baby #2, month 6

i can't believe i'm already past my 6th month!  eek!

how far along- 21-24 wks (march 6th-april 2nd)

due date- july 20th

weight gain- i think i was told 20 lbs at my 24 week appointment- so that would actually be 15 lbs. by my home scale.   
wedding rings-  still on!

maternity clothes-  don't be fooled by the calendar- it is still very much WINTER here in illinois.  let's talk about tights- they don't work for pregnant people.  being that the majority of my work wear consists of dresses- these last few weeks have been a painful struggle.  i can't wear tights over my belly, and when i just let them fall they dig into my lower belly.  it's really painful.  my friend katie says i should just wear maternity tights... but they don't come in fun colors.  i am also noticing that some of my dresses are too short, but i am too lazy to change clothes.  last week when i got to the gym Dave gave me a look and told me my dress was entirely too short.  oops. i am basically ready to wear a maxi dress for the rest of my pregnancy. 

symptoms- the nausea has subsided!  hooray!

cravings- i don't know if it was a craving- but i spent 2-3 weeks slathering tortilla chips in a light layer of sour cream and then dipping them in salsa verde.  i don't think i've had anything else.

aversions- nothing.  wow 

am i showing-  of course.  although some days i feel smaller than others

missing anything-  it should really be at least 65 degrees by now...
sleep-  i'm still sleeping pretty well.  dave says i had a week of serious snoring, but have toned it down.
innie or outie- it really depends on the time of the day. 

movement- this baby moves non-stop.  i'm finally getting some of the jabs that catch you by surprise.  

doctor's visits-  nothing eventful at this appointment- heart rate was good.  was measured for the first time.  april is my last 4 week appointment and then we are at 2 weekers already!!!

boy or girl-  still a girl that i know of.
names-  dave thinks he already has the baby named.  we still haven't discussed it.  i guess i'm kind of avoiding it... but i like to wait.
braxton hicks-  they are in full force.  i am the queen of braxton hicks. 
gym-  i forgot to mention, but i have been so good about going to the gym.  i'm getting in at least 3-4 days a week.  2 days i do zumba and the other 2 days dave & i walk the track.  i am definitely getting more and more uncoordinated at zumba...  sigh.

 21 weeks

dress:  modcloth - every minute counts dress

 22 weeks

dress:  tucker for target

 23 weeks

top-  liz lange maternity for target

dress- modcloth - coach tour dress in rouge

24 weeks

dress- old navy

modcloth on the carrie diaries

does anyone watch the carrie diaries?  i have to admit- i do not.  i really liked sex and the city, but i stick to a pretty strict tv schedule these days and don't pick up anything new.  i have heard the clothes are cute, but if you watched satc, you know that's nothing new!  

if you haven't watched before, you can check an episode out here.  i may do that.. but i really can't get caught up in a new show! 

Carrie Bradshaw has always been known for her great sense of fashion and this week on The Carrie Diaries is no different. At the beginning of episode 112: "A First Time for Everything" Carrie can be seen sporting the Up in the Tee Tops from ModCloth. A boldly patterned peplum top featuring a green tree atop a pattern of red, coral, and azure. Grab this fantastic frock today at ModCloth!

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

dinner by pinterest v. 5

i'm back with another edition of dinner by pinterest...  considering that's just about the only place i get meal ideas anymore- i should have tons of these lined up.  i usually cook at least 3 days a week, and although i think i'm a pretty good cook- i'm not a creative cook.  pinterest is full of ideas from people way more creative than i am!  here's a few of my most recent kitchen delights!

spinach & artichoke grilled cheese.  pinned from here.  original recipe via a couple cooks.

omg.  i love spinach & artichoke dip- i love artichokes.  i don't love grilled cheese sandwiches.  this however, is perfection.  fresh spinach and artichokes with cheese toasted on bread.  it's so simple.  perfect quick dinner.  make this now!

paula deen's tastes like lasagna soup.  pinned from here.  original recipe via paula deen.

oh, here are 2 more things i love:  lasagna & soup.  this was so easy and really does taste just lasagna- it even has pieces of lasagna noodles inside!  a perfect comfort food, y'all.  oh, and this recipe doesn't have butter in it... 

summer strawberry coconut cake.  pinned from here.  original recipe via little lovables.  

i baked this delicious cake for dave's 3rd 29th birthday.  i can't believe i didn't take a photo of the inside of it.  it's so pretty and pink.  this was soooo amazing.  i make really ugly cakes- and this was definitely no exception- you can't really see the disaster on the plate- but as dave always says- as long as it tastes good- and yes.  it tastes so.  good. 

avocado mac and cheese.  pinned from here.  original recipe via two peas & their pod.

this is so good.  i love avocados so much.  i love macaroni & cheese.  this is macaroni topped with a delicious sauce created in part by avocados, pepperjack cheese, lime juice and cilantro.  oh man.  i'm gonna be making this again reeeal soon. 

buffalo chicken enchiladas.  pinned from here.  original pin via the novice chef. 

i love buffalo anything.  i'm pretty sure i've had at least one buffalo chicken recipe in each of these i've done.  i'm always making something new that's buffalo chicken something!  these, like anything else i've done that's been buffalo-something are just amazing.  they were soooo spicy- but i'm definitely a wimp as far as spiciness goes- so they're probably not spicy at all.  these were super easy too!  get on it!

 

oh, man... now i'm starving.  snack time.  have you made any of these?  would you make any of these?!

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

Introducting ModCloth's Style Gallery

ModCloth has one of the coolest new contests going on the web right now! From 3/11 through 7 AM PST on 3/18, ModCloth is inviting community members to check out their brand new Style Gallery, upload a photo, love images and share the looks that inspire them throughout the week of 3/11-3/18. The image that gains the highest community-generated loves will win the top prize of a $100 ModCloth gift card! The other exciting part, you ask? Two random lovers of that winning image will also each score a $50 gift card! Head over to ModCloth right now to participate in the Style Gallery or maybe just check out all of the great fashions available!
Extra Style Gallery Details

How will winners be selected, you ask?
The owner of the image with the most ‘loves’ between 7 a.m. PT 3/11 and 7 a.m. PT 3/18 will win a $100 ModCloth gift card.

When will winners be announced?
ModCloth will contact the winners via email by 3/22 and announce the winners on the blog at 7 a.m. PT 3/27.