10 weeks!

Time seems to be flying by.  We are almost through the first trimester.  Thank you!!!  First trimester sucks.  If I wanted more kids i'd have to seriously contemplate having them because it's incredibly difficult to function when you want to puke all day, can't take a shower without vomiting and have no energy.  At least this is my experience.  I told Christian the other day that if I was a pregnant champ I would be a surrogate.  Make some money and grow some humans.  Simple!

Here is the 8 week ultrasound picture.  This was the last visit we had at the Texas Fertility Center.  

We had received a letter from our OB that she was moving practices.  We tracked her down and although she is in Round Rock (read: 45 minutes away) we decided to pay her a visit.  We walked into a Medicaid clinic.  We had NO idea.  The place was nice and the staff was awesome, but the waiting room was nothing like our old waiting room.  There were 40 chairs instead of 12 and there weren't nice slate accent walls.  The walls were stark.  We didn't fit in, to say the least.  But this was OUR DOCTOR.  Just because she likes helping people that are less fortunate doesn't mean her skills have gone down.  So now, we've driven 45 minutes, gotten lost, I've had a nervous breakdown due to being late for our appointment, Parker had a poopy diaper and we're sitting next to a girl that looked like she had been on a 4 day binge of something...

We finally got into our room and our dr walked in.  I was so relieved to see her.  It was then that we were informed it was a medicaid clinic.  There were no free prenatal samples to be handed out.  But, she did give us her cell phone number and tell us that she was moving to Seton Northwest (read: much closer) in April.  So we're in.  Only a few more visits to RR until we can only drive 30 minutes.  It still, however, will still be a medicaid office.  But the dr. that is going to cut out our baby is the best around.  All that matters.

Here is the ultrasound that we did "just for fun." (Dr. Siarezi said it would be for fun b/c we've already seen baby 3 times now).

Before she took the picture we saw TBNL 2 moving about.  The tail-like shape on the top of the round blob (baby) is the umbilical cord that is hopefully attaching to the placenta that it on the top of the uterus. 

Heartbeat

Today we hear TBNL 2's heartbeat.  He/She is 6.3mm big and has a heartbeat of 120 bpm.  It had not seemed incredibly real quite yet.  The naseau and headaches started two days ago.  Today I figured that I didn't want to puke, so i'm going to try to keep my stomach full and happy. 

With Parker I didn't want to go over 200lbs.  I am way closer this time.  I stepped on the scale at the dr office today and it weighs 10 pounds more than our at home scale.  I don't want to get on that again.

We have one more appointment at the fertility center and then it's onto Dr. Siarezi.  She moved practices and is way up in Round Rock now (45-60 minutes away).  We can't imagine anyone else taking care of me and our little blob.  We will suck it up and hike up there.

Dr. Hansard at the fertility center said that she should be able to see on the 31st if the placenta is going to be a problem again.  Fingers crossed this one grows in the right place.  Dr. Siarezi may not be an option if there are going to be emergencies again.

I can't believe we're going to have another baby.  The personalized m&m's are at Mom's house in a box just waiting to be opened.  I wonder who will get it first. 


So far, it's much more difficult having a little one to take care of and have morning (bull, it's all day) sickness.  We're getting through it.  Fortunately, as long as i'm in the same room she can play by herself.  So I find a pillow and lie down and she plays right along.  I love that little munchkin.  Her world is about to get turned upside down in August.  If she loves her new sister or brother as much as she loves her baby doll, they will get tons o' love before she chucks them to the side to move onto the next toy.

Ironic Parenting

There's a little girl at Gymboree, she has to be under 16 months because that's what the class is for.  She walks really well, runs really well and apparently is being raised by her grandparents.  Her father is in a wheelchair and while that doesn't exclude him from proper parenting I think that her grandparents play a major role in her development.  Today, she walked over to Parker and took the toy that Parker had in her little hand.  This, to me, is expected.  They're little, tiny kids.  They need to learn.  It was when her grandmother came over, flicked her on the forehead and grabbed the toy back from her I realized what the real problem was.  Later, I overheard said grandmother asking the teacher when kids learn to "play better with others."  I wanted to answer and say "when their role models stop flicking them for learning!"  If you don't play well with others that are at least 50 years younger than you and your flesh and blood, how do you expect your granddaughter to know how to do it?

Also, this is the same family that I witnessed poor little girl's grandfather pick his nose and then eat it.  Didn't try to hide it or ANYTHING.  I'm going to vomit just typing this.  I changed days today after class.  I'd rather not witness anymore flicking of children or eating of boogers by the adults at the class.

Cake Smash

For Parker's birthday I had another photo shoot in mind.  It's the cake smash.  I think this has become popular throughout the last few years.  Putting your newly 1 year old in front of a pristine and delicious cake that they can do with what they want. 

I found a cake online and I was determined to figure out how to make this myself.  I went to Micheal's and got a pastry bag tip and pastry bags.  I got some pink vanilla frosting and a white cake mix.

Found cake online

I made a sheet cake and used a cookie cutter to make a 4" round

I stacked them to make them semi-level

The first attempt looked great

Sides are complete

Finished!

 

And here is our finished product:

Halloween Day

Halloween was on a Wednesday.  Parker and Jake were dressed as Amy and Bobby Bones from The Bobby Bones show here in Austin.  It is a syndicated radio show.  Christian and Parker had met Amy at the market and we live very near Mr. Bobby Bones. Christian LOVES the Bobby Bones Show.  We listen to it every morning.  I've grown to love it and wouldn't mind it so much if I didn't have to listen to the same songs every 5 minutes and if Lunchbox (another personality on the show) wasn't on there.

So Parker was to be Amy and Jake, Bobby.  Here are Bobby and Amy's photos.  The one of Bobby isn't all that great, but it's the only one I could find where he was in his white Lacoste hat.  Bobby is known to listeners to wear Lacoste hats, white v-neck t-shirts, love his dog Dusty and had really curly hair.  Amy is very sweet, loves Taylor Swift, funky pants and helping babies and goes on mission trips. 

Parker HATES anything on her head except her barrettes.  Odd, really.  Ironically, Amy is known to cry a lot so the picture of Parker crying seems to be appropriate.

We also tried, after Halloween, to put Parker into the pumpkin again.  She really does despise it.  Even sitting on top of it.  Poor little girl...

Secrets Are No Fun!!!

Yesterday (11.6.12) we went to our fertility doctor to talk about starting our process of having another kid!  We aren't telling anyone what we're doing because it was so hard for us having to tell everyone that we weren't pregnant.  So, this go round, we're just keeping it to ourselves, but I need someplace to vent.  So here I am, on our blog.  Once we tell everyone I will be able to post them all and you can see my neurosis and processing thorough all of this.

So we went to the doctor just to get a starting point.  She said, alright, let's start on the Clomid and i'll see you back here on the 14th.  Get your vials to the clinic and we'll see you on Wednesday.  So what we originally thought would be a January starting cycle has become NOVEMBER!!!  A week away. 

It was weird enough going to the clinic, much less leaving with an egg fertilizer prescription.  That's what I call the Clomid.  Essentially, that's what it is!

I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.  I hope my pregnancy isn't as stressful as the last one.  But I would do it all over again to get an awesome daughter like Parker.  She has brought so much happiness to our family and I wouldn't trade that for the world, or months of bed rest.

As I was leaving for my errands I realized that mom is going to be here on Wednesday.  So we're going to have to lie/fib to her (sorry Mom, we really didn't have a lawyer meeting).  I want to tell everyone, but it will be easier on us this way.  Plus, Jill doesn't want to know, so it works out well for everyone involved.  Plus, if we were straight, we wouldn't be announcing to the world that we were trying each time! That'd just be gross.

Halloween Part I

For Parker's 1st Halloween I had envisioned many cool new things.  Mostly, since she's still little, a cute costume and some fun pictures.

For her costume, after much consideration and anxiety about picking the "perfect" costume, I got her a little bee outfit.  It was super cute and 40% off. Perfect! She hated it.  Mostly the hat, then the skirt, then just being a bee. 

Pumpkins make everything ok

Then it was off to the Spaw's for pumpkin carving.  

Ethan loves Parker.  They have married Parker off to Ethan already.  He was playing with her and putting her binky back in her mouth when she lost it.  She also wanted to know why she wasn't listening to him.  Already seems like they're married!

She loved playing in the guts from the pumpkins.  She tried to eat it and pulled it all out of the bowl.  Our messy girl.

Here is my inspirational photograph I found online...

Inspirational Halloween Photograph

Isn't this cute!?! Sweet little girl in the pumpkin.  Little toes curled up, smiling.  So we went to the pumpkin patch and got a nice big pumpkin.  Then, it was off to the Spaw's for some carving.  Doug cut a hole in the top, I scooped out the guts and then Doug cut two round holes for her legs with his drill.  It was time and the pumpkin was ready for baby.

Parker HATING Wearing A Pumpkin

 

Absolutely HATED!

I will post about actual Halloween night in another post.  There were more tears.  Stay tuned...