A Lila update: 28 months old!

Lila is still being hilarious so I wanted to share some of the things she's been saying and doing. And I love sharing some of her latest pictures too! This child is pure joy with a side of frustration! That probably sums up most 2 year olds, I imagine.

Lila is excited about the baby, but I think she's getting some wires crossed somewhere. Neil asked her the other day what is going to happen at Christmas time, and she said, "Santa is going to come out of mommy's belly." Hmm.

If we try to get her to say something difficult like a name or longer word.. she says, "I don't know. That's hard to do."

Lila is extremely loving and affectionate, but twice over the last day or so, when she was mad at Neil and I for whatever reason, she has said, "I not love you." How awful is that?!!? I am trying to ignore that so she doesn't use it against us again, but WOW!

It's summer so we get ice cream a lot. Everywhere we go she wants a pink ice cream. So we have sampled the strawberry ice cream and sorbet of almost every Cincinnati-area ice cream place - well, at least the egg-free ones!

Everyday on the way home, we drive by this weird life-sized Barbie that is holding a sign for a mattress store. Lila talks to this Barbie everyday and it's hilarious. She says, "Barbie, I want to touch you. I want to hug you, Barbie. Barbie, are you hot? Do you need some water? Barbie, what are you doing? I like your hair Barbie. Bye big Barbie! See you tomorr-no!!"

When Lila got her first face paint this last Saturday, she sat down in the chair, pointed to her cheek and said, "I want a pink butterfly, right here." Girl knows what she wants!

This past Sunday, Neil and I were working on blowing insulation into our attic in the middle of a 90+ degree day! I was outside in my bathing suit stuffing ground up newspaper into a machine (it was much more labor intensive than it sounds) while watching Lila. I was checking on her every few minutes and she was coming outside every once in a while. She basically had the run of the house for 4 hours. While she was restricted to the living room and kitchen (and backyard) and couldn't get ahold of anything dangerous, she had a field day doing whatever she wanted! 

She raided the pantry - eating cereal and cheddar bunnies out of the box and ripping open tea bags. At one point she kept bringing out different boxes and packets out to me saying, "Is this chocolate milk?" So I went in and made her chocolate milk. She went potty (#2) unsupervised on her own IN THE POTTY! She walked outside naked saying, "I pooped!" And I walked in expecting it to be anywhere but in the potty, but alas, there it was. Amazing.

Amanda caught Lila peeing outside, leg hiked up, "peeing like Teddy", Amanda's dog. She is kind of infatuated with peeing outside in the grass now. 

My last funny story involves Wendy's. It's one of the few fast food places we can safely go with her because most things are egg-free, even the frosties (she always requests white ice cream). Well, for some reason Lila is fixated on Wendy. And when she is eating she talks to Wendy, and says "I have to take baby bites or Wendy will be sad." Or she will say, "Wendy is watching me!" So funny. She was also delighted at my Starbucks cup the other day, "Look, Mommy, it's Wendy!"

There are so many other little stories here and there. Lila is so quick and smart and remembers everything. She is a great helper and will be a great big sister! Sometimes I can't believe the amount of energy this child has, and Neil and I are so hoping for a calm, mellow, zen baby #2. We love our hyper Lila but we are hoping a calmer baby will give us some balance!

Baby #2: 14 Weeks and 2nd Trimester!

Here we are, officially in the 2nd trimester! I'm very happy to be at 14 weeks. Everything is going okay. I have had a cold for the last week or so, and that is really wearing me down. I also overdid it helping Neil blow in insulation into our attic on Sunday, so I am very sore and exhausted! I feel like I did a ton of crunches and I most definitely did not. I think I'm also feeling some growing pains in my belly as well.

I am also so tired when I get home from work. I honestly think the commute is the toughest part! I'm just spent after a full day at work, wrestling Lila into the car, driving home then having to figure out dinner/cook and do all the house stuff plus of course enjoy Lila! Luckily Neil does SO much and let's me relax. My body just shuts down and I can't do anymore! This is going to get so much worse too the bigger and more uncomfortable I get! Not looking forward to that.

I have my next checkup in about a week at 15 weeks. I'm not expecting much for this appointment, but I'm excited to schedule my ultrasound and 19 week appointment! I can't believe we are almost to that point of the pregnancy! It is killing me not knowing what this baby is, I just want to know already. I am leaning girl at the moment. I would be thrilled to have another girl! But I think it'd be fun to have a boy too. I really would just like to know NOW. Can't wait to find out in about a month!

I've been checking baby's heartbeat on the doppler a couple times a week. It's been in the 150s for the most part. I actually couldn't find it at all on Friday night and was a little scared, but woke up Sat. morning and there it was! I love my doppler! Checked it again yesterday and the heart rate was 160.

Here is my update for this week... I think these are going to get boring after about 26 more weeks of them! I'm also interested to see how many weeks I am wearing stripes. So far we are 3 for 4!

Baby #2: 13 Weeks

I'm still kind of amazed at how easy this pregnancy has been (so far)! Other than some extreme tiredness in the beginning weeks and a few mild symptoms off and on, I've felt really good! With Lila, I never threw up or had to miss work or anything but I remember battling some nausea and migraines in the first trimester. The second trimester, which I am entering soon (I never know if it starts with week 13 or 14) is when most people feel the best. And then weeks 27 to birth usually suck for everyone! I don't think I was too miserable until 37 weeks or so and then I had another 4 weeks of pregnancy. Joy!

So I have some countdowns going. We have 5 weeks until our beach vacation to Emerald Isle, NC and 6 weeks until we find out the sex of the baby! I am actually getting really anxious to know. I don't care either way, but I just want to know really badly! I think the big ultrasound is the time when everything starts getting real and the planning starts happening! I am starting to get less anxious and more excited now!

Speaking of planning, there is not much to do to get ready this time. Once we get Lila transitioned to a big girl bed (may not happen by December, which is fine!) I will move the crib into the guest room. I want to paint that room a nice neutral gray. If this baby is a girl, I think I will accent with purple or yellow and if it's a boy with blue or green. Not exactly sure. It may depend more on what curtains and comforter I find that I like! I am planning on keeping the queen bed in the room and having it be dual purpose. I hope to eventually have Lila and the new baby (regardless of gender) share one room so the nursery/guest room is temporary. I just don't really want to go all out on another nursery. Sorry baby #2 :)

I have made my first baby purchase! I got a great deal on this Ergo carrier. Brand new under $100 with shipping - and it's a cute pattern! I also need to get a new breast pump from my insurance company, buy or borrow boy clothes if needed and go through/dust off baby stuff that is in storage. We have all the big things and they are all gender neutral for the most part. I will need to buy little things like pacifiers and burp cloths. We might get another receiver for our video monitor. I'm not planning to get a double stroller initially because I am hoping to use the Ergo most of the time. If we pick out a name early enough I will make letters or something for the door or over the crib.

I also wanted to add that Neil and I finally got to hear the baby's heartbeat with the doppler! I bought a $30 AngelSounds Fetal monitor for my last pregnancy, and it is great! It doesn't really work until 12 or 13 weeks, but I was really happy to find the heartbeat last night. It was 156. I have been trying off and on since 9 weeks or so! It is a great reassurance to know everything is okay before you start feeling kicks all the time.

Oh and I wanted to show a recent pic of Big Sis Lila. This is her swinging before meeting friends at the Miami Whitewater Splash park last week. She actually enjoyed the swinging more than the water, but what can you do!

Here is my update for 13 weeks!

Baby #2: 12 Weeks

Here we are, already 3 months along with baby #2! It is definitely going by faster this time. We found out in mid-April and we were a bit shocked because it was our first month trying and because of travel our chances seemed slim. I was temping/charting and using the Fertility Friend app and it actually said "Pregnancy chances = low" so we thought we'd be avoiding a Christmas baby. But, nope! We are definitely expecting and my due date has been confirmed 12-25-13!

I have mixed feelings on the Christmas due date. I really love Christmas but I think it might be a crappy time to have a birthday. I don't want this child to feel neglected! So if his or her birthday ends up being between Dec 23-27 I think we might want to observe the birthday earlier/later or even in June!

The other due date difficulty is that if I go overdue (which is likely since Lila was born at 41 weeks and 3 days) we will be having a January baby and paying an insurance deductible for both 2013 and 2014. It's also confusing for insurance when your entire pregnancy is in one year and the birth and hospital stay is in another. But these are really small things when you look at the big picture.

I am sure I will post about this topic a lot, but I am hoping to deliver this baby VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). I am scared out of my mind but after doing a lot of research I really do think it is the best option. I've been told that I'm a good candidate and as long as I go into labor on my own by 42 weeks I will be given the opportunity to try for the VBAC. If not, I will have to have a c-section because they won't do any induction techniques at all. I know I have 6 months but it is hard not to worry about such a big decision! I definitely have had times where I've changed my mind and just want the c-section. I am not sure how I will feel as December gets closer.

Here is my Week 12 update!

Baby #2: 11 Weeks

Yep, we are expecting #2 in December! Neil and I are excited, but I still think it's sinking in even though we've known for a couple months. I will be 12 weeks tomorrow, but this was written when I was 11 weeks.

Lila was due on Valentine's Day 2011 and this baby is due Christmas Day 2013! I guess I'm good at making holiday babies. We are happy about welcoming #2 into our lives, but of course pretty nervous and scared too! I'm nervous about the transition from 1 to 2 children, I'm worried about how Lila will adjust and of course I have all the worries that most moms have in early pregnancy. Is the baby okay, is it growing right, how much weight am I going to gain, etc!

I will also say that while this baby was planned, it happened very fast. Exactly 23 days after I took my last birth control pill I had a positive pregnancy test. (I ovulate really early and have super short cycles if you are wondering how that is even possible!) I know plenty of people struggling with infertility, so I'm not saying that to boast or to be insensitive, but it has added a bit to our shock because we weren't really expecting a 2013 baby. But of course we are thrilled!

Lila is excited. She knows mommy has a baby in her belly and that she is getting a real baby at Christmas-time. She has remained neutral on the gender for the most part, but she told me the other day that she made cookies for "her sister". Lila will be 2 months away from 3 years old when this baby arrives. I am hoping that is good timing! I'm just happy we won't have two kids in diapers at the same time!

I don't have a real feeling either way on the baby's sex. I would love another little girl but I think it'd be great to have one of each as well. I truly will be happy either way. We will be finding out the gender at 19 weeks at the anatomy ultrasound which should be in late July.

I've been feeling pretty good this time around. With Lila, even though I never actually got sick, I had a lot of nausea. This time not so much. I have had fatigue, cramps, sore (and growing) boobs, acne/oily skin and hair, lightheadedness, heartburn at night and backache... but none of it has been too bad. I get very tired during the day at work, but I am also not drinking much caffeine.

I'm starting to show a little bit, definitely earlier than I did with Lila. My belly probably looks like my 16 week belly with her, and I've been wearing maternity stuff for a while already!

I had my 11 week checkup last Tuesday, and they could not find the heartbeat on the doppler. The doctor assured us that at 10 wks 6 days it was just a bit early and not to worry. Needless to say, I was very worried and thankfully she offered up an ultrasound appointment for the next day. So we got an ultrasound and everything is going well! The baby measured 10 weeks 6 days and I was right at 11 weeks, so that was right on. The heart rate was 168. Lila's was 160 at 11 weeks. It's so real now!

I am going to try to do weekly updates like I did with Lila. I've really enjoyed going back and reading the updates I did with her. I don't want to start neglecting baby #2 already when it comes to recording milestones!

Hopefully my belly photos won't all be in random campus bathrooms. The bathroom below is special: it's the handicap bathroom at work where I took my first positive pregnancy test!

Lila's Big News!

More details to come!