Weekly Update- 24+ weeks

Quick bit: Little Dude turned 1 on January 23rd. He had a great birthday week. I still have a hard time grasping he's 1 year of age in my head. His first year was seriously the fastest year of my life. Wow, they weren't kidding when they said kids speed up time! Another seperate post for his birthday shall appear on this lovely blog tonight or tomorrow (I promise, I'm keeping up with my goals for the year.)

Pregnancy:

How far along? 24 weeks...nearly 25 (I just eeked this update in, because I rock like cool socks.)

How big is baby? Last week's u/s said she's 1 pound 9 ounces...so probably more this week.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I weigh 135, which is 18 pounds up now (again healthy for me since I lost at the beginning and started out underweight with this pregnancy.)

Next Appointment: 2/12/2013

Maternity Clothes: Pants-yes. Shirts- some of both.

Sleep: I wake up  few times a night, but I'm able to go back to sleep. My dreams have been wild every night lately.

Best Moment This Week: My Mom was here the past week to help me with Little Dude, it was really nice to have her help. I cried when she left me today.

Annoyance of the Week: Not having the kind of energy I want and being unable to get my asthma under control.

Movement: Yes, tons!

Planning/Preparation:  Registered at Babies R Us, tentatively picked out a bedding set, and got the ball rolling to move to a bigger house on base.

Belly Button In/Out: Technically still in, but it's close now.

Gender: 100% girl at 23/24 weeks.

What I Miss:  I still miss cocktails (I sound like an alcoholic and I'm not, just missing what I can't have), taking full communion at Mass, and normal clothes.

What I'm Looking Forward To:  Presently- Valentine crafts with my Little Dude. Always- meeting my Little Miss

Contractions:  Quite a few!

Milestones?: Hitting viability!

Pregnancy Weekly Update

I always meant to do these updates with Matthew...I just never did. So I figured why not get it out, dust it off and write it for my second baby. After all, she's been getting the shaft on a few things...so here's for you Little Miss.

How far along? 23 weeks, give or take a few days.

How big is baby? According to my baby center app, about 1 pound.

Total Weight Gain/Loss: At the last appointment, I was up 10 or 12 pounds.

Next Appointment: Tuesday, 1/22

Maternity Clothes: Pants-yes. Shirts- some of both.

Sleep: It's decent. The insomnia I had earlier in the pregnancy seems to have gone away.

Best Moment This Week: Sleeping

Annoyance of the Week: Not having the kind of energy I want/need to plan my son's 1st birthday the way I dreamed about.

Movement: Yes, tons. I've felt movement since 18 weeks with this baby.

Planning/Preparation:  Test drove a bigger car and looked at double strollers.

Belly Button In/Out: Still in, but definitely stretching.

Gender: 90% girl at 19 weeks.

What I Miss:  Cocktails with the girls, having energy to do things, regular pants

What I'm Looking Forward To:  Presently- my Mom coming out on Monday. Always- meeting my Little Miss

Contractions:  None this week, thankfully.

Milestones?: 1 week until viability, which always relaxes me a bit.

This time last year

EDIT:  This was written yesterday, 1/14/2013. I forgot to get it posted.

Today in January of 2012 was my due date with Little Dude. Of course he didn't come out until a week later, because he liked the comfort of hanging out with Mommy.  A year later and we're almost a week from celebrating his 1st birthday and he's sitting on my head....I'm only sort of kidding. At this very moment he is literally sitting on my shoulders & head laughing, pulling my hair and sticking his feet in my face (wow they smell...I swear we bathe him!)

What a year it has been! (Which is something I will continue to say for the next several weeks so get used to it!)

I wrote in my journal a year ago that I just wanted to have the baby. I was tired of being pregnant. I weighed the most I'd ever weighed in my life and it hurt to carry that around. Plus, after all the years of infertility I wanted the happy ending. I wanted to meet the baby, that changed my life. Made me part of "the club" (you know the invisible Mommy club that until you are pregnant or adopt a child, you're not included in.)

This year with Matthew I can't even express the joy and the enormous positive changes in me he has enabled just with his presence. I've grown so much. I have the privilege of being his Mother forever.
My husband and I have grown together, simply because we have to rely on one another to care for a little person. Seeing my husband be a Dad is incredible. He is good at it. Seriously good at it!
I've gotten to see my own Mom become Nana. A role that fits her like a glove. That lady was born to be a Nana. Her love for my son makes me love her even more.

I don't do well with words on paper, compared to my spouse, but I am working on a real letter to Matthew. Someday he'll read it and either wonder if his Mom is crazy or a sentimental lady. Let's hope the latter.

We are not doing a big party for Matthew this year. I am worn out and he won't remember this anyway. Next year, I'll owe him one.

My goals for 2013

In previous years I have made goals/resolves etc for the new year. I didn't really do any for 2011 (other then get pregnant, which we did achieve) and I most certainly did none for 2012. Let's face it 2012 was the year of big changes for us. I had a baby, moved away from some of my closest milspouse friends 5 weeks later, lived in a hotel for a month, finished college, got pregnant again and oh parented for the first time ever! The fact that I made it out on top without exploding is pretty awesome.  2013 is a new year with a lot less major changes (thank goodness!), so I feel like I can set some goals again.

This first goal is a big one for me. I have for a good chunk of my life dictated how/when/if I did or said things based on other people's emotions. Now this can be a good thing, but in the past year I noticed how bad it can also be. [For example, I held off announcing my current pregnancy for fear of the hurt I would cause other people with infertility. I also have had a hard time allowing myself to be happy about the pregnancy because of the guilt I feel. The stress this guilt caused was unbelievable. I cried over hurting people so often that I felt physically sick.] SO...my 1st goal is to not allow others emotions control my actions as much.

My second goal is related to the first and that is to raise my confidence level. Some might be surprised to know how hard it is for me to feel confident. I try very hard to project confidence, but in reality I struggle with this a lot.

My third goal is to return to work after I have our 2nd baby. I really, really do want to get back to my career and contribute to my field. I love working with people. It's my passion and I miss it. I love my kids with all my heart and I have enjoyed my time at home, but it's time for me to go back and put my education to use. I have nothing against SAHM as I've said before, but I need to have a job outside of the home.

And my fourth goal is to blog more often. Obviously I said that before. It's a great way to meet others, keep in touch and have some accountability.

Happy 2013 everyone!

Has it been a month already?

Clearly, blogging in 2012 wasn't a priority. I have no excuses (other then being tired & busy all the time). I spent plenty of time on facebook, but couldn't get myself to write in the blog that often.  It's one of my goals for the new year.  Seriously. For real.

So...what did we do in December?  Well a whole bunch of fun stuff!  We began the month by attending the children's party put on by my husband's command. I've been to many command children's parties over the years and honestly having a kid of my own, outside of the womb, made it much more enjoyable. Though this party was way more geared towards older kids, Matthew still got to see Santa (he loved him) and accidentally eat frosting...he's fast when he wants something!

Then Avery and I attended the adults Christmas party out on by his command. It was not the most fun, simply because we knew no one. Instead I enjoyed my current state of pregnancy and the ability to eat as much as I wanted from the delicious buffet dinner (and yes I am on orders to gain more weight, so I can eat with some abandon.) I looked good though.

Another weekend we took Matthew to a children's party put on by Operation Homefront. Little Dude was pretty overwhelmed by all the people, but he liked the toys and eating cookies that Daddy gave him bites of.

Somewhere in there it snowed here and everyone freaked out. I rolled my eyes as it was barely 4 inches at our house and I grew up in the Midwest where it snows every winter all the time. It was pretty though, unfortunately it didn't last much longer then a day or two.

At 19 weeks, we had another u/s and the tech was 90% sure it's a baby girl. Avery doesn't like the uncertainty in that and I have to admit whenever I buy a girl item I worry a tiny bit that they are wrong. Hopefully we can get another u/s in and get another look soon.

Matthew's first Christmas was a lot of fun. He got so much stuff from the relatives. Mommy & Daddy tried to keep it small, but even we got him more then I realized until he opened everything. He was a bit bored by the end of unwrapping. Next year I think he'll be more into it. Our living room gets wrecked by all the playing he does everyday now. I love it though. He has so much fun!

We rang 2013 in at my MIL's house in Southern California. It was my first time ever being in his hometown. It was a good time.

I've got some goals for 2013 that I will put on paper here soon.  It's good to be back on the ol' blog. :-)