Fixed

Sorry for the lovely negative post previous, I just so rarely have time and/or energy to post lately and when I finally sat down to remedy that... well Blogger poo'd on it. Bleh. Anways, things seem to be in working order now, so I have resolved to get over it.

Thanksgiving around here went really well, we had my parents over to our house and BL cooked. Have I ever mentioned that he is a fabulous cook, and he makes me yummy dinners every night? I am a lucky lady, especially since I am not very culinarily inclined. Anyways, he had the honor of cooking up the bird this year and it turned out great, see:

So that went well, though the kiddo was a little overwhelmed from the big day and didn't have much of an appetite for the fare we put in front of him. Guess he is more a chicken guy.

Also, to update from a few posts ago: the doctor's appointment went well. I didn't get to hear the heartbeat as it was mostly a history appointment and they generally don't like to use the doppler until after ten weeks or so. I was a little disappointed by this, but the rest of the appointment went really well and I ended up leaving feeling reassured. Since we moved I had to find a new OB-GYN down here, thus far I am pretty pleased with my selection. I will be going back for another appointment in a little less than two weeks and am actually looking forward to that. Things have been going relatively smooth in the baby-brewing, my nausea really only seems to rear around certain foods (and smells) and the exhaustion has really toned down. All in all I can't ask for much more.

Eff this

Don't ask me why my header is the size of a thumbprint... after I spent an hour making it... after I finally decided to sit down and fix my layout post-blogger-fritz... and now this. The mini header will have to do until I have the time and patience to try and figure this out.

Nervous

For likely no reason whatsoever I am nervous about my doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. I think, no I know, it is just due to this whole pregnancy being so new and early in the process. Of course I have certainly felt pregnant for a while now (hello huge sore boobs, morning sickness, and exhaustion), but before you really see that little face on a regular basis or even feel their little kicks and hits... it all seems so hard to believe. And how ridiculous that the other reason I am nervous is because I have been feeling better lately. The exhaustion seems to have lifted, and my nausea has become manageable if not really all that bad. I should be grateful, not worried, but still. Before the heartbeats and the ultrasounds these are the things that remind me, oh so regularly, that something is going on in there. Perhaps I am just totally crazy? Tomorrow's visit is really just a routine history visit but I am hoping to at least hear the heartbeat, which would do so much to put me at ease. I forgot just how nerve-wracking this whole process can be sometimes.

To dispel the general crazy bent of this post, here's some cuteness from this past weekend. We took the kiddo to see Santa for the first time and miracle upon miracles there was no line! This was likely due in part to it being before Thanksgiving and also a Sunday morning. I am not one to complain though. The MR was really much more interested in Santa's surroundings (fake snow, gingerbread men) than Santa himself but he did consent to being held on Santa's lap. We even managed to get a precursor to a smile, at least he wasn't crying.

Then from later in the day, the MR decided that what's good for the goose is good for the gosling. BL was having a chocolate sucker and the little bug wanted to "share". I think this was the first time he had ever had a sucker, he managed to make a mess of himself. Cute nonetheless.

8 weeks 3 days, as the belly grows

So regardless of the fact that the little bean in my belly is only about the size of a gummy bear, according to internet sources, my belly is definitely exhibiting signs of residency. I was looking back at some of the early pictures I had from my pregnancy with the MR (of which there are sadly few prior to about 5-6 months) and things seem to be on track. I guess I just show earlier.

For the last half of this past week things in the nausea/exhaustion department have become a little more manageable. I learned from last time that it is highly helpful for me to regularly dose myself with snacks, and this time around I am finding that those snacks are better received if they are not a)sugary or b)full o' sodium. I am already starting to be more careful about these two, as I am hoping to forego a round two with the gestational diabetes, but I have also noticed that my body (and temperament) are less receptive to these kind of snacks. So lots of apples, yogurt, and string cheese for me. Not necessarily a bad thing. I am not sure if this more careful monitoring of my meals is responsible for the slight lifting of the fog I had been trudging through these last few weeks, but I will take what I can get.

So what do you think, does this look like the belly of an eight(ish) week pregnant lady?

P.S. Yes, those are already maternity pants, they are just more comfortable, k?

Diez y nueve, belated

Dear Mister-

So I am a little late this month, seven days actually. Time flies by so fast lately it hardly occurred to me that I had missed this update until today when I was remembering that you are indeed nineteen months old now. Not going to lie kiddo, I also have been have a rough couple of weeks incubating this new sibling of yours. So it has been hard to blog, or to remember to blog, when I generally fall asleep about a half hour after you do at 8:00.You are such a big boy now, and here's how I know. You say please and thank you when you want and get something. You have a name for so many things now, always pointing out the apples, airplanes, and keys in our world. When climbing the stairs, you now want to "walk" up them, using the railing as your guide. You are getting better about holding our hands, and enjoy getting out an about to see the great wide world. You have also become very self aware, even telling us when you need to go to the bathroom. True, sometimes you tell us when it is too late, and you have already committed the act, but you are really very good about this. The M&M treat you get after using the potty might have something to do with that.

A little story about your awareness, and a small character portrait of you at this point in time. We went out for an ice cream run the other evening, Daddy insisted that you should get a cone. No bowl and spoon for this little boy. Considering that the ride home was conducted in near pitch black conditions, and this was your first encounter with ice cream in a cone; well the results were a bit messy. It was worth it though, regardless of how sticky and chocolatey you came out of it. We got you out of the car and into the house, where the light let you see the brown mess that had become your little fingers. You insisted that I clean them. You don't really care to be messy. I wiped off your hands but only took a cursory swipe at your face since it was almost bath time, and you were ready to move on to more interesting things. Come bath time though you stood up in front of the mirror to brush your teeth, like every night, and you came face to face with what should have been your clean and smiling likeness. Not so. You knew that you were looking at yourself, but your self did not look quite right with all the smudges and smears. Before we could move any further forward with the teeth brushing (a favorite activity, I must add), you wanted your face cleaned and back to normal. As I wiped away the chocolate you kept pointing to different spots that I had missed or not gotten yet. Finally you saw you again, and that made you happy. It may not seem like a big thing, but it just shows me once again what a smart and sensitive little person you are becoming.

You are also a big boy, size wise. We so often see other children your age who are literally almost a foot shorter than you are. You are hovering around three feet, and weigh in at about thirty pounds. You also wear a size 8 shoe. Big boy.

Thank you for another good month bug bear, we love you.

That was fun, not

So I had some weird glitch take out my blog list (and mess up my layout). Not what a tired pregnant lady wants to deal with at the end of the day. I tried to recreate my blogroll from memory, but if you knew you were there before and don't see your name now- let me know please? And if you weren't there before, and would like to be, then speak up now.

Reason #137 why he will be supremely embarrassed by me later in life

I know, I know, a picture of my child on the potty is the ultimate in embarrassing momness... but still, look at how cute he is being a big boy! And that hat, oh man, the ranger hat. He got it as part of a full outfit from his Nana and he loves wearing the hat, all the time. Even, apparently, while on the commode. We have started trying to get him to use a seat reducer on the big potty and it really seems to work. He has even come close to an accident and then stopped, told us he needs to potty, and then waited until he was sitting to go! Very exciting, and he is so proud of himself.

In other news, I am exhausted. All the time. I am exhausted right now, but I figured it has been almost a week since I pushed myself to stay up past 8:00 and even used the internet. No promises, I will likely be asleep in twenty minutes. But oh my goodness, this pregnant thing is wearing me out. Alright, even more tired just thinking about it. Expect another post from me again in likely another week, I'll be sleeping.

Already?

A little over six weeks along and I am already starting to pooch out... I don't recall this occurring so early last time. Must be the result of my tummy muscles taking a beating from the MR's residence. Or maybe just bloating? We shall wait and see.

Potty training?

MR went pee today, amazing I know. But it was, because instead of his usual diaper wetting he went pee in the potty. He's one and a half years old and he went pee in the potty. Incredible. This kid just keeps surprising us. Not to denigrate our parenting abilities, I think we are perfectly wonderful parents, but the mister certainly makes things easier on us. He is such a clever little kiddo, and so observant. Lately he has begun to let us know, sometimes, when he has to go or when he does go. He is fully aware of what he has down there (just ask him where his "peh-peh" is, he's very forthcoming), and he seems pretty interested in dealing with it like the big people do. Today he told BL "Ah peh-peh" (I pee pee), to which Andy asked him if he needed to go. MR ran into the bathroom and with BL's assistance used the toilet. He, and we, were very excited. Andy went out and got him his own little potty, which he has already asked for (and used) three times since. Don't worry, we do possess a healthy amount of hubris and aren't going to count our chickens before they hatch- but it is pretty cool that he is even approaching the subject of toilet training. And with enthusiasm. We figure we will strike while the iron is hot and see where it gets us. Having number one trained by the time number two arrives would be almost too much to ask for, but it won't stop us from trying.

Relief

Today was a day of relief on a few different levels. Of course last night was really when I let out the sigh I had been holding in all day, waiting and hoping to see what I did. There is so much going wrong in this world, in this country, at this point in time that it is enormously relieving to see such a big right take the stage. I think both Obama and McCain, in their acceptance and concession speeches respectively, were very gracious. The only point I ever truly found to fault McCain on was his choice of Palin, so watching his well worded acceptance of defeat was bittersweet. And I couldn't have asked for Obama to have said it better than he did, in promising to not be the champion of only his supporters- but to be President and defender to us all. BL pointed out to me that Bush, in his acceptance, said quite the opposite. A little bit of unity will be nice.

On a more personal level, today brought relief in the end of several days of worry. I started getting some brown spotting on Monday, following a very strenuous weekend. This NEVER happened with my pregnancy with the MR. I know what everyone tells you, that brown is nothing to worry about as long as it stays brown and no other symptoms show up. But being pregnant and having anything unexpected show up down there is scary. I immediately went into lock down mode, ceasing anything but necessary physical movement. I freaked out. I called the doctor and spoke to the advice nurse, who assured me with all the words I knew she would. What she did offer me that gave me a chance to truly feel better was an appointment for an ultrasound today. I went in this morning, BL and the mister in tow, hovering between fear and anxiety. Thank god we saw this:

Our teeny tiny little bean baby, and their itty bitty heart beating away. The technician did both an external and a transvaginal ultrasound, and it was with the internal exam that she found the little heartbeat for us. I was starting to become more worried when the tech began to explain to me that it might be too early to even see a heartbeat, the one thing I really needed to see. Fortunately that wasn't the case. We saw it, beating away at a happy 109. What she also found in there was the cause of my spotting. Apparently I suffered a small (maybe 3/4 of a cm) subchorionic hemorrhage, likely from all the extra activity over the weekend. It was a huge relief to have an actual answer, and visual proof to boot. The spotting is still unsettling, but it remains brown and it should temper down within a week or so. One other finding from the ultrasound, they adjusted my projected due date from June 20th to July 1st, as I am looking closer to six weeks as opposed to seven at this point. BL's birthday is on the 6th, and doesn't seem keen to share, so we shall see how that plays out.

And now, for the relief of sleep.