I posted about entering third trimester and all of that fun stuff, and [...]]]> I’m a little late with my post this week. But if you’re wondering if you’ve read my 28-week post before, well, you haven’t—but you may have thought you did, thanks to my original post title last week. I’m just an idiot.

I posted about entering third trimester and all of that fun stuff, and then the following week, as Tuesday was approaching and I was getting ready to turn another week more pregnant, I happened to look at my pregnancy app on my phone… and noticed that it said “27 weeks, 6 days pregnant.” Whaaaat? I thought that I was on my way to being 29 weeks pregnant, not 28. It was then that I realized that I had inadvertently skipped a week.

It’s a tell-tale sign of a second pregnancy, I must say. Because hell, when I was pregnant with Nora, I read those pregnancy update emails from Baby Center and The Bump religiously, and could’ve told you—without hesitation—at any given time exactly how pregnant I was. Now, I look at the weekly updates on my app only once every few (several?) weeks. And clearly I can be wrong about where I’m at in the pregnancy. Whoops.

Anyway, all of that to say that now I’m REALLY 28 weeks pregnant (actually, almost 29 now, but shhhhh) so here is the 28 weeks pregnant post. And last week’s post title has been corrected to 27 weeks. *sigh* Moving on…

28 Weeks Pregnant

Not a whole lot to report at the moment, actually. I did go last week to take my glucose test, and I didn’t hear anything from my doctor’s office, so I’m assuming all turned out OK. Thankfully.

Nora is HILARIOUS right now. This week, she randomly started saying that she has a baby in her tummy, too, and now there is no convincing her otherwise. She has also been repeatedly telling us that she is having a baby BROTHER, but then when we ask if it’s a boy or a girl… she’ll say girl. So the lines are a little crossed there, I’m not sure what to think. ;) Today she also told me that when the baby gets bigger it is going to come out [of my belly] and play with her. And we had a long discussion about all of the baby things she’ll be able to help me with, and all of the things she’s going to teach the baby. So freaking cute, I can’t even stand it.

Physically… I’ve started feeling some heartburn symptoms already, which I am less than thrilled about. It’s actually been better the last few days but there were a couple of days within the past week when I was in some pretty serious discomfort at times. I remember all too well the feeling from when I was pregnant with Nora—when, toward the end, the simple act of bending over to tie my shoes or pick up something from the floor resulted in vomit up in the back of my throat. THRILLING, I tell you. Anyway, it’s nowhere near that bad (yet) but I’m guessing I’m soon going to be suffering yet again.

Projects… still working on finishing up the kids’/guest bath. Just finishing touches now, but of course it has taken longer than anticipated (as usual). I’m trying to focus on one thing at a time, but my mind is now traveling to the nursery and prepping for baby, which is what I’d really like to be doing now. Approximately 12 more weeks… plenty of time left, right? But I do think we’ve finally landed on a color scheme and a plan, so that’s good. Just need to start executing now. More on that in the coming weeks.

I also took my list of things that we need to buy new for baby #2 (again, not a lot) and put them on a baby registry. Not because I’m having a shower (I’m not) and not because I expect people to buy us gifts (I don’t), but to serve as more of a checklist for ourselves. Plus, hey, I’ll take the awesome registry completion coupons at the end, haha!

I realize I’ve been slacking on things like filling out paperwork with my HR department and determining how to pay for my benefits while I’m out on leave (I can pay my premiums in advance, when I get back, over time, in one lump sum, etc.) so I need to figure that out. And my doctor’s office has asked me about the hospital pre-registration paperwork like three times now, so I should probably go ahead and get that done, too, eh?

I know 12 weeks is a long time, but then… it’s really not. That’s starting to hit me now.

We went to my mom’s this morning for a family Mother’s Day breakfast, which was nice. The boys cooked [...]]]> It may have been cold and windy today, but it was still a celebration. After all, in our neck of the woods, we’ve actually seen SNOW on Mother’s Day, so cold is par for the course.

We went to my mom’s this morning for a family Mother’s Day breakfast, which was nice. The boys cooked and us moms just hung out. It’s always nice to celebrate my mom because she’s a pretty awesome one, if I may say so. And of course the fun has just multiplied now that ALL of us kids have become parents ourselves, and given our mom grandchildren to spoil.

Nora had fun playing with Hunter—who we found out this morning is expecting a baby SISTER in October (hooray for Nora’s first girl cousin!). These two are hysterical to watch and listen to together.

Pancakes, hash browns, cinnamon rolls, strawberries, and fun while we all dreamed about what the scene will look like next year with two more little ones in our company. It is crazy to think about.

After a few hours at my mom’s, we went home and did a little work on the bathroom while Nora played nearby. Working on a home improvement project doesn’t seem like much of a way to celebrate Mother’s Day, but when you consider that I have had some serious nesting instincts kicking in lately, there was no other way I would’ve rather spent that time. In the grand scheme of things, anyway. Because sure, it would’ve been nice to relax or do something really fun, but the whole time, I would’ve been thinking about how I wanted to make progress on that bathroom.

Nesting is annoying.

We soon put Nora down for a nap and did a little more work on the bathroom before I had a chance to lie down for a little while and put my feet up. Soon Nora was awake again and we ran to my in-laws’ for a bit to wish my mother-in-law Happy Mother’s Day, too.

We were planning to make dinner—well, Michael was going to make it for me—but the day got away from us and it was getting late. So we ultimately decided to give BOTH of us a break and just get takeout Chinese food from my favorite local joint. And it’s funny, because I just went back to last year’s Mother’s Day post and realized we ALSO had takeout Chinese food for dinner last year (but with my entire family). Well, now. I guess it is becoming tradition! :)

We then shared a miniature “Mom” cookie cake for dessert, which was amazing because I love cookie cake like no other. And I didn’t have to make anything in the kitchen all day, which is always a treat.

All the while, I got to enjoy laughs and hugs and kisses with my sweet little girl—who would be correcting me with “BIG GIRL!” right about now. It’s our last Mother’s Day with just her, and I’ve been finding lately that a lot of these “lasts” are making me a little sad. Of course I am looking forward to welcoming another little one into our family but we’ve sure had a great ride with our firstborn over the last 2.5 years.

A few nights ago, I was putting Nora to bed and told her, “Move over, make room for Mama.” She responded, “Nooo, name MOMMY!” (No, your name is Mommy!) That gave me a good laugh. What a goofball I have. And the truth is, I don’t care what variation of “Mom” she calls me—all of it is music to my ears. Because there’s nothing I love more than being her mommy.

Happy Mother’s Day. I hope everyone enjoyed the day, no matter your motherhood “status.”

As quickly as this pregnancy seems to have gone so far, I also feel like I have already been pregnant FOR-EV-ER. I mean, when you think about it—Thanksgiving was a long-ass time ago. So much has happened since then. And I’ve been pregnant the whole time. [...]]]> Can I get a “woot woot” for third tri?

As quickly as this pregnancy seems to have gone so far, I also feel like I have already been pregnant FOR-EV-ER. I mean, when you think about it—Thanksgiving was a long-ass time ago. So much has happened since then. And I’ve been pregnant the whole time. THE WHOLE TIME! (Random, but I’m channeling Sally Field at the end of Mrs. Doubtfire there. Annnd I’m sure no one knows what the heck I’m talking about, so nevermind.)

I’ve been getting a lot of comments on my belly this past week or two. A lot of “You REALLY look pregnant now” remarks at work. And dude… I do. Earlier this week I was swearing up and down that I’m the same size now that I was when I was nine months pregnant with Nora. I just feel huge. But then I looked back at photos, and um, no. I look like I’m roughly the same size now as I was at this stage of pregnancy with Nora. And looking at full-term pics of my first pregnancy, I now see that unfortunately for me, I still have a lot of growing left to do. It’s amazing how quickly you forget these things. :)

27 Weeks Pregnant

Side note: I had my hair cut this week. She chopped off several inches and now it feels so much lighter and healthier for summer. Ahhhhhh.

We’ve had really beautiful weather here the last 10-14 days, and as a result, I was able to wear a lot of my old maternity clothes from my pregnancy with Nora. It felt really nice to bust out some “new” stuff, especially SKIRTS! They’re so much more comfortable than my everyday work pants. Oh, and all that stuff I ordered last week? Yeah, pretty much every piece of it needs to go back—or at least be exchanged for a different size. SO.ANNOYING. I wish stores like Old Navy and Gap would carry more maternity stuff in store, because this online ordering stuff is a pain.

I have to go into the lab tomorrow morning for my glucose test. No big deal, aside from the fact that I have to drink that super sweet stuff. Normally I wouldn’t be that worried about it (hey, I got through it OK the first time!) but ever since I was in the hospital for my appendix, I haven’t even really been able to stomach 100% juice, let alone this high-fructose-filled crap. Juice just tastes overly sweet right now… and I blame the “clears” diet I was on for a few days while in the hospital. Blech.

I’ve started to try to pull together a list of things we need for the baby. Not a lot, obviously, since we have so much we can reuse from Nora, but there are some things we want to buy new (crib sheets, bottles, pacifiers, etc.) and some things that we need (a second baby monitor camera). We’re making good progress on the kids’/guest bathroom—hoping to wrap it up this weekend, in fact—so starting next week, I really need to start wrapping my head around plans for the nursery. I still have no idea what we’re going to do in there. I suppose I should start by finding some bedding. With Nora, my mom and I made it all, but this time, instead of reusing it or making something new, I kind of just want to find something affordable and buy it. Easy peasy. But cute gender-neutral bedding has been a little rough to come by. I’m on the hunt!

I’ve been meaning to write this post since I first mentioned the loss of a pregnancy way back in January, right after we announced my current pregnancy on this blog. But it’s not a post that [...]]]> Today would’ve been a due date. An estimate of when we could’ve expected the arrival of our second child.

I’ve been meaning to write this post since I first mentioned the loss of a pregnancy way back in January, right after we announced my current pregnancy on this blog. But it’s not a post that I ever felt particularly motivated to write. And then last week, I was thinking about it some more, and I realized how close we were to the date. So it only seemed fitting for today to be the day.

I had a miscarriage. It’s not unique. In fact, 1 in 4 women will experience a miscarriage at some point in their lives. And, of course, there are women who experience more than one.

Here’s the thing about my miscarriage: No one needs to be sad about it. I actually feel a little uncomfortable when people tell me that they’re sorry or offer sympathies. Why? Well, because to be absolutely honest, my miscarriage really didn’t cause me any heartbreak. I never shed a tear.

There are reasons for this, which I’ll explain. But I just want you all to know that you don’t need to be sorry for me. Out of those 1 in 4 women, I consider myself to be one of the extremely lucky ones. Again, why?

Because I didn’t even know I was pregnant until it was over.

Rewind to last August. We decided it might be time to try to expand our family. I didn’t know what to expect, given my past struggles trying to get pregnant with Nora. But my period seemed to return to normal (meaning regular) after I started weaning Nora at around 12 months old, so I was cautiously optimistic. We threw caution to the wind, so to speak, but I didn’t truly believe that we would ever get pregnant on the first try. So I was relaxed about it. So relaxed, in fact, that I didn’t pay much attention to my body.

I did take one test. But it was early, and it was negative. A couple of days later, I started spotting, and I figured it was over. At this same time, we were in the middle of a hellish project at our house—the kitchen/entryway floor remodel. We were busting our asses, and then we went through enormous stress and a battle with our original contractor, who—instead of opting to do the job correctly—ultimately decided to walk off of the job. It was so stressful and upsetting, in fact, that I never even wrote about it here. If you know me at all, you know how amazing that is, given that when I’m stressed like that, one of the first things I want to do is vent. But this was so bad, that I didn’t even want to relive it long enough to write about it.

Then, just as we resolved the floor issue—my cousin’s husband came to the rescue and got it done for us—we suddenly and unexpectedly lost Michael’s beloved grandfather. That next week, among calling hours and an incredibly moving funeral, my 10+ days of spotting finally gave way to what I believed to be a normal period, although heavier (and longer) than normal.

You can maybe see why I was not aware that something weird was going on? I had just a few distractions.

But once things started calming down after Poppy’s services, I started to really look at dates, and think about what had been going on. Things didn’t seem normal to begin with, and then, after a heavy/long period, I had four days off from it all when suddenly I started spotting again. At that point, I was definitely wondering, what the hell?

I called my doctor and they wanted me to come in. I made an appointment, and in the meantime I began to wonder. The possibility did occur to me—I remember mentioning to Michael one day when we were getting out of the car, “I’m worried that I might’ve had a miscarriage.”

I went into the doctor’s office the next week, and as part of the standard urine screen, they ran a pregnancy test. The nurse practitioner came in and handed me the little plastic cartridge, which showed a very faint second line. “Congratulations,” she said.

Uhhhh… what?

I remember laughing. Just because it was so completely not what I expected to see. And it was my way of dealing with the tension. But I also knew, deep down inside, that this was not right. I told the nurse practitioner as much. I even asked, “Could this positive be the result of residual hormones left in my system after a miscarriage?” She said there was no way to tell beyond running a beta blood test.

Long story short? Beta #1 was a measly 23. For me, that was confirmation enough that things had gone down exactly as I figured they had. I got pregnant back in August, right after deciding we’d give this second baby thing a go. And at around 5-6 weeks, in the beginning of September, I’d had an early miscarriage. Of course, they had me do a second beta draw anyway, and the number then was 9. Official confirmation.

I had a lot of feelings of disbelief. I’d had a miscarriage. It didn’t seem real.

A day or two after the second beta draw, I began to bleed heavily again. I assume it was because my HCG levels had finally dropped to zero. This time was different—I was more crampy, more uncomfortable, and it was not at all like a normal period. A real miscarriage, I think. It was my body, finally getting rid of everything it needed to.

That lasted all of a few days, and then things were truly over in early October. And I was lucky in that things got right back on track, because as you all know now, I managed to get pregnant again in November.

Lucky, lucky, lucky.

Through the whole thing, once I knew what was going on, I really didn’t feel much but gratefulness. I was just so glad that I had been distracted. I was glad I hadn’t ever taken a pregnancy test and gotten a positive. I was relieved that I had never had the chance to be excited, or to worry.

Still, I sometimes think about the one we lost. Or rather, the one who wasn’t meant to be.

Whenever someone announced a pregnancy due in May, I thought about how I could’ve been right there with them. My cousin and one of my friends from college both just had babies, and even now, I’ve thought about how that could’ve been me.

Today, I could be on maternity leave, with a tiny baby in my arms. Instead, I still carry a baby with me, one whom I am feeling move within my middle… one whom I have not yet come to know. But that’s OK, because I still know…

I am one of the lucky ones.

Both Saturday and Sunday were beautiful. And it was refreshing. It made me want to get up, get out, and do things. It’s amazing what some 70-degree temperatures and sunshine can do for your motivation.

We spent a good chunk of both days [...]]]> You guys. It was gorgeous here this weekend. We finally had SPRING.

Both Saturday and Sunday were beautiful. And it was refreshing. It made me want to get up, get out, and do things. It’s amazing what some 70-degree temperatures and sunshine can do for your motivation.

We spent a good chunk of both days outside. That’s all Nora wants to do these days. “Play outside?” she asks the minute we pick her up from daycare. (And she spends time outside at daycare, too, so it’s not like she’s deprived.) She can’t get enough of the great outdoors. I just wish she was a little better at independent play out there. Inside? She can keep herself busy. Outside? It depends. Sometimes she has complete A.D.D. out there; she moves from one thing to the next and nothing can keep her entertained for long. Hopefully she’ll get the hang of it as the spring/summer goes on. :)

I took my camera out with us on Saturday evening and snapped some of my favorite recent pics of Nora. Well, they are the only recent pics of Nora, really. Aside from a couple of belly pics, these are the only pics I have in my April 2013 folder! It’s insanity. My appendix seriously stole my April from me. But I’m reclaiming my MAY! And JUNE! And JULY!

This is her new favorite outdoor game. “Drive-thru window” with Daddy. Only with Daddy. Mommy is not allowed to order.

Daddy cracks her up. Love her infectious giggle.

Those bangs. They are thisclose to being long enough to make it back into her ponytail. If I wet her hair when I put it up, they’ll actually stay back in the ponytail holder for a little bit, but as they dry they work their way out and back down into her face. And my girl is not very tolerant of barrettes. We’re almost there!

I felt a lot more like my normal self this weekend. Warmth and sunshine, in addition to being great mood boosters, are apparently also great healers. I even started a project—Nora’s bathroom. Well, the kids’/guest bath. More on that later this week, maybe, but it felt good to be making some progress on the “pre-baby” to-do list. It’s not a huge project, but a facelift nonetheless. Once the bathroom is done, it will be time to set sights on the nursery! Eeek!

To make the weekend even more productive, I also packed away the majority of Nora’s cold-weather clothes. It felt great because of the “spring cleaning” aspect, and the whole “out with winter, in with spring!” thing. But I also always get so, so sad to pack away the things I know she’ll never wear again. Even when I so look forward to putting her in all of the cute new stuff. Seriously bittersweet, this “growing up” stuff. (Oh, and don’t worry, she doesn’t have THAT many clothes. I know the bin is huge. But it is holding last year’s winter and summer clothes, too.)

The 10-day forecast looks amazing. We woke up to rain and gloom this morning, but we can’t complain because the rest looks so good. I see a lot of good moods in my future. Hopefully it stays that way. Lord knows we paid our dues with this long-ass winter!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekends as much as we did. T minus four days until the next one!

There’s always something that’s a challenge, right?

Right now, we’re dealing with a bit of a doozy. The problem? We can’t do anything nice/special for Nora without paying the price—in the form of attitude, screaming, and/or a full-fledged tantrum.

Playing outside? Awesome, but then it’s [...]]]> Toddlers, man. Can’t live with ‘em, can’t live without ‘em.

There’s always something that’s a challenge, right?

Right now, we’re dealing with a bit of a doozy. The problem? We can’t do anything nice/special for Nora without paying the price—in the form of attitude, screaming, and/or a full-fledged tantrum.

Playing outside? Awesome, but then it’s a huge battle to get her back in. Even at daycare, we’re told.

A trip to the park? Lovely. Until it’s time to leave, that is. That results in a scream fest that could very well bust ear drums.

Allow a cupcake after dinner? She’s delighted. Until she demands another and we say no. We get the “I’M TOO MAD!” stomping-of-the-foot attitude for half an hour afterward.

It was nice out tonight, so we took a ride to get out of the house (God, I’m so bored!) to get some ice cream. We were a happy, peachy family of three. But when it was gone, Nora demanded more, and when we told her that it was gone and it was time to go home, she first got the attitude and further tried to demand her way. Then Michael picked her up and she did the high-pitch screaming. Then he went to put her in her car seat and she arched her back and made it nearly impossible to buckle her in, all while telling us how mad she was.

What gives, kid? This makes us never want to do anything fun with her ever again.

Once we were home and she had calmed down, I talked to her about it as we were getting her ready for the bath. I told her, “You need to tell us ‘thank you’ for the ice cream.” And she did. The thing is, Nora is usually really polite. She “pleases” and “thank yous” for almost anything we do for her. We have to remind her about “please” on a regular basis, but she almost always says “thank you” without prompting. For handing her a spoon. For complimenting her artwork. For helping her do something.

So why can’t we get a “thank you” when we do something special??

I’m hoping that this period of ungratefulness is something that is a stage and just goes away with time. We try to explain it to her, like “If you act like this when it’s over, we’re never going to do these things with you again.” And “Don’t you want to come back for ice cream another time? You need to be a good girl and say thank you. When the ice cream is gone, it’s time to go home.”

But is it something they just learn? Do they eventually learn to appreciate the treats, or is there a better/more effective way to teach this concept to a 2-year-old? I see other children walk away peacefully when it’s over or time to go home. When will mine do this?

The problem is that there doesn’t seem to be adequate consequences for the behavior. I mean, the greatest punishment is making her leave, or refusing to give another cupcake, or whatever. We’re not giving in and giving her what she wants, so I guess we “win”… until next time, when we’re in the same position.

We’re heading into warm weather, and my favorite seasons of the year. We’ll want to do a lot of special things, especially leading up to the baby being born. But it’s hard when the fallout hardly makes the added joy worthwhile.