Gloria's Baby Shower!

Last week we had our baby shower for sweet Gloria.  My coworkers were kind enough to organize it all and though I was silly enough to think that since it was Baby #2 we wouldn't be getting anything, they showered us with goodies!  They asked me to register for items and nearly every darn thing came off that registry.  We are so lucky to be surrounded by wonderful people here in Little Rock.  It has made the move, the adjustment of Evan's work life, and my pregnancy so much easier.

I wore a dress that Evan bought me weeks ago when I sent him to Target to get some envelopes.  He came back with envelopes and a pretty purple dress.  I'm a lucky gal, what can I say?  He is ALWAYS thoughtful like that.  I'm always the one saying "I don't need any more clothes/ shoes/ etc." and he's always insisting that I need more things.  I truly don't, but he just wants to spoil me.  Never ridicuoulsly of course.  My entire maternity wardrobe comes from Old Navy or Target, but it's the thought that counts and I LOVED my purple dress! : )

The Goodies:

Those cream cheese filled strawberries were OH SO good!  I've been craving fruit this pregnancy, so let's just say I had three ... or four ... or maybe more of them. ; )

What the ladies did was make it a potluck shower!  We had it right after work so letting one person take care of everything was impossible.  This was a GREAT idea because we were able to sample a little bit of everything.  Evan loved this guacamole.

Yummy cake, some pretty flowers, and China.  Just about the perfect definition for a shower!

Some of the loot!  I have some Thank You notes to write this weekend!

They insisted on Liliana attending the shower, and as usual, all eyes were on her!

I put her in her "I'm the big sister" t-shirt! YAY for Gap clearance and coincidental matching with Mommy!

LOVED this basket of useful goodies!  I love it when you get useful gifts at showers.  Give Moms things they'll use!  One gift I got, that I forgot to take a picture of, was a "Mommy/ baby" gift.  It was AWESOME.  It had shower gel and bath salts for Mommy, and lotion for baby.  Maybe that isn't a great gift if it's baby #1, but for ME?  This was AWESOME.  I plan on using those bath salts as I get bigger and bigger and need some ME time!

I was showing Liliana Gloria's "little sister" outfit.  Excuse the boob shot.  Evan had the camera.  That explains it ALL.

Don't flowers just make a space seem so nice?

Shower baby #2 was relaxed, sweet, and so exciting.   If Gloria comes when Liliana did, we have 7 weeks left . Hopefully she'll stay put a little longer.  But in the mean time, we're getting ready for her!

Baby Shower Hostess Gift

Last Friday we had our baby shower for Gloria!  My coworkers were sweet enough to throw us a shower even though it's our second baby.  And though I didn't have nearly as many things that I needed this time, there is always a need for people to get together, eat a few yummy snacks, and give some adorable clothing and books! ; )

There were mainly 2 people in charge of throwing the shower and I really wanted to show my appreciation, but how oh how to do that?  I went to TJMaxx and thought of a TON of ideas:

(1) a pizza making kit? Sauce, the pan, dough mix, rolling pin
(2) a gardening kit? Gloves, pot, seeds
(3) Baking kit? cupcake pan, recipe book, whisk

The third one was the winner when I thought of my little phrase:

"You helped us bake our bun in the oven, now go bake something of your own!"

So first I bought some ingredients ...

You can easily go with the gender of the baby so that's why I chose the pink spatula and pink cookbook.  I spent $5.99 on the cupcake muffin pan, $1.99 on the cookbook, and $1.99 on the spatula.  The entire project, therefore, cost $10! : )

Next I wrote a little note.  I thought this phrase was too cute and when I thought of it in TJMaxx I literally told myself, "this is so corny that it just might work!"

Finally, a little tape, some tissue paper, and a ribbon = an adorable affordable hostess baby shower gift!



Uphill Battle

Yesterday afternoon I got to the hospital around 5 pm.  I had to wait a little less than an hour before being seen, but considering I was a rather last minute fit in, I suppose that wasn't too bad.

While waiting, I was really uncomfortable.  I was sweating profusely, my back was killing me, and I was ... in general ... not at my best.  I finally told them I knew they would want a urine sample for my culture and couldn't hold it anymore (hello people, I have a UTI which basically means I NEVER think I can hold it).  Giving a sample stinks when you have a UTI because it hurts so darn much to go (and for a couple hours after), but I knew it was something they'd want.

I gave the sample and went in to "triage."  Once in triage, we had a HORRIBLE LVN assisting us.  She was RUDE ("ok, where you put your pee at?")  Ummm ... really?  I left it in the restroom.  Where else would I have put it?  Turns out, they did the urine analysis on it and it came back negative.  You don't say!  REALLY!  I've been on antibiotics for 3 days so OF COURSE it came out negative.  Evan had already joined me by this time and just about lost it.  He told them that with antibiotics in my system, they might as well have rubbed the swab in dirt b/c an analysis isn't what he wanted, but instead a urine culture.  (I joke with him that when I hear him at work in his capacity saying "Dr. Lacefield" it's super sexy, mainly b/c he's doing so much good in others lives, but somehow, when it involved my pee, it became so not sexy)

It gets worse though.  After we realized they wasted time doing the urine analysis, we heard that they THREW IT AWAY instead of doing the culture.  So to get the culture that he wanted, what do you think I had to do?

That's right.  Pee again.  (sorry this post is full of nasty topics.  Deal with it.  I'm going through lots.)

I was so frustrated at this point.  Frustrated that they weren't thinking about their patient.  Frustrated that they just didn't think ... period.  I have no medical training like this nurse did and even I know not to do that!  Like Evan later told me "you never throw away pee until you're positive you're done with it!" haha ... again, sexy Urologist talk.  Funny thing about it is he said it with a very serious face.  Looking back on it, that might be one of the funniest sentences I've ever heard.

This is another blog topic for another day, but quick side note: You can't be shy if you're married to a Urologist.  Fortunately, I am NOT a private person at all.  Some people are turned off about that.  It's just who I am.  With two parents as physicians, I learned that the human body is what it is, and you shouldn't be shy about something that happens to so many women (such as this issue for example).  A few of Evan's family members are really shy (weirded out) about what he does for a living ... the way I see it?  It's all part of your body!  And if you have testicular cancer, or penile cancer, I am SO thankful we have people in this world to help us with that.  I always tell Evan "they'll think it's gross until god forbid, one of them gets prostate cancer etc. and then they'll realize just how darn useful you are!" And something as simple as this UTI/ possible kidney infection ... he made my life from practically unbearable to seemingly normal in the course of one day.  MY HERO!

Part of my problem when I go in to triage or other places is that I stay very stoic throughout.  I seem like nothing is hurting and nothing is affecting me, when in reality, I felt like crap.  The thermometer wouldn't even take my temperature (in my armpit) because it was so sweaty.  I was miserable. When they left the room and the Doctor came in, he apologized for them having thrown it away, told me Gloria looked great on the monitor so that concern was gone, and did a pelvic exam to make sure my cervix was still closed (which it is!).  I'm really fortunate because my OB happened to be the one on call last night so once he knew we were there, he took great care of us! 

When he left, the water works started.  I don't want it to sound like I cry at the drop of a hat.  When I was pregnant with Liliana, I did.  The hormones were INSANE that pregnancy.  This go around?  Not so much.  I can't remember the last time I cried.

This time, I cried out of frustration, out of anger, and because I knew that using the restroom again would hurt like the dickens.  I finally gave them another sample and Evan was VERY adamant to make sure that they labeled it etc.  We decided to switch the medication I was on since this UTI is obviously resistant to the first type of medication I was on.  They won't really know what the best medication is until they've had the culture for 48 hours, but we knew my being in this pain for 48 more hours wasn't an option.

Evan called the medication in while we were leaving the hospital and I already have two pills in my system.  I am glad to report that on that end, I am feeling MUCH better.  My back, however, is still in an excrutiating amount of pain.  I didn't bring the heating pad to work with me, like a big moron.  I think I will be using it constantly until this UTI is officially gone. 

The good news?  Likely not a kidney infection, and likely just a couple more days of yuckiness before I'm back to 100%!  The other good news?  Glee comes back tonight after a really long hiatus!  If that doesn't make me feel better, I don't know what will.

On My Way To the Hospital

I was planning on writing about our Easter weekend b/c Liliana really had a great one.  However, I'm about to head to the hospital and just needed to get my thoughts out there.  For the record, no, I am NOT in pre-term labor. 

Let's back up ...

On Thursday evening, Evan didn't get home until nearly 10 pm.  Around 8, I started feeling really crappy. I can't really describe what was wrong, but I didn't feel well, my stomach was hurting, and I felt like vomiting.  It didn't feel pregnancy related. 

We went to sleep quickly after he got home and since I didn't have work on Friday, I slept in until about 7:30 (by then I had over 8 hours and my body isn't doing well with sleeping longer than that these days).  I felt better on Friday (though not fabulous) and thought I had had a little stomach bug the night before.  On Saturday, we woke up to head to Liliana's easter egg hunt.  I had to pee before we left and the second I went, I knew something was up.

Unfortunately I know these syptoms all too well: urine hurt when it came out, I felt like I had to go the second I had just finished, etc. Diagnosis: I had a UTI.

UTIs (aka urinary tract infections) and I have gotten to know each other VERY well over the last few years.  I have recurrent UTIs and since Evan's a Urologist, I am SO very thankful for him.  I hadn't gotten one in a REALLY long time because he has me on a medication that I take post-intercourse to prevent my getting them.  The last couple of weeks though, I hadn't taken them post-sex.  Don't know why.  It was laziness to be honest.  It's easier to lay together and cuddle rather than go get medication.  BOY that was STUPID. I am VERY mad at myself about that now.

So after I went to the restroom, I immediately told Evan I had a bad UTI and he started me on medications to try and treat the UTI.  UTIs in pregnant women are different than those that aren't pregnant, and some medications that would give me more immediate relief aren't recommended during pregnancy.  I took the medication all day on Saturday and by Sunday, I was feeling pretty miserable and still no relief after using the restroom.

I started feeling warm and it hurt so badly when I used the restroom that Evan called in another medication to help numb the bladder.  While this helped TREMENDOUSLY with the pain when I used the restroom, Evan was growing very concerned that the infection wasn't being treated.  A concern of a UTI is that it can lead to a kidney infection which apparently is VERY bad news for a pregnant lady ... so he has been keeping a CLOSE eye on me this weekend.  According to the internet, kidney infections in pregnant women can lead to premature labor and low birth weights for baby.  Not good.

Whenever I let the "bladder numbing" medication not be in my system, it hurts when I use the restroom which is telling us that the other medication isn't killing the UTI.  This probably means I need to use another medication, but without getting a urine culture, we don't know which one.  Evan had me under very strict orders today that if I still felt miserable and wasn't feeling better, I had to call my OB/GYN because he wanted me checked out.

Unfortunately the news today isn't good.  I called the OB and as Evan thought, they want me to come TODAY right after work b/c they're concerned about a kidney infection as well.  While I highly doubt it is a kidney infection, we still have to check, and I'm not excited about it, not one bit.

So right after work, I'm headed to the hospital. Evan is still at work, but will join me as soon as he can.  In the mean time, I just wanted to get my thoughts out there.  Sorry they're kinda incoherent. I'm kinda worried.  I'm sure all is ok, but in the mean time, I am uncomfortable and really want to solve this.  Evan already called the resident on call and let them know I was coming so fortunately I won't have a long wait.  Most likely this is a simple solution: the strain of medication he put me on doesn't treat the certain bacteria in my UTI and we just need to switch medications. 

But women always assume the worst right?

Oh my lovely  Gloria, you're only 25 weeks in Mommy's  belly but she already adores you.  I know you'll be ok, but we have to make sure and I'm about to go do that right now.

24 Weeks Pregnant -- T-shirt Project!

Today I am 24 glorious weeks pregnant with Gloria! One of my favorite days of pregnancy is hitting the 24 week mark: VIABILITY.  Sure, you would never WANT the baby to be born this early, probably weighing a little over a pound, but knowing that there would be a 70% of surviving already?  That just puts this big sigh of relief on a pregnant woman.  Each week that passes makes you smile more and more because you know chances are your baby is going to be in your arms, safely one day.  I have a BIG goal to get Gloria to full term this go around since I didn't quite get there with Liliana.  I don't think I want to have her at 39 weeks, b/c Liliana would have been nearly 9 pounds at 39 weeks had she not decided to come sooner.  That being said, I want to have a full term pregnancy once in my life.  Just to hit that day and think "I made it!" 

For now though, I'm basking in the glory that is the 24 week mark.  And the belly is growing ...

• How Far Along: 24 weeks

• Total Weight Gain: 13-14 pounds.  The weight has come on so differently this go around.  With Liliana I had gained about 3 pounds at 20 weeks and then after that, it just SHOT up until I reached my final 36 pounds.  This go around, it's been slow and steady the whole time. 

• Maternity Clothes: oh yeah.  Tops don't have to be and I wear lots of dresses that are non-maternity.  But, pants are 100% of the time!

• Stretch Marks: still none!

• Sleep: I had a ROUGH time for a few days, but this week has been great.  Evan has been home at least for part of the night every single night since March 1st and I think this is the main reason my sleep is improving so much.

• Best Moment This Week:  Getting my favorite wall in the nursery done! ; )

• Miss Anything: Working out to my full potential!  Some days I feel great and run 3 miles without hesitation while some days, I'm getting pains in my legs by half a mile.  I think it's my body saying I need to slow down drastically.  I already did that on Tuesday and will do it again today. Boo.  Let the weight gain begin at a dramatic rate again I suppose!

• Movement: yes though she's less active than her sister was.  This last week she has started kicking a TON more and that has been fun.

• Food Cravings: Cinnamon Toast Crunch.  Thank goodness for our Sams card b/c I've been having a couple bowls a day!  One for breakfast and one as a snack when I get home from work. 

• Labor Signs: I have braxton hicks at the WEIRDEST times ... if I've had a busier day, I get them more, but otherwise, let's just say I get them at ... strange times.  That's as much detail as I'm giving! ; )

• Symptoms: Two ANNOYING symptoms are back that I had in my first pregnancy: every single time I pee in the mornings, I fart as well.  Eww I know.  That happened with Liliana too!  It's SO weird!  Second, pregnancy brain is back in full force.  Guess who left the garage open this morning when she left for work?  Thank goodness for observant neighbors!

• Looking Forward To: Working more on the nursery!  It's tough finding time this go around.  We have to take advantage of weekends and as you know, Evan's usually working.  This weekend he's off, but we were invited to TWO easter egg hunts by sweet friends we've made here so who knows how much will get done this weekend.  Oh well, there's always next time right? 

18 Weeks Pregnant - T-shirt Project

Yesterday marked being 18 weeks pregnant with Gloria.  It was, all in all, a wonderful pregnancy week.  I felt great, we got wonderful news, and it's just that stage in pregnancy where each kick is fun (and not too entirely painful yet).  The belly is growing, but not at a SUPER alarming rate anymore thankfully!

18 Week Pregnancy Survey

How Far Along: 18 weeks 1 day

Total Weight Gain: I'm not totally sure ... I think about 6 pounds.  This is 3 pounds more than I had gained with Liliana at this point, but I'm not worried.  I am SO much healthier this pregnancy and haven't been nearly as sick so that makes sense.  Even though I've gained more so far, I'm actually still fitting in to some pants without even unbuttoning them!  I am staying toned since I'm working out and eating healthier.  Happy about that.

Maternity Clothes:  Read above - pants and skirts are more comfortable if they're maternity but I can get away without.  Shirts are usually maternity.  I must be carrying higher this go around or something.  I, quite honestly, wish I could go buy some more maternity clothes because I don't have much that's compatible enough for work and accommodating to the weather.  But considering February is almost done I'm holding off and will soon be able to wear something other than my 4 sweaters and pairs of black slacks.

Stretch Marks:  Nope!  I hope I don't get any this go around.  I thought that since I got lucky the first time that meant I would get lucky this time too, but I've read some blogs that say differently!  EEK!

Sleep:  Not great.  I'm not sure if it's pregnancy related or if it's because we've just been so darn busy, but I wake up very often throughout the night.  For instance, last night I fell asleep around midnight and my alarm went off at 6:20.  I woke up 6 times last night.  This means I'm never really going in to my REM cycle.  No wonder I feel sleepy.  Hopefully the weekend will help me recover.

Best Moment This Week:  FOR SURE our ultrasound!  Everything, anatomy wise is perfect!  AND, my placenta looked great too.  We are hopefully smooth sailing until 37 weeks when I'll deliver Gloria! ; )

Movement:  Yep!  She doesn't move as much as her sister did though.  These movements HURT when they do come along, to the point that I stop dead in my tracks.  They're great to feel though. 

Food Cravings: Still fruit.  I like cold things, so cold cantaloupe is awesome.

Gender:  Still a girl!  I was glad to know it's for sure a girl because now we can start decorating that nursery.

Labor Signs:  I get a couple braxton hicks in the morning right when I wake up.  I've had some REALLY bad round ligament pains on the treadmill but I told my OB about them and he said just to stay hydrated.

Symptoms: I can't mention all of them here on this blog, but truly, I don't have many symptoms any more other than those round ligament pains and feeling sleepy.

Looking forward to: Painting the nursery!  I can't wait to see it come together.  I'm also looking forward to a GREAT friend visiting this weekend and for Evan's birthday on Tuesday.  Eventful and fun week ahead of us. 

Here's a comparison shot for you ... I'd say my belly with Liliana was smaller, but the main difference I notice is the difference in actual belly shape!



BIG appointment & BIG nursery decisions!

I have been NERVOUS and BEYOND nervous for today's appointment.  If you recall, 2 weeks ago our OB/GYN told us he was concerned I had placenta previa.  While I realize that we can make that work, I obviously would rather not have it.  I'd rather deliver vaginally, I'd rather not be on bed rest, I'd rather not get a pelvic rest order, etc. 

In order to get a better view, he made the big anatomy US appointment for 8 this morning.  Last night Evan told me he had a feeling everything was actually going to be 100% a-ok.  Evan's always thinking positively so I couldn't help but think "sure you think that, but the Dr. said it didn't look right!"

Turns out ...

EVAN WAS RIGHT!

My placenta looks WONDERFUL and is an entire 5 cm away from my cervix.  In other words, I don't have placenta previa.  I don't even have a low lying placenta.  I just have a pretty perfect placenta with a VERY perfect baby girl inside!

The anatomy ultrasound was AWESOME.  I don't remember seeing so much detail with Liliana's.  They even sent us home with a video of the entire ultrasound.  We saw Gloria's fingers, toes, 4 chamber heart, etc.  Everything looked absolutely great.

The doctor took us off pelvic rest (WOO HOO!) and that did make us very excited, but the truth of the matter is we were ultimately most worried for our sweet Gloria and hearing that all was ok and that she is definitely a girl (just like Mommy's heart truly desired) was awesome. 

I don't go back for another month and in the mean time, I just get to keep feeling great like I have been.  I keep exercising a few times a week, my appetite isn't necessarily super great yet (though I did find a new bakery right by the house and got a little overboard excited about that), and I'm just at that stage of pregnancy where life is great! 

Evan and I decided not to buy too many gender specific things for the nursery in case they changed their minds at this appointment.  But, we were busy doing other things:

We tried out a few paint colors.  Truth be told, we didn't decide on ANY of these three on the wall!  Each time we put the paint color up, we liked it, but weren't sold. 

The pink to the left is "Cupid's Arrow" by Behr.  The blue is "Enamel" by  Martha Stewart.  None of them truly spoke to us. 

Instead of just picking one of them, we kept being patient.  We are only 18 weeks in to this pregnancy and have lots of time so we weren't in a huge hurry. 

So rather than paint last weekend, we spent some time putting Gloria's dresser together!  It took a couple tries before we got it perfectly put together, but the modern look of this Mandal Ikea dresser looks AWESOME in the room.

Back to the paint though.  I knew we were close to the OFFICIAL color, but we weren't there yet.  I started putting together a little folder of rooms that we were going to use for inspiration and found these 3 as some of my favorites:

Do you notice a repeating theme?  I found the paint color for all 3 and they were EXACTLY the same!  We got a sample and lo and behold, it is PERFECT!!!  We will, hopefully, be painting the nursery this weekend!

My entire inspiration and the print I'm going to order today?

Gloria's nursery progress has officially begun!

Is it a Boy or a Girl?

It's time to play the gender guessing game!

DO YOU THINK BABY LACEFIELD #2 IS A BOY OR A GIRL?

I can't believe we're already at the stage of the pregnancy where we're asking this!  With Liliana, we would have been finding out tomorrow that she was a girl b/c my Mom snuck us in to the ultrasound room.  Unfortunately, since I'm states away now, we have to wait until February 9th (16 weeks) to find out.  I know that's still early, but I'm not very patient.

Tomorrow morning I will take my "15 week" update pictures and I want to have a paper in the background with everyone's tallies and what they've guessed.  As far as I can tell, so far I have 13 votes for boy and 12 votes for girl, but the day is young still!

Let me know what you think by either doing the poll on the left hand side, leaving a comment, or both!

Here's some information I want to keep for memories sake:

(1)  I think it's a girl.  Don't know why.  I have from the second I saw the two lines.

(2) Evan thinks it's a boy.  He says my pregnancy has been quite different from the first time around and that's why he guesses boy.

(3) The Chinese calendar says boy.

(4) The "Gender Predictor Quiz" I took on parents.com came out saying boy.

(5) The heart rate at the 11 week visit was 163 which indicates lady.

(6) Everybody keeps asking us "what do you want?"  Truth be told, I completely thought I would want a boy since I have a girl.  But that's actually not the case!  I would love another girl so that Liliana and her could be best friends.  Since they would be 2 years and 2 months apart and that's quite close, they would be best friends for life.  I think this would be such a special thing to see.  That being said, of course we would be delighted with a boy too!  We just don't have a name picked out for a boy so maybe I'm also saying girl b/c I'm being lazy and don't want to have to decide on a name! haha.

(6) This pregnancy HAS been different:

- With Liliana, I felt sick 24/7 but threw up only twice.  This pregnancy, I've thrown up about 10 times, but in general only feel sick at night time.  The mornings and the day, for the most part, aren't bad at all.  Also, for the last week, I have barely felt sick even in the evenings.  With Liliana, I felt horrible until 20 weeks along. 

- My boobs didn't really grow with Liliana.  This go around, I had to go buy new bras at 11 weeks b/c they simply didn't fit in to my other bras.  They also hurt like CRAZY for weeks on end.

- I started showing much sooner this go around.  I can still wear regular pants and only wear the bella band on certain days.  I am in maternity tops full time for the most part though.  With Liliana, the pants were the first thing to change.

(7) On the other hand, this pregnancy has had its similiarities:

- I don't glow.  I get zits on my face, particularly my forehead.  Happened (and currently happening as I have 2 huge ones on the forehead and one monstrous one on the chin) with Liliana and I'm hoping this symptom goes away soon.

- With Liliana, my gut instinct from the very beginning was girl as well. 

- Just like with Liliana, we have a girl name picked out but not a boy name.  We have the boy nursery decor picked out, but have no clue with the girl. 

Only a weeks worth of time will tell (if the baby is cooperating that is)!  In the mean time, I guess these wives tales and motherly intutition will have to keep me going! ; )



The Road of TTC #2

On my "private blog" I had about 30 posts over TTC #2.  Truth be told, they're just too darn personal to put on this blog.  They were very detailed and like I said, personal! However, since the private blog will soon be no more, I wanted to write a post to summarize it all so I can have a place to collect my memories.

I want to start this post off by saying I know Evan and I are VERY VERY fortunate that we have been able to conceive our children so easily (both were conceived first month off the pill).  We REALIZE we are blessed and we know that people struggle with infertility.  I do not want to come off sounding selfish.  I am just rejoicing in the fortune and blessings we've been given.

SO ... this post might be long ... and there is DEFINITELY TMI, but here goes:

I remember sometime in October, Evan and I went on a date night to our favorite burger joint in town. While we were sitting there, I looked up at him and said, "you know, i've been thinking."  I really wouldn't have had to say more.  I think Evan wanted to start trying that day!  Evan LOVES being a Dad and I could convince him to have 5 kiddos without a problem.  But, we did talk it through.  A LOT.  I told him Liliana was getting to an age where I was handling her without issues even without his help because he works so much.  I told him that if we had one THEN, I would be due at the end of June (that ends up changing, but read more to discover why).  that would be WONDERFUL for my job because we wouldn't have to lose out on 6 weeks of pay!  Another factor: if we had the second before September they would be 2 school years apart which is GREAT.  That way, we only have MIDDLE SCHOOL games to go to while they're in 6th and 8th instead of dealing with middle school AND upper school events. Sure, the next year it won't be as easy, but this way, we give ourselves one more year of less activities.  Being in the school environment this year has taught me that a parent can literally live at the school with all the crap your kids get in to, so I'm just trying to think about making life more manageable.  We agreed, however, we didn't go off the pill until a week later (after we had given each other more time to mull it over).

If you recall, conceiving the daughter wasn't intentional.  We were told I had PCOS and would need fertility to conceive so we thought we'd just save the birth control pill money and deal with that when the time was right.  Turns out, I could conceive just fine and we were pregnant a month later.  However, I have historically had VERY long cycles in my life (we're talking about 100 day cycles).  With Liliana, I ovulated it turns out, on day 23.  This time, since we KNEW we were TTC, I started charting AND I bought OPKs (stands for ovulation predictor kits).

I peed on those dumb things every darn day.  And sure enough, 28 days in to my cycle, no positive.  I thought it was another of those 100 day cycles.

I saw an OB/GYN and he reconfirmed the PCOS diagnosis.  He told us the chances of conceiving with this are MUCH more difficult and it takes couples on average 18 months. 

I left the office DEFEATED thinking we got our lucky break with Liliana and this time wouldn't be lucky.

that night, as I cried and peed on to the OPK at the same time, a miraculous thing happened: it was positive!  I was ovulating!

I sent Evan a picture (b/c he was at the hospital of course) and we were excited to let the baby making begin!  Since we didn't know we were making Liliana, Evan was quite adamant about not timing everything and making it stressful.  He said "it worked with Liliana so we know we're ok."

9 days later, I took a pregnancy test with one that was supposed to tell me 6 days past ovulation.

It was negative.

I remained defeated.

But, the saving grace?  My boobs.

They hurt so much that I actually SCREAMED a few times.  SCREAMED I tell you.

Evan was CONVINCED I was pregnant.

And, damn it if he wasn't right.

11 days past ovulation, I tested and the rest is history!

I do want to add a story that I will NEVER forget.  At our first appointment, the nurse and doctor were in the room and the nurse turned around and told me "I have to tell you something.  I think you're the first patient I've ever heard of with PCOS that gets pregnant on the first month two times in a row.  You are SO lucky."  And at that moment, I felt SO incredibly blessed.  SO SO blessed.  We are so fortunate to have Liliana and are SO fortunate to have BITO in our lives. 

It was a happy day and I've been smiling (aside from the puking of course) ever since.

12 Weeks Pregnant!

Today, I am 12 weeks pregnant with BITO.  I can't believe it's already nearing the 2nd semester.  This pregnancy has FLOWN FLOWN FLOWN by!  While many parts of me are sad that it's flying by, I'm also looking forward to the more glorious weeks that usually follow in the 2nd trimester.  In my first pregnancy, weeks 20 - 30 were the best.  They were AWESOME and fun.  Let's see which weeks I like now.  In my first pregnancy weeks 4 - 20 were HORRIBLE, and while this one has had it's fair share of me puking in to a toilet (or on the floor like last week because I didn't make it in time!), it has been MUCH better overall.  Instead of CONSTANTLY feeling sick, I just feel sick for a few hours at a time.  One thing I've noticed: SLEEP HELPS!  Over Christmas break I thought my morning sickness was done for the most part.  Now that I'm back at work all the time, I've felt significantly worse.  I think it's because I'm not sleeping as much.  I was sleeping in until 9 every day over the break (so lucky to have a baby that sleeps in!).  Now, I wake up at 6:00 for work and losing those 3 hours = puking.  It's a very strong correlation for me.  I just need a job that would let me nap some time during the day!  Do those exist?  Any body wanna hook me up with one of those? ; )

SO, I probably won't do these surveys every week during this pregnancy like I did with my first, but since 12 weeks is a big milestone, I'll do it today.  I've attached a couple poorly taken belly pics.  I've taken them myself, sorry.  And, the lighting sucks.  But, the point is: I AM HUUUUGE for 12 weeks!!  It's almost embarassing.

How far along are you? 12 weeks today.

Total weight gain: Haven't weighed myself in a while but the Doctor said I had lost a few pounds at my visit last week.  He wasn't too concerned but said I better gain it all back PLUS some by next visit.

How big is baby: Dude, I NEVER know these.  I am horrible about keeping up with this. Most pregnant women get emails telling them this information.  I get emails ALL DAY at work so I don't like adding to them.  Let me look it up (this is what I will do EVERY TIME, I promise):  the size of a lime! 

Maternity clothes: I still haven't worn any, but I did already tell my sister-in-law that I need ALL my clothes back.  She's 30 weeks and I feel bad asking for my clothes back, but my sweaters are TIGHT and I'm using the bella band FULL TIME now.  I got SO much bigger SO much faster this time!  It amazes me.

Stretch  marks: None.  None from Liliana either.  Lucky lady right here!  HOWEVER, my boobs have grown SIGNIFICANTLY this pregnancy so I wouldn't be surprised if I had some because of that.

Sleep:  I get up EVERY MORNING between 3:50 and 4:20 to pee.  It is SO weird.  It's like my body has an alarm for that time period.  The problem with this is that it takes me FOREVER to fall back asleep.  It almost feels like I wake up at 4 every morning as a result because by the time I fall back asleep it's basically 6 and I have to wake up to head to work.  Considering I'm getting to sleep around 11, I doubt that is enough sleep for a pregnant lady.

Best Moment this Week:  I have had THE WORST eye pains for the last 6 weeks and I went to this Optometrist (that I THOUGHT was an Opthamologist but was wrong).  Today, the Opthmalogist called me and said she's concerned that the Optometrist hasn't figured out what's going on and she wants to see me TODAY.  So honestly, that is the best part of my day ... just trying to fix this eye pain that WILL NOT go away!

Movement:  I felt some last week!  Isn't that INSANE?  At 11 weeks?  But I know they were flutters.  I felt Liliana around 16 weeks and I know they say you feel it sooner with the second, but this is EARLY.  I haven't felt any this week so maybe baby has moved, but that's ok ... I'm looking forward to feeling them again in a few weeks.

Food Cravings:  I've enjoyed bagels this pregnancy.  Other than that, I haven't had cravings, just mainly aversions.  I am still at the "force yourself to eat" stage.  I've noticed that water, and a good amount of it, helps with nausea so I'm trying to convince myself to crave that.

Labor Signs:  No, but I have had some round ligament pains!  Dr. said that since I'm popping out already that's to be expected.

Belly button in or out:  In still, but I swear it's becoming less of an innie already.

What I Miss: I miss not feeling sick.  Whether it has been a cold, or nausea, or my eye pain, SOMETHING has been nagging at me for 6 weeks.  I just want to feel HEALTHY!  I guess I just have to give it time (and sleep).

What I'm Looking Forward To: I have a FUN weekend planned: girl night on Friday (those are always a BLAST), hubby time on Saturday, and family time Saturday night.

Milestone:  hitting the 12 week mark with NO scares!  With Liliana, we had already had 2 ultrasounds, a few times that I spotted, etc.  This pregnancy, aside from having some cysts that hurt at first, has been DRAMA FREE!  LOVING IT!  Hoping that doesn't change! (knocking on wood as I type)

Belly Pic?  Sure, why not:

Here I am this morning before work!  Belly is where I was at 16 weeks the first time! EEK!

Here is Liliana's reaction when you say "Liliana do you love the baby?"  She LOVES pointing at my belly and saying baby over and over again.  I think she's understanding that I'm looking bigger lately, and she knows what a baby is, but I don't think she can even BEGIN to comprehend how much her life is going to change in about 25 weeks! : )

The Name Game for Baby #2!

Originally Written: December 20th, 2011

I know I'm only 8 weeks 5 days pregnant. I know that I still have a TON of time to think of a name. In fact, I know that I don't even NEED a name until some time in July. But it is driving me absolutely NUTTY that we don't have a name for baby #2!

I have the EXACT same dilemma that I had with baby #1. We are pretty set with a girl name, have NO boy name, and know the boy bedding but have no clue about the girl bedding. What to do what to do?

I think we're pretty set on the name GLORIA if it is a girl. This DEFINITELY fits within my "no top 100 rule" because it's something like #400, but there are a few things we like about the name. (1) My grandma, whom I was VERY VERY VERY close to was named Gloria. Evan adored her as well. (2) It it a Spanish name that people who speak English won't mess up. (3) It's unique. (4) It's the only name that Evan and I can truly agree on. SO, for now (and that's TOTALLY subjec to change), I think we're set on Gloria.

If it's a boy? Well this is where it gets tricky. We still like the names Marshall and Graham, but for some reason, I'm not yet 100% sold on them. Our favorite boy name is GABRIEL. BUT ... here's the ONLY issue with it ... it's in the top 100. NOOOOOOOO!!! I know this is the STUPIDEST thing to hold me back, but for some reason, I don't want a name in the top 100. If it was number 103, I swear we'd be set on Gabriel. SO, what do to what do to? I'm guessing the boy name we settle on will be one of these 3, but in the mean time, I find myself SO uninspired by boy names. None of them "wow" me. Well, other than Gabriel. Our boy could TOTALLY look like a Gabriel. Or a Graham. Or a Marshall. I would LIKE the idea of something Hispanic for the first name of all our children since they get the English last name, but I'm not 100% set on that happening. It's simply a preference.

I thought typing out my thoughts would relax me. I think I'm just more stressed. GRRR.

Update on January 11th: we are NO WHERE closer to a name.  I am thinking EXACTLY what I was thinking when I wrote this 3 weeks ago.  Any thoughts on these names are greatly appreciated!

Pregnancy #2: Chapter 3: "Oh Christmas Puke"

Originally Written: December 14th

When I got home from work the husband was already there (he took his USLME Step 3 the last 2 days so got off early! It was glorious!). He asked me how my day had gone and I told him "I felt off all day ... just not as good as I have been feeling." So I did my typical lounging and ate dinner even though it didn't settle too well with my stomach.

That isn't surprising. Very little settles well with my stomach these days so I didn't think much of it.

Around 7 the husband suggested that we go drive around with the baby girl looking at Christmas lights. This sounded so fun and the husband is rarely home in time to do this so even though I didn't feel very good, I said yes.

When we got there, I started feeling pretty ... bad.

The husband suggested we drive back home but I am SICK of doing that (we drove back home after having put our name down at a restaurant and I proceeded to throw up RIGHT as we got back home on Friday). I thought this time I could stomach it.

We drove around and found the street where we will buy our next house if we stay here in Arkansas for longer than 5 years. But after about 15 minutes, I told the husband, "we have to get back home. I just feel like shit."

As he got closer to the house, I really felt it coming up. I told him to give me the little throw up bags he stole from the hospital.

I thought I could make it to the toilet. I really thought I could.

But as the tires went OVER our driveway, it came out. ALL OF IT. In the car.

Twenty more seconds and I would have made it to the house, but instead, in our driveway, I puked my guts out.

So instead of singing "Oh Christmas Tree" we were singing "Oh Christmas puke"

UGH. I can't wait to feel better!

This pregnancy has been more severe than my last one for sure by this stage. I have thrown up 6 times in the last 17 days.

I went to bed and took about 10 pills: anti-nausea, fiber pills (because I haven't taken a good poop in who knows how long due to the anti-nausea pills), etc etc. I slept and didn't set my alarm intentionally. I can't miss work right now, and one of the BAD parts of working at a school is that you only get TWO personal days the ENTIRE school year. YEAH, talk about tough. So, these days are precious cargo that I can't go using up. I finally rolled out of bed around 7:30 and got to work at 9 (so about an hour and a half late).

I feel better for now. But who knows by now? Night time car rides and I don't mix. Or rather, I should say, night time car rides and BITO don't mix. Maybe he/ she'll get car sick as a baby? Hope I'm wrong.

Pregnancy #2 Chapter 2: Announcing Our Plus!

Originally written: November 29, 2011

I have a little story for you:

Once upon a time, on a pretty Monday evening a young lady and her husband were dying with anticipation to tell their family their wonderful news: they were pregnant with their second child!

They flew all the way from Arkansas just to share the news.

Once they arrived, they told everyone that before dinner we should take a "family shot."

The husband said "say cheese!" and everyone complied. Then he said, "say Cristina's pregnant!" and ...

The only one that got it was the brother. He definitely looked shocked. Grandma was just smiling with the baby and had no idea what was going on.

Then the sister-in-law and Dad said "wait ... you're not joking? We thought you guys were joking!"

So the sister-in-law hugged while Grandpa had to tell Grandma what the heck was going on. She was a little out of it.

Grandma: "wait WHAT? SHE is PREGNANT??" And great-grandpa points to Cristina saying "she's the one that's pregnant?"

Then great-grandpa comes over for a hug.

Then Grandpa comes in for a tight squeeze.

And finally .... Grandma figured it out.

The beans were totally spilled. The cat was WAY out of the bag. They all knew. And it was all smiles and giggles and happiness. And the four of them lived happily ever after.

The End

Pregnancy #2 Chapter 1: The Phone Call That Changed Our Lives

 Originally Written: November 14th 

The husband got out of work a little later than he's been getting out lately and called on his way home, right before I was going to pee.  Instead of going to the restroom, I answered the phone and heard:

"Can we PLEASE just test tonight?  I'm getting too anxious!"

I told him it wasn't a very good idea because if it was negative I would simply be bummed all evening instead of having the distraction of work.

He said "well, that's true, but I really really want to!"

We had a compromise.  We would try the cheap internet sticks that say to first test the day after you miss your period.  They weren't sensitive enough to get it before then apparently.  That way I could continue to tell myself "maybe it'll work in a few days."

So, I peed.  And after a minute I told him "it looks negative but I'll come back in a minute."

As I said that, I thought I saw a tinge of a line.  I looked further and the husband said "there is a line!  There is a line!"

 It almost seemed strange that the cheapo stick worked so before I knew it, the husband was SPRINTING up the stairs to get the first response.  The "real" one.

Well guess what?  That one line had come up on this one too!

This gorgeous 18 month old gal prayed and her prayers were answered!  She is going to be a big sister!

WE'RE PREGNANT!!!

I've Been Keeping Something From You Guys ...

That's right ... our family of three is going to be a family of four in July! ; )

I am 11 weeks today and we had a wonderful doctor's appointment this morning telling us everything looks perfect.  I felt RIDICULOUSLY sick for about 2 1/2 weeks, but have been much better since about week 9.  I still have nausea, but for the most part, I can contain it with medication.  With Liliana, I was sick until I was about 20 weeks, so this is a HUGE improvement!  I even worked out three times this week and with Liliana that would have been impossible because I was keeled over the toilet full-time.

Believe it or not, that's not the ONLY thing I kept from you guys.  Through this whole process (when we decided to TTC for #2, when we found out, how I've been feeling etc), I had ANOTHER blog that only a couple people knew about (my best friend, Evan, me, and that's about it!).  Througout the next couple weeks, I'll be pulling some posts from there to consolidate the two blogs in to one.

We are SO excited about this addition to the family and our little BITO (Evan nicknamed this baby BITO for bun in the oven) is already showing!!!

Excuse the tight pants.  I took this last night after I came back from the gym.

We got to hear BITO's heartbeat for the first time today and it was 163!  Maybe another girl?  Who knows!  I don't go back to the doctor until February 9th and he is going to TRY to tell us the sex then ... hopefully we'll be successful!

Until then, we'll rejoice in knowing that the cat is out of the bag and everyone can celebrate the good news with us!  YIPEE!