Snips and snails...

April 2010

2010-04-24T13:38:00.000-07:00

Woooo, it has been a while since I've updated. I have gone through some chronic health problems, lost 55lbs, had a million tests and Dr's appointments, and finally had gallbladder surgery 5 weeks ago which has helped tremendously. So.....I am moving on (finally)....

My boys are the lights of my life. I am more appreciative than ever for my healthy happy family. I love our home and our family more than words can express.

Sam is going to be one next week. How did that happen so fast???? He is the cutest little guy. His big cheesy grin with his huge dimples are irresistable. He wants to do everything his big brothers do. I just adore everything about my sweet little baby. He is super mischevious and keeps me on my toes. If you divert your eyes for even a second, he will be climbing up something or emptying a drawer or cabinet or playing with something he isn't supposed to. He makes the biggest messes at mealtimes. His favorite foods are bananas, pears, cheese, graham crackers, pasta with tomato sauce, turkey meatballs, pancakes/waffles/crepes, blueberries, and peas. He says "Mama, Dada, Bubbas (brothers), hi, hello, hey, bye, ball, all da (all done)" and just started to sign for nursing. He gives the best big hugs and sloppy kisses. He is a madman in the bathtub with his brothers. Sam demands to put his "bubbas" to bed every night with daddy. He loves being pushed around by his brothers in a ride-on car. He pushes toy trucks around and makes vroom noises. He loves to play ball (fetch really, haha) and to read books. He pretends to call people on the phone and says "Hewow?" Sam has the softest fuzziest little baby head and I can't help but kiss his chubby cheeks a thousand times a day. I am so lucky to have such a sweet, fun little guy :)

Luke is doing great. He is my special little guy. He says the sweetest most loving things and makes me feel like a million bucks. Luke is writing his name and starting to write other words as well. He still loves his naptime and is eating me out of house and home. He is smart and goofy and always loving and cheerful. He makes me laugh all the time with his craziness. He loves to be helpful and make others happy. I am not sure what I would do without my Lukey Poos! His smile lights up a room and his laugh is the best sound ever.

Nathan is still amazing me daily. He designs intricate lego creations and then makes the directions on how to build it! He is reading well and doing 1st grade math. He is obsessed with cars still and loves to take bike rides around the neighborhood to check out the cars in the parking lot. He holds a conversation so well I sometimes forget I am talking to a 5 year old. He is such a good boy and takes such good care of his little brothers. He is very responsible already, I really appreciate that more than I can say! He gets attention every where we go because he is just so dang gorgeous and talkative.

I am one lucky mommy!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-30T10:01:00.000-08:00

Best Christmas Ever! The boys' excitement was contagious.

Some of my favorite memories from this year:
* how Nathan sought out any "bioncle" shaped presents under the tree
*Nathan spending the majority of the day building things at the dining room table
*Luke getting so excited to get a skeleton puzzle. He even took a nap with it later!
*watching Luke and Daddy play with his new dragon castle for the longest time
*how Sam snoozed on the couch with Frankie while we opened gifts
*how excited Sam was to open his presents, he really got into it!
*the painting Mike wrapped up on the wall for me, it was so exciting to open it that way
*seeing Luke using his new Dr's kit to diagnose us with ailments such as "green beans in throat" and performing surgery to fix daddy's "broken brain"
*snuggling up with my boys to read Christmas stories every night leading to Christmas
*baking cookies with my two little helpers, making sure I use the right measuring cup so they get equal turns scooping and pouring (like using a 1/2 cup measuring cup when I need a cup of flour so they both get a turn)
*wrapping presents late at night with Sam at my feet---giving him every scrap of paper and wrapping paper roll to play with
*watching all of our new Christmas movies the nights following Christmas (Monsters vs Aliens, Up, etc)
*trying with no avail to get a Christmas card photo with all three of my guys cooperating
*the 22inches of snow we got on the 19th that let us have a white Christmas!

December 2009

2009-12-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

Just a few things going on right now that I wouldn't want to forget:
* Sam (now 7 months) saying "Ooma!" whenever he wants me (or wants to nurse....still haven't figured out if Ooma is me or my boob, haha)
*Sam trying to fling himself headfirst off the couch whenever I am changing his diaper on the chaise part of the couch. He loves to hang upside down, that silly boy.
* All of Sam's unnecessary movement. He has been doing it since the womb, he is never still!
* Nathan saying to me "Sometimes when I wake up in the morning or come in from the snow I just really want to hug you so bad! I just have to hug you! What is that feeling? Is it love?"
*Luke wanting to wear his Iron Man costume all day every day
*Sam pulling up on everything all of the time. He pulls up on the side of the crib, the bath, the couch, the stairs, everywhere! Thing is he hasn't gotten his balance yet so he is constantly falling. His poor head is covered in "booboos" already.
*Having to laugh at Sam's gigantic booty everytime I change him. That thing is massive and is just about the cutest thing I have ever seen.
*Luke naming his bioncles "Firewood" and "Snow White"
*Nathan making the most detailed bioncles out of paper.....all the time! There are paper bioncles all over our house.
*Luke telling me he loves me and he wants a hug all through out the day. He is so sweet and loving!
*Luke always asking to go run errands with me. He is the best shopping buddy!

6 months!!!!!

2009-11-23T18:39:00.001-08:00

Oops, sorry Sam, I haven't updated this baby journal since May! Sam is now 6 months old and is just the cutest thing on earth (I am not biased, I swear!) He is crawling, rolling, sitting up, saying mama, trying to climb up the step in our living room, ripping magazines and books, trying to get into the big boys' toys, giving big sloppy kisses, giving the biggest cheesy grins ever, being a total stinker, refusing to go to bed at a decent hour, sleeping in like a teenager, loving baby carrots and sweet potatoes, etc etc etc etc. How is that for a one sentence update? :)

Luke and Nathan are as crazy and happy as ever. I am just so blessed to have 3 beautiful healthy sweet little boys. It can't get better than this!

the little things

2009-05-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

Here are some things I want to make sure I don't forget from this point in my life (Nathan at 4.5, Luke at 2.5, and Sam at 3 weeks):

*Nathan's nonstop making of robots, superheroes, transformers, etc out of paper. I love seeing his creativity but the constant mess of little paper scraps on the floor can make me nuts :)
*Luke's battle with an invisible villian---he is always making punching and shooting sounds and fighting someone no one else can see
*Sam's little kissy face he is always making. I just HAVE to smooch it.
*Luke dragging out the Imaginext castle every 5 minutes and forcing everyone to play "guys" with him. He literally plops the castle in my lap!
*Sam flinging himself from your shoulder to chest level when he gets hungry---you have to watch out for that so you don't drop him!
*Sam doing pushups the moment you put him on his belly
*Nathan always wanting to be the bad guy when he plays with other kids. Should I be worried? :)

Samuel is here!

2009-05-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby is here. Samuel Joseph was born April 30, 2009 at 8:25am. He was 8lbs 13oz and 20 1/4 inches long. He was born with fuzzy brown hair and dark blue eyes. He has big chubby cheeks and a dimple in his left one. He is a sweet peaceful little baby, unless he is hungry, then he has a major temper unless he gets fed immediately. He likes to be swaddled and he likes it when I carry him in a sling. He has peed and pooped on me more in the past 2 weeks than both of my other boys combined, haha.

Quick birth story---since he was a scheduled Csection there isn't much to share. :) Mike and I went out to dinner at Clydes with my Mom and the boys the night before as a last hurrah. We came home and watched Lost and after that is the point I started to panic. Knowing exactly when my baby was coming was a blessing and a curse because I was so anxious. I didn't get any sleep that night and was just waiting for morning to arrive.

At 6am we headed to Reston Hospital. They hooked me up to IVs and monitors and I was so nervous waiting for 7:30 to arrive. When it was time to go back, I was so panicky. Getting the spinal in was hard, I kept jumping when the needle went in and the nurses kept yelling at me to sit still. After the spinal/epidural was in, I started shaking and got very nauseous. This was the worst part of the surgery. Mike came in and helped to calm me down. After they told me the incision was already made (and it didn't hurt), I was able to calm down. I barely felt any tugging or pulling when they took Sammy out. They told me he had his cord wrapped twice around his neck, which made me so thankful he was out and OK. Sam screamed as they cleaned him off and he held Daddy's hand so tightly during his checkup. Then they brought my little bundle to me on the operating table and I was able to kiss him and even was able to try to nurse, but Sam was too sleepy.

After surgery, I told Mike to go with Sam and I was brought to a room all by myself. I was lonely and wanted my family BAD. I didn't get to see Sam again for four hours which infuriated me. They gave him formula in the nursery against my wishes. The hospital was not a fun experience at all and I am really going to have to give it serious thought whether or not I will ever have another baby there (even though I like my Dr a lot). The nurses and hospital pediatrician were contentious and didn't seem to care about my wishes. I had to fight for what I wanted every step of the way.

I missed Nathan and Luke terribly in the hospital and could not wait to get home. Now that I am home with my family, I am so content with my three sweet boys. Sleep is a bit hard to come by, but I am trying to keep perspective how quickly this newborn time goes by and trying to soak in every possible minute. I feel like Sam will be two in a blink of an eye (because that happened to Luke)!

Mike has been awesome and has done so much around the house and with the boys. I am so thankful that my dad was able to watch the boys while we were in the hospital. I am so happy my mom lives nearby to help me out. I start back to work this week and I think the boys will be happy to get their playmates back.

Nathan has handled the transition beautifully, without a hitch. Luke was a bit cranky when we first got home and took it out on me, refusing to hug me or kiss me and telling me I was "bad". Now I am getting just the opposite, he is being a bit clingy and mommified, but of course I don't mind. I never mind getting extra snuggles and attention from my boys :)

Sam likes to nurse nonstop and likes to be held while he sleeps which makes for a tired mama. But I love how snuggly he is. He tucks his little feet under and sticks his baby booty out and sleeps on my chest. It is the best feeling ever :)

Ready to meet Sam

2009-04-28T19:00:00.000-07:00

It is late Tuesday night and Samuel will be arriving early Thursday morning. I am so excited and so ready to meet my newest little guy. I just can't wait to kiss his little cheeks and count his little toes. I really wonder what he is going to look like! Despite all of the troubles of pregnancy, it really is all worth it. The feelings of anticipation and excitement when expecting a baby really can't compare to any other feeling in the world! It is like waiting for Christmas morning times a million :)

I know I am going to miss Nathan and Luke so much. I am so happy they have each other though. Having Paypo to come stay with them is awesome, they probably won't even have time to miss me :) I am looking forward to that moment when they meet their little brother.

I am feeling Sam squirming around right now. He is definitely my most active belly baby yet. I wonder what he has in store for his ol' mama! I love him so much already :)

36 weeks

2009-04-13T05:39:00.000-07:00

Only 2.5 weeks until Sam is here!!!! I feel ready finally. I remember with Luke I felt like I could keep him in forever, but I am honestly ready to get on with the show with Sam, haha. He is still really high up and my poor ribs and lungs are taking a beating. I am all poofed up and bloated and soooooo incredibly slow with everything I do. Sam moves nonstop in there, I have no idea what he is doing but it seems like he is trying to entertain himself. He bounces off my ribs and throws himself into my hip. He is a silly silly boy already and I wonder if he is going to be this full of energy outside the womb ;-)

I can't wait to see his little face and kiss his tiny toes. I am getting vibes that he looks more like Nathan. I am calling dark blonde hair, blue eyes, a squishy face, and funny toes :)

Nathan and Luke are excited to meet their brother as well. Sammy in the belly gets lots of attention from them already.

31 weeks

2009-03-06T08:51:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I have less than two months to go! I am getting to the waddling stage of pregnancy, haha. Everything takes me 5 times longer than normal to do. I pee every 15 minutes. Going up one flight of stairs gets me winded. But I don't have too many complaints. No back pain and limited pelvic pain. Sam feels so high up, I think he is lounging on my lungs! He is so strong too, I swear he is bruising me from the inside out. He is a hard kicker! He never ever sits still either. At least I never have to worry about him!

I failed my one hour glucose test (darnit) so I have to get the 3 hour one on Monday. I pray I pass, the whole thing is such a pain in the patoot. My Dr put me on iron supplements too, I am hoping they help with energy.

The boysies are doing great. Nathan is really into asking questions---I get bombarded with them all day long. "What does the inside of a spider look like?" "How does Sammy breathe in your belly?" "What kinds of vitamins are in this strawberry?" etc etc etc. He loves to learn! Luke is a crazy guy as usual. He wears a superhero cape 24/7 and is always pretending he is Iron Man or Spiderman.

I am enjoying the last few weeks with just my older boys. We are relaxing and doing fun things together. I can't wait to meet little Sam though. I love him so much already!

22ish weeks?

2009-01-05T16:36:00.000-08:00

I lost count how many weeks I am, haha. But I am chugging along. Sam is doing great and moves nonstop. I actually see my belly jumping around now. I wonder if he will be a hyperactive baby, haha. No real cravings right now but I am eating a lot of grapefruit and salad, so that is good :)

Christmas was awesome but then we got the killer flu that wiped us out for a full week. Luke got hit the hardest and just tonight ate a meal for the first time in days. I have honestly never been THAT sick before, it was nuts. We were lifeless and useless for a while there.

The boys had a great Christmas. They got a lot of shared gifts this year because they like to play with the same things. "Guys" aka superhero figures and building blocks like legos and knex made up the majority of the presents. Nathan could spend hours making creations out of legos. Luke is addicted to playing "guys".

We got to see a lot of family in a few days and pigged out on great food. I went all out and made so many batches of cookies this year. I couldn't eat many because sweets are still an aversion for me. Stinks!

I am looking forward to us all being 100% again and getting out of this house! Being quarantined is noooooo fun.

20 weeks

2008-12-23T05:49:00.001-08:00

Sooooooooooo the news is out! We are having our third baby boy. I am so excited to be having another boysie. I just love my little guys :) We brought Nathan and Luke to the ultrasound with us, that was fun. They were making video game noises as the lady took pictures. They are excited to be having a baby brother. We decided on the name Samuel, no middle name ideas yet. :) I can't wait to meet baby Sam!

I had my 20 week appt yesterday. The Dr scheduled my Csection for April 30th. Wow, that seems so early! The Dr said it was the best time to do it though, so I will trust him. The ultrasound results were perfect, YAY! I love hearing reassurance that little Sam is doing well :)

After my last post saying I was feeling no discomfort, all of a sudden I am having a lot of pelvic pain at night. I might just be doing too much though, with Christmas coming and all. Speaking of Christmas, the boys are so excited! Nathan is counting down the days. Luke keeps saying Santa is bringing Spiderman, so I have to run go get a Spiderman guy tonight, haha. I plan on cooking and baking lots :)

Hope you all have a Merry Christmas!

19 weeks

2008-12-13T05:31:00.001-08:00

I am 19 weeks today, hard to believe I am almost halfway done! I was just looking at fetal development sites, wow, hard to believe my baby is that big and developed already! I have my ultrasound in 2 days, I am so excited. Everyone claims I am having a girl, but I will not be surprised at all to see that we are having another boy. I will be thrilled either way :) We still don't have names picked out, but I think a boy name would be easier than a girl's to choose as of this moment.

I am still feeling sick at night (BLAH) but other than that I have no complaints. No heartburn, no discomfort, no cramping, etc. If I could just get this darn nausea to go away, I'd feel fantastic! Glad to be feeling good this time of year. I love decorating, baking, shopping, doing Christmas crafts, etc. The boys are so excited this year! I am *almost* done my Christmas shopping :)

This baby has definite opinions on food already. My favorite is a turkey bacon, lettuce, cheddar, and mayo sandwich on wheat toast. I could go for one right now! I also am loving turkey chili covered with cheese. Anything salty, meaty, and cheesy sounds good to me! Everytime I eat fast food I get sick and I have an aversion to sweets.

Next post will probably be my ultrasound update! I am so excited, I feel like a 6 year old waiting for Christmas morning. I am praying that the baby is healthy and I can put my mind at ease. I am also excited to start decorating the baby's room and picking up little baby things after I know the sex. I can't wait!

15 weeks

2008-11-18T08:34:00.000-08:00

Hi all! I am 15 weeks now and finally feeling a bit better. My Dr recommended a combo of unisom and B6 and that is helping some.

I am starting to feel little baby flutters, it is so exciting! I have my big ultrasound in a few weeks, I can't wait. Still have no idea what sex this baby is and we are clueless with names.

I am craving carbs and cheese and have a big aversion to sweets. My belly has popped out a lot more!

The boys are doing wonderfully---just getting so big every day. I will update more later, but it is lunch time and my boys don't like to wait for their food, haha.

10.5 weeks

2008-10-15T13:51:00.000-07:00

Oh man, I keep forgetting to update. I have been sooooo sick, so that's my excuse, haha. Seriously, this baby's name is going to be "Trouble" until further notice. I won't go into details, but let's just say it hasn't been good. I haven't had a meal in a week, just bites of random carbs like french fries and rice-a-roni and big glasses of cranberry juice and natural lemonade. Thank heavens for prenatal vitamins to give my baby the good stuff! I even had to take a raincheck on my birthday because I was so sick that day. As soon as I am feeling better we are going out for italian and a big piece of birthday cake :)

I had an ultrasound to see the little booger at 9 weeks. Bubsy kept turning his/her back and wouldn't stop moving so the picture we got is just a baby blur, haha. But it was so cool to see him/her in there swimming around! Like a perfect little baby already---all the major parts in place :) The heartrate was 171 and they moved my due date up one day to May 9th.

I am holding out until 12 weeks---for some reason I have it in my head I will feel better by then.

Boys are doing great, by the way. Nathan had a fabulous birthday and Luke is going through a language explosion, just chatting away in full sentences now!

Been a while....

2008-09-04T09:50:00.001-07:00

Wow, it has been a while since I updated! A lot is new :)

I am expecting baby #3 on Mother's Day, May 10th. I couldn't be more excited! Since I blogged about my pregnancies with both boys, I don't want this baby to be left out, haha.

So here goes! All is well so far, just having lots of tummy troubles. I hope they don't last too long and I can get into the fun cravings part of pregnancy. I am pretty bloated already, I wonder how early I can get into maternity clothes this time around. :) I have baby fever big time, my boys are getting SO big.

The boysies are fabulous. They crack me up every day and I am so blessed to have them! Nathan is a character. Too smart for his own good, extremely imaginative, and a total pain in the patoot arguing about every single point. Luke is a total goof, can cheer anyone up, super sweet to his Mama, but never listens!

Luke loves to yell "no a baby!" when I call him my baby. Nathan spends most of his time watching Transformers, pretending to be a Transformer, building transformers out of blocks, or begging to buy Transformers. And of course Luke spends most of his time doing everything his big brother does. They are eating me out of house and home and I can foresee that only getting worse!

Things are good with me. After a few months of medical issues (kidney stones and a pregnancy loss) I am feeling strong and healthy and foresee a great pregnancy. Mike and I were doing the crossfit workouts before pregnancy left me devoid of all energy! Hopefully I will feel better and can be more active soon.

Still pursuing tons of goals--being more frugal, continue learning how to cook and bake, being more environmentally conscious in our home, becoming healthier, becoming a better photographer, etc etc etc. These are neverending goals for me, I think :)

Hopefully I will remember to update again soon! Pregnancy brain is hitting hard this time around, haha.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-27T07:41:00.001-08:00

What a fabulous Christmas! Best ever! Luke and Nathan were absolutely thrilled and the excitment and anticipation made me feel like a kid again. :)

The boys got some really great gifts. I think Nathan's favorite was the box filled with Cars cars and Luke's was a book where you can pet the animals on the page. The boys took time to play with each gift before moving on so Christmas morning took 4 hours long! They stayed in their Christmas pjs all day and gorged themselves with cookies. Great day!

Nathan is a bit scared of Santa so he needed to be reassured the big guy had already left after dropping off the loot, haha. Luke gets so excited about everything so every time he opened a gift he gasped and hooted and hollered and acted like it was the best thing ever.

I had a fun year trying out new recipes and getting the BIGGEST tree on the lot. Mike had to chop the top off just so it could fit in our house. It was our first year getting a real tree so we went all out. :)

We have a few more Christmas celebrations to go, then we can try to settle down and have a normal January. Looking forward to a bit of normalcy! :)

My boys are really beginning to play and fight with each other. It is hilarious to watch Luke try to tackle Nathan and to see Nathan try to teach Luke the "right" way to play with things. Luke is obsessed with animals, especially dogs. He nearly flips his lid everytime he sees a dog or even a picture of a dog. Luke is saying quite a few words and phrases now. I love hearing his LOUD voice. He is such a character. He loves to make people laugh and is so determined once he gets an idea in his head. Nathan is my little professor and loves to learn facts. He has the most creative ideas and thoughts and is really so intuitive. I love just hearing what he is thinking about. Luke is a bit more trouble, haha. He learned to climb up on tables and loves to dump out containers of toys and knock over block towers. He is so much fun, but worries his poor mama, haha.

Off to try to contain the plethora of toys covering every inch of floor space in this house!

lookalike meter

2007-11-07T08:16:00.000-08:00

October 2007

2007-10-22T06:43:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a while since I have written. My boys are changing so much! Luke took his first steps at 9.5 months and now at 10 months is walking all over the place. He can climb stairs and walk carrying big toys in his hands. He is a powerhouse, haha. We went to the pumpkin patch and he was straining trying to pick up the big pumpkins. He is now saying (in order of when he started saying them) mama, hi/hey, dada, no, and all done. He is such a sweetie pie and is always trying to make everyone laugh. He puts blankets on his head and walks around like that. He makes these funny sniffy faces where he puts his head back and snorts. Luke cracks me up! He is getting really good at throwing and catching balls. I'd say balls, drumsticks, and maracas are his favorite toys.

Nathan is such a smarty pants. He spelled his name for the first time today. He is doing very well at potty training. He pooped on the potty a few days ago and has been doing it every day since. He is earning stickers on a potty chart and filled it up and picked out a prize (a tow truck from Target) about a week ago. I now put food coloring in the potty and ask him to turn the water colors with his pee---like I put in blue and tell him to make it green. For some reason this clicked with him and he is doing so well now!

Summer 07

2007-08-07T16:28:00.000-07:00

We are having a great summer! We just spent a week in Ocean City along with Jon, Jenny, Bradley, and Hannah. Here are some of the memories of our vacation that I do not want to forget:
*Nathan laying down on the towel of a sunbathing cute teenager
*Luke covered head to toe with salt water and sand, but still grinning ear to ear
*Seeing Nathan being so brave trying out all the rides on the boardwalk
*how much Luke loved that silly maraca we bought for him---he never let it go!
*holding Nathan's hands and pulling him up to jump over the waves
*early morning coffee and donuts on the beach
*digging for sand crabs with Nathan---he'd gather as many as he could in his hand and then put them back in the sand and watch them dig
*Sharing goldfish crackers and juice with my boys on the beach blanket
*when Nathan stole the huge expensive chocolate truffle out of my hand and popped it in his mouth and gobbled it down in one bite
*floating around the indoor pool with my snuggly baby
*Luke dancing to any music he heard when we went out to eat
*Nathan sticking his head in the sand and trying to do flips on the beach
*taking all 4 kids down to the beach before bedtime and seeing them run back and forth from the waves
*how easily Nathan made friends on the beach
*Luke exclaiming "oooooooh!" at all the lights and sounds on the boardwalk

June 28, 2007

2007-06-28T08:57:00.001-07:00

Everything is going great over here. We just bought a townhouse that we love and the boys are completely fantastic. I look forward to every day with my boys (especially now that they are both sleeping through the night---ahhhhhhhhh)! Luke is now crawling all over the house and starting to pull up on the step.

Here are some moments and memories I don't want to let myself forget:
*how Nathan will make a funny sound and Luke will crack up and then try to imitate it. This morning it was a loud exaggerated gasp sound. Hearing Lukey do that made us all just lose it laughing
*how Luke feels the need to bop up and down everytime he hears even a few beats of music. I will bust out singing a silly song and he will just immediately start to dance. Love that kid! :)
*How Nathan loves to name his cars, tv characters, even food after family members
*The way Nathan begs to go outside every moment he gets the chance
*Nathan is learning the names to all the cars and tells me which ones are Fords and which ones are Hondas. He loves "Ford Trucks" and jaguars, haha
*the way Luke grunts all excitedly when he first wakes up in the morning and is famished, wanting to nurse
*the wild "mad scientist" concoctions Nathan makes in the tub with different bottles and bowls
*how Nathan will make mud and start playing in it, the moment he gets a chance with the hose
*how he told me he wants Frankie to live in his playhouse and that Frankie is "his favorite"
*how Nathan calls juiceboxes "schooboxes"
*how Luke gives huge kisses right on the mouth, and grabs your face and smooches you on the lips even when you are aiming for his cheek. He is quite fresh! haha
*the overly exaggerated way Nathan chugs his drinks
*how louuuuud Luke is when he nurses and how he hums and mmmms everytime he eats
*when I have both my boys snuggling in the recliner

Life is good.

Luke's 6 month checkup

2007-06-05T09:17:00.000-07:00

Luke got his 6 month checkup today. He was 18lbs 6 oz and 26 inches. The Dr kept commenting that he was the "golden child" and how lucky I was. He said Luke was one of the most easy going sweet babies he's ever met. He didn't even make a peep when he got his shots! I love my little guy!

We started with some baby food recently. He gives me such a hassle! He spits out the food, smears it everywhere, and chews on the spoons, but doesn't really eat anything, haha. He is holding out for the real stuff! He is always begging for what I am eating. Soon enough, Lukey!

Luke is crawling everywhere now. He is such a little nut. He loves playing with Nathan's cars and books and ignores his baby toys. He is at that stage where he is much less interested in snuggling and just wants to play all day. He is a very content baby and can entertain himself playing on the floor for the longest time!

May 21, 2007

2007-05-21T07:59:00.000-07:00

Lots of new activity here at our house! Luke has started crawling! It is amazing to watch him pull himself, scoot, lunge, and push himself around the room. He can get into so much trouble in such a short amount of time now, haha. He is also starting to sit up! He can sit for about a minute before getting distracted and wanting to play on his tummy again.

Nathan is such a sweet little boy. He wants Luke around all the time. He wants to take every bath with Luke and wants him to read naptime and bedtime stories with him. He gets so much joy out of making Luke laugh. My boys crack each other up!

Yesterday we all just wrestled and played and sang silly songs in the grass! It made me feel like a kid again and laughing so hard is such a HUGE pick me up. I love my boys!!!!

My boysies

2007-04-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

Everyone is doing great over here! Luke is going to be 5 months in a week---I can't believe it! He is such a happy, energetic baby. Nathan is being quite "two" lately, but he is still my sweet little man. Here are some things my guys are up to:

*whenever I pick Luke up, he wraps his hands around my neck and open and closes his hand (like a light scratch)---it is sooo sweet!
*Nathan tells me "I am not feeling so well" when I ask him to do something---haha
*Luke is blowing raspberries constantly!
*Nathan telling Ava "you need a nap" when she is whining
*Luke jumping like a madman and spazzing out grabbing all of his toys wildly in his exersaucer
*Nathan naming his two new fish "Slarley" and "Starfish" and excitedly feeding them every morning
*When I read to my boys on the bed before naps, they like to hold hands and snuggle

I just recently switched to cloth diapers for the boys. I am loving it but am quite addicted to buying new cute diapers already----haha.

February 2007

2007-02-27T12:40:00.000-08:00

My oh my, where does the time go? I cannot get over how big my boys are.

Luke is almost 3 months old. He is such a sweet, silly baby. I love him so much! He laughs all the time now, especially when I call him "Boogers" or nibble his toes. His laugh is contagious, it is way too adorable. He hates being tickled though. He gets so mad and grunts when I try, haha. His new trick is trying to fling himself out of his swing so he dangles upside down. We put the toy bar up across his waist though so he can't do the fling thing and now he gets mad that he can't. I have so much fun with my baby. I absolutely adore this age. Can I keep him this age just a bit longer???? :)

Nathan is my little walking encyclopedia. He chats all day long about dinosaurs like the parasaurolophus and trucks like the giant excavator. He loves to line up his dinos or trucks in little lines. Everything in order! He will be in trouble once Lukey starts crawling. :)

Weird/cute little thing Nathan does: sometimes I lay Luke in facedown on my lap and pat his little bottom to help with gassiness. Sometimes while patting him, I count the pats for no particular reason. Well, one day Nathan took over and was patting Luke's little bottom. He kept counting to 20, but would go "18, 19, hit the butt!" Well now, everytime he counts to 20, he says "18, 19, hit the butt!" instead of "18, 19, 20", haha. It cracks me up because it is hard to explain the context of why he does that.

Luke's 2 month appt

2007-01-30T07:26:00.000-08:00

We had Luke's 2 month appt yesterday afternoon. He was 13lbs and 23in meaning he gained 3lbs and 1.5inches in the past month. Woohoo! The Dr said not to change his diet at all in the next two months. He seemed very happy I was exclusively breastfeeding.

Talked to the Dr about Luke's off and on congestion. Seems like one minute he sounds stuffy and the next he is fine. He gets stuffy when he gets upset or excited or if the heat is running too long. Poor guy. The Dr said he is fine and just use saline drops. It will probably get better when it gets warmer and when he gets older and starts breathing through his mouth more. Poor guy always sounds sniffy and snorty though. Plus he snores!

Luke got 4 shots yesterday. Mike came to the appt right after work and made it just in time to hold him for his shots. I have such a hard time with that! Luke fell asleep about 30 seconds after his shots, lol. I guess it took a lot out of him.

Anyway, the Dr was so happy with how strong and verbal he is. He cooed and chatted for a while with the Dr. and charmed all the nurses. He loves people!

7 weeks

2007-01-22T08:05:00.000-08:00

Everything is going great over here! I wish I could freeze this moment in time and have more time with my boys at this age. :)

Lukey Poo is such a snuggle bum. He loves to be held as much as humanly possible. I think he would still be in my stomach if he could, haha. He curls up into a little potato and snuggles so hard against my chest. He is a great nurser and eats every 2-4 hours. He is very efficient and nurses for only a short time and then is done with it. He is not a comfort nurser like Nathan was. By the size of his cheeks and thighs though, he is definitely getting enough! :) He is 13lbs according to our scale. He is growing out of his size 1 diapers and 0-3 month clothing so quickly. He sleeps well as long as you don't put him down, haha. Quite the struggle! He really doesn't like sleeping anywhere but in your arms.

Luke is cooing and talking so much lately. He loves it when you talk to him. He can "agoo" with his mouth shut, which is very talented, haha. His eyes sparkle and he nods his head and coos and clicks his tongue like he is really carrying on a conversation. He is a very social guy!

Nathan is such a sweet, smart little boy. He sings the "Lukey Poo" song: "Lukey Lukey Lukey Poo...Lukey is a baby", haha. He is always so thoughtful and loves making us laugh. He makes his trains and cars talk to each other all the time. A typical train conversation: "You want lunch?" "I want a cereal bar." "NO cereal bars!" "Awww!" He really does play so well independently. He loves playdoh and painting and reading to himself.

Christmas 2006

2006-12-27T17:34:00.000-08:00

We had a fabulous Christmas! It was picture perfect. Here are some of my favorite memories:
*how Luke would coo and smile at the Christmas tree
*the look on Nathan's face when he saw his train table---he was speechless!
*how Christmas morning took 5.5 hours because Nathan took so long opening each gift
*Nathan sneaking bites of the peel and bake cookies he was decorating before they were baked.
*Nathan picking all the marshmellows out of his very first mug of "not too" hot chocolate
*Luke in his little Santa outfit--how silly/cute it was to nurse a mini Santa
*our walk through downtown Leesburg on the 23rd to check out the Christmas lights and get cider, gingerbread lattes, and a cookie. Luke was so cute in the Baby Bjorn on Mike.
*how the days leading up to Christmas, Nathan would ask "Where are Mommy's presents? Where are Luke's presents? Where are Nathan's presents?"
*How happy Nathan was after opening his stocking and getting several "Cars' cars. He could have been finished after that!
*Nathan eating huge meatballs stuck ona fork as his Christmas Eve dinner
*how sweet and precious my little boys are at this moment in time

Luke's one month appt

2006-12-27T17:32:00.000-08:00

My little guy is 4 weeks today. He had his one month checkup. The Dr seemed a bit disturbed that the hospital gave him his hepatitus shot (we used the hospital pediatrician because ours didn't travel to that hospital) and said he doesn't like to give shots until 2 months. Oops!

The Dr was shocked to see that Luke gained 3lbs in 4 weeks. He is 10.5lbs now. Woowoo--all breastmilk! Luke did his best to impress the Dr by doing a pushup and scooting along the table. I had to laugh--right after the Dr said that babies don't have social smiles until after 6 weeks, he took it back after Luke smiled right at my face when I said Hi to him. I swear Luke has been smiling socially for over a week now.

So everything is great! Luke has a bit of milia on his face (small white clogged follicles). I had thought it was baby acne but apparently not!

My baby boy is getting so big!

3 weeks

2006-12-20T06:36:00.000-08:00

Little Luke is 3 weeks now! He is such a cute, sweet baby. A bit mommified, but do I make babies any other way? :) Here are some of Luke's likes and dislikes:

Likes:
*butt pats
*being as warm and snuggly as possible
*being held 24/7
*when Mom is full of milk

Dislikes:
*diaper changes
*being undressed
*being put down
*when Mom tries to give him a pacifier

Nathan is doing great with the baby. He brings me wipes and throws away the dirty diapers. He constantly asks "Is baby Luke OK?" and "Is he eating?" He loves to ask if he is having water, juice, or milk when he is nursing, haha. He really is an angel and I could not ask for a better big brother!

We are looking forward to Christmas. This will be the first year Nathan will really be into opening his presents. I can't wait to see how excited he gets. He is getting lots of trains, a train table, a pop up tent, a city rug and cars to go with it, and much more.

Luke's birth story

2006-12-06T13:46:00.000-08:00

One week ago right now I was being prepped for surgery, so close to meeting my little boy!

Here is his birth story....

As most of you know I was trying so hard to have a natural birth. After the horror story of Nathan's birth (18hrs of pitocin contractions and having a Csection on a botched epidural), all I wanted was to do things as naturally as possible. I hired doulas, practices breathing techniques, pushing positions, etc, but I suppose it was not in the cards for me. Wednesday the 29th I found myself 41 weeks pregnant and still not even close to being dilated and going into labor. I was having tons of contractions for weeks but they were doing nothing to progress me. I had to beg my Drs to let me go past my due date so I could go into labor on my own.

I went to my 41 week appt with Mike and Nathan. I had Dr. Zaita and she started an NST (where they monitor the baby's heartrate and movements to make sure he was OK). I had had a bunch of sugary juice and a snack on the way to my appt to try to make sure he was up and ready for the testing. After about 20 minutes of testing, Luke was barely passing so the Dr jiggled my tummy some trying to make him move a bit more. I was not surprised because he had been so sluggish for the past few days and I kept having to do kick counts to make sure he was OK. She decided to do an ultrasound to check my fluid levels. It was apparent after a few minutes of the u/s that things were not optimal. I was almost out of amniotic fluid. There was only one small patch by his feet. My Dr suspected a leak (I had had quite a bit of watery discharge the day before but had not thought too much about it). She told me that Luke had to come out within the next 24 hours. She said that without fluid, there was a risk that he could roll over and smush his cord, depriving him of oxygen. I knew I did not want to be induced (my body does not seem to be favorable to pitocin since it did not dilate me at all last time even after 18 hours) so I opted for a Csection. My instincts were telling me that it was the best thing to do at the time. I did not want to do anything to risk my baby's health. I did not feel that I was anywhere close to being in labor and did not feel it was the right thing to do to wait it out.

So Mike, Nathan, and I headed to the hospital and registered and I got hooked up to the monitors. Jon came to pick up Nathan and Mike and I waited for surgery to start. It was quite nerve wracking to sit and wait. Was this Csection going to be anything like last time? I was so tempted to ask for a sedative so I would not panic, but I wanted to make sure I was alert as possible so I could remember all the details of Luke's birth. When it was time for surgery (close to 4pm) I walked into the OR to get my spinal. It was surreal! I sat on the table and the Drs scrubbed up around me. Dr. Hodges was going to perform my surgery. He was sifting through cds trying to pick a good one. He joked that he was going to put on Jeff Foxworthy cd but wasn't sure it would be what my baby wanted to hear during his very first moments. He settled on Miles Davis.

Getting my spinal was rough! The Dr tried 6 times to get it in. It took 50 minutes. It was torture trying to curve my spine and lean over my big 41 week belly for that long. My neck and back were killing me! Finally she called another Dr in and he got it on the first try. Phew! I was worried there that they'd have to resort to general anesthesia.

Once surgery started, I did panic! I was so scared. Mike helped calm me down. Once I realized that I was being cut open and I did not feel anything (what a change from the first time!) I was able to settle down. I remember feeling the tugging sensation of them pulling Luke out and hearing them suctioning his nose. Finally I heard a big loud cry! Luke is a loud guy! I was so excited I could not believe he was actually here. They took him to clean him up and I told Mike to go to him. I was able to pull the curtain away just a smidge to peek at them cleaning the baby. He was so red and had so much dark hair! I could not believe it. They held him up to show me his face and Luke made a funny pirate face at me, haha. Finally they wrapped him up and brought him over for kisses. I was so happy to be able to smooch my little boy. Luke was 7lbs 15oz and 20 3/4 inches. He had a ton of curly black hair and dark grey eyes. He was beautiful!

Mike went with Luke to recovery and I was wheeled there a few minutes later. It was great to be able to see Luke every step of the way. He was being checked over by the Drs and everything was fine! The only thing Luke had that is any way a problem is a sacral dimple (a small divot over his bottom hole that looks like a second butthole!) The Drs said that since it was closed it was most likely not an issue at all, but that we'd have to keep an eye on it and maybe do some tests because it can be indicative of spinal problems. She did not seem worried though.

About 30 minutes after he was born, they brought Luke over to me and I was able to nurse for the first time. Luke is a natural and latched on right away. It was so wonderful to be able to hold him and nurse him so soon after birth. I felt so alert and was not in any pain. For just having surgery, I felt great!

Recovery has been so much easier this time around. Luke has been a great baby. He loves to nurse 24/7 and sleeps in between. It is hard not being able to devote all my time to Nathan, but he seems to be adjusting just fine. He is incredibly sweet and gentle with his new brother.

Luke is perfectly healthy and I could not ask for anything more. Every Dr's visit and post partum check has been a breeze because everything is going so well.

I can't say that I am not at all disappointed that I did not (and will not ever) get my natural birth I had worked so hard for, but it was all worth it in the end. I am so happy that I was given the chance to go into labor on my own anyway, even if it did not work out. I am just happy that Luke is here and healthy.

40.5 weeks pregnant

2006-11-27T06:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, I am still pregnant (grooooooooooan). Baby Luke, come out already! I have been having lots of contractions and labor symptoms in the past day, but nothing definite. I pray that is happens soon. I am so excited to meet my little boy! Being not pregnant anymore would be a big plus too, haha. Luke, stop being stubborn and come meet your mama!

39 weeks

2006-11-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

I have a lot of changes this week. All of a sudden I have gone from thinking I could last for a few more weeks to feeling like this baby better come out RIGHT NOW, haha. My contractions are so bad at night and I am suddenly so uncomfortable. My belly feels hard as a rock and soooo heavy. Luke has been so quiet and subdued as well. None of the big kicks or pushes I am so used to. I feel like he is realllly big in there! It is all about the waiting game now......anytime you are ready, Luke!

Nathan is so cute with my belly. He tries to share his snack with the baby (poking me in the tummy with a graham cracker yesterday), stacks blocks on it, says good morning to it, and always gives it great big raspberries. I can't wait to see how he reacts to his little brother in person!

surprise

2006-11-04T17:43:00.000-08:00

I had all kinds of plans today to finish up all my errands and organizing to get ready for the baby. My mom and I hit a bunch of stores this morning and got a ton of shopping done. I was hungry so I wanted to stop for Mexican for lunch. I called Mike and told him to go ahead and eat without me because mom and I were grabbing something out. He all of a sudden was insistent that I come home instead! He asked me to bring home something to eat. I was so confused and pissed off to tell you the truth. I am not used to him being so bossy or caring what the heck I do for lunch. I stopped by Wendy's and got 5 orders of chicken nuggets (for all of us) grumbling the whole time that I really wanted enchiladas, haha.

Anyway, I get home and am ready to chew Mike out for being so rude and I open the door to find a surprise baby shower! I was so shocked! It was great to see everyone. There was a ton of food and great decorations. I put the Wendy's out for everyone to share too, lol, as a nugget platter. ;-)

We played baby bingo and everyone guessed how big my belly was by cutting lengths of tape. My 6 year old cousin, Anna, picked perfectly!!! Almost everyone else was way over, haha.

I got a ton of great presents. Everyone was so generous! I got a Triumph carseat, papasan swing, diapers and wipes, nursing pjs, bath stuff, clothes, blankets, personalized bibs and burp cloths, and muchhhh more! I am so excited.

36 week appt

2006-10-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

Had my 36 week appt yesterday. Can't believe I am "full term!" I think I have another 5 weeks before Luke makes his appearance though, lol. He just seems so darn content in there.

Had Dr Meinig again. He was great. Maybe it was a fluke that he was such a jerk the first time. Had my GBS test but declined the cervical exam. Dr Meinig signed my updated birth plan and put it in my file.

The baby has been pretty sluggish the past 2 days. It is a stark contrast to 3 days ago when I swore he was about to kick and punch his way out the side of my belly! I asked the Dr about it and he said if I am ever concerned to do a kick count (10 movements in an hour at least). He took his heartrate and it was higher than usual--in the 160s so he must be somewhat active in there. Plus he kicked the Dr as he was measuring me. :) His back is more in the middle now with his feet facing in, so maybe that is why I am not feeling much. He switches positions several times a day though.

Luke is measuring right on track. I gained 2lbs last week--oops! haha. I am up 22lbs. I am starving all day long but food tastes so off to me all of a sudden. Went out to eat last night and everything tasted terrible---either too sour or too salty! I have been drinking lots of red raspberry leaf tea and taking prenatals along with vit C and iron. I am starting my evening primrose oil today. The Dr said it was all harmless but he feels it would not make a difference. Oh well, I will take it just in case. :)

I am feeling better. I have more energy than I did a week ago and my back and pelvis feel pretty good. I am in no hurry to get this baby out even though I am dying to meet him. I have a lot more nesting to do, haha.

Oh and to top off my good appt, someone in the elevator told me I looked like Jennifer Garner! I was positively giddy. Nothing like hearing you look like a cute celebrity when you are feeling bloated and yucky, haha. This is the 3rd time I have heard that during this pregnancy. I have never heard that I looked like her before this pregnancy. So anyway, that made me feel pretty cheery.

All in all, I am doing well! I am able to go shopping and take Nathan places and be pretty much normal. I can't believe I can say that after 5 weeks of so much pain and exhaustion.

33.5 weeks

2006-10-10T07:21:00.000-07:00

Today is my 26th birthday! All is well. Mike woke up early to make breakfast while I snuggled in bed with Nathan. He made turkey bacon, croissants, and fresh pineapple (only set off the smoke alarm 3 times making bacon. Nathan heard it and shouted "BACON!"). I did spy an ice cream cake in the freezer but haven't peeked at it yet, lol. Hope it doesn't have pumpkins on it. For some reason Baskin Robbins puts pumpkins on all of their cakes in October. I told Mike he had to order a pumpkinless one (hehe, I am a pain I know) Mike is coming home for lunch to help out with the kids.

The kids are being good and I am just relaxing in the big chair in the playroom with my laptop, magazines, and a phone, lol. I did just order a $47 nursing bra with my bday money (ouch! But I really needed/wanted it!)

Nathan turned 2 five days ago. Can't believe my little one is so big! I remember 2 years ago on my birthday being my first day home with my newborn. It was such a special day.

My little 2 year old is getting so smart! He can count to 18 when he walks up the stairs (counting steps). He is starting to recognize letters and numbers. He is talking up a storm! He is obsessed with Thomas the train little wooden trains now. He carries them around everywhere and calls them by name. He even gives them little personalities! (Thomas is naughty and always hides places he is not supposed to, like Nathan's yogurt cup. Then Nathan says "OHHHHH BOM!")

Luke is being a good little belly baby as always. He is still constantly hiccuping in there. I hope it isn't annoying for him. He is getting so big, I can tell. I can see his little limbs and body parts sticking through my skin. He flops back and forth a lot in there. He is constantly on the move.

I am working on my birth plan and thinking of every detail of birth/delivery. It is nervewracking but I want to be prepared!

Dr appt (33 weeks)

2006-10-03T18:40:00.000-07:00

I had my 33 week (well almost) appt with Dr. Hodges today. He really is a wonderful Dr. and made me feel so comfortable. I spoke to him about my labor anxiety and he was so reassuring. He told me they had a 70% success rate with VBACs (meaning they end in Csection 30% of the time) and that he is very "pro-VBAC" and confident doing them. He said that ruptures are very rare and that you can catch the warning signs before something catastrophic happens (my number one fear). He told me to stay off the internet if it was scaring me because most of the data you read is skewed anyway. He really made me feel comfortable and confident that nothing bad would happen. He also was on the same page as me that he would not recommend induction. I plan on scheduling my last few appts (like 38-39 weeks) with him for sure because I don't feel that he would be pressuring me.

Luke is doing great---he is in the back to the left, head down position. His head is not down in the pelvis yet, he is kind of floating. He has been very active lately and gets the hiccups 4-5 times a day. I am measuring right on track and my back is feeling much better.

31 week update

2006-09-24T14:31:00.000-07:00

I had a hard week. Last Thursday, I spent several hours in the labor and delivery ward at Fairfax hospital. I was having excruciating back pain and contractions. I went in and got monitored for a few hours and I was having contractions, but it was not changing my cervix (thank heavens). The back pain is caused by some sort of loosening of a pelvic joint (sylliac or something like that???). It felt like I was being stabbed repeatedly in the lower back. Anyway I have been taking Tylenol (which does nothing) and soaking in the tub and applying the heat pack. I have not been able to sleep or eat all night because of the pain. Luke is a lot like Nathan and when I have contractions, he fights them like crazy. He punched and kicked and freaked out with each one and I had deja vu from my first labor.

Anyway, I have spent a few days in bed. I was put on 48 hours of bed rest and have to go see the Dr early next week. She may want to start physical therapy. Mike has been taking such good care of Nathan. It is hard to sit back and let others do everything for me. We missed our anniversary dinner on Saturday, so hopefully we will be able to reschedule it for this week. I have been feeling a lot better now that I have rested for a few days.

I met with one of my doulas, Margaret, today. She is very nice and made me feel so comfortable. We talked for a few hours and worked through some of the labor/delivery details. I am feeling less anxious about everything.

Luke is still being the best baby I could ask for. He is so content to just hang out all day long. He squirms and bounces, but never causes any trouble. I love him so much already. :)

Ultrasound this morning

2006-09-01T08:11:00.000-07:00

I had my 28 week ultrasound this morning to check on my placenta. It has moved up--WOOWOOWOO! Luke is head down and ready to go. So I will be able to go ahead and try for a VBAC. :)

Luke is 3lbs and measuring big (about a week early). He is so darn cute already! DEFINITELY still a boy. I am a little concerned about his profile though, lol. He seems to have my dad's nose---it is pretty prominent on his little profile (sorry, Dad, haha). But he has Nathan's cute bow-shaped pouty lips and big cheeks. He has huge feet and his 2nd toe is longer than his big one! haha. He already has a ton of sticking up hair. He had his feet in his mouth and I remarked "poor guy is so squished he has to have his feet by his face!" and the tech said "Nope, he is doing that by choice", lol.

His bladder was full and his lungs were practicing breathing so we know his little organs are working well. He kept opening and closing his eyes. He had a little round tummy I just wanted to kiss! His little bum is shoved up under my ribs and his head and his feet are down low. I was shocked to see how big he was in there! Hard to believe he has another 4-5lbs to gain!

We were supposed to head to NC after the appt but Tropical Storm Ernesto is messing with our plans. So who knows when we will be able to get on the road.

Third trimester!!!

2006-08-31T07:53:00.000-07:00

I finally got my hospital records from Nathan's birth today. Interesting stuff! Lists my reason for C-section as failed induction but doesn't list the reason for induction (could be there, but in Dr. speak though). Weird thing is that it doesn't say I was given general anesthesia during my Csection but I am 99% sure I was. All I know was that I was in horrible pain and the Dr put something in the IV in my arm and then I fell asleep. Mike remembers it the same way.

Anyway my incision was low tranverse so my VBAC attempt is good to go! :)

I had my prenatal appt and glucose test. That fruit punch drink is Nasty with a capital N. I kept gagging on it because it was so syrupy and sweet. I don't remember it being so bad with Nathan. About 30 min after I drank it, I got shaky and nauseous. Hope that doesn't mean I was having a bad reaction. My Dr appt was good. He didn't care that I was gaining super fast because I am still only up 12 lbs and 2/3 of the way through. Can't believe I am in the third trimester!!! Luke is head down and measuring right on track. I had a dream he was born by Csection on November 28th (I am due the 23rd) after trying a VBAC. He was 8lbs 4 oz in my dream. So if I have to go with my gut, that is what I think will happen. I guessed Nathan would be born the 4th or the 5th by Csection early in my pregnancy with him (he was due the 12th and was born the 5th).

****update: I found in my records what I was given during my c-section---Dilaudil which is a form of heroin! No wonder I was so out of it. Oh and my reason for induction was high blood pressure but my BP was listed as 120/68 which is not high! Odd.

27 weeks

2006-08-25T06:29:00.000-07:00

Almost third trimester! One more week! Hard to believe.

I am definitely starting to feel like I am in the third trimester. Here are some things going on with my pregnancy at this point: :)
*I must SCRUB! I am nesting like a madwoman and every little dirt mark and stain is making me crazy. I am like a stain hunter with my bottle of oxyclean and my rag, haha. Walls, carpets, tables--nothing is safe! :)
*I cannot stop eating. I swear I am so incredibly hungry all day long. For example just lunch yesterday was a turkey sandwich, grapes, an orange, yogurt, pretzels, and a few spoons of leftover broccoli. Luckily I am able to make good food choices (this baby loves fruit, yogurt, salad, etc) or else I'd be 300lbs by now. I have been gaining about 2lbs a week for the past month though--yikes! But I am currently only up 8lbs so even if I continue gaining at this rate, I will still be at the normal weight gain range.
*I am tired! Out of no where I just became so exhausted and sluggish all day long (when I am not scrubbing or eating, haha).
*I hate pants! I swear waistbands are driving me nuts. I want to buy a few huge mumus to just hang out in. That would be attractive wouldn't it? :)
*I love my sons! Nathan is so sweet talking about his baby brother. He gives my belly big hugs and raspberries. He fell asleep last night using my belly as a pillow. Luke is such a good little belly baby! He moves around all day and lets me know he is OK, but he rarely ever kicks in a way that it hurts! I am a bit worried when he comes out he will never sleep though, haha. I swear he is never still. His favorite thing is to put his feet against my right side and push with all his might. It feels so odd and makes a huge lump on my right side, haha.

26 week appt

2006-08-16T18:24:00.000-07:00

I had a pretty good appt today. I only got to see a nurse, but that is OK because she spent a lot of time with me answering questions and seemed pretty knowledgable.

I gained 6lbs last month. The nurse started to give me a hard time and told me to make sure I only gain .5-1 lb a week. I asked her to look over my weight gain from the entire pregnancy and tell me if I was doing OK. Since this is the first month I have gained anything, she said I am fine and am just doing a bit of catch up. So as of now, I am plus 6 lbs.

Told her about the low pressure I have been feeling lately and she said it could be caused by my low placenta. Still hoping that thing moves up and out of the way so I can try for my VBAC.

Baby is measuring perfectly and heartrate is strong. He kept kicking her when she would try to measure me and it was making her laugh.

I go back in 2 weeks for my GD test and have an u/s on Sept 1st to check on the placenta.

Luke never ever sits still. He really squirms all day long. Wonder if he will have a hard time getting comfortable after he is born. I am counting my blessings though because his kicks are so light in comparison to Nathan's. Nathan's hurt so bad! Luke is just squirmy, haha.

summer vacation

2006-08-04T06:57:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our summer vacation to Ocean City, MD. We had so much fun! Here are some memories I don't want to forget from our vacation together:
*how Nathan loved playing with his trucks in the sand and asking me to make him roads and "slides"
*how much Nathan loved the yummy beach food like fried shrimp and virgin pina coladas
*when Luke kicked the remote off of my belly for the first time in the hotel
*Nathan snuggling me so sweetly while falling asleep
*Nathan running circles around my beach chair, yelling like a wild man
*how Nathan would bring me the sunblock stick and tell me "cheeks" when he wanted me to put some on him
*Nathan begging "beach beach beach" as soon as he'd wake up in the morning
*Luke dancing wildly to reggae music at dinner
*how relaxed and happy Nathan was when his daddy held him in the ocean
*when Nathan fell splat right on top of a sunbathing teenage girl decked out in big hoop earrings, blaring IPOD, and a full face of makeup
*Nathan's first kiss with our friend Angel's daughter Ava...on the boardwalk, how romantic! haha
*Swimming at night in the indoor pool

It was a great time! It was over way too soon.

21 week update

2006-07-14T06:02:00.000-07:00

This has been an exciting week! Mike just started being able to feel Luke kick. This baby doesn't seem to kick a whole lot though, but he squirms nonstop so it is a bit harder to find a good time for Mike to feel him.

Started getting a few aches and pains. My wrists and hands go numb at night (darn carpal tunnel) and I have been having some hip and lower back pain. Nothing horrible though.

I am going swimming tomorrow. I just love floating around in the pool when I am pregnant. The one time I can feel light, haha.

Going through the old baby clothes is really fun. I can't imagine having a baby that small again! I just love looking at the cute tiny outfits and imagining my new little boy in them.

I have gained 2lbs this week alone. Still negative 3 lbs from when I started though. Seems like I am finally catching up! I feel like I eat nonstop. Still tons of spicy food and fruit.

Nathan is doing well and talking a lot more. He is saying silly things like "ketchup" and insisting that Mike and I do everything with him together "Mama Dada Mama Dada!"

Nathan update

2006-07-06T06:53:00.000-07:00

Can't forget to update about my little Nathan. He was 21 months yesterday. Here are some new things that are going on with him:
*holding up his little biceps and flexxing so forcefully his little face shakes when I ask him to "show me your guns!"
*pretending to lift weights and making the same hisses and grunts that his daddy makes
*How dogs say "dog dog dog" and birds go "caw caw caw" like a crow instead of a sweet "tweet tweet"
*how much he loves playing with the hose and watering the flowers and "washing" his trucks
*his new obsession with his baby Einstein "On the Go" video with trains, trucks, boats, and planes
*how much he loved the fireworks and oohed and wowed and yayed at every boom
*how he gets out one shoe and places it in front of you as a hint he wants to leave the house
*his "OH MAN!!!!!" whenever something silly happens
*how soft his phone voice is....he says "hi" so quietly when I ask him to talk on the phone to someone

He really is the sweetest little guy. I know he is going to make a great big brother.

20 weeks!

2006-07-06T06:38:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I am halfway through this pregnancy. It is going by so very fast. I am feeling great! Honestly besides the few weeks of all day "morning" sickness, I have felt wonderful. Little Luke is seemingly a pretty laid back guy. I feel him squirming in there but rarely does he give me big kicks. I only really get kicked when I pee. I think when I empty my bladder, he loses the comfy bean bag chair he was sitting in (like he was during his u/s). I pretty much am able to eat whatever I want without too much trouble. I do get cravings for Mexican and lemon flavored things a lot. I did tell off some teenagers working at the frozen custard place because they didn't have the lemon italian ices made--oops! I am still down 6 lbs but am eating well. Lots of salads with tons of red onion and fruit. I have had fun shopping for a few little baby things, but really we have so much already! All of Bradley and Nathan's baby clothes---all fall baby boys! Nathan got a new bedroom set (cargo bed and dresser) so all of his baby stuff can be handed down his baby brother. It is so exciting to set up the nursery again!

Ultrasound update

2006-06-26T15:39:00.000-07:00

I just got back from my ultrasound! It was a good appt. The tech was very thorough and showed us every little detail. There was a large tv screen so we could see everything without craning our necks behind us like we did with Nathan. The baby is completely healthy! We got a great view of the heart, spine, brain, etc. The baby is measuring right on target (9 oz) and had a heartrate of 147. The tech kept trying to see between the legs but the baby was sitting indian style with his/her legs pulled in tight. What a stinker! Then the tech left and we waited about 15 min for the Dr. We were so ecstatic that the baby is healthy but just a smidge bummed we could not tell the sex. Then the Dr came in and did a few more shots of the placenta and such. The placenta is very low we need to come back a few more times to make sure it doesn't cover the cervix at any time. If it does, I can not have a vaginal birth. Then the Dr did a quick once over of the baby one last time and lo and behold my child opened its legs wide open at the very last minute. What did we see???? (scroll down)

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BOY PARTS! Yup! We were right, haha. Baby 2 is definitely a boy. His name will be Luke David. We rewarded his good behavior with a huge Mexican buffet for lunch. :) We are going to go shopping to get him a few little boy things later on today and then are going out for lobster to celebrate. Yay for Baby Luke! I am so excited to have two little boys close in age. I am one happy, lucky mommy.

18 weeks today

2006-06-22T14:16:00.000-07:00

I have started to feel real movements! I swear this baby is doing somersaults in there. I feel this rolling pressure back and forth like he/she is pushing off the sides of my stomach doing laps. :)

Only a few more days until my ultrasound. I will come right out and say it. I think I am having a boy. I will literally be shocked if little baby is a girl. Everyone else seems to think so though, so we'll see! After the u/s, we are going to go out for lobster and then go buy baby 2 an outfit. Gosh, I hope he/she is cooperative and shows his/her goods so I can stop with this "he/she" stuff!

My tummy is smaller than it was with Nathan. I am obviously pregnant looking, but I don't have the big basketball look going on. I am flatter all over my tummy. I still am having trouble gaining weight even though I am eating nonstop.

That's my update!

3rd appt

2006-06-21T16:30:00.000-07:00

I just got back from a prenatal appt. It was pretty good. I didn't get to see my normal Dr but that is OK. Got to hear the heartbeat which is always reassuring. The heartrate was 141, but the funny thing is how the baby was kicking and moving around like crazy. I kept hearing "THUMP WHOOOOSH THUMP WHOOOOOSH!" It was a flashback from my pregnancy with Nathan. He would do the same thing.

I declined my triple screen after talking to the Dr. He advised that the u/s would pick up any major defects and if I would decline an amnio anyway, there is no point. I did have blood drawn though because my thyroid was elevated from my last blood test and they wanted to recheck it.

I talked to him about how much I did not want to go to the larger hospital and he said there was about a 5% chance---if I go into labor at night when only one Dr is on call and another woman goes into labor right before me and opts to go to the large one. That is the only time I'd have to go, which is good.

We spoke about VBACs and honestly I think the Dr was trying to scare me. He kept telling me if I ruptured I could bleed to death in 5 minutes and stuff like that. He had looked at my chart and assumed I was going for a repeat C section because of my prior birth. My other Dr is a lot more supportive.

So now I have my doula urging me to labor at home as long as possible and my Doctor telling me to come to the hospital at the first sign of labor. I am thinking I will go in when my contractions get painful. I have a lot to think about.

Overall, a good appt. I am so looking forward to my u/s on Monday. Oh and we decided on complete names: Luke David or Rebecca Mary. So excited!

17 week update

2006-06-16T14:00:00.000-07:00

I am now 17 weeks along and everything is going great. This has been a very smooth pregnancy (besides the morning sickness at the beginning). My only complaint is all the stomach aches I have been getting, especially after I eat. But all in all, I am feeling very good. This baby is very laid back and I can pretty much eat whatever I want besides sweets. I had the same aversion with Nathan though. This baby really likes "real" home cooking like meatloaf, chicken, veggies, potatoes, macaroni and cheese, etc. I am also craving various things dipped in hot sauce, and other dips such as queso and guacamole. This baby has diverse tastes (as long as it is not sweet!).

My ultrasound is in 10 days. I am so very excited!!! I hope this baby cooperates and I can tell boy or girl. I have some shopping to do if my little one is a girl. :) I have been doing a lot of research on carseats and such. I will start buying things soon so I don't have a lot of expenses at the end.

I am feeling baby 2 move more at night. He/she seems to like to be awake and active after 8pm. I can't wait to feel those real kicks soon!

Nathan is doing well. He is such a sweetheart. He is eating us out of house and home and I love it. He is so thoughtful and smart. I can't believe I am going to have two babies soon! If baby 2 is anything like his/her brother, I am a lucky mommy.

Why hello, baby!

2006-06-06T11:52:00.000-07:00

I think I think I think I am feeling the baby move! I am almost 16 weeks. I feel little thumps and pokes very late at night when all is quiet and I can concentrate. I also feel little movements when Nathan is laying on my lap leaning against my belly a bit (don't worry he isn't hurting me, haha). I am so excited! I can't wait to start feeling this baby more and more.

2nd appt

2006-05-26T07:57:00.000-07:00

I had my 2nd prenatal appt today. Just the usual urine and blood tests. I had a pap smear and exam. I got to hear the heartbeat. Baby 2 is quite cooperative, lol. It was so hard to hear the heartbeat and the baby moved up so we could all hear clearly. :) Heartrate 154. The Dr was not concerned about my weight loss. He said the baby was growing perfectly and was right on schedule. I scheduled my next appt for June 23rd and my ultrasound for June 26th at 9:15am. Woohoo! I can hardly wait.

General update

2006-05-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

Things are going pretty darn good. I am feeling generally OK, although I have been getting killer stomachaches at night. In turn, I am not sleeping well. I am eating well but still not gaining weight. I have been craving spicy and sour things: hot sauce, lemon popsicles, jalepenos. I get odd cravings where I need something right away but then do not crave it again. Last week it was crunch wraps from Taco bell. Last night it was crab dip.

I bought Baby 2's baby book (a cute one with an old fashioned animal theme) and a few new baby books for Nathan. I just love new books and these are particularly exciting for me, hehe.

Nathan is 19 months and just so darn big. I love my sweet boy so much. Here are some things I want to remember about Nathan at this stage:
*How serious he gets when he plays trucks. It is not a joking matter. Also, he lays on the floor and gets sleepy as he pushes them around.
*How he goes around giving everyone their shoes out of the coat closet saying "Das SHOOOOOES" when he wants to go out
*How much he loves coloring with markers and taking the tops on and off. He loves to draw circles and calls them "trucks"
*How he says "luuuh yoo!" and points
*Flirting with waitresses whenever we go out to eat. He loves to smile and wave and chat with them.
*His new fascination with organic squeezable yogurt tubes. He gets so excited when you give him one.
*His truck radar: he can enter a room and if there is a truck anywhere in it, he finds it within seconds. Also we went to the bookstore last night and he saw a huge rack of 100s of books with the spines only showing. The first book he happened to go for was about trucks of course.
*how completely and utterly filthy he gets when he plays outside. He loves to dig in the dirt, color with sidewalk chalk, and fill his trucks up with various treasures
*The last few nights how he wants to snuggle on the couch with me near bedtime and pretends to sleep and shakes his head when Mike tries to get him to put him to bed.
*How he purses his lips and makes big "hmmm mmm" sounds when he smooches

I just love this stage. I can't wait to see my two kids together. Can't believe I have two kids even if one is not officially "here" yet, haha :)

Woohoo

2006-05-09T19:12:00.000-07:00

I am so very happy. I am feeling a million times better. I finally have my appetite back and have so much less nausea. I have been cooking and doing more housework. It is wonderful to be feeling more like myself. I am almost 12 weeks long. Only a week or so to go until 2nd trimester! I am still pretty tired, but again not as bad. I stopped losing weight but have not gained any back yet. Still have a pretty good belly going on though! :)

Nathan is doing very well. He is sleeping all night in his big boy bed and doesn't even need Mommy to put him to bed anymore! Mike brings him up to his bed and he falls asleep quickly and stays there all night. What a big boy! He is such a sweet little guy. He brings me so much joy. It is hard to believe that I am going to have my second baby pretty darn soon!

First appointment

2006-04-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

I had my first prenatal appt yesterday. It was amazing! I had no idea I'd get a sonogram to see the little one. So exciting! I got to see his/her little arms and legs moving around. He/she was shifting back and forth looking like he/she was trying to get comfortable. There was this huge sac of amniotic fluid and my little one was all snuggled up to one side. It was surreal to see that little heart beating so fast. The heart rate was 192--pretty darn fast! Nathan and Mike got to see which made it even better.

The Dr was very reassuring and seemingly on the same page as us. He is all for a VBAC with limited interventions. He made me feel very confident in him. I am going to look into hiring a doula soon.

I am measuring a few days later than I originally thought but not enough to change the due date. I even got pictures of my little one to take home! He/she looks like a little gummy bear. :)

I am pregnant!

2006-04-25T05:55:00.000-07:00

I wanted to start a pregnancy journal to update friends and family about my newest addition. :) I am due Thanksgiving day, 11-23-06 with baby #2. I am 9.5 weeks along now. I have my first prenatal appt today and I am so excited but also nervous. So far this pregnancy has been much more difficult than my one with Nathan. I have been much more nauseas and queasy. I have no appetite at all. I can only eat a small amount and then I feel extremely stuffed. I look forward to feeling better and getting to eat again! :) I am much bigger than I was with Nathan as well. I had a belly poking out before I even found out I was pregnant! I had people asking if I was pregnant before I even knew. I was in maternity clothes at 5 weeks. Now at 9.5 weeks I have people assuming I am about 5 months along. Wowee. I will update later after my appointment. :)