almost 8 weeks already!!

Keith and I didn't really think we would make it this far! Skylar's already showing some of her personality & boy do we have our hands full for the next 18 years! She loves to cuddle and she's already got us wrapped around every cute little finger that she has. We are so excited to see her grow and learn now that she's out of the phase of life where she's just pissed off that we took her out of her warm womb! She wasn't "sleeping through the night (the 5 hours that professionals call sleeping through the night)" yet so we decided to try the "1/2 formula, 1/2 breast milk" trick and so far the past 2 nights have been good. We put her to bed at 11:30 and she wakes at 4:30 for her feeding and then back to sleep by 5 until 7:30/8. I sure hope this lasts for us! I have a feeling it will......until she starts teething at least. Then we get to tackle that challenge! Everyone keeps telling me that once we have one thing finally figured out, something new will arise - and now I believe it! As long as she's happy and keeps smiling at us then that makes us happy parents and ready to take on the challenges!

OVERDUE!!

Ok, so we are overdue - obviously! Whether her due date was supposed to be the 21st or the 26th, she's way past it. I no longer believe in due dates, or old wives tales. I've tried everything: walking, spicy food, acupuncture, massage, evening primrose oil, raspberry tea and stripping my membranes (twice!). Nothing has worked so far. This morning I drank Castor oil - let's see if that works! It actually doesn't taste that bad. I mixed it with root beer and downed the oily drink substance. That was about an hour ago and I've had some contractions, but nothing more than what I've been having for the past week. I think the only thing that's going to get this girl out is time. She's just not ready yet. I was ready a month ago, but I'm on her time now! At least I know that it will be soon, at least a week. I will not let her go past the 10th, that's when I'll step in and take over. At least I feel good physically and have a healthy baby-I am very happy and lucky for that. Here's a peak at her finished room and my belly as a planet!

Bean's room is ready

Ok, so her room is ready!! I know it looks a little messy, but hey it's a kids room right! We do have a changing table too, but it's nothing really too exciting so I decided not to include it in the photos. The laundry is washed, the crib and bassinet are made, and now all we need is a baby. I actually have one final touch for the walls in her room, but other then that we are ready for her. I ordered cute cloud & fish wall decals to put up and add a little color and excitement to the room. We are getting so antsy just waiting for the day she decides to make her grand exit.

Megan is an AMAZING photographer!!

I did a pregger photo shoot with my friend Megan who is a freelance photographer. She came to my house and we had such a fun time doing these!!

Baby shower!!

Thank you to everyone that came to our baby shower. It was nice to see everyone, & we had such a good time!! Thank you for all the wonderful, useful gifts. Thank you Mandy for making the incredible diaper cake!! It made me so sad to take it apart, only to have our little bean poop all over them!

bean at 32 wks going nuts!

I'm a slacker!

Sorry I've been such a slacker on posting things - I will get better! We went to Cabo for a little vacation last week and had a lovely, relaxing time. Check out my watermelon tummy at 29ish weeks!We didn't do too much while we were there. We sat by the pools everyday, read some books and magazines, ate, did a little shopping downtown and ate ice cream! Here's what we bought our little bean for her first trip to Cabo.

It was really nice not making lunch or dinner everyday (we made our own breakfasts though since we had a kitchen) and having the restaurants all within walking distance from our room.

Everything is going really well, we have another 8 weeks left - & we're both SO excited to meet our little girl.

getting bigger!!

Wow - she just keeps on growing and getting more and more active! As of today we are 24.5 weeks! Check out how big I got in just a week!

23 weeks 24 weeks

She is making some serious room in there for herself - & she's settled right on top of my bladder! She seems to be really active every other day. I'll feel her kick and move like crazy one day & then the next she'll be super mellow. I think she wares herself out in a day and then takes a break the next. I think I felt hiccups yesterday, but I'm not sure.

Save the dates will be sent out (since summer can get busy for everyone) for the baby shower. it will be on August 1st - Sunday. It will be a fun day at the park for everyone to join!

I had an appointment the other day and everything looks good, heartbeat is strong and she's growing perfectly!

My first Mother's Day!!

How fun, I got to celebrate my first Mother's Day! Keith got me a beautiful bouquet of lillies and took me out to a fancy delicious dinner. He is so good to me and our little bean on the way! Although she's not much of a bean anymore - more like a cantaloupe! I also got my first girlie girl gift hand made by Amanda. Super cute, and super PINK!!

My belly is growing, and she is kicking up a storm in there. She loves to be at the cafe and at the gym - that's when she really gets rocking in there.

Today I am 21 weeks along!! Half way there just about. I feel great and am getting some really good deals on my Craigslist buys. So far I've bought the bassinet, a stroller and a jogging stroller. Today I'm looking at a glider/rocking chair. It feels great to get some of the big stuff out of the way.

My first "baby"

I thought I would give my boy some credit for being my first baby~! He has no idea what's coming, but once our little girl is here he'll most likely want nothing to do with her. Lucky for him & us - he lives at my Mom & Dad's house! We had him at our house this past weekend & he had such a good time going for walks about 4-5 times a day (so he doesn't pee on the carpet), chasing squirrels, and running free in our local park. He also got me a little prepared for the new baby on the way - he likes to wake me up at 3:30 am to go out and pee. That means I have to get out of bed, get dressed, and take him downstairs to run outside & pee on at least 5 or 6 trees. Boys! I sure do love him though!

It's a Girl! 18 week Sonogram + 3D Video

18 weeks/First buys

The belly is getting bigger! I can finally feel the little bean move around everyday now. It really likes to move around while I'm at work and at yoga classes. It's the best, neatest feeling ever - it's something that I have been so excited for too. Now I can't wait until Keith can feel it move from the outside.

While I was shopping at Target I saw this cute onesie and had to buy it. Since it's orange it can be for a girl or boy!
We're buying a few used things on Craigslist since we don't need to buy new, and there's plenty of used stuff in great condition. I know, I'm a dork but here's the first piece of baby furniture that we bought! I figure we're going to need a bassinet first, so I can check that off of my list.

Can't stop peeing!

Ok, so I know that is to be expected. But seriously, do I have to get up 3 times in a night to pee!? Having a baby sitting on your bladder is not so great. The baby is only going to get bigger too - so what, am I going to pee 5 times a night. I guess it will get me warmed up to those hourly feedings & diaper changes that are soon to come! Two more weeks and we will know if it's a boy or girl perched atop my bladder!!

It's growing for sure!

Not only is the baby growing, but so am I. So many more people are asking and congratulating - I love it. One of my customers at the cafe found out, so she thought I would be interested in seeing the dress she just bought for her grand daughter. She went out to her car to get it and show it me - weird.
We had our 16 week O.B. appointment this morning and everything looks good. We didn't get any photos this time though :( We got to see so much of our not so little bean, it was such a wonderful feeling. I saw a foot, with toes and it's little rear end! My body finally feels great and I'm able to eat anything again.
I was sitting down at work yesterday and I could feel it moving! It felt like rain drops in my belly. 2 more weeks and we no longer have to call it an it. "It" will be a boy or girl! SO excited for that. My gyno this morning thought that she saw it was girl, but then after minute she thought it was a boy (darn umbilical cords) so we have no idea.......yet.

Wow-I'm really pregnant!

This is me with a belly for the first time ever - I love it! I can actually feel my tummy stretching, I don't love that. I think having stomach muscles when pregnant isn't such a good thing.
Keith and I had our meeting with the midwife (Candace) yesterday & it was fantastic. We love her, and she'll be our midwife! I am SO excited about this. Not only is the stress of finding someone gone, but we found someone that is just who we were looking for. Thank you to Lia for that one.
Next week I will be 4 months along and have an appointment with my OB on Thursday. We're keeping her around until the end since insurance covers all of her services at 100%.
Monday I'm trying out a prenatal yoga class - really excited for that!

13 Weeks Old - Heart Beat Video

I thought the "morning sickness" would be gone

I've read in many articles that "morning sickness" should be gone by the time you enter your second trimester......not the case for me. It started to fade, but the past few days it has come back to haunt me! Ugh.
I had an acupuncture appointment yesterday at 2:30 and while I was laying there relaxing I felt the little bean inside of me move! I know it wasn't gas, because I didn't have any gas. It was the weirdest feeling ever! I had a huge smile on my face for the rest of the day - even through our tax appointment later that afternoon!
We visited the birthing center in Irvine on Monday and discovered that we would rather have the birth at home then at the center. The midwife we met with was a bit spacey too, so now we are searching for a midwife. We have an appointment next Wednesday with a midwife that was recommended to me by a friend that used her a year and a half ago. Here's her website: http://www.birthgoddess.com/
Couple more weeks until our next OB appointment.
Still not really looking pregnant at 14 weeks.

Second Trimester

Whew - we made it to the second trimester and now any worries that I had before are gone. As of today I'm 13 weeks & 3 days! Some say that your second trimester doesn't start until the first day of your 14th week, but I'll go with the people that say it's the end of your 12th week. I'm feeling better most nights, but am still having some nauseous nights. I'm super exhausted after a day of work, so naps are still my best friend. This Wednesday I started getting really hungry; I would eat breakfast and then an hour later I would be hungry again. It's not just a rumbly tummy hunger either - it's a headache with lightheaded-ness and a little nauseous. It's a feeling of, I have to eat NOW or I'll pass out. So, to control that I'm eating all day long.
Monday we had our appointment with my OB, and she said everything looks really good and to come back in a month - that was it. I was very disappointed, I thought the prenatal appointments were supposed to be a ton of questions along with some personal attention - I guess not in the world of HMO's & PPO's. My acupuncturist knows more about my pregnancy then my OB does! I'm looking forward to our tour on Monday at the birthing center in Irvine. Forget OB's, I'll find myself a good midwife that actually cares more about my pregnancy then the dollar.

11 weeks & 4 days

What a great morning! We got to see our (much larger) baby and hear it's strong heartbeat. It's only been two weeks since the last appointment and already it looks so much bigger! It's measuring at 11 weeks & 4 days! You can clearly see the arms, legs and head - it makes it seem so much more real now! I can't wait until we can find out what it is so we can stop calling it an "it". My night sickness is slowly starting to fade, but I'm still exhausted everyday; Naps are my best friend these days. I'm not really showing yet - at least I don't think so, but someone at the cafe said I was. I guess since I see myself everyday I can't really tell. I am still getting morning workouts in, but I move much slower then I used to and don't push myself hard like I used to. It feels good taking it easy for once!
Next Monday I have an appointment with my OB to start prenatal care!! Another chance to look at the growth of our baby! I am also going to be making an appointment at a birthing center in Newport Beach to tour their facility to see if I like it. I sure hope I do, because giving birth at a hospital is the LAST thing I want to do and Keith is uncomfortable with doing it home.

Ultra sound Monday

I have another ultrasound this Monday at 9am to see our little bean's progress. I'm not really nervous for the appointment this time. My body feels very pregnant, so I know that our bean is growing in there. It seems that I have a one good day, followed by one bad day. Tuesday night was awful for me. The day went well, but after my yoga class at 6 it was all downhill from there. I sat on the couch for a few minutes, got hungry and didn't feel like eating anything, NOTHING, not even mac'N'cheese! I was so frustrated because I knew I had to eat, if I didn't then I would just get more nauseous. So, I dug through the cupboards and fridge and came up with soy dogs, garlic bread & butter, & corn on the cob. By the time I went for the corn though - I was done. I couldn't handle eating anymore. So then I sat on the couch some more, this time wondering if I was going to puke! Lovely. Being pregnant in the first trimester is really not the greatest; but I'll take anything this kid can throw at me as long as he/she keeps growing!

9 weeks and 1 day

Once again we had a great appointment on Monday! Baby is still developing just fine and the heartbeat is strong. I go in again in 2 weeks to take a look inside again, and then a week after that I start pre-natal care! Just 2.5 more weeks until we're in the safer zone for this pregnancy, but I have a great feeling about this one. This little bean inside me is here to stay.
Right now I'm hoping for a better 2nd trimester. I know that some women have it worse off then I do with the "morning sickness" - but it really sucks & I want it to go away (although in a weird way, I like it because it makes me feel pregnant). I don't have it so much in the morning - except for today. I get it after lunch and through dinner. Dinners are becoming hard for me, nothing sounds good. If something does sound good, I'll eat it and then never want to eat it again. I think tonights dinner will be mac'N'cheese!!

Doctor visit Monday

I'm a little nervous for my doctor appointment on Monday, but am also trying to take the advice of my accupuncturist. She told me to live in the now, and not think of the past. The past is only making me hold on to negativity that my body and mind don't need; I should beleive what is true now, that I am pregnant. That I should say it out loud so that I know and beleive that it's true. And the weird thing is - she's SO right. It feels good to to beleive & say that I AM pregnant - it helps me release any negative energy I'm holding and to put a smile on my face rather then a questionable worried look on my face. She's amazing - if any of you ever want to do accupuncture, please see her. So, I am happier then ever and love eating my box of mac 'N' cheese and veggie hot dogs for dinner! This kid seems to want cheese in my body because that's what I'm mostly craving. Oh, & chocolate milk......I can not get enough chocolate milk in my body!

We have a heartbeat!!

We had our doctor appointment yesterday morning, and I was SO nervous. Nervous to see the same thing that we've seen the last 2 times we found out we were pregnant-an empty yolk sac & nothing else. Although in the back of my mind I knew things were different this time since I have never felt pregnant before; and I sure do feel pregnant this time. Especially with the annoying nausea!! So my doctor got right to the ultrasound and right away I saw nothing but a big empty black spot on the screen. I was prepared for him to say that there was nothing there - good thing I had Keith there to hold my hand and get me through it. Then, all of a sudden he moved the wand thing around and there it was. Our baby. AND a heartbeat! I was in shock. Then he let us hear the heartbeat. It was and is a good strong heartbeat, I couldn't believe it - I asked the doc if he was sure it wasn't just my racing heartbeat that we were hearing! It was the greatest feeling since we started this journey.
I thought that I was about 6 weeks along, but the baby is measuring about 8 weeks along!! Even better since the safer zone is after the first 12/13 weeks-now we're that much closer. The risk of miscarriage goes down after you see and hear a good heartbeat, but the risk goes down even more once you're out of the first trimester. So, now the journey continues and this time I'm sure we will have our baby in our arms in about 7 months!! Wow - 7 months, now that I say it that way it seems so close to today!

First month

So we just found out a week ago that we are pregnant again. Right after we both thought that maybe we should be careful since we are planning a trip to Amsterdam, France and Rome in late June/early July. OOps. It's a good oops though, hopefully this pregnancy will carry to a healty 40 weeks this time. As of today, we have had better news then in the past. The BETA numbers look good and I feel more pregnant then I ever have in the past. We won't know for sure how the little bean in there is doing until Feb.15th though (I'm already nervous for that ultrasound). Until then, Europe plans are on hold because I will be 6 months pregnant when we go. We're thinking just the flight alone would be super uncomfortable for me at that point. And why risk a pregnancy that took so long to get here. We do have a much needed Mammoth trip planned for the presidents day weekend and we're still not sure if I will be snowboarding or not. At least it will be a vacation though - that's really all I need right now.
SO, next post will be on the 15th after the ultrasound. Hopefully it's good news, keep your fingers crossed!
Now, I'm off for a nap since I can't seem to get enough sleep these days! I'm always tired - & hungry. After this minor torture, the little bean better stick around!