2 weeks old!

Well, Hailey is two weeks old today! We are all surviving in a newborn haze of being sleep deprived and dealing with the toddler who has been rather terrorist like since his Gigi left last week. 

We have been busy trying to get out of the house to keep Landon occupied and behaving.  When we are home, it has been a big struggle with him for discipline. Lots of throwing toys, testing limits, hitting, etc. However, the only good thing I can say, is he is an awesome big brother and adores Hailey and shows no aggression towards her, just towards Logan and myself. Landon just loves to sit and watch Hailey and talk to her. My favorite is when he sings her songs; it is so sweet. He helps me burp her, change her diaper, and gets me things for her.  The biggest battle we have is him taking her pacifiers...so we are constantly having to wash them!

Other than being tired from lack of sleep, I would say we are all adjusting very well to a family of four. Hailey just fits right into our routine (as if she had a choice) and we just pack her up and go.  She is a sleepy little girl, as most of my posts to IG and facebook show, so she is pretty easy to tote around.  She struggles with sleeping at night since she sleeps a good portion of the day. We are trying to get her to wake up during the day. Currently, she is awake for 1.5-2 hours in the morning and then again for about the same in the evening.  She is just coming into the age of the witching hour at night-nothing compared to how Landon was, but generally unsettled. She seems to struggle with a bit of silent reflux just like Landon did and gets very upset when she has gas. So I am going to cut out dairy from my diet to see if we can help improve that before heading to the Dr. to see if she has reflux like Landon.  She really enjoys nursing, just like Landon, but is more willing to go 2-3 hours at a time, where as Landon nursed around the clock.  Overall, so far, she has been a much easier baby than Landon-or we are just more laid back ha ha. I am hopeful she stays calm and flexible since I will be flying solo in a few weeks while Logan attends an Army school for 2 months!


I wanted to finish writing about our experience in the hospital after we were moved from our labor and delivery room.  We had the SMALLEST room ever, but at least it was a private room.  All of Hailey's tests, bath, etc. were done right in our room.   At VCU, they encourage everything done in front of the parents and rarely use the nursery.  I think the entire time, I saw one baby in the nursery, where as all the other ones were in with parents.  We saw Hailey be tested for jaundice in our room, get pricked for her newborn screen, get her hepatitis b shot,  and hearing tests.  She did fail her hearing test 2 times, but passed with no issue the third time. It made me nervous since Landon failed his while in the hospital and we had to go for a follow up.  Most of the time in the hospital, the nurses left us completely alone unless we asked to speak to a lactation consultant or needed our vitals taken.  It was very different having everything done in our room. I liked it so I could ask questions and just make sure she was ok, even though they were taking her blood, etc. I think it helped having us close so she calmed faster than if she was in the nursery. 

Here are some pictures from the last two weeks:

I will try to update weekly, but it may not be on a specific day! More when I have the time =).

Until next time!

She is here!!

Little miss Hailey Marie arrived in a speedy fashion at 9:25 AM on September 19th, 2014! She weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz. and is 19 inches long.

Here is her birth story:

As of my appointment last Tuesday, I was still only 3 cm along after sitting at that for several weeks.  the Dr. did a nice sweep to hopefully get my labor moving and give my body the extra push to go into labor. Well after several months of constant contractions my body decided to start to go into labor. Last Wednesday I had contractions for 8 hours 2-5 minutes apart and fairly intense but by evening they spread back out and the intensity died out. Thursday morning I woke up and felt the same as normal in terms of contractions, every ten minutes or so, just tight and not painful. We dropped Landon at preschool and Mom  and I went shopping. By the time we got home I had lunch and planned to just relax during nap. By 4 pm I started feeling very nauseous. After throwing up my entire lunch for an hour I decided I would try to nap. My contractions were getting stronger and closer together so I hopped in the shower to clean up and see what they did in water. Our doula had said that was often a way to tell if you were in real labor vs. false labor depending on if they sped up in water or slowed down. They got even closer to I got out and got dressed, told Logan it was time to go, and off we went. Unfortunately, since it was dinner time, Mom and Landon were off trying to pick up Chinese so I wasn't able to say goodbye to my little guy before we left to go to the hospital. However, he was VERY excited and didn't seem upset that we were headed out to go have Hailey.

At 8 pm we arrived in L&D triage, I was 4 cm, 80 percent, still -2 station.  They also did a quick ultrasound to make sure she was still head down...I could have told them she was ha ha.  We got moved to our room around 9:15 and I started out on the birth ball and hung out and had some broth since I had skipped dinner.  At this point, my contractions were still strong and about 5 minutes apart.  Our back up doula, Liz  (our normal one had left out of town for a training that afternoon-go figure) got there around 10 PM and suggested I move to a different position because my back was hurting, called polar bear, it did help but it certainly slowed down my contractions.  During this time I was hooked up to the IV antibiotics that I needed since I had group B strep.   I was check again and  I was 5 cm and 90%, but not progressing all that quickly.  They checked again after I tried to rest for a bit and hadn't had any change in several hours.  I stalled out at 5 cm, 90 percent. It was either go back home, break my water, or pitocin. After speaking with our doula and me adamantly saying that we weren't going back home, I chose to have them break my water the following morning at 8 am so I could try to get a bit of rest for a few hours...although that didn't really work since my contraction were painful enough not to sleep through and constantly needing to be checked on by the OB and nurse.

At 8:15 am on the 19th, the OB broke my water and the contractions ramped up immediately. At this point I felt like I wanted the epidural, but I had asked Liz and Logan to make other suggestions unless I was suffering in pain and not getting a break. I labored on the ball, leaning against the bed, facing backwards on the toilet, and was planning to sit in the shower with the birth ball but that plan was quickly changed when I felt a bunch of pressure during a contraction and yelled I felt like I was pushing.  My doula yelled for the nurse and an OB.  A different OB came in to check me and was surprised to find I was fully dilated and ready to push. She asked me to  push back on her hand and was like yep, this is it. Things moved very quickly then. My original Dr. showed up, several nurses, etc.  showed up in the room. After 6 contractions and a lot of stretching by the 2 Drs., Hailey was born at 925, an hour and ten minutes after my water broke. I made the right choice not returning home since I would never have been able to make the hour drive back to the hospital had my water broke! Going med free was the hardest but one of the most rewarding decisions I have ever made. Recovery has been so much better than after my son's birth, even though I am sore from delivery. We had a great support group from the doula, nurses, and OBs. They kept me calm even though I was starting to freak out from the pain during pushing. They kept telling me her head was right there even though I didn't really believe them. I remember yelling I wanted an epidural during pushing and they were all like nope, sorry.  Delivery her head was the hardest part, then once her shoulders were out she just came right out.

They put her right on my chest immediately and she stayed there for over an hour.  We waited for the cord to stop pulsing and Logan cut the cord =).  The Dr. delivered everything else, even though my placenta gave her some trouble. I only had a slight tear that required one stitch to fix.  I was STARVING so now that my placenta was delivered and my GD totally gone, I could eat whatever I wanted. My nurses ordered me pancakes with syrup, eggs, bacon, and gave me all the juice I wanted ha. It was fantastic!  While I was eating breakfast, they took her to be weighed, measured for length, and do several other tests. Once all that was done, they determined she received a 9/9 for apgar scores and then measured more as a 40 week baby in terms of development instead of 39.  Once she was done there, we hung out and did more skin to skin in the room until it was time to move to the recovery wing of the hospital.

I am going to stop there and then will make another post in a few days of our recovery and all the things Hailey had done in our room-which was SO different than from Landon.

39 Weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 39 Weeks

Weight Gain? 28 lbs gained-apparently my body likes to gain weight the last few weeks of pregnancy!

Stretch Marks? None that I can see anyway.

Best Moment of the Week? Hitting full term, but she can come out now!

Movement? lots of painful downward motions-maybe that is a good thing?

What I miss? Sleeping past 6!

 Symptoms: Contractions, back pain, leg pain, swelling, GD, peeing all the time!

What I'm looking forward to?  Her arrival =).

Updates: Nothing major. Have hit my max of being pregnant. Every day I hope it is the day, but alas, not yet ha ha. We thought yesterday may have been it, but everything kind of slowed down around the afternoon, picked back up, and then slowed back down. So we will see what the next few days hold.

Belly Picture:

Until next week!

38 Weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 38 Weeks

Weight Gain? 25 lbs gained

Stretch Marks? None that I can see anyway.

Best Moment of the Week?  Just still being pregnant! This is the most pregnant I have ever been unless she comes out in the next 6 hours which I imagine is unlikely.

Movement? Moslty just random parts coming out the sides of my body.

What I miss? Sleeping past 6!

 Symptoms: Contractions, back pain, leg pain, swelling, GD, peeing all the time!

What I'm looking forward to?  Her arrival =).

Updates: Nothing major to update. Everything is pretty much the same as last week. Contractions are becoming crampier and I can feel them in my back. Just waiting for them to get stronger and in a nice pattern..who knows when that will happen as I have been having them for months at this point! Maybe this will be my last pregnancy update!





Landon is doing awesome this week in terms of going back to music and starting preschool! He is such a big boy! He loves going to school and has walked in the last two times without crying at all. We will see how he does next week! We don't really get to find out too much information as we aren't allowed in his classroom and have to drop him off and pick him up from the door. Every morning we have to look at the fish tank and turtle outside his classroom and then we say goodbye and off he goes. Such a big change from MDO even from the summer! I hope he keeps it up!

Belly Picture:

 38 weeks:

Until next week!

37 weeks with baby 2=early term!!

How Far Along? 37 Weeks

Weight Gain? 25 lbs gained

Stretch Marks? None yet...fingers crossed

Sleep? Sleeping is pretty nonexistent at this point.

Best Moment of the Week?  37 weeks with little miss! That is deemed early term, but at this point she won't carry a preemie label if born after today!

Movement? Lots of wiggling and painful movements!

What I miss? Sleeping past 6!

 Symptoms: Contractions, back pain, leg pain, swelling, GD, peeing all the time!

What I'm looking forward to?  Her arrival =).

Updates: Things are pretty much ready to go in terms of my body preparing.  As of my appointment on Tuesday, I am 3 cm and 70% effaced-so pretty close to what I was with Landon at this point. Still having alot of contractions and downward pressure from her, which is why things are progressing quickly! The Drs. said it could be any day or I could go another few weeks...yay, so helpful ha ha. I had an ultrasound on Tuesday as well since my belly only measures at 32 weeks, instead of 37. I hie her well, because little miss, isn't so tiny. She measures about 6.5 pounds, with a giant head just like her big brother. The other news we received is she is facing out towards my bell, sunnyside up/posterior, when she should be looking at my spine! So she needs to spin 180 degrees! Since we are aiming for a med free/low intervention birth, I would greatly appreciate it if she would rotate so I won't have awful back labor like I did with Landon! So only time will tell how that goes.

We have our last meeting with our doula tomorrow afternoon to discuss anything on the birth plan and anything I can do to get H to rotate before labor actually begins. I imagine things will progress quckly just like it did with Landon since I have already started to dilate quickly.  Little H needs to stay put until tomorrow at 6 pm when we pick my Mom up from the airport! We had initially planned for her to fly in Monday, but with all the news of her being so low and me rather dilated, we thought it may be wise to have her here sooner rather than later to watch our little monkey!

We have a busy week next week with Landon starting music again and preschool! I am hoping we can at least make it through music and his first day of school next week! Only time will tell =).

Belly picture:

37 weeks!

Until next week!

36 Weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 36 Weeks

Weight Gain? 20 lbs gained

Stretch Marks? None yet...fingers crossed

Sleep? Back to being up every 1.5-2 hours! Sleeping is a joke this last month...

Best Moment of the Week?  Hitting the big goal of 36 weeks! Also, getting out more with Landon. He behaves so much better when we go out to do stuff. I am trying to enjoy the last few weeks we have together as just "me and you" as he puts it!

Movement? Mostly just wiggling motions and random limbs sticking out.

What I miss? Walking more than 15 minutes without extreme back pain! Makes going to the store difficult. Next week I plan to start waddling around the neighborhood to get her in a good position for labor.

 Symptoms: Mostly just contractions. hip pain, and the swelling has started.  I guess I should be thankful I made it this far without any swelling! My hands and feet are pretty swollen.

What I'm looking forward to?  Next major goal of 37 , which is now deemed early term and 39 weeks is considered full term! I may cry if I actually go to 40 weeks, but with GD I won't go past that date, possibly even 39 weeks  depending on how my numbers are looking and how large she looks. 

Updates:  Had my last appointment on Monday. Nothing terribly exciting as it was just centering appointment group meeting. Everything looks good in terms of weigh and blood pressure.  They did an internal to check-surprisingly everything has remained the same, except for the fact that she has gone from -4 to -1 station. It counts down from -4-+4, zero station meaning engaged. So she is 1 above being engaged in my pelvis, so I was right in assuming she had dropped since my last appointment. My belly was also measuring 3 weeks behind again so I have another growth ultrasound to check on her growth on Tuesday, as well as just a general OB appointment. After this, I go weekly until I have her...nearing the end! 


Landon is still working towards understanding having a baby coming. I can imagine the concept is pretty abstract. He talks about being a big brother to baby Hailey as he calls her and how he will help with diaper changes, feeding, and what not. He knows that I will use the boppy to nurse her and how he can hold her using it with Mommy or Daddy's help.  He is still obsessed with me going to my Drs. appointments and ultrasounds. I imagine he will be pretty excited to come visit us in the hospital once she arrives. He has been big on to talking to other babies when we are out and always very curious...so I am hoping that is a good sign.  He also tells me he has a baby sister in his belly. I have been telling him I need to rest because my back hurts and so he now connects that she makes me uncomfortable with pain. The other day he came up to me holding his leg and told me his baby sister was hurting his leg inside-highly amusing.  He has also become interested in feeling her move, so he will get right up next to my belly and talk to her and wait for her to move. He is pretty cute and sweet.

Belly picture:  36 weeks

Until next week! 

35 Weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 35 weeks!  Hailey is the size of a large cantaloupe, roughly 5.5 pounds and 19 inches long. 35 weeks seems like a big milestone to me, it also means there are 35 days left until my due date!

Weight Gain? Not a clue!

Stretch Marks? None yet...fingers crossed

Sleep? I've been sleeping better this week, but still tossing and turning. Then up around 630 with Landon every day-wish he would learn to sleep in! Hailey also has middle of the night dance parties which keep me awake as well!

Best Moment of the Week?  Being able to go out and do a few activities. We made it back to our usual coffee dates this week and have been out playing a bit more. Tomorrow I plan to make my first trip to Target to return a rug and will enjoy being in one of my favorite stores =).

Movement? Alot of quick jabs, rolling, and low movement. I think she has dropped a bit and it changes where I feel her movements. She is still pushing off my right rib and then rolling around. I also feel like I can feel her head pressing against my pelvis and grinding bone...not pleasant!

What I miss? Being able to walk without shooting pains down my leg ha-a sign of a low baby!

 Symptoms: Mostly just contractions. hip pain, and managing the gestational diabetes!

What I'm looking forward to?  Next major goal of 36 weeks!

Updates: No major updates this week. I have an appointment Monday, but just another general appointment. I have been trying to get my prescription for progesterone refilled without much luck and I have just decided to stop taking it because at this rate, I would only take it for another week anyway. I plan to ask about my gestational diabetes stuff again next week in terms of being induced vs. letting me go naturally and when they would induce. Hopefully my normal dr. is back Monday from his trip to Africa! I will then start weekly appointments until she makes her appearance. We are hoping to keep her in there for another 2 weeks. I told Logan last night that Landon was born 3 weeks from today (38 weeks exactly)-that seemed to shock us both a bit! We have been doing a bit of studying in terms of helping us achieve our med free birth goal. We have been reading a Hypnobirthing book, studying labor comfort measures, talking with our doula, and watching some online videos of birthing techniques. I also have a few videos on Netflix for us to watch.  Our biggest goal right now is to switch our (mostly my) mindset to getting her out and that the contractions now aren't necessarily a bad thing. So I am trying to slowly embrace that idea per our doula =). We have also been working on our birth plan and making sure all the hospital stuff is ready. Logan is scheduled to put in the car seat bases this weekend! I also packed an emergency bag for Landon just in case she makes an earlier than planned appearance before my Mom comes back to stay with Landon!


Belly picture:  35 weeks

Until next week!

34 weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 34 weeks!  Hailey is the size of a butternut squash, so roughly 17-18 inches in length and about 5 lbs. 

Weight Gain? As of Monday, I am up about 20 lbs, not too bad considering with Landon at this point I was up like 40!

Stretch Marks? None yet...fingers crossed

Sleep? Very hit or miss, up alot to use the bathroom and hip pain...plus add in Logan's none stop snoring! I am tempted to boot him to the man cave until she comes so I have a better chance at sleeping=).

Best Moment of the Week? Hitting 34 weeks! Very big milestone. Also, officially the end of bed rest-now I am to start slowly adding back in activities so I won't be a big blob during labor.

Movement? Large rolling movements. She poked her knee out so hard this week that I nearly cried from the pain. At this point, the amniotic fluid is less than what she takes up so the movements I do feel are very strong since it is less padding between her and me.

What I miss? Sleeping all night!

 Symptoms: Mostly just contractions. hip pain, and managing the gestational diabetes!

What I'm looking forward to?  Just every day at this point is good for her to stay in! Next major goal is  36 weeks.

Updates: I had an appointment on Monday. Gestational diabetes is fully managed by my diet, so that is good news. I need to ask again how long they will let me go without being induced because I keep getting conflicting results. As for the preterm labor, I am still 1 cm and 50% effaced according to the Dr. I saw on Monday-so sitting about the same as I have been. Still on several medication to help control contractions. I will probably get pulled off all of those around 36 weeks-ish. My next appointment is on the 25th, so hopefully things stay relatively quiet until then...one can hope. Apparently, if I show up in labor at the hospital they won't stop my labor at this point-so we will see. 

Belly picture:34 Weeks-

Until next week!

33 Weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 33 weeks! She is the size of a Durian fruit-it is the crazy spiky fruit that apparetnly smells horrible...an interesting comparison. One app says she is close to 4.5 pounds and 19 inches, but another says closer to 17 inches and 4 lbs. I imagine the weight may be close, but maybe not that tall. 

Weight Gain? I don't really feel like I am getting much bigger, but sure I am. Monday, I will know more.

Stretch Marks? None yet!

Sleep? Having a harder time sleeping-I wake up alot and have trouble falling back asleep. 

Best Moment of the Week? Still pregnant! Hoping for decent news on Monday. 

Movement? So much moving! She drags her little knees and elbows all up and down. She is officially running out of room. The amniotic fluid is also less around her at this point, so all the movements are stronger feeling to me since it is more baby than fluid.

What I miss? Being able to go out and do stuff with Landon. Very thankful for my Mom, Donna, and Logan who have stepped up to fill a much needed role in Landon's life. We are so lucky to have such a supportive family!

 Symptoms: Contractions, hip pain, groin pain from her dropping lower...

What I'm looking forward to? Getting to 34 weeks, next week.

Updates: Not much to report! Just taking it day by day hoping to get to Monday's appointment without having to go in for an appointment.


Belly picture: 33 weeks!

Belly comparison:

Nursery is finished!

Until next week!

32 Weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 32 weeks, she is the size of a squash or a head of lettuce per my app. She is anywhere from 16-19 inches long and close to 4 lbs. I imagine she is close to around 4 lbs since last week at the ultrasound she was 3.75 lbs at 31 weeks.

Weight Gain? Probably a pound-won't know again until August 11th.

Stretch Marks? None yet!

Sleep? Hit or miss-the more she wiggles at night, the worse I sleep. Also, Sadie has been so obnoxious at night lately.

Best Moment of the Week?  Just making it another week at this point...

Movement? While on the monitors all day in labor and delivery, they informed me she is one of the most active babies they have seen...I find that truly alarming as Landon never stops moving. At least they will be a good pair??

What I miss? The constant stress and anxiety.

 Symptoms: Contractions-so many contractions, Gestational Diabetes.

What I'm looking forward to? 2 more weeks of bed rest-then resuming most activities...or as much as my pregnant self will allow with Landon. 14 days until 34 weeks....

Updates: Nothing new to report, which is good. Hoping for another quiet and uneventful week next week.  Mom leaves Friday, we are going to miss her dearly...especially Landon. Logan and I pretty much mean nothing at the moment when she is here. We are looking forward to having Donna come into town to help out as well! We are trying to prepare Landon for the grandma switch up about to occur. I think he will be equally as exited to get attention from Nana!

Belly picture:

Until next week...

31 Weeks with Baby 2

How Far Along? 31 Weeks, 2 days! She is as big as a Pineapple, so roughly 16 inches long and as per the ultrasound on Thursday 3.75 lbs.

Weight Gain? Gained 2 lbs since the last weigh in which is normal for this point!

Stretch Marks? None yet!

Sleep? Hit or miss, but I guess it could be worse. I can't sleep past 630 most days, but I go to bed around 10, so that is a decent amount.

Best Moment of the Week?  Hearing that even though my belly measures 3 weeks behind, that little miss Hailey looks perfect. She is 3.75 lbs, has a ton of hair, is head down, and overall seems very healthy. She is just sitting funny and sprawls out when I lay down on my back for belly measurements. She is head down and pretty low, her back lays up the left side of my belly and her feet and knees are near the top of my uterus. I feel her knee dragging around the top right of my belly and then her elbow near my left hip.

Movement? While on the monitors all day in labor and delivery, they informed me she is one of the most active babies they have seen...I find that truly alarming as Landon never stops moving. At least they will be a good pair??

What I miss? The constant stress and anxiety.

 Symptoms: Contractions-so many contractions, Gestational Diabetes.

What I'm looking forward to? We have a goal of 34 weeks-that is 19 days away.

Updates:Well, I spent my first night in the hospital on Thursday evening for preterm labor business just like Landon.  There was some confusion on how much I was dilated-after several checks by our same Dr. we saw last time, she said she thinks I am still the same, but a shorter cervix-so again sitting right where I was with Landon.My cervix measured via ultrasound at 2.4 cm which is about where it was at 24 weeks with Landon. I have contractions literally all day long that bounce around from sporadic to every 5 minutes apart.  They sent me home after determining that is just what my body seems to do, which is unfortunate to me. I am on modified bed rest again until 34 weeks. After 34 weeks, they won't stop my labor and don't want me to be weak for delivery.  My Mom is staying an extra week, Logan is taking a week off, and Donna is coming to help for a week if everything falls into line...so that should cover the next 3 weeks until 34 weeks is the goal. Then we all just sit back and wait to see when my body decided to evict little miss-hopefully as close to 37 weeks as possible. The Drs. also sent me home with an oral medication to see if it helps control contractions-they seem to be less intense using the medicine, but I still get quite a few. We are under orders to go back as soon as they become painful and close together. So we will see how this all goes. We also got the steroid shots to develop her lungs so that if she comes before 34 weeks she shouldn't need too much help breathing in theory-just learn to eat, gain weight, and hold her temperature. So fingers crossed...trying to remain positive. Every day she stays in his helpful.

Here are some pictures of her cute nursery and L:

Being spoiled by Gigi while Mommy is in the hospital

My Mom has literally done her entire room =)

Love it!

Lunch at the hospital with Mommy before heading home for nap

This is the only part of her head she would let us see-all those white streaks mean HAIR! I think she is going to have alot more than Landon when born

The ultrasound tech tried to get her to turn over, so they put a buzzer on my belly and it kind of vibrates and makes a noise. When we first did that she covered her ears and went back to sleep-another smarty pants on our hands. We tried several more times and she barely even moved lol...

He can sleep anywhere...at least his body was there right lol? 

31 week belly shot:

Also, here is a video of Hailey having hiccups on the monitor!

Until next week!

30 Weeks with Baby 2!

How Far Along? 30 weeks-out of the 20s! Woo hoo. My Mom informed me that she liked when I used to give the size of the baby and compare it to a veggie/fruitt. So at 30 weeks, little miss Hailey is roughly 3 lbs, 17 inches long, and the size of a butternut squash. Another app I have says she is the length of a cucumber-that seems to be a very large cucumber.

Weight Gain? Up about 15 pounds according to my appointment Monday-so basically, it says I can gain about a pound a week at this point-so a total of 25...WAY better than the 45 with the little monkey that I gained.

Stretch Marks? None yet!

Sleep? Not to jinx it, but I've been sleeping pretty well the last few nights. I have gotten a few 5 hour stretches of sleep which have been pretty amazing.

Best Moment of the Week?  Having a decent appointment on Monday-basically sitting in the same position as I was with Landon's pregnancy. Finger tip dilated and shorter cervix. Hoping we can get to at least 37 weeks.

Movement? She is a mover-my belly shakes all day long and I often see limbs sliding around my belly. I think it is kind of creepy when other people can see it happening.

What I miss? Not having to stress about going into labor every single day or timing contractions.

Symptoms: Contractions, hip pain, gestational diabetes, shortness of breath

What I'm looking forward to? Getting her room set up in the next week! Also, our next goal of 32 weeks.

Updates: I had an appointment Monday morning. The MFM thinks I am about a finger tip dilated and 50% effaced-same place I was with Landon at this point. They still say no bed rest, so I usually do one non-strenuous activity in the morning and spend the rest of the day on the couch at this point.  It is still nice to get out, but a tad stressful at the same time. I am not sure how we are going to survive the entire month of August alone ha ha. The good news is, if she is born anything soon, her chances of survival are about 95% with minimal lasting long term health problems...so that was good to hear. He said basically at this point we would take however many weeks I am minus 36 and that is how long she would probably be in the NICU.  I surprisingly don't have any appointments until August 11th, but he said if I feel I need to be checked to go in and make an appointment. So another, wait and see game at this point.


Belly shot: 30 weeks

Other happenings from the week:

Until next week!

29 Weeks with baby 2

How Far Along? 29 weeks

Weight Gain? Up about 14 pounds I think

Stretch Marks? None yet!

Sleep? Pretty poor lately since my hips hurt so badly at night.  I have to turn constantly. I wish the snoogle pillows weren't so expensive so I could have a reason to buy another-not sure how I survived last pregnancy without one.

Best Moment of the Week?  Um, still being pregnant? Will get to that later.

Movement? Well, she is certainly head down, but now she is back to where I normally feel her. Feet up by my right rib, sliding/rolling movements through the middle, and hands down by my left hip-exactly the same place as Landon was which I find amusing. Reading my blog back from 29 weeks with Landon, it is amusing just how similar these pregnancies are at this point.

What I miss? Sleeping all night long and not having to wake up to use the restroom all the time and sleeping in past 630.

Symptoms: Contractions, hip pain, gestational diabetes

What I'm looking forward to? Getting her room set up with my Mom.  Mom has been busy getting ready to paint her furniture! We are trying to paint all the furniture from Landon's nursery, white-I am excited to see how it turns out. We are also painting a little table in her room yellow, that is my job since it involves sitting =).

Updates: Well, my not being high risk for preterm labor lasted all of about 10 days until after a routine check up for my blood sugar levels with the high risk Dr. turned into an all day visit to labor and delivery on Thursday. They always ask about my contractions and want to check to make sure everything is still ok-well, Thursday marked the beginning of my cervix starting to dilate (to 1 cm) and shortening due to all the contractions. After spending about 6 hours hooked up to contraction monitors, a few tests, and looks inside they said I could go home. I am 1 cm dilated, but after 6 hours worth of pretty constant contractions, I had no more change. I also had a negative FFN test, which is the same preterm labor test that they used to do every 2 weeks with Landon to determine if I would go into preterm labor.  So in theory, I have a 99% chance that I won't go into labor within the next 2 weeks, so that should get us to 31 weeks. I am going to ask for them to repeat every few weeks for piece of mind.   So we are pretty much back in the same exact situation as we were 3 years ago with Landon's pregnancy...not what I had intended for this pregnancy at all. I think all of us were totally shocked which makes this worse since things had been going so well.


Belly shot: 29 weeks-you can tell she has totally dropped a bit, as was confirmed by the Drs. this week.

Other random pictures: 

Not how we planned to spend our Thursday-in labor and delivery hooked up to an IV

We FINALLY decided on her name-Hailey Marie Brokaw =)

I have a follow up appointment tomorrow morning, so I think we will be getting an update and a new plan then. I will update next week.

28 weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 28 weeks, hello 3rd trimester!! !

Weight Gain? I don't have a scale at home but will find out next Thursday. I am sure I've gained some because I have been eating more, so we shall see. 

Stretch Marks? None yet!

Sleep? Hit or miss. I am usually up by 6 am, especially the days Logan gets up. Little miss thinks it is a party in there at that hour.

Best Moment of the Week?  Graduating from the high risk Dr. from cervical scans! Granted, I still will get ultrasounds monthly to look at her growth from gestational diabetes, so I may have them peak to see what my cervix is doing as well. 

Movement? I think she has shifted her position because now I feel kicks and punches and rolls where I didn't feel them before. I feel everything kind of equal on both sides, where as before punches only on the left and knees/kicks on the right.

What I miss? Eating all the delicious treats and not having to worry about my blood sugar levels.

Symptoms: Back pain-although significantly better after an awesome prenatal massage on Monday. Contractions-those seem to be a constant. Other than that I feel pretty decent....

What I'm looking forward to? Hanging out with my boys this weekend since Logan has another 4 day. Probably smoking some sort of meat on Logan's new smoker and trying to stay cool!

Updates: As I said above, I graduated in terms of being high risk for preterm labor (not out of the woods yet), but this pregnancy is telling a different story than Landon's so far. The MFM said our next goal is 34 weeks, after that they won't stop my labor. So that is 6 weeks from today-it seems short and long at the same time. Clearly, I am hoping she stays in there longer than that, but I will be thankful to hit that big milestone. I just want her out before 39 weeks so I don't have to be induced!
We have been reading alot of new baby books to Landon and he is totally fascinated by them. We bought a present for baby sister this week at Target. He picked out a rattle and a little soft baby doll for her that looks like his, but smaller. We've also been talking about being quiet, nursing, helping with diaper changes and baths, etc. He seems excited...not sure how much he truly gets, but it is something!





Belly Picture: 28 weeks plus Landon showing off is baby sister belly =). He tells me his belly is growing all the time as well =).

Here is a comparison of Landon's belly shot at 28 weeks:

Until next week.....

27 Weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 27 weeks!

Weight Gain? So according to the Dr. I've only gained 12.5 pounds which I got in trouble for, but they said it was probably fine, just try to focus on eating a bit more.

Stretch Marks? None yet that I can see.

Sleep? Always up and down, but for the last week been sleeping better and longer.

Best Moment of the Week?  Getting her room painted!

Movement? She is a huge mover! I say that weekly. I feel her by my left hip and up to the right of my belly button a bit.

What I miss? Being able to do what I want when I want too with Landon.

Symptoms: Hip pain, lots of contractions, Gestational Diabetes

What I'm looking forward to? Swimming this weekend with my boys and my ultrasound on Monday.

Emotions: Stressed, but excited that I am almost to 3rd trimester.

Updates:  So I was officially diagnosed last Friday with gestational diabetes. I have to test my sugar levels 4 times per day and eat on a specialized low carb diet to control my sugar levels. So far (only on day 2), my sugar levels have all been well below what the Drs. are looking for. I have to monitor my levels for 2 weeks and then see the Dr. about having to go on insulin. If my numbers look good and continue to stay that way, I will just need to use diet to keep them under control. The GD diagnosis adds more monitoring to an already high risk pregnancy. I will be getting monthly growth ultrasounds to monitor her size since it can cause her to grow too large. Then starting at 36 weeks I will get non stress tests which basically involve me sitting on a monitor watching her movements for 20 minutes. The other big game changer with GD is that I will not be allowed to go longer than 39 weeks in my pregnancy, so if I don't have her before , I will have to be induced-WHICH I don't want at all. So the latest she will now be here is September 18th.  




Belly picture: 27 week...

26 weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 26 weeks!

Weight Gain? The good news is I only gained 3 pounds in the last month, which puts me at about 15 total at this point

Stretch Marks? None yet-I think the one I thought I saw was a false alarm.

Sleep? Hit or miss-always up a few times a night regardless.

Best Moment of the Week?  This week has been stressful in terms of pregnancy stuff.

Movement? She moves all night long! I think she is part of the reason I wake up at night so often because she is kicking me all the time.  He movements are starting to move up so I think she is slowly moving up, I feel her about an inch or two above my belly button.

What I miss? Not feeling stressed over every little thing.

Symptoms: Hip pain at night, lots of random popping up my back/pelvis, and contractions (boo-contractions)

What I'm looking forward to? Logan has another 3 day weekend this weekend, so we will be relaxing as a family. I am hoping he will paint her room tomorrow!

Emotions: Stressed.

Updates:  So starting last Friday I went in for an ultrasound. Everything checked out fine in terms of me, despite the contractions. The MFM at the ultrasound clinic was able to feel one of my contractions and he did say he was rather concerned how strong it was. So he scheduled me for another ultrasound on Monday morning to see if they were changing anything. We got back on Monday morning for my ultrasound and everything still appears to be ok. The cervix is in the normal range, but my contractions are certainly noticeable and somewhat strong depending on the time of day. So I asked to be put on progesterone like I was with Landon's pregnancy. So we will see if that helps.

Another stressful thing that happened was I found out I failed my 1 hour glucose test for gestational diabetes. I am currently waiting on the results of the 3 hour test. I went this morning after fasting for 12 hours and had to be stabbed four times every hour after drinking this nasty drink. It had 100 grams of sugar. 

Belly picture: 26 week...without the Landon photo bomb. He was still in bed this morning when I took this.

Until next week....

25 Weeks with baby 2!

How Far Along? 25 weeks!

Weight Gain? Will find out Monday....

Stretch Marks? Have been using the lotion and I think it is helping.

Sleep? I slept really well for a few nights, like the best sleep I have had in months, but last night was awful and I barely slept at all.

Best Moment of the Week?  I think just feeling pretty good this week. I haven't been as achy, just trying to take it easy, but still enjoy going out every few days.  Also, very thankful for Logan who has been amazing taking care of the monkey. He has totally stepped up in helping around the house, taking Landon out to do fun things, and helping me when I feel like I should be resting!

Movement? She is a big mover. More so than Landon was at this age-or at least that I can feel. The whole anterior placenta thing (meaning it is between my uterus and little miss) seems to not be making a huge difference this week. I feel her all over. I also felt her have the hiccups for the first time yesterday-that is great, that means she is practicing breathing =).

What I miss? To stand in the evening and cook dinner! I pull up our stools and use those when cooking by the stove and chopping things. Totally helpful!

Symptoms: Still feeling alot of contractions/balling up movements. Other than that, I feel pretty good.

What I'm looking forward to? We are attending a free labor comforts class tonight put on by our doula. I am hoping we learn some good techniques and am pretty excited Logan is able to go. We thought he was going to be gone, which would have been a bummer.   We also have our ultrasound tomorrow afternoon for another length check. Monday we have my second centering appointment which Logan will be able to attend because he has the day off. We are also getting a hospital tour that day!

Weekly Wisdom: More water! Taking it easy for a few days is good, so I can still go out and do a few things with Landon.  Also, I ordered our groceries online and can just pick them up for a small fee! Not wandering around the grocery store for an hour was nice =).

Emotions: Trying to remain optimistic. I am trying to take Logan's stand point that worrying about what is going on with me and the outcome (both of which are mostly out of my control), is not helpful. So I am just trying to take it day by day. I am also trying to take comfort in the idea that I was on bed rest this time with Landon-and so far, I am not yet. Hoping for good news tomorrow.

Belly picture: 25 weeks-I feel like we had a huge growth spurt the last few days!