40 weeks and counting....

Well here I sit, 40 weeks pregnant and BITCHY as hell! I have to say I never, ever thought this pregnancy would go on this long. The whole time I've had this "feeling" that I was going to give birth earlier than my due date predicted. HA! SO much for "feelings"! You might be wondering why I am so moody. Or you may have already been pregnant before (and gone past your due date) and you may know exactly how I feel. It's not that I am uncomfortable, because I actually feel pretty good. I believe what may be making me so irritable could possibly be all the lovely questions and comments that I have had to field during my last week or two of pregnancy. Here are a few of my favorites and what I WISH my replies could be. (Most of the time I just smile and try not to say anything snippy) 1. You're still pregnant??? ( NO, I'm not still pregnant, I just have a huge bulging belly and no baby in my arms....) 2. Where is that baby? Why isn't she coming out? ( I'm not sure. Let me yell up my cervix and see what the holdup is!) 3. You're still here?? (No, I'm not still here. I'm actually a mirage; a figment of your imagination. And I really WANT to be here too. In fact, I instructed the baby NOT to come out so that I can walk around and annoy people with the fact that I'm still here.) 4. Have you tried doing _______ to get her out?? ( Why no, I haven't. I haven't tried anything. I've just been sitting on my fat ass and waiting.) If there is one thing I've learned about babies its that they come when they are good and ready. I have been doing all kind of (SAFE) things to get this baby out. I've been walking at least 5 days a week (some days up to 3 miles), still working out with my stroller strength group and even doing squats and lunges. I've tried some light jogging and running up and down stairs. I even tried Mexican food not to mention some other fun suggestions people gave me. At 37 weeks, I was dilated to 1.5 centimeters and the nurse felt the baby's head. I thought, "Surely I won't make it to my 38 week appointment." At my 38 week appointment, I was dilated to 2.5 centimeters and I was 70% effaced. Again, the doctor felt the baby's head. I just KNEW she was coming any day. I packed and rechecked my bags and made a last minute game plan and to do list. At my 39 week appointment, I was dilated to 3cm (holy crap, 3 centimeters????). Hubby brought his laptop home last weekend because we just knew I wouldn't make it til Monday. Mom and dad arrived Friday night. Monday (yesterday) arrived and my husband reluctantly packed up his laptop and went to work. Mom and I headed to the doc for my 40 week checkup. Doctor asked if I wanted him to "help me along." He did something called "stripping my membranes". All I can say is OUCH!! I started at the bottom of the table and somehow ended up at the top of the exam table with my head almost in the wall. He said there was a 70% chance he would see me in 24-48 hours. Only a 70 percent chance????? He couldn't have told me that before he tortured me?! I left the doctor's office dilated to 3.5 centimeters. 30 something hours later, here I sit, still pregnant. Yes, I'm still here and yes she is holding on strong at 40 weeks. Yes, I'm moody and bitchy and trying to put on a happy face! Think of me this week and especially think of my poor husband. The man deserves a medal for dealing with me the last week. I see the light at the end of the tunnel! Somewhere......

I am a pregnant ninja

Well, it's hard to believe but I am now less than two weeks away from my due date! Part of me feels like this pregnancy has flown by and the other part feels like I have been pregnant forever... As I near the end of my baby's 40 week incubation period I am experiencing all kinds of conflicting emotions. Most days, I feel like I cannot WAIT to get this baby out! It's not that I'm uncomfortable or anything, in fact I've had a pretty easy and uneventful pregnancy. It's that I am beyond excited to finally meet my daughter. Hubby and I cannot wait for that moment when the doctor holds her up and we finally get to see her face. Okay okay, I am not being completely truthful. There are some things that are REALLY annoying about being pregnant, especially the second time around. 1. The VEINS: This pregnancy, I've gotten the UGLIEST veins and burst capillaries on my legs. One huge vein on the back of my leg actually looks like a bruise. It's really fun when people ask me how I hurt my leg. Hmmmm. Let's hope they go away after the baby comes! And thank goodness it's now "pants season" instead of bikini season... 2. MATERNITY CLOTHES: I cannot stress how SICK I am of maternity clothes! I'm tired of wearing the same outfits, especially the ones that are already stretched out from my first pregnancy. Half my pants are falling down because the elastic stretched, the other half constantly roll off my belly. It feels like so long ago that I was actually able to wear my normal clothing. Every morning when I'm getting dressed, I allow myself a longing glance at my size 6 skinny jeans and pray we will be together again soon! 3. NO PHONE CALLS: Perhaps one of the worst parts about the last 3 weeks of the pregnancy has been the fact that I theoretically could go into labor at any time. Because of this fact, every time I call family members, I feel like they are going to think I am in labor. Luckily, I remember this happening during my first pregnancy so I can now combat this. I begin every phone call with, "Hi. I'm NOT in labor!" 4. WARNINGS: TOO LITTLE TOO LATE: Another fun thing about being pregnant the second time is all the fun warnings you get about how hard things are going to be with TWO kids. Maybe I have been noticing it more lately since I am nearing the end. But honestly friends, you couldn't have warned me about this 10 months ago?!?!? It's a little too late now. The baby is literally about to fall out any day now!!!! 5. MY BLADDER!!! : If I thought my bladder problems were bad before, this is just ridiculous! Ever since the baby dropped my bladder has become her personal trampoline. All I have to say is OUCH! And oops... 6. CANKLES: Holy crap, I have swollen ankles. EWWWW! I look like a 70 year old woman! What the heck? This never, ever happened when I was pregnant with my son. I'm doing everything I can to stay fit too. I've been eating healthier, working out twice a week, walking twice a week, and drinking my water. So why are my ankles swelling???? 7. Low Belly in the WAY!: I am carrying this baby much lower than I carried my son. When I was pregnant with my son I was still teaching first grade. I prided myself on the fact that I could get down on the floor with them even a few days before I gave birth. I also shaved my legs with no problem and tied my own shoelaces on the morning we went to the hospital. However, this little baby girl is MUCH lower. Tying my shoes is a challenge every morning and so is any kind of shaving! Even bending down enough to put my legs in my pants can be difficult. The hardest thing for me though is getting from laying or lounging position to sitting or standing position. I swear I have ab muscles hidden somewhere under there, they are just not working at the moment. To solve my problem, I have had to learn to be what I call, "A pregnant ninja". Every morning instead of climbing out of bed I do a very graceful (ha!) roll to the left and spring up into standing position at the same time. I am a pregnant ninja!!! Now, despite all my complaining, there is a large part of me that will be sad to see this pregnancy end. I will miss feeling my little girl moving, hiccuping, and kicking inside of me. I can't lie; I will definitely miss all the attention and special treatment I received while pregnant! I'll miss the excitement that came along with each week of this pregnancy, especially the last few weeks while hubby and I have been anxiously awaiting her arrival. Every day feels like Christmas morning because we wake up each morning thinking, "This could be the day!" I don't know if we will have any more children and part of me is so saddened by this. Pregnancy and giving birth to a child is really such a miracle no matter what the ridiculous "side effects" are. The countdown has reached less than 10 days until our due date. Wish me luck! ESPECIALLY wish me luck that the veins, cankles, stretch marks, and pounds all disappear with the arrival of my little princess. Honestly, if they don't I'll be ok. I'll proudly sport all of those things if it means having another child who is HALF as awesome as my first. Because despite my bitching, in my heart I realize that having a happy, healthy baby is truly all that matters. Wish us luck! -CoffeeAddictedMommy

Bare it all

Everywhere I look, I see boobs. Whether it's on a seductive lingerie commercial (those are fun to watch when 7 months pregnant and feeling huge!), on a billboard, in a magazine advertisement, or in a movie that hubby and I rented, there are boobs everywhere! No one even seems shocked or surprised by this fact. Yet people act disgusted when a woman openly breastfeeds in public. 

What the heck?? What is with this double standard? Why is it not considered offensive to plaster women in lingerie or Hooters t-shirts all over a billboard yet a woman who is using her breasts for their actual purpose- FEEDING A BABY- is made to feel ashamed? 

Picture this: a year or two ago, hubby and I were having a nice Saturday night in. We put our son to bed, popped some popcorn, and put in a DVD we rented. I believe the movie was "Good Luck Chuck", a movie I heard was hysterical.  The first few scenes though are full of bare chested busty women. And NO- this was not pornography, this was a comedy. Now I'm no prude but it was so ridiculous that I could barely see past the boobs to enjoy the plot. (Was there a plot???) Date night was ruined as I screamed, "Turn this crap off! If I want to see titties, I'll look in the damn mirror!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

When we used to live in the Atlanta area, there were strip clubs everywhere. These strips clubs were well advertised too. Even before I was a mother, these billboards bothered me. I was a first grade teacher at the time and my students were just learning to read. I shuddered at the thought of one of my "babies" riding down the road with their parents and being exposed to pictures of half naked women on signs that read "STROKERS" or "PINK PONY". In fact, one of hubby's old co-workers had a little daughter who sounded out the words on the billboard and said, "Oooo daddy, what's the PINK PONY?" I imagine to a little girl, Pink Pony sounds like a magical and awesome place. Well...maybe to an old pervy man it was.....haha!

Half naked women just seem to be a normal, accepted thing in our culture. That is until women are popping out their breasts to feed their babies in public. OH NO! THE HORROR! I have actually been out with men and some women who have looked away in disgust when a women breastfed, uncovered, in public. Because of this, I was extremely self conscious about nursing my first child in public. 

In fact, despite that fact that I owned a nursing cover, I never nursed in public. Never. Not at a restaurant, or a store, or even at the beach. A lot of that was due to my own insecurities of course but I know a small part of it was because I was too worried about what others would think. I constantly inconvenienced myself by nursing in bathroom stalls, the car, or even going home to nurse. I became even more self conscious when my son got to the age where he was able to grab things. Let's face it, few 7 month old babies are going to nurse calmly under a cover without trying to grab it and pull it off!

Now that I am expecting baby #2, I look back and wonder why I put myself out so much when I was breastfeeding my son. Nursing a child has to be one of the most natural, basic things any mammal does. Do I plan on popping out my exposed boob wherever I go? Of course not! (Sorry guys....) But I refuse to feel uncomfortable about nursing my baby in the middle of a restaurant discreetly, under a nursing cover.  I refuse to let my food get cold or leave a store or beach so that I can go feed my baby on some toilet. (The majority of bathrooms don't even have a chair for women who need to nurse...) 

Do me a favor. Please, please try not to be appalled the next time you see a woman breastfeeding her baby in public. Sometimes a baby is starving and crying so frantically that there just isn't always time to cover up before he is fed. In the meantime, I personally will be fast forwarding through the Victoria Secret commercials and avoiding magazines that boast half naked women on the covers! At least until I get my "body after baby" back. 

Potty mouth

What is it about little boys and bathroom words? Actually, boys of ALL ages seem to love bathroom words! Why do boys find words like "poopy" and "booty" so hilarious? It seems to be some kind of universal code of the male species.


Before I was a mother, I remember people warning me about this potty mouth phenomenon. I denied that my child would ever think any bathroom words were funny. HA! I should have known better. My own husband, a grown man, thinks things like farts are hilarious, what in the world made me think my son would be any different???!


I'm not sure exactly when it started. I remember my son laughing about farts as early as the age of two. Though I couldn't stop him from laughing about it, I was so proud that at least I taught him to say excuse me when he passed gas. 


Sometime after he turned three, bathrooms words started to become way more hilarious to my son. Of course, hubby thought it was great and even (gasp!) encouraged it. They'd sing songs about poopy, hubs would pretend to eat A's animals and then poop them out, or they'd just sit together and take turns continuously saying "poopie" and laughing. While I found it annoying and gross, I tried my best to ignore them. After all, boys will be boys and they weren't hurting anyone!


Then one day, I picked my son up from preschool a few minutes early. I was just in time to see the kids singing their "goodbye song". During the song, I noticed the teacher kept reprimanding "A" for something. As soon as the song was over and the kids started leaving, the teacher walked over to me. "Oh crap!" I thought, "What in world could he have done???" 


My son almost never gets in trouble in preschool. The only thing I can remember him getting disciplined for last year was throwing mulch on the playground. Needless to say, I knew something was up. Teacher did not look happy! She explained to me that my son and a few other three year old boys would not stop saying "poopie" all day long, even after several warnings and some time outs! Then, during the goodbye song, my son and his friends thought it would be hilarious to sing "goodbye poopie" instead of singing goodbye to each of the other children. She told me that he would not stop even after she asked him to several times.


 Oh shit!! (No pun intended.....) 


My first reaction was to reprimand my son. I explained to him that it was not okay to talk about bathroom words outside of the bathroom. But when I got to the car, I started to wonder if it really was that big of a deal. Those of you who have survived raising three year olds know that everything is a constant battle. Is it really important to battle with kids over saying words that pretty much all boys their age say? 


Then again I'm a former teacher and I realized that I wasn't as upset about my son's potty mouth as I was about the fact that he didn't listen to the teacher when she asked him to stop. Hubby and I both talked to A that night and tried to explain to him that potty words were not okay to say at school, even if the other boys were saying them. I also told hubs that he needed to cool it on the poop talk for a while. (By the way, that lasted about a week....or less!!!)


Still my son did not seem to grasp the fact that it's not always okay to say these words in public. After I spoke with him, he overheard me discussing the issue with my mother and mother-in-law on the phone. He began laughing hysterically and yelling, "I was singing 'goodbye poopie!!!' " like it was the funniest freaking thing he ever heard. I became more and more distraught. That is until I started hanging out with other moms and their 3, 4, and 5 year old boys. 


Guess what?! ALL the little boys talked and laughed about poops, farts, booties, butts, etc!!! These were not even boys who went to my son's school. As I observed the boys I realized that there must be something in their DNA that causes them to be this way. My girlfriends all said their sons do the same exact thing. They also said their husbands do it too. HA! In fact, one of my friends told me that once when she was driving her 4 year old and his buddy to t-ball, the boys spent the entire ride saying "poop" and "poopie" and laughing. This made me breathe a sigh of relief. Just today we were hanging out with some boys from the neighborhood and they spent at least ten minutes shaking their butts and laughing about it. 


My son is normal after all! Halle-freakin-lujah!!!


Thankfully, it wasn't long before the school year ended. My hope is that he will mature over the summer and forget all about this "goodbye poopie" nonsense.


 Maybe pigs will start flying too. 

Think Pink! PART TWO!!!

May 5th, the day of the ultrasound, finally arrived. I don't think I slept more than five hours the night before. I kept waking up to go to the bathroom or let the dogs out and I just couldn't go back to sleep. I kept imagining what I would see on the ultrasound and how our lives would change as a result. 


I was up bright and early on the morning of May 5th. My son came into my room around 7 and told me he was ready to go to the ultrasound. Since the appointment wasn't until noon, we had a lot of waiting to do! I kept myself busy with housework all morning until it was finally time to go. My heart was racing all morning, especially once we got in the car. 


"A" was hilarious on the car ride. Every 10 minutes he kept saying, "We're here at the ultrasound!" I guess some of my excitement had rubbed off on him. Finally, FINALLY, we arrived at Tiny Toes Prenatal Imaging. Unfortunately, they were running about 30 minutes behind. Also unfortunately, my bladder was extremely full. 


When I first made the appointment for the ultrasound, the woman at Tiny Toes told me to make sure I was well hydrated. She recommended drinking at least 4-6 bottles of water for the last 5 days before the appointment. I was also told that drinking orange juice before an ultrasound can help because sweet juices help get the baby moving. I was so worried that we would get all the way there and they would do the ultrasound only to find out that the baby was asleep or wouldn't move enough for the tech to identify the gender. So....I went a little overboard with the hydration. The morning of the appointment, I drank and drank and drank.....milk, water, OJ, whatever I could get my hands on. I even forced myself to finish a whole cup of coffee. That's right- forced myself because apparently the baby of "Coffee Addicted Mommy" hates coffee and I gag on it every morning. I brought a water bottle in the car with us and also crammed a banana and chocolate granola bar down my throat. I had waited a month for the appointment- there was no way in hell that baby wasn't moving!!!!!!!!!!!


By the time we arrived at Tiny Toes, I had to pee so bad I honestly though about using my 3 year old son's travel potty. I raced into the office and asked where the bathroom was before hubby and A could even get out of the car. The woman behind the desk kind of made a face and informed me that it wasn't the best idea to pee before the ultrasound because the fuller my bladder, the more they can see. I nicely informed her that I absolutely could not wait and would chug TWO bottles of water before my 12pm appointment (it was 11:50am). 


True to my word, I drank those bottles of water; one of them while I was on the toilet. I told you- I was determined to make sure they could see that baby! Good thing I went because they didn't end up taking us into the ultrasound room until 12:30. Now 30 minutes might not seem like a long time, but when you've been waiting over a month for an appointment and have a rambunctious 3 year old boy with you, thirty minutes seems like a lifetime. 


While we were waiting, my mother-in-law (MIL) called to check on us. She told us that hubby's almost entire side of the family was at her house to watch the ultrasound. Oh yea, this place we went to was so awesome that they offered us something called Sonostream live. Basically it was a link that we sent to our families that allowed them to view the ultrasound from their computers in real time. They also would be able to hear us because there were microphones in the room. It would be like they were right there with us even though they were 5 hours away! (My parents were traveling at the time so they didn't have the chance to watch it :( ) MIL told me that they were all gathered at her house (almost 10 of them) and were drinking coffee and eating donuts while standing around the computer and waiting for the ultrasound to begin. This brought tears to my eyes. Not just because I would have killed for a Krispy Kreme donut, but also because I was so happy that hubby's family wanted to take part in the whole experience with us. 


Around 12:30, they finally brought us back and got everything set up. Things started to feel surreal at that moment. I'd hyped up this ultrasound for so long and been so excited about finding out that I was almost sad to finally know what it was. I knew the moment the ultrasound tech put the jelly on my stomach that my son was out of patience. Thirty minutes of waiting in the waiting room had done him in. His patience was gone and he started to get a little crazy in the room. He tried to finger paint with my belly jelly and was trying to climb on the table with me. Poor hubby had to try to keep him occupied so the tech could do the ultrasound and I feel a little bad that he wasn't able to truly enjoy the experience. On the other hand, it was so important that my son be there and be a part of things even before the baby arrives so I'm glad we took him. 


I asked the woman to please let us know when the Sonostream was up so we could text hubs' family. The tech informed that once she forgot to tell a couple that the family could hear them and the woman made some comment about someone in the family's big nose. Whoops!!


And the moment you've all been waiting for.....the ULTRASOUND! I half listened as the tech told me what she was going to do. My mind was racing. I did hear her say that if the baby was in a good position for a 3D shot that she would do that first instead of gender. She also told me she might ask me to change positions or have to poke my belly a little to get a good shot. Hey, whatever is necessary lady! JUST TELL ME WHAT I'M HAVING!!!!


My MIL later told me that the moment the ultrasound started, my oldest sister-in-law screamed, "It's a girl!!"" We could pretty much see the legs right away. I kept looking and looking for the little penis but at first, baby's legs were closed. The tech smiled at me and said, "It's looking like a girl guys but let's get some better views." Miraculously, baby's legs opened and again, I searched for the penis. There was something small between the legs and that's when she said, "Ok, it really looks like a girl now! Let's see if we can get a better shot!" She wrote, "Think pink!" on the top of the ultrasound screen. 


My heart stopped as she searched for an even better view of the baby's genitalia. Hubby spotted something and remarked, "Oooo, I think I see a penis!" The tech grinned and said, "Nope, that's the umbilical cord. This is definitely a girl!"


She froze the screen on the best shot of baby girl's legs. Sure enough, I saw the three lines I'd been told meant it was a girl. I went into shock when she wrote, "It's a girl!!!!!!!!!!!" on the top of the screen. I don't remember much after that, I swear I was in shock for the whole rest of the ultrasound. Hubby's family could hear us, but we couldn't hear them so I had no idea if they were even able to see what we could see yet.   


I honestly didn't react the way I thought I would. I thought I might shriek, scream, or cry. I'd even texted my sister-in-law moments before the ultrasound to say, "Oh shit! I wore mascara!" No tears, just me sitting on the table in shock. I could hardly believe we were going to have our perfect set, our boy and now our little girl. 

Cool 3D/4D shot

We got some great 3D shots of her moving around and even got to see her little hand on the screen. When we saw her hand, we told A that his sister was waving at him and he started waving back like crazy. At that point, my eyes did fill up with tears. We also saw her start hitting the umbilical cord with her little hand. The tech said that some babies do that because they like the vibration it causes. 

Hello world! 

When it was time to go, they gave us about 8 prints in an album of our little baby girl. No sooner did we get to the car then my phone rang. It was MIL, calling to say, "I told you so!" She had correctly predicted that we were having a girl and she was thrilled. In fact, she called back about 15-20 minutes later and was already out shopping! She thought it was so cool that they had seen and heard the entire thing with us. That alone made it worth the money for the ultrasound. 

Facebook announcement
Within minutes, I had a picture posted on Facebook announcing our news. Most people had correctly predicted that we were having a girl. Then, I instructed hubby to immediately drive to Carter's so I could shop. When we got to the store, I was like a kid in a candy store. I always get so pissed at the shitty selection of boys' clothes that the stores have so of course I felt totally lost in the girl section. In fact, I told hubby that I felt like an imposter! I let my son help me pick his sister out an outfit- he chose a green shirt with a zebra on the front and zebra print shorts. Afterward, we took him to the toy store because I firmly believe in treating the children equally and he doesn't give a crap about clothes so we had to go with toys!

The rest of the day was a blur of excitement. By the end of the evening I was already starting to feel overwhelmed with nursery decor ideas. I had planned everything out expecting a little boy, not really expecting it to be a girl. I have to admit, a small part of me was sad. Although I am so psyched to have a daughter, part of me felt a loss. I had already named this little boy and decided on his room decor, etc, and now he will never be. Well, never say never....after all, there is next time!!!!


In the past week, I have already been shopping for baby girl 3 or 4 times! She already owns several outfits, about 15 hairbows and headbands, and two tiny pairs of shoes. 


Uhoh hubby, looks like you're in major TROUBLE!!!!! Our lives have changed forever. Stay tuned and hang on for the ride.......

Think pink! PART ONE

There are few days that I can honestly say were the best and most memorable days of my life. One- the day I married my husband. Two-The day my son was born. Three- The day I found out I was going to have a daughter!

That's right; almost a week ago we found out that we are expecting a baby GIRL! It was such a wonderful day. Although we had a 50/50 shot of getting a boy or a girl, I am still in shock. 

Perhaps some of the excitement was due to the anticipation leading up to the ultrasound. When I found out my doctor isn't going to do an ultrasound until I'm 22 weeks pregnant (first or second week of June!) I debated going to a special 3D ultrasound place to find out the gender early-as early as 16 weeks. The place I found allows you to get a 15 minute gender determining ultrasound with some 3D and 4D sneak peeks. When I told hubby, he was not thrilled with the idea. In fact he told me he actually liked the excitement of not knowing what the baby was. (Plus, he didn't really want to pay for the ultrasound!) I, on the other hand, was going crazy! I HAD TO KNOW! I finally convinced him to go along with it- as part of my Mother's Day present. After all, what could be a better Mother's Day present than finding out the gender of your baby???

On April 5th, I made the ultrasound appointment for May 5th. That's right, I had to wait a whole month. I knew I wouldn't be 16 weeks pregnant until the first weekend in May and the place books up a month in advance for Saturday appointments. I guess I'm not the only one who has trouble waiting.

Some people were surprised and even a little annoyed by my constant Facebook posts and banter about what I was having. This is my second child and a few people just couldn't understand why I was so excited. The truth is, I spent my entire first pregnancy terrified. Not terrified that something would happen to the baby, terrified for when the baby came. While I loved being pregnant, I felt that I had no clue what to do with the baby when he came out. I didn't grow up being around babies (my sister is only a year younger than I am) and while I've always loved working with children, most of these children were over the age of 2. In my adult life anytime I held a baby it immediately started crying. I'd typically panic and hand the baby back as fast as I could. Or even worse hubby would take the baby from me and it would magically stop crying. He did grow up around babies and was a natural. That made it more terrifying for me because I was so afraid our son would love hubby and cry all the time with me. 

True story: in the delivery room, when the doctor told me to push, I said "NO". I told everyone I wasn't ready for a baby. My mom (in her Long Island accent) informed me "Cah-ra, it's a little too late to decide that now. You shoulda thought of that nine months ago!"  

I also started crying when the nurses brought the little baby bassinet and baby bracelets into the delivery room. Mom and hubby were cheering and smiling and I was crying. I was just so scared. I wanted to keep the baby inside my uterus where I had much less of a chance of screwing up. 

After a few months (or years) of motherhood, I finally felt like I got the hang of things. I looked back at those moments in the delivery room and laughed. While it's never easy, motherhood is just something that comes naturally the minute the baby is born. Of course it was terrifying (it still is!) but also so wonderful. I continued to kick myself for spending my whole first pregnancy scared. I made a promise to myself that if I ever got pregnant again, I would enjoy every single second of it. I know it will be scary to learn how to juggle two kids but I'm not nearly as terrified as I was to have my first child because I know I can handle it. Well, sort of. Ha. Ha. 

Let's add to the mix that it took us 6 months and a chemical pregnancy to conceive this baby. There were many times during those months that the thought crossed my mine, "What if we can't have any more kids? What if I'll never get to be pregnant again?" When we finally did find out we were pregnant (apparently it happened the exact month we quit trying) we knew that this baby was meant to be. I decided not to take one moment of this pregnancy for granted.

So if my constant excitement, gender banter,weekly belly photos, and ultrasound pics annoy you then I'm sorry. Actually, I'm not sorry. Why shouldn't I be excited? What's more exciting than a baby coming? As my sister-in-law pointed out to me, people are always posting things on Facebook about where they are going to dinner, why is it inappropriate for me to post that I'm excited about my baby?

Ok ok, I have gotten waaaaaaaaaaaay off topic. I will get off my soapbox- for now. 

So for a month I waited with bated breath to find out if we were having another son or a daughter. I honestly would have been happy either way although I warned hubs that if it was a second boy, we'd be trying for a THIRD child soon. I did every single "gender test" and took every single old wives tale quiz there was. I talked about it to my friends and family constantly. I planned out the bedrooms and started planning the nursery. I pretty much drove myself and those around me crazy! 

For over 2 months, I was convinced it was a girl. Even though I had the same basic pregnancy symptoms as I did with my son, my body was waaaaaaaaay different this time. I went from barely a C cup to a DD in about 2 or 3 months. My hips and butt started expanding this time and my belly was rounder. I think a part of me was afraid to think it might be a girl because I didn't want to seem disappointed if it wasn't. I've always wanted one of each: a son and a daughter. About 2 weeks before the ultrasound was scheduled, I changed my mind and decided it was a boy. I planned out his room and "A's" new room as well. I picked his name and started thinking about going through my son's old baby clothes. I even picked out a "Little Brother" shirt at Carter's that matches my son's "Big Brother" shirt. 

Finally May 5th arrived.

TO BE CONTINUED IN: "Think pink! PART TWO"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maternity Clothes...

14 weeks into my pregnancy and I'm pretty much completely into my maternity wardrobe. I swear I must have spent hundreds of dollars on maternity clothes my first pregnancy. Can you blame me? Not only was I so excited to be pregnant for the first time and in maternity clothes, but I also decided I could accomplish being pregnant AND looking cute. Hubby almost had a heart attack everytime I stepped into Motherhood Maternity. He claimed I was single-handedly keeping them in business. He may have been right....as I went into that same store over three years later and the woman actually remembered me. Hmmm, that's not a good sign!


I justified the fact that I was spending so much money in the Motherhood store by telling hubby it was an investment. We've always known we wanted 2 or 3 kids so I told him that the clothes would definitely be reused. Unfortunately, I had our first son in March so most of my clothes are warm winter clothes. This time the baby is due in October so I will be needing tons of summer clothes! WHOOPS! Sorry hubs!


This time I'm being smarter and trying to minimize the amount of money I spend on maternity clothes. It didn't hurt that my mom offered to buy me a few outfits. The nice thing about being pregnant in the summer is that I should be able to get away with wearing a lot of dresses. Also a lot of non-maternity summer tops are long so I can get some use out of them too. As for shorts...I tried the "rubber band" trick and the belly band for a little while but that requires that your ass actually fits into the shorts in the first place.  Again- whoops!!


Bless my heart though because I can't stand not to try to dress in cute clothes, even when pregnant. Thank goodness maternity clothes have come such a long way in the past few years. Gone are the days of the moo-moo and weird giant shirts with bows tried under the neck. You know the shirts I'm talking about, the ones that look like giant clown shirts. 


Maternity clothes are definitely cuter now but possibly way more complicated. This morning, I got stuck in my maternity shirt while trying to get dressed. It's such an adorable top, black and white see thru with a white tank underneath. Somehow, I got completely tangled up in it when trying to dress myself. It made me remember some of my shirts from last pregnancy. I can't tell you how many days hubby had to help me get dressed before work. Not because I was incredibly large or swollen, but because those cute maternity tops can be so damned complicated! Gosh, you'd think they could make shirts less complicated for hormonal pregnant women to wear. Good thing no one was home to see me stuck in my shirt, flailing my arms and cursing at the mirror! 


The other thing I'm laughing about is the fact that I bought about 6-10 pairs of maternity THONGS my first pregnancy. Hey- I was working at the time and wearing tight dress pants. I didn't want my little first graders to glimpse a panty-line through my pants! GASP!


 I can't help but wonder who thought of maternity thong underwear. I also can't help but wonder how many pregnant women actually wear thongs. Like we aren't uncomfortable enough when we're pregnant-let's go ahead and add some thongs into the mix. Needless to say, I balanced the uncomfortable maternity thongs out by wearing old lady shoes to work. After all, I was on my feet all day! 


The truth is, I'm excited to be in maternity clothes now and sporting a small bump. I think it's so exciting! Let's see how much much I'm loving those clothes in 4 to 5 months. For those of you who are wondering, I have retired the J-Lo shoes for now. After all, you can hardly expect a pregnant woman to balance both thongs and ho shoes, can you? 

Holy HORMONES!

Oh the joys of pregnancy! I feel so bad for hubby. I really really do. I swear I have not felt this crazy in years... 


Hubby may not be the one carrying this child, but he is definitely experiencing this pregnancy with me. From the little weight gaining competition we seem to have going on (who has the bigger belly???) to the crazy mood swings he has to deal with....that poor poor man. He honestly deserves a medal or some "husband of the year" award when this is all over. 


I remember watching the movie "Looks Who's Talking" when I was a little girl. (It was one of my mom's favorite movies!). Even now, I vividly remember the parts where Kirstie Alley's character goes through crazy mood swings. I especially remember the part where she is sitting on the couch sobbing uncontrollably while watching television. It was so funny to watch when I was younger despite the fact that I figured it be to a bit of an exaggeration. 


Fast forward to today. Here I am, a 30 year old pregnant woman. I am a MESS and I have nothing but my hormones to blame. This poor child, he/she is being blamed for things before he/she is even born!!!!


 I don't think a day's gone by in months that I haven't cried while watching TV. Sometimes it's all out sobbing (like Kirstie Alley!) but most of the time, my eyes just start tearing up or my nose starts running. Luckily, I have a cold so most times I've been able to hide the fact that I'm crying from hubs. He loves to shamelessly point and make fun of me whenever I cry at tv shows or movies. That may be the reason I quit going to Nicholas Sparks movies with him. (Hmm maybe that was his plan all along?!) And who can blame him for laughing at me? I am crying at everything from shows like "How I Met Your Mother" to dramas like "Private Practice" to HALLMARK commercials! I'm embarrassed to admit I've also started crying while watching some of my son's movies with him. Most recently these included "Ice Age" and "We Bought A Zoo." Yes, it's true. I'm an insane emotional wreck. Let's blame my unborn baby...    ;)


The crying isn't too bad but the hot/cold mood swings are what's really putting a "zing" in our relationship. One minute, I'm SO happy and in love with my hubby. I can't believe I've hit the jackpot with such a wonderful man. The next minute, I am cursing the day we met (I'm PRETTY sure he is too!). I can't seem to help it. One moment, I'm fine. Then suddenly, something sets me off. Sometimes it's a big thing, sometimes it's a little thing. Last week I gave hubs a 20 minute lecture, half of it while standing up and waving my finger at him (so shameful!), for not putting down his phone while I was talking to him about an upcoming doctor's appointment. Was I right to be annoyed? Of course I was, it's rude not to look up from your phone so you can have a simple conversation with your wife! But I doubt the 20 minute lecture and finger waiving was necessary. In fact, I'm pretty sure he tuned me out after the first minute. 


Last week I also got mad at him for spending too long cutting the grass. WTF? My husband worked all day from about 8:30-5:30, then came home and had to spend 3 hours in the yard because our grass grows like it's on steroids. Then, he came inside to a hormonal screaming pregnant wife. I almost feel sorry for the man. 


I say "almost" because let's face it, sometimes he deserves a good "hormonal" talking to. For example, when he acts baffled by the fact that I'm tired at the end of the day. HELLOOOOO stay at home mom taking care of the cleaning, cooking, grocery shopping, dishes, laundry, and temperamental 3 year old boy while GROWING A HUMAN BEING IN HER BODY! Why the hell do you think I'm tired?! Or when he comes home and immediately sits down and opens the mail instead of saying hello to anyone, not even his son. Drives me crazy. 


However, the hubby is a good man. He's the kind of man I would want my daughter to marry- if I ever have a daughter, that is. He's kind, smart, funny, handsome, loving, and a good father. He spent two straight weekends-over 24 hours total- single-handedly building our son a wooden swing-set. The day after he was finished he took "A" on a father/son date--haircuts, McDonald's, and a movie so that he could work on continuing to build their relationship. Every night, our son begs for a story from my husband because hubs loves to make up stories in which our son is the main character. If "A" has a nightmare, my husband simply grabs a pillow and a blanket and sleeps on our son's bedroom floor for the rest of the night. Most of the time, I don't even know he's done this until I wake up alone the next morning. He came to every doctor's appointment when I was pregnant the first time and has come to every one so far this pregnancy. 


Most importantly, he puts up with my crap. Not that he doesn't dish out plenty of crap of his own, but you know what I mean. He's there for us when it counts. He STAYS. Doesn't sound like a big deal right? After all, we did take vows 5 years ago. But the sad thing is how many husbands/fathers don't stick around. Lately I've been reading a lot of posts on Babycenter.com. I'm in the October 2012 birth club. I cannot believe how many women have posted that their husband or boyfriend is leaving them. All of these women are pregnant. Most of them are scared to do it alone. Why shouldn't they be? It's scary enough to do with a partner. 


Because of these men, I thank G-d everyday for my husband. Even the moments when I'm seriously contemplating throwing something at his head. (HORMONES????) Hubs, if you are reading this, thanks for sticking around and dealing with my crazy mood swings. I love you.


 Just do me a favor and watch your step. You never know what a batshit crazy pregnant lady will do. 

Things NOT to say to or about your pregnant wife

I've decided to start a running list of things a husband should not say to his pregnant wife. Maybe this list can serve as a preventative measure and save some husband from getting something thrown at his head. Or better yet, save some woman from wanting to cut off her man's dick. :)   (Note: not all of these were said by my husband. Trust me, he would not still be standing right now, LOL) 

1. Wow, you've gained how much? Is that normal? 
2. Your hormones are making you crazy!
3. You're supposed to brush your teeth with that toothbrush, not your throat! (said by my hubby with a chuckle EVERY single time I gag brushing my teeth in the morning)
4. Doctor, is there anything you can do to help these crazy hormones? (Said by my hubby to the Obgyn last week when the dr asked if we had any questions for him)
5. You're really breaking out...
6. Your boobs are huge! Let me touch them! 
7. I'm SO tired. (said by my hubby when he gets home from work after I've been taking care of our son all day while exhausted my entire first trimester)
8. I see your ankles are starting to get bigger...

I'm going to save this list and add to it throughout my pregnancy. Feel free to use the comment section to suggest more quotes for the list! I promise to add them! Remember, it's all in the name of saving male genitalia from being chopped off by crazy, hormonal, pregnant wives ;) 

Team blue or team pink???

 I am 13 weeks pregnant! That means the first trimester is over and I'm finally starting to feel okay, both physically and emotionally. 


Two days ago, we went to the obgyn and got to hear baby's heartbeat for the very first time. I was so nervous because the first trimester was just coming to a close and I was just praying to hear a heartbeat. It took the doctor a minute to find it though. That minute was the LONGEST minute of my life. It felt like my heart stopped until I finally heard that magical little sound of the baby's rapidly beating heart. PHEW! 


I have been having nightmares that I will have a miscarriage. I NEVER remember being this paranoid when I was pregnant with "A" but I guess I'm older and wiser now and more aware of the many things can go wrong with a pregnancy. When I'm awake I try to think positively, but when I'm asleep that's a different story. One of the nightmares felt so real that I practically woke up in tears. What a relief it is to finally cross the threshold into the second trimester and with a baby with such a strong heartbeat!


The single most important thing to me is having a healthy baby. People keep asking me if I prefer a boy or a girl this time and I keep trying to tell them," As long as it's healthy!". A lot of peeps assume I want a girl because I already have a boy. I admit, one of each would be nice. If I had a girl first, I'd probably want a boy now just so I could have one of each. But to utter the words "I want a girl" or "I want a boy" seems so selfish. 


First of all, it seems to be tempting fate. I mean, what if I sat here and said, "I want a girl I want a girl" and then we lost the baby? Or found out something was wrong with her? Would gender really even matter at that point? Of course not.


 As many of you know, I have an older brother who is severely and profoundly retarded. Because of that, I am fully aware of what it's like to live with a child with a disability. So perhaps I'm not quite as idealistic as some of my friends who have never been through that. Again, we just want a healthy baby. 


Second of all, we tried for six months for this baby. Doesn't matter if it is a boy or a girl, I promise you, we want it!!!!! I would never ever want my child to later find out we were disappointed in what he/she is, especially before it is even born. 


Needless to say, I am still dying to find out what it is. Finding out the gender of your baby makes it so very real. Besides that, once you know what it is, the fun can begin. We will be able to pick a name, decorate the nursery, and better plan the shower! 


I convinced hubs to take me to a 3D ultrasound place at 16 weeks so we can find out. The doctor isn't going to tell me until 21 weeks and the not knowing is driving me bananas! The appointment is for May 5 (two weeks away!!!!) so I told him it can be my Mother's day present. Plus I can't wait to get another sneak peek at our little one. The last ultrasound we had was at 9 weeks and baby just looked like a blob. 


In the meantime, I am driving myself crazy trying to figure out what it is!!! Here are the results of the different "tests" I have done to try to figure it out:

• Chinese gender chart=BOY
• Old Wives tale online quiz=GIRL
• Heartbeat test=GIRL (160bpm at first appointment, 155/160 at second appt. Old wives claim that 145bpm and under is a boy, anything over is a girl)
• Baking soda test=GIRL (put a few teaspoons of baking soda in a plastic cup and pee on it. If it fizzes, it's a boy, if not, it's a girl)
• Way I am carrying=GIRL
• Friends and family poll=a few say BOY, most say GIRL (probably because I already have a boy, people automatically assume girl. Ha)
• My son's opinion=GIRL. He is telling complete strangers he is getting a baby sister even though we have told him several times that we don't know what it is yet. When we tell him it could be a little boy, he responds with "But it's a girl. I don't want a bruder (brother), only a sister!"
• Maternal gut instinct = changes EVERY day. I was thinking GIRL for a while, but looking back at this list and the results, my instinct changes to BOY. Everything here pretty much points to girl which of COURSE means it's a boy! ;)

In any case, only two weeks left until the big gender reveal! We will then get to see who is wiser: the Chinese or the old wives!!! 

In the meantime, care to place a bet? Odds are 50/50, not bad odds at all!