28 weeks

{january 22}

a bump update:

this could have possibly been the 75th picture taken of me in attempt to document the growing bump.

the previous ones were discarded due to polygamist looking hair, bad lighting, poor iphone quality, and let's be honest.. pale white skin and an extra 10 lbs doesn't do anyone any favors.

so it is what it is...

well today started bright and early at 6:25 after cal had been calling out, 'maamaa... dadaa!' for a while.

we went downstairs where he drank his bottle while we cuddled on the couch.

i fell back to sleep and cal watched pbs.

as some point, cal woke me up asking to play basketball.

i set up his hoop, and started making josh's lunch for the day.

c asked for cereal.. we ate and i followed my cheerios with this lovely concoction:

family scriptures and prayer...

'buh bye daadaa' and i love yous...

rush to get ready and out the door.

sarah was fantastic and watched cal.

 i tried not to barf as i drove to my appointment.

i managed to not pass out during the blood draw.

bp 110/55. weight 128. belly at 28 cm.

as of right now baby boy is breech with his bum down and head and feet up.

i went in with lots of questions about the delivery..

and got a lot of vague - every delivery is different / it's really hard to know answers.

i'm already getting so anxious about d-day.

i've always been the kind of person who reads the end of a book first.

i just like knowing what to expect. and that really is impossible when it comes to delivering a baby.

anyways.. i just need to chill out.

other happenings of the day:

lunch with chelsea!

cal throwing a tub of sour cream out of my grocery cart and it splattering everywhere.

homemade hawaiian pizza.

and my first pack meeting as an official scout leader:

 

not really the most proper way to wear the uniform, but at least i tried.

25 weeks

well, tomorrow i will be 25 weeks.

i have had the hardest time getting around to documenting this growing belly.

i knew the holidays were going to make time fly, and it feels like our 20 week ultrasound was only a few days ago.

i remember thinking that when calvin starts going to nursery on sundays, i will only have a few months of baby freedom to enjoy the lessons..

well, c goes into nursery next week and in 3 months this little man will be here - hopefully snoozing through relief society, so i can continue to enjoy my sundays.

(p.s. i was released from nursery and am now a cub scout den leader)

i had my 24 week apt the day after christmas.

everything looked great.

he was kicking around while my midwife was finding his heartbeat.

155 bpm.

we went over the ultrasound notes and she confirmed that everything's perfect.

i weighed in at 124 lbs - up 6 lbs from pre-pregnancy.

blood pressure 104/60

baby bump was right at 24 cm.

 they sent me home with a lovely bottle of orange snow cone syrup to drink before my next visit. barf.

as d-day gets closer, i have a lot more questions than i ever did with calvin,

but i drew a blank when she asked me if i had any questions.

 

i went into c's delivery very open minded, and while it was a good experience, i think i learned a lot about what i don't want to happen this time around (TMI warning):

 - getting pumped full of iv fluids that i was so swollen and achy for days 

(also, making me look like a marshmallow woman for all those 'first' pictures)

- not knowing breathing techniques or pressure points to help with pain

- an epidural that worked too well - i could not feel a thing, making pushing difficult

- pushing within minutes of 'becoming a 10' (i want to be able to rest and descend more)

 - pushing to the point of exhaustion (2.5 + hours) that i couldn't enjoy my brand new baby

- tearing + episiotomy + more tearing

anyways, i need to bring these up before too long, and hopefully find better alternatives.

i am pretty positive i will get an epidural again with this delivery, just to see how much 'easier' this delivery goes. 

supposedly, each one gets faster, and somewhat easier.

with that in mind.. i am aiming for a natural birth for baby tres.. whenever that is.

125.

making ginger snaps

125 days till d-day.

less than 18 weeks.

this pregnancy has been zooming by.

baby port is almost a foot long now, and weighs over a pound.

and i am pretty sure that pound of cute baby flesh is taking over my stomach space because i get full really fast, and hungry again even faster.

i heard somewhere that the more sweets you crave during pregnancy, the sweeter your baby will be. 

well he is definitely going to be the sweetest thing around.

i think he is already getting used to being wrestled by cal, because c is oblivious to momma's growing belly and the extra space it needs.

i am having a hard time staying off my back while sleeping (in our glorious new bed, i might add), but i am still sleeping pretty well.

the worst part of my night is waking up around 5 am with a full bladder and a growling tummy.

it is so hard to get out of my comfortable warm bed.

before the quilt came.

moving on to the bed.

josh and i went out on black friday and got ourselves a new bedroom set.

merry christmas to us!

i don't think either of us had slept well for months prior.

we love the new furniture and feel grown up living in a fancy room,

not to mention, the mattress is so comfy, and there is plenty of room.

pure. heaven.

we found a great deal on a gorgeous quilt, and now are on the hunt for the perfect pillows and curtains.

mr. calvin joshua is still mesmerized by basketballs, and recently chose to watch a michael jordan documentary over lightening mcqueen in cars.

he has also started playing 'pretend' more - 

sharing his binky or crackers with stuffed animals, and making eating noises for them,

flying his airplanes, or 'vrooming' his cars.

he also learned how to say cheese when i take his picture:

yummy pomegranate smoothie monster

19/20 week belly & ultrasound

well, i have kind of fallen off of the whole baby dos update wagon.

here are some recent thoughts:

- hello belly! looking at pictures of myself, makes me feel a little dramatic - but i swear my belly is huge.
maybe it's because my daily view is this:

 last pregnancy, sharsti and i would always joke about how our bodies were turning into the grinch's:

ha, i can't help but make a grinch face and chuckle when i slather on noni butter each night...

- i was getting super anxious for our anatomy scan.
a friend of mine recently lost her baby, and i hadn't felt baby dos as much as i remember feeling c at this point.

 i was worried there was something wrong. 

would this baby have heart issues too? is it really a boy?

well, the morning finally came (turning 20 weeks over thanksgiving meant we had to wait until after the break for our appointment).

wednesday, november 28 (ali's 22 bday).

i dropped cal off at kimmy's and met josh at valley's provo office.

it felt like we waited forever to be called back.

our ultrasound lady was fantastic!

she was great about explaining everything she was doing, and what we were seeing.

he is definitely a boy (wahoo!),

and everything looked 100% perfect.

he measured exactly on track except for his head was a little small.

the tech had been an neonatal echo person (??) before working there, so she did a really in-depth exam of his heart and it looked great.

also, the placenta is running along the front of my stomach - which is why i haven't felt him as much as i did with cal.

anyways, she took lots of pictures and we went away floating and very much in love.

- he has become much more real since then, and we are so so excited. josh has felt him kick a few times, and we are still thinking his name is porter. yay? nay?

love this site

- since c and p will be close to the same seasons/sizes, i haven't felt a need to buy anything. 

so, i am going to sew a quilt - 

maybe this one:

via

 or this one (in more boyish colors):

via

or both.

and there are a few things i need to look into and get:

 double stroller (suggestions?)

diaper genie (two in diapers = too many trips outside to the trash can - go ahead, call me lazy)

video monitor (mostly for when we move c into a toddler bed and p into the crib)

well, my eyelids are heavy, and baby p is kicking which means it must be time for bed.

 hopefully, it won't be long until the next update.

halloween,16 weeks, and gender...

last night cal went trick or treating for the first time.

he, jackson, and grandma dressed up and we went out to a few houses in grandma's neighborhood.

c was a little scared at first, but he caught on quick... and he was definitely excited about the candy.

 we ate a yummy dinner and spent time with family while passing out treats.

earlier that day...

i actually had time to get ready for the day and document my growing bump...

and then

at 1:00 we met up with josh and headed to the doctor's office to have an early ultrasound.

this pregnancy has been a bit surreal to us for a few reasons, 

so it was a little weird to actually see a baby inside me.

at the same time, it felt so perfect, and exciting, and right.

i could have laid there all day watching the little one move around on that black and white screen - little hands opening and closing, and arm's swinging around.

the baby was sitting indian style at first making it hard to see the gender, but it was cute to see those little ankles crossed and feet so comfy.

when the tech finally got a view of the parts.. i didn't see much there..

i asked if it was a girl, and she said she wasn't sure yet.. that she felt like she saw both at different points.. that the baby's cord was also obscuring the view..

she readjusted the angle, and turned on something that showed what was the cord, and what wasn't.. 

she pointed to something and called it outdoor plumbing.. 

it's another BOY.

whew... i have really been hoping he was a boy..

it will be so fun for the boys to be so close in age,

they can share a room (aka, we get to still have a guest room),

we already have all the boy clothes, boy decor, boy toys.. etc.

anyways, i did a really good job of keeping it a secret for a whole 4 hours, until cal opened this 'dino' egg at the halloween party: 

 it had a little dinosaur inside with blue confetti.

 we have our official anatomy scan the week after thanksgiving.

let's hope this first tech told us the right thing..

5 more months

yesterday, i was lucky enough to be present at the birth of this perfect baby boy.

it was my first birth photography session, and i couldn't have asked for a better experience.

 there is nothing more spiritual than being there when a baby is born.

you walk away amazed by God's creation of perfect bodies.

you forget how small they are, how soft their skin is, and how incredible it is when you see them look around with these bright innocent eyes.

i walked away last night full of excitement for baby dos to get here... 

in 5 more months.

ha, ps.. any photographers out there want to document my birth?

if only i could do 2 things at once...

14 weeks and it's out.

well, it's out.

after being asked today at church, i caved and decided to go public.. ha

so, no.. i have not put on holiday weight early..

and, yes there is a 3.8 inch baby in there who has recently started smiling, and growing hair on his or her little head.

it is still a little surreal to me,

and i don't think i will be 100% convinced until i get to see baby dos (spanglish nickname)  in an ultrasound.

so while the belly keeps growing, and the baby isn't kicking me all night long,

i will continue to love on my sweet little cal, and call him my baby.

i have recently found myself extremely baby hungry..

which is a good thing!

but you have to admit, there's nothing like snuggling your sleeping newborn, 

knowing that you created them, and loving them more than you'd ever imagine.

182 days left!

(also, i have been blogging along the way, but only saving them as drafts. they are all posted now, and you can see them by clicking on the labels below) 

10. 11. 12

today is 10. 11. 12.

kinda fun huh?

yesterday we went to a really fun pumpkin patch with a bunch of ladies and kiddos from the ward. 

it was a lot of fun and we came home with a white and green one.

i love fall. sorry you have to hear about it again... but i really do.

want to know what else i love?

feeling this little one kick me from the inside.

i felt him or her for the first time a few nights ago.

i was carrying cal around my belly and i think it was squishing baby dos because i felt some major jabs.

it's surprised me so much, that i jumped and let out a little ah!

ha.. 

i loaded cal into his carseat and drove home really slow with no music in hopes to feel babe again.

i have felt a few random flutters since and i am in love.

i have also been feeling much better lately.

i am so happy to be in the 2nd trimester.

it is the best!

so another announcement today that someone was having a boy.

seriously, everyone's having boys!

will we jump on the bandwagon or choose to be different?

i think we have also decided on a boy name:

porter scott

and our girl's name has been picked for a while:

ruby mae

more on the choices later, when we know who this little peach is.

they know....

we were really wanting to wait a while to tell people about this pregnancy.

i told my mom and sharsti when i was only 5 weeks along while we were shopping in park city.

the rest of my family found out pretty soon after.

i had told most of my girlfriends, and when our neighbor's mom asked if we knew the gender yet... we decided it was time to tell josh's mom and dad. 

(ps we love melody - so it was all good).

so at 11 weeks, i made this onsie for c and we took him out to see grandma and grandpa asay.

everyone was happy and surprised.

it was a fun night.

today i went to my midwives for my 12 week apt. 

(i am almost 13 weeks though)

she found the heartbeat super fast and it was 155.

she said my uterus was already protruding out of my pelvis (why i am already showing),

and that everything looked great!

so glad we never went to that ultrasound, for them to tell us nothing was wrong.

pregnancy survival - first trimester

at 12 weeks, i am surviving pregnancy by:

- the comfy sweats i got at aeropostale and the maxi skirts i've sewn.

- a sweet husband who doesn't mind making his own breakfast, or not having a lunch to take to work.

-living off of popcorn, instant breakfast, mashed potatoes, and ice cream.

- the bottles of water from costco that seem to taste really yummy and keep me hydrated.

- the disney jr app on my ipad that plays little einsteins for an hour each morning to allow for some extra time in bed.

- the toilets that josh thoroughly cleaned. (when you spend the majority of each morning staring into the toilet, cleanliness is appreciated).

- the fact that we have hardly had regular church lately - and when we do, i am in nursery where snacks are present.

- messy buns and mascara.. the only 'getting ready' i do most days.

11 weeks

 i've always heard that people show sooner with second pregnancies, and so on...
and i always thought it was one of those old wives tales.

but lately, my normal jeans are needing some extra room..

 and today i looked in the mirror to see this:

after doing a little bit of research.. i found out that it is a true tale.

so welcome tiny lime baby bump.
...

in the 2.5 minutes it took me to take the above belly photo, mr. calvin single-handedly flooded our bathroom with an empty bottle and our tub facet.

(did i mention how he held my phone under this tub's running water a few days before.)

busted:

 he was not happy i took his bottle away.. and he looks slightly like an orphan in this picture:

i promise, i take care of him.
and check out those huge molars. he is a chewing monster.
...

i never posted about my 8 week appointment.

to make a long story short.. the midwife i saw is very conservative -

 and i had a few issues with her during cal's pregnancy (she was stressed out about some labs - that were actually processed wrong and were really not an issue... possible tiny sch... blah blah blah. wanted me to switch the the mfm specialists... i chose not to, and at my next appointment she told me everything was perfect.)

anyways, she wanted me to go in for an early ultrasound because she couldn't find the heart beat on the ancient us machine that she really wasn't supposed to be using..  and most of the time you cant hear a heartbeat that early.

after some thought, i decided not to go in for the ultrasound.

if for some reason there really wasn't a heartbeat, my body will figure it out and i will miscarry.

i have still been feeling sick - throwing up most days more than once..

my belly is obviously growing, and i will go in next week.

i feel good with my decision, and hopefully she won't be mad at me for disobeying.

8 weeks

and so it begins.

 i threw up for the first time today.

just like before.. 

i have zero appetite. 

feel like i am going to pass out and die when i see any sort of food commercial on tv.

feel hungry, take a bite, and change my mind.

already lost 3 pounds.

spend way too much time in my pj's laying on the couch.. or in bed.. or on the floor.. or next to the toilet.

really want fruity things - well that was until i threw up my peaches...

now i want nothing.
the zits are coming by the dozens.

i question if this is worth it..

and of course, i have the most supportive and reassuring husband.

unlike before...

i have started to have frequent headaches..

bad ones.. like can't look at the light, throbbing, my head is going to explode, 

please calvin stop yelling or playing with your loud toys..

i don't have nursing school with it's accompanying clincals, labs, and homework hanging over my head. 

i get to watch my sweet baby cal run and play in the rain and remind me that it is worth it. 

8. 28. 2012

i was rereading my journal from when i was pregnant with calvin, and it was amazing how much i have forgotten. i am so glad that i wrote things down, but kind of wish i had written more.. so i am going to do more detailed pregnancy updates here.
right now i am 7 weeks. i have my first appointment with the midwives a week from tomorrow. i have just recently been getting waves of nausea all day long. when i was in school / doing clinicals with calvin i thought i was sick 'all day' because i was so busy finishing school and getting no sleep.. but even when i am home in my sweats the morning sickness comes and goes for most of the day. i have yet to actually throw up.. today i loaded up on the peppermint tea, gingerale, saltines, and nutella - getting ready for the rough days ahead.

my current weight is 116 lbs. i found a few maternity tees at ross yesterday, that will be so comfy and versatile. (i love being pregnant during the fall/winter... bring on the comfy clothes) i also went to forever 21 today in search of some good deals.. i felt a little silly walking up to the counter, pushing a baby in a stroller asking where the maternity clothes are.. (o that's right, they don't have them anymore.. lame).

i think this pregnancy will come as a surprise to most because cal is still a baby.. and there have been times while we were trying that i thought we were crazy for wanting to add more diapers to change, another baby to carry around, and bathe, and feed, and keep from playing in the toilets etc.. there were times that i felt guilty about shortening c's time as an only child, and i know i won't be able to give him the same amount of attention.

c has been a bit of a difficult baby in the way that he needs attention. he is very social. he loves to play with people - be cuddled, be read to, chased, wrestled, peek-a-bood. he often follows me around the kitchen clinging to my legs and saying maaaaamaaaaa maaaaaamaaaaa until i pick him up. i remember holding him on the boat at lake powell thinking about this, and feeling so guilty.

i know nine months is a long time in c's life.. he is going to learn and grow so much before baby dos gets here... i know he loves being around people, especially other kids - so baby dos will probably help more than hinder.. and until then, i will do my best to make these next few months as enjoyable, and memorable for my little family of 3.

8.9.12

just a few months after baby calvin was born, i longed for another baby.. crazy right?
 i have always wanted a large family, and to have my children close together.

with that being said.. 

tonight we had some family pictures taken and i had the thought to take a pregnancy test because it would be fun to look back at these pictures and know that was the night we found out about baby #2. i took a test a few days ago and it was negative.. but decided to take another one tonight (thank you dollar store for cheap hcg tests). well, it was slow to show, and pretty faint but there was a line. i ran downstairs to show josh because i wasn't sure if i was looking so hard, it made the line appear.. but he saw it too! it was real.

the estimated due date is april 14th.. which will make them 21 months apart.

we are so excited and feel so blessed. 

like we did with c, one of the first things we did after seeing the positive test was kneel as a family in prayer and thank our heavenly father for this sweet blessing.