36 weeks 6 days (Day 29 of 30)

Had my 37 week check-up today. No weight gain since last visit, so I'm at 22 lbs. Blood pressure is good, I am measuring properly, no swelling/adema. I saw a different midwife who I really liked and she said my cervix is softening and she could feel where baby's head is.

Only issue...I have a different strain of Group B Strep this time than last time, and it requires me to take penicillin. Yeah, I am allergic to penicillin. Slight issue, but hopefully we'll come up with a good solution! She said that if I leave it untreated, the baby could spend 7 - 10 days in the hospital on antibiotics, which would not be good. I am really glad they didn't just try to convince me to have a c-section at that point. I am so determined to have a safe, healthy, vaginal birth. My midwife consulted with one of the doctors before speaking with me today. They asked what type of reaction I had to penicillin as a child, and I said a rash and diarrhea. If that is all, they should still be able to give it to me, and I'll just deal with the symptoms. Much rather feel a little under the weather and pull through than risk baby being ill. I'm supposed to call back tomorrow to discuss this further.

One month away! (Day 20 of 30)

Somehow I'm only one month away from our due date and my baby boy being born. I feel prepared, but I also don't feel impatient. It seems like it was just January 11th. I had an appointment with an oral surgeon to get my wisdom teeth pulled. Richard and I "chanced" things on Christmas, so I figured before discussing pain killers and tooth extraction, I should take a pregnancy test. Sure enough, came back positive! I put the test in a gift bag, and pretty much bounced around the house endlessly. Well, until Richard came home. I had Lydia give Richard the bag with the test. He looked somewhat shocked at first, but then get all mushy and was so happy! We told my parents, who were not as thrilled at first. My mom tends to be an overly cautious individual, so she was concerned that I wasn't ready to be pregnant again. I knew everything would be great!

Today we cleaned and organized our house pretty thoroughly. I tend to make little piles around the house of random stuff - bills, coupons, work-related papers, product samples, etc. Sometimes I put the little piles in boxes. Well, today I sorted "stuff" from 4 or 5 of these piles/boxes. Felt good to organize, purge, and find things to donate. Then we organized the garage some. The house will never be "perfect," but it definitely looks a lot better now!

With one month to go, I completed my hospital registration. It will go out in tomorrow's mail. We toured the hospital several weeks ago, and although a hospital birth is not ideal for me, I think the experience will be what we make of it.

Just one more month...

Tommee Tippee Web App Review ~ The Day Baby Was Born

When I reflect back on the day Lydia was born, I tend to have negative feelings regarding the doctors, nurses, and hospital in general. I do regret some of the decisions that were made for and by me, as I do not believe they were the best decisions that could have been made. However, if you play life by the end results, then the result was a healthy, beautiful baby girl and a mom who was pretty much back to herself within just 5 or 6 days. I just wish that I was more confident and the medical staff was more supportive.

As I've written before, I will be attempting a VBAC with this pregnancy (due date is just 33 days away - time flew by!) Regardless of what happens the day baby #2 is born, the experience on the whole has been so different. Baby #1 - Girl; Baby #2 - Boy. I gained about twice as much weight with Lydia as I have this time. I was a pescatarian with my first pregnancy, and now I eat meat. I have a midwife and not an OB/GYN this time. So many changes, all of which I think show just how much I have learned in the last two years.

In my desire to have a more natural labor and delivery, listening to my body and following what it says to do, I daydream of the amazing day when my son will be born. I also enjoy writing about how I hope things will be, so when I learned of this web app The Day Baby Was Born by Tommee Tippee, I was very excited! Here's what I did to register:

1. I logged in for free using my Facebook account.
2. I answered a few simple questions about myself (name, zip code, etc.)
3. Then it began to ask me questions about Baby #2. I specified my due date and the gender, and I was able to upload a photo from my ultrasound (luckily I have a few 3D images).
4. An account was created, and I am now able to create a free storybook about the birth of my son!

This was such a simple registration process and this web app allows me to put so much information all in one place, including:

• Online pregnancy announcement (with my friend's Facebook comments)
• A weekly pregnancy journal
• Online birth announcement
• News & Facts from the day baby is born
• Your personal story ~ I think this is the most important part of this website. Every birth is different, every family is different, and every baby is different. Sharing personal birth stories is a great way to reconnect with your own feelings and connect with other family members and friends.
• A letter to baby ~ Richard and I both wrote one for Lydia, and I still get misty-eyed re-reading them. I think it's a really awesome thing to do before baby is born! 
• Photos ~ I am such a photo-freak! Perfect feature for me!

I try to maintain an actual baby book for Lydia and I have started one for this baby, but sometimes it's hard to remember to add new photos, fill out information, etc. so I lose track of exact numbers like dates and measurements. Having access to an online account that allows me to input this information as soon as I acquire it will make things so much easier! After completing the book, you are able to download it to print and share it with friends on Facebook. This app was so user-friendly, as it really walks you through each step of your personalized The Day Baby Was Born book. I highly recommend it to pregnant women and new mommies (and daddies, of course!)

*I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Tommee Tippee blogging contest for a chance to get a gift pack worth $50. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Revisiting My 1st Pregnancy (Day 9 of 30)

I woke up this morning with that "Okay, I'm starting to have enough of this" thing. Today is 34 weeks. Just 6 left (hopefully). My grumpiness (sore back, cramping, overall unmotivated/lethargic feeling) reminded me of a blog post I wrote about being pregnant the first time around. I was probably right around 34 weeks that time, too. I've definitely handled things much better this pregnancy. For the most part, I've really embraced and enjoyed my experiences. I've learned so much about my body since the last pregnancy, and I think I have put all that knowledge to good use. So, if you want a good laugh from Carrie (July 17, 2009), here it is:

I've tried to remain very positive throughout my whole pregnancy, especially these last few weeks, but after just tripping over my comforter and falling to the ground in my own bedroom, it's time to bitch a little bit. I think if I just get these thoughts off my chest, I'll feel better. Let's try!

Some people say that pregnancy is the most beautiful thing they've ever experienced. Those people are either a.) lying or b.) masochists. Here are all the things they DON'T tell you before you get knocked up:

1. morning sickness - nothing morning about it. it's all day, everyday, for several months.
2. it doesn't matter if your boobs are real or fake - they become saggy messes either way.
3. back/rib pain - my back hurts most of every day, especially while i was working full-time. massages were great temporary fixes, but basically, it just hurts.
4. stretch marks - doesn't matter if you never had them before, you're going to get them now. the cocoa butter may help a drip, but not all that much. they just look bad.
5. lack of coordination - i just can't do the things that i want to do, like stand up and put pants on or shave my legs well. never thought about what a luxury those were.
6. (omitting this one)
7. acne - i haven't had this many zits and blackheads since high school. horrible. plus, it's not like you can really treat it. i have some all-natural stuff, but it doesn't help all that much.
8. farting - yeah, nothing you can do about that.
9. false peeing/accidentally peeing - sometimes i feel like i have to pee, then nothing comes out. on two occasions, i actually started to accidentally pee in my pants without even realizing that i had to go at all.
10. baby wiggling - this sometimes gets annoying now that she's so big and I feel it so frequently.
11. advice - every single person alive wants to give you pregnancy advice. most of it sucks.
12. maternity clothing - it's just not cute or well-made.
13. thicker/frizzier hair - my hair does not shed AT ALL, so even though it's cut/thinned, it is still so thick and unmanageable. i always groom my hair well, so this is very annoying.
14. being fat - i know this sounds silly, but i've always been slender to average. thighs rubbing together, more cellulite...im just not used to this, so it's uncomfortable.
15. restricted diet - sometimes i just want a bite of sushi or a tuna melt. maybe just a sip of Sam Adams or a mimosa?
16. answering the same questions over and over again...how many weeks along? the sex? the name? I've been pregnant for 10 years, its a hermaphrodite, and its name is Satan. (sorry, baby, mommy does really love you, i promise!!)
17. sleeping - i know this gets much worse, but i just can't sleep comfortably anymore. pretty much i've just given up on sleep already.

Okay, so now that I got all that out...here are some really nice things about pregnancy:
1. The excitement of each ultrasound. It is very exciting!
2. Finding out the sex - again, definitely exciting.
3. People letting you get away with things in stores. Like, they'll actually hold doors for you and let you go down an aisle before them.
4. The first few months of baby kicking and moving around. It's very cute, and sometimes cute towards the end, too.
5. Putting together a registry. I really enjoyed picking everything out.
6. Having a baby shower is better than almost any other event (except my wedding - that was just an amazing weekend!!)
7. Designing the nursery - Love it!
8. Gaining the support of those around you. Being pregnant definitely shows you who is really there for you and who is not so supportive. This is a good lesson to learn.
9. The oooo's and ahhhh's. The attention is nice at first.
10. Sharing something beautiful with your husband.
11. Pregnancy allows you to dream a lot more. I have so many fantasies about being a mom. Some may be realistic, some probably aren't, but the dreaming part is fun!!

I think that's about all I can think about. I do actually feel much better now. Maybe venting every so often is good - I just don't want to be a negative, pessimistic person anymore!! :-) :-) :-)

Pregnancy and Weight Gain (Day 2 of 30)

Day 2 of my 30 posts: Pregnancy and Weight Gain. Last pregnancy, I gained 47 pounds. For my not-so-in-shape body, that was too much! I had horrible back pains starting around 18 weeks. I had difficulty breathing during the 3rd trimester. I was eating a lot of unhealthy foods, like French fries, potato chips, etc. I was also a pescatarian, so I didn't eat any meat. I chose to eliminate some foods that I probably could've eaten in moderation, like canned tuna and other fish. Basically, in an attempt to do what I thought was right with my diet, I was making poor choices. In the end, I was healthy (with the exception of an Iron deficiency I took supplements for), and Lydia was a nice healthy weight, so it wasn't so bad...or was it? The one thing I sacrificed was my self-esteem. In some ways, permanently. I didn't feel healthy or happy weighing so much, but beyond that I had tons of stretch marks that I still have to this day. It was only after I hit 30+ lbs that they really started. They are on my sides and straight down the middle of my abdomen. Also across my upper thighs. They make me very self-conscious, but what I've learned more than anything else, is that they were avoidable!  It angers me to some extent now, but not much I can do about it now other than learn from my mistakes from my first pregnancy.

So what's different this pregnancy? Well, a million things, but in terms of my diet, I have made so many changes! I started eating meat last fall. In small portions at first, but now I will eat meat as an entree. I try to shop the perimeter of stores, avoiding almost all processed foods (with the exception of maybe one box of crackers, canned beans, brown rice, and some boxes of pasta). Everything else is fresh fruit, veggies, dairy, protein, and some bakery items. I get the staples, like the canned beans and pasta, at Publix and the proteins/dairy at Whole Foods usually. Around this time last pregnancy, I was at 30+ pounds. This time, I've gained 16 pounds living a much healthier lifestyle. The great thing is that I am also cooking better for my family, especially since I started doing a weekly meal planner each weekend. It saves us money, too, because I only buy what I need at the grocery store - much less waste.

17 week photos

I decided it was finally time to take some baby belly pictures. Lydia decided to join in, too! I'm really enjoying being pregnant right now. I started working full-time for the next two months and I'm teaching a University of Phoenix course - saving up while I can! The harder I work now, the more time I can take off later on. So, here's my belly: