Friday, January 31, 2014

17 Week Pregnancy Reflection (Baby 2!)


How far along?:  17 weeks & 2 days... which means there is {roughly} 22 weeks & 5 days to go!

Me, Presley & baby 2 (in womb) - photo taken by daddy today!

And here I was at 17 weeks along with Presley!

I am feeling:  much better that I was during the 1st trimester.  I am feeling anxious for all the life changes we have coming up in the next few months.  But mostly, I just feel like a mom more than I feel like I am pregnant.  I just get caught up in the day-to-day of our life that I forget to sit down and reflect on my super awesome 2nd pregnancy.

Size of the baby:  This week the baby is the size of a sweet potato!  This makes me hungry for my mom's sweet potato fluff... minus about half the sugar.  So, essentially I'm hungry for my mom's sweet potato fluff the way my sister, Amanda, makes it!  Hahaha.

Our first lady holding a sweet potato... she is one of my favorite people!


Total weight +/-Haaa!  Can't believe I felt the need to share this with the world last time around.  Definitely not something I want to talk about or even keep track of.  I love the freedom of just not needing to step on the scale... it's great!

Movement:  I have had several moments within the last week where I thought I felt the baby moving but nothing yet that has convinced me 100%.  I'm not going to lie, that makes me pretty nervous.  Last time around I believe I was around 16 weeks along when I felt Presley move for the first time and most of the literature I've read thus far states that 2nd-time moms usually feels kicks "sooner" than the previous pregnancy.  Greeeeat!  Trying not to worry until I concretely have anything to worry about.

What I miss most:  sleep.  Already.  I'm always tired.  I have not been sleeping great at all lately.  It doesn't help we are sharing a room with Presley for the time being or that I don't have my pregnancy pillow (it's in storage!) or that I just can't get comfortable.  I hear everything at night... their breathing and movement and all that jazz... so I finally went out today and bought some ear plugs.  It certainly can't hurt!!!  And trust me, with Presley on the other side of the bed from me, she makes very certain I hear her wake up every morning.  Usually in song!!!  It is hilarious.  I can't help but wake up and smile.

What I'm excited about:  hopefully finding a doctor in town soon once we get insurance figured out.  State insurance is taking F-O-R-E-V-E-R to kick in and Tony's benefits are non-existent until his first 90 days are up.  So in short, I have gone WAY too long without seeing a doctor.  I think I am just going to call around, see who accepts Medicaid, and go ahead and get set up before the insurance kicks in.  That way I won't be waiting around until they finally have their stuff together and they can just back pay.  I am getting way waay too nervous to go any longer without being seen.  Just a few more weeks until the gender scan is usually scheduled!!!  Don't want to miss that by too long.  I'm excited to get into a HOUSE.  I am just PRAYING that God has it in our plans to become homeowners in the month of February!!!!

Cravings:  BBQ baked potatoes!  Thank you Germantown Commissary for curing that craving!  YUM YUM!  Aside from that... still loving the freezer section garlic cheese bread... what a weirdo.  Had quite a few Quaker Oats Chocolate Chip granola bars this week as well.  All super healthy stuff, as you can see. ;)



That's about it for us here lately.  Just really need to get moving on the home-buying process but there are some hurdles we need to get over first.  After that is should be relatively smooth sailing... or so I hope!!!  Thanks to my awesome cousin, Breanne, for encouraging me to keep up with these posts and to my wonderful mother-in-law, Selena, for encouraging me to take regular photos of my belly this time around so baby 2 doesn't feel left out on the fun!!!  Love you all!

Thursday, January 23, 2014

Playing Catch Up!

Good googly moogly!  I can't believe it has been so long since I last signed on here and checked in and dumped out what's been on my brain!!!!  As always... no one is going to be more sorry than myself for my lack of cataloging here lately.

SO, let's back-track a wee bit.  It has been over a month since I last wrote.  Mostly I have to thank the fact that Presley and I got the KILLER stomach virus that had been going around right before Christmas!!!  I was writing about wanting to catch the holiday spirit, not the holiday sickness!  It was awful.  Presley was puking every 15-20 minutes and at first it was all over her crib.  ALL over.  And then after several bedding changes for her, I just threw her in my bed with me.  And after several more bedding changes in my room, I finally got her to throw up into a mixing bowl (somewhat).  It was really very sad for me to watch her get down to throwing up nothing but dark green stomach bile... that was very hard to watch.  And then the next day or so... I got the virus FULL swing.  Thank GOD my mother was willing and able to take Presley for a few hours that day because I was just not capable of anything.  It was seriously awful.  And doing it all by myself without a spouse was scary.  And then the next morning we had to wake up and catch a flight from Moline to Chicago and from Chicago to Memphis.  I didn't think I could do it but I kept telling myself it is 3-4 hours of suffering in this way and then we will be with Tony.  Thankfully, I was feeling leaps and bounds better than I had been the night before but it still wasn't easy.  Consider the fact that I am pregnant on top of all that and it was just awful.  I don't think I ate anything for 24 hours and not only did I feel terrible but I felt guilty on top of it. 

We made it to Memphis, though, on Christmas Day!  We spent a few days with Tony and then said goodbye to him, Chris, and Kristen (two of our wonderful friends) and they traveled back up to Moline to pack up the house into the U-Haul trailer and head back down to Memphis.  They did all this in one weekend all by themselves.  I am in awe of all they accomplished and we will be forever indebted to them and so beyond grateful for their kindness and compassion.  Not to mention... they then proceeded to unpack the U-Haul into a storage unit along with the help of my in-laws.  I felt very unproductive those days when they were so busy and that is not a good feeling for someone who wanted to be in charge of it all.  But, we all survived.  And Chris & Kristen declared their independence from ever having to help us move again!  :)

Since we've been in town, we have been living with Chris and Kristen in their 2 bedroom rental home.  When I said they were wonderful friends, did you take my word for it?  I mean, incredible.  We are in the process of looking at homes and getting approved for a loan, etc.  It has been a somewhat sticky process... it often feels like one step forward and then we take ten or so back.  Though, finally, it feels like we are coming up with a game plan alongside our lender and realtor.  I thank God for their patience because I know I am not the easiest person to work with - I have realized I am very sensitive when it comes to this big decision.  We started out by looking in Olive Branch, Mississippi which is just outside of Memphis.  (For you QCA folks, it's equivalent to Moline/Davenport.)   That didn't pan out well for us so we are shifting our focus to look at homes in the Cordova/Bartlett area.  I am feeling VERY hopeful about out prospects here.  Plus, it cuts Tony's daily commute way down and I am a huge huge HUGE fan of that!

Presley has been adjusting well.  She is sleeping in a pack-and-play and we just ordered a thicker mattress for that and it's seemed to help her sleep sounder.  We've also been watching a disgusting amount of TV lately and I hate it!  I feel like I have forgotten how to be a stay at home parent for some odd reason... and to be honest?  I love Presley but I seem to enjoy it less these days.  I know I wasn't always a huge fan of it but after having gone back to work for a few months before we moved, it really caused me to realize how much I enjoy working outside the home.

Now, onto this whole pregnancy deal!  I am always forgetting I'm pregnant because this one just feels so vastly different from the last one. Your first time around EVERY little and big thing is just so monumental and I feel terrible but this time around, pregnancy is the last thing on my mind.  Presley requires a LOT of attention (point in case: she got SO close to sticking a screw driver in an electrical outlet today...) and when it's not her that I'm focused on it is mealtime, naptime, bedtime, time to focus on home buying, etc!  I'm currently 16 weeks pregnant and for the last few days I have been craving nothing more than a McDonald's cheeseburger (or two), their delicious fries, and a huge coke!  SO BAD!!!  I have yet to indulge... mostly because I just keep forgetting until around this time of night.  I had also been hankering for Mexican food for several weeks in a row but that seems to have subsided after our trip to El Porton last week with Megan, Chris, Kristen, Presley & Tony!  We got guacamole dip (HEAVENLY!!!!) and Presley tossed it on the floor... I nearly cried.  But instead, I sucked it up and ordered another one!  For a while there I was really loving the frozen cheesy garlic bread you could stick in the oven for a couple minutes.  Now?  I just eat what I can when I have the time.  I feel the need to find a Chinese restaurant we really fall in love with because I am missing Ming Wah and our friends there like crazy.  I know that sounds silly, but it's true.  This restaurant (in Moline) is really something special to us!  Not to mention the food is just delicious.  I really need to stop talking about FOOD!!!!


Here is a picture of me & Presley.  I was just around 15 weeks along here and Presley was nice enough to help hold my belly up for the photo. ;)

This is an older one... but we got to spend Christmas with my family before the sickness and move. It was so nice!

Just after we landed in Memphis.  Walking to the cars with her Grandmommy & Papa.

We've also been lucky enough to hang out with my sister & her husband & my niece, Anne Marie, several times since we've moved.  Here is Presley & Annie holding hands in the back seat!!!

Had a very sister Christmas after the holidays and it was very much needed... although it went by in a flash!  Here is Aunt Ashie & Uncle Jojo with Annie & Presley.
One of my favorites of Tony & Presley :)

And here we are earlier this week right around 16 weeks along.

I've been catching up on Parenthood (the TV show) the past few weeks and goodness... I have really been missing out!!!  I've just started with the most recent season and things are getting good.  Anyways, what has been up with all of you?!  I look forward to catching up on everyone's blogs!  Take care.