catching up

Well, miss S has been here for a month already and my head is just starting to come out of the fog. She's a really good baby but having a new baby is always an adjustment especially when you have other children. The first couple weeks I was in the typical just-had-a-baby/still in pain/sleep deprived fog then my husband went back to work and C has been CRAZY as heck for a couple weeks. Poor guy. He was the baby for 3 1/2 years and he's a typical hyperactive little boy and he's just trying to figure out his new place in the family. On top of that we decided to kick him out of our bed and into his own room about the time we brought the new baby home. Bad idea. And the kids just switched from two days of day mother's day out to one day so they haven't been getting out of the house so much. Anyway, C has been driving me out of my ever loving mind the last couple weeks. He's not a particularly naughty kid.... he's just very, very, very active especially when it's cold out and he's stuck inside for days at a time. He also wants to "help" with the baby but that means smoothering her with hugs and kisses, frantically shaking her toys two inches in front of her face, jamming her binky into her mouth.. things like that. He tries to be gentle but a three year old boy's idea of gentle is a little different at times. When the baby was first born we were staying home quite a bit since it was pretty cold out and flu season was in full swing. So we all had cabin fever and I was going through the typical postpartum hormonal crap that I always go through. Thankfully that seems to be over since I'm not breastfeeding and know what to do to prevent the PPD that I've gone through before. I feel SO much better emotionally, this time around, than I felt right after I had my other two. Thank goodness!!



Anyway, we had a few rough weeks of adjustments but things have really started looking up this week. The weather has been really nice and I realized we need to start getting out of the house to save our sanity. We went to my mom's for the day on Monday. I didn't sleep really well the night before so baby S and I took a long two hour nap together while my mom took the big kids outside to play. C was a different boy while we were there. I really think he just needed to get out and do something different. And going to grandma's is always the best! On Tuesday the big kids went to MDO and baby S and I met a childhood friend of mine who was visiting from out of town. It was great to catch up! Tuesday afternoon the kids and I took a nice little walk to the playground. Today, by some miracle, the big kids played beautifully together all morning and I hardly heard any arguing at all. So, things are looking up. Getting out and about has really helped! We want to get to the museum later this week and if the nice weather keeps up we'll try to get outside some more too! We're definitely ready for spring around here!!



I'm way behind on posting. As soon as I upload my pictures I'll try to post more pics and updates of our sweet baby. I can't believe she's a month already!

Pregnancy - 23 Weeks! And random baby stuff

A few baby things I'm loving..... 

 Aren't these bottles cute? (via Target) 

 I love this blanket! One of the few cute gender neutral things I've found. (via Target) 

I just discovered this cute Skip Hop bag. I'm loving it! (via Amazon) 






Pregnancy - 23 Weeks!! 





How far along: 23 weeks

Due Date: Jan 31/Feb 1 

Total Weight Gain/Loss: No idea. I don't keep track

Maternity clothes: I've been in maternity clothes since around 6-7 weeks

Stretch marks: I have a few from my second pregnancy. We'll see if this pregnancy adds a few more.

Sleep: Great!

Symptoms: Tired and achy. Otherwise I've been feeling a lot better than I was. I love the second trimester. :) 

Food cravings: I have random cravings all the times 

Food aversions: A few 

Labor signs: Nothing, thank goodness.

Belly button - in or out? In 

What I miss: Not much right now. 

What I am looking forward to: Looking forward to meeting the baby! A little over half way now... 

Movement: I feel the baby move several times a day. 

Milestones: 23 weeks is the earliest a baby is viable if born. It's nice to reach this point in pregnancy. The baby should be over a pound now.  

How big is baby: According to BabyCenter the baby should be about 11 inches long and weigh a little over a pound. (About the size of a large mango.)  

Gender: After THREE sonograms we still don't know for sure! At this point we're thinking we'll just wait and be surprised when the baby is born. 

Names: The middle names are pretty much decided. There's lots of first names we love but we haven't decided for sure.... 

Best moment last week: Feeling the baby move. Reaching 23 weeks. Feeling pretty good! 

Pregnancy - 20 weeks!

How far along: 20 weeks

Due Date: Feb. 1, 2014

Total Weight Gain/Loss: No idea. I haven't thrown up in a few weeks so I'm sure I've gained something. I just don't keep track. 

Maternity clothes: I've been in maternity clothes since around 6-7 weeks

Stretch marks: I have a few from my second pregnancy. We'll see if this pregnancy adds a few more.

Sleep: Great!

Symptoms: Tired, annoyed, aching, headaches, a little nausea. I've had migraines this week (almost every day) but they haven't been terrible and I haven't thrown up.. so that's good.  

Food cravings: I have random cravings all the times 

Food aversions: Lots!

Labor signs: Nothing, thank goodness.

Belly button - in or out? In 

What I miss: Feeling better and my blessed migraine meds! 

What I am looking forward to: Our big sonogram Monday morning! Really hoping they can actually tell us, for sure, what we're having! 

Movement: I feel the baby several times a day. 

Milestones: Reaching 20 weeks.. half way there!! 

How big is baby: About the size of a cucumber, I think.. 

Gender: We *think* we know after two early sonograms but the tech never acted 100% certain so we're waiting until the big 20 week sonogram at the OB office. 

Names: Middle names are pretty much set. No idea on first names.... 

Best moment last week: Feeling the baby move. Reaching 20 weeks.. half way there! And NOT throwing up with my headaches. Hopefully those episodes are over. (Keeping my fingers crossed.) 

Pregnancy, 17 Weeks!!!

How far along: 17 weeks

Due Date: Feb. 1, 2014

Total Weight Gain/Loss: My weight is back to pre-pregnancy.. thanks to being so sick so often. Ugh. 

Maternity clothes: I've been in maternity clothes since around 7 weeks but I've now outgrown all the larger non-maternity tops I was also wearing. Looks like it's all maternity from here on out and I really need to go shopping. Funny how my weight has hardly changed but I'm definitely getting a bump.

Stretch marks: I have a few from my second pregnancy. We'll see if this pregnancy adds a few more.

Sleep: Great!

Symptoms: Tired, irritable, a little morning sickness, a little heartburn and WAY too many migraine/vomiting/bedridden spells that last for 2-3 days at a time. :/ 

Food cravings: I crave random things all the time but can't eat most of them. Eating lots of fruits, applesauce and protein. Boring but good for me... 

Food aversions: Lots!

Labor signs: Nothing, thank goodness.

Belly button - in or out? In 

What I miss: Feeling better and my blessed migraine meds! 

What I am looking forward to: Finding out what we're having {for sure} in about 3-4 weeks! 

Movement: I've definitely felt lots of flutters! :) 

Milestones: Reaching the second trimester! Feeling the baby move and hearing the baby's heartbeat! 

How big is baby: About the size of an avocado.

Gender: We *think* we know after two early sonograms but the tech never acted 100% certain so we're waiting until the big 20 week sonogram at the OB office. I can't tell you how disappointed I am that the early sonogram thing didn't go better. :/ 

Names: Still thinking. I've thought I was settled on girl names 10 times but nothing seems right after a few days. I have one boy name that I've loved for a few years but not sure if I still love it that much and hubby isn't crazy about it. We do have one boy name that we will both settle on if we have to. Middle names for both a boy or a girl are pretty much set though. :) 

Best moment last week: Feeling baby flutters and seeing my baby on the ultrasound this morning. Even though we didn't get the 100% gender results we wanted it was still fun to see the baby again today. :) 

Pregnancy - 14 Weeks!

How far along: 14 weeks

Due Date: Feb. 1, 2014



Total Weight Gain/Loss: I actually lost a little when I was sick last week but I'm sure I'm gaining it back. Not really keeping close track on weight, overall. 

Maternity clothes: Broke them out several weeks ago.



Stretch marks: I have a few from my second pregnancy. We'll see if this pregnancy adds a few more.



Sleep: Great!



Symptoms: Tired, irritable, still have some nausea off and on but it seems to be getting better. Some mild cramping (typical for me in pregnancy) and round ligament pain.



Food cravings: I crave random things all the time!



Food aversions: Lots!



Labor signs: Nothing, thank goodness.

Belly button - in or out? In 

What I miss: Nothing at the moment.. 

What I am looking forward to: Finding out what we're having in just a week and a half! I'm so excited! 

Movement: I've definitely felt some flutters.. in fact I'm feeling little flutters almost every day now. 

Milestones: Reaching the second trimester! Feeling the baby move and hearing the baby's heartbeat! 

How big is baby: About the size of a lemon. And, according to BabyCenter, at 14 weeks "Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb."

Gender: Don't know yet. I thought girl at first.. but definitely not convinced. My husband feels sure it's a girl and he was right on the other two. So we'll see...



Names: Still thinking.

Best moment last week: Reaching the second trimester! Feeling baby flutters! Having a sonogram on Monday and hearing the heartbeat. :) 

Wednesday Ramblings

My husband in on vacation this week. Wouldn't you know it.. I'm sick and feeling awfully crappy this week. I swear, at least 50% of the time, I'm feeling bad when he's on vacation. Poor guy. And he's spending his time at home trying to finish painting our living room and tend to the kids while I'm resting.



Last week C was really sick. He had a fever for 2-3 days, a cough and a terrible sore throat. He didn't even want to eat or couldn't eat for a while there. We were begging him to eat lollipops, popsicles, cookies... anything... but he kept refusing it all. His throat was hurting *that* bad. It was awful to see him so sick. I finally got him to the doctor and he's been on a couple prescriptions for several days. Both prescriptions smell disgusting and he hates them both! Poor guy. It took a LOT of bribing to get him to start taking his medicine without a fight and without spitting it back out. We promised him a fun new toy at the end of the week if he keeps taking his medicine well. Luckily, that seems to be working and he's also feeling a lot better now.



I must have caught something from him because the lymph nodes in my neck were really swollen. Still are but not quite as bad. The inside of my throat was all swollen too and driving me up the wall. I almost decided that it was all allergies and skipped going to the doctor but luckily I went in yesterday and I'm on a prescription for strep now. My main problem this week, though, is stupid migraines. Thankfully they've gone away fairly quickly every day but then they come back the next day. Sooo annoying. A few months ago I found out about a place in Houston called Reed Migraine Center (see ReedMigraine.com) They offer a procedure where they install a permanent stimulator under your scalp and a battery placement in your upper hip. All this should result in greatly reduced migraines. I've talked to several women (at a women's expo where the procedure was advertised) who have had the procedure done within the past few years and it was life changing for them. Anyway, I'm really really really considering this procedure after my baby is born. I'm not sure of insurance coverage or cost, etc but I'm thinking I will move heaven and earth to get this procedure. Yes, it sounds extreme but when you've suffered from chronic migraines for over half of your life you will consider almost anything. I've also talked to a few women who have had botox in hope of preventing migraines but it didn't work at all, or didn't work for long, for them so that option is out for me.



On a totally different subject I'm so excited about getting our house all painted... slowly but surely... and decorating once and for all. We have a long way too go. We still have the dining, kitchen, 2 baths and 3 bedrooms that need to be painted but even a little progress is nice.



I'm SO excited to find out what we're having in, hopefully, just 4 weeks or so. I'm anxious to incorporate a nursery area into J or C's room and tie the baby decor in with the older sibling's room. J is completely convinced we're having a girl. Ha! Any ideas on girl names would be appreciated. I thought I had a name picked out but I think I want to keep looking for something else. I'm looking for a long, girly name that can have a cute little nickname with it. Any ideas? There's several I love but nothing feels right OR the name is already taken by a relative, friend or acquaintance. Choosing names, especially girl names, can be complicated. Boy names are easier for us for some reason. There's one that I am set on and a few others I could compromise with if my husband doesn't fall in love with my favorite.



In other news I'm hosting a Scentsy catalog party through the end of the month. I will have a post up tomorrow about the wonderful Scentsy products I'm loving! I'm hosting the party through distributor Kim Hawkins over at Faith, Grace & Giggles. If you have any questions feel free to comment here or contact Kim directly. Man, there's one Scentsy scent in particular that I am LOVING.. but more on that tomorrow.



Hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Pregnancy - 11 weeks!

How far along: 11 weeks

Due Date: Feb. 1, 2014

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm not keeping track. I imagine I've gained a little though. I eat all the time.

Maternity clothes: Broke them out a few weeks ago.

Stretch marks: I have a few from my second pregnancy. We'll see if this pregnancy adds a few more.

Sleep: Great!

Symptoms: Nausea. I don't have a prescription at the moment but sea bands are helping a LOT! I'm surprised they actually work. I'm also really tired, moody, achy, and hungry all the time.

Food cravings: I crave random things all the time!

Food aversions: Lots!

Labor signs: Nothing, thank goodness.

Belly button - in or out? In 

What I miss: Not being nauseated, not having food aversions, having energy, and having migraine prescriptions when I need them..

What I am looking forward to: Feeling better and finding out what we're having! We should find out in about 4.5 weeks. :) 

Movement: I thinking I've felt a few tiny flutters but can't say for sure. Won't be long though. I definitely felt my second at 11 weeks. 

Milestones: Just a couple more weeks until my 2nd trimester. 

How big is baby: About the size of a lime.

Gender: Don't know yet. Still thinking girl..

Names: Still thinking.

Best moment last week: Feeling really good almost all week! 

Friday Random

 How I announced my pregnancy on Facebook last week. I love how both kids have their hands in their pockets. :)

First purchase for our new baby. We didn't know these existed (or maybe they didn't exist) when we had our other two. I hope this thing actually works because I think it will come in handy.

 J is convinced the new baby is a girl. It's so funny when we browse the baby stuff when we're out. J goes towards all the girl stuff...

 While C goes straight to all the baby boy stuff.

I have been SO nauseated for weeks now. I had a prescription for Zofran that was really working great until it ran out and I can't renew it until for a few more weeks. A different prescription for nausea put me right to sleep (even half a pill!) and didn't help with nausea at all. A few friends recommended Sea Bands and they are actually working! I'm amazed. They're working very well.

 They're working so well that I can enjoy food again! I loved the Asian salad from Chik-Fil-A earlier this week. So yummy!!

 Poor C has been pretty sick the past couple of days. Yesterday was really bad. He didn't want to play, didn't want to eat and actually wanted to be covered in blankets. Definitely not the norm for this one. Today he seems a little better but I think we'll still go in to the doctor this afternoon.

J has been going to VBS every evening this week. She loves it! Here she is last night with a card and hat she made. It is SO hard to get a decent picture of her. She is always bouncing around and acting silly.

This is the inside of her card. I asked if this was our family and she said "No, that's Jesus and His friends." How sweet. :)



We've had a pretty good week except for poor little C being sick the past couple of days.

strollers, strollers, strollers

If you know me you know I have a stroller obsession! I've been thinking of strollers since I got my positive pregnancy test. 

I feel like I have a bit of a dilemma. I'm thinking I want/need a double that isn't huge and can be used as a single. 

I know my kids well enough that if I get a single for the new baby it'll backfire. We'll be out all day and one of the big kids is going to want to ride in the stroller. You may suggest the buggie board but I know the big kids will want to sit down and ride from time to time. 

But, if I get a huge double, like the Baby Jogger City Mini GT (which I absolutely LOVE) for everyday use I feel like that's going to backfire too. J walks almost all the time and C wants to do what she's doing. So, I'd be pushing around a monsterous double (half empty) quite a bit. So, I want a second seat but maybe not a side by side like the GT. It makes me a little sad because I adored my regular Baby Jogger City Mini for a couple years and I know the GT is even better!



Here are some options I've thought of:

There's the Sit N' Stand (this is a Joovy) but I'm just not a fan of the Sit N' Stand. That rear seat doesn't look comfy. I had a friend who had one and I felt it was awkward to push. Not to mention those wheels look like they would be murder to push over playground mulch or gravel or any uneven terrain.

I really love the idea of a Phil & Teds. The Phil & Teds Verve (similar to this one) has a nice big weight limit for the rear seat, which would be great. I love those big all terrain wheels on most of the Phil & Teds. The problem is that not one store in DFW carries these Phil & Teds strollers, from what I understand, after calling around to several stores in the metroplex. Nevermind what Phil & Teds website says. I haven't been able to find ANY of these strollers in DFW. :/ I'm open to looking on Craigslist but that's hit or miss. I don't like the fact that these strollers, as far as I know, don't come with a shade for the second seat (you can purchase separate.) And I don't like the fact that the front seat doesn't turn around to face mom.

The Baby Jogger City Select has lots of great reviews and, according to my local Buy Buy Baby, it's the best selling double stroller in their store. I love the idea of this but I feel like it's not practical for our family. I've already tried it out, in store, with C in the front seat. He's already too big for the seats. With him in front and a demo baby doll sitting in the rear seat the whole thing is a monster to push. It's long and difficult to maneuver with the heavier child in front. It seemed difficult or downright impossible to have the rear seat facing you and reclined with the front seat on, forward facing. I think it would probably be great for twins or a newborn and small toddler but not ideal for an older toddler/preschooler and newborn.

That leaves the Britax B-Ready which isn't perfect but I'm thinking may be my best option. I LOVE that you can use the frame as a car seat carrier, the front seat turns around to face mom. I love that my almost 3 year old fits perfectly in the rear seat. And I love that the whole thing is pretty compact, considering. It doesn't feel like you're pushing a train. Even with the heavier/older child in the front seat it isn't hard to push or maneuver. Obviously, there are some minuses. I'm not crazy about the lack of storage with 2 kids in the stroller and I'm not crazy about the wheels. I think they'll be "okay" on the playground, gravel, etc but the wheels are obviously not as great as Phil & Teds or the Baby Jogger GT. Also the rear seat weight limit is about 33-35 lbs. My almost 3 year old is almost at the weight limit and my 4 year old is past the weight limit. They can both still sit in the front seat. I'm thinking we can push the rear weight limit a bit if we're careful. Not ideal but I'm still thinking this may be my best option.



Really, I wish I could design my own stroller!





*All pics via Amazon

Pregnancy - 9 weeks!

How far along: 9 weeks

Due Date: Feb. 1, 2014



Total Weight Gain/Loss: I'm not really keeping track although I'm thinking I've gained very little, if any.

Maternity clothes: Broke them out 2-3 weeks ago.



Stretch marks: I have a few from my second pregnancy. We'll see if this pregnancy adds a few more.



Sleep: Great!



Symptoms: Nausea, although a prescription is helping a lot. Extremely tired, moody, hungry ALL the time. Headaches (not sure if this is pregnancy related or just regular migraines.) A bit of round ligament pain ALREADY. I didn't remember this until much later with my first 2 pregnancies.



Food cravings: I crave random things all the time! And half the time I can't eat it once I get it ha! I also crave LOTS of gluten things (like bread, biscuits, rolls, etc) that I can't eat. :(



Food aversions: Lots!

Labor signs: Nada, thank goodness.

Belly button - in or out? In 

What I miss: Having energy, not being nauseated, migraine prescriptions when I need them..

What I am looking forward to: Finding out what we're having! Feeling a little better. 

Movement: I haven't felt anything yet but we know he or she is moving already. 

Milestones: The baby has now graduated from embryo to fetus. :) 

How big is baby: About the size of a grape

Gender: Don't know yet but we're thinking girl!



Names: Believe me, we're I'm talking about names 24/7 but we haven't settled on anything for sure, besides a boy middle name. I've had a favorite boy first name picked out for a year or two but hubby isn't sure he likes it. We do have 2 girl names that we both like and as of yesterday I'm really leaning towards one of them, which happens to be hubby's favorite of the two. I've had a few ideas on girl middle names but we haven't decided for sure.

Best moment last week: We had our 9 week appointment yesterday. This was actually my 4th sonogram and this time the baby looked much bigger and we could even see him or her moving their tiny arms! So cute to think of a tiny grape sized baby kicking and moving around already. :)

catching up

Yes, I realize I haven't posted in forever.



We're doing great! Well, kind of. If you consider ALL DAY nausea great. Ha! Yes, baby #3 is on the way! We are SO excited! I'm 7 weeks today. I got to see the heartbeat on Friday! So sweet and amazing. There's nothing like seeing that sweet little heart beat for the first time. :)



I had ideas of keeping this a secret for a few more weeks but since it's on my mind 24/7 I decided to go ahead and share here. We're not good at keeping pregnancies a secret for long. We generally tell our families within days of finding out (if not the very day we find out!) and after that it kind of spills over to extended family, friends and everyone else.



Of course, after what happened in March I've been a little nervous but this pregnancy has been completely different than that one and I haven't been quiet as worried as I thought I would be. I've had extreme nausea, extreme tiredness and have felt very pregnant since 4 weeks. None of which I felt at all in March. So, I'm feeling pretty confident and very hopeful that we'll be okay this time around. This pregnancy feels like a very normal pregnancy, just like I had with J and C.



This baby is due right around J's fifth birthday. She is beyond excited and already sure that she's getting a baby sister. Ha! Being a name obsessed person I'm already talking names and J is giving her input on baby girl names all the time. So far she's come up with Sophie Rainbow, Liggy (?) and Sally among a few others. Ha!



In other news we've been having a great "summer" so far. It's normal to start saying it's summer around the end of May right?



The kids went through 2 weeks of swim lessons at the end of May/early June. I had C in the mommy and me class. He did great! But, honestly, he was way too big for that class. He'll be 3 in August and I know he would've been fine in the preK class. But when I had him evaluated before classes started he had not been in the pool at all this year so he was very clingy and I decided just to go ahead with the mommy and me class. He did great though and gained some confidence in the water which is good! J was in the pre K class on the other side of the pool during the mommy and me class so I wasn't able to keep a close eye on her but I know she did great too! She gained a lot of confidence in the water too. I've thought about putting them in the next level classes but decided that they'll have plenty of time in the pool, anyway, this summer and I don't want to spend the money and I don't want to spend another two weeks driving up to the rec center every single afternoon.



The kids started gymnastics on Friday. They loved it! C was the only boy in a class of about 6 girls ha! It didn't seem to bother him though. J wanted to learn to do a cartwheel on the very first day and was a little disappointed she didn't learn in the first class. :)



J has also been taking ice skating lessons on Saturdays. She seems to really like it and is doing good. She had one lesson, then we skipped the second one, and her third one was this past Saturday. I was so proud of her for learning how to stand up on her own in just one class. And she was able to get around, slowly, on her own a little bit. She has one more class in this session and we may consider putting her in 4 more classes after this session ends. We'll see.



This is really the first time the kids have taken any lessons or classes and it's been fun watching them. I think lessons, classes, sports, etc are so good for little kids just to get them out of their comfort zones and learn something new.



Well, I know this post is getting really long so I'll wrap it up. I have lots of pics I need to share and hope to start posting on a more regular basis again.



Hope everyone is doing well!! :)