Catching Up

I am back to the world of blogging! After skipping a few weeks, I decided it was time to return to my online journal.

My Growing Belly

Finally, we have arrived to the last week of the first trimester. ( A few weeks ago I was having a severe case of pregnancy brain and kept referring to them as 'semesters'. Ha.) Week 13, and finally I do not feel as sick! It also helps that I have gotten over three cases of the flu this season and four colds, the last of which turned into a sinus infection. And although I still have a bit of congestion and my voice is still a tad gravelly, I am on the uphill journey towards good health, and I couldn't be happier! I am also extremely thankful for the bout of warmer weather last week, as I was also contracting a serious case of the winter blues.
Alright, my belly has finally 'popped' a little bit more, but it's only really visible if I'm sitting. And maybe pushing it out a little. Hee hee.  Soon I'm hoping to maybe put up some pictures. They say you can't really feel the squirmy little tadpole swimming around til about the 17th week, but with CR, I felt her around the 16th week. This time I swear I can feel something moving around. It's not very noticeable, but when I lay still, I'm sure I can feel a tiny little fluttering sensation. And seeing as he/she's about the size of a shrimp...seriously, how could someone NOT feel that in their innards??

How your baby's growing:

Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce. This is the last week of your first trimester, and your risk of miscarriage is now much lower than earlier in pregnancy. Next week marks the beginning of your second trimester, a time of relative comfort for many women who see early pregnancy symptoms such as morning sickness and fatigue subside.

Babycenter.com

Now Vs. Then
About this time last year, Corey was in California waiting to be deployed, and I had a newborn on my hands. Lately I've been having flashbacks, and it's almost like I feel he has to leave again. It's the oddest sensation, and I can only attribute it to some sort of post traumatic stress disorder. I remember the worst part of it was waiting. Just waiting. It was almost more of a relief when he actually made it to Afghanistan. Now strangely enough, this is the first month he's been back that he has to attend his unit's drill. Which so happens to be today through Sunday. It's the first time since he's been back that we've been apart for longer than a day, and it's freaking me out. You'd think that after spending almost a year apart it would be easier to handle, but it's actually more difficult. In fact, I had a nightmare last night that instead of drill, they were deploying him again, and by the end of the dream I had received a call about his death and I was arranging his funeral. It was so morbid that when I woke up, all I could do was cling to him, and remind myself that he was still alive, and perfectly safe. Now that I'm awake and thinking clearly, I realize how unrealistic that scenario is right now, but it was still quite unsettling.

My Daughter
What can I say? She's still as adorable as ever, gets into as much trouble as usual, and still does quirky little things. One change is that she's become affectionate, almost on the verge of clingy. I will be washing dishes, and she'll run up behind me and hug my legs. Or I'll sit on the couch to watch her play and she come lays her head on my lap. She just gets more endearing every day. Also, every time Corey says "Amen" after praying over a meal, she laughs. She thinks it's the funniest thing.

I Love my Midwife

My Growing Belly

Yesterday was our first prenatal check-up! Of course I was excited to make sure that baby is healthy, and hear the heartbeat, and get my cervix examined (ha), but really, I could not wait to see Deana. My midwife.
Corey and I decided when I got pregnant with CR that we wanted to be in a hospital, but we didn't really want to deal with doctors. In my opinion, I have the best of both worlds: The safety and security of a hospital in case anything goes wrong, and a laid-back, relaxed birthing coach without a god-complex. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not against home-births OR doctors. This is just what fits us best.
Deana is in her mid-thirties, has regular brown hair styled in a cute, short do. Probably so it doesn't hang in her face as she's yanking babies out of their mothers. She's got a slight build at 5'5", and nice soft hands. And she has the most magical voice ever. She knew exactly what to say as each contraction hit, with a combination of authority and comforting words. No, I am not in love with her. I am just in awe that someone can be so comforting during the trial of child-bearing.
Now back to the check-up yesterday. Everything looks and sounds normal. Apparently my uterus is positioned so that I will probably show earlier. Cool. Looking forward to wearing my maternity clothes as soon as possible! It was a tad early to talk about our birth plan, but we agreed that I would try a water-birth again since it worked so well with CR. I go back in another 4 weeks to get everything checked again.

Week:10

Though he's barely the size of a kumquat — a little over an inch or so long, crown to bottom — and weighs less than a quarter of an ounce, your baby has now completed the most critical portion of his development. This is the beginning of the so-called fetal period, a time when the tissues and organs in his body rapidly grow and mature.

He's swallowing fluid and kicking up a storm. Vital organs — including his kidneys, intestines, brain, and liver (now making red blood cells in place of the disappearing yolk sac) — are in place and starting to function, though they'll continue to develop throughout your pregnancy.

If you could take a peek inside your womb, you'd spot minute details, like tiny nails forming on fingers and toes (no more webbing) and peach-fuzz hair beginning to grow on tender skin.

In other developments: Your baby's limbs can bend now. His hands are flexed at the wrist and meet over his heart, and his feet may be long enough to meet in front of his body. The outline of his spine is clearly visible through translucent skin, and spinal nerves are beginning to stretch out from his spinal cord. Your baby's forehead temporarily bulges with his developing brain and sits very high on his head, which measures half the length of his body. From crown to rump, he's about 1 1/4 inches long. In the coming weeks, your baby will again double in size — to nearly 3 inches. - babycenter.com

My Daughter

Today is CR's first birthday! But grandparent's were busy today, so we celebrated last night. We had just close family and friends over- simple and small. CR was able to eat pasta salad and black olives for her birthday supper out of the food provided, and actually taught herself how to stick the olives on her fingers like we all loved to do as little kids. I allowed her a few bites of cake (yes, some would call me mean for not letting her eat a whole piece.) After she finished her cake, she wanted down off my lap, but only to go to the g-rents to beg for more! So of course, she really did end up eating a whole piece PLUS ice cream. Sigh. So spoiled. She received several nice gifts, including shoes from Uncle Artie since she has now mastered the art of walking. I think her two favorites though were a train that she can push that makes noise, from great grandma and grandpa, and a wooden rocking horse from Corey's mom. Thankfully CR still went to bed on time, even after all that sugar.

Thoughtful Thursday

Finally I have accomplished something! After being stuck on the couch for days on end due to morning sickness plus the flu, I have attempted to clean the house, wash multiple loads of dirty laundry AND take care of my daughter. How lame I feel. All that used to be simple, but this pregnancy has knocked the wind out of me. Good bye energy :( Now I have time to rest a bit and just think.

NOW VS. THEN

The first couple weeks after I found out I was pregnant with our first baby, my husband of course had to be states away, training with the Marines. We had yet to learn that he was to be deployed soon, so I was all mopey that he had to be gone TWO WHOLE WEEKS!! On top of that I wasn't feeling too well and I was pretty emotional with the changing hormones, much less the havoc the military creates in life. This time around I feel very blessed that Corey is always around (except when he's at his normal job) especially since I'm so much sicker these days. Yesterday as I recuperated from the flu, he not only washed the dishes, picked up the house, but also packed his own lunch for the next day, because lunch meat and food in general perks up my gag reflex.
When I was a day late getting my period, say about 2 months ago, I knew I was pregnant. I told the hubby we needed to buy some tests to make sure, so we went to Walmart! The next morning I got up with him, took the test and gave it to him. He watched the two little lines appear in the strip, told me I was pregnant and that was that! We were happy.
I remember looking at baby # 1's positive test shortly after I had peed on that funny little stick. We hadn't necessarily been trying and I was scared that in nine months we would have the responsibility of a child. As negative thoughts poured into my brain- " we haven't had enough couple time yet! We're not ready!"- a little memory popped in. I had told Corey on several occasions that if he ever got deployed, he better knock me up, or I would be completely lost without him. I knew I needed that distraction, and that memory was a premonition. Three weeks later we found out Corey was to be deployed for a year.

MY GROWING BELLY

Tomorrow we will be 8 weeks along! Goodness, that's not far at all. This last week has taken an odd turn of events craving-wise. Anyone who knows me pretty well can tell you that I am in love with pizza and cheeseburgers. Especially cheeseburgers. That's all I wanted when I was pregnant with CR.  Since I've had the flu? No meat please! The thought of eating a dead animal utterly disgusts me! Who knew being with child could turn someone vegetarian? I'm curious to see how long this lasts. Hopefully not long, cause poor Corey will be starving.

How your baby's growing:

New this week: Webbed fingers and toes are poking out from your baby's hands and feet, his eyelids practically cover his eyes, breathing tubes extend from his throat to the branches of his developing lungs, and his "tail" is just about gone. In his brain, nerve cells are branching out to connect with one another, forming primitive neural pathways. You may be daydreaming about your baby as one sex or the other, but the external genitals still haven't developed enough to reveal whether you're having a boy or a girl. Either way, your baby — about the size of a kidney bean — is constantly moving and shifting, though you still can't feel it. - babycenter.com

MY DAUGHTER

CR fortunately, has not gotten sick yet.  And she's as quirky as ever. Not two minutes ago I caught her trying to climb through the rungs on our bookshelf, where she got caught. Before that she was playing with an unlatched baby gate that fell on top of her (did not hurt her) but she couldn't figure out how to climb out from under it, so she yelled until I came to her rescue. Whenever she sees a picture of herself she has to touch it and smile. Who knew baby's this age are self-centered? Ha ha. Knowing she probably can't understand, I told her she was getting a new brother or sister. What did she do? Climbed on my belly and started bouncing. Right... I tried telling her another instance, and she emphatically shook her head no several times.She has begun refusing baby food since table food is much tastier. And she hates crawling. Only walking for her now- she is a big girl! Instead of falling off the couch head first, she has discovered the new improved way of sliding off feet first. How grown- up of her.

Who I am and Why I'm here.

I am a Marine wife and mother of 1.2 babies. I couldn't decide what to make my blog about, so I decided to write about
a.) my previous experience as a military wife of a deployed husband with our first newborn,
b.) my growing belly,
c.) the funny things my 11 month old does so I don't forget.
Basically a personal journal that I'm willing to share with my family and friends. If anyone cares to read ;)

My Growing Belly
My husband (he's been back for about 2 1/2 months) and I found out that we are pregnant with our second child  roughly 2 weeks ago. I am 6 1/2 weeks along, and am due Sept. 2nd. So far the morning sickness is twice as bad than my pregnancy with our daughter, as are the food cravings and aversions. I've really been wanting KFC fried chicken. Strange. My mood swings have also become fierce- they were barely around the first pregnancy. Here's an amusing example.
My husband and I were relaxing after a long day, talking about random, trivial things, when I suddenly found the topic of discussion funny and began laughing hysterically. I couldn't stop when, in a split second I started sobbing uncontrollably, then back to laughing in about two seconds! And then all over again. That was such a bizarre experience and I honestly felt like a crazy woman.

How your baby's growing:

This week's major developments: The nose, mouth, and ears that you'll spend so much time kissing in eight months are beginning to take shape. If you could 4see into your uterus, you'd find an oversize head and dark spots where your baby's eyes and nostrils are starting to form. His emerging ears are marked by small depressions on the sides of the head, and his arms and legs by protruding buds. His heart is beating about 100 to 160 times a minute — almost twice as fast as yours — and blood is beginning to course through his body. His intestines are developing, and the bud of tissue that will give rise to his lungs has appeared. His pituitary gland is forming, as are the rest of his brain, muscles, and bones. Right now, your baby is a quarter of an inch long, about the size of a lentil.

-babycenter.com

My Daughter
A few days ago I decided to let CR run around diaperless as she had a pretty bad rash, and it's always good to let that air out. My husband was washing dishes while I folded laundry with CR in the laundry room, right next to the kitchen. I peeked into the kitchen to tell the hubby something, and CR came crawling out after me...holding onto something brown. When I realized it was her poo, I started freaking out and dashed for her when her hand started making it's way to her mouth. No. Please no, don't...DON"T!!!!!!! Yes. She actually took a bite.
Ewwwwwwww.
On a good note, she realized her excrement was anything but tasty and she spit it out. That day she got her first taste of mouthwash and I realized you can't leave a naked baby for two seconds.