9 week update

Yesterday was my 9 week appointment with my OB. Nothing too exciting, but I was really thrilled that they didn’t decide to move my due date back. Last week at my ultrasound the baby was measuring a bit small so they said it was possible…so glad that wasn’t decided. I can’t really explain it but I feel like I would have lost a week somehow. This damn nausea/constant puking is really getting to me right now and I’m struggling with it—so if they’d moved the date back I think subconsciously I would have felt like that added another week of this crapiness to my life!

The appointment was pretty quick…after being kept waiting a half an hour in the waiting room-hate. After going over medical history for a while I met the doctor I was seeing that day. The practice I go to has 4 locations and each location has several providers so you never know who will be there when you deliver. I really don’t care who delivers, but I like to try and meet all the drs anyway. This guy was funny and pretty sarcastic which always wins cool points by me. We talked about whether I wanted to go the c-section route or not again this time. He asked if I wanted to try a VBAC (vag birth after cesarean) and I said, No Thanks. We discussed that we only wanted two children and then we got down to business. This damn morning/noon/night sickness. I threw up mid-appointment. He said that I should have a bagel before even getting out of bed in the morning and told me that it would “change my life”. Wrong. I tried it today. No luck. I threw up my bagel before even leaving the house. I’m just about consistently throwing up 6-7 times a day and I’m soooo over it. I’m desperately trying to focus on the amazing end result but am really starting to get down on how crummy I feel. I got another prescription but I’m just dreading filling it…I’ll try to not be too gross here so I’ll just say that it’s not an oral medication. There I said it. Gross. Sorry.

I asked about getting my H1N1 shot there and was told that the practice policy is to wait until mom is in her 2nd trimester since supply is so limited. He wants me to come back in three weeks to check on my nausea issues so I’ll be able to get it then. I feel like this pregnancy is going slower than it did with Connor. Who knows though!

I had a normal “lady exam” during the appointment, peed in a cup and had a bunch of blood drawn. There are a bunch of tests that you can have run on the baby during this stage of pregnancy. I think they call them screening tests-cystic fybrosis, down syndrome, and some other chromosomal abnormalities. We didn’t do the screening with Connor and we’re not doing it this time either. I’m not of advanced maternal age and neither of us have any contributing risk factors. Anyone reading this…did you do these screening panels? Why or why not?

Connor is being really sweet about the baby. He likes to say “my baby” and “goodnight baby”. He often forgets that he has to be a bit more careful with mommy right now though and will slam into me. We’re still working on that. In the meanwhile, we’re looking for toddler beds which annoys me. I want him to stay in his crib for as long as possible, but I really want to start transitioning him from crib to bed in January or so. I don’t want him feeling like the baby is stealing his bed, so I want him in and comfy long before BB2 arrives. Anyone have any pointers?? Help.

That’s really it for the updates right now. Please keep your fingers crossed that the puking stops and I can get into the fun part of pregnancy where I’m happy and enjoying myself. :)

Friday's Dose of Brilliance

WTF do you have kids - warning. lots of inappropriateness on today's site...but...that's what makes it funny. Thanks to my friend Lisa for the great recommendation of this site! It's pretty self-explanitory...funny/disturbing pics of people who probably shouldn't have procreated.

First Ultrasound

I think that anyone who has ever had a pregnancy-related ultrasound will agree with me that one of the most annoying things is the rule about filling your bladder before getting an ultrasound. Ugh. Kills me. I drink a lot of water anyway, but more when I'm pregnant because these darn prenatals are loaded with iron that causes unmentionable side effects. So, back to the topic. There are detailed prep instructions before an ultrasound. For this one I had to drink 32oz of water to be completed an hour before my appointment. So, my appointment was at 4 and so that meant I had to drink a buttload of water right before 3pm. The reason I had to do it so fast is because I am pregnant, which means that as soon as I drink something, I have to pee. Well, that's what I had to avoid because the goal is to have your belly full of water for the ultrasound. I've heard different reasons of why this is necessery--to check your cervix, to get the bladder out of the way to see the uterus better, to torture naive pregnant women. Take your pick. Regardless, it's so painful I was near tears as I waited with Jeffrey for our appointment.

At 4:15 Jeffrey asked the front desk how much longer and she apologized and went to check with the US tech. She came back and said it was going to be a few more minutes and that maybe I could just release "a little" to relieve the pain. She was very nice but really? really? Do other people have this skill where they can just pee a little bit? i don't. I'm an all or nothing kinda pregnant gal I suppose. I stayed put and was called back shortly. The US Tech then asked how far along I was. She apologized and said that because I'm 8 weeks along, I didn't really need to do the water thing and I could go to the bathroom. I fled to the restroom. BTW-I tried to release "a little" and it didn't work. When I came back the tech was looking really sheepish and she told me that she checked with someone and I was supposed to drink all that water as some new policy. She said she'd do an internal ultrasound instead, which would get better shots of the baby at this teeny tiny stage anyway. What a mess.

The ultrasound went great. As soon as we saw the baby, I could see the heart beating which is an amazing thing to see! I was afraid that it wouldn't feel like such a big deal the second time around, but it totally was. it made me wonder if that wacko family the Duggars with 19 or whatever kids gets excited everytime they see the baby for the first time. Then I remembered they get excited over everything and I had my answer. We heard the heartbeat and that's just such a relief. I can't really explain it, but I was really worried this time around that something would be wrong. When I was pregnant with Connor I didn't worry about anything, or not hearing the heartbeat. I guess maybe it's because I was kinda the first in our group to have a baby (besides Car) and so I hadn't heard any sad stories of loss. By now, I have and it seems that everyone has a sad story or knows someone who went through hell and back. Well, those start to weigh on you and scare the bejesus out of you.

But back to the ultrasound. Everything looked great. The heartbeat was strong at 143 bpm and I remember Connor's was 161 which is crazy fast. The old wives tale is that faster heartbeats are typically girls--that didn't really hold true for us the first time around so i don't really subscribe to that. If we believe that theory this time around, Baby Barnes 2 (BB2) is def a boy. We shall see. Speaking of gender, our friend Stephanie Calabretti is a big believer in the Chinese Gender predictor. I'm not. So, she looked online until she found the one that worked for her (strike one--having to find the one that works) and according to that we're having a boy. Who knows.

BB2 was measuring kinda small so they thought that my due date may be moved back a bit to June 6th or 7th. But then she asked how big Connor was and said that maybe the due date is right anyway. I do remember that while I was in surgery the doctor told me that I had a "petite uterus" (creepy) and that i'd have small babies. What a creeper, but could def explain the small baby in my belly. At this point, the baby is about 5/8" and has no discernable boy or girl parts :) There's still a bit of a tail and looksmore like a tadpole than a baby. The pics we saw on the screen were pretty great, but the ones we left with are lacking. Here they are anyway.

Everything you are seeing is my uterus. The dark part is the gestational sac and the white blurry stuff in there is the baby.

They did find two cysts on my ovaries, but nothing to be concerned with. One of them is a corpus leuteum (surely spelling that wrong) and that's a good cyst to have during the pregnancy. The other is so tiny that it will surely reabsorb itself before my next ultrasound. I had the same thing when I was pregnant with Connor. I'm still pretty pukey, but now that we've seen the baby it's a bit easier to handle. I found out that the meds they gave me to help with the nausea and throwing up are what is prescribed to patients going through chemo so clearly there's nothing stronger they can give me. Oh well, it can't last forever...right?

That's all the bb2 updates for now. Stay tuned for more!

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

It's been a bit of a whirlwind week or so. Shortly after finding out baby barnes #2 was en-route, my dad went in for a pretty serious surgery to repair an aortic aneurysm. They found it several years ago and have just been watching it since. For the longest time it was small enough that the risk of surgery outweighed the risk of the aneurysm itself. A few months ago they decided that it had grown to a point where the aneurysm risk was great enough to warrant doing the surgery. After several tests and scans they determined that they should be able to do it the "easy way" and go in arthroscopically. Fortunately they were able to avoid open chest or open abdominal surgery which would be way riskier and would obviously increase the healing time ten-fold.

The surgery went perfect. The doctors said that it couldn't have gone any better. He had the surgery on Wednesday morning at 11 and it lasted about 2.5 hours. After a brief stay in recovery he went to the Cardio ICU where he remained until the next morning when he was released to go home. I cannot believe how fast he got out but I am so glad.

In all my worry about the surgery going well, it oddly didn't even occur to me that once it was over we wouldn't have to worry about a sudden rupture of the aneurysm. That had been our fear for years and it wasn't a concern anymore. What a relief!

So that's what has been going on over the past week. Glad it went well. Glad it's over. Here are a few pics from the week.

patiently waiting his turn in the pool at swim lessons

loving on his new Mickey Jack-o-Lantern from Corliss (aka Tashi) and Papa

monkey and his banana while visiting Papa

zoey. napping on my Marc Jacobs. never again.

Crockpot Tuesday

Today's recipe is a side item. I love carbs. and potatoes.

Baked Potatoes

potatoes

salt and pepper

butter

poke potatoes a few times with a fork to vent. rub some butter on skin of potato and sprinkle with salt and pepper--or whatever you'd like. wrap the potato up in aluminum foil and drop into crock pot. Cook on high for 3 hours.

Careful! These will be super hot--as will the tin foil. Perhaps this goes without saying. Well, i burnt my finger so maybe it has to be said. We did about 5 potatoes at one time and they turned out really well. I slathered mine with some garlic butter, cheese and some turkey chili. We served them with a salad and had a great, simple meal.

Added bonus--Zero cleanup in the crockpot!!

Random Thought

When I was pregnant with Connor I never did that thing. That thing where you take a photo of yourself at like zero weeks and then take photos once a month or something to show how you are growing into a fatty fatty pregnant person. I want to do that this time around but I have a serious question...is it ok to pull on a pair of spanx before my starting off picture? hmmm.

Letter to Dwell Studios

Dear Dwell Studios,

I love so much of your stuff. Why must you insist on charging $350 for a crib set? Why? My husband doesn't even want to paint the walls in the room--even if we have a girl. You expect me to convince him that I need another crazy expensive crib set!!? No way jose.

Thanks,

Notlovingtheideaofbuyingallnewstuff

Friday's Dose of Brilliance

No First Date - My friend Ashley forwarded this to me thinking it would be great for a Friday's Dose of Brilliance post. I must agree. I think I find it even funnier after working at the dating service for nearly 7 long, long years. Enjoy!

Barnes Baby #2 Update

So, I called my OB office and had an appointment scheduled for the 27th for pregnancy confirmation, a quick (gag) exam and a reminder of all the dos and donts of pregnancy. Yesterday morning I threw up about 6 times before 9am so I called and asked if there was anything that could be done now. One of my friends Angela (hooty hoot chi omega) is an amazing doctor and she recommended a couple Rx to me that should help me out with the constant well, you know. My dr office said they could get me in that morning and do a quick appointment to confirm the pregnancy and get me a script. score!

So, it's really feeling real now since I'm having doctor appointments. Anyone who has been pregnant can tell you that you feel like you spend your entire life in appointments-peeing on this, taking blood for that, having yourself weighed-and then staring off into space so that you don't see the result! Anyway, yesterday I went in, had my exam, was reminded of things I should and shouldn't be doing, told to gain 25lbs (eek) and given my flu shot. I also walked out with a couple scripts for my "severe morning sickness" and was very happy about that. We talked about having another c-section and I asked about them tying my tubes while they are in there. I think that's the route we're going to take...they'll be there anyway, right? They scheduled an ultrasound for next week and I'm still keeping my appointment for the 27th. Let the overscheduling begin!!

As of today I am officially 7 weeks and 1 day along...that gives us a due date of June 1st. It seems so far away, but I know it will just fly by like with Connor.

I'm excited about chronicling this baby to be on this blog. When I was pregnant with Connor I didn't really delve into doctor appointments on his baby blog because I felt like it was "his" and not really mine. Crazy. This time, I'll over share. So, I apologize in advance for that!! I'll still do the annoying posting of ultrasound pictures where no one can make out the nose, hands, etc. but will pretend like they can. I'll still be posting plenty of other stuff as well. We aren't private about names so I'm sure that will be discussed at lenght.

Another random thing about this pregnancy--I'm really going to strive to wear heels during the entire thing. We'll see. With Connor, I switched to flats about two seconds after the positive test result and stayed kinda sloppy the entire time. My bad. Hopefully, my miracle drugs will help me feel human this time around and I'll feel up to brushing my hair-everyday :)

Is it horrible that there is a part of me that is bummed that if the drugs work, I won't be losing 15lbs my first Tri like I did with Connor? Yes, that's bad. But I'm not going to erase it. Full disclosure folks.

Speaking of names, our girl name has been picked out for years. Caitlyn Grace. Boys...not so much. It was horrible trying to come up with a name we liked the first time around, so this is next to impossible. I'm open to suggestions, assuming you are open to being shot down.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Nearly Wordless Wednesday is kinda lite today...I keep wanting to post pics from my Memphis trip but I do all my blogging during down-time at work and well...I just don't have a lot of down-time. It's a good thing, but it's really getting in the way of my blogging :)!!

Until I get it together to post pics of my trip, here are a few random ones from the past week or so.

his future's so bright...

this is what boys look like

the constant activity. seriously constant

i want to ride my bicycle...bicycle!

safety first...checking the tire pressure

Connor enjoying some of his favorite...mac & cheese!

Carly's Bachelorette Party invites-thanks again PD for coming over and helping me crank them out!! I am pretty impressed by us :)

self-portrait

Crockpot Tuesday

I completely spaced out on uploading the pics of this delish meal so I have none :( boo me. I'll do it when I get home and get them up here though.

I'm craving meat. All kinds...beef, pork, etc. We had some ribs in the freezer and I decided we'd try those out and see if they calmed the craving. Yums.

Sweet & Spicy Ribs

2 lbs ribs-ours were bone-in
1/2 cup coke-we used caffeine free diet coke because it's what we had
your favorite bbq sauce-we used devils spit from famous daves-it's no joke spicy!

Dump ribs in crockpot and season with salt and pepper. Spoon coke over top of seasoned ribs being careful not to splash the seasoning off. Cook for 6 hours. After 6 hours, pour liquid off and dump lots and lots of bbq sauce over ribs. Mix it around to be sure they are coated so they don't dry out. Heat for one more hour and you're done.

We served this with green beans and some mashed potatoes. The ribs were Amazing. So tender and delicious. I had them again for lunch the next day and they were really just as good as the night before. We'll def make this recipe again so let me know if you ever see ribs on sale!! :)

Here we go again!!

Well, we made it facebook official this morning, so I may as well blog about it, right? :)

Jeffrey and I found out yesterday that we are expecting our second baby!! Jeff is super thrilled, I'm sick again and still I couldn't be happier. Here's the quick story behind the news...

I've been feeling kinda crummy this week (hence the lack of blogging) and it got significantly worse yesterday morning. I got sick a couple of times and after being so incredibly ill with Connor, Jeffrey and I knew what it could mean. I stumbled into work and Jeffrey dropped off Connor at school. On his way to work, Jeff ran by the store, grabbed a box of pregnancy tests and dropped them by my office. I of course, drank a gallon of water and waited...and waited... When I took the test (in the glamorous bathroom here at my office) I was amazed, but not totally surprised at the same time. Here's a horrible cell phone shot :)

I decided that I wanted to tell Jeffrey the great news in person, and in a fun way, so I emailed him that the test was negative. Does that make me a horrible person? Possibly! I could tell he was bummed, so I felt pretty lousy...but I really wanted to be able to tell him in a fun, in-person way. I decided that it would be special to involve Connor and started my search for the perfect shirt for him to wear to announce the news. I found several great ones online but there is no way on earth that I'd be able to hold off telling Jeffrey until I received my order. I decided to have it made that day and tell Jeffrey the news that evening when he got home from work.

Connor and I picked up the shirt after work and it was so huge on him. I washed it really fast so that it would hopefully fit better--no such luck, but that's ok. He'll be able to wear it throughout my pregnancy probably!

Connor and I hung out at home waiting for Jeffrey, who unfortunately kept getting stuck at the office for one reason after another. Suddenly it was 7:30...Connor's bedtime and Jeff was still at work...with no idea when he'd be able to get out of there. I'm pissed at this point. I have this great surprise planned and all he has to do is show up!! :) I lay Connor down-in his shirt-and text Jeffrey that Connor is really upset that he's not there and that he needs to check in on him when he gets home to say goodnight. When Jeffrey arrived at 9ish we went into Connor's room and he's passed out completely-rolled into a little ball so that the shirt is completely hidden! typical! Jeff says Goodnight and gives him a kiss, then turning to leave. I said, wait look at him. I started trying to pull Connor's arm back so Jeff could see the shirt. Jeffrey looks at me like what the hell are you doing woman?!!? he's asleep lindsay!! I say, yes but I need to show you his new shirt. Jeff's eyes locked in on the shirt and he smiled huge. Then he looked up at me all crazy and said something about me lying earlier and we both cried a bit :) It was a great moment.

I wish it would have played out as planned so that I could get photos of his expression, but it was great the way it was. I think we'll do some family photos today with Connor in his shirt.

We figure that I'm about 6-7 weeks along so it's still pretty early. If that's correct, I'll be due at the end of May, early June. Since Jeffrey's 30th birthday is May 31st it may be fun to have a bday baby for him! I'm really looking forward to being able to schedule my delivery this time around rather than have to go through a full day of contractions!! Hooray for scheduled sections.

As for girl/boy...I can honestly say there is no preference. I wanted a girl when I was pregnant with Connor and now cannot imagine not having all boys. I think Connor would do great with a younger brother but he says he wants a sister...he also said he wants to name the baby Football. I can easily see us adding a girl to the mix just as easily as a second boy. We already have all the boy clothes we could need...but girl clothes are just so much more fun!

I've got my first prenatal appointment set up for the end of October, but there won't be too much exciting stuff going on at that time-just a confirmation pregnancy test, some blood work and other not-exciting stuff. I've got some prenatal vitamins at home that I'll start asap and try to be as healthy as possible!!

As for how I'm feeling it's oddly reminiscent of my pregnancy with Connor. I didn't want to tell my coworkers yet, but after two trips of running to the restroom to get sick I gave in! I've got some pretty angry heartburn and need to look into seeing what I can take for that. I'm pretty tired, but that's normal considering I spend hours a day chasing around a wild two year old!!

I promise to keep blogging during the pregnancy, so feel free to harass me if I don't! Please keep checking back to see what we're up to...and leave comments! They are so fun to look back on :)

Nearly Wordless...Thursday

Well, I took a lot of photos this weekend. since I posted lots yesterday already I decided to just post them today as well.

I love football. This is good because I married into a football-crazy family. We have a family fantasy football league that we all participate in--it gets pretty intense and competitive. I placed 2nd in 07 and last year I won. Yay me. Anyway, our entire family has been going to the Vine every Sunday for as long as I can remember-years. It's a very family-friendly place at 10am on a Sunday so the kids are all there too. Here are a few pics from this last weekend.

Connor and his look-alike cousin jacob

lovely

loves football

crazy jacob

kaden being sweet with connor while jacob crawls under the table.

now let's all get under the table. yes, please crawl on the filthy ground. super.

when the kids start to lose interest in the games that are on, we break out the dvd player