Team Trader Mom

After what felt like a sometimes quick, sometimes long 9 months, we finally have an end in sight.

We have scheduled a C-section for April 10th.

35 weeks. Photo courtesy of H&J Creative Studio

I know that was our original due date so it shouldn’t seem like such a big deal, but it is. A due date is just a guess. It’s an approximation. But the baby could really come at any time. But scheduling surgery, now that’s definite. Granted, the baby could still come anytime before the 10th but at least we know it won’t go any longer than that.

Which is a big relief for me.

I am ready to be done. You just reach a point where enough is enough. I’m not sleeping well. I feel like a beached whale. Things hurt. Clothes don’t fit (I seriously have only 3 pairs of pants I can wear at this point!). The time has come.

I had my last OB appointment yesterday.

My weight gain has slowed down (which is shocking to me since I’m eating like it’s going out of style). As everyone keeps saying – I’m all baby.

And it’s a big baby.

They had us do another ultrasound (we did one at 22 weeks and one at 32 weeks) to check the size. 

Profile shot

8 pounds 6 ounces.

To put some perspective on that, Isabella was 8 lbs 4oz when she was born at 41 weeks (which is 2 weeks later than where we are now). So if we let this kid go another 2 weeks, it could easily be over 9 lbs.

They also discovered something else in the ultrasound.

3D of the baby’s face with an arm partially in front

The umbilical cord is wrapped twice around the baby’s neck.

When I first heard this, I panicked and thought we would need to do an emergency surgery or something but my doctor assured me that there’s nothing to worry about. This happens all the time, particularly in really active babies like TTB. There can sometimes be issues during a vaginal delivery if the cord starts to pull on the baby’s neck while it’s going through the birth canal but you just don’t know until it happens. And if it does, there are things they can do. Plus, there’s always a chance the baby could unwind itself as it moves around these last few days too.

Photo courtesy of H&J Creative Studio

So, we were left with a decision. Keep waiting and see if this kid tries to come out on its own or schedule surgery. Given the size, umbilical cord situation and the fact that I haven’t progressed any in the last week, we thought it made the most sense to go ahead and schedule the C-section.

Next question was – for when?

We could really do it for any time next week but I have this hang up about not wanting to choose my child’s birthday for them. I’d rather leave it up to the universe. So I was indecisive. The doctor suggested we go ahead and just schedule it on the due date, which made sense to me. (Actually, we haven’t officially set the appointment yet. I’m still waiting for the hospital to call me back and confirm).

Photo courtesy of H&J Creative Studio

When the doc did the cervical exam, she went ahead and stripped the membrane too. Basically, that means she stuck her finger through the cervix and scraped it around the sac of waters to separate the 2 from each other.

Yes, it was painful.

Doing this is thought to get things moving along a little bit and encourage labor. I actually did start having contractions last night. I’ve been having Braxton/Hicks contractions for a while but the ones yesterday were more intense and regular. I started timing them and they increased from every 30 minutes to every 10. I seriously thought maybe this was it – that we were starting labor! But when I went to bed and laid down, they all stopped and I haven’t had one since.

My body just likes to mess with me.

So, here we are. 5 days away from having a new little guy or gal in our family. 5 days seems like a really long time to me right now. As I was lying awake in bed last night, I could not imagine how I’m going to get through these last days without going crazy. Today it seems better in the light of day and I think if I stay occupied with Isabella and family fun, plus take lots of naps and rest, it’ll all be fine.

And the next thing I know, we’ll be a family of 4!

Photo courtesy of H&J Creative Studio

Want more baby posts? Check these out!

Stats | Nursery Reveal | 34 + 6 = Holy Cow!

I hated statistics class in college. But just for giggles, I’m gonna throw some numbers at ya.

38

46

2

75

3:30

0

What do all these numbers mean?

Well, here’s a hint on the first one!

38 weeks today. That means 2 more weeks until I’m technically “full term”, although really anything after 37 weeks is considered full term in the practical sense.

So far I’ve gained 46 pounds.

Sorry for the crappy iPhone pic but you get the idea. I’m big. Although, I only feel big where my bump is concerned. I don’t feel ginormous all over like I did with Isabella. Most of the weight is concentrated in the baby area!

Which is why the doctor wants to do another ultrasound next week for a growth check. It’s not that she thinks the baby is huge but because I’m trying for a VBAC, they have to be very careful about every little measurement. It’s a game of centimeters, as she put it. So if the baby is just a centimeter or 2 turned in the wrong direction, they won’t risk it. Same for size. If they think TTB is going to be big, they won’t let me go vaginally. Next week, 39 weeks, is the big decision point. If I’m not progressing by then, they’ll go ahead and schedule a C-section instead of waiting any longer. If I am progressing, they’ll let me go up to 41 weeks.

Today, I was dilated almost 2 cm and 75% effaced. That’s progress! The previous 2 weeks I was showing no progress at all so this is good news. The doctor was able to get her finger just barely through the cervix and feel the baby’s head, which means TTB is down and moving the right way.

Now, does this mean I could deliver at any moment? No. The speed of progression is different for every woman. Some could go from 2cm to 9 overnight and others could take another couple weeks. My body seems to take a long time so I’m not loading the car with my bags or anything just yet.

Throughout this pregnancy, I have been plagued by insomnia. The kind where you can’t go back to sleep once you get up in the middle of the night. It’s frustrating but I deal with it. The odd thing is that almost every time this occurs, it’s when I wake up at 3:30 a.m. If I wake up at any other time, I’m usually able to fall asleep again right away. But there’s something about the 3:30 witching hour that keeps me up. Wonder if this means something? Maybe it’s a premonition of the time of morning when the baby will come. Guess we’ll find out!

The “0” refers to the number of days I have left of working in the office. From now on, I’m going to work from home. CJ was actually surprised to hear this because with Isabella, I literally worked right up to the end. I was scheduled for an induction at 5:30 am on a Wednesday and worked until 5pm the day before.

But things are different this time. For one, Isabella was showing no indication of coming out. At my 41 week appointment, I was only 1 cm and not budging. So I knew I was pretty safe in being at work and not going in to labor. Also, I was a contractor then so I didn’t have as much flexibility.

This time around, I have both the means and opportunity to work from home so I’m going to take it. I will be much more comfortable.

It was kind of weird to leave work today knowing I wouldn’t be back to that building ever (we’re moving to a new location during my leave) and wouldn’t see most of those people until July. Surreal, but also good.

It means we’re almost there.

Many have said they think the baby will come this Easter weekend. While that would be kind of neat, I also want to have a nice, uninterrupted holiday. Sort of one last hurrah with our little family, until it expands to be a little bit bigger.

And I know Isabella does NOT want her Easter egg hunt ruined!

Happy Easter weekend to you all and who knows, maybe my next post will be to report baby arrival news!

Previous baby babblings!

Nursery Reveal! | 34 weeks | Update in pictures

The time has finally come for me to show off the nursery to everyone!

I have to admit that I’m really happy with how it turned out. I think I have decent taste in decorating but I don’t consider myself an expert at it or anything. Still, I’m proud of myself for this one. I had ideas in my head but nothing laid out or pulled together until the end. And I love it!

I would say 99% of the items in this room were either reused from Isabella or made by me. She has been so good about sharing her old stuff. There were times when she would see something and say, “That’s mine!” but once we explained that the baby needed it now, she was cool with it. I’m very grateful that we didn’t have any temper tantrums or squabbles with her over any of the “stuff”. In fact, a lot of it she was more than happy to share and even offered to bring in extra things! Such a sweet girl.

There are 3 items that were new purchases (not counting things like ribbon or scrapbook paper, nor am I including the paint) and 1 that we still have left. I’ll point them out as we go on our little tour.

Anyway, enough talk. On with the show!

[Warning! Long post ahead! But don’t worry, a lot of it is pictures!]

Here’s what the room looked like when we started.

Basically a plain old room (which used to be our office) with paint swatches on the wall (this is the one we chose).

And here’s what it looks like now!

Quite a difference, eh? Let’s take a minute to see how we got here and then I’ll go around the room and show off some of the details.

The first step was to paint – obviously – which is CJ’s domain. It ended up taking longer than anticipated because we needed 3 coats of paint. That tan color doesn’t look all that dark on its own but when you put yellow over it, you find out how much shows through.

But at least CJ got some help from Samson.

“What? I’m helping dad!”

Here it is after all the painting was finished!

In the other pics the yellow on the walls looks a bit darker but that’s because I took them at night. This pic is the closest to the true color.

Now it was time to move in the furniture. All of it was already owned. The crib and changing table were Isabella’s and the bookshelf was an extra one we had in the office. This glider is the one we bought when Isabella was born and it’s seen better days. We plan to get a new recliner at some point when we have the extra money. For now this will do.

Then it was my turn to get in there and decorate!!

We decided to go with an Eric Carle themed room (he’s the author of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” and other popular children’s books). However I’m not one that likes to be too “matchy” or over-do a theme to death. So while we pulled in many elements related to his work and the caterpillar, a lot of the room is just built around primary colors.

Here’s what you see when you come up the stairs and look in the door.

The master bedroom is directly to the left and the bathroom is immediately on the right, making this nursery room in an ideal location.

I love the bright red rug. This is one of the new purchases. I scoured the web looking for one that would be appropriate for a kid’s room, NOT have any design on it and be relatively inexpensive and came up with zilch. Then the other day while I was wandering around Target, I saw this rug and it was love at first sight – and on sale! My heart skipped a beat…

Samson likes it too.

Now we’ll go around the room counterclockwise and look at the details. Here is the room when you come in and look to the right.

Because the walls are all yellow, I tried to not use too much of that color in the decorating so you’ll see lots of green, red and blue.

Everything here is pretty basic. Changing pad and cover (of which I plan to get a new one at some point, probably in red or blue), bins with diapers, toiletry items and music (still need to get a CD player – do you know how hard it is to buy just a CD player? Everything out there now is an iPod music player or something). Bottom shelf has baby toys. Some are ones that the kid won’t use for a while but they were the right colors so I put them out as more of a decoration for now.

The framed images above the table were my creation!

Artwork that is strictly “words” is a big thing in the world of decorating right now (examples here and here) and I figured, how hard could it be to make? I basically took a couple excerpts from the “Hungry Caterpillar” book, laid them out in a fun way, with fun colors and printed them out. Took a couple hours just because I’m picky about layout and wanted to get them just right and aligned to work together. Then I just popped them in some frames and ta da!

I’m really happy with them. I like some of the subtle touches, liking matching the word “caterpillar” to the colors of the drawn image in the book and making up the word “butterfly” of all the colors. I also like how they both have dotted lines to tie them together visually. What can I say, my inner graphic designer (which was my major in college) had fun with this project!

The flower/butterfly decals underneath were Isabella’s addition. We moved those out of her room and she wanted the baby to have some. I thought that was so sweet of her so we’ll keep them in there for a while, even if the baby is a boy.

Continuing around the room…

The afghan was made for us by a friend of mine from work. She knew the colors of the room but not the theme, yet I think the blanket ties in perfectly! All the little circles look like lines of caterpillars! I love happy accidents!

The big caterpillar banner was another of my original creations.

Name banners are also very popular these days (see here) so I thought, hey, why not make one using circles to represent the segments of the caterpillars body! I used scrapbook paper in different greens and patterns to add interest and then of course used a red one for the head. Adding the eyes was a last minute idea and I like it. Isabella thinks we should add legs and antennae but I’m undecided. I don’t necessarily want it to be too literal…more like give a representation of the caterpillar.

But if she insists, I’ll give in because I want her to feel included.

The idea is that once the baby is born, I’ll add it’s name – one letter for each segment. But let’s face it, the last thing I will want to do with a new baby is a craft project so it will most likely stay this way for a while, which is fine too.

The mobile is also hand made by me.

I just printed out images from his books, mounted them on scrapbook paper and strung them on some ribbon which was then tied to a hanger. About as basic as you can get. The backs of all of the images are either black with a white design or white with a black design, since babies don’t see in color right away. Plus it mixes it up a bit.

It was actually Isabella’s idea to make this. We had made a mobile for her outer space room and she thought we should make one for the baby. I was toying with the idea too so that settled it! She “helped” me make it in the sense that she picked out which animals to use and where to tie them on.

Next to the crib is the glider and chalkboard.

The red blanket on the glider was made for Isabella by another friend and she actually did use it a lot but has since moved on to other ones. So, since it was all the right colors, I put it in here! The chalkboard was Isabella’s too.

My parents bought it when we went on our Michigan trip 2 years ago, as something to keep her busy in the car. She never really got in to it though. It’s the perfect colors for the room so I stole it!

(Poor kid is giving up a lot of stuff…but she’s also getting a lot in exchange so don’t feel too sorry for her!)

I think we’ll have fun writing different messages or drawing pictures on the chalkboard!

And in the last corner….

The window is “naked” for now but we do plan to hang up curtains. Just haven’t gotten to it yet and I didn’t want to wait before showing off the room to the world! In the beginning we’ll move in Isabella’s curtains (she’s getting new ones for her room makeover). They’re purple so it works with the bright colors. Kind of a “girly” color so if we have a boy we will eventually change them out but it’s fine for the short term.

This is our make-shift dresser.

I batted around the idea for a while of getting a new dresser (or a used one and spiffying it up) but decided to just use what we had. I figured the bookshelf with canvas bins would work just as well for now – plus it helps add more pops of color.

The bins were one of the other new purchases. Cost me $5 for each one (on sale!) for a total of $30. Not too shabby!

I added to them some tags that I made with leftover scrapbook paper from the name banner, so that everyone knows where to find things, since I hope to have lots of people over helping at the beginning.

Also, I’m anal about organization and stuff… and we got a new label maker for free when we bought our printer so I’m label happy! Isabella has fun with it too.

The items on top of the dresser are a random collection of things.

The little tree was purchased from West Elm for like $1.50 on clearance. I couldn’t resist. It’s cute! I thought about painting it but decided leaving the natural wood was a nice change to break up the colors. I can always paint it later if I want.

The book and little horse are both Eric Carle items. The book was Isabella’s and is well worn, which I love. The little horse was a gift from my mom to the baby for Christmas. And then the blue clothespin picture holder I found on clearance at Michael’s for $2 or something. I bought one each for the baby and Isabella since both their rooms have blue. The picture in it is a placeholder for now (preview from our pregnancy photo shoot last weekend with H&J Creative Studio!). I’ll probably change it up to a picture of the baby once born.

And finally the bookshelf on the wall!

This is the last “purchase” for the room – $20. I wanted to display some Eric Carle books in a way that made them art all on their own. Figured facing them out on a shelf would do the trick. Plus I know we’ll read them a lot and they’re easy to access here when we want to. All of them were ones that we already had or were gifts at Christmas. The little caterpillar rattle was something Isabella found at Kohl’s and insisted we get for the baby. It was all of $6 so she didn’t need to do too much convincing. She likes to play with him too and who knows, he might even show up in some of those pregnancy photos!

Now, want to see something kind of sad?

Here’s the inside of the closet, on one side.

Yep, we only have 1 ‘outfit’ for the baby to wear. Everything else is onesies or pajamas that are in the dresser. But I’m not worried, the closet will get filled in when TTB arrives and we know the gender. Still, I think it’s funny how empty it looks.

And there you have it! The baby’s official room for the next couple years. We redid the whole thing for about $100. Our plan is to move TTB in to the room next to Isabella’s after a while, once he/she is a bit older, so that they can be next to each other. But for now, this is it!

Not to toot my own horn too much but like I said at the beginning, I’m really happy with the end result of the nursery. It’s everything I had in mind with a few surprises I hadn’t planned on. And I think it will suit our needs perfectly.

For more baby stuff, click one of these links!

Isabella’s birth story | 32 weeks | 34 weeks

34 weeks. This is a big milestone. If the baby is born at any point after this, it will most likely do just fine, even if it’s 4-6 weeks early. Phew.

We’ve come a long way baby!

My OB appointment today went fine other than that I had a major case of pregnancy brain. It didn’t help that they were running behind and I got called back a half hour late. We actually had some place to be (visiting a pre-school with Isabella) so I was worried I was going to be late. So, when they had me go in to the bathroom to pee, I was in a whole other world, my mind racing, and I proceeded to empty my bladder and completely forgot to pee in the cup. Whoops. My doctor just laughed when I told her and said it was fine. Since my health is so good it was ok to skip a week on the urine test.

Baby is doing well and starting at 36 weeks we increase the frequency of the appointments to every week. She’ll also start checking my cervix to see if I’m dilating. I still want to do a VBAC as opposed to another C-Section but it will all depend on baby’s size, position, etc. It’s a week by week thing.

In terms of weight gain, I’m up another 5lbs which means a total of 40lbs gained so far. I’m actually a bit disappointed by that. I really wanted to keep my TOTAL weight gain to 40lbs yet here I am, already there, and I have 6 more weeks to go. When I was in the waiting room a mom came in and looked about 26 weeks pregnant. She was definitely smaller than me. I was shocked when she said she was at 38 weeks! 4 weeks ahead of me and yet smaller! Then at the pre-school appointment, one of the teachers was pregnant although you could barely tell. She was so small that I was even afraid to say anything! She’s due in a month! How is it that I’m so much bigger? I guess my body just likes to put on weight. I know I eat my share of sweets and fatty foods but believe me I’m way better this time around. Yet I’m still gaining just as much weight. It frustrates me but in the end, I guess if my doctor isn’t worried, I shouldn’t be either.

I’m noticing that I’ve gained it in a different way though. With Isabella, I got big all over. I look back at old pics and EVERYTHING was puffy – face, arms, mid-section, legs, feet…

Here I am at 32 weeks with Isabella:

Don’t you think my face looks puffier than it does now, at 34 weeks?

This time around the weight has mostly settled in the “3 B’s” – boobs, belly and butt.

One of my good friends says that this means we must be having a “BBB-boy”, right?

One thing that is the same this time around is how active the baby is. Isabella was always moving and shaking in there and TTB is no different. This kid is constantly wiggling. I notice it the most when I’m lying down or sitting, which is a lot since I have a desk job. There are times when I’m in work meetings and not only feel major kicks but can see the movement too and wonder if anyone else in the room has noticed.

While sometimes the constant activity is annoying (like when I get kicked in sensitive organs and it hurts!) most of the time it’s welcome. Movement means that baby is healthy which is all that really matters.

In other news, the nursery is almost done! Theoretically, it IS done in the sense that should this baby pop out tomorrow, we’d have all the essentials ready to go. However there are a few final decorating tasks to be done before I’ll be ready for the big reveal! Hoping to get those done here in the next couple weeks so that we can relax about it.

Here’s a teaser in the meantime.

Also, Isabella’s room is coming along nicely! It’s been painted and now we just have to decorate and re-arrange!

Here’s a preview of the color she chose.

(It’s Cosmic Blue by Valspar. It’s a bit darker on the wall than it looks in that sample. We were really happy with how well it covered. Could have gotten away with only 1 coat but did 2 just for good measure.)

At first we were afraid it’d be “too blue” but I really love it now and so does she. Every little thing we add to her room gets her so excited – even something as simple as a new nightlight – which makes me glad we are doing this for her.

Speaking of Isabella, her big thing right now, as I dig baby toys and stuff out of the basement, is to claim them again as hers.

“Mommy, is this a baby toy or my toy?”

Well, technically, they were all hers but obviously some of them can be shared. But none will be used by the baby right away and she is all over that!

“I’ll play with it just until the baby is ready Mommy.”

Famous last words.

She is getting very excited though. She likes to help me in the nursery with getting things organized or making crafts (pretty much all the décor will be homemade or reused, because I’m cheap!). She loves the Eric Carle “Very Hungry Caterpillar” theme too.

The other night we made a planets mobile for her room (which will be outer space themed) and as we were working she said, “Next we should make a hungry hungry caterpillar mobile for the baby!”

I actually already had plans to do that so of course I agreed that it was a great idea. Then she went on to say, “And after that we can make an Ironman mobile for your bedroom Mommy!”

Um…yeah…ok.

I said, “I’m sure Daddy will want that on his side of the bed…” to which she replied, “No, the Ironman one will be on your side and we’ll make a Spiderman mobile for Daddy’s side.”

I guess we have a super heroes bedroom in our future.

More baby posts!

32 weeks | The Big 3-0 | Isabella’s Birth Story

I’m now 32 weeks along in my pregnancy. That means 8 more weeks to go. We’re in the single digits now folks!

Holy crap.

I have a list a mile long of things that still need to be done. Most are relatively small, but still.

And we need to settle on a name. We each have ideas but we haven’t sat down to talk about them or compare.

It’ll all get done though and everything will work out just fine.

At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

This pic was taken at the end of a long day, on a weekend, hence the lack of make-up. And I’m wearing the same shirt as last week. How embarrassing…I have no shame.

Today was another baby doctor appointment AND we had another ultrasound! You could tell how much the baby had grown and developed in just the 12 weeks since our last one. The face was clearer. The heartbeat was stronger. There was less “space” in there to move around.

This time we brought Isabella along with us. I’m so glad we did too. She’s old enough to see what’s going on and understand most of it. It was fun to watch her reactions.

The first thing we saw was the face.

This is the front of the face with the top of the head on the right side. You can see one eye at the top, closed, the nose and mouth. It all looks kind of puffy and swollen. Not sure if that’s just the image quality or what.

It came up right away and was very clear. The mouth was moving like TTB was talking to us and it was blinking its eyes. Isabella said, “That’s what I looked like when I was in your tummy Mommy!”

They moved on then to looking at the placenta, abdomen, head and other “less fun” things and Isabella lost interest.

Then they moved on to the heart. First we saw the heart beating and then the tech flipped a switch to add a layer of color, so that they could look at blood flow. Isabella thought this was pretty neat.

But the best was yet to come!

When they started tracking the heart rate, that’s what really peaked her attention. On the screen we could see the line tracking the heartbeat and we could also hear it. She said, “What’s that noise coming from Mommy’s tummy? Is the baby gargling?” She wanted to hear it over and over and over. Maybe she’ll become a heart surgeon one day!

That was about the gist of it. They did try to get a good 3D image but the baby didn’t want to cooperate. TTB kept putting its hand over the face so that we really couldn’t see.

I know that’s hard to make out. This is a 3/4 view. The knob at the top is the umbilical cord. Directly below that is the head, with eyes shut and tilted slightly up. TTB has its chin resting on the back of its hand.

Now for some stats!

· The baby weighs a little over 4 lbs., which is in the 58th percentile.

· The heart beat was 158 bpm

· I have gained another 4 lbs. since my last visit 2 weeks ago. That’s more than I’d like but admittedly, I’ve been pigging out lately. Let’s just say baked brie, four-cheese macaroni, cheesecake, Valentine cookies, brownie sundaes, pesto pasta and donuts have all been consumed by me at some point in the last week. It’s time to get better about my diet again. If I keep this up I’ll be 200 pounds in no time!

· We still don’t know the sex. No we weren’t tempted to give in and find out at this second opportunity either.

One recent happening is that my legs are getting bigger and puffier. They’re the worst at the end of the day.

Here they are on Monday, after being gone and in heels for 13 hours. You can see where I started to swell up around the tops of my socks and puff out.

Also, cankles.

See how swollen my ankle is? It can be kind of painful sometimes too, the more fluid your body retains.

It’s all apart of the process though and will be over soon enough.

We’re in the home stretch now!

Take a look back!

What I Won’t Miss… | 26 weeks | 20 weeks

I’m 30 weeks pregnant! In other words, 10 weeks away from having a new little baby.

*gulp*

30 seems like a big milestone. It means we’re in the home stretch. We’re reaching the finish line. We can start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

People have been asking me a lot if I’m ready to have this baby and the answer is yes. In a sense. I’m certainly ready to meet the little one and DEFINITELY ready to have my body back. But at the same time, I’m not so eager that I want the baby to come early. Every day Team Trader Baby (TTB) can stay in and gestate is one more day of increased health. Also, from a practical stand point, we’re not quite there yet. The nursery isn’t done. We still have shopping to do. Not a lot, but enough that I’m starting to stress out just a little tiny bit.

Getting my sassy on! Funny how, if you didn’t know, you probably wouldn’t be able to tell I’m pregnant in this pic. It’s all about the right angle…

Also, I know that once the baby is here, everything will change. Our little threesome will be no more. Isabella will have to share her time with Mommy and Daddy and visa versa, we won’t be able to have as much one on one time with her. I will miss that but we will have a new family dynamic which is great too.

My doctor’s visit was about the same as usual. We spent more time talking about football than babies (she’s a Ravens fan). I gained another 4 lbs which is right on the mark for my goal of 1 lb. per week, making my total weight gain at 31 lbs. If I keep this up, by the end I will have put on 40lbs or so. They like you to stay in the 35 lb. range but I’m pretty close and my doctor is not worried at all. No health issues of any kind (like gestational diabetes) so it’s all good.

Pic from the doc’s office to change things up a bit! Plus she was running late and I was bored…

The baby is fine too. Heartbeat was strong and measurements were good (they measure the size of the bump in centimeters to make sure you’re tracking and I’m right on the money).

Now I’m on a “see the doc” every 2 week schedule since I’m in the 3rd trimester. At the next appointment, they will do another ultrasound to make sure the baby is growing enough. I can’t wait to see more images of the little one. This time they should be even more clear since baby will be so much more developed!! I guess there are advantages to being of Advanced Maternal Age!

I feel pretty good though, physically. As to be expected, I am having more and more discomfort in the form of back and hip pain. I have a knot on the left side of my back that will not go away. Every night when I lay down it starts throbbing. My sciatica pain is still there too. Mostly I feel it at night if I sleep on one side too long. For the past 2 day it’s been lingering and causing some pain on my right side when I walk and made sleeping very difficult.

Hip pain…just one more thing pregnant women and old people have in common.

I can feel the baby getting bigger too. The little flutters and kicks that once were like bubbles inside me are now more like rocks. There are certain spots the baby hits that are extra sensitive and cause me to wince. Particularly when it moves up in to the top right corner of my uterus, under my rib cage.

I’ve been reflecting a bit on the differences between the 2 pregnancies that have gone full term (I feel like I have to clarify because I never want to forget the pregnancies that ended early as those babies are my children too, even though they’re not here) and I am way more active this time around. I remember days in my pregnancy with Isabella when I would come home from work, plop down on the couch and not move until bedtime. I would spend hours at a time watching movies or reading (I devoured the Twilight series). It was also at about this stage that I stopped exercising. Some of it was due to the fact that moving around was unwieldy and I wasn’t sure what I was allowed to do versus not so I just stopped all together. Some was pure laziness.

This time is much different. Isabella doesn’t allow me to come home and just veg! She wants to play and while there are days when my involvement in play is limited, I do what I can because that time with her is so important.

I also try to work out 4-5 times a week, mixing in cardio, weights, pregnancy yoga and pregnancy Pilates. I’ve increased the yoga/Pilates to twice a week because the moves are geared toward strengthening, stretching and readying your body for labor and delivery. Plus it feels good!

I’m still trying to be mindful of my eating too. I recall very specifically having this thought in my Isabella pregnancy, “Screw it! I’m getting bigger anyway, might as well enjoy it!” and then I would reach for another cookie, piece of cake, slice of pizza or whatever. I’m trying not to do that this time around. I’m focusing on getting lots of fruits and veggies in my diet along with lean protein and iron. Don’t get me wrong – I definitely indulge in sweets and fatty foods too but not with the same abandon as I had before. Plus, I know how hard it was to lose the nearly 60 lbs. I gained 4 years ago and I do NOT want to go through that again!

On a fun note, the nursery is slowly coming together. We are using the room that was our old office. All that furniture has been moved out and the walls painted yellow.

I will do a more comprehensive, nursery focused post when it’s all done but for now, here’s a sneak peak.

This is how it started…

These were the 2 colors we narrowed it down to (same on both walls, just a different perspective) and we chose the one on the right, which is a little brighter and has less orange in it.

And this is where we’re at today:

That picture is actually pretty close to the true color but here is the official color if you want to see the pure form. It looks bright, and it is, but in a good way. That room is small and the yellow helps open it up. Once we get the baby furniture and other colors in there, I think it will be really cute. I have lots of ideas!

Next step is hauling in Isabella’s old crib and putting that together, along with the changing table. We need to bring up all the baby clothes and supplies out of storage and start organizing them too.  There are lots of other little details but for now, one thing at a time. The décor can be added over time. What’s important is to have the essentials done in time for baby’s arrival home!

I think that’s enough for today! I’ll have another update in 2 weeks!

Wanna see how far I’ve come? Then check these posts out!

Growing Up | Isabella Baby Moments | 26 Weeks

As I enter the third trimester, I’m starting to fantasize about the things I’ll be able to do again once the baby is born. While I recognize that pregnancy is a gift in so many ways (and feel very blessed that we have the opportunity to have another child), I am definitely not one of those people who loves and relishes the 9 months of pregnancy and wants to pop out baby after baby.

I like alcohol too much.

Kidding.

Ok fine. It’s the raw cookie dough that I long for.

At any rate, lately I’ve found myself thinking about all the restrictions that will be lifted come April. Not just health related stuff either. I look around at CJ playing on the floor with Isabella or people wearing cute clothes that they don’t make in maternity sizes and feel envious. So I thought I’d make a list of a few little things I’m looking forward to after our cute bundle of joy makes an appearance!

I can’t wait to…

1. Bend over. Wait, that sounded bad. You know what I mean. It’s the small things isn’t it? Picking up dropped items on the floor…reaching into lower drawers…tying your shoes…shaving.

2. Have the ability to reach across tables, countertops, desks or any other surface. I seriously have a car wash receipt on the dashboard of my car that has been there for 3 weeks because I can’t reach it to throw it away.

3. Sleep / lie on my back and stomach. Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night in a panic because you’re lying on your back and don’t know how long you’ve been in that position? No? Then you’re not pregnant.

4. Cook without getting food on my belly because I don’t realize it’s touching the counter. Many a night have I gone upstairs to change in to jammies and looked in the mirror only to see a line of food stains across my shirt. I guess that explains why Samson sniffs my bump a lot.

5. Run and jump and be more physically active. Ok I don’t really long to go for a run any time soon but I at least want the option! Yes I still work out right now but it’s very low key. I want to sweat dammit!

6. Hold Isabella any way or time that I want. Though, it can be a convenient excuse for those times when she needs doesn’t need to be carried and is just being difficult.

7. Have a lap again. Right now Isabella can’t really snuggle on my lap. She has to sort of sit next to me. She still tries to sit directly on my lap but can’t really lean back and snuggle so it’s awkward. And I hate it.

8. Have a waist. ‘Nuf said.

9. Wear my regular clothes again. Or cute new clothes for that matter. I’m getting tired of maternity clothes. Wearing the same rotation of shirts all the time gets old fast and I’m running out of ways to change up the outfits. Also I really only have 2 pairs of jeans that fit and look decent so I’m doing a lot of laundry and pretty much live in yoga pants on the weekend. I look forward to the day when I can box up all the maternity clothes and ship ‘em to Goodwill!

10. NOT hear comments about how big I’m getting. I eagerly anticipate the days of hearing people tell me how great I look/how much weight I’ve lost/how they almost mistook me for a celebrity. What? It could happen…

There are a few things about pregnancy that I will miss. Ok only 2.

1. Elastic pants – old ladies and Santa Claus have the right idea. Especially at Thanksgiving!

2. Baby movements and kicks – no matter how many times it happens, the baby moving around inside you never gets old

But above all, the # 1 thing I am most looking forward to after pregnancy is getting to know and hold our new little baby! Every other ache, pain and inconvenience is worth getting to that point.

Check these out!

Isabella Baby Moments | The Translator | 26 Weeks

To quote an age old classic female rock group of the 80′s, “Time, time, time…see what’s become of me….”

Happy 26 weeks!

If you’re anything like me, you find the whole trimesters/months/weeks of pregnancy thing confusing. It doesn’t always add up correctly in my head. But I found this chart online that helps visually show how it all lines up.

(source)

So according to this, I’m nearing the end of the 2nd trimester!

This week, as part of the ongoing pregnancy fun, I got to do the Glucose test for gestational diabetes. That means I had to drink a bottle of this super sweet orange liquid (Glucola), within 5 minutes, and then wait an hour for them to draw my blood.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I am not a fast drinker. So getting all the liquid down in 5 minutes was tough. At first it tastes like Orange Crush but after a while it turns nasty and by God I had to stop myself from gagging a couple different times. But I did it!

If I don’t hear anything then all is well. But if the doc calls that means my reading was too high and I’ll have to go in for a follow-up test. So far, no word so that’s a good sign!

Otherwise, all checked out well. Baby’s heartbeat was strong. My weight was fine (I’ve gained a total of 27 pounds so I’m still on track for averaging about 1lb a week). I noticed that I’ve gained more weight in this last 4 weeks than I had the previous 4, most likely due to the holidays and extra eating.

My belly is definitely expanding!

Let’s compare to the last picture I took, which was at 22 weeks -

Yep, definitely bigger (oh look, and I’m wearing the same shirt…how awkward…).

Now let’s compare it to how I looked at this stage in my first pregnancy:

This was taken at 28 weeks. The belly looks about the same but my face is definitely puffier which I think means I was gaining more weight all around and not just with the baby.

It’s harder for me to keep up with Isabella too. I hate that part. She is always on the go and play time with her tends to be like a Catholic church service – stand up, sit down, kneel, run around, sit, run some more, move to another room, and on and on. A lot of times I have to tell her “Sorry, Mommy can’t do this or that”, which I hate. I want to do everything she does but alas, I just can’t.

Isabella is not shy in pointing out how big I’m getting either. I only have a couple winter coats that still fit me and one of them is getting more and more snug. Every time I put it on, Munchkin says something like, “That baby sure is growing Mommy!”

In terms of unpleasant experiences, I got a Urinary Tract Infection this week. I have a history of getting those so I know the symptoms and can tell almost immediately when one is coming. This one showed up on New Year’s Day (happy new year to me!) so I phoned the on call doc and they wrote up an anti-biotic. Normally the docs would want me to wait until I can get in for a urine sample but since I’m pregnant, they didn’t mess around. Any untreated infection could move to the kidneys and that would be bad. So I’m glad we caught it early.

I’ve been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions too. That is when your uterus has sporadic contractions. They can start as early as 6 weeks and generally don’t hurt. Instead you feel a tightening or hardening of the uterus. They are nothing to worry about unless you get more than 4 in an hour or they start to hurt. I generally get them when I stand up after having been seated for a long time or after a lot of walking (like doing mega-shopping or something). I had CJ feel my ‘belly’ when I got one last night and he was like, “Whoa!” Your uterus really does feels hard as a rock and it’s kind of freaky the first few times. Isabella poked at it too and said, “Hard!”

We’ve also made a change in some decisions about the nursery. Instead of making it the room right next to Isabella (the famed “polka dotted room“) we’re going to change what is now the office into the nursery.

The office (the room straight ahead with the green sheets on the futon) is the closest room to the Master Bedroom (door on the left) so it would make nighttime feedings/changings easier.

Plus, being further away from Isabella would minimize opportunities of waking her up in the middle of the night to the baby crying (Isabella’s room is the door on the far right and the polka dotted room is the one right next to it). Eventually I’d like the 2 kids to have rooms next to each other as I think that would be fun when they’re older, but for now, we’re going this other route.

Aaaaaaand we probably need to get started…so, I stopped by Lowe’s on the way home and grabbed some paint swatches (for both the nursery and Isabella’s room)! Going to hang them up in the rooms tonight, live with them for a week or so and see what we like!

Yellow and green as possibilities for the nursery and the blues are for Isabella’s room.

Hopefully in the next update I can show some progress pictures of the nursery!

Track my progress!

7 Things… | Weeks 21 and 22 | 20 weeks | 19 weeks

The pregnancy continues to go well and overall I’m feeling fine.

No belly pics this week. Just Munchkin and me baking some cookies!

So instead of boring you with another ‘update’ post about the same old thing, I thought I’d switch gears a bit.

There are many things about pregnancy that are expected like putting on weight, buying different clothes, peeing a lot, glowing skin, morning sickness, etc. There are also a lot of things people don’t really tell you because it’s a) not glamorous and in some cases embarrassing, b) seem silly and minor, or c) they’re afraid they’re the only one. You can read about most of these in books but most likely they won’t come up in every day conversation (“Hi Sally! How are you? Me? I’m fine but boy does my hoo-ha ache today!”).

So allow me to provide you with this PSA on the things no one tells you about pregnancy (or that you forgot from the first time around). You’re welcome.

1. Growing pains

Sure, we all know that when you get pregnant, you get bigger. It’s easy to see. But what you may not anticipate is how that growth feels. It’s not like your uterus, skin, and hips can get bigger without causing some discomfort. They are s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g after all. It’s fairly random too. For me, I will be totally fine and then all of a sudden get a sore spot on my side or an ache below my belly. If you’ve never been pregnant before it can really freak you out. And as someone with a history of miscarriage, it can REALLY freak you out.

With my Isabella pregnancy I was panicked with each new twinge. This time I’m just annoyed by it. Although some of the aches have shown up in places I do not remember having them before. Which leads us nicely in to #2.

2. Wherein I talk about things “down there”

The other night I literally was watching TV with a bag of frozen peas directly on my crotch. I’m sure it was very attractive. But come on! The pubic bones are moving too and boy can I feel it. The pain occurs when I walk, change sitting positions or generally do anything involving my legs.

Awesome.

I do NOT recall my vajayjay aching with the first pregnancy. Maybe I just blocked it out or maybe it’s because I’m older – you know, of Advanced Maternal Age.

Either way, I think I owe that bag of pees some flowers or something.

3. Itchy Scratchy

Remember how in #1 we talked about stretching and growing? Well when your skin does that, it itches. Maternity pants don’t help either. Some of them come up over your belly and make the itch that much worse. Usually you get an itch at the most inopportune times too. I mean, I feel like a dirty old man sitting there scratching my belly all day.

Case in point – the extended family was out to dinner for my nephew’s birthday. Suddenly, the side of my right boob started itching like crazy. I tried to subtly slide my right arm up and down to get it but that did nothing. So I casually reached with my left hand across, as if folding my arms, and adjusted my bra cup while simultaneously itching the affected area. Only, my bra was being stubborn and I had to pull hard, causing my fingernail to bend backwards, which made me jump and yelp thereby drawing all the attention my way. The very attention I was trying to avoid.

Sigh.

I guess I should just embrace it, scratch away and then look incredulously at people who give me dirty looks. Dude, I’m pregnant. I have the right to do pretty much anything right now and you’re not allowed to comment or criticize.

4. Aching for Advil

Naturally, there are limitations to what you can ingest while pregnant. No alcohol. Limit the caffeine. No raw food (sorry cookie dough but I just can’t quit you). So it naturally follows that you would have to limit medications too. For the most part, I am totally ok with that. Generally, I don’t take a lot of medications anyway. I rarely use cold medicine and never take sleeping pills. I don’t have a chronic condition requiring daily medication so I’m not too put out by this.

However, there is one medication that I’m having a hard time living without – Ibuprofen. This has been a lifesaver for me on more than one occasion but particularly when it comes to my knees and neck. Both of these areas are ones which cause me fairly regular pains. And Tylenol just does not cut it.

For the past week I’ve had the worst neck kink I’ve ever had. My chiropractor even said he hasn’t seen my joints that badly swollen. Yet, there was nothing I could do for pain management. I basically had to suffer through, which tends to be the mantra when pregnant and ill – just suffer through.

Then I got a bad head cold and was beyond stuffed up. Again, Ibuprofen would have helped to relieve the swelling in my sinuses, but alas, it was not to be.

And decongestants? Fuggettaboutit.

Blergh.

5. Shaving

I went to a Catholic all girls high school. With no boys present, you can imagine that our hygiene and general concern about daily appearance pretty much went out the window. Like I’m going to put on make-up for a bunch of girls in uniform. Shaving also went by the wayside. I remember girls who would go for months, nay, even the whole year without shaving their legs.

(source)

I’m thinking of going back to that practice.

It’s hard enough trying to shave your legs when you’re standing up in a slippery shower. Add in a large and ever growing belly to work around and it becomes a logistical nightmare.

Did I mention that your hair grows faster during pregnancy because of the increased hormones? Good times.

With my first pregnancy, it got to the point where I had to have CJ help me shave and bless his heart he did it without complaint. It was either that or sleep with a werewolf. I haven’t gotten to that point yet this time around but I have a feeling it’s not far away.

6. Leakage

CJ and I took a Pregnancy and Birthing Class when I was pregnant with Isabella. In one of the first sessions, the teacher told us that one common misconception is that when your water breaks, it comes out as a big gush, like in the movies. In reality, sometimes it slowly leaks out.

She should never have told me that.

Because guess what, in pregnancy you leak anyway. You leak pee when you sneeze or overexert. You leak other mystery fluids randomly. So as you can imagine, as a nervous first time pregnant woman, with every leak I thought my water had broken, particularly as we got toward the end. In fact, that’s how we ended up in the hospital a whole day early for labor.

We were scheduled to be induced on the morning of the 30th so the night of the 29th CJ and I went out to dinner and generally tried to enjoy our last night without a baby. When we got home, I felt some leakage. I was just sure that it was more than normal and therefore MUST mean my water broke. I called my doc and she said to come on in. Yeah, false alarm. But it was 9 p.m. and since I was supposed to be right back there at 5 a.m. the next morning, they just kept me overnight.

Had I not been such a nervous, uneducated Nelly, I could have saved us hundred of dollars in an extra hospital stay. I should have sent the bill to that dang class instructor.

7. PP target practice

By the end of pregnancy, I will know my doctor and her nurses really well. After all, I see them every 4 weeks right now and soon every 2 and then every week. Despite the fact that my doctor is a Ravens fan, I love her and appreciate this time.

What I didn’t anticipate was how many times I would get to pee in a cup. You pretty much have to do that at every visit. I have become a friggin’ pro at it. Not a drop spilled on most occasions.

I’ve also learned that one’s bladder is never really empty. On one visit, I was having a bad case of pregnancy brain and went to the bathroom, cup in hand, and totally forgot to capture any pee in the cup. I realized this when I walked back into the exam room with empty cup still in hand. Oops. Still, I went back to the restroom and was able to eek out a few more drops – enough to get them what they need – and all was well.

So, while being pregnant has it’s ups and downs, I wouldn’t give it up for anything. The experience is unlike anything ever and to have the privilege of creating and bringing life in to the world is beyond amazing. I will happily forgo a few pills here and there and the ability to laugh real hard without worrying about wetting my pants for the chance to hold another precious little baby in my arms.

Besides, we have to have something to hold over their head when they get older.

Previous weeks, in case you missed it:

Ultrasound! | Halfway mark | 19 weeks

This has been a crazy busy 2 weeks. I wanted to get an update out last week and just never got around to it. So, it’s another combo post!

Here are a few non-pregnancy related updates!

We got the house all gussied up for the holidays – inside and outside!

I spent almost a week in Salt Lake City for work but did get some time to drive up in the mountains…

…and then I was hauled off to jail.

Sort of. See the Utah State Penitentiary is across the highway from our office and they have a café (or food truck) that is open to the public – the Serving Time Café. It is run by the prison. Some of the workers are prisoners and some are not. They actually have a pretty extensive menu. I got a Patty Melt and fries and both were quite good.

And I never felt like my safety (or food!) was in jeopardy!

Now on to the baby and pregnancy updates!

I’m definitely feeling bigger and more uncomfortable. When I think that I still have 5 months to go, it’s somewhat daunting but I know it’s only temporary and so worth it for what the end result is!

Zzzz….

Good sleep is getting harder and harder to come by mostly because it’s impossible to find a comfortable position. You can’t sleep/lie on your back after the first trimester and of course stomach sleeping is out. So that leaves side-lying (which is normally how I sleep anyway). However, it’s still awkward. They say to put a pillow between your legs to protect your back but I’ve tried it and that does not work for me. I tend to rollover a lot and having a big pillow under the covers makes movement a lot harder.

So I pretty much have a constant crick in my neck. It moves from side to side but it’s always there. Last week it was on the left side, this week it’s on the right.

Items purchased:

We actually bought something for the nursery last week! Well, CJ did. He found a cute little stuffed Very Hungry Caterpillar that will be perfect! AND he found it at a used toy store for like $1.50. That’s my man!

Isabella is already attached to it because she snuggled with it on the car ride home. We’ve had to explain that it’s for the baby and that she can play with it but ultimately it’s not hers. She said, “But it loves me and wants to be mine.” Ha! She’s getting good at the manipulation I tell ya!

I also bought more maternity clothes this week. Just a few tops to keep me going as I get bigger.

I’ve noticed that maternity fashions have changed in the 3 short years since my last pregnancy. In 2009, everything was empire-waisted and loose around the belly.

Now, the trend seems to be for shirts to be fitted and tighter – showing off the bump.

Isabella photo bomb!!

I kind of like the updated trend as some of the older style shirts made me feel like I was wearing a tent!

Sister or Brother? Isabella continues to change her mind about whether she wants a brother or a sister. One day last week she said “Brother, so that I can teach them about the planets.” Then the other day she said she wants a sister named Jane (after the little girl in Mary Poppins).

Speaking of names, no we haven’t decided on anything and no we won’t share when we do.

And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for….!

Ultrasound results!!

We had our ultrasound today and agreed to not find out the sex of the baby (CJ still wanted too but consented to letting me decide. Smart man!). 

I was told to arrive with a full bladder. And boy did I! It was so full that it pushed the baby up so that it scrunched. They made me go empty it. I did not protest.

I tell you what – ultrasounds today are not what they were 3 years ago. The images were so incredibly clear. We could see not only the heart beating but actually all 4 chambers of it. We also saw the brain, with both sides and the line running down the middle. The spine was perfectly visible and clear. It was amazing.

The baby was cooperating just beautifully too. It was laying face up with its feet up by its head and giving us some great views. Then of course when it was time for the fun stuff (like the 3D ultrasound), it rolled over, covered its face and went to sleep. Ha!

When it was time to determine the gender, she had us look at each other and away from the monitor. It must have been pretty clear and obvious what it was because she was done checking pretty quick!

Picture time!

Here is a profile shot.

It definitely has the Atencio chin…

And a profile with its hand up on its chin, thinking.

This one shows the front of the face.

Here are the little feet.

And a hand.

Finally, the 3D view of the face.

Somewhat hard to see because the baby is nestled back in the placenta. You can see the forehead and right side of the face peeking out (top half of the picture – one closed eye, nose and mouth). Just below the face is the umbilical cord.

The best news of all – baby is perfectly healthy! All markers lined up to where they should be and all organs, bones, etc. are tracking normally. Baby weighs 1 lb. 3 oz. which is 52% – right in the middle! Doctor said she couldn’t be happier with what she saw.

I get to have another ultrasound in 10 weeks to check growth rate. They’re doing an extra one because of my Advanced Maternal Age. By then we should get some really good images!

I am relieved to know that our baby is healthy and progressing as it should. Was it hard to not find out the sex? Not at all! I wasn’t even tempted to change my mind or peek! I’m sure there will be moments as we go along but right now I’m really happy with my decision.

Here are posts from the previous weeks, in case you need to get caught up!

20 | 19 | 18 | 16 and 17

Can you believe I’m halfway through my pregnancy? I can’t. Some days it feels like I’m still in the very beginning. Other times it feels like I should be way closer to “done”.

I also know that what’s left is the hard part. The body getting bigger, and more unwieldy. Aches and pains popping up. And of course the actual delivery.

Can you believe I forgot to take a picture? I would take one now but I’m in my P.J.’s and no one wants to see that.

So here’s one from my pregnancy with Isabella. I look pretty much the same then as now!

I had Isabella via C-Section (after many intense hours of pushing after which they told me her head was too big to fit through and she was backward) so not sure what we’ll do with this one. I’m told that at 36 weeks the doctor can tell me if a vaginal birth is possible or if I’ll have to do another C. If given the choice, I’ll probably try the vaginal route rather than have another surgery. There are trade-offs. C-Sections are much easier and faster in the moment, and can be scheduled, but the recovery is longer. Vaginal births are obviously less ‘convenient’ in terms of timing and are much more intensive but you bounce back quicker (so I hear). I also like the idea of nature deciding my baby’s birthday rather than me picking one.

Believe it or not, she still makes that face when she’s crying!

My stomach is a black hole: I’ve entered a phase in which I CANNOT get enough to eat. I am always hungry. My family had a birthday celebration on Sunday for my dad and me, at which chili and spaghetti along with sides were served. I went back through the “buffet” 3 times and was still hungry. So an hour later I had some cheese/crackers and graham crackers with frosting. Then an hour after that I had cake and ice cream.

And I did not feel full or stuffed.

I’m hoping this is a temporary phase because if I keep going at this rate I’ll be a frickin’ balloon by the time April rolls around.

At least I can take advantage come Thanksgiving tomorrow! My Brother in law has some competition this year! And I’ll have my Thanksgiving pants on – score!

Bigger and bigger:That being said, I’m starting to notice other areas of my body growing. Up to this point it’s pretty much been the belly and boobs. Over the weekend I noticed my pants getting more snug in the butt too. Then the other morning when I went to put on my knee high boots, I discovered they were tighter as well. Yep, my calves are expanding (and I don’t think it’s muscular). What’s next?

I’ll tell you what’s next. I just discovered that the one thing I hated more than anything else from my 1st pregnancy has started to manifest. That’s right – cankles. I had swelling in my feet and ankles really bad the first time around. I couldn’t believe how puffy I was. And it hurt. I thought maybe I’d be spared that with this one since it’s during a cooler time of year.

I guess not. Crap.

Nursery mood:I promised last week that I would provide more insight in to our nursery and gave a subtle hint.

Ok maybe it wasn’t that subtle…

You guessed it, the nursery is going to be centered around the books by Eric Carle. I like that it’s simple, full of bright colors and gender neutral (since we’re not finding out the sex…right CJ?).

I like the look of this nursery:

(source)

I probably won’t buy the Pottery Barn bedding or accessories – who can afford that? – but instead improvise on my own. I plan to put some pics on the wall with animals from the books (most likely made by me using books found at Goodwill or other Thrift stores) and add various animal accents too. Our nursery will probably be more primary color focused than the above picture. I’m thinking of making the walls a cheery yellow. I like some of these colors:

Not too bright but not too light either. Accent colors will be reds and blues and greens.

Right now it’s jumble of ideas in my head. I think it’ll come together pretty easily though!

That’s it for this week. I just wanted to end by thanking everyone who takes the time to read my silly little blog. Some days I feel like I’m just writing to myself (and that’s ok – it’s good for me). But the times I get feedback, whether via comments here or on Facebook, are really exciting. So thanks for the support and happy Thanksgiving!

In case you missed it, here are update from the previous weeks!

19 | 18 | 16 and 17

Happy belated Birthday to me! Yep, Wednesday was my 36th birthday. To me this is the first year that I think my age sounds “old”. I know that it’s not and I’m sure my 50 year old husband is rolling his eyes at me right now. I don’t FEEL old or consider myself old. It’s just the number that sounds old. People generally refer to young people as in their 20′s or “early 30′s”. With 36, I’m officially crossing over the mark from early 30′s to late 30′s.

30 years old…

Vs. 36 years old

Does this belly make me look older?

Plus I get to have the label of “Advanced Maternal Age” (or AMA) on my chart at the doctor’s office. If that doesn’t make a person feel old, I don’t know what will!

All that being said, I am truly thankful for another great year in my life. As we all know, the gift of life is precious and can be taken in an instance. Every child, every person, is a miracle and the fact that I’ve been able to enjoy 36 relatively trauma free years on this planet is not lost on me. So thank you to everyone in my life who has helped me celebrate this week!

Yes my daughter is picking her nose.

Who cares, I got a Steelers jersey for my birthday!

Now let’s party (safely and without any alcohol of course)!

Exciting Pregnancy Moment that Never gets old: This week I experienced for the first time in this pregnancy one of the things that makes every pregnancy fun – baby movements and kicks! At my 18 week appointment the doctor asked if I’d felt any yet and I said no. She said not to worry that it was still early for that but of course my mind started working overtime. Combine that with the fact that it took her longer to find the heartbeat and I was really getting nervous.

So every day I would pay extra special attention to any ‘sensations’ going on down there. Turned out to always be gas or stomach gurgles or something of the like.

Until Sunday. I was lying in bed listening to Isabella slowly wake up when I left a flutter. That’s how people typically describe baby movements at this stage – flutters. It was more like the feeling of a bubble popping. I quickly put my hand over my bump and waited. Pretty soon there was another one! Yippee! I knew for sure that these were the real deal. I’ve been feeling them steadily ever since. They’re too small and sporadic now for anyone else to feel but soon CJ and Isabella will get to experience them too. I can’t wait for Isabella to feel her first baby kick from inside mommy!

Food, glorious food: Surprisingly there haven’t been any cravings for a while. No revulsions either. Just normal eating. I did however down 3 big brownies from a bake sale in a 2 day period and then felt indignant when CJ wouldn’t share the last one with me. But I guess he’s allowed to have one…

Speaking of CJ, he’s been dropping some weight lately. I think he said he’s lost about 10 pounds so far. I can see it too. Not that he was fat before because he certainly was not. But like all of us of “advanced age”, he’s put on a few unwanted LBS over the years. Kudos to him for the loss! He looks great!

Is this how osmosis works? My husbands extra weight falls off him over night and then crawls it’s way across our bed and sticks to me? I just hope that come Spring of next year, the weight will fall off me too and find it’s way out of the house entirely! Unless of course it wants to stick to my wallet and fatten that up. I wouldn’t be opposed to that.

Gender Issues:CJ and I still haven’t decided it we are going to find out the gender of the baby when we go in for our ultrasound in 3 weeks. Well, let me rephrase. CJ knows what he wants – he wants to find out. I’m on the fence but leaning toward waiting. We have yet to sit down and duke it out to come to a mutual decision.

My doctor has predicted that it’s a girl. She told me this last week. When I asked her why she thought so (was the heartbeat particularly female sounding?) she said “Oh I don’t know, Doctor’s intuition.” I guess we’ll see if there’s anything to that intuition!

Oh, my Back! I’ve started getting pains in my back. Lower back that is, specifically on my left side. I know it’s because of my hips moving and spreading. I don’t remember feeling anything this early with Isabella. What can I say, I’m older. It really hurt me after volleyball last night. I had to come home and ice my back for nearly an hour before bed. And of course I can’t take anything. Well, I can take Tylenol but that does nothing for me. I just have to be extra careful with my bending and lifting.

Nursery update:Getting the nursery set up is sort of the last thing on my mind right now. I figure that we’ll get started on that sometime in January, once the holidays are past us. However, I did make a small dent the other night. See, the room that will become the nursery is currently empty. The previous owners had it decorated with pink and purple polka dot decals on the walls so Isabella lovingly calls it the Polka Dotted Room. Well, we were playing around in there the other night and I started peeling off the little dot decals. Some of them came off easily and others took some paint with them. No big deal since we’ll be repainting the room anyway.

However, Isabella was very upset at me for taking down the dots. “But this is MY polka dotted room!” she said! I explained to her that this was going to be the baby’s room soon and the polka dots would have to go. I did promise her that she could put up some dots in her room though. Right now she has flower decals on the walls and her room is pink and purple. But in order to make sure she wasn’t feeling left out while we’re spending all kinds of time on the nursery, we said she could pick out new colors for her room and paint it too. She wants blue. So I’ll probably try to find some kind of blue or white or chalkboard dots for her new blue room. Then she can have her own polka dotted room.

As for how we plan to decorate the nursery, well I’ll give you a hint this week and get in to more of the details in a later post.

(source)

Previous weeks, in case you missed them:

18 | 16 and 17 | 15

For some reason, 18 weeks feels like a big milestone to me. Not sure why. It’s not as if either of my 2 miscarriages ended around this time. Maybe it’s because with Isabella I had the ultrasound at 18 weeks, which is a pretty big deal. This time around we’re not getting the ultrasound until 22 weeks. I could have gone in 2 weeks from now to get it done at the 20 week mark but decided to wait for my regularly scheduled appointment time. It’s all about practicality you know.

(I told Isabella to smile and point at my stomach as if to say “What’s that!?” This is what I got)

Doc Appointment: My appointment today went fine. No surprises really. At this stage in the game, they’re all pretty routine. They call my name, I walk back and step on the scale. 152 pounds today which means I’ve gained a total of 12 pounds. As you’ll recall, my goal is to stick to gaining no more than 1 pound a week. Between the last appointment at 14 weeks and today, I’ve only gained 3 lbs. so I’m pretty happy with that. Healthy weight gain yet not overdoing it.

After I’m weighed, they take me to the exam room and check my blood pressure. It’s always normal or low. Then they ask me for a urine sample. Let me tell you, at this point in my life, I am a master at peeing in a cup. Not a drop spilled today!

Then I wait to see the doctor. She comes in, we chat and then it’s time to check for the baby’s heartbeat. She uses the Doppler radar machine. It’s a handheld device that can detect a heartbeat starting around 10 weeks. She can usually finds it in a matter of seconds. Today she couldn’t at first. I started to have flashbacks to August 30th, 2011 when, in that same room, I found out the news that there wasn’t a heartbeat. Turns out it was the way in was laying on the table. I had my knees bent and feet flat. She had me scootch back and straighten my legs. As soon as I did, she found that precious heartbeat immediately. Phew!

Body Changes: Lately I’ve been noticing my skin is more itchy. Specifically on the 2 areas that are growing: the lumps and the bump. I was fortunate with my first pregnancy that I didn’t end up with stretch marks on my stomach. It’s somewhat of a miracle considering I gained nearly 60 lbs. I think it’s because I was pretty diligent about applying lotion everyday. So I’ve gone back to doing that and it’s helped a lot.

Heartburn. Like Arnold, it’s back. With a vengeance. I had stopped taking the daily antacids when the burn calmed down around weeks 12 and 13. I didn’t need it anymore. But I’m finding that I have to work them back in  more and more. There are some nights when even the antacids can’t tame it. When that happens I just go to bed and ride it out.

Isabella Moments: We’ve had a busy week. CJ and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. We didn’t do anything too crazy to commemorate. Just a movie and dinner. CJ also bought me an assortment of candy since the traditional gift for the 6th year is, well, candy! For a pregnant lady, that’s a total win!

Also this week, we’ve been watching Isabella’s friend Owen in the evenings!

They have had a blast playing with each other.

But boy does it tire me out. It’s given me insight in to what it will be like to have 2 kids. They have way more energy than me!

But at least there are moments of quiet too.

I’ll end with a story. When I got home from work today, Isabella ran over and asked me to play tea party with her. I said sure, but only after I got a hug and a kiss! She came over, hugged me around the legs, kissed my tummy and then whispered, “Hi Baby Skeleton!” Cutest. Moment. Ever.

In case you missed it, here are some of the previous weeks!

16 and 17 | 15

Ok so with various family activities going on like taking Isabella to the Clifford Show…

Going on our annual family trek to Nebraska City…

Carving pumpkins….

Halloween parties….

The “Shrek” Broadway show and the Red Hot Chili Peppers concert…

And then Halloween day itself…

(Isn’t she the cutest little Mickey Mouse pumpkin ever?)

I have had ZERO time to do an update. Oops. But I figure the world won’t end if I miss a week. It’s not like there is all that much to report on in these early stages anyway!

(I totally spaced off taking a 17 week pic so you get 2 pics at 16 weeks! Blame the pregnancy brain…)

Miscellaneous Fun, Facts and Figures:

Pregnancy Brain: Yes this is a real thing and not a lame excuse to be forgetful. Per this article on WebMD:

“Surging hormone levels and new priorities may explain why pregnancy brain happens.There are 15 to 40 times more progesterone and estrogen marinating the brain during pregnancy, and these hormones affect all kinds of neurons in the brain,” says Louann Brizendine, MD, director of the Women’s Mood and Hormone Clinic at the University of California, San Francisco.”By the time the woman delivers, there are huge surges of oxytocin that cause the uterus to contract and the body to produce milk — and they also affect the brain circuits.”

All that scientific mumbo jumbo to say that I’ve fallen victim to pregnancy brain 3 times this week.

First of all, I realized yesterday morning that for 3 nights I’d been washing my face with sunscreen rather than cleanser. To my defense, the 2 tubes look a lot alike…

Apparently it does the job though because my skin has looked and felt fine! Maybe I’m on to something here…

Also, this morning it took me 5 minutes to realize that I was listening to Isabella’s sing-a-long songs CD on the drive in to work and not the radio. Obviously I wasn’t fully focused.

Finally, I left my phone at work the other night. Not sure if that’s related or if I was just distracted but I’m usually very careful when packing up at the end of the day. I grab my phone, any food in the community refrigerator and make sure my desk is cleaned off. On this day I plum forgot my phone. So I was forced to be off the grid for a whole 15 hours. Oh the humanity!

Limitations: The time has finally come when I have to limit how much I pick up Isabella. She’s 29 pounds and for the most part I’ve been okay holding her. However, over the weekend I tried to hold her up on the toilet while in a crouched position (we were at a place without a kid’s seat and I had to hold her up so she wouldn’t fall in) and when I stood up I felt a pull on my side. It was aggravated every time I tried to pick her up after that.

I hate this. She wants me to hold her and I desperately wish I could but at the same time I don’t want to hurt myself or the baby. I can generally hold her if someone hands her to me . It’s the actually lifting up of her that is strenuous. Isabella has a hard time understanding that. It breaks my heart when she pulls at me to pick her up and I can’t. I’ve tried to come up with compromises like having her climb in my lap or having CJ hand her to me. It’ll all work out but it’s definitely a side affect I hadn’t anticipated this early.

Body Changes: I am feeling more discomfort in my pelvic muscles this time around. Those are the ones that hurt when trying to pick up Munchkin. They also ache if I sit for too long in one position. I noticed this at Shrek on Sunday. By the end of the show my lower back and pelvic muscles were aching. I’m assuming it’s because I had a C-section with Isabella and therefore those muscles were cut. Now as my uterus stretches and grows, forcing the muscles to stretch too, there are growing pains. I’m going to ask my doctor about it when I got in next week, just to make sure it’s not anything internal or cause for concern.

Oh, and the heartburn is back.

Also, Kegels.

Just for fun, here I am at 17 weeks with Isabella:

(Wow, I really don’t look very happy. I think I’m about the same size though which is good.)

Dreams:I had my first pregnancy dream the other night. We were at the ultrasound and before we could tell the tech that we wanted to be surprised by the gender, she blurted out “It’s a girl!”. When I looked up on the screen the baby was wearing pink underwear. Then right before I woke up she said, “Oh wait, I was wrong. It’s a boy!”

Apparently we can’t use my dreams as an accurate prediction of what we’re having.

Isabella Moments:Isabella talked to the baby this week! When she first saw the baby skeleton on my Halloween costume, she thought it was awesome. I told her she could talk to the baby in my tummy if she wanted so she did. She walked up and, somewhat nervously said, “Hi baby!” It was so freakin’ cute. She’s done it a couple of times since, but only when I have that shirt on. I think the visual helps her “see” that there’s a person in me.

(Goodbye from Team Trader Baby!)

In case you missed it, here are the previous weeks!

15 | 14 | 12 and 13

Ya know, other than getting a bigger belly, I really don’t feel pregnant. For all intents and purposes, I feel the same as I always have. Sometimes I forget that I’m growing a human in me until I try to do something that my new body won’t allow (sleeping certain ways, bending or twisting, putting on any of my regular clothes). I remember this from my first pregnancy. I thought, what’s the big deal? This pregnancy thing is EASY!

Oh, how naïve I was then.

Miscellaneous Fun, Facts and Figures:

Food cravings: No new ones. I keep waiting for the really bizarre ones to kick in – the proverbial ice cream and pickles scenario – but no dice. I didn’t have any odd ones like that with Isabella either. I guess I’m just a straight forward, plain Jane kinda gal!

Differences between pregnancy 1 and 2: I’m peeing a lot more this time around. TMI? Sorry, but it’s true. I don’t necessarily go more often, but when I do go, it’s a lot.

Remember that scene from “A League of Their Own” when Tom Hanks’ character stumbles into the locker room and proceeds to pee for like 5 minutes straight. One of the gals remarks, “Wow, now that’s good peein’.”

That’s how I feel. It just keeps coming! I guess the little one’s elimination system is working well!

Between Isabella and me, the bathrooms are really getting a workout at the Trader house!

Baby items purchased: I went out and got some new maternity clothes. While buying maternity clothes at Goodwill is a nice idea in theory – i.e. getting the clothes for super cheap – it does have its downfalls. For one, the selection is really limited. Most stores only have half a rack of items. Also, the items tend to be well worn. Let’s face it, during pregnancy, we wear the same small set of clothes over and over for at least 9 months so by the time we’re done with them, they’ve definitely seen better days. Also, they don’t really have the latest styles.

So…I went shopping. I’m really trying not to buy that many new clothes this time around since I know it will be my last pregnancy (I’m too old to keep doing this). But, at the same time, when you need something, you need something.

Here’s what I got.

Blouse and pants (which you can’t see real well but they’re black dress pants)

I thought the rust colored top would be perfect for fall and I liked the style. It’s a little big on me yet but it won’t take me long to grow in to it!

Also, no, that’s not major cleavage, it’s just my necklace.

Also, this light-weight sweater and jeans.

Wow, I look much bigger from the front than the 3/4 view. Guess I’ll have to make sure I always come at people from an angle!

One item not pictured is my new underwear (you’re welcome). They make maternity underwear but instead of buying those, I bought a size bigger of the regular kind. Or at least that was the plan. Only, I was in a hurry and it’s been SO long since I bought new undies that I was more concerned about the cut and the color (2 very important aspects, thank you very much) that I forgot to check the size. I just grabbed the first ones on the rack.

Oops. Rookie mistake.

I realized it when I got home. Thankfully, the gods of undergarments were with me and I ended up with ones that fit (and are super comfy to boot!). Another win!

(I should really start taking these photos in the morning when I’m fresh faced and my hair still looks good)

You know how your mood of the day can be influenced by what you wear? Such that if you wear something which doesn’t fit exactly right, isn’t flattering to your shape or is well worn, you feel poopy. Whereas if you wear something stylish and complimentary, you feel like a million bucks?

Today I feel like a million bucks. I have on the outfit above – my new jeans which not only fit but are a cute style AND a darker wash to help me look skinny, new undies, a blouse that I had from my first pregnancy which I was surprised to find fit really well, a cardigan from Old Navy and my super sassy red heels.

The heels may not be the most comfortable shoes in the world, but they’re not bad either. And I feel jaunty when I wear them.

And you know what? A jaunty pregnant woman is a happy one indeed and I think we can all agree that THAT is a good thing! [CJ's vigorously nodding his head]

Random Preggo Related events: I had my first Sneeze Pee. Time to start doing the Kegels!

Wow, this post is full of TMI isn’t it?

Isabella Moments: Munchkin has switched sides and decided she now wants a baby brother. You’ll recall that a few weeks ago she was all about having a sister. No longer. I’m sure it’ll go back and forth 213 more times until we find out at the ultrasound or the kid is born.

Oh, and just because I need to add some cuteness to this post, here’s what I found in the bed when I got out of the bathroom this morning after my shower.

She kept waking up crying so CJ brought her in to our room. So with him wearing an eye mask and her wearing headphones, does that mean I have to wear something on my nose to complete the trifecta? Maybe a Breath Right strip or something.

To see how the previous weeks have been, click the links below!

14 | 12 and 13 | 11

Definitely feeling way better. I can tell I’m in the second trimester.

Miscellaneous Fun, Facts and Figures:

Report from doctor visit: I am happy to say that the doctor visit was smooth and with no surprises. She found the baby’s heartbeat right away and it sounded “gorgeous”.

I’ve gained a total of 9 lbs., which is up 5 lbs. from my appointment 4 weeks ago. My goal is to stick to gaining about one pound a week and I’m pretty much on target, so it’s all good.

Food cravings: No new ones this week and the other ones have pretty much subsided. I ate 3/4 of a coconut cream pie by myself in about 4 days so that took care of that. And I think I’ll be ok if I don’t see another Pop Tart for a very long time.

I haven’t burned out on apple juice just yet. In fact, Sunday I needed a quick hit so I snagged one of Isabella’s juice boxes and was frantically sucking juice through that tiny straw when Isabella came in and said, “Mommy, juice boxes are actually for kids.”

Busted. I felt like I had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar.

Differences between pregnancy 1 and 2: At this point in my first pregnancy I felt HUGE and was still trying to hide my ever expanding belly.

(As you can see, I really wasn’t that big. This was at 13 weeks in my pregnancy with Isabella. I’m definitely getting bigger faster with this one!)

When you’re this size, you don’t quite look pregnant, you just look like you ate a few too many Oreos (but come on, is there such a thing as eating too many Oreos?). So I wore bigger shirts to hide the belly.

Not this time!

I’m fully embracing the bump and not afraid to show it off. I may look “fat” to strangers who don’t know, but who cares! Might as well enjoy the one time in your life when it’s ok to gain weight and not feel bad about it!

Baby items purchased: None. At some point I need to start going through Isabella’s baby stuff to see what we have and what we need. But that can wait until Winter when we’re stuck inside. For now I’m trying to be outside as much as possible to soak up those last few weeks of fall.

Samson is too.

Random Preggo Related events: My butt hurts. No, this is not a segue in to some post about diarrhea or anything. Maybe I should rephrase. My “sit bones” hurt. You know how when you sit too long your tailbone starts aching? That’s what I’m feeling. Only I feel it after sitting for only 45 minutes or so. I assume it’s because my center of gravity is shifting and I’m sitting differently than I did before the bump. Who knows.

For now I’m trying to adjust positions every few minutes and get up to walk around like once an hour. I might have to invest in one of those donut pillows…classy, eh?

Isabella Moments: Isabella has had a cold for a little over a week. It spiked over the weekend and she was really feeling bad. It got to a point Saturday night where I had to take her down and cradle her against me on the couch so she could sleep propped up. Doing that reminded me of when she was a baby and I’d rock her to sleep in my arms after a feeding, or we’d nap together on the couch. I had forgotten how good that felt – having that little warm body all snuggled in your arms, feeling safe. I look forward to more of those moments.

In case you missed it, here are the previous weeks!

12 and 13 | Week 11 | Week 10 | Announcement