My Pregnancy Week 23

Week 23 with baby #2

Baby #2 is growing so quickly and moving around a ton.  My daughter didn't do things like somersaults and gymnastics in my stomach, she moved a lot, but not like that.  Last night, the baby was pushing his / her butt out and I had a hard bulge on my stomach.  All of a sudden, I could feel the baby do a somersault, I felt the entire thing!  It was so cool, then dad could feel baby moving around a bunch for a minute or two.  Then baby did another somersault and stuck the butt back out :)  It's my second baby and that felt like something I have never experienced.  I am so excited for this baby!

Maybe someday I will learn to smile when I take these pictures....

About Baby #2 Week 23 (What to Expect when you are expecting)

A window into your womb would reveal that your baby's skin is a bit saggy, hanging loosely from his or her little body.  That's because skin grows faster than fat develops, and there's not much fat to fill that skin out yet.  But don't worry - the fat is about to start catching up.  Beginning this week, your baby (who is around 8 inches long and just over a pound in weight) begins to pack on the pounds (which means you will, too!).  In fact, by month's end, your baby will be double the weight he or she is now (fortunately, you won't be).  Once those fat deposits are made, your baby will be less transparent, too.  Right now, the organs and bones can still be seen through the skin, which has a red hue thanks to the developing blood veins and arteries just underneath.  But by month 8, no more see through baby!

How I am feeling:  Mostly, I have felt alright, although the last few days, I have been nauseous again.  Hoping that goes away.  Tonight, I have had a lot of pain in my stomach, hoping it's nothing serious and deciding if I need to go to the doctor or at least call them.  It seems to have subsided, so hoping that it is ok.  I feel very lazy!  Sitting makes my back hurt.  When I sleep at night, I always flop over onto my back and wake up with a horrible backache about a hundred times a night.  I am very sensitive and cry easily.  I also get winded easily when I have to go upstairs. 

Weight gain:  Haven't gained any more weight this week.  

Cravings:  Candy!  Ridiculous amounts of junk food.  Last night it was Caramello bars.    Lil Cutie Oranges and broccoli with dill dip (not the cuties and broccoli together though).  And Lucky Charms.  


Other stuff:  I just want to snuggle my daughter, I'm starting to feel like I'm going to lose something with her when this baby is born and just want to spend every minute with just her that I can.  I know that everything will be just fine, but that's what spins through my head lately.  But I think that's due in part to her independence lately.

 

Snowmaggedon

Hurray!    Overnight we got our first big snowfall of the season, at least in our part of the state.  I can't believe that they shut down pretty much every school around and today really is a snow day.  This is either the first or second snow day in the school I graduated from in 15 years.  I don't really understand that, yeah, it's a foot to a foot and a half of snow, but it's Minnesota, this is to be expected!  Oh well.  Doesn't matter to me except that Maggie's last day of Little Picasso's class was canceled.  I love reading my facebook updates today and everybody with kids that had to stay home is happy about it.  Everybody that still had to drive in it is not.  This winter has been so mild, this foot and a half of snow feels like nothing compared to how much we got dumped on last winter!  We live out in the country and our driveway is pretty long and there is no way that I can go out long enough to snow blow with the munchkin, especially last year when she was much younger.  Last year, the snow drifts were halfway up our garage door, so I will take this beautiful, white, fluffy stuff.

So while Daddy went out to snow blow the driveway, me and the Monkey went out to play.  I love when I ask her if she wants to go outside, she goes running to the door and knocks on it or hugs it.  She LOVES playing outside, doesn't matter how cold it may be.  Unfortunately, she has an icky cold, you know the kind, where your nose and eyes don't stop running :(  But, I'm the mom who still takes her munchkin out to play if it's nice out, and it is nice, it's 34 degrees out :)  She loved watching daddy blow the snow and just watched him part of the time.  Then she took the tennis ball and tried to play fetch with the dog.  This didn't work well with her mittens on, but she didn't care.  Then she decided to pull her sled around instead of let me pull her around, at least for a little while. 

See mom, I can pull the sled all by myself.

There is just something about a snow day that is extra fun!  If we let her, she would never come inside!  She is one of the only toddlers her age that I have ever met that loves getting her snow stuff on so she can go outside and play.  Now she stands at the window babbling about going back outside.  I'm so grateful to have a munchkin who loves being outside in the snow as much as mom and dad do. 

For those of you that have snow, what do you do on a snow day? 

Friendly Debates with the Danielle's: Returning Shopping Carts

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TOPIC
Returning Shopping Carts: Yay or Nay? What do YOU say?

I say Yay!  I always return the shopping carts to the cart corrals.  I know when I go to the grocery store in town, that I go there and pay a bit more for my groceries because they ALWAYS carry out my groceries for me because of the munchkin.  It's a family owned store, but this is one of my favorite parts of living in a small(er) town.  When I go to the Walmart (or somewhere else) that isn't nearly as close, it's definitely not as convenient, but I do still return the cart all the time.  Many times I just hold her until we return the cart, but sometimes I buckle her in her car seat and lock the door.  Most of the  time, there is a cart corral right next to us no matter where we are parked.  With munchkins dad working out of state most of the time, I am very used to doing everything on my own, so this just seems like one more thing when I'm out shopping.

What do you do when you are out shopping?  Return the cart or not?  Link up and let us know!

My suggestion for next week:  To cry it out or not?

Upcoming review / giveaway

I am very excited!  Glow Bug Diapers is sending me a diaper to review and I am very excited about this.  I have been wanting to check out these diapers!  They are also giving away one of their diapers to a lucky reader.  Look for the giveaway towards the end of March.  Want an extra entry?  Head on over to twitter and tweet this:

Want to win a Glow Bug diaper? Get your early entry by retweeting this and leave me a comment at http://www.HousesByShannon.blogspot.com

Little Miss Monkey and Her Daddy

I will start off by saying that The Man works out of state, usually weeks at a time.  He has always worried that Little Miss Monkey wouldn't love him or know him.  I tried to reassure him, but I always wondered what their relationship would be like.  Well, The Man has been laid off since Christmas, a blessing and a curse, but watching the two of them together has been so amazing.

Monkey is 16 months old and her personality is definitely shining through.  She likes to tease daddy with kisses and it's so adorable.  He rough houses with her much more than I do, and she loves it!  Today, he was installing some new child locks on our cabinets, so of course, she wanted to help.

 

And yes, Little Monkey has a screwdriver just like daddy helping out.  She actually kept pushing his hand away when he would use his because she wanted to do it all herself.

When she was born, she nursed all the time, so when she was mad, she needed mommy.  Now that she isn't nursing so much, she has lots more fun with daddy.  

She definitely has her daddy's temper though when she gets mad!  That's one trait I could do without.  Usually when he is gone working and only home a few days a month, she has changed so much.  It's been fun watching him realize when she learns something new and plays a new game with him because it's fun.  

Now as soon as she wakes up in the morning (she sleeps with us part of the night), she wakes him up with kisses.  It's so adorable and I must admit, I'm a little jealous that he's stealing my kisses!  One thing that he has done since she was born when he is working out of state is to call and read her a bedtime story.  Sometimes it's a story we have at home to so we can turn the pages as he reads, but most of the time, she nurses and falls asleep while he reads; that's the only way she will sit still with my phone that long.  Now she's older and she actually babbles to him a ton on the phone.  She will grab my phone sometimes and say dad-dy when she wants to call him. 

Menu Plan Monday

Ahhh, another week of cooking.  I'm not actually excited about this.....

I've been craving sugary cereals lately, and so I bought some Lucky Charms.  Whatever I eat, little Maggie wants some of, so I gave her some.  Shocker, but she learned to eat the marshmallows out of it, and then want more.  Hehe.  I wish I could entice myself to cook something besides cereal for breakfast, but we both love cereal!  When dad is home though, she eats a lot of eggs with him.

For lunch, we have leftovers most of the time.

Our dinner menu for the week:
Cheesy potatoes and ham - I think this qualifies as a pregnancy craving, because this is the 3rd time I have made this in the last month and a half.

Salsa mac and cheese - super easy and fast and yummy.

Spaghetti and green beans

Homemade potato soup with cheese and bacon

BLT's
Grilled ham and cheese and tomato soup

Tator tot hotdish with bacon and cheese

What are you having for dinner?  I would love to hear your ideas, we need something new.  I struggle with this however because I don't like chicken.

Children Attending Childbirths? Yay or Nay?

The Danielle's from  happenings of the harperhousehold  and  we don't have it all
host a weekly FRIENDLY debate about a "hot" topic.  This week, the question is children attending childbirths, yay or nay?  Everybody is entitled to their own opinions, so please be respectful.

For us, I would definitely love to say Yay!  When Baby #2 arrives in June, I would absolutely love for our daughter to be in the room with us.  What surprised me the most, was that when I mentioned this topic to the man last night, he thought it was a great idea as well.  I want our daughter to be there and enjoy this magical family moment with us.  But....in reality, most likely she will not be in the room.  This pregnancy, I tend to randomly cry a lot, and she gets really upset and climbs up on me and smothers me with love.  I think that seeing me in pain would be too hard for her and that she would want to be with mommy instead of being held by somebody else.  Maggie will be 20 1/2 months old when the baby arrives.  I know she loves the baby, she kisses my belly all the time and says hi to baby.  But I also know that she doesn't quite realize what exactly I'm talking about when I ask if she wants to kiss the baby. 

As it is, when the man tries to get too close to me, she pushes him away.  I know this is normal, after all, she stays home with me or goes to work with me so we are pretty much inseparable, the other part of it is that she still nurses and does not like anybody else to get near her boobs :)  Things may change in the next few months, and that would be great if I felt like she would do okay in the room with us during the delivery.  No matter what, I plan to have her with us as long as possible. 

She is so loving and sweet now, I also worry that I would get distracted and focus on her instead of my mission at the time - to give birth to my new baby.  I know for a fact that she will just love up the baby right away.  Today, we went to the hospital to visit a friends new baby that was born today, and when I was holding the baby, Maggie climbed on my lap and gently touched the baby stroking her head and hands.  That is a moment I would love to have immediately when this baby is born.

I can understand why parents would be uncomfortable having their children in the room with them, but for me, I am pretty open about things and want her there. 

What do you think?  Yay or nay?  Leave a comment or link up!

Now what?!

This post is part of the Breastfeeding Blog Hop hosted by The Slacker Mom and co-hosted by Happiness Redefined and me, The Gnome’s Mom. This week’s topic is “First Time Jitters: Leaving Baby in the Care of Someone Else"  Scroll down to see more posts or even better, link up and join the fun!

I had an eye appointment shortly after my daughter was born.  The original plan was for Grandma to meet us at Walmart while I had my appointment and she could shop with baby.  Something came up, and she had to be home during that time.  I was so scared.  Maggie was only about a month old and now I had to leave her for an hour.  I nursed her before I left, left a few ounces that I pumped, and hoped for the best.  What a terrifying experience for me.  I know she was in good hands, but that didn't ease my mind at all.  After that, I didn't leave her for even a few minutes again until she was 6 months old.

Softball started and Grandma and Grandpa were going to watch her for an hour while I played ball.  They only live a block from the softball field which helped a lot.  I could nurse her and not have to leave a bottle with them.   She was also old enough to eat some table foods which was good.  It would take me almost a week to pump enough milk to leave with her for an hour or so.  They also came up to watch us play a lot, and there were times I would nurse her in between innings because that's what she thought of when she saw me - she is still like that now!

Now she is 16 months old, and I hate leaving her just as much!  I know she's in good hands, but they aren't mine and how can anybody possibly take care of her right besides me!  Do any of you feel that way?  Daddy and I have actually gone out on a date 3 times in the last month now for a few hours.  She is still nursing, but I'm 22 weeks pregnant, so she isn't really getting anything, just the snuggle time.  She's learning to go to sleep without me and when she wakes up, she screams until she finds her sippy cup.  When this baby gets here, I will supposedly start playing softball 2 months later.  Not sure if I can leave the baby, grandma and grandpa retired and are moving.

Timing is definitely key, but my daughter never nursed on a schedule, so timing a trip without her was pretty much impossible.  I always nursed her immediately before I left her, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to want to nurse again in a half hour.

I know the first time I went out without her, I was confused.  I sat there thinking...what am I supposed to do now?  I need my baby in my arms!  To all of the mommies:  Do whatever feels right for you!  You really do know best, and it is hard to leave them, but you can do it!

My Pregnancy Week 22

This baby is moving around so much!  In church on Sunday, baby was moving so much that John could see it.  I actually started giggling out loud.  This never gets old!  This is baby #2, and I enjoy it just as much as I did the first time around.

By the way Danielle:  This is one of the shirts I won from you in the Pregnancy Extravaganza Giveaway - and it makes everybody giggle :)

Our baby week 22 - from What to Expect when You're Expecting
Forget about ounces, baby.  This week, we're talking a whopping weight of 1 pound and a length of nearly 8 inches, about the size of a small doll.  But your doll is a living one - with developing senses, including touch, sight, hearing, and taste.  What's your baby touching?  He or she may grab onto the umbilical cord (there's not much else to hang onto in there) and practice the strong grip that will soon be clutching your fingers (and pulling on your hair).  What's your baby seeing?  Though it's dark in the uterine cocoon - and even with fused eyelids- fetuses this age can perceive light and dark.  If you shine a flashlight over your belly, you might feel your baby react, perhaps trying to turn away from the "bright" light.  What's your baby hearing?  The sound of your voice and that of your partner, your heart beating, the whoosh-whoosh of your blood circulating through your body, those gastric gurgles produced by your stomach and intestines, the dog barking, sirens, a loud TV.  And what's your baby tasting?  Pretty much everything you're tasting (so pass the salad).  

Symptoms:  Most days, the nausea is better, although today I don't feel so great.  I have been having headaches every day when I wake up, and it won't go away today, so that's frustrating.   I don't feel like I will die without a nap anymore, so I'm getting a little more energy.  Tons and tons of fetal movement.  Sore back whenever I sit for too long or walk too much.  My nose is always stuffed up.  Baby has taken up a seat on my bladder, so I have to go all the time, and it only lasts a few seconds, then I have to go again a half hour later!

Weight gain:  Stayed the same from last week I think.   

Cravings:  None this week.  I have been trying to eat a wide variety of foods.

Food Aversions None really

Other stuff:  Just enjoying feeling baby move around so much.  I am so grateful for all the movement.  This baby definitely changes position more than my first baby did.  Our daughter moved alot, but didn't change position hardly at all.  This baby is always changing position.  I am already having trouble seeing below my belly. 

Just last night, baby pushed his /her butt out and my belly got so hard!  Daddy really loves this, and so do I, but it sure can be uncomfortable.  

Little Green Bean Diaper Review

Aimee from Little Green Bean was kind of to send me this ADORABLE All-In-One diaper to review. I have to say, I was in love as soon as I saw it. This diaper is so soft and the pattern is so adorable, I couldn't wait to put it on little M's toosh!

We received a medium diaper that fits 20-30 pounds and little Miss M is just barely pushing 20 pounds. Nonetheless, this diaper fit great! It did not gap in the legs or waste at all. This diaper is made with PUL on the outside, a super soft and very absorbable microfleece inside, and two sewn-in soakers.Each soaker is made of 2 layers of baby soft flannel and 2 layers of all-natural bamboo batting.The soakers are sewn into the diaper and are placed to dry quickly. This diaper has 3 rows of snaps so it can adjust to fit babies at the lower end of the size, but will also grow with the baby.The snaps are easy to use and are placed so the legs or waist can be tightened without making the other to tight.

One thing I have found that is different than my other diapers is that when little Miss M pees, there isn't an odor like in most of our diapers.  We really had to check to see if she wet.  This diaper has made it through a nap and still didn't have that odor.

The only issue, if you even want to call it that, is that  the inserts started to pull apart at the corners, which doesn't seem to affect the use of the diaper.  I did mention this to Aimee and she said she will tighten the stitch there and this should eliminate this.  It is very minimal and only noticeable because I turned the diaper inside out.  It did not affect the use at all.

The brown microsuede

Very absorbent sewn in soakers

The elastic around the legs fits very snugly with no room for leaks.

Every time I put this on little Miss M, she turns around and "shakes her tail feathers."  I think she approves

Miss M never stops moving, so getting a shot of how snugly the diaper fits was no easy feat.

Price *****These diapers sell for $18.50 which I think is very reasonable for an all-in-one.  
Leakproof *****We haven't had a single leak with this diaper. The soakers are very absorbent. Fit*****We have no trouble getting a fantastic fit every time.
Easy to Use***** I almost gave this 4 stars because one snap on the diaper is a little difficult to snap together but I think this is from being new and I'm guessing will be less noticeable the more we use it.
Washing*****This diaper has held up well during the wash and dries quickly.  I do turn it inside out to help it dry quicker, but I'm not sure if you even have to do that.
Overall*****I absolutely love this diaper.  Definitely my favorite diaper in our stash now and I'm a little sad when we have to wait for the wash.


About Little Green Bean:  Please visit her store at Little Green Bean and see her adorable selection of diapers and other products.  Aimee started her business because she she loves sewing and decided to make her sewing hobby a useful one and boy am I glad she did!  

Right now, Little Green Bean   is offering Free Shipping with code Freeship12 until March 5th so head on over to her shop and check out her fantastic diapers. 

Disclaimer:  I received this diaper free of charge and the opinions in this post are 100 % mine. 

Make my morning blog hop

Menu Plan Monday

So I've seen this on a few blogs lately, and have decided it's time to do this myself.  Maybe we will eat a little healthier if other people see what I'm cooking....eeek!

Monday :  Stuffed pasta shells
Tuesday :  Ham and potato and apple hodgepodge - who doesn't love the crock pot :)
Wednesday:  Steak, potatoes and baked beans
Thursday:  Homemade macaroni and cheese with ham
Friday:  Honey pecan pork chops and baked sweet potatoes
Saturday:  Italian Soup in the crockpot
Sunday:  Chicken and rice hotdish - a big deal for me....I hate chicken...but that doesn't mean my daughter has to :)

When I make dinner, I hope for either a meal made for two or something that freezes well.  I'm not a fan of leftovers, so I like meals where I can make it and freeze half or it for a later date.  Most nights for dinner it's just the munchkin and I, so we don't need a ton of food, but I want it to be somewhat healthy.  The problem is....I am a very picky eater! 

I love cereal.  I could actually live off of cereal.  I would like to make oatmeal and eggs and other yummy breakfasts, but my daughter loves cereal as much as me, so mostly, that's what we have for breakfast.  John makes eggs alot when he's home, but the smell of them makes me sick with this pregnancy.

I would love to hear your dinner ideas.  Anything you want to share?

My pregnancy week 21

We had our ultrasound last Friday and baby is very active and healthy.  We are not finding out the gender of the baby.  We let our first be a surprise and loved that moment of oooh, it's a girl, I can't wait for that moment of ooh , it's a ????? again.  Baby moved around the entire time and looked like Boom Boom was playing peek a boo because BB kept covering his / her face.  BB also sucked his / her thumb and that was so adorable!!!!

About our baby (from what to expect when you're expecting)

  How big is baby this week?  About 7 inches in length (think large banana) and almost 11 ounces in weight.  And talking about bananas, you might want to eat some this week if you'd like your baby to have a taste for them.  Some carrots, too.  That's because amniotic fluid differs from day to day depending on what you have eaten (hot chili one day, sweet banana another), and now that your baby is swallowing amniotic fluid each day (for hydration, nutrition, and also to get practice swallowing and digesting), he or she will be getting a taste of - and a taste for - whatever's on your menu.  Here's another update:  Arms and legs are finally in proportion, neurons are now connected between the brain and muscles, and cartilage throughout the body is turning to bone.  Which means that when your baby makes his or her moves (which you're probably feeling by now), they're much more coordinated - no more jerky twitches.

My symptoms - My morning sickness that lasted all day has gotten much better.  I haven't thrown up since I threw up on my daughter a few weeks ago.  I'm still nauseous but not as often.  Part of the day I feel like I have more energy, but then I'm exhausted.  My workout has been shortened to 30 instead of 60 minutes of cardio, but lately that seems to be too much, I'm exhausted about an hour after I'm done.  I have a lot of ligament pain which makes it uncomfortable to walk sometimes.  I'm already getting some stretch marks, but I doubt I will really notice over the old ones :)  

My weight gain - I have finally gained weight, much to my doctors delight.  I had lost 7 pounds (I lost 15 with my first), but am now up 3 pounds.  It's much easier to gain when you aren't throwing up all day.

Cravings - I just crave junk food!   

Other stuff - At our appointment, I measured two weeks ahead according to the doctor, but the baby is measuring 1 week ahead based on the ultrasound. 

Pregnant and breastfeeding

My daughter and I had a fantastic breastfeeding relationship right from the start and for that I am very grateful.  She is now 16 months old and still loves to nurse!  I am 21 weeks pregnant now and still nursing.  There are some days I wonder what I'm thinking because it gets uncomfortable for me some times, but I love the fact that she still enjoys nursing and that we get great cuddle time because of it.  I am not concerned with whether or not she quits before the baby is born.  If we end up tandem nursing, I will give it my best effort, if she decides to wean herself, I'm okay with that also. 

However, I am having such a hard time lately with people and their opinions of how I need to stop for whatever reason.  Some say because I have to stop, you can't have two nursing babies at once...hello, mothers of multiples do this!  Some say it will create jealousy or that it is dangerous to my unborn baby.  I know that there are times that this can cause preterm labor; so can sex, and many other things.  I am not a high risk pregnancy, there is absolutely no reason for me to be concerned.  Why can't people just understand that this is a decision for my family to make about what is best and right for us.  My doctor even has the opinion that I need to stop breastfeeding because I'm pregnant.  I haven't asked her yet why she feels that way, but I am curious to hear her reasons. 

I am so grateful for the La Leche League meetings and the support I get from other moms there.  I feel even better that there is a mom there who is due any day now and still nursing her 18 month old child.  She is planning to tandem nurse and I'm hoping to learn from her in the next few months.  

I know there are many moms out there who have been in this situation. I would love to hear from you! 

What a day!

Today was definitely more interesting than I was expecting.  It started out just fine.  I got Maggie ready and we went out to the library.  We got home, had lunch and I tried to get her to nap.   I was so tired, thinking I would just lay down and nap if she ever fell asleep.  After sitting in her room with her for an hour and a half, I left her room to let her figure it out.  She's exhausted, but she didn't fall asleep, so neither did I. 

As it turns out, this was pretty lucky.  I went downstairs and was on the phone with State Farm about our insurance policies when I look out the patio door and our entire backyard is on fire!  Yikes...Kind of one of those heart leaping out of your body moments.  I went to the garage to tell John and his friend who reply to me, what do you mean the yard is one fire...pretty self explanatory comment I thought.  They open the garage door and say, oh my gosh, the yard is on fire!  News flash...I was serious.  Our entire back yard was up in flames.  So scary.  I ran and got Maggie because I wasn't sure how fast it would spread or when the fire department would get here.  Then I made a call to let the neighbors know their yard was also on fire.  The 22 minutes it took for the fire department were the longest 22 minutes of my life!

John and his friend managed to get most of the fire put out by the time the fire department got here, but by then they were over trying to stop the neighbors yard from burning into the treeline.  I was quite terrified watching with Maggie from the back patio as the fire got closer and closer to our house.  When all was said and done, the fire ended up about 11 feet from our house.  Too close for comfort! 

I am so very grateful that nobody was hurt and all we lost was our grass.  John has a very wounded ego because of how the fire started, but that will heal.  He had taken the ashes from our fireplace and put them in the fire pit like he does every time he empties the ashes.  They didn't seem hot, but obviously there was enough there to start the fire.  

This brought back some bad memories for me.  When I was just a kid, 8 or 10, our house burned down.  I have vague memories of having nothing left.  Years later, the hole where the house was is still just a hole.  Way too much excitement for me for today!  Now to hope I sleep and don't dream about fire tonight!