Getting ready...well, sort of

I finally have put some effort into working on the baby's room...although it is a sad bit of effort.  I can't do much until the toys have been moved out of the room, and husband promises that will be done next week.  He promises he will do that along with getting the painting done and baby furniture moved upstairs.  Carter's old baby clothes Max can fit into and the new clothes that have been bought have been washed and stacked according to size.  I have bought clothes hangers and started hanging some things, and all random stuff is sitting at the top of the closet.  That's progress, right?  Below is a picture of my efforts.

Annnnd here is what the room still looks like...

I had my 28 week appointment yesterday.  Everything went well. I have started rotating to see a couple of different OB's in my practice, and the lady I saw was super sweet.  I have now started my 2 week appointments but the doctor said since everything looked good and since I passed my sugar test (YEAH!), that I could schedule for 3 weeks this time instead of 2.  

Carter went with me to the appointment and he was so good and content, I was proud of him. He was so funny talking to the doctor telling her that "we had to check on Max" and he made sure to ask me if I felt better when we left. 

So as a surprise he got to go to Target and pick out a new Cars 2 car and he got 5 Guys for lunch : )

Here are a couple of 28 week pictures...

My View from above

26 Weeks

I am one week away from trimester #3.  I am really excited, and getting ready for him to be here.  I think I am most excited to see how Carter reacts to him and how Max reacts to Carter as he grows!  Last doctor visit was about 2 weeks ago and I did my glucose test.  Apparently I passed it because I have not heard back from the doctor and since it's one of those "no news is good news" deals, I take the silence as a pass.  YAY!  Super pumped about that.  Although, I did get the "watch it" speech with my weight gain.  But when you go so long without eating and nothing sounds good and then all of a sudden that does a total 180...you're bound to gain a few lbs.  I have slowed it down though and I am watching what all I'm taking in and have been using the treadmill for the last 3 weeks.
Sleeping is still going pretty well, although I expect that to start changing any week now.  Aside from the normal potty breaks, I have been able to fall asleep and stay asleep.  I am so tired by the time my head hits the pillow.  It seems like by this time with Carter I was already having sleep issues (and I think my belly is much bigger this time), but I'm pretty sure now that I am actually chasing around Carter it is making me a whole lot more tired than it was when I was just sitting behind a desk.
Pretty sure Max has flipped and he is head down.  I think he was more-so horizontal in my belly, but last weekend there was A LOT of movement going on and now I can tell by hiccups, kicks, and movements that he is head down...and sometimes he lays downwards-diagonal.  I can really feel where he is when he stretches!  I can also now feel the hard spots in my belly, like where he is sticking his butt out, or a heel or knee or something.  So I know he is growing because that is new!
In nesting news, the poor baby's room is still a playroom.  Everyday I tell myself I need to clean the closet out, but I guess I'm not frantic enough to do it yet.  One day it will hit and I will be freaking out throwing toys out of the room.  I would be more motivated if we would get the paint or something, but we have had so much going on with friends getting married, fixing up the yard, and other activities that it has just been put on the back burner.  I have a lot of the stuff to go in the room, it just hasn't been done yet.  Within the next month though, it will be started.  I have a lot to do.  By 21 weeks with Carter, his room was almost completed!  Poor second baby...Max, mommy promises she loves you just as much, it's just hard to get motivated chasing around your big brother...and I'm not taking all the blame, Daddy is not motivated either  : )
My next doctor appt. is in 2 weeks and I will be 28 weeks...I am assuming it will be going to appointments every 2 weeks after that. 
Below is a 25 weeks picture.  I haven't taken a 26 week pic yet considering I just turned 26 weeks today.

 

My poor big boy isn't getting much spot light on the blog these days.  He is doing so good and is growing into himself everyday.  It is becoming more and more apparent to us what a tender heart he has.  I know this is what the Lord made him to be and I plan on helping him develop that tender heart to do great things for the Lord.  We just finished a Bible Study called "Creative Correction" and the thing that stuck out to me the most in the study was capitalizing on our children's strengths and personalities and developing them so they know how to use them for the Lord.

God created a tender heart in him for a reason, so I pray we can help him to become the man who the Lord has called him to be.

In this world, and as a boy, I know his tenderness will also be judged as a "sissy", "weakness" or "wimp", but I feel like in the coming years I have got to be ready to explain to Carter that those are lies from the Enemy and be ready to explain to him what it means to have a tender heart and that it is a gift from God and not a personality flaw.  I know the future may hold many heartaches and hurt feelings just because he does have such a sensitive spirit, but I have a peace knowing that as long as we help him feel secure at home and secure in the Lord and realize who God made him to be, we won't have to worry too much about those things.

Didn't realize I was going to get into that tangent- haha!  But, it was just something the Lord revealed to me recently so I thought I would share.  So, if you have children, think about their strengths.  What are they and how can you help develop them for the Lord?  Do you for-see any negatives that could come from that strength, and how can you help your child overcome them?

Below are a couple of pictures of Carter from this past Sunday.  It was Palm Sunday and his class got to walk around to each Sunday School class and wave palm branches saying "Hosanna!"  They were precious!  Love my boys.

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