The Verdict Is In!

So as I stated earlier this week, I had a follow-up ultrasound on Tuesday to get a few more pictures of this little one, and to see if we could get a look at the "goods."  They wanted me to come 2 weeks after the initial ultrasound so when I made a reservation for AJ to go to hourly care the only time slot they had available was from 8:30-10:30 and my appointment was scheduled at 9:30.

I'm usually out of there with plenty of time to get back and pick her up, but for some reason, they were really far behind on Tuesday.  I finally got called back at 9:55 and was in the ultrasound room by 10:00.  I was worried that the tech would have trouble seeing the gender again and it would take longer and make me late getting AJ (which I was anyway and they charge $1/minute you're late...highway robbery, I tell you!).

Anyway, I don't want to keep you all in suspense any longer than I already have by rambling on and on...

We found out that Baby #2 is a....

We're very excited to have a baby sister to add to the family and are furiously trying to decide on names that go well with AJ's name.  AJ, however is in a state of denial, I think, because when I told her that she is going to have a baby sister she told me that she is the big sister.  I agreed with her and said, yes, but the baby is a girl baby, to which she then replied that the baby is a boy baby.  Haha!

Oh well, she'll understand eventually, and someday they'll be arguing over clothes, make-up and who knows what else!

As far as how I'm feeling, I am very happy, but very, very surprised because I really thought that we were having a boy this time around.  I'm thrilled that we'll be able to reuse the clothing that we have saved from AJ, and also a little relieved because I know girls.  I know what to expect and how to handle things like diaper changes, etc.

After it was determined that this baby is a girl, the ultrasound tech was scanning and she casually asked me if we were going to try again after this one to get a boy.

My response?

Nope, two girls is enough for me!  ;)

Pink or Blue: Part Duex

If you've been following along for the past month or so, you know that I had my anatomy scan a few weeks ago and all looked great!  We were able to get a good look at the little guy (or girl) and it was wonderful to finally be able to see the baby.

You may also remember that the ultrasound tech was not able to get a good look at the "goods" in order to make an educated guess on the gender of our baby.  Well, tomorrow we go back for another try.  I'm really nervous, but also not.

D won't be with me this time, as he is currently TDY, but I'm excited to hopefully find out the gender.  However, if for whatever reason this baby is uncooperative again I'm not going to be all bent out of shape about it.  I mean, I have tons of girl stuff.  I have lots of friends with baby boys.  I will dress baby in green and yellow for the first day of his or her life until we can figure out what color is more appropriate.  ;)  I do want to know the gender, but it will be kind of exciting to find out on his or her birthday!

I am nervous (in a very excited way) about seeing this little guy (or girl) again, though!  It was almost strange last time.  I may have mentioned that this pregnancy really doesn't feel real to me yet.  It still hasn't really sunk in, despite the baby swing, bouncy seat and breast pump sitting in the bedroom upstairs.  A good friend of mine brought over a car-load of stuff for me to use with this baby.  I am so grateful that she is willing to give me all her stuff.

I mean, that stuff is expensive and to be honest, we got rid of a lot of it.  We couldn't see moving 2 times with an entire room full of baby stuff that we didn't know when we'd use again.  Last year when we thought we were moving for a third time I loaded up some of the bigger items and sold them at Once Upon a Child.  I figured we'd either need it again soon, and in that case we'd buy it right back from them or we wouldn't and I wouldn't have to worry about schlepping it around the country again.

Anyway, mother's intuition is saying boy this time around.  I don't really know why.  I can't explain it, but I am feeling boy.  I refer to the baby as a "him" all the time.  My pregnancy has been much different than when I was pregnant with AJ, but I also vaguely felt like she was a boy (though not as strongly as I feel this time).

I'll be back tomorrow (or Wednesday) after I've informed hubby and my family to let you know the outcome of the ultrasound!

What is your vote?  Are we having a boy or a girl?

17 Weeks: What's On My Mind

One of the biggest differences that I've noticed from my first pregnancy to this one is the issue of weight gain and food cravings.

To start off, I had way more morning sickness this time around, which is to say, I had quite a bit, since I had almost none with AJ.  I think its like a cruel cosmic joke to be nausea free during your first pregnancy and then have it bad the second time around when you have a child to care for.  Whether the universe is conspiring against me or not, I had trouble finding foods that sounded good to me for the first 15-ish weeks of this pregnancy.

I didn't really keep track of my weight gain when I was pregnant with AJ, but I know that at this point with her I had gained way more than I have at this point the second time around.  I think I've gained about 1 pound at this point.  Part of the reason for my weight gain with AJ was because if I felt dizzy or nauseas I'd eat a snack and that took care of it for me.  This time, it really didn't make a difference, so I really only have been eating when I'm hungry.

I am not too worried about my lack of enormous weight gain so far, but I think I'm so used to watching what I eat to maintain my weight before I got pregnant that I do find myself thinking about whether or not I should eat a certain thing, or whatever.  With AJ I didn't think twice about pretty much anything I ate the entire time I was pregnant with her.  Like, if I craved 7 Layer Bars, I'd just make them and eat half the pan in one sitting.

Last time I kind of had the attitude that "I'm pregnant, I can eat whatever I want!"  This time around I'm looking at it more like this pregnancy is a temporary situation and then I'll go back to my normal life/self after its over.  I think its partially because we don't plan on having any more kids after this one, so when this pregnancy is over, my childbearing phase will also come to an end.

I guess it means I'm being healthier this time around?  I've also found that so far, I haven't been eating the large portion sizes like I did with AJ.  I didn't gain like 75 pounds with AJ or anything, but I definitely gained more than I wanted to (if I had to guess, I'd say about 50 pounds), and didn't manage to lose it all after she arrived.  I was pretty unhappy with the way I looked due to the extra weight on my midsection.  This time I'd like to keep the weight gain under control a bit more and hopefully manage to get rid of it all after the baby arrives.  I'm under no delusions that I'll have time to work out with a 3 year old and a newborn, so I'm hoping that whatever I gain I'll be able to lose mostly by controlling my diet postpartum.

So that is what has been on my mind so far this pregnancy.  Can you relate with this thinking?  How was your second (or third, or fourth) pregnancy different from your first?

My Big News...

If you know me in real life or follow me on Instagram, then you already know that we are adding another little one to our family.  If not, then consider this my big announcement!

We have been trying for a while and are thrilled to be welcoming our second child in March, which makes me about 16 weeks pregnant.  I am due almost exactly 3 years from when I was due with AJ.

It is hard to explain the differences between my pregnancy with AJ and this time around.  Not only do I feel much more relaxed about this pregnancy, but I'm oddly not even worried about the transition from one to two kids.  Maybe that comes later on in the pregnancy?

Its strange, with AJ I feel like all I did for 9 straight months was think about my pregnancy, and my baby, and etc.  This time I feel like I'm lucky if I remember that I'm pregnant on a daily basis.  Of course, that's if its possible to forget something when its the reason you feel like you're going to lose your breakfast at any given moment!  Its not that we're not excited, obviously we are!  Its just, different.  Its hard to explain.

On top of all the changes that come with adding another child to our family, we also have no idea what we are going to name this baby.  Like, no idea.  At all.

We have our anatomy scan next week, so I think we're both hoping that finding out the gender will inspire us into choosing a name for our next little one.  Here's to hoping, because otherwise?  I fear we will be those people who are held at the hospital, unable to leave, until we choose a name for our child.

How did you deal with adding second (or third) child to your family?  How did you choose a name?  Did you have trouble coming up with name ideas?

Boring Life and Toddler Meltdowns

Tuesday morning AJ was not wanting to wear underwear, so I let her wear a diaper for the morning and in the afternoon I bribed her to wear underwear.  Our day basically went downhill from there.  She was not happy about the whole sitting on the potty thing and she made that known (as if I needed reminding).  She sat 3 or 4 times for me (didn't go) and then decided she wanted to go outside.  After a brief lapse in judgment, I decided that it would be fine to go out for a few minutes.

Oh boy.  When the time to go back inside to sit on the potty came, a meltdown of epic proportions ensued.  She was not happy at all and the rest of the evening.  It was about this time (5:30) that I realized that I needed a few things from the grocery store for dinner, like fudge.  We headed out and of course she was a complete angel while we were out.  Figures.

I gave her a Reece's cup after she ate her dinner and she looked at it and said, "Oh my word!"  I started cracking up and so of course after that she was just trying to make me laugh and be silly.

This morning we went to playgroup in the neighborhood and AJ had so much fun just playing with all the other little kiddos that were there.  We came home and she told me that she wanted chicken nuggets, ketchup, broccoli and ranch for lunch.  She was happy because I let her get the chicken nuggets out of the bag and push the buttons on the microwave.  The best part of it all (according to her) was that I let her squeeze the ketchup on her plate (with some help).

D is supposed to be home early-ish today, which will be nice since we had a little miscommunication yesterday and I thought he was coming home at 3:30 and that definitely did not happen.  Haha!

Tomorrow my Father-In-Law comes to visit for the weekend so AJ and I are going to head up to "town" early and do some fall clothes shopping before we get him at the airport.  It finally got chilly here and I was scrounging through AJ's winter clothes from last year trying to find something that fits to wear today.  I've known for a while that I need to buy her fall wardrobe, but I just keep putting it off because its been so nice here still.  The real challenge is going to be getting all the things she needs without spending hundreds of dollars.

We don't really have anything planned for the weekend, but I'm sure we'll find lots of fun stuff to do with Grampa here!

On Motherhood and Babies

My sister and I can make pretty much any situation awkward. Don't believe me? Then I'll wager a bet that you don't know us in real life. My family is not exactly known for being forthcoming or talking about important topics. We tend to be sarcastic and pick on each other. Its just how we do.

Anyway, we joked on twitter that we were going to ask our mom super awkward questions while I was home and last night we did just that. My sister had found an article in Real Simple and the questions the author listed seemed to have the awkward potential we were looking for, but might actually spark some conversation as well (or at least give us a little insight on our Mama).

So we got to peppering Ma with questions and the conversation went pretty much as we expected. There weren't any big, hidden, family secrets revealed, and honestly, it was interesting to hear my mom's perspective on our childhoods, but overall, I wasn't surprised by any of her answers.

It wasn't until I read an article posted by Kelly at Kelly's Korner that one of Ma's answers made me think.

When we asked her the first question, "What's the one thing you would have done differently as a Mom?" her answer was that she wishes she had taken the time when we were babies to enjoy us as babies more.

This really hit home for me. You know, because I have a baby. And while I love her as a baby, I find myself looking forward to the day she is older. Not any specific age, per se, but old enough to talk, follow directions, go to school, entertain herself for 8 seconds, etc.

Hearing my mom wish that she had savored the time we were babies and then reading the article that Kelly posted today really made me think and appreciate the fact that our babies are only babies for such a short period of time. Sure, I'll probably have another kid in the future, but AJ will only be a baby for another few months (some may even argue that she is already out of the baby stage). I can always experience a subsequent child's baby-hood, but I want to try and enjoy what is left of AJ's baby stage as well. I don't want to look back on my life (and AJ's) and wish I had savored the seasons of life more.

So I know that people of all ages and experiences read my blog, I'd be interested to know what you wish you'd done differently with your kids, whether they're still babies or grown and out of the house.

What The Heck?

Can I talk about something here? (Of course I can, its my blog!)

If I have one piece of advice to offer the new and expecting moms, it is this:

DON'T compare yourself to other moms, or your kids to other kids.

Now, for me, I haven't really had trouble with the second part of this. AJ is the most perfect, most adorable, cutest baby in the world. Wait, so is your kid? Of course they are! As moms I think its natural to look at your kid and see Heaven. Seriously, there are days when I sit and watch her play and just smile because I can't believe that not only did I make that piece of perfection, but I managed to keep her alive up to this point!

That's right, folks, I'm taking credit for her! Well, the good parts at least, the stubbornness and attitude come from the hubby (yeah, right).

My point is, I rarely compare her to other kids. I think I heard the saying "every baby is different" enough times during my pregnancy that it must have sunken in. To me, watching AJ learn new skills or get new teeth is exciting, regardless of whether Bobby across the street started walking at 2 months old or Susie was potty trained by her first birthday (I call bull sh!t, people, but I digress).

What I struggled with early on was comparing myself as a mom to other moms.

I didn't have an all-natural, home, water, pain-free, drug-free, hypno, upside-down birth. I had a scheduled C-Section.

I also didn't cloth diaper right away, nor did I breast-feed AJ past the 6 week mark. I have my reasons for each and every decision that I made and honestly, I no longer feel the need to explain myself. I made the best decisions for my family, and while your choices may be different from those that I made, I'm sure they're the best for you and your family.

Plus, lets be honest here.

Some of the choices that I made were not at all what I expected. I changed my mind. I'll admit (and this isn't easy, here) that I was wrong. I thought that I would have a drug-free, all-natural birth. I thought that I would breastfeed until 1 year (or at least 6 months). I had decided that cloth diapers weren't for us. We were not going to co-sleep, no matter what. AJ would be in her crib from day 1.

Well guess what, folks. As I said above, I had a scheduled C-section, only breastfed for 6 weeks as opposed to months, we use cloth diapers, and AJ was in bed with us for the first 3 months of her life and even after that I had trouble putting her in her pack 'n' play in our room, much less across the hall by herself!

I have encountered moms who have made different decisions and some are understanding (without explanation) of my choices, but far more are judgmental. Like somehow, my decision to bottle feed will affect their child negatively. I used to feel like I owed them an explanation as to why I chose to poison formula feed my baby. (Yes, in case you are wondering, I have actually encountered people who equate formula with poison.)

Maybe its because we're past this point and AJ is now drinking the same whole milk that their kids are, or maybe I have grown more confident in my skills as a mom, but I no longer feel the need to even discuss my choices with the judgmental moms. Now, don't get me wrong, if you want to know, I'll tell you, but I'm not going to beat myself up over it, nor will I follow the line "we used formula" with a lengthy explanation about the inability to latch or nipple shields, etc.

If you want to go to a LLL meeting, more power to you! There still are times when I wish that I had been able to breast feed AJ, but those thoughts are no longer ridden with guilt like they once were.

So, to all you expectant moms out there, be ready for the judgment. I think that moms of babies are some of the most judgmental people out there, mostly because the different options are so controversial. Do you vaccinate on schedule or delay? Breast or Bottle? Pacifier or no pacifier? Cloth or disposable? Baby wear or stroller?

I think in the end, no matter what decisions you make for your child, trust your gut. You know what is best for you, your baby, and your family.

Bottom line is, if Mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.

Lame

I am making a trip to Hobby Lobby with my neighbor today to get some supplies for a few crafts I'm working on for friends. I've got 2 friends and a cousin getting married this year and instead of buying them multiple gifts from their registries, I'm going to make the wedding gift.

I'm afraid to say what the gift is on here, because I'm pretty sure that a few of them read my blog and I don't want to spoil the surprise. Once I get them done I'll make sure to take a picture and then after the wedding I'll post them on here for you guys to see.

With that being said, I feel like I've been so engrossed in my own life lately with moving into the new house and trying to make friends that I totally forgot (okay, not really forgot, just wasn't thinking about it) that I have several close friends who are pregnant and due within the next few months. Since these ladies are all first-time moms I feel like I'm pressuring myself to come up with the perfect baby shower gift because I'm the "experienced" mom. Any other mama's out there feel like this?

I'm also excited because I ordered D's Valentine's Day gift yesterday and he has no idea what it is. Trust me though, its the perfect gift! Its something that he wants. He's mentioned it in the past but I guarantee that he doesn't remember ever talking about it. It's something he would NEVER buy for himself. I'm just excited! We never do anything for V-Day and I decided that this year I wanted to celebrate, so we're also going to go out to eat (not on V-Day, but the weekend after when my parents are in town). Once he opens it, I'll take pictures and share with you guys (I know he reads my blog so I'm zipping my lips on this).

What is up in all of your lives? Does anyone have and exciting plans for V-Day? What did you get your hubby? Is there anything you're hoping he gets you?

A Question For The Moms....

I'm not sure if I mentioned it or not, but AJ has recently started crawling scooting and it won't be long before she is full out crawling around our house. I also want to mention that we have no carpeting in our house. Seriously, every square inch of the floor is either wood or tile. My problem is that since AJ is not super steady yet, she keeps flipping over accidentally and smacking her head on the hard floors.

So mamas out there, have you had this problem? How did you rectify it?

Obviously its a temporary problem because eventually she'll get steadier and won't be flipping over, but then we'll get into the whole standing/walking stage when she'll start falling again. So I had the idea to get some of those soft puzzle piece mats that go on the floor to cushion her falls a little bit.

Something like this.

Does this seem like overkill to you or no? I should also mention that we will only be in this house until December, then we'll be moving somewhere else (where we'll more than likely have carpeting in at least part of the house).

What do you think? What have you done?

Shopping Report

First off. Massage=heaven.

On to shopping. My sister and I went to the mall after lunch yesterday and we also stopped in at the world's biggest baby store (Buy Buy Baby). All in all it wasn't a bad trip, but I was prepared to spend some money and I didn't really get a lot of the stuff that I was looking for.

Normally the Gap is like "what do I not want?" and yesterday I didn't buy anything. I did get AJ a few cute things from Baby Gap that were on clearance though, so that was exciting. Our trip to Buy Buy Baby was insane. We were there because I wanted to buy more 8 oz bottles and small town doesn't sell the bottles we use. Well, I was planning on looking at some of the baby clothes while we were there and it was so instensely overwhelming that we just got the bottles and left. In case you've never been there before, I'll explain.

Have you ever been to a Bed, Bath, and Beyond? Well, this baby store is owned by the same company and is set up exactly the same way. It is huge and has walls of things that go all the way up to the ceiling! I'm not kidding when I say that it was overwhelming. I'm not one to be freaked out easily and I seriously looked towards the clothes and then turned to my sister and said, "let's GTFO of here!"

My main goal was to find a swim suit for our FL trip. I should have known better than to wait until the end of summer to find a suit. We really didn't see that many and the only store where I actually saw a few was in Victoria's Secret. Um, no thanks!

Speaking of VS, we went in there and their computer system was down so they were writing down credit card information manually. Well, I took a look at my hand written receipt when we got home and the girl forgot to (or just didn't) write down the last four digits of my credit card number. I'm assuming that means that I won't be seeing a charge from them.

Does it make me a bad person that I didn't call or try to remedy the situation at all? What would you have done?

These Are a Few of My Favorite (Baby) Things!

We recently moved to an area of the country that not only has no big box baby store, it has no Tarjay. I know, you didn't know that there was an area of the country without one, right? Well, we have found it folks. The WallyWorld here in town has a sad selection of baby stuff and since we have a baby, and she needs things, I have been doing quite a bit of shopping online (D hates this because my spending gets a little out of control high.

With that being said, here are some of my most recent scores and purchases that have been ever-so-kindly delivered to our front door lately.

We have several of these "BooginHead" binky clips. Love them!

The cutest little swim suit in the world!

WallyWorld doesn't even sell these bottles (my faves).

Not new, but continues to be a favorite around our house.

Exersaucer...we're growing into it.

AJ's "bugs"! She just stares at these guys whenever she's in her carseat, its so cute!

AJ hasn't quite mastered the art of grabbing/holding things yet, so a traditional teether is out. This one isn't too hard, but seems to do the trick. I'm not completely sure she's teething, but she likes to chew on things a lot.

What are the things you can't live without? How much of your shopping do you do online?

Great Weekend!

We ended up not going to the consignment sale on Friday. After we met D for lunch we were both tired and since we had to pick Grandpa G up at the airport later that afternoon I decided to skip it. We did make a trip to Babies 'R' Us yesterday and got AJ some super cute outfits and a bottle sterilizer. Some of the clothes we got for AJ are so cute!

Today D and Grandpa G made pasta sauce and manicotti for dinner. We also had some guests stop by to see the baby! Grandpa's friend Leslie's mom and aunt, Fran and Jan, came to visit, socialize and eat with us. We had a fun time chatting and hanging out and AJ was a very well-behaved girl the whole time they were here!

Baby Stuff!

So FIL is here visiting the Pacific Northwest for the first time and D had to work today before he takes a 4-day pass tomorrow and Friday. FIL and I decided to do some shopping while D was at work because I knew that he wouldn't want to walk around Babies R Us all afternoon with us. Well, we got TONS of stuff that we needed for the baby!

We got a diaper genie, some bottles, some clothes, lots of blankets, a changing table pad, a cover for the changing table pad, a bath tub, a mobile, socks, night gowns, diaper cream, pacifiers, a formula dispenser for the diaper bag, a travel container for wipes, the baby monitor, baby wash, a swaddler, some hats, some cloth diapers for burp cloths, and a head positioner for the car seat.

Tomorrow we are going to Target to get some extra crib sheets, another changing pad cover and pack n play sheets. We might even get a stuffed animal or something if we see something really cute! I told FIL that I would rather get those things from Target because I know specifically that the sheets are about 1/2 the price of the ones that they have at BRU.

I'm just excited to finally have all the stuff! Tomorrow we're heading up to Ikea to get a dresser for AJ's room and possibly a rocking chair as well. Depends on if D likes the upholstered gliding swivel chairs they have at Macy's. Should be another fun day of shopping!

Nesting...

D had a 4-day pass this weekend, so we have basically spent the entire weekend cleaning out closets, reorganizing our stuff, putting together furniture and preparing the upstairs to welcome a baby to our house! We made a trip to Ikea yesterday and bought some dressers for our bedroom so that we would be able to move all D's clothes out of the nursery closet.

We are almost done moving all the upstairs furniture around and will have the crib set up in the nursery by tonight, so we will just be waiting on the bedding for the crib. I am also going to open up the Pack 'n Play so that it has a chance to air out before America comes!

This morning I moved all her clothes and most of the baby stuff from the dining room upstairs into the closet in the nursery. D's dad is coming to visit in a few weeks and we are going to be shopping for a bed frame for our bedroom and a rocking chair (and maybe a dresser/changing table) for the baby's room. We also have some Chinese paper cut-outs that my grandparents brought back from China many years ago that I want to frame and hang in her room. The only other thing that I want to do is paint wooden letters and hang them over the crib spelling out her name. Overall, we're making good progress. I'll post pictures when we get the crib in the room and again once all the bedding arrives!

Crib Bedding!

Today I ordered the bedding for the crib! We finally decided on one that we both like and I ordered it from Target.com this evening. We made a trip to Target and got the crib mattress as well. The crib we have is either very similar or the same one as in the picture below. It is the same finish and I think its the same model.Tomorrow we are going to start cleaning out the spare bedroom and the closet to get everything organized so we can move all A.J.'s stuff into her new room! I am excited for this to be done because it will not only be one less thing for me to worry about, but it makes everything seem more real as well!

I had my glucose screening this week at the lab, so hopefully I passed that and won't have to go back for the 3-hour test later on. I should find out next week when we have our next appointment.

Roommate Reunions!

So we were back in Chicago for Thanksgiving and the Saturday after Thanksgiving was my baby shower! A bunch of people came to the party and almost all of my roommates from college were in town for it! The only one who couldn't come was Abby.

We had a very fun time with all our family and friends over the holiday weekend and we are so thankful for all the wonderful gifts we received from people at our shower! We got the car seat, swing, crib, bouncy seat, and toys, not to mention lots and lots of clothes! Everything is so cute and we are so excited!

We made it back to WA and Thursday Abby was able to come out to WA and visit for a day or two! She actually came West because she is attending a fundraiser for her cousin out here, but she was able to come down to see us and spend some time here! She experienced the BN talent show with me on Friday morning and I'm sure its something she will never forget! LOL.

All in all, it was great to see everyone and we really enjoyed spending time with friends and family! Only a few more weeks until Christmas, so get your shopping done!

I'm Boring!

So I don't really have much to update about. We are going out of town next weekend to attend a wedding, most of my family should be there, so it will be a fun time! I haven't seen most of them since our wedding, almost 2 years ago!

I have been doing a lot of research and online window shopping, looking for the baby stuff that I want so we can either buy it or register for it. I got the invitation to our baby shower yesterday, I'm so excited to see everyone and have me some good ol' Chicago style food! Hopefully most of the people we invited can make it, we don't get to go home much!

I am also starting to freak out a little about how much money all the stuff we want for the baby is actually going to cost! I'm starting to think that we won't ever be able to spend any money because we won't ever have any after this baby either! I guess that is the price (literally) of having a baby!

I have been busy with the Family Readiness Group (FRG) for D's unit. We are planning a Holiday Party that is starting to take shape and there are tons of other activities that are going on as well since we are coming into the holiday season. Should keep me fairly busy until the baby is born, then I'm planning on passing the reigns off to someone else!

We also have a Holiday Ball in December for D's work that I still need to buy a dress for. Should be interesting seeing that I'll be 6.5 months pregnant!