23 weeks and 15 months!

I am so overdue for an update. I'll start by saying that a few weeks ago we found out that Baby #2 is a little girl! Eva Jasmine :) I don't guess I ever blogged about what gender we were hoping for, probably because we don't do the whole "gender hoping" thing. When you work this hard to bring a baby into the world, all you can pray/hope for is that he/she is healthy and that your pregnancy goes to full term. Or that is my opinion anyway. I'll be honest and say that I know that my husband would love to have a little boy someday, but not at the expense of not having any of his girls. I've said over and over again that I am done gestating (on purpose anyway). If God surprises us with a baby in the future, boy or girl, we will be thrilled. I just can't see me doing IVF again. I feel like we have been very blessed that IVF worked for us 2/3 times. I don't want to mess with that and I am content with my 2 kiddos, but hey--we'll see what happens! I wouldn't say that adoption is out of the question for us either. Moving on....so here I am at 23 weeks and here are the stats:

Total weight gain/loss: +20! Insane! Actually the crazy thing is that when I got pregnant with Eva, I weighed exactly what I weighed when I got pregnant with Isabel. And at this point with Isabel, I had gained the same amount of weight. So if everything stays on track, I am ok with it. I gained 35 with Isabel, I can deal with that.


Maternity clothes? Maternity shorts and jeans and a couple of dresses. I still wear quite a few non-maternity dresses and tops/tanks. I have some maternity tops and I have worn a couple, but most just aren't fitting right yet.


Stretch marks? No new ones.


Best moment this week: This has been a pretty uneventful week. All good. :)


Miss Anything? comfortable, smaller bras


Movement: Yes. I am to the point now that if I don't feel her for a few hours, I start to worry. And I can see movement now as well.


Food cravings: fruit, pickles & cheeseburgers. Not all together. Ok, together is fine.


Anything making you queasy or sick?: Nope.
Have you started to show yet: Yeah. I still have people who say, "I can't even tell you're pregnant." There is absolutely no possible way that you can't tell. Those people are either trying to be nice, or they think that I drink a lot of beer, because the belly is there.

Gender: It's a GIRL! Eva Jasmine

Labor Signs: Nope.


Belly Button in or out? In. It never went out with Isabel, so I'd be surprised if it did this time.



Wedding rings on or off? Off more than on. It still fits, I mean I'm not swollen or anything, but it's 1 billion degrees outside and I have stopped putting on jewelry altogether. Even earrings, which is not like me at all. People are lucky that I'm still choosing to wear clothing at all.


Mood: I'd say cloudy with a chance of rain. haha! Most of the time, I'm just fine. I feel irritated when I deal with the public, read most facebook posts, or realize that my husband has *once again* not "heard" something that I know I told him. But other than that....I'm fine. LOL


And on to Miss Priss!

Isabel, at 15 months you:

*Weigh 22 lbs exactly. I actually typed most of this post on Sunday and then waited until today to post so that I could get the correct weight at your checkup. Anyway--you are 30 3/4 inches long. 50%tile on height, weight and head measurement. You wear a size 3 or 4 diaper. I've been trying a little bit of both lately because you seem to be right in between. You just moved up to a size 5 shoe. You still wear 12-18 months in clothing. 18 on top and 12 on bottom usually. You have 7 teeth. 4 on top and 3 on the bottom.
*Sleep: Well....you were sleeping like a champ for a long, long time...and then Mom & Dad were geniuses and decided to move you to a different bedroom and use your old room as Eva's nursery. And now you wake up 476565 times a night most nights. You still sleep to around 8 or 9 most mornings, but it's probably because you're tired from getting up and down all night. Hoping you adjust soon!
You still take 1 or 2 naps a day. We have a routine but not really, meaning...when you wake up in the morning, you're up for 3 hours before you are ready for a nap. Depending on how late you wake up, decides if you take a 2nd nap or not. And sometimes your naps are 1 1/2 hours or sometimes they're 3 hours. I let you sleep as long as you want. No regrets there.
*You drink loads of whole milk. You love the stuff. You're not big on eating much these days. Somedays are better than others. You're just too busy!!! Things that I can usually get down you are: graham crackers, goldfish crackers, cheese, green beans, applesauce, cheese roll ups (tortilla with cheese), bread with butter, rice, spaghetti, cereal, bananas, cereal bars (your fave), and of course cookies or popsicles when I let you have them.
*You say: mama, daddy, nanny, cheese, juice, bath, bubbles, pop, woof woof, bawk bawk bawk, moo, Hi, bye-bye, yeah, no no, night night and "dat?" for..."what's that?" And just in the past couple of days you are trying to say "giraffe" which is maybe the cutest thing to ever happen to anyone...ever. :)
*You still love water, whether it's bath or pool. And you still love to be outside, but I haven't been letting you out there too much unless we're swimming. It's TOOOO HOTTTT!
*You are wild and crazy! On the go, all of the time! You like to test Mommy and Daddy. Somedays, I feel like I wake up saying, "no no" and go to bed saying "no no" and I'm afraid that you just aren't that scared of me, haha. Your Dad can say no in his "daddy voice" and you fall apart.
*You are also sooo sweet. You have clingy days where you just want me to hold you and carry you a lot. You like to bring me books and then crawl up in my lap for me to read them. You hug your teddy bears and baby dolls and lay on them and say "night night".
*You are FUNNY! You sit in the cart at Wal-Mart and wave and say "Hi!" to everyone. Except it sounds like "Hyyeee", all southern like. You like to pretend that the dog is chasing you and "run" from him, but really you stay at the same pace and your legs fly all over the place. SO FUNNY! You make goofy faces, and have learned to fake laugh at the most random times.
We love you little girl! Let's slow down on the growing up if we could, okay?

18 weeks! And an Isabel update.

How far along? 18 weeks.

Total weight gain/loss: +10, I think. I haven't weighed in a couple of days, but that's where I was according to my scales.


Maternity clothes? Maternity shorts and jeans and a couple of dresses. I still wear quite a few non-maternity dresses and tops/tanks. I have some maternity tops and I have worn a couple, but most just aren't fitting right yet.


Stretch marks? No new ones.


Best moment this week: Due to yet another scare, I had an impromptu ultrasound and got to see and hear the little guy/girl. I was by myself, so when the ultrasound tech asked if I wanted to know the gender....SIGH, I had to tell her no. My husband would have been pretty upset with me. So, we find out next week.


Miss Anything? Not really. In the grand scheme of things, 9 months isn't long enough to *miss* a whole lot when you consider that it's long enough to build a baby!


Movement: Yes. I actually found out last week that I have anterior placenta again (no longer previa, which is good news), so I was expecting it to be a little longer. But I have felt a little bit of movement a couple different days this week. It's pretty scarce though.


Food cravings: I'm having a hard time eating at home. EVERYTHING sounds gross in comparison to eating out (mostly fast food)....which is horrible. I made a solemn vow to my husband that I would not eat out this week.


Anything making you queasy or sick?: I *think* the morning sickness is over. This past week was much better. I've learned what sets it off and have been steering clear of those things.

Have you started to show yet: I'd say yes. Or atleast to people who know me. Strangers might wonder...


Gender: First trimester I would have bet on a girl. Now, I keep thinking boy. I'm ready to know, one way or the other and I'm MORE ready to know that he/she is healthy and measuring right on track.


Labor Signs: Nope.


Belly Button in or out? In.



Wedding rings on or off? On for now.



Mood: I'm good. I feel just fine and I've been so busy with a toddler that this pregnancy is flying by. I'm always nervous that something will go wrong. I think that just comes from a combination of our struggles to have children AND my raging hormones. I will say that I don't think my poor soul could handle very many pregnancies. I live in fear for most of 9 months. And this time around I have been living at the doctor's office because of the bleeding that I have been having, which of course does nothing to help my worries! But, so far, everything is perfect. Just praying that it stays that way.

On to my sweet girl who is *almost* 14 months old!!!!! Geez!!!!

Isabel, at this age you:


*Wear mostly 12 months in clothes with a few 18 month tops thrown in. Size 4 shoe. Size 3 diaper. You weigh right at 20 lbs. I always over-estimate your weight on these updates, but you just had a doc appt last week and weighed 20.3 fully dressed. You're teeny and perfect. :)
* You're still getting into everything and climbing on stuff. Yesterday in the church nursery, you climbed up on the baby swing and slammed your head into the wall. You didn't shed a tear, but had a nice little bump on your noggin'. Ha.
You like to challenge your Mom and Dad with getting in/on stuff that you've been told "no" to several times. You have a ornery little grin when you're doing it, which it makes it hard to stay consistent! But we have been. And you still HATE the word "No".
*Your eating has been weird lately. It's not that your picky, it's that you don't want anything. You think you're too busy to take out the time to eat. But you drink 700 cups of milk a day and snack on and off. Lately you have been eating tons of crackers, because you can eat them on the go. Wild woman!
*You've mostly started taking 1 nap a day instead of 2. I do not care for this change!!! Haha, but the upside is that you have been sleeping in longer in the morning. You go to bed around 8:15pm and sleep until 7 or 8 most mornings. You take a 2-3 hour nap right in the middle of the day and that seems to be the new schedule.
*TEETH! You have some! Haha. You went from 2-6 like within a week, I swear. You have 3 on top and 3 on bottom. And you no longer want us to brush them...which is a nightly fight.
*You are a water baby!!! You LOVE swimming!!! You still love to be outside just in general. It honestly affects your mood on the days where we are inside all day. You still love your wagon and you love to swing. You like to play in the dirt. I think I have a tomboy on my hands. :)

*You don't want to wear shoes. When I put them on you, you sit down and take them right back off. I haven't been fighting it too much, but when Fall gets here, we may be duct taping them on your feet.
*You recently have found a love for books! You constantly bring me different books to read. All day, every day. Haha! And there are a few that I seriously read 10-15 times a day because you hand them to me and grunt. I love this. I have always been a big reader, and I started reading before kindergarten....if there is anything that I want you to get from me, it's this!

*You are starting to say more words and I don't want to forget them. You say "mama", "DAD!", "bubbles", "pop", "bawk, bawk, bawk" (for a chicken), "moooo", "Hi!", "Bye Bye", "Na Na" (for Nanny). You mimic all sorts of sounds, mostly when your Dad says them. You know where your eyes and your tongue are. You are finally learning to clap and "throw them in the air" during patty cake. And well, I am just fairly certain that you're a genius. :)

We are having such a blast with you and trying to soak up these last few months of having just you before your new brother/sister gets here. We sure love you, little girl!!!

15 weeks!

I'm just going to do this in paragraph form instead of the cutesy little weekly update thing....this time.
Today I am officially 15 weeks pregnant. I've gained around 5 lbs and I am starting to look a little bit pregnant, especially in maternity clothes which I am wearing about half the time. I feel good but there are a few underlying issues. I have had bleeding on and off for the entire pregnancy. Originally, I had a subchorionic hemorrhage and I had to "take it easy" until we could see how that would turn out...thankfully it repaired itself. Then, I started having the bleeding again and found out that I have placenta previa. So...I am on bi-weekly OB appointments to monitor that and I have landed myself some extra ultrasounds too, which I am not complaining about. So far, everything is fine--baby looks good. But if you're familiar with placenta previa you know that there is the possibility that I will have a c-section, IF it doesn't correct itself in the next few months. Until then, I can't go walking, clean house, etc. pretty much all I am allowed to do is take care of my child....which is activity enough, according to my doctor. Moving on....

I am hungry pretty much 24/7 and I wouldn't say I am "craving" anything in particular except that I am in love with fast food. Of all kinds. So good for me.

I had absolutely no morning sickness in the 1st trimester and then starting at week 13 I have been sick every single morning. LOL...go figure. Nevertheless, I have gotten my energy back and beyond the sickness in the morning and constant trips to the OB I actually feel good. Sleeping fine. Peeing a lot. Haha.

I will eventually take belly pictures. I am terrible about doing that.

12 weeks! (+2 days)

I can already tell that these updates won't be as frequent as they were the 1st time around. Back then (last year, haha) I sat at a computer for 8 hours a day....now I usually only get online from my Kindle Fire and I can't update from there....but anyway, we are no less excited this time around and I will update when possible.

How far along? 12 weeks. I thought I would feel more reassured at this point, but then I have been sick and medicating myself for a week now, and that makes me nervous. I HATE to take medicine while I'm pregnant. But...I did see my OB late last week and everything was okay at that time. I need ultrasounds weekly. I am spoiled to having them every 10 days at my fertility clinic.
Total weight gain/loss: +3. I will have to go back and look, but I think I was up like 10 at this point last time. And I weighed the same when I got pregnant this time as I did last time. BUT, I have been sick for a week and my appetite hasn't been great. I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

Maternity clothes? No tops. I'll be honest, I have worn some maternity jeans a few times because my normal jeans are just uncomfortable. But I take 2 steps and pull them up. Clothes just aren't my friend right now. And I hate the bella band. HATE it. Will not wear that stupid stupid thing.

Stretch marks? Not so far, unless they are hiding behind the ones from last time. Lol.

Best moment this week: I did get to hear the heartbeat so that was nice, but other than that this week has been terrible.

Miss Anything? Nope. Well, I guess softball because I would be playing right now otherwise.

Movement: No. I didn't feel Isabel until like 22 weeks because I had an anterior placenta. Not sure what to expect this time.


Food cravings: This week, nothing. But before that Chinese. Or pretty much anything bad for me.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I have been coughing so much that it is making me gag, but I don't think that is pregnancy related. I haven't had morning sickness at all.

Have you started to show yet: I'm in the lumpy stage. Like where you can tell my belly is bigger but not necessarily that I'm pregnant. Maternitly clothes look stupid and regular clothes look stupid. I don't want to rush this at all but at the same time I am ready to just look pregnant and wear the clothes to go with it.
Gender: ???? I think it's a girl just based on the fact that my pregnancy symptoms/cravings etc. have been identical to my pregnancy with Isabel. And because I know roughly 40 women having babies right now and like 37 of them are girls.
Labor Signs: Nope.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Wedding rings on or off? On for now.


Mood: Other than being sick and cranky because of that, I am good. I always worry, but that's just how it goes for me. The worries never stop.

(hoping to post pictures at the next update...whenever that is) :)

Holy Updates!

I'll just get right to it and then I'll explain all of the details. 2 pretty major things have happened since I last blogged...well technically, one of them happened on March 1st, but anyway...
My sweet Isabel turned 1 on April 21st!!!! And we are expecting Baby #2 in November!



Isabel at 12 months old you:

*Wear a size 12 months in clothes, size 3 or 4 in shoes and a size 3 diaper. I honestly don't have a clue what you weigh but we'll find out this week at your checkup. If I was guessing...20-21 lbs.

* You are walking all over the place. And climbing. And you want to be outside 24/7.

*You haven't had formula or a bottle in over a month and you weren't phased by the change at all. I can only hope that you'll be this easy when it comes to taking away the paci and potty training. A Mom can dream, right?

*You sleep through the night almost always. You had a week or so this month that was a little off, but you also have a new tooth breaking through on top and I figure that has something to do with it.

*So teeth....you still have the 2 bottom front, and are just now starting to get 1 on the top. I will have to learn the technical names for the teeth pretty soon.

*You still love baths and the dogs, not only ours but other people's as well. You play well with your toys and books and normally keep yourself pretty entertained throughout the day. You love to swing and to ride around in your new wagon.

*You still take 2 naps a day, one mid-morning and one in the afternoon.

*You are mastering the fit-throwing which can be stressful and cute all at the same time. "No" is not your favorite word. You also tend to throw a fit if I try to feed you with a spoon. You want to pick up EVERYTHING with your hands and eat it. Mashed potatoes included.

*You still love everyone. No strangers in your world. You are happy go lucky most of the time and just a joy to be around honestly.

You turned 1 and it was bittersweet. You ran (rolled) your first 5k with your Daddy and then had a big birthday party at church yesterday evening. I stayed so busy that I didn't have a lot of time to be sad about you turning 1. And you had such a good time eating cake and playing with kids that it was hard to be anything but happy. We love you so much!!!! Happy Birthday sweetie.

And on to that other thing.... :)

Since announcing my pregnancy I have had 3 people inbox me on FB to ask if this was planned. Hahahaha! The irony is astounding. Of course it was planned. It's not likely that my husband and I will ever have a "surprise" baby. I know anything can happen, but....anyway.

To make a long story short, we went back to the fertility clinic on January 4th to start the process for FET #2. I started bc, and then lupron injections and then estrogen patches with baby aspirin and then progesterone injections and then antibiotics. Oh did I add prenatals too?!?! Anyway, we did all of that and then our FET was on March 1st. On March 12th (the day before my 8th wedding anniversary) we found out it worked!!!! I was standing at the zoo looking at a giraffe when I got the call....think I should decorate the next nursery in giraffes? :)

So...I had to see my RE for the first 9 weeks of pregnancy and then this past week I was released to my local OB. I have not had a single moment of morning sickness (I didn't with Isabel, either), only fatigue and extreme hunger! We had a little bit of a scare in that I had a sub.chorionic hem.orrhage during week 7 and that scared the crap out of me of course, but since then it has repaired and everything seems to be fine. Today...I am 10 weeks pregnant. Due November 18th, and my children are scheduled to be 19 months apart. That seems to be another FAQ. :) Oh, and there is only 1 baby in there. lol

I've always heard that you show quicker with your 2nd baby. I'd like to add that for me not only am I having my 2nd baby but I just had my first 1 year ago...so the combo is giving me quite the belly at 10 weeks along. Ha! I'm not one to get hung up on the weight part of pregnancy...as long as the baby is healthy. So far I haven't actually gained a lb. but it looks like I have a beer belly. :)

So devoted blog followers (CJ) there is your update. :)

11 Months!

Isabel Jade! How in the world are you 11 months old? I know every Mom thinks that the time flies by, but it goes by quicker with you than any other baby, I'm sure of it. :)

At this age you:

*Wear a size 12 months in most clothing. You're still very small-waisted and you have a couple of 6-9 month skirts that are just now fitting. You are in a size 3 shoe and size 3 diaper. You haven't had a checkup in awhile but I would estimate you at around 19 lbs.

*You sleep through the night...sometimes. Ha! I don't really know what to tell people when they ask, because this week....yes, you are sleeping through the night. Last week? Not so much. You still take 2 naps during the day. One mid-morning and one in the afternoon.

*We are about done with formula. I still give you a bottle first thing in the morning, always. And then some nights I give you a bottle before bed. It just depends on what time you ate dinner. You are doing so well on whole milk in a sippy and table food, that you really don't seem to care about your bottle one way or the other. I can't even list all of the things that you are eating now. Pretty much, if you can chew it and it's relatively healthy, I give it to you.

*Speaking of chewing, you still just have the 2 teeth on the bottom. They are so cute that I don't even care if you ever get anymore. I'm kidding of course.

*Oh there is this one minor detail and it is that you are WALKING!!!! You started a little over a week ago. I wouldn't enter you in a marathon just yet, because you still prefer to crawl. But every day you are getting braver and taking more steps. And just this week you started standing up without pulling up on anything. You've been into everything since you started crawling at 6 months, but now....oh my gosh. Well, it's taken me 3 attempts to type this post...so far.

*You say ma-ma, da-da, and "yeah". Pretty positive that you have no idea what "yeah" means, but it's still cute. You talk all of the time. All day long with the jibberish. It's pretty adorable. You also scream and shriek and squeal all day long and that is mostly cute too. Ha.

*I've learned that I can keep you content in the cart at the grocery store, just so long as you have a sippy cup, a bowl of puffs, and a random grocery item up front with you. If I forget any of the above, I end up carrying you and pushing the cart at the same time.

*Randoms: You are so funny. Always smiling and making the goofiest faces. You never meet a stranger which scares me a little. You have learned to steal the dog's toy and squeak it 1 million times until he finally pounces on you. You like for Daddy to put you on his back and run around the yard with you. You've started to want to share your food with Mommy and Daddy, regardless of how slimy that particular food is. :) You laugh about most things. You give really slobbery kisses. You LOVE bathtime. You've only been sick a couple of times-we have been so lucky. You're such a sweet girl, really. I can't imagine an easier baby than you. I'm sure that your future siblings will give us a run for our money. It only seems fair. Haha.

*While I'm talking about how sweet you are I want to go ahead and add that you have learned to throw fits. This is pretty recent, so I almost forgot it although I don't see how. You can throw a fit with the best of them!!! They are few and far between, but oh man. Things that cause fits: not feeding you fast enough, making you lay down in your bed for sleeping purposes, putting you in the playpen so that I can go to the restroom, taking anything away from you, Daddy telling you "no" (you laugh when I say it), etc.

So I've blinked and 11 months have gone by and I am planning a birthday party for my sweet tiny baby, who isn't tiny at all anymore. So bittersweet. Your Dad and I are so excited to see you grow up, but don't be in any hurry about it, okay?

10 months!

On Feburary 21, you turned 10 months old!!!

At this age you:

*Weigh 18 lbs, and wear sizes 9 months and 12 months in clothing. Wear a size 3 diaper and a size 2 shoe. (tiny feet)

* Eat 2-3 6 oz bottles of formula a day, but other than that you are eating table food/baby food. You are sort of over the pureed stuff unless it comes in a squeeze pouch that you can suck it out of. Haha. You love Mum Mums, applesauce from the pouch, puffs, yogurt melts, Danimals yogurt, and beef sticks as far as baby food goes. Otherwise you like mac-n-cheese, fruit cocktail and graham crackers, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, peas, corn, cheesy rice and ice cream. You are such a good eater. Always have been!

Until lately we haven't been able to get you to drink much juice, which is fine...I know that you're not supposed to have much because the sugar is bad for your teeth...but recently we realized that you LOVE Juicy Juice, apple juice in the box. You can use a straw like a champ! You're still hit and miss with the sippy cups and I keep trying to find which one you do the best with. Today was a good sippy cup day. :) You also still love that paci!

*You say "ma-ma", "da-da", and a lot of jibberish. You make hilarious noises that sound like you're trying to clear your throat...except that you're not. You make a creepy noise that sounds like the kid from "The Grudge" haha. You are so ornery. You're into everything and just recently learned to climb which has been intense. You are SO curious about everything and rarely sit still. You love to watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and we have made it part of our early morning routine. You go to bed about 8 p.m., wake up around 4 a.m. (yikes) and sometimes I can get you to go right back to sleep after a diaper change...and other times I give you a bottle and you go back to sleep. I don't care that it's a no-no. :) And then you're usually up for the day around 6 a.m. or so, which is when we watch Mickey. You generally take 2 naps, one around 9 a.m. and one around 1 p.m. and they are usually 1-2 hours a piece. Sometimes you will take a nap around 5 p.m. as well.

*You love to be outside! You love dogs and kids of any age. You just crack up everytime you see either.

*You still have 2 bottom teeth and I don't really see more on their way just yet.

*You are still crawling, cruising the furniture and standing without holding on. Occasionally we can get you to let go and take 1-2 steps, but usually you squat down as soon as you realize that no one is holding on.

*You just recently learned "peek-a-boo". You will squat down and I will say "Where's my Isabel?" and then you will pop up and I say "boo!". This goes on for a long long time, but I love every second of it.

You also know how to "roll em' up" (patty cake), but don't have any interest in clapping your hands or "throwing them in the pan". :)

*You love to have your teeth brushed. Momma is glad for this.
*You still love bathtime and you are a wild child in there. You squeal and splash and are wanting to spend more and more time in there.

This is a long update, but you do SOOO much now that I don't want to forget it...and I know that I am leaving some things out.

This is such a fun age and you keep us laughing all day long. We still love you very, very much sweet girl.