**1st OB Visit(s) & Ultrasound

**To be updated shortly

 

Our first official OB visit was pretty much pointless. They didn't do an ultrasound, and no other exam. It was basically just urine test and catching up on family and past OB history. I was disappointed that we didn't even get to hear heart tones, so at that point we still didn't know for sure that we were indeed pregnant. (Glad we had a quick peek a few weeks prior!)

 

We went back about two weeks later and had an ultrasound and another OB appointment scheduled right after. The ultrasound took less than 2 minutes, and she was hardly started before it was over. Pretty uneventful and disappointing, but it was ok because Daddy wasn't able to make it to the appointment anyway.

 

{Video - to be uploaded soon!}

 

Heart rate was 169 and due date is 4/14/14. After over an hour of waiting, I ended up not being able to see my doctor anyway and just saw the nurse for about a minute. Weight was down 2.8 pounds from first visit a few weeks prior, and had trace sugar in urine. Blood pressure and everything else looked great!

So fun to see another little peanut of ours on that screen! I am trying to take in every single one of these moments. I already cannot wait to meet you!!

Baby #2: 12 Weeks!

Unfortunately, no belly picture to post yet. Life has just been too crazy these days!

How far along? 12 whoppin' weeks already. Been so busy lately so the weeks are flying.
Total weight gain: Still down at least 1/2 pound I believe.
Maternity clothes? Not yet. Buttons are still closing on all my pants actually.
Stretch marks? Nope!
Sleep: Hit or miss. First 9-10 weeks were pretty much a waste of time even trying, but the last couple have been a little better. Not loving my Snoogle pillow as much this time as I did last. About half the time I can now make it all night without having to get up to go to the bathroom.
Best moment this week: Nothing exciting pregnancy-wise. It's been a big week for your big sister though as she just started daycare at Bryan!
Miss anything? Diet Pepsi just a little bit. And wine just a few times. But really I have been doing much better this time. I am so conscious about trying to savor every single day of this pregnancy so I have actually been pretty content.
Baby is the size of a: Plum - and almost all vital systems are working
Movement: There have been a couple times when I wondered if it could be, but I'm sure baby is still too small.
Food cravings: Not really actually. (First 3-4 weeks of pregnancy were Mongolian beef at any and all Chinese restaurants). Sure wish I was one of those preggos who craved fruit. My poor babies.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Eggs.
Gender: We are not planning to find out this time! I've kind of been a zoo about this one. Since we very first started talking about having kids, I have been positive that we were going to have 2 of one and not 1 of each. LA threw me for a loop because I was sure she was a boy.  So truthfully at the very beginning of this time I was thinking girl. Then, with how I had been feeling, I then thought it HAD to be either twins or a boy as it was SO different from last time. And then we had 2 ultrasounds and the heart rates were both really fast (165 and 169) so now I am back on the girl boat. I think Daddy also thinks more pink is in his future. The suspense is going to be so fun :)
Name: We have mostly agreed on a name for one of each. Started planting the seed for the girl name months ago, and I think it is finally growing. Nothing definite of course, but now we have something to compare new ones we think of to at least.
Labor Signs: N/A
Symptoms: Well in summary, weeks 1-9 or 10 were pretty much not fun. I was extremely tired and nauseous all.day.long. I honestly knew the day after conception because it was like I got hit by a train and was ravenous to say the least. Just about week 10 things suddenly changed and I started to feel a bit more like myself again. Still don't have a ton of energy but at least I am not trying not to throw up all day now. Have also had some of the tingling/prickling in my feet that I had last time.
Things People Say: Had a patient this week already ask me when I was due (had no idea I was pregnant...cannot believe a woman would say that). My belly has never been the same after LA and I do have a good amount of pudge there, but was still a bit surprised.
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy, and content.
Looking forward to: Feeling baby move in a few weeks!

I told my bosses about our news at about 8 weeks (the day after we had the first quick ultrasound to confirm everything). We are very short staffed right now and they are in the process of hiring some new nurses, so I decided that it was only fair if I told them sooner than later. They respected that immensely, and I'm so glad I did. Surprisingly, they all handled it pretty well after I assured them that I would be returning full time (the trend in our office for PA's is cutting back hours after babies). I even got a hug from the head hauncho! I had been dreading the day that I had to tell them, because I haven't been there very long, was still somewhat training, and a couple of the other PA's had recently had babies also. Prayed a lot about it, and God answered those prayers. It is so hard to be a working mom in today's world and it is a really big bummer that you have to be so scared to be pregnant. I'm sure I've made it all worse in my mind, but those talks are never easy. Thankful that it is over for sure.

Love and Prayers in Week 13!

Baby #2: The Story of You!

After a couple weeks of craving nothing but Chinese and searching for every Chinese restaurant in Lincoln for lunch and being completely ravenous all day long, I took a test knowing it just had to be positive on or around August 3rd or 4th. When the results popped up, I took it out to the living room to show Daddy because I was pretty sure it was negative. He looked at it and agreed. But just like last time, the more I looked at it I thought there was a very faint second line. He said he saw what I was seeing, but thought it was just "where the line was supposed to be." So I threw it away and didn't think anymore about it. I waited a couple days and took another test because I just wasn't convinced yet. Just had a feeling. So on August 7th I took another, and the test almost instantly showed those 2 pink lines that I was expecting! Just as soon as it was positive Daddy was on his way to golf league. If I have ever seen someone so ecstatic so fast, it was your Daddy (and me too!). I will always be curious how well he played that night...haha. I have to admit at first I was in panic thinking about how much our world was going to be rocked again even though it was what we had wanted the whole time, and Daddy did not have one ounce of anything but sheer excitement. He was absolutely thrilled. He reassured me that things really were going to be ok, and another one would just fit right in. My panic was fleeting and a few minutes later I was back on cloud nine. I think that reaction really is only normal. For the mom, our world changes in a matter of 3 minutes from the time you pee on the stick until it turns positive. He has 9 months to get ready for another big change. :)

As soon as the test was positive, I started seeing the correlation between my cravings and actually being pregnant again. Pretty sure the day after conception was when my cravings started, for: Mongolian beef Chinese, French toast, sweet corn on the cob, and ice cream sundae cones. I could not get enough of any of them! I knew something was different right away, because I usually do not crave things like that.

Right about the time that the test was positive, the extreme fatigue and nausea set in. Much, much different than last time. I was absolutely convinced it was twins. I was so anxious to have either my blood drawn to check HCG levels or have an ultrasound to see. Even Daddy was a little worried about it, too (and by worried I mean that 3 children 16 months apart might be the end of my our sanity).

Our first OB visit was on September 5th and turned out to be pretty uneventful. Didn't get to hear a heartbeat or have an ultrasound, and just mainly went through family and previous pregnancy histories. I was pretty disappointed....no real confirmation of a pregnancy (as if constant nausea and fatigue isn't enough).

And for the record, you were 100% planned to be 16 months behind your big sister. That's what we have always wanted. I couldn't be more grateful that God saved us from the months and months of struggles and waiting that plague so many couples while trying to conceive a child.

Baby #2 - We are absolutely thrilled about having another little one in our family! Landry and I have been praying for you every night before bed since she was born, that God would give her a healthy baby brother or sister and that you would grow up big and healthy in Mommy's tummy. Just like your sister, you have been planned on, talked about and prayed for for years. I already cannot wait to meet you. Love and prayers, sweet baby. And welcome to our family!

Baby #2's 1st Unofficial Ultrasound

On Sept 7th, we had a real quick peek at Baby #2! With how I had been feeling, I really wanted to make sure it wasn't twins that were cookin' in there. It was just a really quick peek, but it confirmed all I needed to know so that I could tell my bosses. :) (Not saying twins are bad, just might be the end of me having 3 under 16 months apart). Heart rate was 165, and Babe measured right where it was supposed to. So fun to see!

Can't believe we are doing this all over again -- seems like it was just yesterday that we were

looking at a tiny babe on ultrasound. I guess it pretty much was!
 

Love and Prayers, Baby Peanut!!

A Message from Landry

Landry has some very exciting news to share!

And Mommy and Daddy's favorite...

I might be biased, but I think you're going to be the cutest little Big Sister ever! If Baby #2 is half as perfectly cute and sweet as you are, we have it made. Here's to 7 months of praying, preparing, and readying our lives for another amazing little blessing!  

Nine.Months.Old

**This post will be updated with pictures very soon!

At NINE months, you:

Still wear size 2 diapers

Weigh 15 pounds, 1 ounce (5th percentile)

Are 27" long (25th percentile)

Head circumference is 17 1/2 (60th percentile!!) :)
Hemoglobin is 12.3 g/dl
Did not receive any shots at your checkup

Sleep usually 9:00 pm to 7:00 am

Love veggies, and are not a fan of most fruits (strange kid)

Started growling this month...cutest thing ever :)

Have 2 more aunts officially in the same zip code!

Are wearing both 6 and 9 month clothes (9 mo jams are a bit big still)

Screech...a lot (and it is so much cuter when not in church)

Have started to grab - at everything!

Much prefer oatmeal to rice cereal
Smile with your eyes as much as you ever have

Wake up in the mornings and play in crib until we come get you

Still haven't figured out how to jump in your jumperoo

Started to walk/run/march when we walk with you - coordination much improved!
Eat 2 small containers of veggies every evening for dinner
Love to have small bites of our food...finally!
Have just 2 teeth on bottom
Have a beautiful, thick head of hair (we receive lots of compliments!)
Sit on your own very well
Still fit in your Bumbo 
Love to be sang to
Get excited to be put down into your crib when we go to your room at night
Do not sleep hardly at all when you are not at home
Are not even interested in the thought of crawling

 In ordering of decreasing preference: Peas - Green Beans - Squash = Carrots = Sweet potatoes. Not on the list due to refusal to eat: peaches - apples - bananas - pears. We are also loving our fresh food feeders in which you have had watermelon and peaches. The weekend your aunts moved to Lincoln, Grandpa Doc reassured me that it was ok to start feeding you some of our food, so we have given you mashed potatoes, banana muffin, yogurt so far. Anxious to talk to the pediatrician and find out how far behind we are in introducing you to foods.

You have also been struggling with some constipation, so we tried corn syrup in your bottles, apple juice (will not drink even really dilute), q tip with Vaseline lube, and finally resorted to milk of magnesia which finally did the trick after several days. Just as soon as we got that flowing a little better, we started dealing with another raging diaper rash. Poor, poor baby must be cutting another tooth. Just wish there was something I could do to take away the pain. Makes my mama heart sad!

We tease you that you have "Go Go Landry Arms" (Go Go Gadget was a tv show when we were little) because you think you must reach everything.

I'm thinking you are going to skip crawling and just go straight to walking.

We are also in the process of switching daycares. After an incident at our current daycare, I called Daddy on my way to work and told him that I thought we needed to get on the Bryan Hospital daycare waitlist because I knew it was going to be long and sooner was probably better than later. (We knew we would be doing it eventually and had already somewhat decided that that is where we wanted to go from here). He agreed and made a call and within 30 minutes of him calling we were told that they actually had a spot open for your specific age group. We are hoping to go take a tour and learn more about it this week and then hopefully give our 2 weeks' notice at our daycare to begin September 24th when the spot becomes available. I'm thinking that was all a God thing because it has been something I've been contemplating for a couple months now. It's going to be a much bigger financial investment, but so very worth it for so many reasons. I don't think we will regret this decision.

Labor Day Weekend Pool Fun

We took you out to the pool for only the second time this summer over Labor Day weekend. We met the Reynolds' and Redigers' there and all had a great time. Just a few pictures from the day to share is all.

 

One of the cutest pictures ever of Miss Hannah and LA. She couldn't
get enough of you and wanted to hold you all day long!

Sarah Louise - the little fish!

Just chillin.'

A very content girl and her Daddy.

Hannah Banana.

Sarah was in heaven when all the boys started having cannon ball
and dive contests with her. Too cute!

Love moments like this!

Didn't get one of Clara before she went to take a nap, but
this is a cute one of Lys and Levi.

Synchronized diving!