Life Keeps Going

So, Penelope is still full of energy lately. She's still bobbing between 1-2 naps a day. On days like Sunday it's one nice long nap of almost 4 hours (nursery really wears her out). On weekdays, I try to get her to take two shorter naps so I can get a nap or two in as well. It doesn't always work out the way I hope but what in life does? For the most part, she's sleeping through most of the night.
I met with my OBGYN this past week for a check-up on the baby- the heartbeat was 158 beats per minute with no problems finding it this time around. We went over my due date again because it's still something that could fluctuate. She said that she's happy that some doctors aren't Christian because she takes Ramadan and another doctor takes Christmas. If I deliver between the 23rd and 26th, she won't be my delivering doctor again. But if the baby comes before or after that, she will be (not that I care when it comes to delivery- just get the baby out). She noticed that my weight was down 4 pounds from when I saw her a month ago. Thankfully, she's not worried because I'm getting sick less and starting to be on the up swing with food. But I'm still feeling pretty good with this baby. We'll find out in the next couple weeks if it's a boy or girl.
I've been feeling a little out of the loop lately with being in nursery now instead of the regular block of Sunday School and Relief Society. We've had a lot of families move in the ward in the last 5 or so weeks and I feel like I don't know what's going on. I was the kind of person who was in the know and could help others figure out who was who once they moved in. It's made me think a lot about trying to get out and meet new people. I'm always going to the park with a group of moms from Church once a week but I don't feel like I get my social fill for the week (because we don't get out much more than that unless we're invited somewhere). It's been making me feel a little lonely in the last few days. I'm trying to think of how to solve this (just try to think like a guy, right?). I think my best option is to reach out and see who want to do play dates during the week. It can feel awkward making that first step though. We'll see what happens and how this can get this better.

Baby Bump

Well, let me start by saying I still don't feel like it's a baby bump. I still feel like it's just me being "big". But I'll just let it be. Today, I went shopping to find some crew neck t-shirts (not successful) and to look at capris/crops for this summer weather (VERY successful!). So, here are the pictures of me in my new crops with a shirt that I got while pregnant with Penelope.

Please ignore the mess behind me in Penny's room and the fact the mirror is all finger printed up. I feel like I didn't show with Penelope for a long while (because I was so sick in the beginning) so this is kind of strange for me to be busting out already (not that I'm really BUSTING out but it feels like it). It's not a big bump but it's enough that I'm out of pre-preganacy clothes. I've been feeling pretty good- it's hit or miss some days. I sometimes forget about being pregnant just because I'm Penelope's mom first. Then, nap time comes around and we're both out and I remember. Early on, when I wasn't doing so great this time around, I got a blessing from the missionaries and Chris and I was told that I was going to be able to take care of Chris and Penelope during this pregnancy and that I would be fine as long as I do what I'm supposed to. I feel like that has been the case since getting back into some daily habits as a family and as a mom and individual. I'm so glad to have Chris around as I go through this adventure.

Penelope's 18 Month Stats

What a day! Penelope handled the doctor's appointment pretty well. She now weighs a whopping 26lbs 12oz (50-70 percentile), is 33 inches tall (70-90 percentile), and of course her head is still in the 90-95 percentile. The doctor compared her stats to what a 2 year olds stats would be and said that Penny is the size of an average 2 year old. She is getting SO big. The doctor was happy to hear that we are still keeping her rear facing. She said, based on Penny's size, if she gets uncomfortable that we can think about switching her to front facing. We're not in a hurry to do that. She's tall enough that she kicks the backseat for fun so switching her might mean her kicking the seat in front of her.... Also, the doctor says she's well ahead of 18 month olds with her talking and singing. Penny is making 2-3 word sentences and when she can't decide something (ex. if she wants to watch something) I'll try to help her make the choice (I'll ask her "watch thomas or pooh" and she'll tell me which she would rather watch). Penny also does a few things when we ask her ("go to the car" or "put your diaper in the trash"). She's just growing up so fast. A piece of advice from the doctor was to give her tough love when she wakes in the middle of the night (we were blaming it on teeth but the doctor says they're just about it so give her something to drink and then just let her cry it out). One thing we need to work on with Penelope is letting her use utensils on her own to eat to see if she can feed herself that way (she tries to feed us sometimes so the connection is there).

Well, here's a fun photo from dinner last night. Enjoy!

Ultrasound Photos

Here are my favorite ones:

This is the baby and the heartbeat measurements. It was 160 beats per minute at this appointment. 

They measured the baby at this appointment because at my last OB appointment the baby was measuring larger than what we initially thought. So, they actually found at this appointment that the due date can be moved up 5 days (initially it was going to be Dec 27th and now it's the 22nd).

I've been feeling pretty good lately. There are some moments where something I eat doesn't agree with me but that's going to happen no matter what. I see the doctor next week for what I call my "pat on the head" appointment, where the doctor asks how I'm doing, uses the doppler to check the heartbeat, and sets up the next appointment. I can't help but think back to how I was at this point while pregnant with Penelope. I think at this point I was back from the hospital and barely fitting into my pre-pregnancy jeans. I didn't have to buy pregnancy clothes until I was 6 months along. I don't know if it's because this is my second or because my body is in a healthier place but I do have a little bit of a bump. My regular jeans aren't fitting and I don't have any capris that I can wear while pregnant. So, I had to go out and buy capris. The problem I found though is with the clothes that are "small", "medium", or "large" is that I'm in-between sizes. Chris recommended that I go for the bigger size and hope that I "grow" into it. Part of me is scared to "grow into" anything.... But I know that even though my weight has been the same for a few weeks my body is changing (pants not fitting along the top). What can you do?

I'm having a hard time figuring out if I'm feeling the baby move or it's my intestine digesting the last meal. Is that bad?? Any suggestions to tell the difference? I feel like I know what I'm feeling for but I don't know if it's too early to be feeling the baby. They (the internet) says with your second you can feel the baby move sooner. With the first, you start movement around 16 to 25 weeks but with your second you can start feeling movement by 13 weeks. Not sure. But I'll keep telling myself that it could be the baby moving :)

I'm not going to post bump pictures until I feel like it's enough to say "Hey, that's a baby bump" and not "You're just looking like you're getting fat, not pregnant".  I know people wouldn't say that but I still feel like it's just fat for now.

Well, I'll keep everything posted here for how things are going. Later!

Happy 18 Months, Penelope!

Wow! 18 months have just flown by. I can't believe she started like this:

To this:

I'm a little nervous to see what the next six months will bring. I hope she doesn't hit terrible twos too hard. Hopefully the new baby will help mellow her out or she'll not be a happy camper. She has grown up so much. Penelope does so much and is so independent. She has a strong personality. Let's just say you don't want to see her angry or frustrated. But I have to say she's a pretty happy girl more often than not. She loves books and learning. I feel like she's my little sponge and I want her to learn what is right. Lately, she's been a little singer. As she goes down for a nap, you can hear her sing "A B C..." and then stop and start again. She's recently discovered Winnie the Pooh and likes doing the "up down up" song he sings when he gets hungry.

Happy 18 months, Penelope! We love you.

Big News

(4/16) Today, we received some exciting news- I'm pregnant. It was a little surprise but not totally unexpected. I think this is my year to get tons of things done: first an appendectomy, second my knee surgery, third physical therapy, and now a baby on the way. Thank goodness for insurance! I'm feeling pretty good about it all. The timing of when this little one is going to come means we're going to be in California for Christmas this year. I joked with my mom that we'll visit every other year, or at least that'll be the case for the last two years and then this year.

I'm thankful for my doctor for being prepared for anything that may come- when I was pregnant with Penelope it was a rough first trimester. I lost 40lbs and was hospitalized. My doctor has said I can call at any point and just ask for zofran if I need it (a fun medication that *should ease any nausea (*It didn't help much with Penelope but the doctor keeps telling me every pregnancy is different)). I'm not too worried about how Penelope will handle it. She really likes babies right now and is gentle with them. I guess I know what she's getting for her birthday: a big girl bed. I hope this time around things go better. The doctor says I should only gain about 15lbs during the whole pregnancy. I feel like this time around I have a better handle on my weight and how I'm eating. I hope I'm able to breastfeed this time around not just for cost reasons but for bonding purposes too. I'm not saying that I'm not bonded with Penelope but I know it's something I missed out on. I feel like I know what I should expect more this time around as far as feeding is concerned. I feel like I have support around me. Chris is still digesting this I think. Although Chris is happy we found out sooner this time so that I can get all the DHA, folic acid, and electrolytes that I can for the first trimester.

 I joke that I just got called into nursery because one of the women who was released from that calling, after she was called into nursery, got pregnant too. So, getting called into nursery must be a pre qualification of some kind when thinking about baby number 2.

Wow, another baby. I guess we're in a big enough place right now too where we don't have to worry (when I had Penny, we were in a one bedroom and didn't move out until she was about 6 months old). So many changes that we'll have to do.... I probably sound like I'm in a daze. I feel like I've got it mostly wrapped around in my mind that this is happening but it's still like a deer in the headlights mode. I heard Penny wake up for a brief second a while ago and she fell back asleep (thanks to Chris grabbing a sippy cup with milk) but I stayed awake for over an hour just thinking. There's so much to think about but at the same time not much to think about.

I was looking at the calendar and for my birthday I'll get to find out the gender of the baby. I think that's an exciting part. At this point, I'm not partial to whether it's a boy or girl. I remember while I was pregnant with Penelope, I had very strong feelings early on that she was going to be a girl. No such feelings yet. I just want this one to be as healthy and strong as Penelope was.

(5/15) Today, I went into the ER. I have been having a bit of a rough time with nausea/vomitting and keeping easy things down. I had called the doctor yesterday and she had me come in today. I feel truly blessed with this OB/GYN because we've  been down this road before and we know what needs to be done and at what points. I was pretty dehydrated and so she upped the dosage for one of my medications, added another, and said to go to the ER to get some fluids in me before I felt worse. She says if this doesn't work in by a week or so then she can still add another medication before we look at being hospitalized again. I think I'm just gun shy because I know how bad it can get- I've been there. It was not fun. But our hope is really that something will click this time around that didn't last time and that we nip this in the butt before it gets bad.

(6/7) I had a doctor's appointment today to just check the heartbeat and to let her know how I've been feeling. I have been doing SO much better- I've only been sick a few times and I think I owe it to a friend's advice of ginger ale and fruit to start my day with my medication. I'm finally not loosing weight at   this point, just staying where I am and not rushing to put any weight on. The doctor tried to find the baby's heartbeat with her little machine but was having a difficult time. She said she could hear it very faintly but decided that she would take a look via ultrasound just to make sure everything was ok. I felt reassured by her willingness to take a look. Everything looks great- we could see the little one moving around and could see the heartbeat with no problems. The doctor went ahead and measured it to see if it was the same as our first predicted due date..... Well, the baby is measuring a week and a day further than initially thought. So, next Friday I have my "12 week" ultrasound, where they check the spine and brain and whatnot. The doctor said they'll be able to have a more accurate measurement of when the baby will be due than her ultrasound machine. Now, I'm really anxious and excited to find out. I could already be past my 12 weeks if the reading today was right!!

(6/15) We just got back from the ultrasound appointment! Everything looks fantastic. The baby's official due date is now December 22, 2012. We are very excited and are looking forward to this wonderful new addition. I'll be posting ultrasound photos here this weekend (we got a disc that we have to get it into the computer). I'm still on two medications that are working well to keep nausea at bay. I've been doing really well and am only down about 14 lbs from my starting weight but have been floating at the same weight for a couple weeks now. I'll keep everyone updated as thing progress.

YAY!!!

Penelope Is Learning New Things!

I have been reflecting on these last six months that we last saw our family and am amazed at how much our dear little girl has learned and grown. She has learned to go up and down stairs, walk turning into runs, holding hands when walking, a plethora of words to express herself, climbing on to anything and everything mommy and daddy will let her, and so on. She is also now taller than the dining room table. Penelope has also started having one LONG nap during the day (anywhere between 3 and 4 hour nap or else she'll take two smaller naps that equal about 4 hours). We have a friend of ours who is a school nurse about our age who is always interested in seeing what Penelope is doing now. She came over the other night and asked if we'd started colors with her. Well, we just finished up some animals and their noises but we hadn't started colors. So, these last couple days we were curious to see if she could point some colors out to us. She won't really say the color names very much but Chris decided to conduct an experiment tonight with her. We know from past experience that she understands and can do things before we realize (she started crawling and cruising the furniture the same day- so we realize now that she knew how to walk before we got it on camera).

Here's the experiment: We have a star stacker (instead of a round cone stacker) with 4 colored stars of different sizes. The colors are orange, blue, pink, and green. As Penelope was playing with them this evening, Chris asked her to hand him the blue star. She did. Then he asked for the green star. She handed it over. He then waited for a time to pass before trying it again. Instead of him asking tho, he had me ask for the blue star. Penelope handed it over, a little hesitant because she was playing with them still. We will try the experiment tomorrow to see if it's still the same and then use different objects that are different colors and see what she does. But we're pretty sure she knows what each color is, just doesn't say them to us yet.

Penelope has so many words now, including animals and some of their noises (what noise do you make for a giraffe?). Her favorite phrase during the day is "'atch elmo" (watch elmo), although I don't give into it more now. She loves identifying letters and what they say ("j" says "jump", and she proceeds to jump). She can correctly identity a handful or so of letters. Chris took her to the park one Saturday and she walked up to a woman (with a magazine) with her daughter and as Penny approached her, the woman asked what Penny was in to and Chris said that she loves learning her letters. The woman then said "Isn't she a little young for that?".  I feel so much every day that Penelope is just a sponge, absorbing everything  said and seen. I am trying to take advantage of that as much as I can when she's focused (which is not all her waking hours, trust me). Penelope has learned the word "happy" from nursery (we have music time and we sing "if you're happy and you know it"). She claps as I sing "If you're happy and you know it" and it is so precious.

I am loving being a mom right now with such a sweet spirit of a daughter. I am also very lucky to be able to stay home with her and watch her learn and grow. My other luck is that I have a wonderful husband who helps when he is home. My sweet, darling husband plays with his little girl (and she is such a daddy's girl at this point) and gets up with her in the morning so that I can rest a little longer. Being a parent is exhausting sometimes but I know it's what I'm meant to do right now in my life.

Well, speaking of exhausting, I'm headed for bed. I hope you all enjoy reading about my little girl's growth and progress.