3 Years Ago

3 years ago today I was laying in the spare bedroom watching Days of Our Lives wondering if I was really having contractions, peeing my pants or leaking amniotic fluid...at 3 pm November 10th, 2005 I would find out that I was indeed in labor and should go home, get my bag and head to the hospital...

A baby by Tuesday or Wednesday (hopefully)

Well the check up went well yesterday...I am dilated to 2cm! Successfully stripped membranes and I had mega contractions off and on all night. Not sure if they got me anywhere though. Dr said the process works for 1/3 of women with in 24-48 hours, 1/3 of women it does nothing and 1/3 of women it causes contractions that do nothing...so we'll see what the weekend brings.

If nothing happens, I go Monday morning at 9 am and he'll try again. See what that brings on and then Bear and I decided to go ahead with the induction Monday night. Around 7 we'll check into the hospital and they'll try cervidil. Let me rest through the night and then see if my body takes over or if they need to start pitocin. So we should have a baby Tuesday. If all of that doesn't work I have an appointment Wednesday morning and then I guess I'll be pregnant forever!

The only thing that scares me is that whenever the outside world gets involved your chances of a c-section are increased...

I'll keep you posted...

still pregnant

for those waiting to hear news...I am still pregnant. Waiting "im"patiently until the bebe and my body are ready.

I went to my appointment on Friday and something in my body was still too "closed" to successfully strip membranes so until that opens on it's own we'll have to wait.

I go Friday the 8th (my due date) in the afternoon so we'll see if anything has progressed.
I have an appointment scheduled for my 2nd due date on the 13th.

I bought a giant exercise ball-just like the one I used in labor with Parker-to sit on around the house, use for when I am working from home, etc...mostly to help my hip pain and to maybe progress a little more. It worked during labor really well. I think Parker is having more time with it then I am though.

In order to pass more time-we had a photo shoot~here are the latest

GET THIS BABY OUT OF ME!!!

Okay I am soooo ready to have this baby. Yesterday I wasn't because I didn't have any energy after barfing for 2 days! Now I feel like I could muster up the strength to deliver.

I go to the doctor tomorrow afternoon and have the check up to see if I am progressing and to have my "membranes stripped". I know gross but I am willing to try anything. We tried twice with Parker but since the placenta was still a little low it didn't work. Other people have had it done and gone into labor that day or the next...I know the baby will come when it and my body are ready but I am ready!

Parker finally seems to be on the mend today. He went to daycare...and I haven't gotten a phone call yet saying that he is throwing up. He hadn't held any food down since last Friday! No fever, no other symptoms, just throwing up. We basically stayed in the house for 5 days! Which was okay since it was -50 yesterday! I got the flu Sunday night and full fledge Monday! Wow, it does suck being this pregnant with the flu...I survived and hope it doesn't come back anytime soon.

Hopefully I am too busy to post tomorrow, but I'll let you know the progression (if there is any).

latest update

I went to my weekly check up yesterday. everything is normal and moving in the right direction! A little change has taken place so we'll wait and see what next week brings.

We are getting a little more anxious these days with the waiting. I am getting the question...are you still pregnant? a lot. Bear and I were worried about Parker's reaction when this baby really arrives in our house. We were visiting baby Brooks this week and Parker was just in awe of him. Then says "I hold it?". So we had him sit on the couch and put the Boppy around him and he cradled that little baby so sweetly. Kissed his head, touched his hair. It was so innocent. Then it was Jillian's turn to hold the baby and Parker freaked out. All out tantrum that he had him first! So we'll hope he shares his baby a little better, especially with mommy and daddy.

I did some online shopping this week, after I failed to find what I wanted at Target last weekend. My big splurges were:

• The hooter hider which is a totally cool and spendy little piece of fabric that you use when nursing in "public". I'll never forget the trip to Bemidji dress shopping for Davina's wedding when I had to nurse Parker in the bathroom at Applebee's!
• The body support for the baby's car seat. Just a little extra protection and padding to keep this baby warm-since it's -45 below zero half the time up here!
• I already had the bundle me from when Parker was born. It got us through the whole winter nice and warm.
• And last but not least-my mother in law has decided to purchase our double stroller from Phil and Ted's. This was totally on my wish list aka "I'll never buy something this expensive on my own" list. She decided since she bought Parker the crib, she needed to buy this baby something "big" meaning expensive. I tried telling her that the crib goes to this baby too and we needed nothing. But after hearing me talk about how I have no idea how I am going to walk/run this summer with 2 kids she decided to splurge. I can't wait to try it out! And for those of you who know me so well...you know the color I picked was bright orange!

36 weeks and 2-6 more to go

Well, I am officially 9 months pregnant. Barrett and I went to my appointment yesterday. Just a routine check up. Same old thing. Pee in a cup (what do they need all that for anyway??), took some vials of blood, measured my huge belly, listened to the heart rate (138-149) and asked if we had any questions. My iron level came back "fine" this time. Still not in the normal range, but I have never assumed I was normal in any way before...last time my iron level was 9.7, this time it was 11.4 and normal is 11.7-15. Measuring right on as far as the belly goes. Next week he'll check me to see if I am dilating any more or if my cervix has started thinning out. Apparently the last ultrasound showed 4 cm of cervix still-which is A LOT of cervix that needs to get out of the way.

Yesterday, since I had my doctors appointment I decided to take the whole day off from work and pamper myself (and run errands). I started off by slacking in my morning routine and taking Parker to daycare late. Went to the doctor, then Bear and I went out for breakfast-which felt really good to just go somewhere together. Just the two of us, have an adult conversation, and not have to cut up anybody else's food. Funny how breakfast can make you feel like you are on an actual date-which I admit, we have slacked in the "taking time for each other department". Then I had a facial and got my eyebrows waxed (that part is never fun but needs to be done). My pedicure has to wait until next week or the week after-I don't want to have my nails painted and then it all be washed off by the time labor rolls around. A girl has got to have skinny, shaped eyebrows and hot pink toenails when she is in labor. After my facial I ran all my errands, which involved wiping out on Main Street-meaning sliding into the splits and landing on all fours with my 9 month ass sticking up in the air! I am fine and I pray nobody saw me go down. I secretly have a very bad habit of laughing at people when they wipe out (once I know they are okay). Especially when they scramble to get up and look to see if there were any witnesses. I however, was far from scrambling, it was Bambi (pregnant Bambi) trying not to fall down again. Anyways, after running errands I had my hair highlighted and cut. Then off to the chiropractor. Which felt soooo good. He fixed my hips! Temporarily, I already know, but they do feel better. And how cool was it to lay face down on my belly for 20 minutes! Awesome little contraption that table was! Then 4:15 rolled around and back to reality. One of the errands was to pick up supplies for homemade spaghetti. Which means prego sauce doctored up with fresh mushrooms, Italian sausage and a Zantac. Accompanied by deli garlic bread and salad. Yum!

Cute thing that Parker did when I got home was say "mommy pretty" and rub my hair! How sweet is that? I asked Bear if he told him to say that. Which he then admitted that all he said was "mama's hot". Now how sweet is that? My wonderful hubby still thinks I am hot? After 10 years and 30 pounds?!

Here is the latest belly evolution picture and a few from my home photo shoots.

And a picture of Parker-because he is so cute. My little GQ man.

And a messy one, well because boys are messy. His nice white turtleneck is covered in chocolate milk and cheetos residue. The bleach pen is a wonderful invention!

Survey about your First born

Survey about your First Born~
1. Were you married at the time? yes.
2. What were your reactions? Excited, cautious, nervous, thankful, scared
3. How old were you? 24
4. How did you find out you were pregnant? Night time nauseous and breast tenderness, took tons of tests that all turned up negative until a week and a half later it finally gave me two lines!
5. Who did you tell first? Bear, who said…we’re having a baby? When? (November, I said)…but that’s deer season! We’re having a baby???
6. Did you want to find out the sex? Nope! Neither of us wanted to, it’s against the rules. You can’t return or exchange the baby anyways, it’s non-refundable! Do you people open your Christmas presents early and rewrap them too? Okay enough on that…
7. Did you deliver early or late? 2 days late-but was in labor on my due date
8. Did you have morning sickness? Yeah. Nausea at night-only threw up once-when brushing my teeth.
9. What did you crave? Ramon noodles-or just the really salty water in the beginning. Pomegranates, grapefruit and bananas (which I hate unless I am pregnant apparently)
10. Who irritated you the most? not as much who but how and what “they” said…are you having twins? You’re having a girl, it’s all in your butt! How much weight have you gained? Are you still pregnant? I got really crabby at the end.
11. What was your first child's sex? Boy
12. How many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy? 40 pounds
13. Did you have any complications during your pregnancy? Low lying placenta
14. Where did you give birth? Falls Memorial Hospital
15. How many hours were you in labor? 16.5 hours. I started having contractions at 1pm, November 10th at home during Days of Our Lives. I thought (and now know I was right) that I was leaking amniotic fluid on Monday the 7th, went to the clinic Tuesday-they tested and said yes and no. 2 tests came back with different results. They sent me home. Thursday I go to the clinic @ 3 pm for a non-stress test and count contractions, they check me again and the 2 tests came back both positive and I was dilated to 3 cm. Got to the hospital @ 5:30 pm, labored and dilated all night, hit 7 cm at 6 am, got a shot of morphine in my back (intrathecal) and got to 10 cm in an hour, pushed for 2.5 hours and Parker was born at 9:26 am Friday, November 11th, 2005
16. Who drove you to the hospital? Bear-drove the whole 9 blocks
17. Who watched? Bear and my mom each held a leg. Friend Lisa was my pushing/delivery nurse, Dr. Stone delivered and a few “training” nurses were in the background watching.
18. Was it natural or c-section? Natural
19. Did you take medicine to ease the pain? I had an intrathecal
20. How much did your child weigh? 7lbs 11oz
21. Did your child have any complications? Not really-wouldn’t eat/latch on for days/weeks! Checked him for tongue-tied but he wasn’t…eventually he ate.
22. What did you name him/her? Parker Anthony
23. How old is your first born today? 2 years 2 months

35 and 35

35 weeks preggers and 35 days to go....

look they are still there! barely but I can see them. I got a gift certificate for a pedi for Christmas from my awesome brother-in-law and am going to use it soon, since I cannot reach my feet to comfortably paint my own damn toenails. Pathetic!

I have heard that there are pressure points in our ankles that are connected to the uterus...when if massaged can help stimulate uterine contractions. I am going to ask my doctor about this at my next appointment (Jan 10th) and see what he says. I may tip my pedicurist extra if she massages my feet and sends me into labor!

These days I am feeling totally enormous. I have heard "you've dropped" multiple times a day for the last week. Or "you've really popped"! Well that's what 9 months of pregnancy does to you! My hips are in so much pain that I can hardly walk normal. If I sit too long and then attempt to get up and walk, I break into the full pregnant waddle. It takes a few minutes to walk out the kinks and to be able to successfully stand up straight! I tried cross country skiing one day (thinking I am superwoman nothing will stop me) and could hardly ski, let alone shuffle my feet the next day-which I tried to pass off as walking! Other things I will not miss once this baby gets here is the heartburn and of course the constant peeing! The last ultrasound the tech pointed out that the bebe was head down, showed me the cervix, the bebe's head and then my bladder! No wonder, there is nothing between the two! Except pressure.

There is however, good to this whole experience. I love the movements the bebe has. That is my favorite part by far. Unless they hurt! This bebe is either way more active than Parker was or I am paying attention more this time around...which you would think with the first pregnancy you pay attention more and this time around I am waaaaay busier with daily life. I also love how Parker kisses and talks to bebe "Ella". He'll put his little hand on my belly and say "wake up" to it so he can see it move. He is so convinced he is getting a sister and has taken to naming her Ella that if you try to tell him otherwise he gets a little defensive! He came up with this name at daycare, we cannot figure out where it came from-there are no cartoon characters named Ella. My sister thinks an angel told him it was a girl and that he is trying to tell us that! It is going to be so fun to see him interact with the real bebe.

We keep playing the name game, obviously Ella has grown on us. He could have picked Dora, Spongebob or Wiggles for a name! We have a few people who have given us ideas. Nothing is set in stone, we really need help with boy middle names!

The list is still made up of: Emmitt, Liam, Audrey Ella, Audrey Jean, Audrey Piper (my new fav), Isabelle/Isabella (could be shortened to Ella)...which neither of us really like the name shortening thing. Name the baby what you are going to call it! Which my mother reminded me by calling me my given name Rebecca. I looked back at Parker's baby book and the name list for him was: Olivia Audrey, Lane William, Parker Anthony, Lillian Jean (Lily). Barrett was the one who actually named him. He had Parker picked out from years ago. From time to time people call Parker-Carter mostly and randomly Tucker and Hunter! Who knows why...

Tammy and Derek came up with these: Tammy's-Bennett and Carter. Derek's List-Sergio, Raphael, Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna (all one name!), Sandra, Hope, Gabriel, Angel, Scarlett, and Rose.

So leave a comment on what names you suggest.

Also, if you haven't made your guess yet on expectnet do so soon, I will be locking the game on the 15th of January. http://www.expectnet.com/games/BebeOle

32 Weeks or 8/10 Months

I had my 32 week appointment last week. Same routine exam as always. I am starting to go every 2 weeks until mid January and then it's every week until the bebe is born. My iron levels are still too low so the doctor upped my iron supplement to 2-a-days instead of one. I am feeling no better and no worse taking it, but we'll see on the 27th if the levels have changed. I had my second ultrasound done also. Bebe looks good and most importantly the placenta has moved out of the way, just as predicted by me, and I am in the clear to deliver this bebe "normally". Same thing that happened with Parker.

I have Bear take this belly evolution picture each month of the pregnancy to lay them all out together to see the changes. As you may have noticed I have been wearing the same outfit for these pictures. Parker has realized when we are doing this and says his famous line "i do" or "i doed (dude)" and wants to get in the shot with me. He naturally sees me touch the belly (or should I say baby Ella, which is what Parker has decided to name the baby and insists it's a girl) and follows right along.

Here are the 2 pictures from the ultrasound. One is of the bebe with it's mouth open and hand/thumb inserted. The dark spot by the fingers is the actual open mouth. The other is a side profile of chest, chin, lips, nose and head.

28 Weeks and 2 Year Well Child Checkup

Parker and I both had our checkups this week. Mine was for a regular ob checkup, his was the well child check for turning 2. We managed to schedule them together which I thought was a good idea and turned out to be 2 hours at the clinic...overall it went just fine. I had my glucose test and have the results already and everything is just fine. They told me that if you show up with gestational diabetes it is usually with your first baby. I am on the other hand anemic. Which, I have been iron deficient for years and borderline anemic but now I have actually crossed the line. Basically it explains why I am tired a lot...silly me, I thought it was my pace of life! Okay, it may be a combination of both. The solution to the anemia from my husband is to eat more meat, the doctor recommends an iron supplement, which I know has a "crappy" affect if you know what I mean. I have now packed on 17 pounds in 28 weeks. I am feeling pretty good these days, a little uncomfortable sometimes, and the bebe is moving like crazy still.

Parker's checkup went really well. He was a trooper. The waiting room gets old after awhile but I had new Birthday toys with for him to play with. They did my checkup first and he was so focused on what the doctor was doing. He was super quiet and whispered while Dr. Stone listened to the bebe's heartbeat (150 bpm). Then it was his turn. He weighed 26 pounds and is 2'10" tall. He said Ahhh when asked, was still for all the routine exams-heart, lung, ear, nose checkups. Then it was time for the flu shot in the thigh. They conviently came to get me since my one hour wait on my glucose test was up. So I left Parker and Daddy alone so I could get my blood drawn. Daddy and Parker made it through the shot with one little "owa" and a bandaid for him and his puppy's leg. He was more worked up about getting new stickers than the aftermath of getting a shot. Then he got to see mommy get her flu shot in her arm. All done with that for a year! Off to the lab for Parker to have his lead level checked. This is due to all of the "made in China" toys being recalled. Last year his levels were a 7 and they like to see them under or around 5. We are still waiting on those results. This finger prick hurt and another but longer "owwwwwaa" and then I distracted him by counting red blood drops into the vile. He did and walked out with yet another bandaid (on his middle finger) and more stickers. The funny part was he wanted to show just that finger to everyone in the waiting room and tell them he has an "owwe". If I had let him, I am sure he would have made each person kiss it...

25-26 weeks

Here is the latest of the belly evolution...this is last weeks picture at 25 weeks. Today I am 6 1/2 months! Only 98 days to go...or 14 weeks! Not sure which one of those sounds longer.

Feeling good these days. Bebe is moving around like crazy. Bear can feel it and we can see it move from the outside! "it" has been very active between 4-6 AM! Wakes me up when I am sound asleep...I am beginning to wonder if this is going to be it's favorite time?! I hope not.

Parker decorating his pumpkin, no knives or other sharp instruments allowed for him.

Testing out the Monster ears.
In the giant pumpkin that Uncle Blake grew for him out on the farm

Week 24

I had a doctor appointment last week. Very routine, everything looks and sounds normal. Currently packing an extra 12 pounds. Uterus measuring 23.5 weeks. Bebe's heartrate at 150bpm. Blood pressure 100/60. Blood test results back-no downs syndrome. Next appointment in a month, I do the glucose test-where you swallow a can of orange syrup, sit around for an hour and see what happens to your blood sugar level. That's always fun.

Decided to play around with my camera and got some self portraits taken. Still learning but better than making my husband try to be creative with me.

20 & 21 Weeks

20 weeks pregnant. As you may see, I am officially sporting the "bump". I went from "I didn't know you were pregnant" to "Oh, look at the belly". And the belly has become public property now with people poking at it and touching it.

I changed my mind, being pregnant means I can do that right? I took baby name Lila off the list and added Neela. Lila was losing by a landslide and after watching ER last night I decided I really like Neela. Plus the girl almost died on the show so that deserves a little recognition!

Not sure if second pregnancies mean you get to register again

for baby gear but I did. The second

time around you learn a lot about what you need and what you don't. I realized we "had to have" 4 things and added them to the target registry! I would have added diapers and Gerber nuks but they aren't available online so I'll do that next time I am near a Target.

First Pictures

Bebe Ole's first photos

Profile Picture-cute little nose, hand up under it's chin.

Alien Face-you are looking from a top angle. Head looks like a cone, eye sockets, nose and pointy chin

Spine from the flip side. And a leg with a foot.

We had our ultrasound today. It was fun to see the little person growing inside me "face to face". The technician got some great pictures for us to take home (and post and scrap). The baby was "very wiggly" she said. It was amazing when she pushed on it that it started moving all over place. Everything with the baby looks good. Measuring small but said it was normal due to all the vomiting. Since I haven't gained much weight yet and that it would catch up. The heartrate was 144 bpm. One minor problem is that the placenta has yet again attached itself really low in my uterus. Which most likely means another ultrasound further down the road to be sure it has moved out of the way so delivery can take place "normally" and that I won't need a c-section. I'll just remind myself that it started this way with Parker and turned out just find.

Parker's Info for Expectnet Game

For those of you wanting to guess on the expectnet game here is Parker's information. No idea if it will help you or not...
Due Date: November 8th
Birth Date: November 11th
Time: 9:26 am
Weight: 7# 11oz
Length: 20.5 inches

18 Weeks

Today is the 18th week of pregnancy. Wow, this has gone by A LOT faster than with Parker. Maybe it's because I am so busy with him that I don't have time to realize the days turn into weeks and we are almost to the half way point. 2 more weeks until the ultrasound. The burning question from everyone is...Are you finding out the sex of the baby? No we are not. We didn't with Parker and don't have the desire to know what this one is. I think not knowing is the fun part. I love hearing peoples theories about how to find out. We don't want to find out but let's hear them!
Q: Carrying high or low?
A: all over-especially my butt
Q:What's the heartrate?
A: it's different every time I go in for a check up, 160 bpm
Q: Are you feeling different this time
A: yes and no-sick in the beginning, not as long but much worse

I posted a guessing game for all who want to participate in the poll. No charge, just a game to see who is the closest. Look for the ExpectNet game on the right side of the screen and follow the directions to post your guess.
Also, there is a baby name poll. Pick your favorite-of the 4 names Bear and I have picked out-just curious to which ones people like more.

Felt the Baby Move

August 30th-Officially felt the baby move. Those first flutters came a little sooner this time around. I guess I know what to expect this time and noticed them at 17 weeks. Today is the day I officially craved spicy Chinese food too! I ate it and enjoyed every moment of it...with no side effects.

Morning Sickness has ended...

Tuesday, August 14th-14 1/2 weeks along. The morning, noon and nighttime sickness has ended! Alleluia!! It was so different this time around (imagine that). That seems to be my theme song. I was sick only at night with Parker and no pukeing. This time, I was sick all day, every day. Throwing up is not a favorite of mine, but miraculously I felt better once I did. Though this time it ended 5 weeks sooner!! I am feeling much better these days. Yeah!!

First Dr. visit

9.5 weeks along and we get into the doctor. Prepared ourselves to not hear a heartbeat yet since it is so early, and we didn't. No worries though. Discuss what to do about all the throwing up and he prescribes me a med that I am pretty sure I should not take while I am going to operate a motor vehicle or be required to talk to people all day. I try half of a pill and am bordering unconsciousness all evening long. I tried the medication off and on in quarter and half increments with the same side effect, but it did take the vomiting part away. Enough of that med, I'll suffer through it.

Positive Test

Finally, a test with 2 lines on it! I have felt "waves" of yuckiness for 2 weeks and didn't know if it was all in my head or for real. I had taken 5-yes 5 tests-every other day for almost 2 weeks before this one showed a positive pregnancy. It just shows that when you feel like you know your body and what is going on, that you should trust it and don't waste your money on pregnancy tests. Patience may have something to do with it, but when you are excited about it, and pretty sure it's real, that all seems to go out the window. I have never been really good at being patient. Here we go again...