First Appointment!

Originally written June 3, 2012


We had our first appointment on Wednesday with the nurse practitioner, Aimee Neumann. While we waited for her to come in, the nurse turned on a video that has a message for each appointment of your pregnancy to "entertain" you while you wait. It was informative, but I knew pretty much all of it from the first time around. Once Aimee came in, she went over my medical history (which they pretty much had from Nora), and what I should expect for appointments. They needed to do a blood draw (should be the only one until the glucose test around 28 weeks), so I let her know that they should probably come here instead of sending me to the lab, as I do better laying down.

Of course before Aimee left, she gave me my first Pampered Pregnancy gift! In a little green reusable bag was the book, Your Pregnancy and Childbirth: Month to Month 5th Edition from the American College or OB/GYN. (I have a couple books that I read with both the girls, and since I've read them twice, figured I just wouldn't read anything this time around, but since they gave it to me, it will be nice to have something new to read.) It also contained a Food Safety for Pregnant Women booklet, and a Pregnancy Handbook with the clinics information, safe medications to take, and other helpful information. (I think every pregnant women should get these two things, regardless of whether it's a "pampered pregnancy" or not.) The other two things in the bag were Preggie Pop Drops and a certificate for a 1/2 hour massage during the first trimester. I haven't used the Preggie Pops since I haven't really had morning sickness with this one, but I can't wait to book my massage! I loved the one I had with Nora during the third trimester.

On another note, I have decided that until further notice, the baby shall be referred to as "Third" or "Ender." Adam's all time favorite book is called Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. (It's a good book, I've read it too.) The main character, Ender, is the third child, and in their world, being a "third" isn't necessarily a good thing, until Ender comes along and... well, I won't spoil it for you! You'll have to read it. But I thought Adam would get a kick out of it, if we referred to the baby as Ender for now.


How far along?: 8 weeks (tomorrow starts month 3!)
Total weight gain/loss: I got officially weighted at the doctor's office on Wednesday, so we'll start from there. With both girls I lost weight during the first trimester. This time around, I'm still nursing Nora, and I think I'm maintaining pretty well! Go me!
The Bump: Still nothing, thankfully!

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: We have our second appointment, and first ultrasound on Thursday. I guess they like to do an early ultrasound for dating purposes, to make sure there's just one in there, and to make sure the baby is still thriving (they said alive, but that sounds scary to me, so we're going with thriving... less scary.)
Maternity Clothes: Well, I put on a pair of "comfy pants" today that my mom bought me after my c-section with Danielle, but they're not maternity. Most of my regular clothes are a little big on me since I've lost weight while breastfeeding Nora. So these comfy pants stay up and don't show off my underwear!
Symptoms: I think it was a cold that I had the last week or so. I'm feeling better from that, and haven't really had any morning sickness. I thought I had it good with both the girls, but with this one, I often forget I'm even pregnant (I'm sure that won't last!).
Belly Button in or out?: It's still half-out...
Food Cravings/Aversions: I still want movie theater popcorn, and haven't even had microwavable. We're going to my parents for dinner tonight, and I think I might request air-popped popcorn for dessert. It doesn't sound quite as appealing as it did at the theater, but we'll see.
What I miss: With Nora teething, and starting to fight naps, I'm finding I miss sleep, especially when I need it the most, in the first trimester!
Milestones: The baby had fingers & toes, but they're still webbed. In a couple days, baby will start moving his/her limbs (apparently its supposed to be visible on ultrasound... we'll have to see on Thursday!)

Busy Weeks!

Originally written May 28, 2012


I didn't get a picture or a post written last week. We had Danni's birthday party over the weekend, and then my sister-in-law's water broke, so we watched her daughter, Addy while they were in the hospital having Baby Reese. Now that the month of May is nearing a close, we should have more time and a less-busy schedule.


How far along?: 6 weeks 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: Still nothing really. I fluctuate about a pound every day, but haven't really seen an upward movement on the scale.
The Bump: I feel like it's showing more, and am self-conscious about it. I don't want people to know to suspecting anything yet, so I'm always trying to suck it in.

5 week 6 days

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Our first appointment on Wednesday... It's with the nurse practitioner at Comprehensive, and she's supposed to give me a referral for the first trimester screening ultrasound.
Maternity Clothes: Since my sister-in-law just had her baby, she gave me a few more clothes. I'm still not wearing any of them, but hopefully I'll have some clothes for a winter baby, even though both my girls and both her girls were pretty much summer babies. (Addy was born in March, but they lived in California at the time.)
Symptoms: Tired. Plus I either have allergies something fierce, or a cold. With both the girls, my allergies pretty much subsided. So either it's a cold, or it's a boy! lol
Belly Button in or out?: It's still half-out... thought I was looking back at some pictures, and it looks like it went in most of the way after Danni, but it was Nora that permanently kicked it out (and she did kick it out!)
Food Cravings/Aversions: We went to see Men in Black 3 last night, and the movie theater popcorn smelled so good. Theresa (who's 9-months pregnant!) let me have a couple handfuls. I could have eaten a whole bag! I told Adam when we were walking out, and he said I should have bought some, but it's so darn expensive.
What I miss: Not being tired.
Milestones: During week 7, baby's bones are forming, and eyes, lips, and mouth are recognizable. So I'm sure our baby is already cute! Probably still another Gibson clone, but cute none-the-less!

Telling Daddy

Originally written May 14, 2012


I'll be honest, I didn't want to wait until Wednesday, our anniversary, to tell Adam. I told him on Monday. With both girls, I found creative ways to tell him about his newly conceived children, and this time was no different. (Danni's story, Nora's story) I asked him if I could give him his anniversary present early, even though we said we weren't going to do presents. He was fine with it, so when he got home he was talking to his brother, Jon, on the phone. I watched to make sure he didn't open his card or his gift bag that I had wrapped the pee stick up in. He didn't.

When he got off the phone, he opened his card and read it...

He couldn't figure it out, so he started pulling tissue paper out of the bag. When he pulled out the one that had the stick wrapped up in it, he still didn't have a clue what it might be. Then he started laughing as soon as he figured out that the two lines meant he was going to be a daddy, again! He laughed for quite a while, in shock, disbelief, and excitement, and finally came over and gave me a hug and kiss.

That night, I asked him if he thought (not hoped) it was a boy or a girl. He said what we have always said about any of our children, especially after having Danni, that he hopes its a healthy baby. The next day though, randomly, he came up to me all excited, and said, "I think it's a boy, I just have a feeling!" I've been thinking the same thing since I saw the two lines on the magical pee stick! I guess we'll find out in about 15 weeks!


How far along?: 5 weeks 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: Still nothing.
The Bump: Not really showing, I think I look a little "fatter," but I'm sure it's just a mind game I'm playing on myself.

4 weeks 6 days

What I’m excited about/looking forward to: We scheduled our first appointment for 2 weeks from now. I'm kind of excited about that, but I know they won't really do much exciting, except refer me for the first trimester screening ultrasound.
Maternity Clothes: Oh dear, I surely hope not yet!
Symptoms: With both girls I felt sick more in the mornings. I seem to be fine in the mornings, but my tummy isn't so happy in the evenings.
Belly Button in or out?: It's still half-out. It popped at 19 weeks with Danni, and about 12 weeks with Nora... I'm hoping this time around it will at least make it to 12 weeks!
Food Cravings/Aversions: Nothing specific. I'm just eating all the time. I was eating snacks a lot since I'm breastfeeding Nora, but I'm eating even more snacks now!
What I miss: Not having a tummy ache at night, I guess.
Milestones: Our baby is 2 mm long and this week the arm & leg buds will start to become visible.

Someone's Missing

When filling out paper work, it's sometimes difficult...

     How many people live in your household? _____
     How many children do you have? _____
     What is your marital status? single, married, divorced, widowed

While the answers are 3, 2, and married, respectively, the numbers just don't add up. How can you have a mom, dad, and 2 children living in a household, but have it only add up to 3? I often wonder if they think I (a math teacher) can't add, or I don't understand the questions, or maybe they just think it's a typo. I doubt that they ever stop and realize that someone's missing.

Adam and I were talking about planning Nora's first birthday party (rainbow themed, of course!), and he asked me, "What day should we have Danni's party?" I was confused for a minute, then asked if he meant Nora's. He did. And when I started talking about plans, I realized that in my mind, we had a 1-year-old running around, along with a 2 1/2-year-old. And all of a sudden it was like in cartoons when the thought bubble "poofs" away into thin air. We will only have one child at this party, only one little pair of legs to chase after. The feeling after came back to me. The one after Danni died, being home, but missing someone. That emptiness. It was almost like having empty arms again, but this time, it wasn't my arms, it was our home, one crib, one high chair, one baby to feed, change, chase around, hear giggle.

My Bereaved Mother's Day Suprise

Originally written May 6, 2012

We went to a wedding last night for Adam's cousin, and Nora had her first overnight with Grandma. It was nice to be able to sleep in and not wake up to feed a baby. Though I did have to get up and pump in the morning, and I did kind of miss having my little girl crawl all over us while we lay in bed hoping she'll fall back asleep, so we can catch a few more zzzs. But I did find out later that morning, that we weren't actually alone in bed!

I got up eventually and pumped, and later Adam came down. Before we ate breakfast, I decided I wanted to shower. And while I was in the bathroom, I decided I should check to see if Nora's new habit of nursing at night had been playing with my cycle or if I might actually be pregnant. So I pulled out my last magic pee stick, and put it to use. Of course, silly me, I didn't read the instructions before (I've done this at least twice before, so I know what I'm doing, right?), and so I set it face down and walked away to read the instructions. Really, I just wanted to know how long I was supposed to wait (5 minutes, not the 3 I was thinking), and I read it's supposed to be face up. So I walked back over, and flipped it around to see two very clear lines. Well, I knew what that meant without reading the instructions (besides it said it on the stick). I decided not to tell Adam (and as I sit here writing this and he sits playing videos games and keeping Nora out of trouble, he still doesn't know. Our anniversary is coming up on Wednesday, and I kept jokingly telling him that since our first anniversary was also my first mother's day (it was the exact same day!), and on our second anniversary, I was pregnant with our second child, that I didn't want to be pregnant with our third child on our third anniversary... Well, I guess we didn't quite make that one! But I'm okay with that!

My sister-in-law is doing this with her pregnancy (She's due in just over two weeks, on Danni's due date, May 22), and I thought it was kind of fun, so I thought I'd try it out. (Copying is the best form of flattery, right?)

How far along?: 4 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Being as I just found out this morning, I wouldn't say anything at this point!
The Bump: So non-existent that Adam doesn't even know! (I think I'll try to do pictures every week for this one, but since my camera man would be a little suspicious about why he's taking a "bump" photo, we'll wait until next time.
What I’m excited about/looking forward to: Telling Adam on Wednesday!
Maternity Clothes: My sister-in-law just gave me a bunch of mine back plus some of hers, but I'm not even close to wearing them yet.
Symptoms: Either it's from staying up late for the wedding last night, or it's our new little parasite that's has sucked the energy out of me. (I'm thinking its the wedding... I've been pregnant tired!)
Belly Button in or out?: It's still half-out from Danni & Nora. I guess I can't expect it to go back in any time soon now!
Food Cravings/Aversions: I still hate seafood, does that count?
What I miss: My period? Nope, I guess I don't really miss that!
Milestones: I guess during week 4 our little blob of cells will split into two parts, the baby and the placenta. I should also schedule my first doctor appointment.

Baby Reese

My sister-in-law & her husband just had their second baby girl, Theresa. While they were in the hospital delivering baby Reese, we watched their older daughter, Addy, overnight. (I've posted about Addy before.) While Addy was here, she found the "Danni Book," as she calls it. And while I was nursing Nora, she sat down next to me and pointed out Baby Danni, Uncle Adam, Auntie Sarah, Auntie Neese, and Uncle Jon, and "read" the book to me, telling me how Baby Danni was crying and what-not.

Baby Reese was born overnight, and the next day her mom and dad had posted a photo of her on Facebook. We pulled it up and showed Addy. We told her it was her little sister, and that her name was Reese. Then a couple minutes later we asked her who the baby was in the picture. She said Danni Jo. When we took her to the hospital to meet and and see her mom and dad again, her dad introduced her to her baby sister, Reese. While I was holding Baby Reese, both Addy and Nora were hanging out by me, so I was asking Addy about her sister again. I asked her what her name was, and she again told me Baby Danni.

I love that she remembers Baby Danni (we just had her birthday part over the weekend, so I'm sure she's fresh in her mind), but I sure hope she figures out that her baby sister is Reese!

Our Trips to Holland & Italy

One of my friends from college listened to a CD recording of a speech a lady named Terry gave, and thought of me, so she borrowed it to me. She talked about a book she read called Welcome to Holland. It talks about what life is like raising a child with a disability. She likens it to taking a trip to Italy. You've spent all this time preparing, buying books about Italy, figuring out what sites to see, where to stay, you've even learned some of the language. You pack your bags, go to the airport, board your plane, and just after you've landed the pilot comes over the speaker and says, "Welcome to Holland." You're not prepared for Holland. What's in Holland to see anyway? But then you buy new travel books, and you get out to see the country. You find that there's beauty in Holland too. There's windmills and tulips. While all your friends are in Italy, you've finding the beauty in Holland.

Image Credit

After I listened to the CD, I talked to Adam about it. But, we decided, our trip wasn't even like that. Our whole lives we wanted to go to Italy. But just as we set our dates, we found out that we were going to Holland instead. So we started learning about Holland, studying the language, reading about things to see while we were there. Then the day finally came when we were to leave. We packed out bags and headed to the hospital... I mean airport. Got on the plane, took the long flight, and finally landed in Holland. We got off the plane and walked into the airport, looking around, but before we could even leave the airport, we were told that we had to get back on the plane and go back to the US. While we could see some tulips and windmills out the airport windows, we never got to fully experience and enjoy them. We loved and cherished what little we did get to see, but we so badly wanted to fully experience it.

At first we thought we were all alone back in the US, while everyone else was in Italy, but then we met some other parents that had canceled trips to Italy, and some that came back from Holland, like us. We learned that there was hope to take another trip, and we talked about rainbows, and all these wonderful things we could actually experience.

Soon we learned that we got to take another trip. We weren't sure if we should prepare for Holland again, or maybe, just maybe Italy, or maybe some other country. We were also afraid that our trip would be canceled again, and how sad we would be. But we started preparing anyway, and later found out we actually got to go to Italy this time. We were still a little skeptical though. We weren't sure if we would actually end up there, and were still nervous that we would end up back in the US again. But the day finally came, we landed in Italy, and saw a beautiful rainbow, and it's been shining ever since!