Big Girl Stuff

I haven’t done a very good job of keeping up with Avery’s new milestones and accomplishments lately so this will be a kind of random post but I don’t keep a baby book for her anymore (I try to record all the big stuff on my blog) so I really need to get my act together! This past weekend she accomplished a huge milestone.  She’s been using the potty!! My MIL was watching her on Friday and when I got home from work they had a big “surprise” to show me.  Avery had used her potty twice during the day!! I was so excited (and a bit shocked), we had a big party and celebrated! We tried again Saturday morning and she did really well.  She likes sitting on her potty and reading books, playing with her computer, playing with her bath toys, etc.  If I can keep her sitting long enough she usually is successful! It’s so fun to celebrate and encourage her, she just loves it!! Sunday was positive too! She still had wet diapers but we had two successful potty trips. I am so proud of her, I wish I could stay home so we could really work on it because I know she won’t get the time and attention at daycare needed to really make an impact but we’ll keep trying! I bought pull-ups for her and she refuses to let me put them on.  She went from being the happiest little girl to almost having a breakdown because I tried to put on the special diaper! Silly girl. 

Avery is also talking so much now!! She is learning so many new words it just amazes me, my favorite is “love you”. Every night when I put her to bed she tells me night, night. Bye, bye. Love you. If I don’t turn off the light after that she repeatedly says bye bye.  This little girl loves her crib. I feel like I can’t get her lifted in fast enough some nights. She sleeps with two babies, moo-cow and lambie.  We have to check 2-3 times at bedtime to make sure everyone is accounted for :)

She loves to dress herself. She’s really good with her socks and some of her shoes and has been working on pants.  It can be frustrating when we’re in a hurry and she wants to do it all herself but it is so cute watching her work so hard at getting her pants on because when she succeeds she is just glowing with pride. She tells me over and over, I did it!!

She finally got up the courage to climb up on our barstools. Seeing her sitting up there makes me very nervous but I love it when I’m making dinner.  She just sits and watches while I cook.  Some nights she will color or “help” stir.  She looks so grown up sitting there, I find myself picturing her 5 or 10 years from now sitting there while we talk about her day, school, and weekend plans. It’s very bittersweet. 

Random pictures from the past month.
 
 Brushing my hair

Kennedy, her sweet mama and Avery

Helping daddy put the baby's crib together

So excited after using the potty!!

 

32 Weeks

How Far Along: 32 weeks

Size of baby:   Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and weighs 3 pounds

Gender: IT'S A BOY!! We finally agreed on a name... and that we want to keep it a secret! Okay, we've told a few people but are trying to keep it a surprise for the most part!

Maternity Clothes: I am starting to run out of clothes that fit.  Some of my maternity shirts are getting too short because my belly is sticking out so dang far!!

Movement: Ugh, I feel like he's already running out of room! It is so crazy to watch my belly move! He's really active in the evenings and last night he had a limb jammed up in my rib cage.

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well. It's getting a little difficult to get comfortable but usually an extra body pillow helps.

Weight Gain: 23 pounds
Symptoms: My ankles (especially the right) have been even more swollen this week.  When I went in for my OB checkup I asked the doctor to look at them.  I'm super paranoid now and check them at least 10 times a day.  She looked at them and decided that with my history it would be a good idea to have a doppler sonogram done on my right leg just to rule out the possibility of another blood clot. Back the the hospital I went.  Thankfully everything came back clear and I was able to go home! My blood pressure is also up so my doctor wants me to really try to cut out stress.  I may be going to part-time work.  Even though I would love to be home with Avery more it is a big decision for us and we have a lot of factors to consider.  I've been praying God will help me see the best solution. 

Cravings: Sweets (ice cream!)

Best moment this week:We are finally making progress with the nursery and I'm hoping to have pictures posted in the next two weeks.  Matt is almost done painting and I'm going to finish up the crib bedding as soon as I'm done here.  I'm so excited that it is finally coming together!! I can't wait to have that checked off my LONG to-do list!!

Here is one more comparison picture... 32 weeks with Avery!  I can't believe we were already done with her nursery at this point.

Dance Baby, Dance!

Reason number 824 why I love my little girl...

We put on the Lion King last night and she immediately got up and started dancing.  Of course I paused it to grab our video camera and the battery was dead so the iphone had to do. Love this little blue-eyed girl :)

Dallas Shower

Saturday morning I had a wonderful shower with my friends here in Dallas. It was so nice, we had a delicious breakfast at Breadwinners.  It was such a nice time to just be with friends without kids or any distractions.  Our little guy got some adorable clothes that I cannot wait for him to wear!!

My sweet friend Kristy, her little girl will be here so soon!!

I love this diaper cake!! The basketball hat on top is just too cute... I think he may need to wear it for newborn pictures :)

Wonderful friends

All the girls

I had such a wonderful time and am so thankful for the friendships I've made in Dallas during the past three years.  I don't think I would have survived down her without these girls :) Their kindness and support always amazes me.  I am so blessed!!

Balloons

Matt made a certain little girl's day by bringing home a balloon last weekend. Out of the blue she developed a love for balloons.  I have no idea what brought this out but about a month ago she started noticing balloons. everywhere. 

When we're driving by a car dealership and they have balloons tied to the cars she almost looses it.  She hysterically starts saying boon, boon, until they are out of sight.

She can spot the smallest little balloon on a page of her books and we must look at that page about 10 times.

We must completely avoid the floral section at the grocery store unless I want to experience a breakdown.

So when Matt brought home this balloon she was beyond excited. 

Oh, and her new thing is to say "cheese" when she sees a camera (or my phone) so I'm been getting a ton of sweet, cheesy smiles.

Oh how I love this little princess ;)

30 Weeks!

How Far Along: 30 weeks

Size of baby:   Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and weighs 3 pounds

Gender: IT'S A BOY!! We finally agreed on a name... and that we want to keep it a secret! Okay, we've told a few people but are trying to keep it a surprise for the most part!

Maternity Clothes: See week 26. I despise maternity clothes

Movement: Ugh, I feel like he's already running out of room! It is so crazy to watch my belly move! He's really active in the evenings and last night he had a limb jammed up in my rib cage.

Sleep: Still sleeping pretty well. It's getting a little difficult to get comfortable but usually an extra body pillow helps.

Weight Gain: 22 pounds
Symptoms: My ankles are getting more swollen each week.  Sitting at a computer 9 hours a day is tough but I'm trying to get up and walk in the afternoons. My lower back has really started hurting this past week.  I think he is carrying much lower than Avery and it is just putting a lot of pressure on my back.  After my short stint in the hospital I'm doing better now, the contractions have mostly stopped.  I'm still feeling optimistic that if I can stay healthy we can make it to at least 36 weeks with no more issues. 

Cravings: Sweets

Best moment this week: This really hasn't been the best week.  I am thankful that my doctor didn't put me on bed rest and that our little guy is getting bigger and stronger each week.  When I had my sonogram the doctor said he is already measuring one week ahead.  I sure hope I don't have a 10 lb baby!

I hardly took any pictures when I was pregnant with Avery (I blame it on an uncooperative husband) but here I am at 30 weeks with her.  I definitely think I look bigger now than I did at this point last time. maybe it's just the shirt... 

 

Deja Vu - Pregnancy Update

Whew, this has been a hectic/rough week.  Last Tuesday Avery came down with a stomach bug and and I stayed home with her for two days while she healed.  Thankfully she seemed to feel okay and was her normal, happy self.  It was great to be home with her for a couple days and I was actually able to be productive and work from home!

Friday night I came down with the same thing but it hit me much harder.  I spent the majority of the weekend in bed and couldn't keep anything down which lead to me getting dehydrated - not good for a pregnant woman with a history of pre-term labor.  I started having quite a few contractions during the weekend and as I was able to get more water and Gatorade in my body they slowly subsided on Sunday.  I went back to work Monday morning feeling better but by 9:30 daycare called to tell me Avery had a fever and needed to be picked up.  I didn't know what to do, after working from home two days the previous week there was no way I could leave to go get her, Matt called his mom and thankfully she was available to drive up from Temple (2 hours away) to come watch Avery.  Matt went and got her and stayed with her until his mom arrived.

Hello mommy guilt. There is nothing worse than knowing your child is sick and that you cannot be there to comfort her.  It just tore me up that I couldn't take care of her.  I think this is one of (if not the worst) parts of being a working mom.  Some days are just too busy at work and we need to find another option besides me being home to cuddle and care for her.  I hate it...

Tuesday she was still sick and my work was still piling up... hello stress.  I spent the majority of the morning trying to physically will myself to not stress out, knowing what that has led to in the past.  No luck.  The contractions started not long after I arrived at work and despite my best attempts to calm down and drink a lot of water they were coming every 5-7 minutes.  By 10:30 it was clear they weren't going to stop and that I needed to call my hubby and doctor.

After about 30 minutes of monitoring contractions at the doctor's office they decided to send me to the hospital for additional monitoring, tests, needles, etc.

Trying to have a sense of humor about the whole situation...

We went through all of this with Avery; it is somewhat comforting to understand the process, medications and treatment but I was really hoping that by some miracle we could avoid a repeat.  I was given a steroid shot to help mature the baby's lungs, and a muscle relaxant to stop the contractions which worked within five minutes but left me feeling very jittery and light-headed.  They ran a few additional tests and had us out of the hospital by mid-afternoon.

I went in the following day to see my OB and get my marching orders... praying she wouldn't put me on bed rest.  She ran a few additional tests and did a quick sonogram and everything still looks good!  At this point she is more concerned with the possibility of me developing another blood clot while on bed rest so she put me on "common sense" rest. Basically telling me I need to be a good pregnant patient and not over-exert myself.  The goal is to keep stress levels low enough that I don't start having contractions again but maintain enough daily activity to lower the chances of a blood clot.  

Whew... long post but if I don't write this stuff down I know I'll eventually forget the details.  

The bright spot to all this drama... getting to see our little guy's sweet face.  I cannot wait to meet him in 10 weeks or less!