say it is time for Fall to be rolling in.  We are tired of being stuck in the house and sweating when we walk to the mailbox.  Although, Alabama seems to just have Summer and Winter...and barely has a Spring or Fall...but at this point in time I will take the cooler weather.  I'm done with a tan, done with swimming, done with shorts, just DONE.

There have been a few new things going on around here...one of them being we found out that we were expecting baby #2 a few weeks ago.  From the beginning I didn't feel very confident in the light pregnancy test lines and I really felt quite normal, which worried me.  By the time I hit 4.5 weeks with Carter I was throwing my toenails up.  Now, I know "every pregnancy is different" and I kept trying to tell myself that and stay positive but it just didn't feel right.  Everyday there were times when I even had to remind myself that I was pregnant because I would forget- it was crazy!  So, I was not surprised (yet still heartbroken) when I miscarried last weekend.  Really?  Did it have to happen on a weekend?  I got into my OBGYN on Monday and after getting some blood drawn we got definite confirmation that it was an early miscarriage at 5 weeks.  It is such an emotional thing to miscarry, you pretty much have to grieve, like you do any loss.  At first I didn't want to talk about it, I didn't want anyone to ask me any questions, I wanted to be by myself, in my house, with Chad and Carter and that was IT.  As the week has gone on though, I have found myself getting back to normal and I haven't minded talking about it at all.  I will say one thing though, I'm sure the farther you are along the harder it is to deal with...obviously.  Not that I didn't already love this baby, but it would have been much harder had I been planning or thinking about this little one for more than a week, had seen the heartbeat, or even felt them move.  So I have thanked God for His mercy and that he took this little one sooner rather than later and I can't wait to meet them one day!  We are trusting our Father and his unfailing love for us, that He knew best.  It also makes me realize how much more precious a healthy child is, and I am blessed to have Carter to hold in my arms as a reminder of that.  It is hard that when you find out you're pregnant, you are not guaranteed a baby in your arms after 40 weeks.  Of course, there are no guarantees in life are there? Despite that, we are continuing in faith to pray for the blessings of another healthy little one in the future!

This verse has given me great comfort this week:

"But I trust in your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing the Lord's praise for he has been good to me!"  Psalm 13:5-7

Life happens and God is still Good.