More....

Hello! I am 12 weeks going on 13 weeks prego. This is my second child, I don't know the sex yet, but would like to know with an ultrasound. My first child is a boy, Anthony, who is a very sweet bundle of joy. I am new to making a web page like this, other than the MS bike tour, that was really my first webpage, but you aren't required to write anything. I participated in that last year and this year, but this year, I only did 25 miles with a heart beat monitor watch to make sure I didn't go over 140 beats per minute, which may I say, is very hard to do. It was a blast, and I am definitely doing it again next year. I love bike tours, but ones with a cause are so much cooler, because you feel good about helping out, last year I raised over 600 dollars, but this year, I only raised 280.00. My kids will almost be 4 years apart. Well I guess that is it for now. :)

I kept thinking I was pregnant. But I would take a test and not be. (we were trying for about 6 months prior, but just let things go after so many failed attempts)

I had my belly button pierced, this would be the second time, that was on July 13^th, 2007as my birthday present to myself. The first time I had my belly button pierced was on July 11^th, 2000. When I was pregnant with Anthony I took out the piercing and it half healed. I wasn’t told while going to Chalice Body piercing that when you try to pierce the same hole twice, you easily risk infection. Well it got infected, so I went to the doctor in hopes of getting some antibiotics to aid in keeping my piercing. They said the antibiotics can’t be used with pregnancy, they asked if I was pregnant, I said I don’t think so, but then again, I haven’t checked for a while. So they wrote out the prescription and said if I was pregnant to call them. I went and picked up a test. Then went back to work. Took the test and brought it back to my desk.

10/16/07 (13 weeks)
I am now 13 weeks pregnant, yesterday I had my second doctor's appointment and heard the babies heart beat, and while the heart beat was filling the room, we heard a loud bump, and the doctor informed me that the sound was the baby kicking. I have felt little movements here and there, but it is very faint still, I can't wait till the baby is bigger and I can actually see and really feel the bumps. My husband and son came along with to the doctor's office, Anthony was very excited about the baby. I was hoping that my next visit would be the ultrasound that shows the sex, but I will be 18 weeks, and they said no ultrasound for that one. I guess I will have to wait longer than last time, last time I found out at 20 weeks, which my appointments have been running once every month it seems. Oh well, I can wait :)

10/17/07 (13 weeks)
I am very excited to be in the second trimester. That was my favorite last time around, you get more energized and can do more things than you could last time, like the energy comes out of thin air. I have been getting mild stomach cramp pains, the last few days, it is off and on, but I was just at the doctor yesterday and they did say that was normal. I am still at the same weight now as I was when I started, which is a great start. Last time was terrible with weight gain, a message to all of you mom's to be out there, pace yourself with the weight gain, stay away from high fat foods, even ice cream! Everyone reacts differently to each pregnancy, and some of us will be lucky and not gain an ounce past our prepregnancy bodies after the pregnancy is said and done, but if you were like me the first time around, I gained about 80lbs the first time around, it took me forever to lose that weight. My mentality was that it is normal to gain weight, until I passed the 35 lb marker when I realized I was still going and began to panic. I never had to worry about my weight before that, but it was like anything I ate just stuck to me, so be careful. I am being careful this time, only healthy stuff, no junk food or sweets, last time I was eating healthy, but I was also giving into cravings when I had one. Cravings are your enemy. Last time I gained about 10 lbs in my first trimester, this time I didn't gain any weight my first trimester. I know I sound really protective over my weight, but that is good to be mindful of it, as long as you are not dieting while pregnant, and only sticking to the good healthy stuff to stay fit, then you will be good to go. I just don't want to go through what I went through last time, coming out of the hospital with my beautiful brand new baby boy and realizing that I am stuck with a belly that looks like I am in my second trimester, and i got that too, people would say, how far along are you, and i would say, I'M NOT PREGNANT! As soon as I finished breast feeding I was on a full scale diet and was able to get pretty much where I was from before pregnancy, took a long time though, and the dieting and exercising was draining when you are already a new mom. Good luck to all of you moms to be, I wish the best for you and your babies. :)

10/18/07 (13 weeks)
I have been feeling jiggles and wriggles in my tummy, I think the baby is making him/herself known. :) I have been waiting for this. It is awesome until about the end of the 9th month, because that is when the are so strong and if they are facing the right way, they give you the rib kicks which can be pretty ouchy. Time seems to be slowing down for me, it was going by lightning fast earlier, but now it is creeping by. I am having trouble with my work. My company itself will allow anyone to take 12 weeks off for maternity unpaid by them, and after that duration, you have to come back or they won't expect you back. They let you use all of your accrued vacation (5 days), sick days (6 days), and personal day (1), which pays you for a full day and would account for 12 days or 2-5 weeks if split up right. Then, if you have short term disability you can get 6 weeks for maternity paid by the insurance company at 60% of your regular pay rate. But... I have insurance through my husband's insurance, and enrollment is at the end of October, but I spoke with Human Resources and they said that for short term disability you have to enroll in that within the first 60 days of you being hired ( I have worked there for 2 years now), or you can apply at any other time, but as an applicant that can be accepted, or denied. Which means that now, I have the risk of not being covered by that 6 week leave, and that worries me greatly. Human Resources told me to call our helper people, who then told me I can't enroll until enrollment day, which was a load of bologna, and then said that I could enroll if I call the short term disability provider directly, they gave me the #, and I called them, and asked to enroll, they asked when I needed my time off??? I was confused that they would ask that, then when we realized we were on 2 different pages, they said I need to enroll through my employer. I called HR back and they said that our helpers are going to be fired because they don't know what they are doing, she called on conference with me, and we straightened it out, and the papers are being mailed to me now. I really, really, really hope that I can get that 6 weeks, I already don't think it is enough time to be with the baby, with my son, I stayed with him for 6 months, this is ridiculous with potentially not even getting that time off. But insurance has a way of always screwing me over. When I was pregnant with my son, I didn't have insurance but it was open enrollment for my husband's work, so we filled out the papers and sent it to them. I called to see that they got it, they said they did not receive it. By then it was too late and we missed open enrollment, but if I would have gotten a return receipt requested from the post office, that would have never happened, because we would have made it in time. I was so mad and scared because we couldn't afford the medical costs it would be for the appts and delivery. I spoke with the insurance people and after finding out that there was no way of tracking my paper work, they didn't have it, so they say, they told me another way for me to enroll is for a change in status. We were not married yet and were engaged for over a year. They said that if we were to get married, then I would be allowed to get on the insurance, so within a week, we married in a courthouse wedding. We both already wanted to get married and figured if this is what we have to do to get this to work then ok. I keep telling myself that we will redo the wedding when we have enough money to do it right, we couldn't invite all of the people we wanted to for the courthouse wedding, not enough time. Johnny says we should redo it for our 10 year anniversary, we have been together for over 5 years now. That sounds good to me, that will give us time to save up for it. But yeah, moral of the story, insurance companies are evil.

10/22/07 14 weeks
14 weeks pregnant now!!! By all standards that is officially and without a doubt the 2nd trimester. I am very happy to be here, less stressful than the first trimester since now there are less risks, the 2nd trimester should be smooth sailing. I have felt little jiggles in my belly that I know is my little one wiggling around. I have to be careful with salty foods, I get puffy when I eat them, which is not fun. No weight gain yet, I am still happy about that, maybe I will be normal this time through, I don't need another 80 lb pregnancy. I went to a halloween party this last saturday, first time I was out with friends in a long time. It was a bon fire, but I missed out on jello shots which I haven't had in about 4 or 5 years, that was a sad thing, I used to love jello shots. I dressed up like that Scream person, there was also someone dressed like an escaped convict, and someone dressed as a monk, somone as a mardi gras person, a guy dressed in a robe with huge breasts and a bad wig with a shower cap on top, a couple that had matching electrical socket costumes, the girl was the electrical socket and the guy was a plug, I have seen that costume online before, but never thought I'd see the day someone would wear it. Someone was a midevial woman dressed in renassainse wear, and some others that I can't remember right now. The bon fire was a lot of fun, although it was a bit chilly out that night, but the fire kept everyone quite toasty as long as we stayed near it. The monk was the dare devil jumping over the fire and I guess the life of the party, although I think he is a self centered errogant jerk, the first time I met him was the first time I was able to go out with my friend Leanne since I had my son anthony, we were going to a western dance/bar place and it just so happened to be his birthday and her fiance was also going, so it was about 5 people going, he wanted the night to be all about him, and was flirting with me and the other girl who was there, I had made it clear that I was married, and the asshole was still trying. When we got there, he wanted me to ride teh mechanical bull that was there, since it is HIS birthday, i told him not if hell froze over, and he was practically begging me, I told him he should go on it if he is so interested in the bull. He had asked me to dance, so I avoided the dance floor whenever he was out there. He pretty much ruined my night that night, which it is a rare time I could actually hang out with a friend. I did have fun at the bon fire halloween party, that was nice. My son changed his mind, he doesn't want to be curious george anymore, now he wants to be a fire fighter, which he decided on before I went to the halloween party, but I just wanted to bring that up. We have his costume and everything. That's it for now.

10/26/07 14 weeks
UUUUGH, I finally went to Diagnostics to get the routine blood work done that they gave me the papers for at week 9, 5 weeks ago, whoops. So the doctor's office calls me and tells me they made a mistake, that someone accidentally checked off the wrong box for the blood to be tested for, and that I have to go back a SECOND TIME to get MORE blood taken from me! So apparently they accidentally checked the box for hepatitis screening, lol, that came back normal, not like I was even thinking about that, but good to know I guess. Now I have to go back to the vampires, and I hope I get the same person though, because she only had to stick me once, usually for blood tests they can't find my veins and end up sticking me three times and then use a butterfly needle. And if I tell them that they should just use the butterfly needle like usual, they get all egotistical like, I can do it, and then end up missing! But this girl I had, I warned her ahead of time, and she only had to do it once, I was like, can you do this for me every time I am here :)

I actually had really good luck yesterday!!!!!!!!! My husband's Aunt called me, she works for her friend who is a dr. at a massage school/office, and only works to help out, she doesn't really need the job. She called me and said aren't you glad you have friends in high places. How would you like a 2 hour free massage? I said I would be in heaven! She said that he is giving a class on pregnancy massages and needs someone to show the techniques on who is pregnant. She said the class will run 2 hours and 15 minutes and wanted me to go in not this Saturday but next Saturday for that class. I was sooo happy!!! For my last pregnancy I was dying to go to a spa but we couldn't afford it, I'll take this! Woo hoo!!!

10/29/07 Week 15

ok. I just had the scariest thing happen to me this morning. I woke up, took a shower, it was cold in the bathroom so I took a hotter than normal shower. I got out of the shower and started getting dressed, and suddenly I felt nauseous, I felt very sick to my stomach, then I felt dizzy, and weak, I had to sit down on the edge of the bed to stop from falling, then I drank some water, and then noticed I had cold sweats, and it was hard for me to breath, I had to force myself to breath to keep air going to the baby and me. I felt so dizzy and light headed, I woke up my husband, and told him that something was wrong. I was able to explain everything that was happening, he told me to lie down and try to relax. I lied down and was trying to not think about it. about 5-10 minutes later the dizziness was subsiding, and everything else slowly faded. SCAREY!!! I went to go see my mom because she has diabetes and the first thing I thought was that I had gestational diabetes, so I asked her to test my blood sugar, she did and it was 99 which is normal. I looked up possible things it could be from www.webmd.com from the symptoms, and it came up with heat exhaustion, low blood pressure, panic attack and generalized anxiety disorder. There were a lot of other things, but those seemed to fit the most. I hope that doesn't happen again! I am wondering if it was the hot shower? Has anyone else experienced this?

I called my OB GYN and the nurse said that it may have been from the hot shower, or it could be my blood pressure. They told me not to take such hot showers. Now I have to find a way to heat a friggidly cold bathroom, the rest of the house is fine, but the bathroom is freezing! I can' t compensate with the hot water, not safe. I wonder if it was partially blood pressure? I wish I thought of that then, I would have checked it. Oh well. I am glad that is over with, hope I don't go through that again.

10/30/07 15 weeks
My son changed his mind, he doesn't want to be curious george anymore, he wants to be a firefighter, so we have the costume, my husband is going to be the scream person, and I am going as a witch. This should be fun. I love halloween :)

I snapped at my husband yesterday. I wasn't too proud of myself for that. Last night we were at his mom's house with Anthony, it was way past Anthony's bedtime and I was exhausted, it was 10:30 but when Anthony is playing with someone, he forgets that he is tired, and gets overly tired, but normally he will go right to sleep around 8:30 - 10:00. Johnny's mom has a 4 year old son, Anthony is 3 years old, and they get along great. I wanted to go though, and I was trying to tell Johnny that I was tired, and he was brushing it off. I snapped at him which is not something I really do normally. I yelled that I am pregnant and I need sleep basically. We left shortly after that, but I kind of felt like a jerk. I just need to get sleep, if I don't get sleep, I don't function very well during the day, I can't nap, there is no time to, but I didn't need to snap at him, but he wasn't hearing me, I have been an emotional trainwreck lately. I just want to lock myself in a cave for 6 months until I am back to being me.

10/31/07 15 weeks
I am tired of waiting, I want to know what the sex it. I contacted one of those 3d-4d places, and they said that they don't start seeing people until, they prefer 23 weeks, but they will take people at 20 weeks, but not before, because they can't guarantee the gender if that is what we want to know. It was 165.00 for a dvd to take home, 6 black and white u/s pics and 6 color u/s pics, a frame or something, and the place is supposed to be very cozy, and you can invite everyone close to you friends and family, and they show the live feed on giant plasma screen tvs so everyone can see what is happening. They will also really try to find the gender for you if that is what you want, but if you don't want to know, they won't tell you. I wish I could find out now. I am dying to know. They also said that at 23 weeks there are more fat deposits under the babies skin to make the baby look more like what he/she will look like when they are born, so it is more of an amazing experience to see the baby face to face before the baby is born as they will look when they are born.

New List of regular symptoms:
Thirsty frequently, light cramps in stomach off and on, tired easily, winded easily, emotional wreck.

Johnny and I first met in Kindergarten, we were in the same classes, we were in the same school up until about 3rd grade when Johnny's family moved away. He moved back later on, in 5th grade, but then they moved again, his Dad works construction, so they moved a lot, also his dad was in the military. His mom tried to homeschool Johnny, but she wasn't as ready as she thought she was and by the time they moved back here again and they re-enrolled him into school he was 2 years behind me in 9th grade. As fate would have it, we had the same friends, I didn't know he was back in my school but when I would hang out with my friends, I saw him, and recognized him from when he was a kid, I went over and asked inquisitively if his name was Johnathan, he said yes, and he said I looked familiar, took him a little while, but he remembered me. We began reminiscing about elementary school experiences and it was great. We had a lot in common and became great friends. Later on a friend of ours and the two of us were going to go play pool, but my friend cancelled, and it was just the two of us. Usually there were more people around us than just us alone so this was different, it almost felt like a date, and we had a great time. He later asked me out and I said no, because I had just gotten out of a really bad relationship and didn't want to rebound on him because I really did like him. Our friends kept saying what a great couple we would make, and pushing for us to get together, but I waited. Finally I thought we were ready, but then it still felt too soon, so I asked if we could wait a bit longer. He was completely understanding. About a month later, we did finally start dating, but something happened a few months later, a conflict between me and a chauvinistic pig, that really erked me, and it was a terrible situation, but Johnny didn't stick up for me, this was one of those teen dramas I think that you wouldn't have to deal with in adult life, but it really bothered me that he didn't stick up for me. We broke up a few days later. I started dating someone else, but realized that I thought of that person more as a friend than as a boyfriend, and Johnny and I were on a talking basis again at that point, but then I found out that his family was moving to North Carolina, and that I wouldn't see him again. That made me think everything over and realized how trivial our fight and breakup really was, I still had feelings for him and I was about to let the best guy for me slip away. He moved. I broke up with my current boyfriend, grabbed one of my best friends and said we are going for a long drive. I had a 1985 cheetah colored pontiac grand am at the time, it was my first car, and we drove it over 500 miles that night to find a place that we didn't even know we could find. But we found it. We were there by morning. I was let in the house by his dad, and I went to their freezer, got some ice, and walked into Johnny's room, put the ice on his neck and he woke up in seconds with the most surprised look on his face from the ice, and seeing me. HEHE. I asked him if we could talk, so we went for a drive, around the area, and talked for what had to be over an hour. Finally I got to the point, and asked him if he still had feelings for me. He said I never stopped having feelings for you. I asked if he wanted to get back together, he said there isn't anything I would want more. We gave each other a big hug. I was so happy. I really thought I lost him. We were 17 at the time. I wanted to move in with him, but my mom wouldn't have it. So his Dad let him move in with me. This happened after about a month of me driving down there to visit him and him driving up to see me. It has been a blast and I love him more every day.

11/2/07 15 weeks prego
I apologized to johnny for snapping at him the one night, and he said hey, after the first time around I have learned how to realize what is a mood swing. He is the coolest, passive and understanding, which is good for my crazy spells. LOL

11/5/07 16 weeks
My next doctor's appt is on 11/12/07, but Johnny won't be able to make it, so I won't be able to take Anthony to it either, it is for heartbeat only. He works for Raymour and Flanigan and they get really busy this time of year because of Christmas. He usually works Tuesday through Saturday and has Sunday and Monday off, but he has to work the first 3 Mondays of November, and so do all of the other employees. He drives a truck and delivers furniture. He likes his job, so I am happy with whatever he wants to do. I am a little disappointed that he won't make it to this appt, the first one he will miss, but at least it isn't the big u/s!

11/6/07 16 weeks
I am so stressed out right now. I depend a lot on my family for babysitting, but sometimes my mom does things that I don't agree with, and I just wish that I could stay home with him and watch him myself, but I can't afford not to work. Now my husband is telling me that he wants to go to college, which is great, but how is this all going to work! Especially with the little addition to our famliy due in April! I think it would be easier if we could get rid of one of our cars, we have 3, my mitsubishi mirage 2000, his mazda miata 1999, and a Nissan Sentra 1990. The Mazda we are still making payments on of 323.00 a month, if we could get rid of that, than we would have a lot more money freed up, but I don't want to ask him to get rid of it, but it is a 2 seater, and now we have a 2nd child coming, so it is no longer useful, it was ok with just him and Anthony in the car, the air bag turns off on the passenger seat, but now with a 3rd one, that doesn't work anymore. I am going nutz over here trying to figure out how this is all going to work! I am considering dropping our life insurance policies right now because they are 75.00 a month and we are both 23, we can wait until we are more financially set before putting that out each month.

...

Update... my husband just called me and said that he was fired. He has a bad habit of going into work late. He is there everyday, and is a great worker, the boss didn't want to let him go. But from the higher ups, they said he had to go to set an example. Well that solves my Anthony dilema. If he gets unemployment, he deserves to spend some time with Anthony, I had 6 months with him when he was a baby. I would be very happy if he could have some time with him. This kind of sucks, he did like that job, he was there for two and a half years. The good thing is I can spend more time with him, and when he does get a new job, he may make more money than this job, and it might not be such a back breaking job. We shall see.

possible names so far...

Felicity Elizabeth

Joseph Martin

I am still thinking though, still not 100% on those.

11/8/07 16 weeks
ugh, my job is driving me up the wall. THey are changing the client I work with from mellow nice people, to super pampered prissy people, who want 50 times more information than the rest, so I have to ask tax collectors for information they don't normally give, and they get all upody with me. Like even though taxes were paid on a property, they still want the due dates for discount, face, and penalty, which is not needed since it is paid, so I call this tax collector by the name of dixie, she has no straight answers for the due dates, like she has to figure it out herself, gave me varying answers, so I had to confirm with her what her final answers were, and then she has the nerve to say 'Becky, how long have you had your job?', what a jerk!!!!! I am so stressed right now by that woman!

11/12/07 17 weeks
So I had my doctor's appointment today, we went over my test results, everything came back normal, they said they need more blood for the AFP, hCG, uE3, and inhibin A tests, which the blood work needs to be done between 11/6 - 11/26. We heard the babies heart beat, it is at around 150 beats per minute and sounded wonderful. The doctor was nice and set my next appt for 12/5 for the u/s which is 3 weeks instead of 4 weeks like he was going to set it for. YAY! I am very excited to find out what I am having! Chinese Gender calendar says a boy, everyone thinks I am having a girl. I am really not sure, we will see. I can't wait to find out!

11/19/07 18 weeks
Here we are, week 18. My husband lost his job, and we just found out that his insurance will drop at the end of November, we can keep it going if we pay over 700 dollars a month, so instead, I am going to call my obgyn today and see if we can change my ultrasound date from 12/5 to either the end of November or the beginning of January. My insurance from my work kicks in on January 1st. I will let you guys know which one it will be when I find out.

It snowed for the first time this season on Friday!!! It was such a shock, then it snowed almost all weekend! I was amazed, it doesn't normally start this early where I live, I don't think. I bet my son is playing in it right now :)

11/20/07 18 weeks
I decided not to get the blood work done for those tests I mentioned above, not because I am not curious, but because we have oh, about 400.00 left for me in my husband's insurance plan, and I called the doctor, they should reimburse us for the mistake on the wrong blood test being done. That should leave enough for the next doctor's appointment and the Ultrasound that will be on November 30th. Johnny's insurance drops at the end of November, so we will just make the cut with our u/s and appt. Then if we wanted to continue his insurance, which we don't, it would have cost over 700.00 a month. My insurance kicks in January 1st, so that will be just in time for the next appointment since I will push it forward if they try to make it in December. Canada is sounding better and better! 52 weeks maternity leave, insurance for everyone no matter what, no wars, sounds lovely :)

11/26/07 19 weeks
4 more days to go! Then we might find out what I am having! We put up our Christmas tree, and a decoration outside that I bought for an amazing price after Christmas last year. Anthony will be so into Christmas this year, I can already tell, last year he was to an extent, but the year before that, he could care less, since he was so little. Money will be tight this Christmas, but I want to focus mainly on my boys this year, since things are so tight, I will buy a bunch of cards too, I usually give out small gifts to those who are close to us, but with the new one coming, and Johnny hasn't received his first unemployment check yet, things are a little stressful right now. I really want this to be a great Christmas for Anthony! He is already so excited. So far I have gained 3 lbs and my hubby was nice enough to get all of my maternity clothes out of storage, I had some, but it wasn't enough, I am slowly growing out of all of my regular clothes, I am just sooooo much more comfortable in maternity clothes than in regular clothes now! Thanksgiving was awesome! I love turkey dinner, and mashed potatoes, and dressing, and gravy, and cranberry sauce, and green bean casserole, I think I ate a bit too much though, lol! Oh well, the holidays don't count.haha

11/30/07 19 weeks and 4 days
Hey Everyone :) :) :) :) We found out what we are having!!!!!!!!!!! Our baby is a girl 100%! I have an ultrasound picture, but the scanners at my work don't work well with u/s pics as I learned from my first one, so I will post it on Monday if not on the weekend ;). She was moving all around, it was amazing! I liked this visit a lot more than my 20 week for Anthony, which the girl was reluctant at first to look, then said she couldn't see, then he flipped over; for this one, the lady asked me ahead of time if we wanted to know, and she was a pro! My son was so excited! I was a little worried that they were going to kick him out because she said they normally don't let kids under 4 in the room as they can be distracting, but she told him if he was quiet he could stay in the room, and he whispered whenever he talked the whole time he was there, he was good the whole time, I was very happy about that so Johnny and him could stay in the room. Everything is normal, 2 arms, 2 legs, brain, organs, they saw it all, Johnny said I was glowing and beaming in there when we saw the baby. Anthony was very very happy that he is having a baby sister. This is a wonderful day!

Johnny said in the room w/ u/s machine going that we will now have one of each and can stop having kids now, I said oh well if you are ready, you can have a vasectomy, and he looked at me and said, well we can wait in that then. LOL I wouldn't mind having more, but we will see, if he throws in the towel, I will be content with 2 :)

12/11/07 21 weeks
I had a strange dream last night, part of it was at babies r us, I was looking at this stroller that I saw on the internet, that fits an infant and a bigger kid on the back, which I plan on looking at the next time I can go to babies r us, in my dream I loved it. Then I found out my friend who just delivered twins in real life, was 23 weeks pregnant in my dream, again, and having a boy in the hospital, the baby was a normal size though, she had 3 kids then, it was a strange dream. That is about all I can remember, it wasn't a bad dream, the baby was ok, but just early, which in reality being that early would be a scary thing, but in my dream it ended up being ok. For a real update on my friend's twins, they are still in the hospital, one of them is coming home very soon, but since she is a premie they have to take a cpr class and be taught how to use a machine that monitors her oxygen level so if she stops breathing they can tend to her immediately, if you didn't know, SIDS(sudden infant death syndrome) is very common in premies, but they have this machine that will detect it immediately and sometimes all the baby needs is to be held, because they forgot to keep breathing, other times it is more serious where they need CPR, but the machine is really a god send since it saves so many babies lives, not that all premies will experience this, but it is a good protection against SIDS. Brittany was transfered to another hospital, and will be going back to the original hospital soon, still being taken care of, she will be in there longer than Trinity. I hope they both come out soon and are with their mommy and daddy safe and sound.

Heartburn has been a bothersome thing, more frequent than I would like it to be, I haven't resorted to tums yet this time around, my husband's aunt brought over organic apple cider vinegar and said that her son recommended it as a heartburn reliever, I hope it works, because I can't stand heartburn! That was very sweet of her :).

I just watched Enchanted with Johnny's Aunt a few days ago, it was sooooooooo cute. She paid my way as a belated birthday present, which was very sweet of her, but I would recommend that movie giving it a 10 and 2 thumbs up!

12/12/07 21 weeks
Lots of movement outward and in now. My belly is getting huge, but the rest of me is staying the same, which is different from last time, where all of me was growing, hopefully it will continue the way it is going and only gain baby weight, I would be a happy camper if I didn't have to lose a ton again like last time!

12/13/07 21 weeks
I weighed myself this morning, 6.8 lbs.

12/19/07 22 weeks pregnant
I spoke with my son about the baby names I picked out, and he said he wants to call the baby Lizzy, which would be from Elizabeth, because i don't think Lizzy works as a nickname from Elise. I am adding that to my contemplation of what to name her.

12/20/07 22 weeks
Things to buy for a newborn:
Cradle/Bassinet/Crib and/or co-sleeper, Crib mattress, Crib sheets, basinet sheets, musical mobile for crib(not essential), dresser for baby clothes and toys, changing area, rocking chair or glider(nice to have), nightlight(not essential, but helps for middle of the night changings and feedings), cd player(lullaby music), light blankets, heavy blankets, sleep positioner (not essential, I really didn’t like it, but some mothers swear by it), Diapers, Wipes, Diaper Rash Ointment and/or cream(I love A&D for light diaper rash, but for heavy diaper rash, Desitin is good, but shouldn’t be used all the time), rubbing alcohol(to wipe around base of umbilical cord), cotton swabs(to apply rubbing alcohol), pad for baby to lie on during changings, for home and for while you are out and about, diaper pail(not essential, I tried a diaper genie and didn’t like it, we ended up keeping bags on hand and wrapped up the poopie diapers so we didn’t smell it in the house), lots of onsies(babies spit up a lot, so having a lot of onsies and clothes is very helpful since they go through so much clothes), Infant gowns( a life saver for boys and girls, make it easy to access the diaper for changing, long sleeve with mittens that fold down or up to protect the babies from scratching themselves, and the gown mittens can’t be pulled off like the ones that just go on their hands), sleepers/stretch sueits, booties or socks, receiving blankets(for wrapping the baby and for using as a burp cloth, again referring to the spit up), sweaters/hats, baby bath tub(very helpful, but I guess some people don’t use them), terry cloth bath towels(hooded towels are handy because they act as a towel and have the hood to keep their heads warm, where they lose the most body heat), wash cloths, tearless shampoo, baby soap, baby hair brush, nail clippers(safety ones), bulb syringe nasal aspirator(my son hated this thing, it sucks the boogies out of their nose so they can breath easy, very useful), bottles, nipples and covers, nipple brush and bottle brush, infant formula (optional), bibs, plastic bags for dirty diapers, pacifier(hospitals provide one, but you will probably want more, baby toy or rattle, sunscreen(for babies 6 months and older), Baby thermometer, infant Tylenol (wonderful for fevers, a must have), car seat(of course), breast pump(if breastfeeding), mylicon drops(this relieves gas, but I never used it on my son, his bottle was the type that had the baby swallow less air which helped him naturally), teething rings(teething can be very painful for infants, teething rings help a lot to help them chew the tooth through and sooth their gums, vibrating teething rings help even more!), small guaze squares(to clean any wounds), hydrogen peroxide(to clean any wounds), wound cream (bacitracin antibiotic or Johnson and Johnson first aid cream, don’t use Neosporin for babies under 6 months, neomycin is an ingredient that can cause sensitivity in infants), small bandages, baby monitor( I bought one buy only used it once, some get more use than others), swing(good for soothing), baby book(essential if you want to record your babies firsts), bouncy seat, high chair, baby sling or pouch, stroller(having one that allows the infant car seat to attach to is a life saver), baby lotion, baby oil, baby powder, BOPPY(or its competition, you will never know what you would have done without a nursing pillow, with how much you will be feeding the baby, it gives you the leverage you need to get to the baby without hurting your back with hours of slouching over), walker(6 months), pack and play(good for traveling), diaper bag(good for traveling, doesn’t have to be cutsie if you don’t want it to be, a back pack works just as well), shorts, pants, a mirror to put in the backseat so that while you are driving you can glance back at the baby easily, car seat base(I haven’t tried it yet, but plan on it this time, it buckles into your car and you just click the baby out of the car and into the stroller, also I hear it is a good idea to get a second car seat base for a second car), car seat head support(not all car seats come with the additional head support, but if not, then buy some, the baby can’t really support its own head very well so in a car, it can be dangerous for a baby to have the head bobbing around, the head support is a must), jumper(optional), Stationary entertainer(optional), safety gate(depends on your house), LOTS OF OUTFITS, nursery stuff storage area(place to put the wipes and accessories), diaper stacker(useful, but optional), crib mirror(babies are fascinated by seeing themselves in mirrors), crib toys,(like pull down musical toys that are attached to the side of the crib), nursing stool(I didn’t have one of these, can’t remember if it would have been helpful, I’m sure it would have been, to elevate your feet while nursing just to get a better posture), Bottle Sterilizer(optional), Bottle Warmer(optional), wipe warmer(optional), baby food at around 6 months old, baby spoons(the ones with the soft spoon covers are nice, even better are the ones that change color with heat), bowls, plates, bath toys, stroller rain cover (optional), safety devices(corner guards, tot locks, socket covers, ect...The age in which they begin to explore will be sooner than you think, better to prepare ahead of time than risk something happening later.
Everyone, if I forgot anything, let me know and please add to the list, again, these are not all necessities, just suggested things that are needed or helpful.

12/26/07 23 weeks
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and happy holidays! Johnny has been working his new job for a little while now, it is only part time, but it is helping us keep our heads above water. It is a delivery job, but it is nice that he is still around a lot more than with his other job, and the way his hours work, we both switch jobs with about an hour in between. Christmas was wonderful, but the 4 day weekend really went by too fast! Johnny's Dad is in town from out of state, so we have been visiting him over at Johnny's Aunt's house. Johnny's Dad is always very happy to get to see Anthony and loves spending time with him, he is really looking forward to having a granddaughter, because he had all boys and he will finally get his baby girl in a way. Johnny's Mom cried when she found out we were having a girl, because she has 4 boys, but Johnny's Dad has 3 boys, they are separated, but she is very happy that we are having a girl and she is having a granddaughter.

12/31/07 24 weeks
Wonderful news! I found out that my cousin Tommy's little girl is named Elisabeth, so the name is different! I can still use Elizabeth and not feel weird about it, not sure if I really will use Elizabeth, but we will see! I think I am sticking to either Elizabeth Rose, Elise Rose, or Ella Rose. I don't think I will make a final decision until we get to the hospital because if the baby doesn't look like one of the names than it will be out, I dunno. I like all 3 of them. :) Happy New Year!

1/4/08 24 weeks
I just got laid off today. My department was shut down because the work loads are slow coming. They offered me a separation agreement of 4 months of them paying cobra for my insurance and 2 weeks severence pay, the catch is that I can't sue them, not like I was thinking about it, so that works for me, then I can have guaranteed insurance for me and my family through the rest of my pregnancy and a month afterwards. I don't think I can take another surprise. On the positive, I can be on unemployment and then be on umemployment up until about 2 months after I have the baby, that will be more maternity leave than my work was willing to provide, and I can spend time with my son.

1/18/08 26 weeks
I met this mom a few days ago while taking my son to the dentist, she had 4 beautiful children of varying ages, and we were chatting, both wearing maternity clothes and she told me she is expecting triplets and is 4 months pregnant, WOW! She was going to stop at 4 kids, but now she will have 7, she was a real sweetheart and I have a new found appreciation for just having one and going on having 2, like when I watch Jon and Kate plus 8, you have to admire them for raising all of those kids, and it gives you no room to complain with just one or 2 of your own. I found out my son has baby bottle caries, he needs 2 fillings and he will need to get 2 teeth pulled, his 2 front teeth, I am devastated about this news. The dentist said that her daughter had to get her 2 front teeth pulled at 3 years old also and her teeth looked cute with the gap, also that the adult teeth came in perfect. I am scared for the procedure, they are going to give him "happy gas" and do the work that needs to be done. Just in case, I got a second opinion from another dentist to make sure that fillings weren't possible for the 2 front ones, but once again, being pulled would be my option. I feel really bad about this being caused by his bottle, and by us not catching it sooner, I tried to make a dentist appt for his first appt a year ago but they said it was too early, it shouldn't be too early if you have teeth! I tried talking to Johnny about this, about how bad I feel about the whole thing, but it makes him feel bad and he says we can't change the past and to only look towards what we can do to fix it. He is 3 1/2 right now, the dentist said that he would have lost them at around 4-6 and that it isn't that much of a difference.

2/9/08 29 weeks prego
My mom just bought me the Laura Ashley Graco Travel System Stroller, it is really cute, purple color to it, not too bright colored, a classic look to it. I am happy about the stroller and content with knowing that now that is out of the way of things to do. The stroller we originally were going to get was an Eddie Bauer stroller that they stopped selling in Babies R Us so we went with the other one we were looking at.

I finished the Harry Potter Series, wow, that was intense. :)

2/12/08 30 weeks pregnant
My baby shower is on this saturday! Being hosted by one of my best friends and also by my mom. They teamed up and are both sweethearts. I can't help but to keep peaking at my baby registry and I see that I have my basinett and travel system and co-sleeper. No surprise about the day it is happening, I already know. It is kinda cool but kind of sucks that it is Valentines Day weekend, cool because it is to celebrate my little sweetheart on the weekend of sweet valentines day, which is cute and from what I have seen my mom already come up with decoration wise, she is doing half valentines day theme half normal baby shower prep. The downside is that I already know that my husband's Aunt won't be able to attend because her husband was planning a surprise valentines weekend getaway that he had to tell her about because she was planning on going to the babyshower. We are really good friends his aunt and me so it is sad that she isn't going. But I can totally understand that this would be good for them, the weekend getaway and it was soooooo sweet of him to plan that without her helping in the least, which is oh so romantic! I hope they have an awesome weekend and wouldn't want them to miss out on that. Is anyone else having trouble keeping their eyes off their registry, hehe. My sister was my second support person for when my son was born, but this time, we are not on great terms right now. So I asked one of my best friends if she wanted the position, when she asked me to tell her when I was going into the hospital so she could come down and be there, I am pretty sure she was referring to the waiting room, but I decided to ask her if she wanted to be one of my support people and she was really happy I asked her. Now my mom is upset that I asked her, but when I asked her if she wanted to be a support person, she said that she didn't think she would be able to stay in the room for the entire time, she has a bad ankle and trouble with her back so she doesn't think she would make it through the whole duration of labor and delivery, but was defensive when I filled the spot with someone. I can't win. Now she wants to have my friend as the back up support person and her as the second in command, not sure if they do that, but I will have to find out from my ob-gyn at my next appointment I guess.

2/16/08 30 weeks pregnant
Baby shower was today. I got a ton of cute outfits and a lot of things from my registry. My friend Leanne was setting up a lot of it and my mom was also setting up a lot of it. I owe them both big time, and if Leanne ever a has a baby, I am so throwing her the shower. I got a cosleeper, the bassinet I wanted, the travel system I wanted, a bunch of cute outfits and all kinds of stuff. It was really nice.

3/22/0