Pregnancy Update

We had another appointment today.  Everything is going very well with our baby.  Her heart rate is exactly where it should be and she is growing like normal.  I don't recall if I had mentioned this or not but when we had our blood work done for one of the ultrascans or screenings one of the lab technicians called me when they had the results and said that everything is beyond great.  She had said that the information that she gathered about my body from my blood work would make her think that that I was in my early twenties.  This makes me feel great and that my body is fully supplying our growing bambino everything that she needs.  Kudos to you, body.  I salute you.

In other news, I gained nearly 7 pounds since our last appointment at the beginning of the month.  SEVEN!  This is crazy to me.  I know it is just a number, and I know it could be worse, but this is the first time this pregnancy that I gained this much weight in a small window of time, and I didn't gain this much at any window of time during my first pregnancy so it was very unexpected.

I am not trying to complain, nor am I trying to emphasize a number on a scale.  It was just shocking to me and something that I will be adjusting to over the next few days.  I am more than happy to have a healthy baby and pregnancy so if that means I need to gain 7-ish pounds per month for the remainder of the pregnancy than that is what I will do.  It was just, like I said, unexpected.

Speaking of a healthy baby, Little Sis loves to get cozy in there!  I've had several times throughout the day where I find I am short on breath.  It's almost like I can't take a deep breath in.  Dr. Gaiser has once again assured me that all of this is normal but it's hard not to get into a panic state when I find it difficult to breathe.

Little Sis also loves to move around a ton and with a lot of force!  She is definitely kicking in there!  I don't recall "kicks" being quite as hard with Kate but it kind of makes me laugh!  I mean, I can literally see my shirt moving from all the strong movement in my belly.  It makes me wonder if my coworkers can see it too?!  Nonetheless, I love feeling our baby move in my tummy.  It makes me excited to meet our newest little lady!

#hashtagseven

#bandaidknuckles  #shewasnthurt
#shejustwantedsomebandaids  #cinderella
#snowwhite  #belle  #jasmine
#youaintgotnothinonkate

#breakfastinbed  #justbecause  #howadorable
#cheeriosandblueberries  #perfection

#snowday  #onceapuppyalwaysapuppy  #helovesit  #welovehim

#naptime  #socozy  #justgotbackfromtheindoorpool
#whatisitaboutpools  #theyareamazing  #insomanyways

#freevanillaconeday  #dairyqueen  #icecreamfordinner
#yesplease

#happystpats  #lucky  #brianissoproud
#hedrewtheleprechaun

Kate Convos

Convo #1
Kate: MOMMY!  Jack eating feet!
Mommy: Jack is eating his foot?
Kate: Yeah!  Jack eating tail!
Mommy: Oh my goodness, Honey!
(Jack was scratching his foot and then his tail with his mouth...)

Convo #2
(While talking about games to play.)
Mommy: You know what we need to get?
Kate: A bounce house!
Mommy: [Completely taken aback.]  I was thinking more along the lines of Candy Land or Hi-Ho Cherry-Oh, but that's a very good idea!

Convo #3
Mommy: Please don't put your finger in your nose.  Do you need a tissue?
Kate: No, Mommy.  I get bat.
(I couldn't help but laugh out loud.  Fair enough!  But let's please wash your hands when you are done!)

Convo #4
[We had already read books, we had already said goodnight, the lights were off, the stars were on.  It was time for bed.]
Kate: I go potty.
Mommy: You need to go potty?
Kate: Yeah. [Already starting to get out of bed.]
Mommy: We just went potty, sweetie.  It's time for bed now.
Kate: No, I go potty.
Mommy: [Torn between knowing this is just a stall tactic and not wanting to thwart her interest in using the potty.]  Ok, but then it's right to bed after that.
[We use the potty and proceed to sit on the potty.]
Mommy: [After much praise and love and denial of a potty treat.] Ok, honey, let's get wiped and get a new dipe on.
Kate: Mom.  Mom.  Be patient.
Mommy: Uh, what?!
Kate: Mom, be patient.  I go poop.
She had to have learned that at school because we have yet to use that expression in our house!  But I couldn't help but laugh when she said it.

It Was Sunny

I looked at the forecast today and for the next couple weeks our temperatures should be in the 40's or above with some sunshine. Seeing that is like seeing a little piece of heaven!  It has been COLD and dreary here!  And since I got off of work a tad early, and the sun was out, I picked Kate up from school and we immediately set out for a walk.  The only route to "walk" is to the park, so that's where we headed.

Off on our walk!  Kate insisted on bringing her baby
and her sunglasses!

What I failed to grasp was the fact that these so called 40+ degree days weren't supposed to start until tomorow.  So our current "in the 20's" temperatures still felt really cold even though the sun was out.

Fortunately I had brought a hat and gloves for Kate.
I failed to bring anything other than my coat for me.

And with the wind that was blowing, it made it feel even colder.  While our house was still in sight, I almost turned us both around and called it a day but decided it would really mean a lot to Kate if we could hang outside for a little bit.  Plus, she appeared to be much warmer.

Baby, however, was not, according to Kate, so she kept
Baby warm. Yeah, I didn't come prepared.
#Mommyproblems.

We ended up calling Brian to pick us up in his warm car since it was so cold and hunkered down in the near by library until he got there.

#cold.  That's all I got.

Did I mention that today was pajama day at school so Kate had pajama bottoms on?  I'm sure those were real warm.  Did I also mention 5 minutes into our walk I realized she needed a new diaper but didn't have any with us?  Yeah, she ended up walking to the park with a smelly bum and proceeded to get this awful chaffing lesion in her nether regions.

I guess I should've called this post "Mommy of the Year Award".  But I named it my excuse instead.  All of this happened because it was sunny.

I was dupped.

First Shiner

Our darling Kate came home yesterday with her first shiner.  Her class was playing on these rubber cubes that were spread out in her classroom and she lost her balance and tried to grab onto a nearby table for support with her hand, but that slipped as well.  Instead she grabbed onto the table for support with her face.  [Sigh.]

First shiner.  It's a bit blurry but it's what I've got.

I know that the teachers in the classroom could not have prevented this, persay.  And I know that these things can happen at home.  She did flip over our couch while she was running across it a month or so ago under complete supervision.  (She was fine, by the way.)  But it still makes me sad to see a bruise on my baby's face that occurred while I wasn't around.

I know she was comforted, but it wasn't by me, and that also makes me sad.  Fortunately, it doesn't look like it's going to get any worse than it is so we're going to load up on bananas and see if we can lessen the bruise time.

Even with a bruise on her face she is still my darling,
and still utterly adorable.  ♥

Pregnancy Insomnia

We are about half way through our pregnancy and I thought it'd be fitting to go through a little run down of what we've been experiencing, similar to what we did with Kate when we were halfway through!

Physically

1.  Nausea - The nausea that I had with this pregnancy came and went.  I hadn't been very nauseous until the very end of our first trimester and then it consumed me.  I was nauseous 24/7 for about two weeks.  That was challenging.  Kate watched a lot of movies.  I lounged a lot.  As a matter of fact, I think this is when she found her love of Frozen.  Fortunately, I have not been very nauseous since then.  It was only that two week time frame and it has since been smooth sailing in the nausea department.

2. Tiredness - I remember being exhausted when I was pregnant with Kate.  I mean, more tired that I imagined.  This go round, I am definitely tired again, but I don't feel like I am as tired as I was.  Perhaps I don't have time to be tired since I'm chasing number one around, or perhaps I'm just used to not getting as much sleep as I did B.C. (Before Children).  One thing that I have noticed is that I am actually having pregnancy insomnia.  Sometimes I fall asleep putting Kate to bed and then wake up around 11 pm.  And sometimes I am up for a few hours, exhausted, but unable to fall asleep.  Bizarre, but the doctor has assured me that this is all normal.

3. Bladder Control - I 100% have lost control over this.  I've had to use the bathroom way more than when I was pregnant the first time.  It's like my body remembers and quickly goes right back into baby production mode!  Once again, I am super impressed with my own body about this.

4. Bump Status - I feel a lot larger this pregnancy than I did with the first.  My doctor, family, friends, and strangers have assured me that I am not "big" but I feel like it.  'Nuff said.

Cravings

Little Sister for sure knows she is a summer baby because I have been craving a ton of summer-y things.  My favorite sandwich is a cheese and tomato sandwich.  I love blueberries, like I did with Kate, and watermelon.  I have also really enjoyed any "cherry" type of flavoring, like grenadine, like I did with Kate, but a new addition for Little Sis is my love of sugary cereals.  Yeah, not the most healthy option, but I've bought the travel packs a couple of times to get my sugary cereal fix without having to buy an entire box.  That's a good solution, right?!

Side note: Kate is also enjoying my sugary cereal craving...

Weight Gain

Once we found out we were pregnant, the scale has only moved up this pregnancy.  (This is opposed the last pregnancy where I actually lost weight in the first couple months...)  We are nearly eight pounds in the positive at this point and continuing to move up.  This means baby is healthy and growing as she should be, so I'll leave it at that.

I cannot believe how quickly this pregnancy is going by.  Is it because we are already chasing our first daughter around?  Or is because we are getting older and time seems to go faster?  Is it because we are busy working and raising a child AND making another child?  I don't know.  All I know is time is flying by and July will be here before we know it!

Sledding

We received another weekend snow this weekend and this storm has been forecasted to be the last major snow event for this season.  Whether or not that holds true, we didn't want to miss the opportunity to take our darling girl sledding!  This was the first time ever and to say that she loved it would be a complete understatement!  Her smile beamed from ear to ear the entire time she was being pulled in her sled and/or going down a hill!  When you see your child smile like that it just makes you happy!

We took some amazing slow motion video on our phones too but have not been able to incorporate them off of our phones, so until we can get that working I'll have to leave you with a ton of photos from our sled time!

Headed to the hill!

Daddy & Kate.

Snow!  Happy!  Love!

I heart this!

This series of four is your quintessential snow series!
1. Smiling!

2. Open mouth smiling!

3. Laughing!

4. Cheesin'!

We took the first few rounds down together.

I used my hands and feet as breaks the entire time.
Sledding while pregnant is frowned upon in this establishment.

Snow bunny!

Catching some snow flakes on our tongue!

Look at that smile!

:)

It just doesn't get much better than this!

Ready for round three!

Toward the end, we let her try a smaller version of the hill by herself!

Going smooth...

...going smooth

...ahhh!  A little tumble, but still a huge smile!

This was totally coincidental but this photo screams this caption:
Uh!  We have to go?!  But I don't wanna go!
So I just had to include it!

I imagine this will be the first of many sledding excursions, and while we are so looking forward to Spring, we are also so looking forward to more snow next season!