baby #2 month 7

i can't believe i haven't posted in 2 weeks.  my brother is getting married this weekend, and i have been super-stressed about the trip and arrangements and dr's appointments- it's just been crazy. 

how far along- 25-28 wks (april 3rd-april 30th)  3rd trimester!!!

due date- july 20th

weight gain- i am allegedly up 27 lbs.  it doesn't matter what i do- i am destined to be a pregnant person who gains a ridiculous amount of weight.
wedding rings-  the weather has still been pretty cool with the exception of this past week.  i spent sunday packing up all my winter clothes.  if it's cold when i get back- i'm gonna just be cold. 

symptoms- i spoke too soon.  was a little nauseous this week. 

cravings- i wanted an icee.  settled for a slurpee.  

aversions- nothing.  wow 

am i showing-  it's fairly obvious

missing anything-  i've really wanted a margarita or something like that this month
sleep-  i'm still sleeping pretty well.  not for long i'm sure.
innie or outie- it really depends on the time of the day. 

movement- lots of movement still.  some are not very comfortable!

doctor's visits-  last week was my last 4 wk appt.  i had my placenta check ultrasound.  we are still having a girl and my placenta moved a bunch!  no mandatory c-section!  i also had my 1 hr glucose test and a tdap shot.  they had so much trouble taking the blood for my test- i got 2 sticks.  i failed my glucose test however and had to come back friday for the 3 hour.  boring.  and that test = 4 sticks... which for me turned into 7 or 8.  i lost count. 

boy or girl-  girl!
names-  i'm still waiting.
braxton hicks-  they've been terrible.  just trying to force myself to drink lots of water. 
gym-  still hitting up the gym.  i'm going to have to start bringing a little spray fan to zumba... it's so hot in there!

i also flew on an airplane this week.  no one cares about pregnant people.  no one.  esp pregnant people flying alone with a toddler.  the security people were the nicest, most accommodating people i met on the entire trip.  more on my insane trip later though. 

 25 weeks

cardigan: target

dress:  modcloth

 26 weeks

cardigan:  target

belt:  target

dress:  asos

 27 weeks

dress:  old navy maternity

28 weeks

dress:  liz lange maternity for target

baby #2. month 5

how far along- 17-20 wks (february 6th-march 5th)

due date- i just tell everyone july 20th

weight gain- i've lost count.  the scale at my ob's office is so different than my home scale. 

maternity clothes- i actually packed about 90% of my maternity clothes back up.  i kept out 2 pairs of jeans and a handful of tops/sweaters.  why wear something that makes you feel bad about yourself?  i actually ended up going to old navy and buying their jeans (that i love), but i sized up a couple of sizes- i feel so much better when i get dressed now. 

symptoms- still feeling very nauseous, very tired AND i got a cold from ian that was just terrible.  thank goodness for the ob-approved list of medications (i love you sudafed)! 

cravings- i finally got my red lobster (thank you other pregnant girlfriends) and my other random craving was a sonic cherry limeade & a klondike bar- i wanted them together. 

aversions- nothing.  wow 

am i showing-  of course.  

missing anything-  at this point- i miss warm weather- which has nothing to do with a baby!

movement-  i thought i had been feeling some movement- but it was hard to tell b\c of where my placenta is- i can definitely tell now that the baby is moving!  woo.

doctor's visits-  gender ultrasound this month!  more below!!

boy or girl-  IT'S A GIRL!

notable and interesting things from  month #5 (it was a doozy)

-  i had 3 incidents this month that i guess can be chalked up to the worst heartburn of all time- but were scary as hell.  all 3 incidents were severe chest pain (like my chest was in a vice grip), shooting pain up my right arm and severe jaw pain.  don't ever google your symptoms- b\c google will tell you that you're having a heart attack.  i talked to my ob about it, and she wanted me to have an ultrasound done on my gallbladder.  apparently gallbladder issues are common in pregnant women.  i also had a blood draw done.  luckily, everything came back clear- but they did find a teeny tiny blood clot on my liver- which i just have to follow up with my regular doctor the next time i see him.

  

-  i had my gender ultrasound and the instructions i was given were to pee 1 hr 15 min prior to the u/s and then drink 32 oz of non-carbonated liquids in the next 15 minutes.  i knew it would be impossible for me to drink all of that in water- so i split it up among juice, tea & water.  i was doing well until i had about 2 oz of water to go... and then i lost all of it.  ugh.  it was the worst.  i couldn't even recoup all that water before the appointment, so i just went as is- and luckily i had to pee when i got there, so i must have retained enough for it to matter.  but yeah, i'm not built for all that liquid.

-  i ended up having to have 2 ultrasounds at my gender ultrasound to check my placenta.  i stated in a previous post that my placenta was in an anterior position- and the tech was worried that it was attached to my cervix (aka placenta previa).  i have a partial placenta previa right now.  this can be common in early pregnancy, but 99.9% of the time it corrects itself as your uterus gets bigger and moves things around.  you need a distance of 2 cm between your placenta & cervix to be considered in the clear of placenta previa- at my 20 week u/s i was at 1.8 cm.  i need just a tiny bit of movement.  i have to have a follow-up u/s at 28 weeks to see if  my placenta has moved.

-  baby is breech.  it's early, so no concern.  she moves a lot, certainly she has flipped back over...

-  we're having a girl!  we are so excited (dave is so scared).  ian had been saying for weeks that we were having a "gril"- and he was right.  since we couldn't all be together for the appointment, i had decided that we would have our tech write the gender down and place it in an envelope.  then i was going to do something cute- have a pink or blue filled cupcake made, buy balloons or an outfit and we would all find out together.  riiight.  dave & i didn't make it out of the hospital.  we opened the envelope in a hallway.  maybe next time?

and weekly photos....

17 weeks

cardigan- gap maternity

dress- modcloth

belt- target

 18 weeks

dress:  i am wearing my pal Rebecca's namesake dress from modcloth

19 weeks

 blouse-  modcloth

sweater- LOFT

skirt-  gap maternity

 20 weeks!!

dress-  modcloth

sweet boy.  he's so excited!

baby #2, month 4

here's how we announced baby #2 on facebook!  got this cute idea via pinterest!

how far along- 13-16 wks (january 9th-february 5th)

due date- my phone's pregnancy app says july 17th- but my doctor is saying july 20th

weight gain- i think maybe 7 lbs

maternity clothes- i finally got all my maternity clothes out of the garage...and i hate them all! 

symptoms- nauseous, tired, irritable.  i only threw up once- what a miracle, and not getting up 3x a night to pee.

cravings- still keep wanting red lobster.  dave refuses.  i also saw a commercial for pizza hut bread sticks and wanted those- so dave got them.  but nothing like before

aversions- nothing yet- but i definitely haven't been wanting sweets very much. 

am i showing-  i think it's definitely noticeable.  

missing anything-  sleeping on my belly

doctor's visits-  we had our 2nd doctor's appointment which was to hear the heartbeat- but our dr. couldn't find a heartbeat with the doppler so we ended up having another ultrasound.  turns out i have an anterior placenta- which means baby is basically hiding behind my placenta!

boy or girl-  we find out next month!

 week 13-  dress- old navy maternity

 week 15-  dress- old navy maternity from my pregnancy with ian

 week 16- dress- modcloth

baby #2 - month 3

 

 week 9.  

top- liz lange maternity.  dress- missoni for target.

 

how far along- 9-12 wks (december 12th-january 8th)

due date- my phone's pregnancy app says july 17th- but my doctor is saying july 20th

weight gain- not really sure.  i think maybe 5 lbs

maternity clothes- i bought a couple of dresses to wear for work

symptoms- still exhausted.  a little bit of heartburn.  the real morning sickness has began with lots of fun sickness incidents.  also, i'm having to pee all the time- esp at night.

have we announced- we told our family for christmas and announced on facebook a few days after my appointment- so yes!

cravings- for some reason i saw a commercial for red lobster and i really wanted that.  shrimp.  and sushi.  so basically- seafood.  

aversions- nothing yet- but i definitely haven't been wanting sweets very much. 

am i showing-  the bump is definitely more noticeable.  

missing anything-  i really want sushi

doctor's visits-  my first visit was january 3rd.  we had an ultrasound and got to see baby!  i also had routine blood work and a pelvic exam.  hooray.

week 11 or 12?  i think this is actually 12.

dress- old navy maternity

knotted up

top: loft

dress: old navy maternity

shoes:  full tilt

i have seen kendi pull of the shirt knot many a time, and thought i'd give it a try too.  does it work for me?  not so much...  i felt like the knot kept coming untied.  ok, i didn't feel like it, it did.  of course, kendi also isn't carrying around a baby that i know of- and every time i would pick ian up to carry him, it would untie the knot  so, problem solved.  i also didn't like these wedges with this long dress.  i didn't like today's outfit needless to say... but i did like what i did with my hair - the french roll twist & pin.  again, needs more work, but stayed pretty well. it was definitely coming a bit undone by this point though...

maxed out

scarf: vintage (was my grandmother's)

giant sunglasses: forever 21

maxi: old navy (maternity)

shoes: seychelles

for starters- i am totes not pregnant (despite how it may look).  i bought this dress the spring after i had ian, and i still enjoy its giant breezy qualities.  a few weeks ago i started following the concrete catwalk and i am currently participating in her scarf swap (i am mulling over a few scarves to send to my swap partner, but i just can't make up my mind).  i am pretty stoked about getting my scarf and trying to figure out how to incorporate it into my wardrobe.  these 30 days are all about thinking outside of the closet and my comfort zone- and a scarf would do just that.  i wanted to practice so i'd be all ready when my scarf arrived.  i was totally drawing inspiration from here - although i haven't figured out the hair yet.  at dinner i felt like people were looking at me funny and i didn't know why... but i realized... duh, i have a scarf in my hair, but what's so weird about that?  nothing, b\c even the husband didn't make a crack about it, and i thought for sure that'd be the first thing out of his mouth!  i have a lot of pretty scarves that belonged to my grandma that i've had for a while, and it's time i get to wearing them.  speaking of my grandma- i have a ring that used to belong to her that i forgot to take off while pregnant...  my fingers are still bigger now and i haven't been able to take the ring off for a close to 2 years...  sadly, it may have to be cut and remade....  please pray, keep your fingers crossed, or whatever you do that i can get it off on my own w\o compromising the original band.  i really want it off my finger so it can breathe- it definitely has an effect on the finger, as that finger just looks weird and swollen.  ai yi yi.

oh, i yearn for you pre-baby body

i guess i expect giving birth to be some miracle- my body will heal quickly and i'll be in no pain, i'll lose 800 lbs and be thinner than i was before i got pregnant, and i'll be able to wear my "real" clothes again. riiiiiiiiiight. so, let's just say i'm more than tired of my maternity clothes- the pants with panels are too loose, and my non-maternity pants are way too tight. Just like my baby, when it comes to clothes, i'm stuck in "no man's land."

i gained 45 lbs while pregnant- yikes. let's just say that was all my fault- i craved pizza, pasta and candy while pregnant- not good. i weighed more than my husband- it was really sad. our scale doesn't work here at home, and they didn't weigh me in the hospital, so my best guess is that i've lost about 15-20 lbs. my face is definitely smaller, my belly- obviously. it seems other than the baby belly though that i'm carrying all my leftover weight between my knees and my hips- awesome. like all those years of dancing didn't give me big enough thighs... i'm also apparently carrying lots of weight in my fingers- as i have yet to get my wedding or engagement ring back on my hand. ::sigh::

so i've been shopping a few times- i don't fit into my former size pants currently, and i don't fit into the next size up either- i decided to stop there... tops though- oh, i can fit into tops all day long! squeeeeeee! so i have a closet full of new tops that are filling my heart with joy- and once i figure out how to successfully nurse wearing regular clothes- they will all be making an appearance on my body!

i'm always on the lookout for new things though- sometimes just looking is nice- even if you can't have it. prime example is the subscription i've had to Lucky for 5 years or so. the editors and staff at Lucky must think we can all afford designer wardrobes, and from the looks of it, most of them can. unfortunately i cannot pay $3,000 for a dress, let alone $300- heck, I can't pay $100 for a dress these days. woe is me... however i've become a darn good looker and an even better bargain shopper.

so i was thumbing through the pages of this month's Lucky when i saw this adorable cardigan in the front. i didn't get my hopes up, as most of what i like in there ends up being way out of my price range... BUT my faith in affordable, adorable clothing was restored when i saw that the cardigan was not only designer-made, but affordable and available at h&m!!


so cute!! i love that it's so springy with the pastels, and girly with the bows, and i might even say it's a touch parisian- it is made by a french designer after all! i can't wait until the line hits h&m next week- i will be figuring out how to take baby to the hellhole that is woodfield mall where i will make the cardigan mine, all mine.

now what do i wear with it?! i just don't have the knack for putting together outfits like you guys do. help!

Due Date

Today is the due date- as it now says up top "I am 40 weeks pregnant". Okay, I am 40 weeks pregnant... AND?!

Today is your alleged birthday, little one. It still doesn't seem real, but we are ready for you to be here. I am especially ready for you to be here... I can't fit into clothes any longer. I am way past my pre-maternity clothes, and I have very few maternity clothes I can wear as well. I got stuck in a maternity top on Saturday, and I'm having a hard time even wearing your dad's stuff at bedtime b\c I am larger than he is...

I can't tell if I am having contractions, or anticipating contractions. My belly is tight, per usual, but there's a little pain with it too. Nothing significant though, so I say no.

Your move, baby.

oh, pregnancy, you are fickle

so the point of this blog is to be real about my pregnancy, and not just to sugar-coat it. there are many wonderful things about being pregnant (that i will try to blog about later), but there are other things that aren't so fabulous too. i try to post from both sides of the coin... here are some of my top mysteries/things people don't tell you about being pregnant:

1. buy your maternity clothes in your "pre-pregnancy size." first of all, if i could wear my "pre-pregnancy size" i would be. second, this is not even true because it seems the stuff that is "my size" is either falling off me or has in my final weeks become so tight i can hardly wear it

2. why are the panels of maternity jeans blue? sometimes i'd like to wear a WHITE shirt without having the world see a blue panel up to my chest.

3. speaking of: heartburn is so bad you consider burning your bras.

4. zofran will cure your nausea/morning sickness, but as a result you will be so constipated that when you finally do go you stop up your in-laws toilet(s), and flood their house, resulting in them buying new toilets for the entire house.

5. you shouldn't really "eat for two" but if so, then why am i starving ALL THE TIME!

these are just a few things that have bewildered me during this rollercoaster called pregnancy!

the first 3 weeks of "fall" / trip to Ft. Fun

So it has hardly been fall for 3 weeks and we are already talking about snow around here. Really? That disgusts me. I barely felt like I got a summer, and now I don't even get a fall?! COME ON! If anything, it has given me the chance to dig into my delicious fall/winter maternity clothes. Luxe sweaters in a variety of colors and shapes. Yum.

Husband & I went to our storage unit last weekend and put away the majority of my summer clothes and brought back all my winter clothes. I spent some time going through what I think I can still wear without my belly stretching it out. I may be dreaming to still think I can wear my non-maternity clothes- but I'm going to keep that glimmer of hope alive!

One thing I definitely think I'm going to need- a winter coat. I own at least 8 winter coats that I have collected over the years- some had gotten a little snug, so those stayed in storage- but my 3 most recent coats made it back to the house with me. My newest coat I got this summer- a quilted Nike jacket with a tiny Georgia "G" on it. It's nice because it's fleece-lined, has a hood, and was only $20 (regular price $100+). I've been wearing it daily since it rains daily, but there's a slight problem- I'm already having trouble zipping it. My other 2 coats I haven't tried on yet, but they button/toggle, so I'm hoping that provides me a little extra room. If not, I've already started researching maternity coats and I'm hoping for a Ft. Wayne shopping excursion this weekend!

Ft. Wayne: We are off to Ft. Wayne, IN in a few hours to have a baby shower for my sister-in-law, Shannon. I will post pictures as I am in charge of food, and love this kind of thing! Plus, a whole weekend without work, means a whole weekend of wearing regular clothes- and as I already said, I have a lot of maternity stuff I can't wait to put on! Plus, Dave's grandmother has at least 10 pairs of my hand-me-down maternity pants that she's taking up for me- so excited to have more than 1 pair of pants finally!! Oh, and did I mention there's a Chick-fil-a in Ft. Wayne? Because there's a Chick-fil-a in Ft. Wayne, and I'm hungry.

Enjoy your weekends!

Of course I need new _______, I'm pregnant...

I don't need an excuse to shop, and pregnancy hasn't been any different. Although I have promised my husband I wouldn't buy anymore underwear or bras, and that I wouldn't buy any shoes b\c it's likely my feet would swell (I must have been drugged when I agreed to this)- I never agreed not to buy anything else. Although I must admit- I have been a lucky pregnant woman b\c I received 2 garbage bags stuffed to the brim with maternity clothes- and stylish maternity clothes at that. Liz Lange, Ann Taylor Loft, Duo, Oh, Baby!, and some of my favorites- Gap. Between that treasure trove, a few very picky selections made at Goodwill and some purchases of my own- I'm finishing up summer, and ready to roll right into winter (i can't wait to wear the sweaters that she sent). All I need is a few cute winter dresses, and more than likely a coat- which is sad because I own 7 winter coats, but it does give me an excuse to get the coat I don't have- a grey coat! I think I'm going to have to renege on my promise not to buy shoes though- I just don't think heels are going to work for me in the end of my pregnancy, so of course I need flat boots. Yes, I did just say I don't want to wear heels, but I love the peep toe booties- I first saw a pair I wanted last fall at Forever 21, and I should've snatched them up, because I can't find anything that looks similar to them that is Forever 21-affordable.

Along with coloring my hair, I also bought new makeup and I've been very excited about that. When I was selling mk, I loved the day/night solution and tinted moisturizer, but I have used up my reserves, and I'm done w\ selling mk. Unless I can find another consultant who will give me a consultants discount, I'm done w\ it! So I've been venturing out into the makeup world for a first time in a loooong time. I'm happy to say that I finally broke down and bought a primer, and some new foundation, and so far, I'm impressed. I think I finally have that pregnancy "glow" that everyone talks about! My husband should really just take away any forms of credit or debit cards, cash & checks.