A photo explosion!

Howdy, happy holidays and happy new year! Every single week I intend to write a post, and then every single week flies by without a post. I am continuing to take photos each week though.

Things are going well with the pregnancy. We found out in early December that baby 2 is a boy! His name will be Lucas Charles, and I think we'll call him Luke. Our silly nickname is Luke Chuck. When Erik and I first thought of that nickname, we laughed and giggled and laughed some more.

Nate was confused at first, because he really thought the baby was going to be a girl. Now he understands that the baby is a boy, and he'll tell anyone who asks that the baby is named Lucas Charles. He loves talking to the belly, telling the baby stories, and giving the belly hugs and kisses. He also really enjoys it when the baby "talks back" to him. I just use a silly voice and respond to what he says and he gets a kick out of it.

Speaking of kicks, I am finally feeling regular movement. I've felt some kicks way down low for quite awhile now. However, I have an anterior placenta, which has made it hard for me to feel the majority of the baby's movements. I could feel kicks that were really low, really high, or way over on the sides. Everything else was being absorbed by the placenta. Just yesterday, I started feeling all sorts of movement all day long. And it seems to be continuing today. It is such a relief to feel kicks. It's amazing how reassuring it is.

Our life has been incredibly busy and crazy recently. We have big news to share, and I can't wait to share it. Once I have the all-clear, I'll be telling the world, I promise!

Now for the photos!

18 weeks:

19 weeks:

20 weeks:

21 weeks:

22 weeks:

17 Weeks

Happy Belated Thanksgiving! We had a great couple of Thanksgivings here. On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, my mom made her Thanksgiving dinner and all of the usual suspects showed up. I'm still having meat aversions, so I didn't eat any turkey, but I think I ate enough mashed potatoes to make up for it.

We went to WV for the official Thanksgiving. Nate was so excited to see his Nana and Poppa again, as well as his cousins and aunt. I think the child slept as little as possible while we were there. It's like he wants to spend every possible moment playing with his grandparents. We indulge him and let him stay up pretty late while we're there. He tends to be pretty well behaved because he's so happy. It's really sweet.

Baby #2 continues to grow, and I think I look undeniably pregnant, though I guess someone who didn't know me might think I had a pot belly. I have been feeling occasional kicks for several weeks, but nothing consistent yet. I have felt a couple of big movements too, like the baby is rolling over or doing a big flip. I think I've only felt that 3 times so far. I'm really excited about feeling more movement as the baby grows.

I didn't get around to doing a 16 week post, so here are my 16 week and 17 week photos.

15 weeks!

Today I am 15 weeks pregnant. It's kind of hard to believe. I pretty much live in a state of disbelief about this pregnancy though. It's like I'm going to wake up tomorrow and someone's going to say "Just kidding! This isn't really happening!"

At 15 weeks, I'm feeling pretty good. Most of my nausea seems to have subsided. I wouldn't say that I have more energy, but maybe I'm a little less exhausted? Maybe not though. I would still love to take long naps every day if I could.

I was told not to exercise in the first trimester, due to a subchorionic hematoma. I finally started exercising again at 13 weeks and then last week everyone in our family got sick. Nate had some sort of virus that gave him some super high fevers for a few days, and Erik and I had colds. I made it back to the gym today and had a great workout. I have been exhausted all day though! It's 7 pm and I want to go to bed right now. I know I'll adjust to working out again; I just have to keep it up.

Here is a pic of my 15 week belly:

August 25, 2011

Hello there... it's been awhile...

August 25, 2011 is a day I will remember forever. Much like I will always remember August 12, 2007. The circumstances were very different, but the outcome was the same - I found out I was pregnant!

The journey for #2 couldn't have been more different than the journey for #1. Both pregnancies were planned, very planned. We talked for years about when we'd start a family before we tried to get pregnant the first time, and we were so lucky to get pregnant on the first try. We knew we were lucky, but did we really, truly understand it? I'm not sure. We definitely understand it now.

When Nate was about a year old, I started thinking about having another baby. Erik wanted to wait awhile, and I thought that a 2 to 2.5 year age difference would be great. So I kept myself busy and trained for a half marathon. In January 2010, we decided to start trying. I truly believed it would be easy again. I remember telling my sister that I thought it'd likely happen on the first try, and she agreed. I don't know why I thought it would be so easy, but I did.

I don't want to go into all the issues that we (I) faced, at least not right now. Let's just say that there were blood tests, semen analyses, ultrasounds, and more. If you've ever read about any of the standard infertility testing, then yes, we had that done. I started seeing a specialist in August 2010, and nobody came close to making any sort of diagnosis until July 2011.

I started taking prednisone in July to help reduce my DHEAS level, which was elevated, but not out of range. I also changed my diet to a glycemic index diet, due to elevated blood sugar levels. In August, we did an IUI (intrauterine insemination, also known as artificial insemination) - our 4th attempt at an IUI in 2011. I was on different meds than I had used before. Previous attempts were using Clomid, and this one was using Femara and Menopur (injections). I was very lucky that someone donated the Menopur to me, since my insurance doesn't cover it. Too bad nobody could donate the IUI to me. I was out of coverage for IF (infertility) so I had to pay for it all out of pocket. Anyway...

Somehow, miraculously, what felt like it was against all odds, the 4th IUI worked. I was pregnant. On August 25, I was 11 days past the IUI, which is the equivalent to being 11 days past ovulation. I swore I wasn't going to take a test, but decided to use a dollar tree test at the last second before I took a shower. And when I got out, I saw a faint line. I then tried a pricier test (first response) and saw a 2nd line. Then I pulled out the digital test, waited for what felt like forever, and saw "Pregnant" pop up. I was truly shocked. I felt like I was making it up. After all the months and months of trying, waiting and nothing happening, how could I possibly be pregnant?

It's still hard to believe what we went through. It is painful to think about. It hurts to remember, so I try not to think about it much. Right now, I prefer to focus on the fact that I am pregnant, and so far things are going well. I'm in the 2nd trimester. Nate knows he's going to be a big brother and is excited. Our families, friends and coworkers are thrilled for us. And so are we.

14w3d pregnant with baby #2 (Due May 7, 2012)

World Breastfeeding Week!

It is World Breastfeeding Week! What a great reason for me to return to my blog.

Even though it has been about a year since Nate weaned, I still miss our breastfeeding relationship. I don't mourn the loss of it. I'm not sad about it. But, I do miss it. It was a beautiful thing that we shared.

Check out the link above. There is some really interesting information on the website, and some great photos of mamas nursing their babies.

The World Breastfeeding Week organization lists 10 steps that health care providers can follow to promote breastfeeding. They are:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all staff
2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth
5. Show mothers how to breastfeeding and how to maintain lactation, even if they should be separated from their infant
6. Give newborns no food or drink other than breast milk unless medically indicated
7. Practice rooming-in; allow mothers and infants to room together 24 hours a day
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand
9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic

If you had to score your hospital or clinic on these 10 steps, what grade would you give them? Why? Do you feel like breastfeeding was actively promoted by your doctor and hospital? Did you get good hands-on assistance? Were you encouraged to room-in and breastfeed on demand? Were you given information on LLL or other breastfeeding support groups?

My experience at the Women's Birth and Wellness Center was pretty good. They clearly promote breastfeeding and encourage all moms to nurse. They ask all parents to take a breastfeeding class before birth. At the birth center, rooming-in is the only option. Moms are encouraged to breastfeed as soon as mom and baby are ready after birth. It's hard for me to imagine a place that could be more supportive of breastfeeding moms.

How is it possible?

How is it possible that Nate wore that tiny green sleeper on his second day of life, and now he fits into these new, huge, clothes we got him for this summer?

How could my little baby boy from back then (hanging out with his Uncle Greg in this pic)

turn into my big boy today?

It doesn't feel like that long to me. I knew he would change and grow on a daily basis. I just didn't realize how fast it would happen.

Go!

Ever since Nate started eating table food, Fiona has decided that this kid is okay! He is not her BFF by any means, and most of the time she keeps a safe distance from Nate's overenthusiastic "petting." But when Nate is munching on a waffle or nibbling on some O's, Fiona is there to catch the crumbs and to to take advantage of Nate's generous "one for me, one for you" approach to snacking.

The problem is, Fiona's confidence has grown a bit too much over the past year. She went from staying a few feet away and only running over when she heard something hit the floor, to literally taking food out of Nate's hands. Even though Nate doesn't mind (or he finds it funny), it is annoying to me and Erik. We don't want our dog taking food from our child's hand. We don't like that she is begging more. She really doesn't need the extra calories that come from bites of peanut butter sandwiches, cheese crackers and goldfish.

Over the past couple of weeks, we've been trying to enforce a more respectable distance while Nate is eating. If she tries to creep up for a nibble, we sternly say "Go!" and point for her to walk away. She understands the command and generally listens. Nate has heard it enough that he is now telling Fiona to go if she is getting too close while he is eating. He doesn't really say the "g" properly though, so it comes out as "Do!" but it's clear that he's saying "go" because he even does the pointing gesture when he says it, and he uses a very stern tone when he says it.

The past few days, Nate has decided that "go!" is also a good command to use on Mommy. Over the weekend, he kept messing with my parents' TV, trying to turn it on. I went over to intervene, and he looked up at me and said "Go!" and pointed to the couch. Then he went over to the couch and patted it, as if to say "here... this is where you need to sit." I went and sat on the couch to see what he would do, and he immediately returned his attention to trying to turn the TV on. What a goof.

This morning, Nate went in to see his Daddy during Daddy's morning ritual of checking his email. He asked to be picked up, so Erik put Nate up on his lap. I came over to say something to Nate, and he looked at me and said "Go!" and pointed to the door. I said, "You want me to go?" and he replied, "Go!" I said something along the lines of "Oh really?" And Nate returned with "Bye, bye. Bye! Buh-bye." No joke. I seriously thought he was going to ask me, "What part don't you understand? The buh, or the bye?" He is one opinionated child, I'm telling you.