Friday, April 27, 2012

Pregnancy: 32 Weeks (8 Months)






Check out my post from Week 32 with my first pregnancy (Hannah).

We started this week in Raleigh, NC at a friend's wedding. Definitely a great start to the week! We were so happy to get home to Hannah on Sunday afternoon as we had missed her terribly!

Here's what's happening this week...

What's going on with the baby right now?
  • She is about 16.5" long and weighs about 4 pounds
  • She is the size of a large jicama (never tried that) or a honeydew melon
  • Fingernails and toenails have grown in completely
  • She is sleeping 90% of the time (not enough room in there to do much else)
  • 8 weeks to go - 56 days!
What's going on with me?
  • My blood volume has increased by 50% and my uterus is now pushing into my diaphragm, which causes shortness of breath. I have noticed this some, especially when I am trying to keep up with Hannah. Just going up and down the stairs has become a chore.
  • Sleep continues to be a commodity. I can't get comfortable, I toss and turn all night, I wake up to pee at least once per night, my hips ache, I'm hot all the time, heartburn wakes me up, and once I wake up I struggle to fall back to sleep.
  • Tons of braxton hicks contractions lately! Everytime I get one I get an intense urge to pee and they actually are a little painful. Just a little precursor of what's to come.
  • My belly button has officially popped out now and probably has been that way for a couple weeks, just forgot to mention it.
  • Hemorrhoids are still a nusisance, but have gotten better since last week. (Because I know you were wondering!) haha
  • I'm starting to get a little sad about Hannah not being our only child anymore. I know that ultimately this is a good thing for her (siblings are wonderful!) but it's hard to not feel a little guilty about her no longer being the center of attention. She is at SUCH a fun stage right now that I hate to mess with anything. :-(
  • Emma continues to be fairly gentle with her kicks and punches. She really doesn't move all that often (which of course now I am worrying about) and when she does it's more of a rolling or pushing motion instead of hard jabs.
  • Heartburn continues to be awful! Tums and milk are my best friends!
  • I have now gained 17 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight, still under what I was with Hannah's pregnancy, but quickly catching up!
  • Next appointment: Monday, April 30th

Friday, April 20, 2012

Pregnancy: 31 Weeks




Check out my post from Week 31 with my first pregnancy (Hannah).

In 6 weeks this pregnancy will be considered full-term!  In 9 weeks I will have reached my due date!  And in 9 weeks, 1 day if this baby hasn't made her appearance I will have to evict her! :-)

This week we had new carpet installed in three of the four upstairs bedrooms (Hannah's room was done before she was born).  It was a very chaotic day on Saturday with the installers here for about 6 hours, making a ton of noise!  Hannah didn't get a nap, which made for a very fussy afternoon and the carpet was not exactly what we had expected.  After a few days it has grown on us, but we still aren't 100% satisfied, but it will have to do.  I am glad to be done with it though and look forward to having Emma's furniture delivered (next weekend) and set up!

At the end of this week, Brian and I headed to Raleigh, NC for a friend's wedding.  We left Hannah at home with Brian's parents (THANK YOU!) and were able to have a fairly relaxing weekend.  It was great to be able to sleep in and the six hour drive was very pleasant without a toddler in the backseat. ;-)  But man we missed her!!

Here's what's happening this week...

What's going on with the baby right now?
  • She is about 16" long and weighs about 3.5-4 pounds.
  • She is the size of a large head of lettuce
  • She is about to start a huge growth spurt phase, which makes me a little nervous.  I already feel huge and uncomfortable, so I don't know how there is even any more room for her to grow!
  • Her eyesight is improving and the iris can dilate & constrict.
  • Survival rate = 96%. Of those surviving, 20% will have serious complications 
  • 9 weeks to go...Single digits! 
What's going on with me?
  • I had a doctor's appointment this week and everything was great.  My blood pressure was perfect, weight was great (+12 pounds from prepregnancy weight), Emma's heartbeat was beautiful, and I found out that she is head down (great news!).  The only "bad" news I got was that my midwife (the one that delivered Hannah) is pregnant and due at the end of July.  Yeah for her, but boo for me because she may not make it to Emma's delivery.  While she is due a full month after me, she delivered her first at 37 weeks, so who knows when this one will come.  While I would love for her to be the one to deliver Emma, I guess I will have to get used to the idea that it may not be her.
  • Still dealing with hip pain at night and find myself tossing and turning all night to ease the pain.  I think it's time to invest in an air mattress like my friend suggested!
  • Braxton Hicks contractions (practice contractions) are happening fairly regularly now, mostly in the evening or when I am sitting down during the day.
  • TMI alert!!!  I am dealing with some major hemorrhoids right now.  It has been very painful.  If things don't improve soon I will have to talk to my obgyn about some relief measures I can take.  OUCH!
  • Emma is hiccuping all the time now.  I feel them at least once per day, just like with Hannah.
  • Emotionally I would say that I am doing really well.  With Hannah's pregnancy I was starting to get very nervous around this time and had no idea what to expect.  But this time around I feel like I know what I am getting into (it's gonna be NUTS!) so I have a better grasp on things.  However, that also makes me a little more nervous this time around as well.  My biggest fears are the actual labor (for those that don't know, I went 100% natural with Hannah and am still undecided what I will do with this one), how I will juggle two little ones at one time, how Hannah will handle having to share me and her daddy with Emma, and simply what our day to day life will look like.
  • Emma is still kicking a bunch, but thankfully they haven't been very painful kicks so far.  She's taking it easy on me! :-)  I have noticed that something (foot or knee, not sure) is often pushing under the right side of my rib cage which is not very comfortable.
  • On Sunday of this past week I felt pretty nauseous and was exhausted.  I'm not sure what that was about, but I am chalking it up to another growth spurt.
  • Heartburn was awful this week!  I've been popping tums and rolaids non-stop in the night, even having to take them in the middle of the night when I am awoken by the burning.  Not fun!
  • I didn't weigh myself this week since we were out of town, so last I knew I was up 12 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.  We will see how much that jumps up next week.
  • Next appointment: Monday, April 30th
I found this tip for when baby arrives that I wanted to be sure to remember.  They suggest that when the older sibling comes into the hospital room to meet the new baby that someone else should hold the baby so you can give all of your attention to the oldest.  Then introduce the baby to the older sibling after lots of hugs and kisses from mommy and daddy.  Hopefully I will remember this tip as I really think it will be good to use with Hannah to make her feel special!  My plan is to have a nurse hold Emma until we are done smothering Hannah with hugs and kisses and then have her bring Emma over for the big introduction.

Another good idea I read about was having Hannah help pick out Emma's going home outfit.  That way she will feel included.  Since we haven't even started thinking about that yet, I think that will be a great idea.  I'm sure what we will end up doing is having a few different choices and letting her chose from them because the idea of letting her go wild in the store is a bit overwhelming.

Friday, April 13, 2012

Pregnancy: 30 Weeks



Check out my post from Week 30 with my first pregnancy (Hannah).

A fairly uneventful week around here.  Brian's parents were here for Easter weekend, which was fun!  And then my parents stopped by for a night during the week on their way to Australia for a month long cruise!  Must be nice! :-) 

We also did our family hospital tour this past Saturday (with Hannah and Brian's parents) which was good.  We didn't learn anything that we didn't already know - seeing as we were just there for two separate weeks in November - but it was still good to have a refresher.  It was also nice for Hannah to go back to the hospital under good conditions instead of the last two times when I was so sick and she visited me then.  Hopefully she will start to associate the hospital with positive experiences.  Thankfully she didn't seem scared at all and was really excited to see new babies!

Here's what's happening this week...

What's going on with the baby right now?
  • She is about 15-17" long and weighs about 3 pounds.  She is close to the length she will be when she is born, so over the next 10 weeks she will be gaining weight more than length.
  • She is the size of a head of cabbage
  • The fine hair coating, called lanugo is beginning to disappear (although Hannah was born 4 days late and still had the fuzz all over her body!)
  • Survival rate = 95%. Of those surviving, 25% will have serious complications
  • 1.5 pints of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but as she continues to grow, that will decrease
  • Her eyesight is continuing to get better, but she’ll be born with only 20/400 vision – meaning she can only see objects a few inches from her face
  • 10 weeks to go!
What's going on with me?
  • This week I gained 1 pound, so overall I am up 12 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.
  • I seemed to have a little more energy this week, which was good!  I am even starting to get a little bit of the nesting bug, but not quite enough to do anything about it yet.  HAHA  We are having new carpet installed tomorrow in three of our upstairs bedrooms, so having to move everything out of those rooms has helped spur my nesting urge a bit.  I am determined to not put anything back in the rooms unless it is something we absolutely cannot live without!  I am so sick of the clutter!
  • Still dealing with hip pain at night.  A good friend suggested sleeping on an air mattress, which I might have to try if things don't start improving.  But last night was good, so we'll see.
  • No round ligament pain this week, so I guess that was just a growth spurt last week.
  • Still doing our morning walks, although this week we started back with having morning activities three days per week (Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday) so we didn't have as many walks as the previous weeks. 
  • Another week with no anti-nausea meds!  So glad because I can definitely tell a difference in my mood.  The pregnancy "funk" has definitely started to fade and I am feeling so much better overall.  So thankful!
  • This week was a bit frustrating in the clothing department.  I spent nearly an hour trying to find something to wear on Thursday morning...nothing fit!  Gone are the days of wearing pre-pregnancy clothes.  I do still have a couple pairs of pants and shorts that fit okay, but definitely tighter than they were a few weeks ago.  Pre-pregnancy shirts are definitely a no-go!
  • Next appointment: Monday, April 16th
With the new carpet going in tomorrow, we are well on our way to being able to decorate the nursery!  I am so excited to see it all start coming together.  The nursery furniture has been waiting for us at Buy Buy Baby for a while now, so as soon as the carpet is in, we will pick it up and start the assembly process.  YEAH!  I think seeing the room come together with make it so much more real.  Right now I think I am still in denial that this is all happening so soon.

    Wednesday, April 11, 2012

    25 Months Old





    This month flew by!  We had a great month, with lots of exciting things - a trip to Siesta Key, FL for a week long beach vacation, your friend Hannah's 2nd Birthday Party, an Ice Cream Social at your future preschool (starting in September), an Easter Egg hunt at the public library, Easter, and lots of time with family and friends.

    We started the month in Siesta Key, FL for a week long vacation.  We visited Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Walko and celebrated Great-Grandma's 86th birthday and your 2nd birthday.  You spent lots of time playing with Great-Grandpa and you both loved it!  He loved playing with your bunny house with you and your baby doll.  It was such a precious time!  We were sure to get a lot of pictures of the two of you playing.  This was also your first time being old enough to play on the beach.  You didn't do much playing on it though because you just weren't a huge fan.  You didn't want anything to do with the water (it was a bit cold) and you wanted someone to hold you instead of having to walk in the sand yourself.  When you did walk, you had to have your shoes on at all times.  We did manage to get you in a bathing suit one time and took a few pictures of you playing in the sand.  By the end of the week you started to warm up to the sand a little, but still weren't a beach bum by any means!  Overall it was a wonderful and relaxing week!

    This month you started taking great naps again, 1.5 hours or so.  Love this!  However, your night time sleep has been a bit off this month.  You are taking a long time to fall asleep and waking a few times in the night.  We don't normally have to go in your room, as you don't cry for long, but it's still enough to wake me up, which I'm not thrilled with.  I don't know what is happening, maybe you are getting your two year molars?  Or maybe because you are now taking longer naps, your night time sleep is being affected.  You just don't need as much sleep as most 2 year olds, I guess.  Near the end of the month you started screaming your head off every night before bed (one night for 2 hours straight!) and every time we went in to check on you and find out what was the matter you would complain that your hands and/or feet were cold because they were out of the blanket.  We started putting you in socks and put a twin size sheet in your crib that we now tuck in on the sides in hopes that it doesn't move around, therefore uncovering your hands and/or feet.  I'm hoping that you will soon figure out how to cover yourself up so we can stop going in 50 times a night recovering you.  One very precious thing that you started this month is singing yourself to sleep.  You are obsessed with the "I love you" Barney theme song and sing it non-stop, all day long!  But the best is at night when you sing our names to the Barney tune...."Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy....", then "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, Daddy....", then "MooMoo, MooMoo, MooMoo, MooMoo, MooMoo, MooMoo...." (for MeMaw), then "PaPa, PaPa, PaPa, PaPa, PaPa, PaPa..." and on and on you go.  It's absolutely precious!

    Near the end of this month, I started being more purposeful in teaching you letters and colors and numbers.  This has always been something I have wanted to do with you, but with my sickness the past few months, I haven't been able to.  So this month we did an Easter focused unit where we focused on the letter 'E', the color purple, the number 7, and the nursery rhyme 'Humpty Dumpty'.  You already knew the letter 'E', so every time you saw it you would say, "E for Emma" and then we would talk about how the word egg also starts with 'E'.  We talked about big E and little E and played lots of games with plastic Easter eggs.  You had no difficulty matching the color of an egg with a colored dot drawn inside an egg carton.  So smart!  You also learned the 'Humpty Dumpty' nursery rhyme after just one day of saying it to you and loved reading our Humpty Dumpty books.  The color purple was a bit more difficult for you.  Nearly every time I would ask you what color the purple egg was, you'd say, "green" with great authority.  You were convinced it was green!  While you had no trouble identifying the correct color egg with the correct color dot inside the egg carton, you had a lot more difficulty verbalizing the correct color name.  We'll keep working on it!  (You undoubtedly know the color pink and it is by far your favorite!)

    You are talking in complete sentences all the time now.  Having a conversation with you is so fun now because you understand virtually everything we say. 

    This month we started focusing on discipline a little more, knowing that we are at a critical age right before temper tantrums begin.  (NOT looking forward to that!)  We started a new "Yes Mommy" rule where every time I say your name you are supposed to look at me and say, "Yes Mommy" before I give you an instruction.  You have taken to this surprisingly well!  I usually have to say your first and middle name before you will really listen, but when I do, you almost always look at me and say, "Yes Mommy".  It doesn't always guarantee that you will do what I ask, but you have definitely made progress!

    At the beginning of this month, your appetite dropped dramatically.  Since you have been eating like a grown man your entire life, I didn't worry too much about it as I knew you would slow down at some point.  But most books say there is a dramatic decrease at 1 year, not 2, so I guess you just decided to make your own rules....what's new?!  You are currently obsessed with yogurt ("yogi") and would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if we let you.  You have decided that you no longer like bananas or grapes, but have started to really love honeydew melon....random!  You still love raisins, peas, prunes, most carbs, all "snack" foods (cookies, crackers, dried fruit, etc.), and blueberries.  At Easter Grandma made Spinach Pie and you fell back in love with it (it had been a while since you had it last).  For Easter and several days after you have eaten a full adult sized piece and continue to ask for more.  I don't blame you...it's delicious!  Another new favorite food this month is quesadillas with sour cream. Yum!

    This month you shockingly started wanting to drink milk!  Once you weaned from nursing (at 14 months) we went straight to water and nothing else.  You always loved your water (and still do) and the very few times I offered you milk (regular or almond) you refused it.  So on your second birthday when you requested a cup of milk, I was shocked!  You still don't drink very much, maybe 4 oz. all day tops, but I'm glad to see you expanding your horizons! :-)  We only give you organic low fat milk.

    We are still not attempting to potty train you as you just aren't ready yet.  You still say "No" when I ask you if you want to sit on the potty, but one time this month you said you needed to go poo, so we asked you if you wanted to sit on the potty and you shockingly said "Yes".  You sat there for several minutes and just a tiny bit came out.  When I could tell nothing else was going to happen, we put your diaper back on and I showed you what was in the potty.  You immediately started crying!  You were scared to death of that tiny drop of poo!  I don't know why, but I was quick to get rid of it and we didn't talk about it anymore.  Now every time we talk about the potty you say, "I pooped in the potty and I cry".  You never will tell me a reason for your crying, but you haven't forgotten about that moment.  Very strange.  I also showed you your big girl underwear and you were very interested in them.  One day you asked to wear a pair, so I let you.  For a full hour you didn't have any accidents, but of course every time I asked you if you needed to sit on the potty, you said "No".  So I knew it wasn't going to end well.  When you started peeing, I tried to sweep you up and take you straight over to the potty, but you started to scream and cry.  You are truly terrified of that thing!  Needless to say, you won't be wearing an big girl underwear again for a while...and you don't seem to bothered by that.  I'm trying not to stress about your fear of the potty, but it sure is hard when several of your friends are already potty trained.  I'm just hopeful that you don't go off to kindergarten in your diaper!

    This month we weaned you from sleeping with your sippy cup of water. This was not an easy process as you were really attached, but we did it. We knew we needed to break that habit before we started potty training because unlimited access to water throughout the night would make for a messy bed once diapers were no longer an option. So I'm glad we have at least made one step in the right direction as far as potty training goes. :-)

    Every night before bed we pray with you and ask you what you want to thank Jesus for.  This month your list was always the same, "MooMoo (MeMaw), PaPa, Moon, Sun, Mommy, Daddy, Emma, Great-Grandma, Great-Grandpa, my Gama (Grandma), my gapa (grandpa), friend Hannah, Anne, Will, Baby Blake, Baby Matthew, and Dominic".  It is absolutely precious!  You will also usually ask to say your own prayer, which goes like this - "blah blah blah, Amen".  LOVE!

    We celebrated your third Easter this month.  Grandma and Grandpa Vaccaro came into town to celebrate with us.  We had a lot of fun enjoying the beautiful weather!  A few days before Easter we went to an Easter egg hunt at the public library and you loved it.  You found 4 eggs and actually seemed to understand what was going on.  I even let you have your first piece of candy - a tootsie roll (you chose that over all the other candy).  We had a lot of fun!

    Other 25 Month Stats:
    -You wear all 2T and 3T clothes now.
    -You weigh 30-31 pounds
    -You are 37" tall (the size of a 3 year old!)
    -You continue to wear size 5 diapers, day and night, however as soon as we run out of size 5 overnights, we are moving you to a size 6, as the 5's are starting to leak.
    -You wear a size 7 or 8 shoe.

    Time is flying and I am ready to freeze time!  You are at the perfect age right now (yes, I know I have said that before).  You are such a happy girl, with very little fussing throughout the day and are perfectly content to play on your own for an hour or more.  You are so pleasant and really haven't hit the "terrible two's" yet (praying you don't!!).  I love spending every day with you and wouldn't have it any other way.  You are such a joy!  Mommy and Daddy love you more than you can imagine!

    Friday, April 6, 2012

    Pregnancy: 29 Weeks

    Another week....I feel like I just wrote last week's post! 

    This was the first week in my pregnancy with Hannah that I wrote an "official" weekly update.  Check it out here - 29 Weeks (Hannah)

    Here's what's happening this week...

    What's going on with the baby right now?
    • She is just over 15" long and weighs about 2.5 pounds
    • She is the size of a butternut squash
    • She is adding fat, her bones are hardening, her brain is developing, and she may even be  dreaming.
    • Her brain can control her body temperature
    • Her eyes can move in their sockets
    • She has grown 1/4 pound in the last week and now starts a rapid growth phase, putting on nearly 1/2 pound a week! Tripling in weight by the time she’s due! WOW!
    • Amniotic fluid is reaching its peak, partly due to the fact that she is urinating up to 2 cups a day
    • Survival rate = 90%. Of those surviving, 30% will have serious complications
    • 11 weeks to go!
    What's going on with me?
    • I had a midwife appointment this past week (on Monday) and everything was right on track.  I've gained more weight, which is good and my blood pressure was good.  I'm measuring right on track and Emma's heartbeat was in the 140-150 range.  Perfect.  I now have to start going every two weeks instead of monthly, which is crazy!  Then at 36 weeks I will start going weekly.  We are getting down to the wire!
    • This week I gained 3 pounds!!!  YIKES!  Overall I am up 11 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.
    • I have been really tired this week - again.  The exhaustion is back.  I am amazingly blessed with the best 2 year old around because there have been several mornings where I have been too tired to do anything but lay on the couch in the playroom.  Hannah will play by herself for over an hour, without complaining!  It's amazing!  I've even found myself dozing off a few times.  She truly is the best!
    • My hips are starting to hurt when I lay on one side for too long.  This means I am forced to flip back and forth several times throughout the night, waking me up even more often.  Joy!
    • Round ligament pain has returned with a vengeance!  The sides of my belly are so sore, almost bruised feeling, and just ache all day long.  I don't know how I am going to continue to function if this doesn't improve soon!
    • I have been trying to get out every morning for a long walk around the neighborhood with Hannah.  It has been a good activity for us because the temperatures are still nice in the morning and it is fairly relaxing (as long as I am sure to bring lots of snacks for Hannah!) and good exercise for me.  So a win, win all around.  On our walk on Monday morning I was really struggling!  I made the mistake of waiting until 11am to take the walk, which was bad because the temperature had risen a bit too much for my pregnant liking.  I was so exhausted half way through that I had to pop a squat on the curb to catch my breath.  And don't think that I was walking briskly...we are talking a very slow pace here.  This pregnancy thing is no joke!  I'm hoping that by keeping semi-active I will be able to maintain a decent weight throughout the rest of the pregnancy.  We'll see! 
    • Managed the whole week without any anti-nausea medicine!  YEAH!
    • Still able to wear some of my pre-pregnancy pants!!
    • Next appointment: Monday, April 16th