Potty Training! – I Hope.

I know, I know. I always seem to post 2 times in one day when I have the laptop out. Sorry if that drives ya’ll nuts.

 

Today we are trying to do some aggressive potty training. I don’t know what made me wake up and decide I wanted to try to tackle this right now but I put a pull-up on Truett and set the timer to go off every 20 minutes. So far we have had quite a few successes and several pees in the pull-ups too. That’s ok. 🙂 Every 20 minutes is a bit often but I am trying to really get him used to this quickly. We only sit on the toilet for about 2 minutes that way he doesn’t get bored. I just want him to have this as a positive experience. Because he is so strong-willed, I am afraid that he will be stubborn and refuse to go at all if it’s not a positive experience.

 

Gotta go! 20 minutes goes really fast! Wish us luck. 😉

31 Weeks 4 Days – 2nd Pregnancy

We are just 2 days away from the start of twice weekly NST’s Lord willing. I am looking forward to getting that reassurance since baby boy decided to make me worry a little bit yesterday by being ever so lazy and then waiting ages this morning to move. Thankfully, he passed his kick counts but I am not too good at dealing with that stress. I have to say though, I am LOVING having him in the head down position as opposed to folded in half. It is so much better for kick counts to have more moveable limbs. With Tru, he could pretty much only move his arms there at the end. His feet were up in his face and he just didn’t do much with them.

 

I have started to have some swelling in my feet. Not terribly, but it is becoming clear that I can’t push myself like I am used to doing. When I do, I get very out of breath and my feet start to grow very quickly. Just for full disclosure though, I think I should mention the swelling of the lady parts. Nobody talks about this!! Why doesn’t anyone warn you. “By the way, your whooha is going to swell, ya know, literally shut. You won’t recognize your down stairs. Not that you can see your down stairs. But if you could, you wouldn’t recognize it.” Not that it would change my mind about wanting to be pregnant or anything but I do think women should warn each other about this so they don’t hit total freak out mode when they start swelling down there.

 

How far along? 31 weeks 4 days

How big is the baby? We should know a guesstimate in 2 days! My guess is a little over 4 pounds. 🙂 

Total weight gain/loss? Ok, this has been really weird this week. I gained about 8 pounds in 36 hours. That was truly freaky but I think it must have been that I was retaining water really bad. I did think that I was peeing a lot less. Plus the foot swelling which didn’t look that bad but must have been. I lost 5 pounds over night. I think I am up about 3 pounds from last week though according to what I weighed this morning. So roughly +25 so far I guess. 

Sleep? Has been going better. I put some blankets under our mattress and it seems to be helping me sleep better.

Best moment this week? Yesterday, I was watching the elderly lady that I am taking care of once a week right now. Tru NEVER takes naps on me. He is only able to sleep in his own bed and occasionally in the car. He has always been really weird about that. But anyways, he fell asleep on my lap and Levi kept kicking him. It was precious and I absolutely loved it. I also love how Tru hugs my belly. He has no idea at all about there being a baby in there. We tell him all the time but he can’t grasp that concept yet. But he truly just loves my big belly and likes to hug it and lay his head on it and pat it. Sometimes he pulls up my shirt just to look at it and ask “What’s this?”. It’s pretty funny and sweet.  

Symptoms? My queasiness has mostly subsided aside from a little bit here and there. I am eating small portions most of the time because I will pay afterwards if I don’t. My inner thigh muscles have been pulled for weeks now and I can’t figure out why. They feel a little better now so that is good. I get awful stabbing pains in my cervix area all the time. Especially when I am standing. They take my breath away they hurt so bad. It’s like a pap smear from the inside but worse. Having boatloads of pressure. Mostly in my butt, go figure. I had to sit down the other evening because it was so bad. I told DH that it felt like Levi was going to come out of my butt. He asked: “That can’t happen can it?” LOL! I love DH so much! I actually have felt really well this week all things considered. I still have enough energy to get through the day and I am only terribly uncomfortable now and then.  

Food cravings? Cold cereal. I can’t seem to get enough of it this week. I am using 1% milk to try to cut back on the calories but really, I could eat it 3 times a day – oh wait… I did that actually once this week. 😉

Food aversions? HA! 

Gender? Baby boy Levi. 

Belly button in or out? It’s been out for months and I had taken this question off but lately, it feels very warm or even hot to the touch. I remember it did that with Tru too. Must be because it is stretched too thin? I have this paranoia that it might bust open while pushing. I mean, it pops out really far! And it’ so thin! 

What I’m looking forward to? Growth scan and meeting this boy here pretty soon. 🙂 I am also getting really antsy to wash his clothes. I am having a hard time keeping myself from doing that yet. I need to wait a few more weeks. 

Bump? I haven’t taken my weekly picture yet so I will leave you with this…:) 

Sweetly oblivious that his head was being kicked repeatedly. 😉

 

Dear God, thank You for all of Your blessings throughout this pregnancy. I ask that You will continue to bless and watch over us all during the remainder of this pregnancy. I pray that all of our appointments will go well and that Levi will be strong and healthy and safe inside me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Sisterhood Of The World Bloggers Award

I was recently nominated for the Sisterhood Of The World Bloggers Award by Pregnant or Bust.  Definitely go check her blog out! We will wait…. 🙂

 

The rules are as follows:

Link to the person who nominated you.
Add the award logo.
Answer the questions your nominator asked.
Nominate 7 other blogs.
Ask your nominees 10 questions.

 

The questions I was asked:

1. What’s one characteristic of yourself that you think defines you and why? Hmmm…. I really don’t know. Maybe that I am extremely awkward. Think bull in a china shop. Except that aside from being awkward just physically, I am also awkward in the stuff I say… I’m always afraid people will take me wrong and I over-explain. That’s not a good defining characteristic but I think it is probably something that everyone notices. But I think that aside from that I am just a very empathetic person. Yes, let’s go with that one. 🙂 

2. What’s your absolute favorite meal? Ha!! That’s a question I could never answer. I am a lover of food. But if I am cooking at home – roast, potatoes, carrots and onions is VERY hard to beat. 

3. Why do you blog? I started blogging 2 years ago because I was hoping that I could: get things off my chest and documented into a “journal” so to speak; give other people who were experiencing infertility the chance to read about my experience and “compare notes”; hopefully encourage people who came across my blog; share the love of Jesus with people who read my writings. 

4. What’s been your hardest life lesson to learn? Maybe learning that I am small and have no real power. I rely on God. I can do nothing without Him. I am nothing without Him. I have nothing without Him. I am not in control of what goes right or wrong. But God is so much more capable than I am  and so much more dependable!! 

5. If you could have lunch with 3 people, living, dead, real, fictional, who would it be and why? 1) My maternal grandpa. I miss him so much! We used to have lunch occasionally. I wish I had made it more often. 2) My husband. Because his sexy face is fun to look at across the table. 😉 3) Harriet Tubman. I am sure I could listen to the stories all day long. I find her so courageous.

6. What’s your favorite flower? Do I have to pick just one? I am really bad at picking one answer. I’m sure you hadn’t noticed. 😉 Carnations. Or peonies. Or daisies. Or….

7. What’s your biggest pet peeve? When people can’t make up their mind especially about really simple stuff like what their favorite flower is. It’s super annoying. I know because DH does it all the time!  

8. Who has influenced you the most in your life? Hmmmm, see here’s another one. And this one is really hard because I’m pretty independent and I don’t really get influenced easily. In fact, the more you try to sway me, the more my block-headedness will surface. I like very much to make my own choices after much prayer. My parents have influenced me a lot I guess. Yeah, I know. Way to give a generic answer…

9. If you could live anywhere, where would it be and why? If I could pack up my whole family and all of my friends and ya know, my whole town and state, I think I would move somewhere tropical. Like Hawaii. 🙂 Let’s just make the whole USA like Hawaii. How’s that?

10. If you could give advice to yourself 15 years ago, what would it be? Make up your MIND girl!! lol. But seriously, 15 years ago I was nearly 11 years old. I don’t even know what I was doing when I was 11! I think I would tell myself to please fix my hair in some way that didn’t make me look like I was having real issues with my head, and to wear a bra before I was 13 (boobs really do sag ya know), please  – if you can’t think of something coherent to say – SHUT UP!! Sometimes, saying nothing actually IS better. Boys don’t like it when you beat them. So maybe stop beating all your boy friends in wrestling so maybe you will actually find a boy that isn’t scared of you. (SO thankful for DH. A boy who couldn’t beat me but loved me anyways. 🙂 ) 

 

Bloggers to Nominate: 

I love reading all these blogs. 🙂

Mindy Minix

Random Squeaks

Mercy New

Auntie Em

I am going to stop with 4 and break the rules because so many of those I would have nominated have recently been nominated by others for this award.

My questions:

1. What inspired you to start blogging?
2. Where is your favorite vacation spot?
3. What makes you feel appreciated more than anything?
4. You have the ingredients to cook absolutely anything you want. What do you make?
5. What is your favorite trait that your spouse has?
6. What do you love most about yourself?
7. Which song speaks to your heart the most?
8. What is your favorite season of the year and why?
9. Where did you meet your spouse?
10. What are your goals for this year?

 

Prenatal Massage And Apparently I am Monk…

I had my long awaited prenatal massage today and it did not disappoint! Now I just hope my insurance comes through and covers it for real so I can have another one. Otherwise, that’s the end of massages for me. *sniff* I am just not that high of a roller right now. But I must say, I just loved it! I could definitely go on a weekly – who am I kidding – daily basis. I was so relaxed, I thought I quit breathing a few times lol. I was so relaxed, I had to crack my eyes open now and then to make sure I wasn’t asleep. I was so relaxed that after I left, I could barely stay awake to drive…. It was wonderful. I mean, she even massaged my EARS!  I still have pain in my inner thighs like I’ve had for the last few weeks but all the stretching that she did on my back, neck and shoulders was great. 🙂

I had to stop and buy some drinking water on my way home because we can’t drink our cistern water. I didn’t want to go to Wal-mart so I stopped at the dollar store. I was dismayed to see that they don’t carry the brand of water that I like so I had to buy the brand that we used to get years ago… I can’t stand the taste of it anymore! In fact, the only water I like is the brand that we buy now. We only drink water, I never buy pop unless it’s a freeze or something while I am out or a party or something. I do drink juice occasionally but not often. Once every great while I will make iced tea but day in and day out, all we drink is water. So I have my favorite. Water is not all the same to me. Some is really nasty! I can drink water at other people’s houses but usually I have to add ice to really be able to enjoy it. Ice helps the taste… Anyways, as I am standing in the isle thinking of how to ask DH to drink this “inferior” water (he doesn’t mind it) and save me the “good” water until the next time I make it to Wal-mart, it occurs to me that – Oh no! I am Monk. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Adrain_Monk.jpg Monk only drinks Sierra Springs water throughout seasons 1–5 and a fictional brand (Summit Creek) throughout seasons 6–8, to the point that in the season 2 episode “Mr. Monk Goes to Mexico”, Monk goes without drinking for several days because he cannot find any Sierra Springs.  – copied from wikipedia for those of you who have no idea who Monk is. 

30 Weeks 4 Days – 2nd Pregnancy

Wrote this on time and never posted it… 

How far along? 30 weeks 4 days…. It’s hard to believe that I am in the 30’s now! Less than 7 weeks away from when I delivered Tru. This little guy could very well come later than that but it’s crazy to think how close we are either way.

How big is the baby? We should find out soon since I have a growth scan scheduled for next week. 🙂 I’m just now starting to be able to feel a little of his outline. Mostly I just feel a foot or elbow but last night I was pretty sure I felt his butt. 

Total weight gain/loss? Holding steady this week at +22. 🙂 

Maternity clothes? Here I am, in the last weeks of pregnancy and I finally found a pair of maternity jeans yesterday that fit AND feel comfortable! So now maybe I can wear those last 2 or 3 maternity shirts that still fully cover my belly and give those 3 same dresses that I wear every time I leave the house a break. 

Sleep? Not so good. I have been having a lot of discomfort keeping me up. I sleep GREAT on my back…. but that isn’t good at all. 

Best moment this week? Hmmm… Not sure. Maybe just realizing that we are so close to the end. In a way, I’m not ready for it to be over. I love being pregnant. And I’ll miss it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s hard and uncomfortable and very nerve wracking for a worrier like me. But I do love having my little baby in there all to myself. I especially love the kicks! But I am uncomfortable enough at this point that the idea of meeting him on the outside soon is sounding better and better. I am so excited to see who he looks like. I also found out that I passed my glucose test at 110! 🙂 Yay! No yucky 3 hr test this time! 

Symptoms? I don’t want anyone to think I’m complaining, because I’m not. Just keeping a record. I am starting to get morning sickness again. It is coming back as an all day queasiness. I’m not too thrilled about that. I can stand it being this bad but if it gets like it was in the beginning…. I just don’t know how I would cope. I was so miserable then. I look back on it and just cringe. But for now, I am fine. I also have been having a lot of pain with the SPD/pelvic girdle pain thing. I saw the chiropractor but he can’t do too much now since the baby is head down in the pelvis. It isn’t advised to go cracking the pelvis too much at this point. But he did suggest a pregnancy belt. I’m just too cheap to buy one. They’re $35!! I have a feeling it may be worth it though. I also booked a prenatal massage for this week. 🙂 I’m excited to try that out. I am definitely getting a lot more poking pains in my errr, whoo ha. Other than that, I have felt great. Heavy and fat but great! 🙂 

Food cravings? I am still game for eating anything but it’s definitely slowing down with the nausea. I can only eat a little bit before I am full and having acid reflux. We went to dinner last night and I ordered a half portion and ate about half of that. It’s a good thing though because maybe it will naturally keep me from gaining too much here at the end. 

Food aversions? Nope. Not really. 

Gender? Sweet little Levi. 🙂 

What I’m looking forward to? Growth scan. I am scheduled to start twice weekly NSTs (non stress test), and weekly AFIs (amniotic fluid index) next week. That makes everything feel really imminent.

Milestones? 30 weeks! That’s 3/4 of the way done! 

Bump? It’s so much different and lower than with Tru. A lot more squishy.

30 weeks 4 days

An awful picture but it shows the belly shape better…

 

Big ‘ol boring birth “plan” musings below. 

I had a check up yesterday and I asked if we do get to have a VBAC, can daddy catch baby. They said no. 😦 But, I bet it depends on what dr you ask. I am not suggesting that he deliver the baby, just that once it is flying out of there, if all is going well at that point, he could just lift him up to me. They said that he can cut the cord (Which he didn’t get to do with Tru since Tru wasn’t crying at first and they cut the cord in the process of getting him to the isolett thing obviously. That is understandable in that situation of course.) but I’m thinking that’s like going to Red Lobster and having someone say “Now you can’t order an entree but you can eat the biscuits.” We will see what happens. My ultimate goal is healthy and alive baby no matter how they get him out of there. IF I was allowed to have a birth plan (not allowed where I go but that doesn’t mean I won’t make requests as I am either pushing out the baby or being sawed in half) my birth plan would be:

• No epidural if I go naturally. I don’t want it. Unless I’m being sawed in half – in that case YES PLEASE! I hated the way the spinal made me feel and shake and I am not keen to try an epidural. If my Dr really wants me to have a line placed (and they do pending the whole time-since-lovenox-shot/blood-test thing) for the possibility of a c section being immediately necessary, I would agree to that. But leave it off please! I’m pretty sure….
• I want to be allowed to labor in any position I want. I want to be allowed to stand and walk and get on my knees, bounce on the ball etc. I absolutely HATE the idea of laboring while lying down. I don’t think it would be good for me or baby. I really would hate that I think.
• Showers or tub sounds great. That’s my go-to during nightmarish endometriosis periods and it always helps then.
• I’ll take an IV or whatever. I really don’t mind that. I was group b positive last time anyways.
• I am happy to have monitoring. I would obviously greatly prefer that it is wireless or whatever they call it that way I can move around.
• Not a fan of episiotomy. Just let it rip. At least then it will only rip as much as it needs to I hope.
• I DO NOT want to be lying on my back pushing. No, a hundred times, no! I can’t even fathom how that works. Gravity is our friend – not usually, but this time.
• Delayed cord clamping as long as baby is ok.
• Daddy cuts cord.
• Daddy catches baby.
• If I have a c section, I would really be fine with a lower curtain so I can see the baby when they pull him out. I know they are keeping things sterile and all that and I really appreciate it but if it’s possible, I would like a view.
• Immediate skin to skin. Even if I have a c section, I would be happy to do this. They wouldn’t work with me on it last time when I asked them prior to delivery. I read blogs where women do get to do that and I think it should be standard unless there is a problem with mom or baby.

It’s important to remember that this is my hypothetical birth plan if I had a birth that went “normal”. Either VBAC or cesarean, in the end, healthy and alive. That’s what matters. But this stuff is nice too. 🙂

 

Dear God, I ask that You will continue to watch over Levi and guard and protect him throughout the rest of this pregnancy and birth. I pray that he will be delivered at the right time in the right way that keeps him healthy and safe and brings glory to You. In Jesus’ name, amen.

A Very Late Homemade Christmas Gifts Post

My camera situation is figured out so I wanted to post these homemade Christmas gifts that I made for 2014. 

Truett’s hand print.

I only made 2 playdoh handprints even though Tru was doing great laying his hand in the dough. I couldn’t get the dough to stop sticking to him so I made 2 of these but only painted one of them as santa. This was kind of my present from Tru to me because no way am I giving these away when I have so few of them. I also made a plaster of paris print that I like even better because the details showed up so well. 🙂

3 of the 4 wreaths I made.

I have to admit that I found the idea and instructions for these wreaths on Mercy News’ blog. If you aren’t following her, you should be. She is such a woman for God. I love reading her posts. 🙂

These wreaths are VERY easy. Like 30-45 minutes each. I found the burlap rolls at walmart for under $4 each. I think the frames are less than $3 there as well. I got the decorations for just cents each at Jo Ann’s Fabrics on sale. The burlap bow material was a few dollars a roll. I used probably 4 rolls. So these are actually very cost effective to make. I used the 18 inch frames I think.

The wreath I never took a finished picture of.

 

 

I forgot to take a picture of this wreath finished. It turned out pretty I think. I didn’t do a bow on it. I went all the way around with the carnations and daisies. I actually didn’t use the green ivy. It really didn’t need it. I used a 12 inch frame for this wreath.

The knitted dish cloths with their towels.

I knitted these 2 dish cloths and paired them with some pretty dish towels that I found. It is so fun to knit small, quick things like that. I could work on it while Tru napped. 🙂

Finished chair.

I didn’t think to take a before picture of this chair I repainted for Tru for Christmas. It has been outside on our porch for years. I thought it would decay before we ever had a baby and even said so. And I was almost right because the finish all wore off and it needed some cheering up but here it is! Tru loves it. He sits in it all the time. DH thinks the paint colors are hideous together…. What do you think? Is the blue weird? Tell me the truth because I have more brown to paint over the blue. I am terrible with color coordinating.

 

Here is a little of our Christmas decorating – a little as in all of it except for the stockings. I usually go all out with a village and everything. Not so this year! 😉

Our Christmas tree. I put it up a few days before Christmas. I couldn’t help myself. I usually get a full size live tree but this year it just wasn’t doable with a toddler. He left this tree alone mostly though so he may have been fine after-all.

Even the deer got in the spirit. At one point he wore a santa hat. 😉

My precious box snowman from my mom. Truett’s Christmas pictures from last year.

Our nativity.

The table runner from my Grandma. Thank you! 🙂

The tree my brother made me YEARS ago. I have to hang it every year. It’s just so cute. 🙂

 

Truett’s 15 Month Update

I feel the need to forewarn you that I wrote a book with this post. This blog is as always, my journal to look back on first and foremost. I realize that it can be a bit boring to read every single detail about some strangers baby. So on that note, read if you wish, scroll to the end for pictures, or whatever floats your boat.  

What? My baby is 15 months old? How is that even possible? Didn’t I JUST bring him home from the hospital all tiny and helpless?! Now he can say actual real words and identify toys and foods and “mouth off” at us when he doesn’t get his way. This is so amazing – watching my little guy grow up.

Tru had a nasty flu last week and it was so sad seeing him so miserable. He laid in my arms and watched Elmo (which is how you know he’s really sick because he never wants to be held) and I pretty much had to force him to drink Pedialyte after it had been 2 days with him hardly drinking anything. He had a fever NYE that spiked to almost 104. I got scared at that point even though I had talked to the MA at his Pediatrician’s office earlier that day and she hadn’t given me a cut-off point for how high his fever could be before it was serious. She had suggested bathing him in lukewarm water so we did after we gave him a dose of Tylenol and his fever came down enough so that he could sleep. I checked on him all night. Poor little guy. He was still sick on New Years day and had possibly the worst diarrhea diaper in the history of mankind. The towel that we changed him on and the pants that he was wearing are a complete loss. There was no way to wipe that much carnage off his butt, legs, and feet so I had to just stand him in the shower and spray him down. He really wanted to eat the green bean that was in the shower. How did that get there? OH! That’s how. Yuck….

 

Thankfully he is all mended now although he isn’t feeling all better because of the world’s meanest molar that has his gum swollen like a big rotten grape… I was playing with him and I saw a flash of white in the back of his mouth. When I felt around his gums I discovered that in addition to 6 front teeth, he has also cut 2 bottom molars now. He apparently had no problems getting those teeth through but this top left one has been terrible. He woke up the other night crying so hard that he almost couldn’t catch his breathe. He kept grabbing his ear and hair and was obviously in serious pain. He wanted both me and DH at the same time so we had to sit on the couch together and hold him across both of us. This tooth has his face and chin all broken out in redness from all the drolling. He is irritable, has less appetite, and is throwing fits about every.single.thing. I am not happy with this particular tooth. It is very mean to my baby.

 

On a happy note…. He is starting to say things that we actually understand. For weeks now since well before Christmas, he has been saying something that sounds like “what’s this” and “what’s that” but the other night he took it a step further when he got super excited upon finding out that the middle seat of our couch folds down into a table. He had forgotten about that feature and was highly impressed. He kept looking back and forth between DH and I saying “what’s this” and finally he said “what is this!?” several times in a row. We were both shocked because he said it just as clear as could be! Then he started running around the family room pointing to everything saying “what’s this?” and we were naming stuff off as fast as we could. I asked him “Where’s the deer?” not even sure that he knew what the deer was as it’s not something we talk about much but he immediately pointed to DH’s mounted buck. DH said it is like he grew up overnight. I agree. In 3 days he went from playing with his toys all day long to barely even touching them at all. He is so interested in everything else right now.

 

Unfortunately, all this teething and developmental leaps bring about lots of fits and tantrums and frankly, I just don’t know what to do sometimes. Last night I just put him to bed because he was throwing himself on the floor every couple minutes about absolutely everything. I try to choose my battles and a lot of stuff I just let slide if it’s not causing him any danger but this is just getting beyond what I know how to handle. He throws himself on the floor and screams over absolutely everything that isn’t exactly the way he wants it to be. (Update: A few days after writing this, things began to improve. With the tooth thing over with, the tantrums have become a lot less.) 🙂 

 

Then there are other things that he doesn’t see as being something he shouldn’t do. He’s not being bad, he’s just being a baby that is learning but still, these things aren’t acceptable. Sometimes he wants to sit in my lap and playfully slap me in the face. That’s obviously not ok because even though he is smiling and happy, it is really rough. So I gently tell him no and try to redirect him to rubbing my face gently, but he doesn’t want to do that. He wants to slap. He wants to bite us too while we are wrestling around on the floor. Not ok. He throws his toys and bottles/cups directly at us. It’s all normal baby stuff that he doesn’t realize is hurtful but we need to get a handle on it like yesterday and I just don’t know how. The more you tell him no, the more he does it. The worst thing is that he runs away from us all the time. This scares me the most because you never know when the time will come that your baby will run from you right into danger when you need them to come. It’s so important to me that we teach him this immediately. It’s just hard to get it across to a one year old.

 

Goodnight nurse, I’ve already written a book here and barely said anything… I know there are a lot of other things going on with him right now but these are the things that stand out at the moment.

 

• He got his first “professional” haircut. I took him to a salon and they cut his beautiful little blonde locks. I almost wanted to be that weird mom who starts picking their baby’s hair off the floor to save it. But I had already cut his hair last month at home so I have a few swatches in his baby book. 🙂
• He is outgrowing his clothes faster than I can pack them away. Suddenly all his shirts are too short and we are both walking around with the bottom of our bellies hanging out. 😉
• He got a ton of Christmas presents from relatives but my favorite is possibly the baby gate that my parents bought. 🙂 He did get a lot of nice clothes and toys and ever since he got his new toys, his old toys have barely been played with.
• He will bring us the toy that we ask him for now as long as we sing the song that accompanies it. (Most of his toys play music of some sort.) It’s really cute. 🙂
• He knows when I put his jeans on that we are going somewhere. He always wears comfortable pants at home and we save the jeans for when we are going out and he caught on to that. Sometimes he puts one leg of his jeans on when he finds a pair of them. I take this to mean that he is bored of me and wants me to take him bye bye. 😉
• He runs to us and plops his butt right in our laps when we tell him to get his shoes on.
• I couldn’t get his car seat buckled in my “new” car in the rear facing direction due to the stupidest seat belt ever so I had to put him forward facing in his big boy car seat. He loved it. 🙂 The Pediatrician said we could forward face him earlier than the usual 2 years old but I was holding out until Levi gets here but it seems that we may have to just go with forward in this car.
• He says “OH” excitedly while inhaling about absolutely everything that remotely peeks his interest. It’s really funny because he spends half the day runny around saying “OH”!!
• He still loves going down for naps and to bed at night. He seldom cries about it and when he is extra tired, he looks at us with the most adorable look of gratitude. “Thank you for finally realizing that I am frazzled and want my bed!” We are so fortunate to have a baby that loves to take his nap and go to bed at night. I know we are very spoiled with him for sure. If he does wake up in the night, he only wants to be held in our bed until he is no longer scared or in pain or wet or whatever, then he wants back in his crib to fall asleep on his own.
• He will work with putting shape pieces in his shape sorter for an unlimited amount of time. I eventually have to take the toy away because he will finally get too frustrated with it and start yelling at it with each stubborn piece. We get a kick out of watching him though. He pushes the pieces so hard at the wrong holes that his legs and arms are shaking. He leaves his tongue sticking out too which is just too adorable.
• He talks non stop! He loves to talk on the phone to nobody. One of his favorite, most repeated lines is “Oioioioioioioi”
• He gives me hugs all day and is starting to make me hold him several times a day. I LOVE IT!! 🙂
• He loves to dance!

Enough writing! Time for pictures!! 🙂

 

“Helping” mommy with the Christmas baking. 🙂

Trying out his chair I refinished for him for Christmas.

Exhausted at Grandma and Grandpa’s Christmas Eve. I had to make him take a break. He was so hot and tired.

“Ok, Grandpa. But I’m only laying here because YOU said to. Not because mom is making me!”

I love how little he still looks sometimes.

Grandma “rescued” him from a nap and let him rummage through toys.

Sleepy heads at Pap Pap and Grandmama’s Christmas Morning.

“I will open exactly one present! I am done after that. Leave me alone to play with my ONE present.”

“I am not leaving these to open anything else.”

“Whoa there now! I DO like those presents!!” Have you ever seen a baby so excited to get diapers?

Catching a quick nap on the way to Great Grandma’s Christmas afternoon. Check out that faux-hawk!

Exhausted little man.

Chillin with daddy. 🙂

I love this picture. If only the dog would always be so good!

Opening presents at home.

We are so extravagant! lol.

Black beans.

We learned a lesson. 2 lesson actually. 1.Black beans stain everything. 2. RINSE THEM OFF! Der…

Daddy dressed him up in this. Tru thought it was great.

 

Dear God, thank You for Truett. Thank You for the miracle and the gift that he is. Thank You for the snuggles we get to enjoy together and the fun we have playing and going about our day. I love him so much. Please help him to be healthy and safe and happy. I pray that DH and I will raise Truett properly according to Your will for his life. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

29 Weeks 4 Days – 2nd Pregnancy

How far along? 29 weeks 4 days

How big is the baby? Probably over 3 pounds by now and approaching full term length. 🙂

Total weight gain/loss? I was so proud of myself. I didn’t gain any weight this week. And then this morning my body was like “Hey girl! My bad… I forgot to give you some poundage! Here, let me make up for it. Here’s 2 pounds.” So, up 22 pounds.

Maternity clothes? I need some desperately. I have outgrown some and some are seasonal and I can’t make my regular shirts fit like I did with Tru. They just won’t this time.

Sleep? Sleep is good. It’s the pains and the peeing that wake me up. I pee more often than once an hour all night. No lie. I really do. It’s crazy.

Best moment this week? No particular moment. The changes in the kicks and punches have been pretty sweet. I am FINALLY able to feel more distinct appendages. I have a huge blank zone in the front of my tummy where I feel no movement of any kind ever. Anterior placentas are weird. I recommend you grow a nice fundal or posterior one. But almost anything is better than previa so I am happy! 🙂 Also, Tru has been letting me hold him more. It makes me happy since I really love when we get to snuggle. 🙂

Symptoms? My pelvis is splitting in half. No really, it is. Out of breathe all the time. Pressure, cramps, the usual. All signs that we are nearing the home stretch! It’s not a symptom but my shots are getting harder to do as I run out of pinchable, vein free skin on my tummy. We may have to resort to thighs, butt cheeks and love handles soon but I save those for as long as possible. My thighs have only a couple good spots, I shudder to think of DH giving me Lovenox injections (PIO is fine but Lovenox, not so sure) and the love handles are hard to reach.

Food cravings? Sweets and it is so strange! I have been really good this week about not giving in. As in, I haven’t went to the store. So I have been forced to be good.

Food aversions? At this point, I could almost wish so. I want all the food, all the time.

Gender? Baby boy Levi.

What I miss? Up until the last couple weeks I was still doing this modified laying on my belly position. It doesn’t work any more. I kind of miss it. I keep waking up on my back. That makes me feel guilty.

What I’m looking forward to? Meeting the little man. I am also anxious to start washing his clothes but I am holding out a few more weeks. I need a dresser for him and Tru to share still. I also want to get my hospital bag packed for real but it has come to my attention that I need to buy some serious yoga pants. I fit no pants any more. I wear my one pair of maternity leggings (that I have discovered have a hole) under my 2 dresses that fit when I go out. I am so redundant. I also have no idea how any of this relates to “What I’m looking forward to”

Milestones? I think I passed my glucose test. The nurse called but she didn’t say what specific test on the VM she left me. I could call and ask but I think she was talking about the GT. 🙂

Bump? HUGE!!! It has seriously popped out there! DH and I were laughing about it’s gigantic size last night. We aren’t sure how it can get bigger. I mean, I suppose it did with Tru but I don’t know. I don’t think I was much bigger than this. I try to remind myself that Tru had a lot less fluid but yeah, I’m pretty sure this isn’t fluid. I think mommy has just been stretched out before so stretching is easier this time. And mommy is gaining weight differently. Which reminds me, the ladies seem to have shrunk. Which is good I guess because I still haven’t bought a larger bra.

27 weeks 6 days – I missed taking a 28 week picture and I never posted this one. 

29 weeks 4 days – look at that bellah!! What happened? 

 

Dear God, I pray that as we near the end of this pregnancy that You will prepare the perfect birth experience that You want for me and this baby. I pray that we will have a safe and easy labor and birth and that he will be in the right position for him to be healthy and safe. I pray that however he comes into this outside world that he will be safe and healthy and happy. Please continue to watch over and protect him inside me. In Jesus’ name, amen.

 

 

 

This and That and My Dog

I don’t have anywhere to put this stuff in a regular weekly update post so I thought I would just get it out here. Not that it’s important, I just feel like getting it off my chest.

• Someone wrecked into our truck while it was parked at the auto repair shop for a minor braking problem. The brakes aren’t bad, it’s just something to do with the anti-lock brakes. But yep. Someone ran into us and didn’t bother to let anyone know for 2 days. At that point, the mechanic got in touch with us and gave me the persons info. I don’t think she was insured. Oh joy. This has actually happened to us THREE times that our vehicles have been hit while parked. That’s better than having them hit while we are in them of course but it still sucks.
• I have several blog giveaways that I have been wanting to do for months now! I just need to get around to actually doing them. Be on the lookout to enter for a chance to win! 🙂
• Our water froze and was out from last Wednesday until Sunday. Thankfully it finally came back on when everything began to thaw out again. It feels great to have water finally but we really have to get that freezing problem addressed this spring. This happens even with heat tape on our pipes and DH built an insulating wall in front of the pipes but it’s just not enough for Arctic Blasts.
• I have been trying to help a friend of mine with some fertility issues. Not going to go into any details here but I really feel good when I get to use all my “experience” to help someone so maybe they don’t have to go through as much confusion and waiting as I did.
• On that note, a relative of a relative told me at Christmas that after a talk I had with her a few maybe 3+ years ago (which I didn’t even remember) she tried Clomid which I had recommended to get pregnant and she pointed to her child. I can’t tell you how happy that made me. I’m not trying to take credit here at all but I am just so happy for her that she got to have her baby and didn’t have to try for years and years unsuccessfully.
• I have SPD also know as PPGP (Pregnancy Pelvic Girdle Pain). You can read the link for more details but it is pretty much the separation of the front of the pelvic joint. It hurts frequently and I couldn’t even sleep this morning. It is kind of funny though. I can feel the front of my pelvis crunch and move when I roll over in bed and when I walk to the bathroom at night I can feel it grinding back into place. It is that gross kind of thing that makes you laugh because it’s just such a weird sensation. I had it mildly with Tru. It will go away, in the meantime I think I am going to make another appointment with the Chiropractor and if my insurance isn’t lying, maybe even a prenatal massage? 😀
• I have posts in the drafts folder that I can’t upload yet because they need pictures added. My computer thinks it can’t recognize my camera that I have been plugging into it for nearly a year now. I hope to get this issue resolved soon because I have Tru’s 15 month update ready and I really want to get it uploaded WITH his adorable face. 😉

This is kind of it’s own post. Suggestions welcome.

• I’m not sure what to do about my dog. I am starting to think he just needs a new home. That makes me TERRIBLY sad because I NEVER EVER EVER thought I would give him away. And I have had an offer from someone to buy him in the past and I was like NO amount of money could buy this dog. I am the kind of person who keeps my animals until death do us part (With the exception of our ferrets that I had to give away after I had Tru. It wouldn’t have been fair to them to keep them.) But our dog hates Tru. He growls at him when Tru gets near him which makes me nervous. He loves ALL OTHER KIDS except for Tru. I think because the dog was here first. And he’s jealous. But Tru loves that dog so much. I have never seen a baby pet so gently. He lays his head on the dog and hugs him so carefully. It literally is making me sad. I don’t know what to do. Recently, our dog who never ever had accidents (seriously, he could go a year with no accidents) is peeing occasionally on the floor as a behavior thing. Even when he has been out recently. It’s usually around DH because he is most jealous of DH not spending every single second with him. And he is getting super annoying to DH getting right in his face and trying to block him from playing with Tru. I don’t know what to do because outside of having him be an outside dog, (I hate the thought of that – that’s really no life for a dog) to rehome him I would have to find a child-free, pet-free (he hates other dogs, he’s fine with cats though) home. And most people who want a dog already have one. Plus he’s 5 years old so not a young pup anymore. NOT TO MENTION, I am kind of super attached to him. I raised him from 7 weeks old. I rushed him to the vet when he was hemorrhaging and told them to save him, I didn’t care how much it cost. ($1,100 by the way) I hand fed him for weeks at a time when he wouldn’t eat or when he had his gastro issues. This is not a dog that I didn’t love like family. But is it fair to keep him now when he hates Tru, doesn’t like me while I’m pregnant, is jealous and-I’m guessing-sad? He’s obviously having behavior issues outside of just peeing on the floor. What to do, what to do. This can only get worse I feel. What would you do?

The Easiest Homemade Chicken and Rice Soup

Obviously, the VERY easiest way is to open a can. But I am not really all that into canned soups. I am picky about the brand. But this is the next easiest thing and it is soooo tasty!

Photo credit of Birds Eye.

 

I take a bag of this yummy chicken flavored rice and pour into a saucepan with enough water to cover it at least an inch or two. I then add a couple cubes of chicken flavored bullion. I add some pieces of cut up chicken (good way to use leftover chicken!) and heat it up. Walah! Chicken and rice soup.

 

I threw some spinach in mine as well because I love spinach. 🙂