Counting My Blessings

I just found this post in my drafts- not sure why I never posted it... actually don't even remember writing it, but it is as true today as it was when I wrote it- even more so now that we have been blessed with a second pregnancy.  Looks like I wrote this when Nicholas was several weeks old.  Enjoy!

We have been pretty lucky with Nicholas in that he started sleeping through the night on a regular basis over Thanksgiving weekend.  He typically has his last bottle around 10 pm and then sleeps usually until 8 or 9 am.  It is wonderful, especially after those sleep deprived first weeks with a newborn!  And, many babies don't sleep this well until they are much much older.  There is a period of time coming up that I have been hearing about called the "4 Month Wakeful" where babies sleep habits go back in the crapper, but hey, maybe we will luck out and miss that developmental stage!

Anyway, last night, or rather, this morning, I woke up at 3 a.m. because he was crying over the baby monitor.  I stumbled around and made my way to the kitchen to get him a bottle and then went in his room.  I popped his nuk back in his mouth and to my surprise (and delight!) he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.  I did a little dance of joy, put the bottle back in the fridge, and then went back to sleep.

Later today, I got to thinking about how blessed we have been.  Don't get me wrong, nothing about being pregnant, dealing with the pre-eclampsia, the delivery (hello, 2 hours of pushing) and then having a newborn is easy, per se, but we have had it so much easier than many others.

I have friends that have had trouble getting pregnant.  Some have (sadly) lost pregnancies and had to deal with that heartache.  Some have had a great deal of trouble getting pregnant and have had to undergo expensive and difficult fertility treatments.  Some have babies that are born premature and have to spend time in the NICU which is just difficult all around.  Most of these stories, although some do have happy endings are heartbreaking at at least some point in the journey.

When I sit down and think about it, we are so very blessed.  It only took us four months to get pregnant which is a pretty short amount of time for trying to conceive.  Once I was pregnant, I really didn't have much morning sickness.  I had a few issues with spotting and then a kidney stone issue early on, but once we got past that, I was really healthy until 34 weeks when the pre-eclampsia hit.  For me, the pre-e never advanced to severe, so the worst thing it did was eat up some of my maternity leave due to the bedrest.  I did have to deal with two inductions because the first one failed, but even that really wasn't a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  I got through the delivery and recovery without any major complications.  Nicholas is healthy and thriving and a happy baby.  We are blessed.

Glade Expressions- Pineapple and Mangosteen

A friend of mine turned me on to this BzzAgent site.  Basically its a social marketing site that allows members to try products for free, asks them to report back on whether they like the products or not, and provides coupons for us to pass out to friends.  The first campaign I was invited to participate in was the Glade Expressions Collection.  I chose to purchase the Pineapple and Mangosteen scent but there are several other scents available.

I am pretty much just using the scent in our bathroom.  It looks nice in there- as you can see from the photo above, they have gone to some care to make sure that the product looks nice in whatever room you put it in.   I think it smells really good- the pineapple scent reminds me of a tropical island- specifically I am getting flashbacks to Hawaii.  It is also long lasting.  I could still smell it the next morning after spraying it the previous evening.  That said, my husband isn't really a fan.  He actually thinks its too strong of a scent-- we are still using it though :)

We recently got invited to try another product and I will be reporting back on that soon!

20 Weeks

How far along? 20 Weeks.
Symptoms: Still feeling mostly good, but a bit beat up this week, haha.  Have managed to catch a cold which of course is no fun while pregnant because cold meds are not allowed.  Starting to feel really, really pregnant now- its getting harder to move around, sit on the floor, etc.
Total weight gain/loss: +5
Maternity clothes? My regular clothes still fit, pants are getting pretty tight-pretty much only wearing regular work pants.  Regular shirts still fit too.
Sleep:  Sleeping pretty well, but regularly getting up at least once, sometimes twice to pee.  Gotta love pregnant bladders!
Best moment this week:  Well technically it was last week, but we found out that this baby is a GIRL!  More importantly we had our anatomy scan and she looks perfect!  She was measuring a few days ahead actually. Due date is still Valentines day though.
Movement: Yup, she moves all the time.  Love that feeling.
Food cravings:  Soup.  I have been kind of obsessed with it.  Tried some Kale soup at lunch yesterday and it was actually really good.  Josh made me Chicken Noodle Soup for dinner for my cold and it was great!
Gender: GIRL- Her name is Haley Miranda.
Labor Signs: none.
Belly Button in or out?  in.
What I miss: Nothing really.
What I am looking forward to:  The weekend.  This cold is kicking my butt and I need some relax time.
Milestones:  Anatomy scan was last week and everything looked good.  Actually have a routine appointment this morning so should get to hear the heartbeat.  Maybe the doc will have some suggestions for this cold too!

Bump Pics

Here are some bump pics.  Forgive the work bathroom in the background... its the only place I have access to the right size mirror to do these :)

13 Week Bump:


15 Week Bump:



17 Week Bump:

17 Weeks

How far along? 17 Weeks.
Symptoms: Hardly any, feeling pretty good.  Certain smells are getting to me though and making me want to hurl.  I still hate my toothbrush too.
Total weight gain/loss: +5
Maternity clothes? My regular clothes still fit, pants are getting pretty tight-pretty much only wearing regular work pants.  Regular shirts still fit too.
Sleep:  I have been going to bed early and sleeping like a rock!
Best moment this week:  Going home for a family wedding.  It was great to see everybody... even if Nick was struck with the flu bug on the way home on the plane.  I'll spare you the details, but lets just say it wasn't pretty.
Movement: Tons!  Felt like the baby was doing flips while I was at work yesterday.
Food cravings:  Nothing really this week.
Gender: We will find out a week from yesterday!
Labor Signs: none.
Belly Button in or out?  in.
What I miss: Nothing really.
What I am looking forward to:  Nicholas's 2nd birthday party this weekend!  My Mom and Grandma are coming to town for it, so very excited to have them here and to celebrate with some of our MA friends as well.
Milestones:  Nothing new to report since last time.  Will have more news next week after the anatomy scan.... and hopefully pictures!