29 weeks, glucose test & aching joints!

Well, I am into my 29th week, 9 weeks to go! Here is a picture of my ever growing belly. And a shot of me at 29 weeks with Parker.


I had my glucose test last Thursday, it's a test they do to check you for gestational diabetes. You have to fast and drink this sugary orange drink then wait an hour then they draw your blood. Well, my glucose level was 162, normal is under 120. So now I have to go back this Thursday and take the 3 hr glucose test. This time they take my blood every hour for 3 hours. I am REALLY not looking forward to this because last week I was getting really sick at the end of the hour so I have no idea how I'll feel after 3 hours! Thankfully my mother-in-law is coming up to watch Parker for me so he doesn't have to go this time.

I have my monthly OB appointment today. These have been going well, nothing much to report. At some point I'll start going every 2 weeks then weekly but I'm not sure when that starts.

I've been feeling pretty achy and sore. My hips and knees hurt at night despite sleeping with a special pillow. Thankfully it works it self out after I am up for a while!

Parker is being as cute as ever. He is very into swaddling his stuffed animals and taking care of them. He actually got a baby stroller this weekend at a yard sale and has been pushing Elmo around in for days! I think he'll take to this big brother thing very well. He actually got to feel the baby move this weekend too. I think it freaked him out a little!

We have our tour of the hospital and Parker's sibling class scheduled. He isn't allowed to do the tour with us so he has to take the class to get a tour but I think it'll be fun. They teach the children how to swaddle (we got that down!) and how to hold a baby and be safe around them. It should be fun! We also have the baby shower scheduled so that means we need to register soon. I've had fun going to Target and looking around, I can't wait to get that scanner in my hands!

Until next time!

25 weeks

Here is my 25 week picture with Parker and baby girl.

I have an OB appointment on Tuesday. I'm a little nervous because at my appointment last month I had lost a pound so that's a weight gain of 4 lbs so far. It's got to catch up with me at some point! I know I have a 10 lb gain coming! LOL I also have to take Parker with me to all of my appointments now so that should be interesting. Wish me luck!

Plans for this weekend are to have Parker stay with Mom and Dad so we can go see Harry Potter. (YAY!) We're also going to set up the bunk beds, get the changing table/dresser/hutch combo from storage, get our living room chair from storage and take our love seat and 2 tv stands we are using for storage in Parker's room to the dump. Hopefully we can get a lot done while Parker is at his Granny and Papa's house!

Update you later!

It's a Girl!

We found out June 24 that Parker is getting a little sister. Name TBA after birth! :) Below are some ultra sound pictures.





I am 25 weeks today. Only 13 to go!!!! Things are going well. I can really tell that my ribs and stuff are stretching out so that's pretty uncomfortable. She is also REALLY low and constantly on my bladder. I can feel her kick all the time (mostly at night) which is really cool to know she's doing well in there.

I went part time last week so now I am off Tuesday's and Thursday's. I really had a great time. I ran errands, did stuff around the house, took Parker to the pool, took naps. Pretty much exactly what the Dr ordered! IT made work much more enjoyable the days I was there too! I really feel so blessed and hope this helps to balance out my life some.

We have decided to stay in our townhouse for another year and the reorganizing and purging has begun! Mom came up and did a yardsale with us a couple of weeks ago and we got rid of a lot of stuff so that helped. Parker has inherited the bunk beds that my sister Sandy and I had when we were teenagers and that my nephew Ian has had the past few years. They still have to be put up and mattress bought but we have time. He is really excited about getting his "Super Hero Squad" sheet set. Geez, Boys! :) On that note, we (actually Mom) bought the baby girl bedding!!!! I had picked this out when I was pregnant with Parker (and obviously didn't need it) and Toys R Us had it on clearance for $60.00. So we ran out and snatched it up. I love, love, love it!




Since the kids will be sharing a room all we got was the 4 piece set with the blanket, sheet, dust ruffle and bumper. The light pink part is a really thick courdaroy and the blanket is fleece lined. So great for a fall baby! I haven't decided what to do about the mobile. It is not on clearance anywhere and the cheapest I found it online is $30. Not sure it it's worth it our not...

As always I am bedind on posting my belly pictures. Below is my 21 week picture with Baby Girl and with Parker.




I'll try really hard to post my 25 week one tomorrow!
Bye!

20 weeks and counting!

Today i am 20 weeks (over half way there)! I have my C-section scheduled for October 13th at 7:45 am (at 38weeks). I can't even begin to tell you how excited we are!

Things are moving right along. My belly is ever expanding, heartburn and backaches continue but it'll be fine! I have started having charlie horses again which occur in the middle of the night in my calves so I have to wake Stephen up to help massage them out. He is such a good sport! Not many men could go right into massaging at 2:00 am when there wife is whimpering in pain, I guess it's old news for him b/c it was the same when I was preggers with Parker!

I still haven't gone part time at work yet and don't know when that will happen. We need to train the new girl but she hasn't been in much yet. I'm crossing my fingers for July!

The hunt continues for a new place to live. I have given up the search and past it to Stephen. He is doing a great job finding stuff in our price range, they have just been too small or run down. We're going to look at another place today, so we'll see. We've talked to our rental company about staying here. They said they would replace the carpet and that was one of my major issues. We would have to be creative with our space and organizing and get rid of some things but it would work. So at least we have that option!

Parker is still excited about the baby and is as cute as ever. When I am getting dressed in the morning he likes to play the "drums" on my belly and he gives it kisses and lays his cheek on it. It is so sweet! I hope he'll be as sweet to his little sister or brother once it's here!


I'm a little behind posting my belly pictures but here is my 17 weeeks photo with baby # 2 and with Parker. Enjoy!

OB apointments, Ultrasounds and news (long)

Hello Everyone! So I had a really great OB appointment today but before I go there I need to start where I last left off...April 15th.

I had an Ultrasound appointment on the 15th of April that would test for downs syndrome and some other genetic disorders. They changed my due date to October23rd (from the 25th) and all the test turned out well. So everything looks good! The lady doing the U/S said she could guess the gender but I don't know here success rate so we'll just wait and see. Speaking of that, I made my appointment for THAT U/S on June 25th at 9:45. Below is the U/S picture from that day.



The following week I had my first OB appointment and I got to meet my Dr. He was nice, we didn't talk long, he checked the heartbeat and that was good, they checked my weight and I have a total gain of 5 lbs. He said it would be good to gain 15-20 lbs this time so I will try not to gain the 50 I did with Parker! So all was good and I made another appointment for a month.

I took pictures of my belly every 4 weeks starting at 13 weeks with Parker so I am doing that this time too. Below is my 13 weeks photo compared to my Parker picture to show the difference. CRAZY!

Baby Brooks 2 2009 Parker 2005

I have been having a lot of Migraines and saw my PCP for those and he's tried a lot of different things with the final result being that I am just going to deal with them for now. They come and go now, I don't have them all day everyday like I was a couple of weeks ago, so that is good news. I have moved out of the 1st trimester funk and am enjoying the 2nd trimester. I'm not as tired as I was so that's fun! I still have pretty severe heartburn so I guess it's a good thing I like the fruit Tums! On a work note I will be going part time in the next month or so working Monday, Wednesday, Fridays. I am super excited about this, it gives me time to rest and go to appointments but still allows Parker to be in school and see all of his friends those 3 days.

Today I had my OB appointment and I have not gained any weight since my last visit!!!! This is so astonishing to me especially because we just got back from vacation and we ate like maniacs. I guess all the walking around Galinburg helped...so yay! Also, I asked about the scheduled C-Sections, when they do them, etc. (I have to have one this time because they did a "T" incision last time and I am a high risk for uteran rupture.) The NP told me that they would probably do it at 38 weeks to avoid me going into labor. Again..YAY, I went 41 1/2 with Parker, I deserve to go a little early this time! She said she would check with my Dr today or tommorow and get it scheduled and let me know! I can't believe I'm going to know my date this early! So a lot of good news today. I heard the baby's heartbeat again (140) and that is always a comfort.

Parker has been so much fun during the pregnancy, every weekend he sits at the computer with me so we can see what the baby is doing right now. I go to a website that shows whats going on each week with pictures and stuff so it's really fun to do that with him. He has started lifting my shirt up and asking what the baby's doing in there and I tell him it's growing big and strong. Then he sticks his finger in my belly button and yells that the baby touched him! LOL He is such a riot!

Well, until next time....

Love,
Amber

Ultrasound pictures

10 1/2 weeks For some reason it put the most recent first. The first ultrasounds are at the bottom.
10 1/2 weeks
10 1/2 weeks
8 1/2 weeks
8 1/2 weeks

Playing catch up

So has it really been almost a month since my last post? I am really bad at this! LOL

Well, I think I have been to the Dr. twice since my last post. One scheduled Ultrasound to confirm due date. It is Oct 25th. The second was because I was having stomach pains, but nothing to worry about! The Dr. did a pelvic exam though and said the uterus felt about 13 weeks not 11. So I don't know, I guess we'll wait and see. I would believe the 13 weeks because my nausea has past (for the most part) and I look bigger than 11 weeks. (We'll 12 weeks now).

Everything is going well. I'm able to stay up past 9:00 some nights now so that's good! :) I've only gained 2 pounds but like I said my belly is pretty big, and I have some extra "padding" I can use up too. I'll start taking my belly photos at 13 weeks (according to the ultrasound not the Dr.) and start posting those. I've started hitting the yardsales but can't buy much at this point. I did find a green baby blanket that's really soft. I guess I'll hold off until we find out what we're having. For those of you wondering it should be sometime in June. I can't wait!

Parker has been doing well. I showed him by belly last night and told him that's the baby and he lifted up his shirt and asked where his baby was. He is so funny! I told him only girls have baby's in their bellies. I hope that was a good enough answer. Tomorrow is Good Friday and Parker is spending the day with his cousin Daniel and Aunt Rachel. He is so excited. Rachel has a fun day planned for them and I hope Parker behaves himself! *Please* :)

Till next time...hopefully not next month.

As soon as I figure out how I will post the ultrasound pictures.

1st Doctors Appointment

I'll start by saying SORRY! I started this post last Thursday and never finished it. Read as if I just had my appointment! :)

So Wednesday was our first appointment. Stephen met me at work and we rode together to the Dr's office. This time I saw Nurse Practitioner Peggy. She is so funny and nice, I really like her! First she did our family history and what my pregnancy and labor was like last time and she explained some different test they can run now so we can think about those. The first is to see if I am a Cystic Fibrosis carrier, which I'm probably not (because Parker doesn't have it) but still it's good info to have so I'm gonna do that. The second is a non-invasive test for Down Syndrome and 2 other things. Stephen and I haven't discussed this one yet. If it is positive we wouldn't do anything about it, we'll love it anyway. On the flip side if it is positive I'd kind of like to know now so I can learn all that I can about it, ya know? So, anyway, still undecided on that one.

Drum roll please....the ultrasound! SO COOL! We got to see our little blob. Not much to see since I'm only 7 1/2 weeks along. It's 1.24 cm now and has a heartbeat of 140 beats per minute. I will eventually scan the US in and post it. The due date is October 25th as of now!

So I go back on the 25th for another ultrasound to confirm the due date and do some "1st trimester" testing.

We are so excited that everything looks good right now and will continue to pray that they stay that way!

I'm a blogger?

So here it goes...I have decided to start a blog since I am going through this journey of pregnancy without all my awesome girlfriends and family right there with me. Also, I always wished I had kept a journal when I was pregnant with Parker and said I would if we ever had another child.

The journey begins...
On Feb. 26th I thought I maybe had a UTI so I asked my boss/nurse at work to check my urine. She did and it was good. On a whim I asked her "Do you think we should check it for pregnancy or not since I had a negative blood test on the 11th?" She told me no and I went about my business. A little while later my other boss/Dr. (husband to the nurse) came up and asked me if I had a minute. You can imagine the thoughts going through me head! "Oh no, I am getting fired" "What did I do wrong?" etc, etc. So they proceed to tell me congratulations it's positive. I was like what's positive? She shows me the test and I ask her "What's that?"-ok Amber get with it, your brain REALLY needs to catch up with the situation here! So once I realized what she had done I put my head between my knees in order not to faint. Once I collected myself I called Stephen and was greeted with the same confusion I felt. What? It's day 56, how can this be, you took medicine to make you have your period, you had a negitive blood test? Yes, yes it is very bizarre!

So I call my Dr. and tell her what's up and they are very happy for me and tell me I will be fine even though I took the Provera and to make my OB appointment. So I do. March 11th at 3:30. They say I am 9 weeks along but I'm not so sure since I had 3 negative home test and a negative blood test all from the 5th - the 11th of Feb. The point we are at now is to go to the Dr. have the ultrasound done to see how far along I really am.

How do I feel?
Things are going as well as anyone can imagine. I have the usual tiredness (but it's much easier this time because I've been tired for 4 years! I have 3 yr 3 month old son) I have nausea like last time off and on all day, but again not as bad as last time, I think motherhood has toughened me up! I have been sore but that is also getting better. I haven't gained any weight yet but my tummy is poking out and I can't button my pants already. I hear this is normal for the 2nd one. I hope so or my friends are just telling me that.

Parker is very excited, he's been asking for a sister for about 6 months. I keep telling him we don't get to pick but I think he's been talking to his Granny too much! :) She has someone else on her side! So for now, according to Parker the baby's name is "Sister the baby".

I guess that is it for now. I hope not all the blogs will be this long. I just had a lot to catch up on. Stay tuned...