24 Week Post

I will post pictures soon...but I have no idea where the camera cord is for the small camera that J and I took with us on vacation. It has my 22, and 24 week bump shots on it, and pics from our trip to Captiva Island, and The Plant, in Kyle, Texas. Mainly I am too upset to do anything right now, because apparently, I am a fat a$$.

24 Weeks

How far along? 24 weeks and 5 days! My appointment was a little behind thanks to a wonderful Babymoon/4 Year Anniversary trip with Justin
Heartbeat? Sounded fast. I was too upset with Dr. to ask.

Total weight gain/loss: Here comes the cause of my emotional break down. At 20 weeks, I had gained 10 lbs. That's fine. I KNEW I had gained weight this time...and was none to thrilled to see that I had gained 10 MORE pounds. That's right. 10 pounds, in one month. My total is now at 20 pounds. TWENTY FREAKING POUNDS. Here. Is. My. Problem: I AM NOT DOING ANYTHING DIFFERENT than I was at the beginning of my pregnancy when I had gained nothing. I am more active than I was when I was pregnant with JMS. I was in better shape when I got pregnant with Caroline (that's her name, by the way) than I was with JMS. SO WHAT GIVES?!?! Basically - I did this last time I was pregnant - except I think I was closer to 28 weeks when the rapid weight gain started. This time...I GOT PUT ON A DIET. I WAS TOLD TO BUY A SCALE, AND TO JOURNAL MY FOOD. He was strict. And very straight forward. No more carbs. No salt. WHICH by the way - I have been doing SO good on. He lectured me, and now I am at home crying. A typical lunch for me is a homemade quesadilla (usually 1/2 of one), tomatoes, carrots, and hummus. Or hard boiled eggs and veggies and hummus, maybe cheese. Dinner is chicken breast/salad. Or salmon. Bkfast is cereal. Snack is yogurt. Seriously. And these are not huge portions. Last time I was eating a pint of icecream every other night, and definitely consuming a box of mac n cheese every other day. This time I am healthier - and it gets me in trouble?!?! So. I went to Target. Bought a freaking scale, and have been crying to my poor husband ever since. Don't worry. Tonight at the Fort Worth Club all I had for dinner was twice baked mac n cheese, twice baked mash potatoes, and corny dogs. Seriously, I did. I was so mad at myself, my body, and Dr. Oh. And I had an icecream sundae. I guess my new "diet" starts tomorrow. He says we can combat my weight gain, and that he will be monitoring me, and I am only to gain one pound per week. Right. Tell THAT to my body.
Maternity clothes? Yes. I STILL fit into my size 2 Gap maternity jeans, thank you very much. Dr.
Stretch marks? No - BUT I can feeeeeel a varicose vein growing behind my knee. NASTY.

Sleep? What is that????
Best moment this week: In the waiting room today, Caroline had her first set of hiccups - I forgot how much I loved those!!!

Movement: Still movement. When we were on our flights to and from FL she would go CRAZY - which is funny - because JM never moved extra when I flew prego with him. ALSO - this little girl makes me motion sick!!! In the plane, laying on a raft in the ocean - sheeeeeesh I got so sick!
Food cravings: Still freezing cold milk with cereal.

Gender: Caroline McCall, our sweet baby girl.

Labor Signs: No...still lots of BH contractions.
Belly Button in or out? In still...but starting to look funky!
What I miss: Not feeling like an elephant when I try to shave my legs in our shower...
What I am looking forward to: I can't even type it all out. Her nursery has me stressed. I want it complete. Which means I will have to plan things and actually get my rear in gear and take care of it .
Milestones: Do her hiccups count?

June at Nana & Papa's

In June we went to Houston several times, for extended periods of time, to hang out with some of JMS favorite people: Nana, Papa, Aunt Mimi & Aunt Muffin. We always have a blast with them. Here are some snap shots from a few of our visits...

We played around the house...

We played in my parents' awesome neighborhood pool that was recently remodeled...

Ate at one of our Houston favorites...Lup*'s Tortill*s

Helped build his own wagon just for Nana & Papa's house...

J and I went to a sorority sister's wedding...

Played dress-up...

(Lafayette from Tru* Blo*d, anyone?)

We did some more swimming...

Beach Bum

One of the first weekends in June, while we were in Houston - we were able to make a quick trip to Galveston Island to celebrate James Thomas's first birthday. It. Was. Amazing. His Mommy thought of EVERYTHING. There were pools on the top level of the house, bottom level of the house, on the beach...a "beach themed" candy bar...special cookies...special cupcakes...personalized buckets with shovels for the kiddies...toys for kids every where...great burgers and snacks...I could go ON and ON and ON!!!

I was excited to see what JM thought of the ocean/sand. His first trip to the beach was La Jolla in October - and the Pacific is a little too cold at that time of the year - so he stayed dry. He is NOT a fan of sand. He would play in the pool on the beach, and then lean over the edge and just shake his head "no" over and over at the sand. He gets that from his Mama...I am afraid.

We had a wonderful time - and were so glad to help celebrate the birth of one of the cutest little guys I know!

It took awhile for the camera to adjust to the HUMIDITY...beware of too many pictures! :)

My two favorite boys...

First steps in the sand...

Does NOT like the sand...

Lunching with Lauren and William..

Checking out his belly button while hanging with the birthday boy...

And he's done for the day...

ohhhhhh Boy...

It's a GIRL?!?!?!?

On Monday - our little family of three was forever changed when we saw a GIRL on the ultrasound screen. To say I was surprised would be a HUGE understatement. I expected a boy. I thought I was having a boy. I KNEW I was having a boy. I made the tech check the "area" several times. Then I marched my pictures into the ob's office - where I made him check several times. I didn't cry...I didn't really do ANYTHING - that's how shocked I was!

I am the oldest of three girls. Justin is the oldest of two boys. My Mom and I never understood families that "made" one of each...so I just assumed after JM, that I would be a boy mom - and I got used to the idea - and loved it. This little girl in my belly has just blown my world.

This morning when I was washing dishes - it finally hit me. I am having a GIRL! I get to do girl things. Buy dresses. Buy bows. Talk to her every day, multiple times a day, on the phone when she is 28 and over being a bratty teenager. We can go to musicals. We can shop. I can fix HAIR. I started bawling at the sink - while JM ate his breakfast, oblivious to the fact that his Mom is a loon.

I am ECSTATIC!!! And still in SHOCK!!! :)

I am also loving just how excited my husband is to have a little girl...in fact, I think he WANTED a girl...

Any ideas as to what JM and I have been up to since Monday?

Shopping for Sissy, of course!

The profile shot! :) (which looks NOTHING like John Marshall's - her legs also look skinnier and longer)

20 Weeks

How far along? 20 weeks!
Heartbeat? 150 bpm - still higher than John Marshall's...

Total weight gain/loss: I guess I will be honest. 10 lbs.
Maternity clothes? Yes and No. Some things I wear maternity - like the fabulous new white, straight leg jeans that took me FOREVER to find. And the maternity tank tops...but - I always wore those before being pregnant because they are super long. I can still wear some of my shorts, and one pair of jeans...but I think I am about to transition to wearing all dresses!
Stretch marks? No - BUT I can feeeeeel a varicose vein growing behind my knee. NASTY.

Sleep? Lately it has been hit or miss. As in - I either sleep through the night, soundly...OR experience insomnia and the racing thoughts.
Best moment this week: Seeing a beautiful, healthy baby on that screen!!!

Movement: lots! Just way softer than JM's - I have to concentrate sometimes to find it - I am so busy during the day. You can also see her move now - SO FUN!
Food cravings: Still freezing cold milk with cereal.

Gender: Clearly my "gut" was wrong. Sweet, sweet baby GIRL.

Labor Signs: No...but GEEEEEEZ bring on the Braxton Hicks. Which are no fun when you are lugging around your 25 lb nugget of a 13 month old! :)
Belly Button in or out? In still...but starting to look funky!
What I miss: I still miss margaritas with salt...again. I also miss sneezing and not peeing at the same time.
What I am looking forward to: Ending the great debate, otherwise known as naming a baby girl. Justin and I never really discuss girl names - because we CANNOT. CANNOT. CANNOT. agree. I THOUGHT we had agreed...but he is not committing 100%. Oh well. In my head, for now, she is CMS.
Milestones: hmmmmm...we are half way there!!! yay!!! By the way. This pregnancy - while I might look the same as I did last time in the morning - I definitely get a WAY bigger "evening bump" this time - if you know what I mean.

BUMP SHOTS

Baby GIRL at 20 weeks, 5 days - June 2010:

John Marshall at 21 weeks - December 2008:

BIG DAY

Whelp. Tomorrow is the big day. When we find out just "who" this little baby is. We have our boy name - of course, and our girl name. I have been calling this baby by his boy name the entire time...hopefully I am right?!? It's after 11:00 right now, and Justin has long been in bed - but I can't get off the couch! The little one is just moving around - visibly - and I LOVE watching my stomach and feeling him move. I am praying tomorrow we see a healthy baby on that screen - the rest is just in the details!

Da-Doooo!

JM's newest thing is wiping off his own high chair tray and sippy cup. I am sure I do not have the only child in the world who HATES getting wiped down after meal time??? Anyhow. I have found that the trick with him is to give him his own wet paper towel while I wipe him down with the rag. He truly scrubs his tray, tries to wipe the sippy cup, and when he is finished - he likes to tear the paper towel in into TINY pieces, and waits for me to say "THANK YOUUUUU!!!" after receiving each piece, to which he repeats, "DA-DOOOOOO!!!" - this a cell phone pic of him saying, "Da-Dooo!" - LOVE him to pieces! I hope I remember these moments...

Baby Deaux

This past week while I was in Houston, my sisters were able to feel Baby Two moving around. I love that already, I can tell a difference in my two babies - even from the womb. By 18 weeks, JM was PUNCHING and KICKING. Something fierce - that you could feel and see - which is pretty stinking early, if you ask me. I have felt this baby just as early, but his/her movements are much more subdued, and soft...not as fierce. This weekend, Justin kept trying to feel the baby - but every time he but his hand on my stomach - he/she would completely stop moving. It just tickled me to death...I blamed it on the fact that "he" (Baby Two) is upset with Justin for continuing to call "him" a "girl" - sure enough, on Sunday night - after I got Justin to admit it COULD be a boy in there - he felt the baby! Justin was super excited to feel Baby Two - just as excited as when he first felt JMS - can feeling a baby kick/move inside of you EVER get old? I don't think so! :)

Where's your belly button?

I just love my little man in this picture. It's from my phone - but still - I think it is going to be one of my favorites forever! We have been working with JM on "Where is ___(fill in the blank)___?". Mainly body parts...It really irks me - I am just being honest here - that my friends with one year old little GIRLS seems to know everything, and then TELL you about it. They can talk. Anyhow. JM cannot. He sometimes says "Mama" - but only if he is upset. Says "Dada." Says "Uh-Oh." And "Larry." (That's our cat). So we have been working on "knowing" things. This pic was taken on the same day we learned where our belly buttons are. He sometimes thinks he has to pull up his shirt, and then pull down his pants to find it. I love it. He will now pull up mine and Justin's shirts and attempt to say belly button. He for sure has belly button mastered.

He does not have his "nose" mastered. I know that he knows what/where it is - because he will point to mine - and touch his, but only 80% of the time. Tonight, in the bathtub I asked him where his nose was. He proceeded to look at his bellybutton, and then down PAST his belly button, and THEN he grabs IT. Anyhow - when he does that - he just looks up at me and smiles. He KNOWS it is not his nose! So I say, "No - JM - that's your _____. Where is your nose?" Again, he smiles the biggest, knowing smile...and does the same darn thing! He is such the little jokester already...we are definitely going to have to work on that one!

Movement...

I just wanted to document that today (16.5 weeks) when I was laying on the couch during JM's nap time...I felt LOTS of tiny movement! It wasn't as hard as JM's movement at 18 weeks - it was softer. Amazing! Last week I felt for sure movement, but today it was fun to feel it for an extended period of time...Ohhhhh little baby inside - I can't wait to know who you are!!!

Due Date/16 Weeks/Belly Shot

Due Date

TODAY was JM's due date. May 20th, 2009 - that date that is set in your head (and as a first time Mom you think it's set in stone) for nine loonnnngggggg months until you meet your little love. It's all you think about - you chant it over and over in your head, "May 20th! May 20th! May 20th!" I can't believe it has been a year! Now I say, "due date - shmooo date" - as we all know that babies come on their OWN time, God's perfect timing. If you had told me last year, "Hey! Guess what? Not only will your baby be a week old on his due date, YOU will be pregnant - AGAIN - on that due date!" - I would have done one of three things: (1) punched you in the face; (2) wet my pants (from fear folks); or (3) had an emotional breakdown/passed out. You just don't tell a 9 month pregnant lady something so SHOCKING. But I can honestly say - as someone who is pregnant for the second year in a row - we are THRILLED about this new life growing inside of me! Can't wait to meet him! (Because, I am 99% sure that it is a "him.") And speaking of him...

16 Weeks

Today was Baby S's 16 week appointment. We listened to the heartbeat - music to my ears - and the BEST part is that we scheduled the big reveal appointment! Four more weeks! EEEEEKKKK! I am so excited to see who is going to turn our family into a family of four, that I cannot even stand it! :)

How far along? 16 weeks!
Heartbeat? 152 bpm - which, by the way, my besties Regan and Suzanne have blown the heartbeat old-wives tale (or ruined it, rather) out of the water. I think the tale is that if you are having a girl the hb is above 140, and a girl is anything under 140. Regan's little boy's hb was always higher - and Suzanne's girl's hb is a nice 140.

Total weight gain/loss: Ugh. Ugh. (Haagen Dazs - you are a TRAITOR!) And it begins! 5 lbs
Maternity clothes? Not yet! BUT I just splurged on a few outfits from Pickles n IceCream - who knew that cute maternity clothes for the summer sell out (and quickly) AND that they don't re-stock? :) SERIOUSLY PEOPLE.
Stretch marks? Nada.

Sleep? Sooooo much better in this category! Only getting up once (if that) to go to the bathroom...now if my cutie patootie little one-year-old would return to his 8:00AM wake up time? I would be in heaven!
Best moment this week: Hearing the heartbeat - AND scheduling the 20 week sonogram

Movement: yes! I felt a for sure - it's not gas - it's a baby - movement last night! woo hoo!
Food cravings: I'm over the pickles. Just give me something salty! oh - and cold milk with frosted mini wheats, just like last time.

Gender: Oh my goodness...EVEN THOUGH this pregnancy has been the COMPLETE opposite of the last one...my gut says B-O-Y!

Labor Signs: Nope!
Belly Button in or out? In still
What I miss: I still miss margaritas with salt...
What I am looking forward to: Finding out if this little one is a boy or girl.
Milestones: Well...I have made it 16 weeks WITHOUT vomiting in the shower because I smelled my shampoo. I have made it to 16 weeks WITHOUT any of the horrible acne I had last time. The kind of zit that looks and feels like a big painful

cyst and pops on its own it's so huge. Want to vomit? Well...I had a minimum of 10 of those on my face at one time. And my back was covered. Solid.

You can feel sorry for me now! ;)

Belly Shot

Let's do a little compare and contrast...I think they look abouuuut the same. I refuse to show my face this time. THAT is for SURE bigger...

16 WEEKS - MAY 20, 2010

16 WEEKS - DEC. 2008