Friday, May 25, 2012

Pregnancy: 36 Weeks (9 Months!)



Check out my post from Week 36 with my first pregnancy (Hannah).

We started this week with a sick toddler, which is never fun!  She just had a standard cold, but was so snotty and clingy.  Her nose was so raw after the first day...poor baby!  We ended the week in Florida, visiting Brian's family.

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


What's going on with the baby right now?

  • She is about 18.5" long and weighs about 6 pounds
  • Emma is gaining about an ounce per day at this point
  • She is swallowing amniotic fluid, which causes hiccups.  With my first pregnancy, Hannah had hiccups every single day, but Emma definitely doesn't have them as frequently.
  • Survival rate = 99+%.  Of those, only 5% have serious complications.
  • 4 weeks to go!
What's going on with me?
  • TONS of swelling!  My feet, hands and face are swollen.  There were a few days at the end of the week that I couldn't wear my wedding rings.
  • I don't think Emma has dropped yet, as I don't have much pressure down there yet.
  • No consistent contractions yet, just Braxton Hicks from time to time.
  • Still no signs of carpal tunnel, which I am SO thankful for!!
  • Heartburn was even worse this week, waking me up in the middle of the night and even happening during the day.  NOT fun!  This has definitely affected my sleep in a negative way.
  • The nausea wasn't too awful this week, thankfully.  But it is definitely still an ever present companion.
  • I got a haircut...12 inches chopped off.  Drastic, but I LOVE it!  It had been 2 years since my last cut, so it was definitely time!
  • Not sure how much weight I gained this week because I didn't weigh myself.  But in the middle of the week I had gained 1 pound, so I am at least up 23 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.
  • Next Appointment: Tuesday, May 29
Goals for this coming week - buy a present for Hannah (from Emma) to give her when she comes to the hospital, install Emma's car seat, pack the hospital bag, continue spring cleaning the house, and cook a few meals for the freezer for after Emma arrives (I did one large batch of ziti this week, so at least we have that in there).  We are still waiting on Emma's crib and dresser to be delivered and we probably still have another 2-3 weeks to wait.  A bit stressful!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Freezer Cooking

I am 4.5 weeks away from my due date with baby #2, so I am in major nesting mode.  There are so many things left on my to-do lists (Baby Bucket List & Nesting To Do List) so I am trying to choose a few things each day to get crossed off.

I spent some time today researching freezer meal ideas.  I was on the hunt for recipes that included freezing and reheating instructions (not easy to find) and were semi-healthy.  I also have a hatred for any recipe that includes cream of ___ soups.  There is something about that stuff that creeps me out.  I complied a list of 30 different recipes (some are very similar) and will pick and choose from the list what I want to prepare before Emma's arrival.  The first one I will tackle is Baked Ziti.  I will adapt the recipe a bit to fit our tastes (organic ground beef and our favorite jar of pasta sauce, Rao's) and will probably make 3-4 smaller pans instead of 2 large pans.  Definitely a good comfort meal to have on hand!

Here is the list I complied today.  We'll see how many I can knock out before I run out of steam or Emma arrives.  I'll update as I cook and let you know how it goes.  I would love to be able to post updates once we actually eat the meals to let you know how they were, but no promises.  Things will most likely be crazy around here. 

Enjoy!

Friday, May 18, 2012

Pregnancy: 35 Weeks

Check out my post from Week 35 with my first pregnancy (Hannah). 

We started this week in NC at my cousin's wedding.  It was so wonderful to get to spend time with my family.  It made me wish even more that we all lived in the same area (or at least the same state!).  Hannah did a great job the whole weekend despite us keeping her up way later than normal.  But we paid for that on the ride home....she had a complete meltdown!  I was literally ready to jump out the window on several occasions!  I don't think any long road trips will be in our near future.

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


What's going on with the baby right now?

  • Only 35 days until my due date!!  5 more weeks!
  • She is 18-20" long and weighs 5-6 pounds
  • She is the size of a small roasting chicken ;-)
  • Survival rate = 99%.  Of those, only 8% have serious complications.
What's going on with me?
  • I had a doctor's appointment this week and it was VERY uneventful and quick.  Blood pressure was perfect, weight was up (no surprise there), and Emma's heartbeat was normal.  Walked in and walked out.  At my next appointment I will get the group B strep test done and then I will start going every week for check-ups until my due date.
  • I absolutely blew up this week!  I am huge (thanks to my 6 pound weight gain last week) and swollen.  My rings are suddenly much tighter, but I am still able to wear them.  My face looks very chubby now, which I hate.  For the first 30 weeks of my pregnancy I heard so many times how small I looked, but I'm definitely not hearing that anymore!
  • My uterus now reaches up to my rib cage. 
  • This week I was exhausted and very unmotivated!  The nesting urge has disappeared which isn't good because we are nowhere near ready. 
  • Still no carpal tunnel, thankfully!!
  • No sign of losing my mucus plug yet, but this doesn't surprise me.  I didn't lose it with my first pregnancy until my due date and even then I still had to be induced 4 days later.
  • I am starting to really get nervous about labor and delivery.  With my last labor I had several complications (heavy clotting, three separate catheters because of swelling, and I passed out after delivery).  I am very nervous about those things happening again!
  • Heartburn is still a major problem.  At the beginning of this week it was so bad that I developed a nasty cough because of it and then had a sore/hoarse voice for the following few days.  Acid reflux is no joke!
  • Sleep has been sparse this week.  With the heartburn being so bad at night I haven't been sleeping well through it.  Also I've been dealing with some pregnancy insomnia which is definitely not fun.
  • On the last day of this week (today) I felt VERY nauseous all day and threw up my dinner.  I hadn't thrown up in nearly two months, so this was an unwelcome reminder of the horrid first 4-5 months of this pregnancy.  I'm hoping this was just a one day fluke and that I will feel better tomorrow.  But I do remember the nausea getting bad again in the last month of my first pregnancy, so we'll see.
  • Amazingly I lost 3 pounds this week!  So now I am up 22 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.  I'll take it!
  • Next Appointment: Tuesday, May 29
We are still waiting for Emma's crib and dresser to be delivered.  We talked to the store this week and they are definitely going to compensate us in some way for all the trouble this has been, so at least that's good news.

My goals for this coming week - install the car seat, start packing the hospital bag, nail down the date and time for our maternity photo shoot, and continue my heavy "spring cleaning" of the entire house (if I can find the energy).

Friday, May 11, 2012

26 Months Old






Sweet Hannah,

Another month has come and gone and I am more in love with you than ever before!  I can't put into words how special you are...oh how I wish I could capture who you are at this exact moment and bottle it up to remember forever.  Here is my attempt at doing just that....

In the beginning of this month we spent a lot of time outside, enjoying the beautiful Spring weather and playing on your new swing set and picnic table.  Mommy took you on daily walks around the neighborhood (LONG walks!) and you loved it.  Some days we stopped at the neighborhood playground for 30-45 minutes of playing, but other days we just walked and you were okay with that.  You usually had a snack while we walked and were content to sit in the double jogging stroller the whole time.  Unfortunately by mid-month we were having temperatures in the high 80s and 90s, which made being outside a bit unbearable.  Hopefully we will be able to spend more time outside in the coming weeks before Emma's arrival because I know how much you love it out there! 

You are so excited for your baby sister to get here!  When we ask you what you are going to do with Emma you say, "Hold Emma, ride in the strollie, take a bath together, read a story, play with toys".  You love to play in her room and look at all of her baby clothes and toys.  You also love to lay on her changing table and pretend that you are a baby.  I am hopeful that this excitement will carry over once she actually arrives.  Only time will tell.  I'm just not sure that you really realize how permanent of a change this will be! 

Your favorite place to go these days is the grocery store (Publix to be exact), only because that's where you get a cookie!  Every time we say we are going to the store you say, "I get a cookie?"  No matter what store we are going to, you want a cookie.  Good thing I only make one trip to Publix per week.

This month your sleep was still a mess!  You took nearly 2 hours to fall asleep some nights, sometimes crying and sometimes just singing and talking.  At the beginning of the month you were also waking 1-2 times in the night, crying.  If we had to go in you would complain that your hands and/or feet were cold...same as last month.  Then despite the late bedtime you still woke up somewhere between 6:30-7am.  So you were averaging 10 hours of sleep each night and about 1 hour of daytime sleep.  These new sleeping patterns came at a bad time because mommy has been exhausted lately.  Being 30-34 weeks pregnant is exhausting!  Hopefully you will be back to good sleep before Emma comes.  I certainly don't want to have to be up in the night with both of you!

Every night before bed you request that Mommy and Daddy sing with you.  We start with the Barney theme song ("I Love You") and then sing "Lullaby and Goodnight".  You always sing along with us and it's precious!  At the end of the month you started requesting "the Hannah song" which I figured out is "Goodnight Sweetheart" which I sang to you every night since you were born, but have recently stopped because of your love of the other two songs.  Now you have learned all the words to that song as well and love to sing along.  Each night after we tuck you in and leave the room you continue singing until you fall asleep....precious!  You are very musical, which I love!  There are even mornings where you wake up singing.  The most adorable sound I've ever heard!

You got to spend a weekend alone with Grandma and Grandpa Vaccaro this month.  Mommy and Daddy went to a wedding in Raleigh, NC and you were home with Grandma and Grandpa for 4 days and 3 nights.  You had a blast and they were sure to spoil you, as only Grandparents can. :-)  We also took a road trip to another wedding in NC (for mommy's cousins, Lauren).  You did such a great job on the ride there (5.5 hours) and the whole weekend.  Your routine was completely off (late naps and very late bedtimes), but you handled it all like a champ.  Unfortunately we weren't as lucky on the ride home, as you had a major meltdown (screaming and crying for 45+ minutes, then falling asleep for 30 minutes, and then waking up to start all over again).  Mommy was a bit flustered and needless to say I don't want to go on a long car ride with you anytime in the near future!

Your favorite color right now is definitely pink!  You love everything pink - clothes, hair bows, toys...if it's pink you are happy!  Thankfully you haven't gotten to the point of refusing to wear something if it's not pink, but I'm afraid that might be coming soon.

You have been much more interested in the potty this month.  I had the idea of telling you that if you sat on the potty and tried to go you could have a piece of candy (a chocolate chip).  You liked this idea and sat right down (a HUGE accomplishment since you were scared to death of that thing last month).  You haven't actually gone on the potty yet, but just sitting on it willingly is a step in the right direction (I have since changed the rule that you don't get a piece of candy unless you actually go and you are okay with that).  You have also become very vocal about when you go potty in your diaper.  You often get confused with poop and pee and will say, "I have poopy" when really it's just pee.  You have started to want me to change you after every time you pee (which I refuse as I don't want to waste that many diapers), but I think that is a good sign of getting closer to being ready to potty train!  You did have one successful night on the potty this month!  You were getting ready for bed with Daddy and you told him that you needed to go poop.  He asked you if you wanted to sit on the potty and you did.  You immediately pooped but as soon as you got off the potty you started crying hysterically and shaking.  You were SO scared!  This happened once before when you pooped in the potty, so it wasn't a complete shock, but it was still so hard to see.  It took a good 10-15 minutes to calm you down and nothing we said made it better.  I did finally manage to give you two pieces of candy (chocolate chips) for going poopy on the potty, which you liked.  But you definitely didn't want to talk about it at all after that.  Since that happened (2 days ago) you have not pooped at all.  You even woke up that night in the middle of the night, crying and shaking.  I held you for a few minutes and you saw the potty in your room and insisted that we take it out.  It broke my heart that you were so upset about even seeing the potty.  Needless to say, I think we will have to wait a little longer to start the potty training process.

Some of your latest sayings are: "I'm sorry" (melts my heart), "Oh boy!" (with such enthusiasm), "Wow Mommy!  Good job!" (when I pee on the potty or when I do something you are impressed with), "That's pretty Mommy" (when I get dressed), "Wow Mommy, that is so pretty!" (as you look at my painted toe nails), and "I have a seekey (secret)....I yuv (love) you" (Daddy started this with you).

Your appetite has increased again this month, but it's still down from where it was a few months ago.  Your favorite food is still "yogi" (yogurt) and you request it at every meal.  We limit you to one container per day, but you would definitely eat more if we let you.  Some other favorites this month were cheese, frozen blueberries (you only wanted the "cold ones"), milk (still not much overall), beans, cottage cheese, dried apricots, raisins, applesauce, steak, corn on the cob, Daddy's grilled chicken, peas, cold Buddy Fruits, and all carbs.

This month you started wanting to say your own prayer before bed.  It is precious!  First we talk about what or who we want to pray for.  Usually you say one of your friends (or all of them) or one of your toys or your food...pretty much whatever was last on your mind.  Then you say, "my turn" and start mumbling a few things usually with some recognizable words or names thrown in and then say "Amen".  LOVE this!!  Then we pray with you and you are sure to remind us if we forget something we talked about earlier.  Definitely my favorite part of the day!

You now know most of your colors (a huge accomplishment this month!).  You don't have them all  down perfectly, but you are getting much better at identifying them!  You also know several different letters of the alphabet - H, E, D, M, and O for sure, but there are others that you know randomly.

This month you definitely started testing the waters as far as behavior goes.  Your new favorite word is "No" and you are sure to use it often.  You aren't necessarily rude about it or extremely defiant...it's more of a game to you.  But we are desperately trying to reign that in so it doesn't get out of control.  The thing we are working on the most is getting you to listen the first time!  Not easy.  The phrase we find ourselves saying over and over is, "How many times does Mommy (or Daddy) ask?" and you will always say, "One time."  It definitely doesn't guarantee first time compliance, but we are hopeful that drilling it into you will help down the road.  We are still trying to be consistent with the "Yes Mommy/Daddy" rule and you are pretty good about it, but the eye contact is not always present.  We definitely need to crack down on that more too!  Another struggle we have had this month has been with sharing.  I know this is a very difficult concept for this age group to grasp, but it's so hard because the rest of your friends seem to get it, while you don't.  When we are playing with your friends you tend to hoard all the toys you want to play with (mostly the baby dolls) and when someone tries to take one (even if you have 5) you go nuts!  You have a complete meltdown with big crocodile tears and everything.  You say, "That's my baby" (even when we are at a friend's house and it's truly not yours at all!).  You have no desire to share and when you are forced to the result is a complete meltdown.  I hope this stage is short lived because it's a bit embarrassing when your child is the only one that melts down every five minutes during playgroup. 

Something else we are working on right now is getting you to clean up what you are playing with before you take out something else.  You tend to be a tornado with your toys if we let you....leaving a massive mess if left to your own devices.  You are fairly good at cleaning up the mess as long as I am right there with you, instructing you on what to clean next.  You know where everything goes (pretty much) and once we are done you love to say, "Look at my payroom (playroom) Mommy." - with a big smile on your face.  You love how it looks when it's all clean!  I'm hoping that my love for cleaning and organizing will transfer to you!

Other 26 Month Stats:
- You still wear size 2T or 3T clothes.
- You still wear size 7 or 8 shoes, but the 7s are getting small.
- We had to move you into size 6 overnight diapers (the largest they sell) because you were consistently waking up soaking wet!  And surprisingly you still wake up wet some mornings in a size 6!  I don't know what our next option is?!
- Once we run out of size 5 daytime diapers, you will be in size 6 all the time.
- I'm not sure how much you weigh or how tall you are because I didn't measure you this month.

We love you "little" peanut and can't wait for you to be a big sister!  We know that you will be the best big sister ever!  But we also want you to know just how special YOU are!  Even though our lives are about to change drastically with the addition of another family member, you will always be special to us.  We love you more than you can ever imagine, even if we get completely wrapped up in the transition to being a family of 4.  Never forget that you are our little miracle!  You changed our lives the moment you were born and life has never been the same....we couldn't be happier about that! 

Pregnancy: 34 Weeks



Check out my post from Week 34 with my first pregnancy (Hannah).  WOW, that picture is awful!

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

What's going on with the baby right now?

  • She is about 17-18" long and weighs about 5 pounds (not much change from last week)
  • She is the size of a cantaloupe
  • 6 weeks to go
What's going on with me?
  • Thankfully I don't have carpal tunnel yet with this pregnancy, like I did with Hannah at this point.  I'm praying that it stays away because that was awful!
  • Swelling is still manageable and I don't notice it unless I am on my feet for an extended period of time.  Thankfully my wedding rings still fit just fine.
  • This week during my last pregnancy I was already talking about installing the car seat and packing my hospital bag.  Wow!  I was really preparing ahead of time.  I really haven't even thought much about either of those two things - although I did write my Hospital Bag Packing List already.  Maybe I will start trying to tackle that in the next month or so. ;-)
  • Sleep is still okay, but not great.  Still waking up several times in the night, tossing and turning.  But I have been taking a nap during Hannah's nap every day and that has really helped.  I've been taking a nap in my bed and putting my pjs back on and everything...it's been amazing!
  • I gained a TON of weight this week - 6 pounds!!!!  That means I'm up 25 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.  Insanity!
  • Next Appointment: Tuesday, May 15
We had more drama with Emma's furniture this week.  Since the crib is still not ready for delivery we wanted to at least have them deliver the dresser, night stand and hutch so we would have everything else in place.  They agreed to do that for us (and refunded the delivery and assembly fees) and came out yesterday with all the furniture (minus the crib of course).  They set it all up (about an hour of assembly) and then called me up to check it out.  WRONG DRESSER!!!  AHHH!  I almost fell over.  While it is very pretty, it's not what we ordered.  So, they ended up leaving it here and will come out to replace it with the correct one as soon as they can get it.  Not sure how long that is going to take, but I'm just baffled by how unorganized such a large company is!  This is not a mom and pop shop, it's a big box baby retailer - Buy Buy Baby.  Needless to say, I wouldn't recommend buying baby furniture from them or at least not something they have to special order.  While I am sure they will make it all right in the end, it is frustrating to have to jump through all these hoops to get it right. 

Here's another fun pregnancy survey I found:

How far along? 34 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: +25 pounds
Maternity clothes? HAHA, are there actually people that are able to wear regular clothes at 34 weeks pregnant??  No way!!  Even my maternity clothes are getting too small!
Stretch marks? Nothing new...I have a few tiny ones on my thighs from Hannah's pregnancy and by my belly button.
Sleep: Okay, but certainly missing the ability to sleep through the night!  It's just preparing me for Emma's arrival!
Best moment this week: Having my parents come back from their month long cruise (yesterday) and then packing up and leaving for my cousin's wedding in NC (today).
Movement: More than last week, but not a ton.  She's just not as much of a mover as Hannah was.
Food cravings: This week I couldn't get enough peanut butter cookies and frozen caramel frappe's from McDonalds.  YUM!
Labor Signs: Some braxton hicks, but nothing too eventful.
Belly button in or out? Out
What I miss: Feeling "normal"....the nausea is still present every day and the heartburn is pretty intense.
What I am looking forward to: Our trip to NC for my cousin's wedding.  We are driving up today and come home on Sunday.  Can't wait to see family!!
What I am NOT looking forward to: Labor....as much as I want this baby out and the hyperemesis to be completely gone, I'm not ready for the intensity of labor!
Weekly Wisdom: Oxi-Clean is AMAZING!!  If you haven't tried it before, do!  I spent the week soaking tons of Hannah's baby clothes (when I packed them away they were perfectly clean, but now they have yellow spit up stains on them) in oxi-clean and couldn't believe how well it worked.  Just soaked overnight in a bucket of HOT water with 2-3 scoops of the oxi-clean baby powder, then washed them like normal the next morning....viola!  Perfectly clean!

Friday, May 4, 2012

Pregnancy: 33 Weeks

Check out my post from Week 33 with my first pregnancy (Hannah).

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

What's going on with the baby right now?

  • She is about 17" long and weighs about 5 pounds
  • The bones in her skull are not fused yet to allow for overlapping during the birthing process so she can fit through the birth canal.
  • Survival rate if born now = 98%.  Of those, only 12% have serious complications.
  • She is the size of a pineapple (had some with dinner to celebrate!) ;-)
  • 7 weeks to go
What's going on with me?
  • I had a doctor's appointment this past week and everything was great.  Blood pressure was great, weight gain was great, Emma's heartbeat was great, and I am measuring right on track.  So nothing new to report.  I'll go back in 2 weeks and then at 36 weeks I will start the weekly appointments.
  • I am huge!  I often find myself trying to squeeze through a tight space thinking it will be no problem and then not being able to fit.  Oops!  I also find that I drop food on my belly often!  It always makes me laugh when I look down at my shirt and realize there are remnants of my last meal splattered across it. 
  • Sleep this week was a little better.  My hips didn't hurt as bad this week (not sure what the change was), I'm only peeing one time in the early morning, I finally put a big bottle of Tums in my bedside table so I can pop some whenever I need them, and I'm didn't wake up as many times in the night.  I'll take it!
  • Not a ton of movement from Emma this week...which had me a little scared the other night.  But she does get the hiccups most every day and is sure to give me a few pushes here and there.
  • I gained 2 pounds this week, so I'm up 19 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. 
  • Next Appointment: Monday, May 14
At the beginning of this week we did a lot of shopping for Emma.  We spent most of the weekend buying different odds and ends that we needed - pacifiers, diaper pail, sound machine, lovies, diapers, wipes, lamps, etc.  Even though this is our second girl, there still seems to be a lot of things that we need.  The worst news this week was when we found out that the store we ordered Emma's furniture from had ordered the wrong crib!  They were supposed to deliver and assemble all the furniture on Saturday, but we received a call Saturday morning telling us the bad news.  Now we have to wait at least 4 more weeks for the correct crib to be delivered!  AHHHH!  Talk about waiting until the last minute!