Merry Christmas!!

 I can't believe December is almost over!!!

Ariya is starting to try to crawl! It's this army crawl, froggy looking thing she does. Whatever it is, girl gets around!! She gets up on her knees but she doesn't actually use them to crawl. Either way it's the cutest thing I've ever seen!! The funny thing is she can't even sit up by herself but she is already getting around and her newest thing is to make her way over to me then use my legs to get herself into half standing position!! This trips me out because she can barely crawl but she is already trying to walk!!

She loves the Christmas tree but thankfully she can't reach the ornaments, she can however reach the presents so with any luck they will stay wrapped until Christmas!!

We did pictures back in November but since they were for Christmas I've tried to keep them kind of under wraps (no pun intended) so here they are now!!

We also just did pictures with Santa! She'd just woken up so she wasn't her usual smiley self, that happened about 5mins after we were done with Santa, but one a good note he didn't freak her out and all she was really interested in was pulling all that fluffy white hair!!

Technically it's Christmas Eve and I am so thankful and bless I have such a wonderful family to spend it with!! I hope every has a very Merry Christmas!!!

This month I'm Thankful for....

.....My family of course!!!
 In Baby updates;
Lil baby Ariya is rolling over like a champ!! She rolls all over the floor. You put her down in one spot and it's not long before she is half way across the living room, it's so stinkin cute!!
She had her 4 month check up on Wed. While we were sitting in the waiting room to be called back I took her over to the fish tank to look at the fishy. Her eyes were GLUED!! I'm telling you if those fish weren't in that tank (and not so slippery) her reflexes were so spot on, she could have caught herself a fish!! Every time the big yellow one swam by, her arm would shot out like a light to catch him. I was cracking up!!
Everything with the visit went well and of course my angel is growing exactly like she is suppose to!! The doctor called her tall and skinny with her coming in at 12lbs 1oz and 25 inches long. I really thought she would weigh more by now. She eats a jar of baby food anywhere from 2-3 times a day and rice cereal (girl can eat!)
She got two shots during her visit and that night and the next day I could tell they had made her not feel so good. Usually I have the happiest baby. It took us a little while but we finally got all her tummy problems figured out so for my little baby not to be smiling I knew she wasn't feeling good. Usually wakes up smiling and talking but today she just looked a little sad. (breaks my heart)
After a few long naps and some Tylenol she seemed to be feeling a little better by the time left I for work. Yes, I had to work tonight. I got called in (Wed. night) I'm actually kind of happy about it. I was suppose to have to come in on Thanksgiving day for an 8 hour shift but because I was called in tonight I get Thanksgiving all to myself...well actually all to my family cause that's who I'll be spending it with!!
Well hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving and cherish all the things you are thankful for!!
I know I do!!!

Baby Fresh!!

Nothing smells better than a baby fresh out her bath!!!

Ariya is all clean and tucked into bed, I could never fully express how in love with that little baby I am!! I truly love being a mommy!!

Of course I feel the same about Taylor, but she's no longer a baby that relies soley on her mommy. Oh I'm not even 'mommy' to her anymore, just 'mom'.  And of course instead of taking my advice she has to find everything out the hard way!

lol, anyway....

A few weeks ago we started giving Ariya baby food. Oh what fun that is!!! She seems to be a vegetable baby, with her favorite being peas. She can put down a whole jar in no time flat!!! She also seems to like carrots, squash, and sweet potatoes. She is NOT however a fruit baby, fruits like peaches and bananas make her squish up her face in sour distaste....it's so stinkin cute.

This past week she has started grabbing her feet, they haven't made it to her mouch yet but I know it's only a matter of time!

Also recently when I have left the room for a moment or turned my eyes off her for a few minutes while she is on the floor I have looked back to find she is starting to try to turn herself over onto her tummy!! She loves to do these things when I'm not looking!! She waited to give off her first laugh just a few hours after I went to work a few weekends ago. When my husband text me to tell me she was cracking up at my friend Kelly and her son Tyler, I seriously thought I would cry!! I have been waiting so long to her that baby giggle!!! They grow up so fast and I dont want to miss a single moment!!

But back to the roll....thus far she has only managed to get her bottom rolled over with her arm still tucked under her, she then alerts me to this by starting to fuss because her face is half in the floor and she doens't know what to do but today while her daddy was home for lunch I looked up and she was comepletely on her tummy with both arms holding her head up high!!! I was so proud!!!

Taylor's cheerleading is pretty much over and up next is gymnastics and then I think soccer. Between all that and her friends she stays pretty busy. She has grown up so much in this last year. She is not my little girl anymore. She is on her way to being a beautiful young lady....someone shoot me now!!!

As for me, I just started a dance class to get rid of the rest of this stubborn baby weight. I have only been going for a week but I really enjoy it! I was also really surprised at what a total workout it is! After the first two days I think just about every muscle in my body was sore!! No pain no gain...or loss in this case, cause if they continue to kick my butt like they did those first two days, bye bye baby weight!!

 My sweet doll baby laying on our new rug!

She has this thing with pulling any covers, blankets, spit rags, etc over her head!

We didn't take the baby out trick-or-treating but I did take her around to visit family

lol, my lil ladybug!!! She looks surprised!!

3 Months old!

Baby Ariya is 3 months old already!!! I cant believe how fast time is flying!! I want her to stay a little baby forever! The cool thing about her getting bigger is watching her discover new things. In the past week or so she has;
~Locked in on her feet, she can't grab them yet so she just stares at them (bet she thinking she can't wait to get those suckers in her mouth!)
~Begun sticking out her tongue, and not because something is near her mouth
~While laying on her back she waves her hand in front of her face and watches it
~While laying on her stomach she can roll onto her back
~and she has gotten much better at seeing an object, grabbing it and holding onto it.
All simple things but even though I have been through it before it all amazes me! oh and she is so close to laughing I can't stand it! She kind of chuckles now but I am waiting for a full blown from the belly laugh!

Ariya in the new toy daddy bought her!!

In other news
My new shift is working out well, for both me and the bambino. I get all my hours in all at once and then get to spend the rest of the time with her, it is WONDERFUL! I am so thankful that I have a job where I have this option!

We got a new living room set. I am in LOVE with it! If i get time I'll post pictures of it.  I told Jason that it makes me feel like an adult now. I know...I'm married with two kids but it takes a LIVING ROOM set to make me feel like an adult, go figure!! The way we have re-arranged has opened up our whole living room with plenty of space in the middle for baby to play. Our next purchase=bigger tv!!

Taylor is still cheerling although the season is almost over. She says she doesn't want to do it again but every game she has so much fun! She is in full blown "pre-teen" mode! I am thankful that A.) She is a good girl and B.) She doesn't realize how absolutely gorgeous she is. If either of those things change I-AM-IN-TROUBLE!!!!
 Here is a pic of her in her cheer t-shirt and shorts.

lol, I had her giving me spirt fingers when I took the shot!!

I'm Back!!!

Back at work that is!! For me it is bitter sweet.
I like being back at work because I really enjoy a lot of the people I work with, I was also able to get the shift I wanted so Baby Ariya will always be with either Jason or me and that is awesome! On the flip side I was so sad leaving my baby girl today that I had tears in my eyes. I have been with her non stop for 2 1/2 months. Yes I realize it's only work and I will see her again very soon but that little baby has all of my heart and I feel like I left it with her when I had to leave for work.
She of course is doing wonderful and is growing like a weed! She is at the stage now where she coo's and smiles all the time! The other day I even got her to laugh for the first time!!! She hasn't done it since but it was the sweetest thing ever!!
Just the other day I was shopping for a new living room set (which I am super excited about) so baby Ariya, my mom, and I were looking about. I had just finished feeding her and sat down on one of the couches at the store to burp her...bad idea! I'm sure you can figure out where this is going.....before I could even get her on my shoulder and on her burp rag, she spit up all over the place!!! Thankfully no one was looking! She had me and my mom laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes! Silly baby!!
I have about a million pictures of this child but here are some of my favorites!

 This one is a little blurry but it's the first picture I have of her smiling!! She smiles all the time but it's harder than you would think to catch it on camera!

 This one I took today before I left for work

 Nothing is sweeter than a sleeping baby

 She has the best expressions!!

 Dont you just want to pinch those cheeks!!!

 Her first and so far only sink bath

Oh I just can't express enough how in love with this baby I am!!

Baby Ariya finally arrived!!!

2 months ago today my little bundle of joy FINALLY arrived!!!
It was both the happiest and most painful day of my life!
One week after my due date my doctor decide to have me induced. I was SO happy to know my baby girl was coming one way or another at 41 weeks.
As you may have read in my previous post I was absolutely miserable by this time.
At 3:30am Tuesday morning my husband Jason and I woke up so that we could make it to the hospital by 5am. Jason's mom had just flown in the previous night to help us watch the kids so due to having to pick her up from the airport we both went to bed pretty late and only got a few hours of sleep. Excitment may have played a part in that as well.
After arriving at the hospital and getting a quick check they decided to send us to breakfast. Wait BREAKFAST?!? I thought I was here to have a baby not breakfast!!!
Turns out the Labor and Delivery floor was completely full and since I wasn't actually in labor yet they needed to buy some time.
So to breakfast we went. Since we woke up so early neither one of us had eaten before we left the house and it was too early for any fast food to be open on our way to the hospital.
After a delish bagel at Bruger's, we got back to the hospital around 6:30am. It took until about 9:30 to get me all settled in and get my pitocin started.
At 9:45am my water broke!!! I asked the nurse if it was due to the pitocin they just started but she said no probably not,it happened to quick for it to be the pitocin, my body was just finally ready to have this baby!!
Of course the pitocin started the more intense contractions and after about two hours I couldn't help myself and asked for my epidural. Unlike with Taylor, the doctor told me there was no magic number (like 4cm) and that I could have the epidural whenever I wanted. I tried to tough it out for as long as I could, then decided there was no reason for me to be in so much pain.
As expected, after the epidural was placed I felt a ton better! I could move me toes and legs but only very slowly. I still knew when I was having contractions but the pain wasnt there....at least that's how it was for about 5 hours. In this time I was checked and told I was at 4cm.
Sometime between 4-4:30pm I started to feel extremely painful contractions. The nurse was a little perplexed because she felt I shouldnt be feeling such pain with the epidural in place however they were so bad I was moaning and having to concentrate on breathing through them. She decided since I was in so much pain to call the doctor's in (I delivered at MUSC, which is a teaching hospital, so when you call one doctor in you also get a whole gaggle of residents, however while in so much pain I could care less who was in the room see me in all my glory) they checked me and told me I had jumped now to 8cm!! I was so overwhelmed I burst into tears. I knew my baby girl would be in my arms soon and I also realized the worst was yet to come. It was bitter sweet tears ;-)
While the doctor's were getting everything ready I continued to concentrate on breathing through the contractions which were now coming every 1-2 mins. I was also doing some practice pushing. With my first daughter Taylor I could feel everything throught the epidural but felt no pain until the epidural wore off. This time around I was in the worst pain I had ever been in. I could actually feel my baby girl dropping lower and to my surprise she was MOVING!!! I dont know if this is normal or not but I could feel her moving her head back and forth!! I wanted to scream and during the last few pushes I think I actually did!! Both my mom and Jason said I wasnt screaming but I had an oxygen mask on and I was so exhausted by this time I'm sure to me it was a loud scream but to them it was a tiny squeek. With shaking hands inbetween pushes, my Ariya Jacklyn finally made her appearance at 5:28pm Tuesday July 19th at 8lbs 6oz and 20inches!!! Compaired to Taylor's 6lbs 12oz, this was HUGE!! I'm sure that extra week to pack on the lbs helped.
After they cleaned her up I realized I would not be getting another mini-me but i also realized she was one of the most beautiful things I'd ever seen!!!
She came out with beautiful dark hair and eyes and girl had some nails and let me tell you they hurt!!!

These first couple of weeks were like a getting to know you time period. I had to remember how to take care of a baby all over again!! And this baby was so much different than Taylor. It took us a long time to figure out the whole breastfeeding thing and in that time we had to supplement with formula. It also took us awhile to realize that the reason baby Ariya was so fussy was because the MILK I was drinking was upsetting her stomach. WHAT?!? I cant drink milk!!! I was so surprised!! She isn't on Soy milk but I am! I also have to stay away from all dairy, which means no cheese : (
It has been really hard adjusting my diet so that I dont upset her tummy but it is SO worth it to be able to breastfeed my little one.
At this time my little munchkin loves to smile and talk to everyone. It is soo sweet! She also really seems to love her bathtime!!
I have enjoyed my time at home with her and am sad that I have to go back to work soon. I did decide to only work the weekends so that she wont have to go to daycare. I will work all 40 hrs in 3 days at work over the weekend so that the baby can be with me Mon-Thurs. and with Jason on the weekends. It is going to be tough on me but the time I get to be there for her and Taylor during the week will be priceless!!! I consider myself lucky to even be able to have that option...and a bonus is working weekends I'll make more money!!! \

She was about 6 weeks here

Well I have been extemely busy with the baby and Taylor just started cheerleading but I will try to post a little more often. Maybe once I go back to work i'll find some downtime to post.

My world of misery

I’m 36 weeks and as the title to this blog suggests I am M-I-S-E-R-A-B-L-E!!! I have enjoyed this pregnancy up until this point so I guess it’s only fair that I be completely uncomfortable these last few weeks.

            The lovely city of Charleston hasn’t been any help either, as the average temperature for the past month + has been around 85-95 degrees!!! Little early to be so friggin HOT!!! Anyone who’s had a summer pregnancy knows exactly what I’m talking about! My hands and feet are swollen on an everyday basis and I had to change work shoes before I busted out of the old ones (which happen to be brand new!!)

            My co-workers probably hate me at the moment because of how cold I insist on keeping my department. Before I was pregnant I was on their side and cold all the time, most hospitals stay pretty cold. But now…..even with the AC blastin I can still break out in a sweat at any given time!!! I even chill my husband out and he’s from New Jersey!!! I sleep with a fan blowing on me and not a stitch of covers on, when I wake up he’s bundled up in the covers and begging me to turn the fan off, lol!!

            The baby shower was last week and it turned out wonderful, thanks to two of my best friends, Nicole and Gem! The food was delish, and I got of ton of presents! Jason, my mom, and I all gave Taylor a present at the baby shower. We wanted to show her that she is a part of this too and to thank her for all the things she does and will continue to help me with once the baby comes! She is growing up so fast!!

 I still have a little bit of last minute shopping to do before our lil one gets here but I was too happy when Jason and I  found her the perfect Coming Home Outfit yesterday!! It is sooo stinkin cute!! Last night I fell asleep with images of what she’s gonna look like in her lil outfit in my head, it made me smile on the inside!!! She’s not even here yet and I already love her SOO much!!!

            I can also feel my body changing as it gets ready to deliver this precious one. I don’t remember feeling this with Taylor although I’m sure I did. This time, since I have a medical background, I know what every ache and pain is! From here on out I see the doctor every week! She said I’m now at the point where I can saftely deliver her any time! I still have 4 weeks to go but I don’t know how I’m going to get through them!! If I do go early I’m hoping it will be around the 38^th week. That way I know our little one has packed on enough lbs!!

            I’ll try to post pics soon!

Maternity photos!

Wow, can't believe I forgot to post my maternity pics. I had them taken around easter because I was able to get a really good deal on them but also because I didnt want to feel like a beached whale trying to take pictures in this heat!! I still may take more with another friend of mine who offered but for now this is what I have!!

I was right around 28 weeks when these pictures were taken. I am now 35!! There were more but these were my favorites. For mother's day I printed them out and gave them to my mom and grandmother!

Braxton Hicks

I am 34 weeks this week and on come the Braxton Hicks Contractions. For those of you that dont know this is the "false labor" that many women experience. They can start pretty early but most women dont feel them until the last few weeks, if at all. I never felt them with Taylor but this time around (starting this week) I am having them a few times a day. They dont really hurt they are just a little uncomfortable as my uterus contracts and my stomach becomes hard as a rock. My brother felt this for the first time last night and his surprised expression when I told him it was a contraction was priceless!! I explained to him these are just the warm ups getting us ready for our BIG day!!! I still need her cooking in there for at least another 2-3 weeks. That way she wont have to stay at the hospital for coming out too early. Plus the baby shower isn't until next weekend so I still have PLENTY to get done!! Other than that I dont really have any other new news...so until next time!
~

Wowsers!!

Wow…

That’s the only word I can think of to describe these past few weeks.

First was my birthday dinner at Oscars…mmmm. I was able to get a $75 gift card that was supposed to cost $30 for $6!! The only catch was you had to spend $150…between 5 people at Oscar’s that’s not that hard. At the end we each picked out our own dessert just to make sure we had spent enough!!!

     The Tuesday after my birthday I treated myself to seeing my most favoritest band in the whole wide world, Emery, play at the Music Farm!! I love them!! Most of the members are actually from Charleston or Rock Hill, SC. They don’t exactly label themselves a “Christian” band but that’s pretty much what they are with a heavier sound. They moved to Seattle some time ago for the better music scene and have being doing awesome every since… Anytime they come to town I try to catch them. The last time I saw them was in Myrtle Beach at the house of blues with Underoath. My opinion- they were better than the headliners!!

So yes, I took my pregnant behind to the music show for a rock concert! I made sure to stay away from any possible mosh pits but because it was on a Tue night I had no trouble being plenty close enough while staying well out of harms way. I LOVED IT!!! I think the baby did too, lol!!

Next up, I had tickets to see PRINCE!!!! This was another birthday present to myself! I was able to get $50 tickets before they sold out and even though they were nose bleeds I figured when would I ever get to see Prince again? As it is I missed Michael Jackson : (

3/30/11

A friend of mine called me a few hours before the concert to tell me she didn’t realize me and my brother were going but that she was now going as well because someone at work gave her floor seats for free!!! These bad boys were $200 tickets!! Unfortunately she had already asked our other friends to go sit on the floor with her  : ( I was a little bummed at first but was just glad we were going! About halfway through the concert my girlfriend appeared out of nowhere, giving me her ticket and told me go down to the floor to see Prince!!!! I was ESTATIC!!!! I think we were literally 10 feet from him!! I stayed down there for awhile with our other friends then went back up so my brother could go down to the floor also…it was only fair!! So we were all able to see him from two different views, which was awesome!!! I loved seeing him up close but it was also great to get to see the bigger picture!! Let me tell you....even after all these years that man still HAS IT!!! Me and my girlfriend left shortly after that since we were both tried and had had our fill…From what I heard he played until 11:30!!! Since I had to be up at 5:15am I’m glad we left early!!

Of course I couldn’t stop there…I also ended up going to the Rockfest put on by our local radio station 98 rock. This was totally unplanned but my husband was out of town that weekend and I figured why not!! It started during the day and there were a ton of people there. Thankfully the group I went with had set up on the side of all the chaos and had a blanket with plenty of room for me to sit my pregnant behind down when I needed to rest.

The line up included Stone Sour, Theory of a Deadman, Halestorm, Memphis-based Christian rock band Skillet, Art of Dying, and local rock band Madam Adam. Everyone stayed outside the gates tailgating for awhile (and I was running late) so I missed Madam Adam and Halestorm although I could still hear them even outside the gates. I’ve seen Theory and Stone Sour before. They were all good but I will say I was most impressed with Skillet. They use more string instruments in most of their songs so they had some awesome musicians playing the violin on stage with them. It was amazing and at one point the stage lifted just  the string players up. They truly put on a great show!!

 4/3/11

 Pictures from 98 Rock

            I even made time to take Taylor and her friend to the Flowertown festival. I go every year and I LOVE seeing all the azaleas in bloom. The place was packed!! We walked around for a few hours but Taylor wasn’t really feeling well so we didn’t stay too long.

OHHH also that weekend I bought a new car!!! I’ve been busy girl ;-)

I got a 2009 Kia Spectra!!! I was WAY overdue for something new and this fits me perfect!!

4/2/11

            This past weekend I had maternity/Easter pics with Jason and Taylor. Beforehand I took Taylor with me to go get her makeup done. We had so much fun! She’s only 11yrs old so she doesn’t normally wear any make up (she’s way too young for all that) but I figured it would be a fun girly thing for us to do together! I haven’t seen the pictures yet but I took a few at home of me and her and she looked BEAUTIFUL!!! I’m gonna be in BIG trouble in just a few year, yikes!!!

 4/17/11- Isn't she GORGEOUS!!!

27/28 Weeks

 This weekend is mine and Jason’s anniversary AND Easter weekend. I can’t believe we have been together for two years already!!! We are going on of town this weekend but I’ll blog all about that later.

            My little miss is doing well and makes herself known on a daily basis!! She seems to be awake during the day A LOT!! I’m hoping that’s a trend that will continue once she’s out in the real world! I enjoy getting to feel her ALL the time and recently both my mom and grandmother got to feel her for the first time.

            We are still kicking around a few names…I have it narrowed down to two but I still need some time to think about it… 3 more months and I’ll have to decide one way or another!!

Baby News Update

     I think around the first Sunday in March I started feeling the baby kick from the outside!! I was soooo excited!! I have been waiting what seems like FOREVER to feel this!! A week later my husband was able to feel her too!! Then the other night I was taking a nice relaxing bath and was reading a book. I just happened to look down and my tummy was a jumpin!! It made me laugh! Since then I can feel her ALL THE TIME!!! She must know I’m writing about her because she is making her presence known now as I type!! It is the most wonderful sensation in the world being able to feel a little life inside you!!

     I had my 24 week check up yesterday and everything is going well. My doc said since my last ultrasound went so well she isn’t worried about anything right now and they are going to treat me like normal from here on out instead of high risk. I have one more appointment a month from now and then I go to two week appointments! That seems crazy to me that I’m about to be at that point already!!

     I finally got around to taking a few pictures of the baby belly and man…do I look HUGE!!! I stopped checking the scales and try not to look when they weigh me at the doctors. What is important is that she comes out healthy so from here on out I’m not gonna worry about the weight.

     I have a lot of things going on this month and next including my birthday!! We had a party this past weekend and I had a lot of fun. I didn’t even miss not being able to drink! Other than that, I’ll try to write about all the other things going on as they happen!

I think this pic was around 22 weeks

Babies and puppies, puppies and babies!!

   Still working on a name, I think we have it narrowed down to two but I'm having a really hard time deciding. It HAS to be perfect. After all she's gonna have to live with it for the rest of her life!!
But while the name hunt is still on, I think I've found the nursery I want!! Or at least a combination of things I really like!
   With Taylor I didn’t get to have a nursery. Her crib was in my room with me…and it wasn’t a very big room to begin with. For me, I’m getting to do a lot of things for the very first time and I have enjoyed this process and getting to pick out a nursery!

Here is what I’m going for

Pink Walls and Gray Accents

Gray Walls and Purple Accents

Gray Walls and Pink Accents

 I really like the gray walls I think it makes the rooms look more elegant and not SO girly girly pink. I'm pretty sure that's what color I'm going to pain the room. At first I was leaning more toward the middle picture with the purple, but now i think i might accent the room with pink instead and just add a little purple with some pictures or something. Either way i think these rooms are a combination of exactly what i want!!

I haven’t bought anything yet and I think I am going to have to buy a few things and then repaint them to have them match what I want. I’ll post pics whenever I get it done but since I haven’t even begun it may be awhile. 

Here are some new pics of the pups!! The weather here has be BEAUTIFUL lately so on the weekends I have been enjoying sitting outside with Taylor and playing with them! 

 Can you spot the puppy? She's blending in this one!!!

 Tug-o-War!! Taylor vs. pups!!

   I STILL havent taken any more baby belly pictures so I really need to get on it! I want to be able to look back at all the changes I have been going through! I'll try to work on that this weekend even if its a humpty frumpty picture taken in my pj's!! Till then I hope everyone has a wonderful and beautiful March!! 

It's a.......

21 weeks!!

Ok, someone pull out the ruler and slap my wrists. I have been bad about posting blogs as of late. I’ve just been REALLY busy at work and when I’m not super busy I have been scouring every available source for baby names and nurseries.

Our “big” 20 week appointment was last Tuesday and we finally found out what we are having!! Ready???................IT’S A GIRL!!!  We are both very excited!! I will admit that I had my heart set on a boy buuuut….I do happen to think girl clothes are so much cuter and I thought girl names would be easier. Ha…was I wrong. I think I am having a hard time because my husband insists we name the baby after his best friend who past away 2 years ago. When I was still hoping upon hope that it was a boy I was fine with that because his friends name was Jack. I told my husband I don’t think jack would come back to haunt us if we didn’t name a girl after him but I have to say I do admire my husband’s loyalty to his lost friend.

 For a girl you turn it into Jacklyn and there’s where the trouble begins. I think that will be her middle name but I’m having a hard time finding something I like that flows with it. and to tell the truth I’m having a hard time finding names I like regardless of what the middle name is. I have a name in mind but won’t announce it until I’m positive of what her name will be. We still have awhile to go so for now the hunt continues!!

It’s now obvious that I’m pregnant although some people still miss it. I had three people tell me at work last week they didn’t know I was pregnant, but I feel like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Although to their credit, scrubs are not the most form fitting or flattering things to wear, however they are comfortable!! In my regular clothes I feel like I’m already 6 months plus!!

 She is pointing to her self in this one...like "yea, it's me!"

 This is a 4D image of her with her hand at her face (probably with thumb in her mouth)

She is stretching out in this one...oh what a hard life ;-)

         I’m still waiting to feel her kick. So far I can only feel her on the inside. I know it’s her because of how my tummy tightens. It’s sooo cute.

            In other news, my husband bought a new puppy!! I know, what the hell he was thinking!! I have learned to support him instead of nagging him about things and so I support him on this. He has wanted one for a long time and the opportunity presented itself. Her name is Jazelle and she is fitting right in! In a short amount of time Capone has opened up to her and I think he realizes that it’s his job to be big brother. It’s too stinking sweet. By the time the baby get’s here she will be potty trained and I think it will be good for Capone to have someone to spend his time with since we will have our hands full with baby.

 6wks old

Lazy Bones!!

            Other than that things are going extremely well. My doctors are happy with everything and are keeping a watchful eye on me.

            I do need to get better at taking pictures but it’s hard to get excited about someone taking your picture when you feel like a whale.

Maternity Wear!!

Last week after taking my mother-in-law’s car for an oil change, I decided to go shopping since I was already in West Ashley.  When I was looking up where the dealership was on Savannah hwy, I noticed the map said there was a maternity boutique right around the corner so I decided to stop into that one. I walked in and saw a CUTE pair of jean. I looked at the price tag and was ready to walk right back out!! The jeans were $195!!! I wouldn’t spend on pre pregnancy jeans!! There was no way I was going to pay that for a pair of jean I’m only going to wear for a few months!!! I kept browsing anway so I didn’t seem rude (and also hoping I might find something closer to my price range) but after seeing a onesie for $40 and a stroller set for $900 I decided this wasn’t the store for me.

Next I decided to try the Citadel mall. I knew there was a maternity store there and although I am not as familiar with that I was determined to find this store.

All day at work my scrub pants were digging into my stomach. Not because they are too tight but because to hold them up I had to tie them tight to keep them on my waist. This was causing me (and baby) major discomfort. If they weren’t tied tight then my bottom was hanging out the back everytime I sat down or bent over, not very attractive.  I decided I needed a new pair of work pants. This was my intentions upon walking into the store.

Immediately after walking in a sales woman approached me and asked if I needed any help. I told her I was just browsing but thank you, she said no problem she would come back and check on me a little later. I always brush the sales people off, usually I know what I want and would rather not have them help. I noticed right off that these prices where more in my range so I started looking around at black pants. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to find any maternity scrub pants but I knew I should be able to find a pair of pants not too dressy and at the right price. I found a few but didn’t grab any to try on yet so I kept looking around. When the sales lady came back to check on me I explained what I was looking for and things took off from there!

She probably grabbed every black pant in the store!! She also gave me a belly band to try. As I have mentioned before I have never tried one of these and wasn’t sure I was going to like it but after she explained how to use it and that it could be used to hold up the pants I already had… I was in love!!!

With Taylor I was already wearing big baggy jeans and was trying to hide that I was pregnant. There were no shows like “16 and Pregnant” and I didn’t want everyone to know I was pregnant until I couldn’t hide it anymore. The point is, I never even went into a maternity store when I was pregnant with Taylor. I really didn’t know what to expect.

The sales lady was so nice and helpful! Of course I have been to plenty of others stores before but this was a more one on one experience! There was only one other person in the store and a different sales lady was helping her, so I had my sales lady all to myself!! It was like having a girlfriend there to tell me what looked good!! I was actually kind of sad that I didn’t bring my mom with me because I know she would have enjoyed it too! I ended up buying about $100 worth of stuff, which really isn’t a lot, but I didn’t want to go overboard and I knew I wanted to bring my mom with me next time so she can join in the fun!

All in all it was a great experience, I got a few great outfits and I cant wait to do it again!!

            This week I am 16 weeks. I am enjoying the crazy bursts of emotions. A week or so ago Jason and I went to the store. When we got home I took his food (it was packaged in a box) and set it on top trash. I was cheesing the whole time he was asking me where his food was so he knew something was up. When he found it he laughed and told me how silly I was. I literally laughed until I cried. I don’t mean just a few tears either, I was crying so hard my whole face was red and I needed a tissue! I was crying crying!! I had to walk away just so I would stop. Then, of course, he had something new to make fun of me for!

            Also today is Taylor’s birthday!!! I can’t believe she is 11yrs old!! She’s not my little baby anymore!! She is such a beautiful young girl! Her party isn’t until this weekend but we are all going out for her dinner tonight. She picked Wasabi’s (yummy!!) I am really excited to go spend her birthday with her! I am trying to do more things with her lately so she doesn’t feel left out when the baby comes! She is at such a wonderful age (those teenage hormones haven’t kicked in yet!) and I know she is going to be such a great big sister!

        I have another appointment tomorrow and I'm really hoping we find out what we are having!! I’ll try to post pictures soon. Both of Taylor and the new ultrasound we get tomorrow!!! Til then!

15 Weeks

This week we are at 15 weeks!! Next week we'll be 4 months!! Now we are the size of an orange! Last week we were the size of a lemon! I am still amazed at how fast this little one grows! Next week I have another doctor’s appt and hope to find out what if we are decorating with pinks or blues!! It might still be too early to tell but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Not a lot has happened in the last two weeks. I can still hide the baby belly if I want to, but gone are the days of no weight gain. Some days I feel super big and other days I don’t feel pregnant at all.  I haven’t gained much but every pound I gain now is a pound that’s going to have to come off later!!! In the next few weeks I am going to have to start looking into some new clothes, mostly jeans. 

 I’m also really anxious to start to feel the baby move. That should be happening in the next few weeks. Sometimes when I’m running around at work I’ll feel my stomach tighten and I know it’s the baby or I’ll be at home and get a weird feeling in my stomach and I’m sure it the little one but I’m ready to actually FEEL the baby moving! You know, when you put your hand on your belly and you feel that little kick underneath! I can still remember what it was like with Taylor and have even been having dreams of feeling the baby move!! I can’t wait!!

Also at my next appointment they’ll be checking me again to make sure my cervix is not thinning out or shortening. Since I had two procedures, one of which was the LEEP that took out pieces of my cervix to try to remove any cancer that may have been present, it has left me with a much thinner cervix than I had to start with. Sometimes with pregnancy (and bc of the procedures) the cervix will start thinning out or shortening much sooner than it should. If it does this and goes untreated then my cervix may not be able to hold the baby in, not good. Thankfully I have an awesome team of doctors looking after me and they’re on top of things. If they see my cervix thinning more than it should then I’ll have a cerclage done. Basically this is where they go in and sew the cervix shut so that baby doesn’t come out until the right time. At my last appointment I was measuring fine and was nowhere near the danger zone so hopefully things will stay that way. If not I’m confident that the doctors taking care of me and the little one will do what’s best to keep us safe!

I hope to have more pictures to post next week!!

Inbetween

This week I am 13 weeks and we are the size of a peach or a nutter butter depending on what site you look at. That seems like a big difference, the peach seems so big and nutter butters just makes me hungry!!  Oh I also got another ultrasound right after Christmas!! It is SO amazing seeing the changes just from the last time!! My next appointment is right after Taylor’s birthday at the end of the month.

In this one it looks like the baby is sucking 'his' thumb!!! Too stinkin cute!!!

This one is a 3D image which is why the baby looks like a little alien!! 'He' has one hand up by his eye (which is how I sleep) and the other at his mouth!! Love it!!!

*Jason and I say 'he' until we know for sure. My oh so funny husband drew an arrow pointing to the umbilical cord and wrote "its a boy" on the ultrasound...I was about to strangle him but couldn't stop laughing*

I love the pregnancy sites and counters!! Its actually very comforting being able to read what other women in the same stage of their pregnancy are going through and most of the time I feel the same way! I'm not the only one who feels bloated and wants to be in sweats all day!!

I am sooo happy to be moving into my second trimester. The first one was filled with a constant sick feeling. I actually never got sick, except the one time I ate a bad brownie, but the constant nausea is almost worse! I would have rather gotten sick and been done with it than feel that way all day long. With Taylor I was only sick for the first hour after I woke up. If I ate anything in that first hour it would come back up but after that I was fine for the rest of the day. This time around I was just miserable ALL the time.

Some people lose weight due to morning sickness, that defiantly hasn’t happened to me but I’m still not really gaining yet either, I’m not sure how that’s even possible considering how big I feel!!

I was at an ugly Christmas sweater party a few weekends ago and when we told people everyone I was pregnant they all said I didn’t look it yet… I sure did feel it though especially that day since my sweater felt tight!! Most days I feel like I’m already six months instead of a measly 3. Thankfully my clothes still fit but I am defiantly in the in between stage!! Things are starting to feel tighter and my mom said she noticed I was starting to have a little pooch on Christmas.

On most sites people suggests the belly band but with Taylor I went the rubber band route, (you know where you put a rubber band around your pant button and loop it back around lol the cheap way), and then went with maternity clothes when I was big enough. I haven’t started maternity shopping yet but I did treat myself to a pair of express jeans that were a size big. I figure I can wear them now and then again afterwards before I get the weight off. I also got a few tops too!!

I have noticed I am short of breath doing simple tasks but that’s another thing I’ve read that other women are also experiencing.. I find myself out of breath at work more often. I keep telling myself I’m going to work out but other than playing Taylor’s Just Dance game she got for Christmas I haven’t really been sticking to that (although that game will kick your butt)

The girls are certainly enjoying this pregnancy so far!!!!!! I’m going to have to make a stop in to VS soon if we keep up this pace!!!! Normally this would be great but I was already right where I wanted to be in that department. However that’s defiantly not something worth complaining about!! I know my husband has no complaints!!!!  

My friends (and husband) thoroughly enjoyed having a designated driver for New Year’s Eve. It was fun watching all the drunkos being the only one sober, I didn’t even do the champagne toast, everyone tells me one glass of wine wont hurt but I really don’t see the point nor want to risk them being wrong. We had a good time New Year ’s Eve but I’m not going to lie, I will be happy when I can have a glass of red wine again!

Things are coming along great and I am super excited to see what 2011 is going to bring!! I know there will be a lot of changes this year and I welcome them all!!

Hope everyone had fun and safe holidays and HAPPY 2011!!