5.12.2011

Mixed results

My Dr's office called at 6pm tonight; never a good sign. My bloodwork didn't come back with the greatest results.

Glucose Test: score of 149, anything higher than 140 is considered "failing". She's ordering a 2hr test, and I'm planning to take it on Sat. Really not looking forward to it - it's a fasting test. I barely survive eating breakfast first thing in the morning. Not sure how I will make it to 10am with no food! I just really want to pass so I don't have to test my blood sugars from here on out. Let's hope the 1hr just gave false results.

Iron level: 32, anything above 35 is normal. Slightly anemic. She said it's not low enough to be too concerned, but iron supplements wouldn't hurt. I told her I'll probably pass for now because the iron made me nauseous last time. I just finished with the morning sickness, I really don't want to deal with that again so soon! (but based on my 1st pregnancy, I'm expecting it to return in a few weeks anyway).

Vitamin D: finally some good news. Score of 62, back in the normal range. She said to keep taking the Vit D, but lowered the dosage.

Guess I need to find a good book for Sat morning at the lab.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday Thank You

Natalie made me laugh this morning when I went to get her up for the day. Just wanted to share:

Me: Oh, man. Baby, it stinks in here!

Natalie: (BIG smile on her face) Thank You!

Guess we better keep working on context...

5.10.2011

Around our house lately

What better way to kill an hour waiting to be done with my Glucose Test than blogging?! (hoping this goes well and I get to avoid the 3 hour test!)

Natalie has really been ramping up her vocabulary! Since I last posted she says "thank you". So cute, it sounds like "sank you". I have a video but can't upload from my phone..will post it later! She thanks us for everything..food, drinks, toys, and just randomly!

She's also been repeating random words. Waffle (waffafle), cookie, dinner, water, car. I told her she was going to the store with daddy on Sunday and she said "car?". She ran to the door and then came back when I didn't follow and said "go?"

Natalie asks to go "side" (outside) about 100 times a day! She loves being outside and is getting a little tan to prove it!

My favorite thing she has been doing this week is pointing and saying our names!! She points at me and says "mamma"! (sometimes repeatedly), then she points to David and says "daddy". She's so proud of herself. We try to have her say "Natalie", and it comes out like "nayaly". On Sunday (Mother's Day) she was having a little bedtime protest. David went in to calm her and she kept demanding her Mamma. David came out and said I needed to go. We used to get to decide whose turn it was, but I guess she has an opinion!

We've been working on other names too. So far she repeats Rylee (daycare buddy), and she points to our family picture and says Papa (& mama & daddy), but that's about as far as we've gotten. She says something like Grandma, but not real consistent or clear.

Last night David was showing her the old Natalie videos on his phone. She sat there and watched and laughed for a long time. She just loves babies, so I hope the baby transition in our house goes smoothly!

Pregnancy is going well. Had an appointment last month before Easter. Measuring on track and good BP (116/62). The morning sicknes seems to have finally cooled off. Lasted until week 27 this time. I've been having a lot more pains than last time. Midwife says it is Round Ligament Pain. Oh the joys!

Still no name progress for baby #2. she gets referred to as Baby or Baby Sissy most days. Natalie always asks to "see" the baby and lifts up my shirt. The other morning she even tried to feed her! It was the cutest thing - she lifted my shirt and put her milk cup up there like she does to her dolly!

I'm 28 ish weeks now. Baby should be here in 11 weeks (not sure when I'll get a date) thats only +/- 77 days! Yikes! Probably another 10 weeks of work. Lots to do!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

4.29.2011

Easter 2011

We had a busy Easter filled weekend!

Friday after Natalie's appointment, we headed to the valley for a visit. Ryan had stayed the night at Grammy & Papa's and was there waiting when we arrived. After lunch we packed up and headed to the park for a little fun. Natalie had a blast! They only had one large play structure (as opposed to a separate "little kids" area), but that didn't bother Natalie one bit! She was running around, up and down the ramps, went down the biggest slides, and played with all of the big kids.

We let Ryan and Natalie color some eggs on Friday night. Natalie thought it was fun to play with the spoon and the water. I ended up replacing her bowl with water and food coloring because she was trying to drink it!



Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the Fresno Zoo! We weren't sure how the crowds would be since they were having an Easter Egg Hunt at the park, but we timed it perfectly. There were probably less than 20 people waiting in line for the doors to open, the animals were all awake and eating, and the weather was nice and mild. It started to warm up and crowds and crowds of people were arriving as we were leaving. Couldn't have been better timing! Natalie and Ryan had a lot of fun. They got to feed the Giraffe and pet the Stingrays!








Saturday evening we did an Egg Hunt and our family Easter Dinner. It was so fun to see Ryan, Liam and Natalie playing together. They all got along soooo great! They took turns playing with toys and the boys took turns pushing the others in the push-car (I'll have to get some pictures of Liam pushing Natalie from someone else's camera).




It didn't take Natalie long to figure out there was good stuff inside some of the eggs. She was picking them up and shaking to see if it was a "good" one, and then she'd open and spill all of the jelly beans out!




Natalie joined the boys in a game of football. She thought it was fun to run with the ball while Uncle Kevin and Ryan chased her. I think she might have even scored a touchdown!


Natalie had some rough sleep while we were away. We have no idea what the problem(s) was/were. She had vaccinations on Friday; they haven't bothered her in the past, but maybe they did this time? She's also still getting her 4 canine teeth (they finally seem to be poking thru the gum). Or maybe she had some allergies? Or was sensitive to the change in the climate? Or maybe she was just overtired? Or maybe she was just too excited that we were travelling? Whatever it was, it was not fun for David and I. She was awake every few hours all night Friday & Saturday. Her naps were also super short and she was grumpy in the car. Made for a long-short trip, but thankfully she was back to her usual self Sunday night!

We headed home on Sunday morning (later than we wanted because of the long night). Natalie snuck a short nap in on the car ride home. I tried to continue the nap when we got home, but no such luck so we headed over to the Remillard Easter party. It was fun to see all of the kiddos playing together. 3 one year olds and a 3 year old makes for a busy house!


Anna was "hiding" eggs and Natalie was following her around picking them up.



Anna was showing Natalie the baby chicky (and checking her temperature?)


It was a lot of fun watching all of the kids play together! They are finally big enough to interact and play. I'm sure it's just going to get better and better as they all get a little older.

4.22.2011

18mo update!

I can't believe Natalie is already 18 months old! We took these pictures at the beginning of the month..and I'm just getting around to posting!


We took Natalie to the Dr. this morning for her 18 month appointment. Everything is looking good.

Stats:

Height: 32 inches (60% - she grew almost 2in in the past 3 months!)
Weight: 22lbs 13oz (25%)
Diapers: size 4
Clothes: size 18mo



Quick note on the clothes....around Valentine's Day I noticed that Natalie's 12-18 mo jeans were getting short, so I got her the 18-24mo pants. They fit good, decent in the waist and length, and she wore them the other day and they are getting snug and look too short already! Growing like crazy.

She's also tall enough to reach things off of the kitchen counter! We have to really watch what we leave near the edges. Knives and hot pots have to go further in.



I was thinking of all the things that Natalie says now. It's somewhere around 20-25 words. Hi, bye, mom, dad, milk, up, down, all done, yes (yeah), no (she's getting wayyy too good at this one), shoes, sock, bird, outside, sit, see, baby, sleep, bowl, bath, dog...and maybe a few others that I can't remember. She says "uh oh", but usually just the "oh" is audible. She knows what hot and cold are, but doesn't say either. If something is hot, she blows on it; and if something is cold she says "brrr". Probably because every morning when we walk outside I say "brr, it's cold out here"!



The past few weeks she's taken notice of the TV. A few mornings she woke up earlier than I was ready for, so I turned on Sesame Street and she plopped down in front of the TV and sat still while I finished getting ready! She will also sit still long enough for me to comb her hair when a cartoon is on! Very helpful.

Natalie still loves to dance. Last night the stereo remote was next to me on the couch. Natalie climbed up into my lap and said "yeah yeah" (that's how she asks for stuff) and she kept reaching over me. I realized that she wanted the remote. I asked if she wanted to dance and she said "yeah, yeah". So, we had a little dance party before bed.



Monday was the crazy tax deadline, so I had Tuesday off and took Natalie to the park. She LOVED it. They had a big and little kids area, and Natalie couldn't get up the stairs to the slide fast enough! The slide was super fast..it was made up of rollers. Made mama a little nervous, but she was having a blast. I got a good workout in because I was busy running from one side of the play structure to the other because she wasn't completely aware that some of the sides were wide open entrances!



Natalie has been practicing "No" lately. She made me laugh last night as I was putting her to bed. She's been fighting bedtime; always cries for a few minutes when we mention bed time or take her to her room. So, I was taking her to her room last night and she started whining. I asked her if she wanted to get into her crib and she said "NO". So, I layed her down anyway, and she sat back up and started signing for milk. I asked if she wanted some water and she said "yeah". So, I told her to lay down and I'd go get her some water. She stopped crying and layed down. I brought her a tiny bit of water and she layed down and went to sleep! Lucky me because I was on solo-mama duty.



She has mastered her animal puzzle. It's actually a bunch of magnets that go with her animal farm book, but it looks like a puzzle. I think it has 8 or 9 pieces. Just this last week she has been able to match the shapes and put the pieces back! She doesn't actually get them into the spaces, but she matches the animals. And, if she gets them mixed up, she looks at them and then says "no" and fixes it!




Another favorite activity at our house is to dump out the blocks and then pick them back up. She has a bag of foam blocks that we must dump out and pick up 20 times a day!

Natalie has found her first chore. She loves to put her dirty clothes into the hamper! (Quite helpful because I'm getting to the point that I don't want to bend down to pick things up). I was cleaning up in her room and asked her to put some clothes in there; she took that batch and then everything else she could pick up went into the hamper. She's gotten better since then though; mostly just the dirty clothes at bath time end up in the hamper.

She has been practicing her big sister skills. Her little baby doll gets the best treatment. She picks her up first thing in the morning and carries her around the house. She feeds the baby milk or water and wraps her up in blankets. There was another baby at daycare for a few weeks and I think she was really watching how to take care of the baby. She pats the baby on the back, and "shhhh"s me when the baby is sleeping. It's too cute. I think she's going to be a great big sis.





She's been practicing eating with her spoon / fork. She's getting better..but this particular night she was having way too much fun!

We've been telling Natalie that mama has a baby. She likes to look at my tummy and "see" baby sissy. We showed her one night and used a fetal monitor that Patty gave us. The next night when I asked her "where is mama's baby", she went to get the monitor and pulled up my shirt!

Easter post..coming soon!

4.07.2011

Always something!

If it's not one thing it's another! Poor Natalie has had a rough time lately. It started with some teething around Valentines Day. That was quickly followed by what turned out to be a sinus infection that required a round of antibiotics. We went straight for another 4 (!) teeth - her canines are coming in - and now she's getting another cold! Yuck! I hope it's a minor one related to teething and goes away quickly.

On a good note, I hesitated to post until I knew for sure, but the pacifier has been a thing of the past since 3/17! I mentioned to daycare that as soon as the (last) cold was gone, we were going to work on the paci. Kristi started weaning her that day and she hasn't had it since! It's a little more work to get her to sleep at night, but it's just a few minutes of calming her down and letting her fuss a little. David was in charge of this transition and it's been going really well! Relieved that we won't have to deal with that after the baby comes!

I'll do more of an update this weekend. Miss Natalie will be 18mo old already!! Amazing how fast time goes.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

4.01.2011

Yard work

Natalie was helping in the yard at daycare. David is hoping she wants to do ours too..
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

3.30.2011

Making cake

I got this sweet picture from the babysitter today. She and her friends were making cake and playing house. Too cute!




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

3.25.2011

Baby #2 update

Since time is sparse in the evenings, a lunch-time update is needed!

Went for a quick check-up yesterday, pretty uneventful which is always a good thing.

Some stats for yesterday:
Blood Pressure: 126-64, higher than usual, but still in the normal range
Baby Heart Beat: 142-156 (she was moving around a bit)
Measuring: 21.5cm, right on track

So far my weight gain has been much more manageable than last time! Pretty happy about that. I'm up about 12.5lbs total. Hoping to keep things in control for the remainder.

I started feeling the baby kicking last week (right around 20.5 weeks). The ultrasound showed the placenta is on top (anterior), so that's likely why I hadn't been feeling anything yet, but she's in full swing now. I keep trying to get a glimpse from the outside, but I swear when I look, she stops!

The bad sleeping has arrived. It's so hard to get comfortable! It seems far too early for this! For the most part I'm a side sleeper anyway, but sometimes I just want to lay on my back and it feels like a bowling ball laying on my stomach! The bad part is I know it will probably only get worse.

And just a little complaint about morning sickness..I'm still waiting for it to go away. I was spared the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, but ever since then, it's been pretty consistent. Very annoying and ready to be done with that part!

3.16.2011

Our Entertainer

Natalie is feeling better from a cold that she has had since going to the hockey game a couple of weeks ago. She is keeping us entertained with new things that she is learning.

When you ask her if she wants something or if her food is good, she nods her head yes and says, "Yeah, yeah." We haven't gotten it on video yet, but we will try to get it over the next couple days and will post.

She loves hearing music. Sometimes she hears a commercial on TV that has music and she starts moving her sholders. When she seems to be a really good mood, we turn on the music and let her dance. Here is a short video from tonight's dance number.




Here is another video of two another two things she has fun doing. She pretends to jump. Notice how she gets on her toes. Tonight she started spinning in circles almost to the point of making herself dizzy. Here is a short video of both.

3.09.2011

It's A ...

Results are in!

Intelligender Test: Wrong
Chinese Gender Predictor: Wrong
iPhone Boy / Girl app: Wrong
Mamma's (initial) intuition: Wrong

We had our ultrasound this morning. Baby looks healthy! We are so excited, we are having another


GIRL!!


I'm sure I would have been shocked either way, but I'm so surprised at how different this pregnancy is from the first. Everything about it is different: morning sickness, weight gain, cravings, etc. Guess my body was just more accustomed to all of the crazy hormones, or maybe I already paid (most of) my dues the first time around!

We are so excited for Natalie to have a little sister. I think they will have a lot of fun together. I was a little nervous about having to learn all things "boy", but I'm sure my two girls will give me enough tests as it is. Also very excited that we have everything we need for a little baby girl; especially the clothes! I'm happy to be able to get more use out of them.

Next on the list is finding her a name!

3.08.2011

Hockey fun!

This past weekend we took Natalie to her first hockey game! David was able to get 4 seats from a vendor at work, so we took Grandma & Grandpa Remillard and went to LA for the day.



It went better than I expected. I feared Natalie would be a nightmare because I knew she wouldn't nap much, if at all, seeing as how game time and naptime were both scheduled for 1pm. She rested on the car ride down, but only a few minutes here and there. Once the game started, there was certainly no nap to be had!

We got to the Staples Center a bit early and had some lunch. Then we went down to the front to watch warm-ups. We were sitting in the front row, directly behind the camera guy.


Natalie was busy dancing and clapping her hands and having fun and the camera guy put her up on the jumbo-tron! Such a fun picture.



This was the first time we've really taken Natalie anywhere in public since she's been walking. She loved running around and kept us all on our toes!


We had great seats in the VIP level. There were a few extra seats in our row for 1/2 of the game. It was kind of nice because Natalie was able to climb the seats and walk around a little. After our row-mates showed up, it was a little more difficult, but overall a success!

The Kings lost to the Canucks 3:1. The game was a bit on the violent side, but still pretty fun!

In baby #2 news...
Tomorrow is our big baby preview! I kept forgetting about it and remembering off and on today. I'm hoping that I kind of forget about it while I'm trying to sleep tonight, or else I might not sleep! Early on I was SURE it was a Boy. Then around 14 weeks, I started getting sick, daily (ugh!). That kind of made me lean towards GIRL, but overall, I just have NO IDEA! Maybe I'll have a revealing dream tonight like I did with Natalie. And if not, we should know the answer tomorrow!

2.26.2011

Little sponge

Amazing what this girl picks up! Our evening routine usually involves sitting on the floor playing with Natalie. The other night, David was rubbing my back, and Natalie came over to "help". She does a little chopping action, kind of like a professional masseuse!

Last night I was talking on the phone. Natalie came up behind me and started giving me a back rub (chop). Too cute!

After the back rub, she came back with my hair brush (that she stole from the bathroom drawer) and started brushing my hair!! I've never shown her how to use the brush on me. I always just brush her hair (sometimes I use my brush, because she thinks it is fun).

Crazy all of the things they absorb at this age. We try to read at least one book a night, or as long as we can keep her attention because I know she's just taking it all in.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2.24.2011

18wk appt

I had my next appointment this morning. Things are still going well. Blood pressure was lower than last time; 116/72. Baby is measuring right on track with a heartbeat of 159bpm. The midwife said "sounds like another girl", just kind of a joke because of an old wives tale that girls have high heart beats.

My bloodwork came back. Most things checked out ok. My vitamin D levels are really low. I guess it puts me at a higher risk for depression, diabetes, bone issues, etc. She gave me some drops to take as a supplement 6,000IU/day, vs recommended daily amount of 600. Let's hope it helps!

Other than that, it was pretty uneventful! Always a good thing. The BIG ultrasound is March 9th -two more weeks until we know if it is a girl or boy!! Can't wait!!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2.21.2011

Our streaker!

I took these pictures on my phone a few nights ago; a little blurry - maybe the phone quality, or maybe because I was laughing too hard.




She escaped from the bathroom in her socks; thought she needed to go for a drive before her bath?



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

2.09.2011

Recent Natalie-isms

Natalie continues to entertain us! Here's some of what she's been up to!

* We're learning body parts. She can show us her hair, ears, toes, and feet. I've been working on nose; I point to my nose and breathe in and she mimics me, but still won't point to her nose or do it by herself.

* She gets in and out of her cozy coupe no less than 2 times a day. Sits in the seat, closes the door, turns the key, then exits and repeats.

* She can reach things on the table and often brings us whatever we leave there.

* Natalie loves shoes. She will bring us her shoes, or will try to play with ours. I have a habit of taking mine off after 2 steps inside the door (ask my dad..I've always done this..leaving them right in the way for the next person). The other night, Natalie brought one of my red shoes and one of my black ones into the living room. We told her they were not toys and to take them back. She took the red one right away. Then David reminded her that she needed to take the other one back too, so she came back to the living room, dug the black one out of her car and took it to the shoe spot. Incredible what she understands.

* Also with the shoes, she loves to put them on. She'll bring me hers in the morning, and I tell her to sit so we can put her shoes on. She plops down on the floor and puts her feet out. I often hear the Velcro opening and closing in the car, but she usually leaves the shoes on.

* She loves to sit in our laps. When we sit on the floor, she will bring us a book and back herself into our laps. Of course she only wants to read the book for 10 seconds, but that's a whole separate issue!

* The vocabulary continues to improve! We've got Dog, Milk, Dada, MAMA!!, Bath (ba), Again, No No, and she tries to say Hailey (our friend's dog) and it sounds like Hay-yee. Tonight I asked her if she wanted to go play with Ryan this weekend and she ran to the door saying "Rah! Rah!" We've also heard Up once or twice.

* Natalie is like a whirlwind. I was trying to clean in the spare room (nursery??) this weekend, and she was tearing apart the rest of the house. She found gift bags, toys, papers, etc and took them one by one from the bedroom to the hallway and living room. Then, she found an open package of diapers in her room and proceeded to empty it out and bring them to me 2 and 3 at a time.

* She's also discovered the bathroom drawers. Apparently it's fun to empty them out. I'm constantly finding my brushes, lotions, headbands, etc. all over the house! She likes to bring them to me.

* Bedtime has been moved back to 8pm. We had a great routine where she would be tired and wanted to be in bed by 7pm. A week or so ago we were having a really rough time getting her down, so I just let her run around until she was tired. A few nights that meant she was up until 8:45 or 9pm. Waayy too late for her, but she continued to whine and cry if we even mentioned the word "bed" or "tired". She's either napping too long, or just doesn't want to go to bed as early. The past 3 or 4 nights she's gone down easy at 8, so 8pm bedtime it is. Kinda nice because I get some post-work Natalie time in.

* Food-wise, Natalie has decided she is more picky than before. She refuses to eat pasta some nights. If we drown it in sauce, she might eat a few bites, but other than that, it is a no-go. Along the same lines, we can't get her to eat Mac n Cheese. We give her chicken nuggets sometimes, but she won't eat them if we cut them up, she wants the whole stick.

* She expects her animal crackers after dinner. We usually give her 2 or 3, and now when she's done eating, she leans towards the pantry and points.

* When we are out and about, we use baby wipes to clean her face. Sometimes she'll open her diaper bag, get the wipes out and use one to "clean her face". She mostly just smashes it against her mouth and sorta rubs it around.

* This girly looooves her books. At any given time there are easily 3 or 4 strewn across the living room floor (see whirlwind explanation above!). She constantly brings us books, but after a page or two, she's done and goes to get another one. Maybe someday she'll sit still long enough to finish the whole thing?

* She also loooves her dolly. She will dig her baby doll out of the toy box and carry her around (by her neck or an arm). She brings us the blankie to put over the baby. She also gets the plastic soda bottle from her kitchen set and "feeds" the baby; she holds her correctly and everything! The baby also gets to use her pacifier sometimes. Where does she learn this stuff?

* We try to contain the pacifier and blankie to the crib / carseat (only at naptime). She loves her crocheted blankies. She saw me put her favorite two (from her grandmas) in the laundry basket and take them to the washer the other day. She came running over and tried pulling them out. She cried when I took them away to wash. (I substituted with another, but she was definitely not happy!). I'd love to do away with the pacifier, but the few times I tried she had a meltdown.

* A few weeks ago she started doing this random outburst of laughing. I got a video on my phone, but that requires effort of connecting the phone to the computer in order to edit and upload. Maybe some day I'll have the time?

* We got another video tonight of her running to the bathroom. We say "Natalie, do you want to take a bath?" and she starts saying "Bah" and runs to the bathroom. Again, gotta find some time and energy to upload!

* Notice I said "running" above..she's definitely moved past the crawling business. I don't think I've seen her crawl in the last 3 weeks, at least. If she falls while walking, she just stands back up and continues. She is sooo fast at walking now, and I was even commenting to David tonight that she rarely falls anymore.

I need to get better at taking pictures. We haven't taken very many the past month or so...maybe even longer than that! Natalie is fascinated by the camera and thinks she should get to touch it, so it's much harder to catch her in action doing any of the above. I've been meaning to blog for at least a week now, so I guess next time, I need to make sure I get some pictures (and/or videos!) to post! Baby steps!

1.27.2011

Appointments Galore!

Natalie had hers last week, and this week was my turn. Had blood drawn (twice! Ugh) and got to SEE the baby (twice! Yay).

Went for my blood draw on Sat for what I thought would cover everything, but then found out there were two more tests directed by the 1st tri screening I did yesterday, so had to go back for more blood work. Annoying, but both times I had good luck, and they got it on the first try. The trick seems to be that I have to tell them I have small veins. Good to know!

Now the fun part! Yesterday we went for an early detection ultrasound. They check behind baby's neck for the amount of fluid and look for any abnormalities. The Dr didn't give us a whole lot of information but said the baby looks on track and things look normal. Very fun. We could see arms, legs, fingers and toes. Heartbeat was 168. Got some good pictures. I'll need to scan and upload.

Then today I had my regular Dr appt. Met with Helen. I really like her. She was very personable and remembered me from last time. (she's the one that discovered Natalie was breech). Went thru the usual questions and routine. She tried to hear the heartbeat, but couldn't get it. Said placenta is likely in the way and baby is still pretty small. I wasn't too worried since we just saw baby yesterday. She got out the u/s machine and checked the heartbeat. She didn't measure it, but baby was just hanging out. Everything looks good! Blood pressure was a little high (130/68), but I was feeling kind of funky today, so who knows.

Both times we saw baby, he/she was just hanging out. Not too interested in moving around. Neither u/s could tell if it is a girl or boy. But, we scheduled the big anatomy scan for March 9th!

I took the Intelligender Test last week, just for fun. It says:



So guess we have to wait another 6 weeks to see if it is right. I think it gets more false boy results, due to sone hormone issues, so who knows. If it had said Girl I'd have more confidence. Probably 50/50 shot!

14 weeks are almost done. Seems like it is going so fast this time around! I have been sick twice now, but that is still a HUGE improvement from last time. Hopefully that was the worst of it and I will start to get some energy back. I've mostly had "night sickness". Feel icky after work and just want to go to bed. Looking forward to putting that behind me. I keep thinking any day now...but then again it took me 26 wks to feel decent last time...let's hope that's not the case!

Going back to work Full Time next week. Gotta get some work done before baby gets here!

Next post needs to be a Natalie update. She is doing and saying so many fun things! Makes us laugh everyday!


1.22.2011

Natalie's 15 mo appointment

David took Natalie to her 15mo appointment yesterday. She is growing and changing!

The Dr. said her sudden mouthful of teeth was pretty normal; sometimes kids get their teeth all at once. He said the molars tend to be more painful because they don't have a pointy section to help break through the gum. I think she must be getting another tooth this week because she had a rough night Thursday. Not looking forward to that next set of molars..hopefully they wait a bit!

He said that her vocabulary will probably take off soon. Kids normally have between 30 and 60 words by 18 months! That seems incredible to me since she is so limited right now. I'm looking forward to it though, because I think it's going to be so much fun when she interacts more and am looking forward to all of the fun things she will say.

The Dr. warned that Natalie will start mimicking. He said to watch what we say (I'm not too concerned..we keep things pretty clean, usually).

He also said to start showing her the potty, which we've already been doing. But, he did warn us that kids tend to put lots of things in the toilet to watch them flush..so keep an eye on our cell phones and such. Yikes!

I totally missed my opportunity with the potty last week. I had to wake Natalie up one morning and I went to change her and she was completely DRY. I should have taken her in and let her sit there. Didn't even cross my mind. But, we do seem to be having some luck. This morning I told her "let's go potty and then go take a nap". She went straight to the bathroom and sat on the potty(for about 2 whole seconds..it's a start at least!). The nap, however, was less successful.

Natalie is really tending to do one good nap a day now. Daycare still gets two; I still have no idea how Kristi gets her to nap! The past few weekends we've only gotten one good, solid 3 hour nap per day. Makes for a peaceful afternoon!

Anyway, Natalie had another vaccine yesterday, and I guess she didn't like it too much. But, the sugar free lollipop afterwards totally made up for it.

Official stats for the month:
Weight: 21 lb 3 oz (40% per Dr.)
Height: 31.25 in (45% per Dr.)

She goes back again in 3 months and then not until she is 2. Crazy how fast she is growing up!

1.12.2011

Natalie is 15 months (a few days ago)

This weekend marked 15 months for Natalie!

Her little personality is really starting to shine through. She was so much fun this past weekend (well, except for the part when she refused to take a nap). She has been randomly giggling; it's just too cute.

Her language skills are starting to increase. Her vocabulary is mostly limited to Dog and Milk, but she also says "he" for Hi. I think I've heard "Gain" which means Again. And last night she said "Ba" when she heard the bath water running!

While she isn't verbalizing a whole lot, she is really learning her signing. She can sign: milk, eat, more, all done, hi, bye, yes, no, and likes to pretend she is talking on the phone (I don't think I talk on the phone much..especially when she is awake, but apparently she picks up on it). "More" is relatively new and pretty funny. If she wants something that we have, she'll sign More. Last night she was eating chicken and ate it all, and David was cutting up tomato for her (loves tomato), she finished the tomato so David gave her more chicken. She kept signing more because she wanted the tomato, not chicken. It's helpful to know she wants more, but not so good because we don't know more of WHAT!

We're working on her farm animals. She got a Little People Farm for Christmas. I started with the pig...she can find it when I ask her for it. She's still hit or miss with the sheep and cow.

Last night and tonight both I told her "lets go change your diaper" and she went to her room! If we say it is time to eat or time for a bath she also knows where to go. So amazing what she understands!

Natalie's walking continues to improve. For the most part, she is toddling around the house. When she gets tired, she starts falling more and more (she does this with the crawling too). She is getting faster and faster, and carries stuff around sometimes.

I know that 6 teeth came in this last month, and I have no idea how many more are in there! I know for sure another one on top left is poking through; based on her history I'd guess the matching top right one is in too, but she won't let me feel. I think once those are complete, her top jaw is full with the exception of the 2 yr molars. Her bottom ones aren't as close; still missing a few.

We got her a potty chair. I mostly just want her to get used to it and not be afraid of it. Of course I'd like her to use it, but since we aren't home with her all of the time, I don't want to rush her. This morning I was getting ready for work and when I went into the bathroom, she was sitting there (clothed) on her potty chair! Vast improvement over last week when she just wanted to climb on it and play with the pot. There is hope after all!

Weight: 21.5lbs (30%)
Height: 30.5 inches (50%)
Clothes: mostly 18 month tops and bottoms, some 12mo depending on brand
Diapers: still size 3, but will probably move to 4s soon

1.10.2011

The details of our Surprise!

If you're confused about the title of this blog post, you probably didn't read my last one.

Much to our Surprise, this summer Natalie will become a BIG SISTER!


A surprise for a few reasons:

1. I thought I had some unresolved infertility issues and that the next go around would be much like the last. However, my health issue seems to have resolved itself and this pregnancy came about without any fertility meds, charting, planning, etc. Surprise.

2. We had planned on waiting until Natalie was:
Walking (that has since been checked off the list!)
Talking (vocabulary is still limited to "dog" and "milk")
Potty Trained (she did get a potty chair for Christmas, but we have yet to start that challenge)
Sleeping in a Big Girl Bed (haven't even dreamed of starting this one)
So, surprise, Natalie. Better get moving.

3. The 3rd reason is mostly just irony; I had JUST cleaned up my closet and packed up all of my maternity clothes. I gave some to Trisha to use, bagged up the rest. I had gone through my cabinets and packed away all of the baby bottles and pumping supplies. I've been rotating Natalie's clothes as she grows, but I had gone through her room and cleaned out all of the infant supplies. It was almost like some sort of reverse nesting. Put away all of the stuff that I wasn't going to need for a few years - even though I was already pregnant. Just didn't know it.

While our life will be different than the one we had pictured in our minds, we know that Natalie and her sibling will grow up close to one another, be able to share interests, be close in school (I think only one grade difference because of the new CA Kindergarten laws), and we will enjoy the kids just the same. At first we were kind of in shock, but as time goes on, we're excited and anxious for this next stage in our family. So glad we took our vacation before we learned of the news. I have a feeling that was the last for a while.

And, we know that Natalie will be a great big sister!


We had our first Dr. appointment on the 30th (just shy of 10 weeks). We met with the Dr. that did my c-section last time and were given our first ultra-sound. He gave a due date of August 2nd (while I think it's closer to July 30th). The exact date doesn't really matter, as a c-section will be scheduled for a week prior. I was on the fence as to whether I should try for a VBAC or just go with a C-section, but that wasn't really an option after talking with the Dr. His office policy is to automatically schedule a repeat c-section unless I had prior children naturally. So, c-section it is. (he did offer to give me a referral to another Dr. if I was set on trying for natural, but honestly, the c-section wasn't terrible and I know what to expect and when to expect it.)

The most amazing part of this process the second time around, is that I have had virtually NO morning sickness!! Hooray! I couldn't be more excited about that. I was feeling kind of "off" for a while (what lead me to take a test), but no major nausea or sickness. Books and online resources always say "no two pregnancies are alike", but I was always quite the skeptic. I mean, how can I go from virtually being sick for the first 26 weeks with Natalie to having almost NO sickness with the second? Maybe I already paid my dues. I keep preparing for it to hit, but it just hasn't. I've definitely had more exhaustion and starvation this time around. I feel a little funky some evenings, but that is cured by going to sleep.

So, my bets are on "boy" this time around. It's just too different.

I have the first trimester screening & blood work scheduled for the 26th and my next appointment with my Midwife on the 27th. (while the Dr. will be doing the delivery, I can continue to see the midwives at interim appointments. It makes scheduling much easier and more flexible).

Only 28 more weeks until we meet the little one. Crazy.

.