25 Weeks

How far along? 25w0d and the size of a head of cauliflower (or a squash according to my phone app).  He's ~13.6 inches and around 1.5 lbs.  He can grasp his hands and wiggle his fingers and toes (which are also forming nails).

Weight loss/gain:  +21 lbs.  Ugh.

Maternity clothes: 50/50.  I wore non maternity clothes yesterday and was fine and have a non maternity dress to wear to the wedding tonight. I've given up on non maternity jeans, though.

Symptoms:  My colon still sucks - coconut water and hot water with lemon have had no effect on it.  Getting some more aches and pains and cardio workouts have gotten harder. Running is much harder this go 'round.

Sex (of baby):  It's a BOY!!!

Name: Still nothing. I kind of discussed it with  my mom on Mother's Day, but J and I haven't gotten anywhere.  He vetoed Owen (I'm still lobbying for it) and I vetoed Jackson.  All I know is it will not be an 'A' name because I don't want to be those people that name all their kids name with the same first letter.

Sleep: Not bad, but I'm still always tired.  Pregnant with a toddler is SO much more tiring than being pregnant as a first time mom.

Best moment this week? Getting to hear the little guy's heartbeat on Tuesday at my appt.

Movement: Quite a bit, even with my anterior placenta.  He was especially active after my ice cream bar last night (and yeah, that's really helping the weight gain...)

Food cravings:  Can't get enough fruit.

Belly button in or out?  In

What I miss?  Not feeling like a whale.

What I'm looking forward to?  Getting dressed up for the wedding tonight and having a date night (they are few and far between).

Milestones:  I don't know - inching closer to 2nd tri?

What I'm nervous about:  Leaving Andrew with a new babysitter tonight. It's giving me some anxiety.

And me this morning.  I'm working from home so you will have to excuse the hairdo (or lack thereof).  Not sure why I thought it was a good idea to post a bare belly pic!:

Mother's Day (a little late)

This past weekend was my third Mother's Day as mommy to the sweetest little kid I could have ever asked for.

I woke up to the cute little bouquet that Andrew and his daddy picked for me and the handmade card that they made, sitting on the dining room table.  I forgot to take a picture though so you can't see it.

We got the little guy up and got ready for our trek up to Myrtle Beach. (I hate that drive).  We set forth and Andrew busied himself reading about Pookie:

We made it to my parents house right around lunchtime and hung out for a little while before we headed out to get something to eat:

It's impossible to get a picture with all three kids looking.

We just went to a little mexican restaurant for lunch.  Andrew only ate about half of his quesadilla, but that's probably because he filled up on chips and cheese dip.  After lunch we wanted to take the kids to the park so they could burn off some energy.  Plus I wanted to walk around a little so I wouldn't feel so full.

Afterward my sister and the girls went home so Kendall could nap and we headed back to my parent's house for a little bit.  Andrew ran around for about an hour and then I could tell that we were starting to lose him.  Before we left I attempted to get a picture of Andrew and I with my mom.  Yeah - that didn't work:

I seriously could not stop laughing.  We were trying to just get a nice picture, but as soon as I picked him up he started saying "I get down!".  Then came the flailing.  Hilarious.

We decided to head home to wrap up Mother's Day.  Andrew napped the whole way and woke up when we were 5 mins from home.  Just in time for dinner and the tub.

All in all it was a very  nice Mother's Day. I spent the day with my favorite people and got some delicious chocolate covered strawberries as a bonus.  Yay mom's!

I hope all of you moms out there also had a fantastic Mother's Day filled with love and laughter.

V-Day! (24 Weeks)

Holy moly - I cannot believe that I am already at this point.  24 weeks.  That means that if this little guy made the poor decision to show up now he would at least have a fighting chance.  Not that I feel like his arrival is imminent or anything.  No signs of anything going on down there.  Hopefully it stays that way for quite some time - I am not ready for him to be here yet.

And on to this week.

How far along? 24w0d and the size of a cantaloupe. Around 12 inches long and weighing over one pound.   He possibly has some hair on top of his head at this point.

Weight loss/gain:  +19.5 lbs.  Trying to rein in the weight gain since I would really like to keep under the 35 lb mark.

Maternity clothes: Some.  I'm wearing maternity jeans and a t-shirt today since I didn't feel like looking like a stuffed sausage.  I was able to wear a non-maternity dress the other day and it fit fine.

Symptoms:  My colon still sucks (and coconut water tastes like ass) and I was in pain after running Wednesday night.  I'll be really bummed if I have to cut my mileage down this early this time since I was able to make it to 36 weeks with Andrew.

Sex (of baby):  It's a BOY!!!

Name: Still no progress and we haven't even talked about it in weeks. I should probably be feeling a greater sense of urgency with this, but I really don't.

Sleep: Not too bad, except Wednesday night. I've been sleeping pretty soundly and luckily Andrew is getting back to his normal sleep schedule.

Best moment this week? It was kind of a 'meh' week so nothing really happened.

Movement: Yes.  Apparently my favorite sleep position is about to be a thing of the past because 2.0 doesn't seem to like it.  He was kicking/poking up a storm when I was trying to fall asleep last night.

Food cravings:  Still produce.  Loving strawberries, blueberries and grapefruit right now.

Belly button in or out?  In

What I miss?  A decent long run.

What I'm looking forward to?  Next Tuesday and getting to hear his heartbeat again.

Milestones:  Viability day!!

What I'm nervous about:  How much daycare is going to cost.  C'mon powerball jackpot!!

And me this morning.  Couldn't get a good pic in my normal spot so you'll have to settle for the nice bathroom shot:

Garden 2013

Can I just tell you how excited I am about our garden this year.  I love spring and the promise of fresh produce to come.

This year our garden has moved.  We shifted everything back along the fence to give us more yard space now that we have the fenced in yard.  It was a lot of work, but SO worth it.  I'm really hoping that we get a nice bounty from everything that we've planted:

This is an overall view of our new garden space.  So glad the sod is finally taking and filling in.

This is the first box on the far right.  Bell peppers, tomatoes and onions

Next box to the left - Cauliflower, spinach, cucumber and a few onions sprinkled in.

Next box to the left - tomato, bell pepper, string beans and some onions.

Moving left - broccoli, spinach and onions.

Next up - tomato, bell peppers, string beans and onions.

Next we have broccoli, spinach and yellow squash

More bell peppers, tomatoes, string beans and onions.

This last box is a free for all.  The blackberry bush is a transplant.  There is some broccoli (I think that's what that is) and then the radishes and cantaloupe were planted from seeds just to see if they would grow.  I think I went overboard with the radishes and I have to thin them out more.  I also planted some honey dew seeds, but so far I don't see any of them popping up.

I can't wait for this little guy to get bigger:

Now if only I could get Andrew to eat some of these fresh veggies...

Wordless Wednesday ~ My Picasso

Rainy Weekend

I hate rainy weekends.  I used to not mind them - it meant that I could cuddle on the couch and watch a movie or read a book.  Unfortunately when you have a spazz of a toddler to entertain there is no quiet weekend to be had.  A rainy weekend means I have to come up with other ways to entertain the munchkin and distract him from his normal "I go outside?!" exclamation.

We've done the aquarium and I still plan on taking him to the Children's Museum (still need to get our membership - and figure out where the heck it is) but this past weekend I figured we would try something else.

Since he LOVES to bounce I decided that we would try Monkey Joe's.  We hadn't been there before and I wasn't quite sure where it was so I plugged it into my phone and off we went.

We had our first meltdown when they put the wristband on him.  Apparently he is not a fan of having something on his wrist.  I tried to distract him from it by pushing it up under his sleeve, which worked for the most part.  I took off his shoes, put on my socks (so I could join him in the bouncer), stowed our stuff and went to find a good one to start with.  Luckily they have a bouncer that is for ages 3 and under only.  I climbed in there with him and sat around the edge.  At first he didn't seem like he was sure what he should do. He clung to me a bit and just watched some of the other kids.  After a minute or two he gained some confidence and took a few steps away.

A few minutes later he was having a blast.  He was laughing and saying "I bounce!" while he hopped up and down.  He'd come running back over to me every so often, to make sure I was still there I guess, and then he would be off again.

Every once in a while  bigger kid would come in there, but the "referees" were good at making sure only little kids played in that particular bouncer.

After a while I figured we should check out some of the other bouncers.  We found this one that has a couple short climbing walls that lead to a slide on the far end.  I helped him climb the first wall and he slid down into the space between the two walls.

I was standing there talking to him when one of the referees told me I could go in there with him. (Since he's under 4 I am able to be in there to assist him).  I hopped in and helped him climb the next section.  Then I helped him climb the last wall and he went down the slide.  I quickly slid down after him and hopped off so I could help him get down (it was a little too high for him to climb down) and he was laughing.  As soon as his little feet hit the ground he went running back around to the entrance and started climbing back up.  We did this at least four or five times, laughing the entire time.  At that point there were a bunch of bigger kids who were climbing in and jumping around and Andrew started too look a little apprehensive.  I decided we would go back to the first bouncer for a little while.

I started to worry that he was going to pitch an absolute fit when I made him leave since he was having so much fun. I wasn't really in the mood for a public meltdown, so I was (very) pleasantly surprised when he bounced over to me and exclaimed "No more bounce!".  When I asked if he was done bouncing he said "All done!" and held up his arms for me to pick him up and get him out of there.

We spent a little more than an hour there and to me it was an extremely successful trip.  He had fun and worked off some energy, so for me it was a win-win.

So I guess I can add Monkey Joe's to our list of things to do on some of our rainy weekends.  I just wish it was a little bit closer to home.  But, if it makes him happy and lets him have fun I guess it's worth the 15 minute drive.  Anything for my little munchkin.

Book Love (and 23 Weeks)

This kid loves books.  Loves them. And I love that he loves them. I have always been a big reader (except for recently since I never seem to have the time or energy) so I love the fact that he is so into books.

Every night after we brush his teeth he goes running into his room yelling "Read books!" and heads for the bookcase.  One of us will settle in the recliner and tell him to bring a book over.  He grabs whichever one he wants, scoops up Mr. Duck and comes over to be picked up and read to. Once we finish that one he will say "More books!", hop down off my lap and scurry over to get another one.  Sometimes there is already a pile by the recliner so we just choose from them. I swear most nights he would have us read every single book on the bookshelf if we'd do it.

"No sleep!  More books!!"

Normally after 4 or 5 books I cut him off and tell him it's time for bed.  Half the time as I'm turning off the light so we can rock quietly for a few minutes he'll say the name of another book, pleading for me to read one more.  I tell him that we'll read Elmo (or Little Quack or Maisy) tomorrow and try to get him settled for the night.

It makes me happy that he is so into books.  I love catching him sitting in his room flipping through one or sitting in the corner of the living room with his bin of books "reading" to himself.  I really hope this love of books continues throughout his life because to me there is nothing better than settling down on a rainy day with a good book and getting lost in another world.

And on to this week.

How far along? 23w0d and the size of a grapefruit. According to The Bump he's ~10.5 to 11.8 inches and 12.7 to 20.8 ounces.  He's at least a pound by now based on my scan a few weeks ago.  He has nipples and can hear my voice.

Weight loss/gain:  +19 lbs.  Blah..

Maternity clothes: Some.  Yesterday I wore non-maternity pants and was fine. Today I'm sporting maternity jeans and a top just because I didn't feel like searching for something to wear that made me look/feel fat.

Symptoms:  My colon sucks and my hips hurt after I ran the other night. I attribute that to loosening joints and ligaments.

Sex (of baby):  It's a BOY!!!

Name: Still no progress. We'll talk about it eventually  :)

Sleep: After starting out the week with a bang with my all-nighter with Andrew it has gotten much better.  I'm still always tired, but I'm getting 7+ hours a night.

Best moment this week? Not all that much went on. I did see some kicks from the outside so that was cool.  Oh, and I FINALLY told work yesterday on  my afternoon conference call (I NEVER see my boss). Most everyone seemed happy for me.

Movement: Yep, even with my anterior placenta I'm feeling a lot now.

Food cravings:  Still produce.

Belly button in or out?  In

What I miss?  Having abs.

What I'm looking forward to?  My next appt on the 14th - until then there isn't much happening.

Milestones:  Nothing.

What I'm nervous about:  Back to freaking out about two kids. I guess that's never gonna go away, huh?

And me this morning.  I didn't realize my face looked so chubby.  Oh well, at least my bump is finally surpassing my boobs.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Mr. Duck

Well, We Had a Good Run

We made it to just over 25 months without a single ear infection.  I don't know why, but I was always stupidly proud of that.  I know it's weird to take pride in something like that, but I can be a little weird so I did.

Well, that came to a crashing halt yesterday.  Actually it started almost two weeks ago.  On Thursday the 18th we had a bad night with the little dude.  There was screaming/shrieking and tantrums in the middle of the night.  No fever, though.  After a dramatic 90 minutes he went back to sleep and was back to normal in the morning.  The following Tuesday (the 23rd) we had a repeat performance.  Again it was 90 mins or so with him being inconsolable.  He wouldn't say what hurt and he still didn't have a fever.  Again he was back to normal in the morning and was fine the rest of the week.  I kept checking to see if his molars are coming in since I couldn't find any other reason for this sporadic crankiness.  No teeth.

This past Sunday he had a great day. We went to the park, he played with us outside, he took a decent nap - all was good.

Until night time.

We went to put him to bed around 8:30. He went down fine, but I could hear him playing in there while I folded laundry.  At 9:15 he was shouting and crying.  I gave him some motrin (still thinking teeth). He still wasn't calming.  While J was rocking him he drank a bunch of water and then got himself so worked up that he puked all over both of them.  Awesome.  Eventually he got calmed down and we got him in the crib at 10:30 and headed to bed.

Right before midnight he was screaming and crying. I went down and changed him and rocked him, getting him back to sleep by 12:30. I headed back to bed, but between J's snoring (for which he was poked several times) and 2.0's midnight acrobatics I wasn't falling back to sleep.  At 1:55 Andrew was back up so I grabbed my phone and charger, turned off the alarm and headed down for what I figured would be the long haul.

I got his blanket out of the dryer (it had to be washed again after the puking earlier), got some tylenol and went to get him.  We rocked and I had him back in the crib around 2:10.  I decided to just stretch out in the recliner in his room so see if I could doze off.  I did for maybe 5 mins before he started crying again at 3:03.  He wouldn't settle with me in the recliner so I took him into the guest room (soon to be his room) and tried to see if I could get him to sleep with me in that bed. No dice.  I have no idea how the eff people can bedshare with a toddler.  For the next two hours we tried every position but neither of us were sleeping.  Occasionally he would whimper "duck" or "blanket", both of which he already had.  I was at a loss.

J came and took him at 5:12 (he had also been awake for most of the night) and told me to go lay down and try to get a little sleep.  He had already sent his boss a message letting her know he wouldn't be in.  I did get about 90 mins of sleep before my alarm went off at 7:30. When I went back downstairs they were still in the recliner and Andrew still was fussing.  I gave him a motrin and within 5 minutes he was passed out.

I sent daycare a text letting them know he would be out and I rocked my poor sad munchkin for 10 mins before putting him back in the crib.  He fussed for a second and passed back out.  I called the doctor and got him an appt for 11:15, emailed my boss and a few coworkers to let them know what was going on, and got a couple hours of work done.

At 10:45 we woke him up and got him dressed for the doctor. He wouldn't eat but was thirsty. This time I rationed the water so he wouldn't puke again.  On the way to the doctor I was silently praying for an ear infection just so we would have something definitive that we could treat and fix.  I wanted there to be a reason that he's been freaking out some nights.

Well, I got my wish.  Big time.  He has a double ear infection including a burst eardrum in his right ear.  When she said that I almost cried.  I felt like the absolute worst mom in the world for not bringing him in sooner and making him suffer.  He never ran a fever (still didn't have one at the doctor) and was perfectly normal the days and nights between his episodes.  If he had had two bad nights in a row I would have been more inclined to call, but I don't want to be the parent who calls the doctor over every little thing, so I didn't.

With prescriptions for ear drops (for the burst eardrum ear) and an oral antibiotic for both ears we were out the door.  We gave him his first doses and Andrew spent the rest of the afternoon curled up on the couch being sad and snoozing.

He didn't want to eat, but he would drink some water.  After about a 3 hour nap on the couch he woke up and gave me a little grin. My heart soared when he asked for a fruit pouch (applesauce) and hungrily sucked it down.

The motrin got him back to acting like our little spazz, but it was obvious when it wore off.  During his bath he got some tylenol and after about 30 mins you could see when that kicked in. He was all over the place last night and wanted to play - I guess to make up for not being able to play all day.  I got him to bed at 9:30 and said a silent prayer that we would all get some sleep.

I'm happy to say that he made it through the night and didn't need anything until 6:15 this morning.  Since he's back to acting like himself he was able to go to daycare today (I gave him his antibiotics this morning and Andrea has his tylenol in case he needs it around lunchtime).

I'm hoping the antibiotics work fast and that he's back to 100% soon.  Sick munchkin makes for a very sad mommy.

So yeah, we had a good run while it lasted. It would be nice if we could make it another 25 months before we deal with that again, but that might be asking a lot.

He's Obsessed (and 22 Weeks)

It is official - this kid is obsessed.  With the light switches.

Now  that he is tall enough his mission in life seems to be to turn on every single light switch that he can reach.  It's somewhat comical - and somewhat annoying.  The comical part is his excitement when he gets one turned on. He'll clap and say "Yay!".  The annoying part is his whining if he can't get it turned back off.  If he's wearing shoes he can reach and get them turned off. If he's just in socks he can't quite get up there.  Then begins the whining and crying.  Yay.

I guess there are worse things that he could be doing so I shouldn't complain.  And if playing with the light switches keeps him occupied long enough for me to get dinner on the table, I'll take it.

It's funny what entertains these toddlers, huh?

On to this week.

How far along? 22w0d and the size of a papaya. According to my little app he's ~10.5 to 11.8 inches and 12.7 to 20.8 ounces.  I'm guessing he's right around a pound..  He should be sleeping in cycles by now - around 12 to 14 hours a day.

Weight loss/gain:  +18 lbs.  I'm still depressed about the speed with which the weight seems to be piling on. Especially since it doesn't seem to be showing in my belly all that much.  I need to get my eating in check and get my ass on the treadmill.

Maternity clothes: Some.  I'm still mostly wearing regular shirts, but have been sporting maternity jeans and some work pants just for comfort.

Symptoms:  The ever present cement bowel, I had some cramping/tightening in my belly this week and this morning had a fun wake up call with a giant charlie horse 5 mins before my alarm was going to go off.

Sex (of baby):  It's a BOY!!!

Name: Still haven't talked about it. Is that weird?

Sleep: Sleeping sucked earlier this week and was exacerbated by Andrew being up for an hour shrieking on Tuesday night (still not sure what that's about).  Luckily sleep has been much better the past couple nights. I was exhausted.

Best moment this week? Honestly nothing happened this week.

Movement: Getting to feel it more now, and J actually felt kicks last Saturday morning (so at 21w1d).

Food cravings:  Veggies and fruit.

Belly button in or out?  In

What I miss?  A run that doesn't suck.

What I'm looking forward to?  Everything finally being out in the open at work. Yes, that's right, my boss still doesn't know.  We have my company picnic tomorrow so I'll be dropping that bomb then. Yikes.

Milestones:  Nothing.

What I'm nervous about:  Just how much weight I'm going to end up gaining and how hard it will be to get it off. Oh, and having to go to the beach and the pool this summer while feeling like a beached whale.

Here I am this morning.  I didn't realize how unflattering this shirt is until I looked at the picture. Oh well.