21 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2

Week ending Nov. 21, 2017.
Due Date: April 3, 2018

I think now's the time when everything is going to really start flying by! The second half of this pregnancy runs through the holidays and I can already feel time going by so fast.

Bump:
It's getting itchy! I've started applying more lotion and oils. No stretchmarks yet, but I think they are on their way with all this itching!

Energy:
Tired again. But perhaps it's the restless sleep lately.

Physical Symptoms:

One bad migraine that lasted overnight into the next day. Those are the worst. Usually sleep is the best cure for a bad one, so when you wake up the next morning and it's still there, it super sucks. But it was the first headache I'd gotten in several weeks, I'm pretty sure, so I guess you could say that it's not so bad.
Light headedness seems to be making a comeback. It's very light, but it's definitely popping up.
I also think the relaxin hormone is starting to kick in. My hips have felt more achy and loose here lately.

Food:
Counting calories and behaving myself is still going well. I feel like I'm either having less cravings, or not letting them overtake me so much lately. I still have snacks, but I'm not being ridiculous about it and watching my serving sizes.

Sleep & Dreams:

I've been sleeping somewhat crappy. A couple nights this week, I just couldn't get comfortable.
Had a scary dream that involved my smart watch being some kind of bug or something. It kept making scary sounds and it was somehow making the lights in the house unable to come on. I had Calvin with me and he was carrying a hammer so I decided to use his hammer to smash the watch, then everything was better. Haha.
Also dreamt about getting a shot from a nurse who seemed like she had no clue what she was doing haha.

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Justin felt baby from the outside for the first time. He doesn't have a lot of patience for that, so he was lucky Eren happened to kick just a few seconds after he put his hand there.
My mom mentioned Eren by name. She made a hoodie and was saying Eren could wear it this time next year. It was weird to hear someone else saying his name, but very exciting too. :)
Caught Eren moving on video this week!

Random Thoughts:

I want to meet this baby so bad! I do not remember feeling like this with Calvin, I think I was too nervous to experience life with a newborn. This time I cannot wait to hold my little baby and see what he looks like! I know we're only halfway there, but the last couple weeks I just can't shake this desire to see him!  

Justin and I were discussing the newborn days before bed one night. I feel like the newborn days weren't that bad. The nights are sucky, waking up all the time, but really it's not that bad because they nap all the time during the day. I was telling him crazy toddler Calvin is more work than newborn Calvin was. I hope I'm remembering correctly! Haha. In reality, I think they each have their own unique challenges. 

Love,
Alaina & Baby Brother Eren

20 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2

Week ending Nov. 14, 2017.
Due Date: April 3, 2018

Can you believe we're at the halfway point?! And I truly, truly hope this actually is the halfway point. I don't want this little guy coming too early like his brother tried to do!

Bump:
My uterus is measuring ahead, it's like way above my belly button, which is where they say it should be at this point. And I can sure tell. I can't believe we're only halfway there and this belly is taking over!
Pretty sure I started feeling hiccups for the first time this week. It's just way too rhythmic for it to simply be kicks or other movements.

Doctor Appointment:
At MFM, I had my ultrasound and the doctor told me things were looking "better than great." My cervix was measuring 4 cm, which he said was awesome. I'm super happy about that. I even brought Cal to the appointment and it was a good 45 min. ordeal and he was super well behaved until the last two minutes when he was just totally fed up haha. I was so proud of him! :)
At my regular doctor we saw that baby is measuring about a week ahead and my uterus is measuring 22 cm at 19 weeks, 2 days. Baby Eren weighs 12 oz, they say. I know I'm technically measuring ahead, but I'm actually pretty happy with it. They say within 2 cm of your number of weeks is normal. So if baby's measuring a week ahead at 20 weeks, 2 days, and my uterus is at 22 cm, I'm going to technically call it normal. :)
Justin gave me his first injection of Makena and it actually went really well. We didn't like freak out about it for five minutes beforehand. I did put an ice cube on the spot before to help numb it a little but he totally shot me above the spot lol so that was pointless. 

Energy:
Got my flu shot at my doctor appointment and I was feeling pretty sluggish afterwards.

Physical Symptoms:

Finally starting to retire some bras. They're getting too tight and driving me crazy but it's kind of a stupid situation too. I don't want to spend money on non-nursing bras since we'll be nursing soon enough, yet I want to be able to enjoy these few months of non-nursing bras. I just can't decide what to do. Why does the idea of wearing nursing bras when I'm not nursing bother me? Not like anyone else is going to notice...

Food:
Behaving myself better and tracking my calories. It seems to be paying off so far. I'm actually really proud of myself over this week.

Sleep & Dreams:

Dreamt Justin shaved Calvin's head. Man, was I pissed!
Dreamt about Calvin and Eren. Eren was less than 6 months old and Calvin was a big boy and we were trying to take a family photo. It's all getting so real!

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Justin puts Calvin to bed 99% of the time and let me just say he's the best ever. This week he began a new bedtime ritual where they walk to the bottom of the steps like they're going to bed, but then Justin tells Calvin to go give mom a kiss. So he runs over to kiss me, then goes back to the steps like he's going to bed, and Justin tells him to give me a kiss and he runs back again, back and forth a few times. It's pretty hilarious. Calvin will hesitantly start climbing the stairs, because he knows Justin's going to tell him to come back. Haha.

Random Thoughts:

I just can't wait to see my baby! I keep imagining what he'll look like. I imagine his hair color and eye color. If he's another baby clone of my husband or if I'll finally get a baby who even kind of looks like me. Haha. 

top is Calvin at 28 weeks, bottom is Eren at 19 weeks

Love,
Alaina & Baby Brother Eren

Personal Update : Fall 2017

Here's just a random little rambly update about my own personal life, without really talking about the children. Sometimes it seems like my only identity is as a mother, but I'm my own individual self too, man!

I know we're only halfway finished with pregnancy #2, but I am excited to have this baby and get my body back. Since we planned on having our first two pretty close together, I have to be honest in saying that I wasn't super motivated to get my body back to pre-pregnancy weight super fast since I felt like I was just going to hop right back into pregnancy and all the weight gain that comes along with it soon enough. I was about 10 pounds heavier with baby #2 than when I started off with Calvin baby #1. Now, at least for the time being, we want to take a break from baby making for a few years before we start trying for #3. And that gives me some kind of motivation to get fit. I just can't wait to work on my body again and feel confident at a weight I am happy about. By the end of this pregnancy, it will be close to three years since I had the body I wanted.

And it has motivated me (at least lately) to watch myself better during this pregnancy. The less weight I gain in these next four months, the less I have to lose once new baby arrives. The better diet I get myself on now, the easier it will be to eat reasonably once baby is born too.

I didn't track my weight gain after the first trimester with Calvin. And this time around I am holding myself accountable by announcing the weight gain in my updates. I am teaching myself that it's all about moderation. I don't need cookies every single evening before bed. I can have cookies as a treat once or twice a week instead. And although it's only been about two weeks that I've been watching myself better, I can totally tell a difference. I am counting calories and trying to chose fruits over sweets and adding more veggies to dinner, etc. Taking walks in this cold weather is 0% appealing, but I've begun yoga once a week and hope to gradually get myself up to three workouts each week.

In the meantime, I'm excited to just be a mom of two for now. I'm excited to be a hot mom, honestly. I'm excited to just be content in what we have at the moment. To be content with two babies for now. I've always wanted four. And I know one day, we'll complete our family, but it's exciting to just settle down for a little bit.

And it may sound crazy to even be thinking about all of this when we still have 20 weeks to go before we even meet Mr. Eren baby #2, but I'm just excited for the future.

Thanks for listening.
Love,
Alaina

18 Month Old Toddler Update : Calvin Lee

Language has been perhaps the most exciting thing in these last 6 months. Around 16 months he had this huge explosion of language. All of a sudden he just started saying all kinds of stuff. He'd just choose random words from our sentences and say them. Anytime we say "say ___," he almost always tried to say it. 

The two words that really made me happy were "bus" and "breakfast." We try to watch the school bus come by on mornings I get to take him to grandma's. He points them out in books and on tv all the time now. They don't even have to be yellow, he still knows what they are. It's really cool. He kind of thinks breakfast can refer to any food, he uses it a lot, not just in the morning, but it's still such a big word, I was so proud of him for using it. 

In the past month or two Calvin has finally come around to story time. Before he would wander around or try talking over you the whole time you read to him. But one day it all just clicked. He sat down on my lap and listened and looked at the pictures and actually cared about story time. He would then grab books off his shelf and instead of simply throwing them all over his room, he would open them and look at the pictures and point out things. I was astounded and so glad we kept reading even though he didn't seem to care because it's all worth it now. I love story time with him.

He likes to brush his own hair. We're letting it grow out. I'm not sure what our end goal is, but I've only been tidying up his bangs so they don't get in his eyes and his neck just to make it look a little neater. His hair totally doesn't want to part on the side yet though. I keep hoping one day there will be enough there that we can part it, but without the use of barrettes, I'm not sure what his hairstyle is going to end up like in the future. 

He enjoys chewing on his toothbrush. He has so many teeth! We're just waiting on one little fang to come in. 

Around 17 months, he started making more noises when he plays with his toys, like he's actually trying to imitate the sounds those objects make. 

He's learning to be nicer to the cats. He pats them more gently these days. He's friendlier to dogs. He used to be afraid of them. 

He sounded like he was singing the other night. He definitely had a tune to his voice and what he was talking about. That makes me happy. I enjoy singing and it's cool to see that perhaps that's rubbing off on him, environmentally or genetically.

We're back to working on potty training. Around 9 months, we went through a phase trying to familiarize him with it, but there were some consistency issues so we pushed it off until a later time. He's been showing a lot of signs that he's ready to learn again. For now, we sit on the potty occasionally at diaper changes or when Calvin pulls the potty out and acts like he wants to use it. We're not pushing it just yet, but our goal is to really get involved after the new year. 

But he is still a boy. He is rambunctious and adventurous. He has only just learned how to sit still when it's time to calm down for bed. Otherwise, he is bouncing off the walls all day long. If he's having a bad day and every little thing seems to be getting to him, we try to get outside. Being outside can totally turn his day around. Even though it can be hard to get him to come back inside once he's been outside. He just loves to be outdoors. 

He's still only taking one nap per day, it's moved from 11 to more like noon. On our days off, he sometimes sleeps in until 8 or 8:30 am. He has to get up at 5 or 6 am with Justin and I during the work week, so I know that time difference messes with him some days. Bedtime has recently moved from 7 to 7:30 pm during the week or 8 pm on weekends. We like to put him down "early" so Justin and I still get some us time. We both agree that the extra hour or so after he goes down is necessary to keep us from parental burnout. 

He is great on the stairs. We live in a two story, so he was learning to do the stairs before he was walking. We have gates at the top and bottom and do still use them, but he's pretty confident in himself and Justin and I both trust him. It's not the end of the world if we leave the gates open. They're more for our convenience just so we know he isn't roaming free and getting into stuff he shouldn't. 

He still has days when he'll eat as much as a grown-up, then take three bites of dinner the next day. The doctor claims it's normal, but it drives me crazy some days! 

Every day I say he literally could not be any more handsome, yet he gets cuter every day! Seriously. I keep saying I don't know what we're going to do when he's a teenager, then Justin says he'll raise him to be nerdy and he won't get any girlfriends and that will solve our problems. Ha. 

It is unbelievable to look at pictures of him a year ago knowing that it's the same person! You don't see the changes on the every day when you're with him, but looking over time it is hard to fathom. I can't wait to see more and more of his little personality as the months go by. And I can't wait to see him as a big brother come springtime! :)

Love,

Alaina

My Average Wetter Turned into a Heavy Wetter Overnight : Cloth Diapering our 17 Month Old Boy

What happened?

Everything was going smoothly.
Cloth diapering was going awesome. It was super easy. Everything worked.
Then all of a sudden, totally out of nowhere, some little mister started peeing like crazy. Instead of an insert 1/2 or 3/4 of the way full at 2.5-3 hours, we had leaks before the two hour mark even came. And the inserts were totally soaked. I mean dripping wet, no wonder it leaked, absolutely soaked front to back! I had this giant stash of inserts that looked to be totally useless now! We use Buttons diaper covers with Best Bottom, Buttons, and homemade snap-in inserts.

Buttons Pine (seasonal print fall 2017) aka cutest diaper ever, totally my new favorite

So I started using our trusty flats and sure enough, they work great. Yes, sometimes I do miss the convenience of an insert snapped into a cover when I have a squirmy wormy toddler on my hands at diaper changing time, but they last and they aren't leaking on us!

I like to use them both pad folded and wrapped around little mister like an old school flat diaper (hopefully pad folded at poo time haha).

We use Green Mountain Diapers birdseye (6) and muslin one size (6), and Nicki's bamboo cotton flats (6) in size large for a total of 18 flats.

And I had around 40 of the snap in inserts! That's a big investment!

Although it sucks because I naively expected them to last until potty training, at least I know those little inserts will work for baby brother Eren this time next year. :)

Nicki's bamboo flat w/ Snappi

Another lesson learned, and another reason I totally should have just started out with flats! Haha. They save so much money. They're cheaper per item ($3-4 vs. $5-7) and they dry on the line overnight (unlike the inserts which take a full 48 hours on the line). For that reason, I don't need such a big stash. With inserts, I needed essentially 4 days worth of diapers (even though I had almost 6 days worth haha) because they take two days to dry. With flats, they dry while we're sleeping, so I don't need as many.

So I'll probably end up buying another pack or two of flats and call it a day. I can't decide though if I should buy the Nicki's bamboo that I love so much or try something new. I do like experimenting, maybe I'll find it in the budget to get some hemp flats? :)

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina

19 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2

Week ending Nov. 7, 2017.
Due Date: April 3, 2018

Bump:
+15 pounds.
Belly is already getting to be in the way. It's harder to get off our low couch and I'm much more aware of the belly this week. I feel like it literally doubled in size practically overnight. Lol.
Eren is moving around like crazy everyday.
I'm already feeling him kick above my belly button which I am not too happy about. I feel like it's a sign that my uterus is measuring big again, meaning I have a lot of fluid, which is the same thing that happened with Calvin and makes me worry things are going to go the same way this time around. :( I hope it's not all directly related, but it still makes me worry.
Braxton Hicks contractions are starting. I can feel them during/after walking or moving around a lot. 

Physical Symptoms:

Backache. And we're not even halfway there. :(
Seeing the chubbiness already. Engagement ring is getting pretty tight, so I switched it out for another ring. I'm on the verge of loosening my watch band too. Too early for that crap!
Peeing all the time! I feel like Eren gained 3 pounds overnight and I have to pee at all times now.
Some cramping this week.
Feeling some pressure down there this week. Some things I read say it's normal for subsequent pregnancies, but others say it's worrisome when you have cervix issues (which we're hoping isn't the case). So I plan to bring it up at my next doctor appointment.

Food:
I've been snacking like crazy these past couple weeks, but I have also realized that I am getting hungry quicker too. The super pregnancy hunger seems to be finally arriving this week. I feel like I do need more food, but I need to focus on healthier choices.

Sleep & Dreams:

Another dream about feeling baby's spine through my belly. So weird.
Also dreamt my sister was pregnant but she wouldn't admit it. Her belly kept growing but she would deny that she was pregnant.

Favorite Moments of the Week:
I had a doctor appointment to get my Makena shot where they were explaining to Justin and demonstrating for him so that he can administer my remaining shots at home. On the way home Justin said he admired how much women had to go through to have babies and I thought that was pretty sweet. However, I found it funny that it took seeing me getting stabbed in the butt with a second pregnancy for him to make such a statement. You know, going through 20 hours of labor and then being cut open to have baby #1 pulled out, then being attached at the boob to this baby for the next six months didn't cut it, but getting a shot in the butt for baby #2 did! Ha.

Random Thoughts:

On a less positive note, I have been feeling so worried and overwhelmed lately. I realize we are very fortunate in our journey, there are many others who have struggled so much more in their journeys to become parents. However, I have to be honest and just say that all of the stuff we're doing to help prevent something bad from happening is overwhelming. I don't feel comforted that we're doing all we can, instead I feel overwhelmed like every little possible thing that could go wrong is now on the table. I took the first 32 weeks of my pregnancy with Calvin for granted. When everything seemed as if it were normal. I want a normal pregnancy. I don't want to worry like this. I want to be excited for stronger kicks and seeing my belly move and not worry what would happen if my water broke before 24 weeks. And even so, what are the real chances once we hit 24 weeks? I am more aware of what could go wrong this time around and it's very intimidating and worrying. 

I used to worry about something being wrong with the baby. Some genetic issue that could cause miscarriage or something like that. It never occurred to me that my own body could reject a perfectly fine baby. My water could break, I could go into labor too early. I never imagined those possibilities until I met with the MFM doctors and had all of the bad shit laid out right in front of me.  

My baby is a person. He has a name. I've envisioned what he looks like. He is real. He's not a blob. If something happened to him, I don't know what I would do. And those kinds of thoughts never really crossed my mind with Calvin. 

Love,
Alaina & Baby Brother Eren

18 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2

Week ending Oct. 31, 2017.
Due Date: April 3, 2018

Doctor:
Ultrasound to check cervix. 3.2 cm. Doc says if it gets down to 2.5, it's worrisome, so we're doing well so far.
Also got to see baby is indeed a boy.
She measured the heartbeat twice. It was from 150-160 bpm.
He has lots of room in there because he started out and ended the ultrasound in two different positions from sideways to head down. I didn't realize just how much room they have at this point.

Got my first Makena shot. I hate needles, drawing blood, shots, etc. but they give it in the butt so at least I wasn't watching haha. The shot wasn't bad, it just takes a little while to inject because it's a thick liquid. Afterwards for a couple hours it did ache a bit though.

Bump:
Pretty sure I am feeling him from the outside now! I laid in bed with my hands on my belly for a good 20 minutes Sunday night while he was moving like crazy and I felt it a couple times. :) So exciting!!! Definitely feeling him everyday, several times.
Justin put his hand on my belly the other day and said he felt him, jokingly lol.

Energy:
I got to be home all day with Calvin Friday. We went to the grocery store and to the doctor to get Cal's flu shot. When we got home I made him lunch before nap time and I literally thought to myself, holy crap, your energy is back! It just all of a sudden occurred to me, I felt like I was back into my normal mom groove and it was awesome. I should have been exhausted after running errands with Mr. Cal, but all was great.

Physical Symptoms:

Increased perspiration. I don't know what that's about. I did have this issue postpartum with Cal, but I don't remember it at all whiile I was actually pregnant.
Don't want to jinx it, but it seems like the headaches are finally calming down in the last couple weeks, right as I was about to have a breakdown if they wouldn't ease up.

Food:
Still too much snacking. I've had a bad sweet tooth. We need to keep the flour and sugar locked away so I can't just make cookies whenever I feel like it. Ha. I have been craving some damned Oreos though.

Sleep & Dreams:

Dreamt about donuts.

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Finally feeling our little boy from the outside! :)

Random Thoughts:
Sex confirmed via ultrasound this week, so we officially announced the name.
The ultrasound confirmed our Sneak Peek results. It is indeed a baby boy in there. :)
And we're trying really hard to use his name much more. We announced the name officially to Facebook and YouTube. I had already put it on Instagram a few weeks back.

In case you missed it, his name is Eren Michael.

Love,
Alaina & Baby Brother Eren