15w5d. I have been so sick this past week. I was doing really well and then BAM! Nausea!!! Constipation!!! Exhaustion!!! And it has only gotten worse! As yesterday progressed, I added a sore throat to my list of complaints but it seems to be mostly gone today. I am just feeling ill and very tired so you can imagine what I do all day- either hide from my woes on the computer or lay down in my room while Brendan watches cartoons. Yee-haw.
While my aversions are still very strong it looks like I can drink diet sprite again (actually, it’s Sierra Mist). That’s good. I was tired of water! I have been trying to limit my sugar by avoiding things like popsicles and juice. It’s hard because those things help the nausea. But without all that sugar controlling medicine, sugars are just going to make this baby extra big. I am also trying to avoid highly salty things because they make my weight soar with water gain. The Mexican food can’t be helped much since it is what appeals most that contains meat but things like soups can be avoided. Once again- one of my main comfort foods when I am nauseous.
One of these days I’ll get up the energy to return to our daily walks. It was just too cold up at the in-laws. I did do some stretching though.
I won a Bravado nursing bra off of Ebay- fits (but no room for growth & it’s their largest size) but functions differently than I thought. The whole bra cup goes down leaving me baring my entire breast. Not exactly what I want but it’ll be useful to have around the house anyway. I also won a maternity bathing suit. Looks good but I have yet to try it on. My MIL plans to take us to the beach for a few days in June.
2w2d of waiting to go! Child- are you a boy or a girl?!!!

Hi Friends,
It’s DH taking over Jen’s blog for a few minutes while she’s out of town! I’ll be seeing them soon, and I’m happy about that even though it means my week of pizza and Olympics is over. 🙂 I made this picture for Jen and Bren as a welcome home present and it is set as our desktop right now. Enjoy!

Yesterday, Brendan amazed, astonished & confounded me by not needing a single diaper change for just over 22 hours. Really had me worried! At 9:00 last night he finally went, went again 5 minutes later, again an hour later, woke up wet in the middle of the night (rare these days) and woke up wet this morning. Guess I can stop worrying, lol.
About 6 am, Brendan rolled out of the king sized bed we sleep in up here. He not only landed on the hard wooden floor (what little there is between the bed and the wall), but also smack on top of an emergency lantern- a heavy metal thing. Oh the drama! He was full of Swiper the Fox madness and after he calmed down all I could get him to tell me about where he hurt was that his nose was hot. He went back to sleep MUCH faster than me!
*****
15w0d. Having a good time up here in north Texas. Since we didn’t get snow, I wish we were having warmer weather though. Had a great day shopping yesterday at Grapevine Mills mall. I bought this clever cupcake stand for Bren’s birthday party, a polo shirt, pants & belt outfit for Bren for the wedding on Saturday for $6 plus 2 maternity shirts also for $6 each. We stopped in at Baby Depot so I could show MIL the pink crib bedding I like. I was so surprised to see that their store has a ton more baby clothes than ours does and it is much less expensive! I bought 2 baby footless gowns for $6 and then… well, found a girl’s newborn outfit I couldn’t live without. It’d be perfect for a coming home outfit!! I realize I may be giving it away, lol, but I hope that’s not the case. 3 weeks exactly til the ultrasound! I’ll post a pic of the outfit when I get home.
I felt the baby rolling over this morning when I was still lying in bed!! If you take your fist and wrap your other hand around it, then roll your fist about a quarter of a turn- that’s what it felt like. Three times! Much more than just a fluttery feeling and the top was about 2 inches below my belly button. Higher than I expected. The baby is the size of an orange now, head to butt. I am millimeters from being too big for the last of my “transition” pants.
Brendan has said a few new things recently. The funniest thing is flashlight. His version sounds more like “fish pipe”. Haha. He also told his Mimi TWICE what sounds tremendously like “stupid, stupid, stupid!” I am not convinced that is what he is really saying even if it sounds like it because I have no idea where he could have heard it! He is loving the cats up here and a couple even lay on the bed and let him pet them. He has been piling toys up in his baby bathtub and driving them all around. Odd things end up in that tub, including every chapstick he can find. Have I ever mentioned his version of bridge sounds just like the B word? Haha.
Thank you, honey for winning that maternity bathing suit off of Ebay for me! Now your mom can take us to the beach in June! We won’t need a beach ball! 😉 I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Don’t forget the wedding clothes!

14 weeks!!! Wahoo! The day *I* consider to be the start of the 2nd trimester even though my OB goes by 12 weeks. 6 months remaining starting tomorrow.
Everything is fine. My Dr. was in surgery so my appt was delayed a bit and even then she was just tied up so we ended up seeing the nurse. Not much to a 14 weeker anyway so no big deal. I got to play with the doppler and was having some success even though I got readings of everything from 114 to 200- that swoosh-swoosh is unmistakable! The nurse got a heart rate of 157. S/he is still pretty far down there- the heartbeat was found right on my hairline. Their scale matches mine at home very nicely so if my appt had been yesterday I would have lost 2.5 pounds but I ate a salty meal last night… and, um, I’m a bit stopped up… and it showed on the scale this morning- so the scale at the office said I only lost 1/2 a pound this month.
The nurse said it was fine if I was having trouble with protein right now. She stated pretty firmly that if my body objects to proteins then I don’t need them right now. So I am not going to feel guilty about it anymore.
So our baby is fine & I am fine. I go back in 2 weeks for a weight check & quad screen bloodwork. The 4 week countdown until the big “check everything including the gender” ultrasound begins!!! March 16th at 1:30!
Took Brendan to see a nursery rhymes puppet show meant for toddlers this morning and it was hilarious! He loved it!! See you on the other side- our train trip begins tomorrow!

Brendan, perched on Daddy’s shoulders, said tonight “Look at me, Mama! I am taller than a mountain!”
10 words!!!!

This is silly, but funny: go to the google search engine and type
in your name and then ‘needs’ after it. Ex: “John needs” and write down the first line of the description of the first website that appears, (it should say something like: “John needs a shave”)
My great need:
“Oprah says, Jen needs a break”
LOL! Yup- a break in the form of a girl!
“Right now, Brendan needs confidence, security and love. … What Brendan is getting is exactly what he needs.”
Heh! **Puffs up chest** 😉
*****
13w6d. OB appt tomorrow! Never know what’ll happen at those! I had 2 days where I lost about 1/2 a pinkie tip’s worth of (ewww- green!) mucus plug so I want to ask about that. Also, I want to see if I can go in for the genetic testing stuff (like the quad screen) before my next appt & U/S. I want any potential bad news BEFORE I bond any more with my baby and know its gender.
And I lost a bit more weight… wonder if it’s enough for her to say something. Scale this morning says I am down 4 pounds for the pregnancy. I just look at most foods and gag! You CAN be hungry and not want to eat!
I did something wonderful though! I have been so tired lately that I added 1/2 of a bottle of starbuck’s mocha frappuccino + 2-3 oz chocolate milk to my breakfast routine. The caffeine is helping to combat my constant tiredness and I am getting almost a glass of milk’s worth of calcium in. Can’t tolerate straight milk (even flavored) or soda or coffee but this combo seems to work.
As for Brendan- nothing really new to report. We are working on his late night wildness. :/ But mostly he is loving and fun. With me being so tired, he is definitely watching too many cartoons though. I hope being up at the in-laws will get him more outdoors but it looks like it is going to be very cold up there. He will be thrilled with the train ride though!

I’ve been looking at girl’s crib bedding sets and I finally found one I love. It’s called “Koko” by Kidsline. I love how Baby Depot even sells the butterfly and solid pink fabrics and someone on ebay makes custom basket liners too!






Are you guys thinking pink?? Just a little over a month until we will know!

13w0d. Yes, I am wearing a better bra but in comaparing these 2 photos, doesn’t my belly size look similar? Last pregnancy on left, this one on right. Hit the extended entry link for how far along I was in the first picture.

Continue reading →

Darrell sat down with Brendan at the kitchen table this morning with some paint daubers and a big piece of cardboard. Together they worked on a little mural. DH and Bren both put a lot of colorful dots on the board. Then Bren drew a round shape and called it a ghost! With the exception of circles this is the first time he has drawn something and called it a name! Here is his little ghost:

12w0d. Last night I think I felt the baby move! In fact, I am pretty positive it was the baby even though it is very early for it. Incredibly early since I know it was at least another month with Brendan that I felt a curious flutter and wondered. But last night I was in the car and had the seatbelt on a smidge too tight. I was just thinking that I ought to adjust it when low down on my left side I felt a sudden flurry of movement, right up underneath the seatbelt. It only happened once and was only for a second but it was definitely not gas!! The baby must have gotten itself in a position it didn’t like and used its arms AND legs to make me feel that! It was a flurry of movement not just a whispery flutter! Really quite magical! There’s a baby in there!
This pregnancy is 30% complete now!