Colt's Ford Raptor that he ordered came in on January 2nd. Since he ordered the truck from a dealership in Wichita Falls, he had to send in pictures of his trade-in. These were the last pictures of his white Chevrolet. For the most part we've been Chevrolet people, especially my family. For now, Colt has converted to Ford, at least for the time being! If we end up upgrading my Jeep to a bigger vehicle, he even wants to look at the Lincoln Navigators. I will say that the inside of the Ford is much roomier on the inside than his Chevrolet was.
We had our 20 week ultrasound for Baby Boy yesterday! We got lots of pictures of him. These are a few of my favorites. If you look at the third picture below, you can definitely tell that he is, indeed, a boy! I know the blood test showed he was a boy, but I've still been a little afraid to buy things until I got it confirmed at this appointment. He didn't want to cooperate and show us at first, but when she came back around to his anatomy at the end, it was obvious. For the most part, everything else looked good and measured right on track. His head measured at 21 weeks and everything else measured at 20 weeks and a few days. He was 13 oz. After she had been looking at everything for a while, I made the comment about how they saw a choroid plexus cyst during Kinley's ultrasound and it scared me to death. The ultrasound tech then said, "Well, I don't want to scare you, but this baby has the same thing." Colt had already saw by this point too but hadn't said anything yet. Kinley only had one cyst and her's was pretty small. This baby has bilateral choroid plexus cyst, meaning that he has one on both sides of his brain. His cysts are a little bigger than hers was. Colt said that the fact that there are two and they are bigger doesn't mean anything. The ultrasound tech didn't really talk to us much about it. The doctor was supposed to come in and go over everything after. However, he had to leave to go deliver a baby. Since we had to go pick up Kinley from school, we just told them to have the doctor give us a call. Of course, I was worried. I wasn't quite as worried as I was with Kinley because the test that we did with NxGen included genetic testing as well. The concern about the cysts is that they are sometimes associated with Trisomy18. Our genetic tests came back negative for Trisomy18, as well as any other disorder. Also, all of the other images of the baby were perfect and didn't indicate any type of abnormalities or issues to be concerned about. The doctor called me later that afternoon. He started by saying that the ultrasound tech said that we had a cyst with our first child. He went on to say that he sees this in about 1/50 cases, which is more common than all the stats you see on the internet. He also said it is more common in boys than girls. He had looked over all the other results and nothing concerned him. Since we had already had the genetic testing done, he seemed pretty confident that they would go away on their own, like Kinley's had. He said if we were super concerned, he would send us to a high risk doctor in Dallas for more testing, but we definitely aren't doing that. We are just going back for a follow up ultrasound at my 24 week appointment to see if they are still present. With Kinley, we didn't have our follow up until 28 weeks so Colt said they still could be there when we go back for the follow up. I'm glad that everything else looked and measured great on him though! I loved seeing him kick and flip around and being able to hear and see his heart beating.
Other than the ultrasound, my blood pressure was still ok. It was 126/118 I believe. We took it after the ultrasound as well so I have a feeling it probably wouldn't have even been that high. My weight was 137, up 15 lbs. from pre-pregnancy. I haven't felt great this week but I think it's all sinus and allergy related. I just feel drained and have sinus headaches. Other than that, so far, so good! Baby Boy's pictures are on our fridge! I also went ahead and ordered his bedding today so we can get started on his room!
In addition to my last two post about adding to our family: finding out we were pregnant and finding out that we are having a baby boy, here's a brief recap of my pregnancy so far. I am 20 weeks today, September 24th. I've been taking weekly pregnancy photos this pregnancy, like I did with Kinley. However, this time, I have a helper in the majority of my pictures. The pictures aren't uniform like they were last time. It's whatever picture I can get! I skipped a few weeks in the beginning, but I've been consistent on taking them lately. I will post all those pictures in later posts.
The throwing up QUICKLY began right after that. I threw up for the first time on June 18th, and I threw up twice that day. I only threw up ONE time the WHOLE time I was pregnant with Kinley...not so much this time around! I definitely lost count this time. After that day, I continued to throw up every single night. I got excited on June 22nd because I hadn't thrown up by the time I was taking my nightly shower. I actually got so excited that I text Colt in Temple and told him that I had went a whole day. Well, as soon as I text him, I drank something, brushed my teeth and then proceeded to throw up seven times that night. I ended up trying to brush my teeth with just water if I'd made it that far through the night without throwing up, but it didn't work. I would still throw up. I would also throw up if I was ever riding in the car with Colt. The first time that happened we were on our way home from attending James and Jessica's wedding in Dallas on July 2nd. Colt didn't have time to pull over so I threw up in a cup that was in the car. That continued to happen so I learned to just take a cup with me. Besides throwing up every night and in the car, there were a few days that I threw up all day long. There was also one day that I was so sick (and having other stomach issues as well) that my mom and dad had to come down because I didn't think I would be able to take care of Kinley while Colt was at work. By the time they made it, Colt had given me a zofran before he left for work, and I was feeling much better though thank goodness. The few days that I was sick all day, I think it was only three times or so, Colt ended up giving me a zofran that we had at the house just so I could keep something down and stay out of the bathroom. My doctor said they don't really recommend zofran anymore. He prescribed something called Diclegis. The first time I took it, I felt drunk and immediately fell asleep on the couch. Colt had to do Kinley's nighttime routine and put her to bed. Then he had to put me to bed! I was hesitant to take it again. I tried a few times but it didn't seem to help a lot, and I didn't like the way it made me feel. I just sucked it up for the most part. When I was desperate one day, I text Mallory to see if anything had worked or helped at all for her because I knew she had been sick with her first little boy, Mason. Colt ended up going out that night to Target to buy me some Preggo Pops to suck on. He also bought me Sea Band bracelets to wear on my wrist while he was there too. I don't know if the bracelets helped, but I wore them just in case they did! I also tried ginger snap cookies and ginger ale to try to ease the sickness, which are nasty by the way! One thing I did do was make cinnamon toast at night and added ginger to it. It was one of the few foods that tasted good to me and that I could stomach. It didn't matter what I ate or how much I ate, I still got sick no matter what I tried. I ran out of foods to eat because I had thrown up EVERYTHING. Also, just the thought of a cup of coffee, made me want to gag. Pretty much anything with milk in it made me want to gag too. Let's just say that our family milk consumption went down drastically. We are now back to drinking a gallon every 2 days though. Yes, the three of us go through 3.5 gallons of milk a week. I finally quit being so sick at 16 weeks!! I am super thankful that it didn't continue! While I was sick, I felt my best in the morning. For a while there, I was HAVING to get a sausage, egg and cheese burrito and a cherry limeade from either Sonic or Dairy Queen EVERY SINGLE DAY... at least I thought I HAD to have it! It's the only thing that tasted good to me and it was pretty much the only time of day that I could keep food down. Sometimes I would even order two burritos so I could have one at lunch too. I ended up making them for myself for breakfast after a while. Now that I'm feeling better, that craving has left though! I have told Colt that if I had been sick like this with Kinley, we may not have had a second child. I was just playing, but it definitely was not a fun time. There were multiple times that I told him that I think this baby hates me.
Besides being sick, which has consumed pretty much my whole pregnancy...here are a few other things so far about this pregnancy:
At James and Jessica's wedding, we were sitting at a table full of Temple people. They had prime rib for dinner. I couldn't stomach it. About the only thing that tasted good was the rolls they had. I asked Colt to go get me some more. He came back to the table and blurted out that he had to get the pregnant lady some rolls! I was so early in my pregnancy that besides family and Josh and Brianna, I don't think that we had told anyone yet that I was even pregnant. The table just all stared at me. The Barth's were sitting at the table with us. I think Tina felt how uncomfortable it was so she blurted out that they were pregnant with their second too! Her due date is just a few days after mine. They had just found out that they were pregnant as well. Because of Colt's mishap, he ended up going to James and Jessica's table and telling them that we were pregnant as well so that they weren't out of the loop!
My first OB appointment was on July 10th. So yes, Colt shared the news before my first appointment even!
I've been super congested the whole pregnancy. It's the worst when i first wake up in the mornings.
I've been super tired... I'm talking like a whole additional level of tired. I started falling asleep when I put Kinley down for her afternoon nap EVERY SINGLE DAY. I still do a lot of the time. I just crash and wake up a little while later.
My feet also already hurt a lot of nights. This ins't a good sign considering I'm just getting started and still have 20 weeks left.
I had horrible acne with Kinley, specifically on my back. It was so bad that it left scars for like a year after she was born. One of the reasons I thought I might be having a boy this time is because I hadn't really had acne yet. However, now it's started to pop up on my back and shoulders again. My face isn't too great either. I think a little acne may just be something that comes with me being pregnant.
I've had a bladder infection pretty much the whole pregnancy. I've went through three rounds of antibiotics already, and I can't kick it. I don't have any symptoms and wouldn't have even known I had one. At my first appointment, they did blood work and called and said I had a bladder infection. They prescribed amoxicillin, which ended up causing me to break out and have an allergic reaction. My mom had told me that I had a reaction to amoxicillin when I was little so I had always avoided it. However, when I had Kinley, they gave me it sometime during pregnancy and I was fine. I'm going to start avoiding it again! They ended up calling in a substitute to take. When I went to my second appointment, they repeated blood work. I still had it. We treated again. Then I went to my third appointment and the same thing. They had me take two weeks of antibiotics this last time that I actually just finished taking. I'm hoping that when I go in for my appointment this coming Tuesday that it's finally gone.
I felt him move, or felt flutters, for the first time on September 2nd. I was 17 weeks. I was feeling him like crazy on September 11th, at 18 weeks, so Colt put his hand on my stomach and he could feel vague flutters for the first time. I had told Colt earlier in the pregnancy that I couldn't wait to feel him because it would make all the sickness definitely worth it when I started feeling him. It's worth it anyways, but I love being able to feel him. I know I say that and before too long, I'll be getting painful jabs!
Starting at week 16 of this pregnancy, actually week 17 for us, since that is when my appointment was, Colt had to start giving me hydroxyprogesterone caproate shots. He has to give them every week until I'm 36 weeks. They aren't a quick, pain free shot either. They are thick and you can feel them going in. After 20 shots, I can already tell, I'll be over them by the time I'm 36 weeks. The doctor recommended them this time because of the fact that my water broke so early with Kinley. The shots are supposed to help prevent it from happening so early this time around.
I weighed 122 when I got pregnant this time. At my 13 week appointment, I weighed 126, up 4 pounds. At 15 weeks by my home scale, I weighed 128.6, up 6.6 pounds. At my 17 week appointment, I weighed 130, up 8 pounds. My weight gain, I think is probably pretty close to the same as last time. My belly is just showing SO much more this time around. I started showing MUCH earlier this time around, and I felt like my belly majorly popped the Monday after 16 weeks. When I took my 19 week picture this past Sunday, we compared it to my last pregnancy. I already looked about the same as I did when I was 24 weeks or so with Kinley! I've looked about a month ahead the whole time. Because of my belly showing more, it already takes me a little while to get comfortable at night...also not a good sign for what lies ahead!
At my 17 week appointment, the baby's heartbeat was in the high 140s. When I was pregnant with Kinley, I had issues with my blood pressure being high and a couple of preeclampsia scares. If I hadn't have delivered Kinley early, they were talking about inducing at 38 weeks anyways just because of my blood pressure. This time around, my blood pressure has been good so far. At my 17 week appointment, it was 114/70. I'm hoping it stays in check this time. I think my blood pressure issue could have not been helped that pregnancy because I was working all the time that pregnancy. I was working like crazy to try to get things done before my maternity leave. I mean, the day before my water broke, I had pulled a 14 hour work day and stayed up super late.
I am still working out this time. I had already quit CrossFit by this time when I was pregnant with Kinley. I only make it to the gym 2-3 times a week most weeks, but at almost 20 weeks, I still am able to do toes to bar, pull ups and most other movements. The only things I have really stopped doing so far are upside down movements, like wall walks or hand stand push ups. I've also decreased the amount of weight I lift. I just do what feels comfortable. I'm definitely not trying to get any PRs. I'm just trying to stay active this time around.
On September 26th, this coming Tuesday, we go for our anatomy ultrasound. I am super excited about this! I am also ready to pick out a name already so we can get going on his room and order a few other personalized things, but we just can't decide!
I've already thought about and realized how big I will be at Christmas this year! I'll be 33 weeks on Christmas this year!
I'm sure I'm leaving some things out but this covers a lot of it. Since it hasn't been the most enjoyable pregnancy so far and it's felt pretty much the opposite of Kinley's, I've said that maybe this baby might be a good sleeper, unlike her as a baby! Fingers crossed!
We found out that we were having a baby BOY so early this time that I didn't have a lot of time to think about all the old wives tales or debate too much on if we were having a boy or girl. We found out that we were having a boy on July 31st, right when we got back from vacation in Florida. I was 12 weeks when I found out. It was actually pretty uneventful when we found out. No big ultrasound and getting to see like last time. Here in Tyler, they offer a blood test. We didn't even have it mentioned to us in Temple with Kinley. The provider that my doctor's office uses is called NxGen. It's just a simple little blood draw from my arm that does genetic testing for most of the serious conditions, as well as tells the gender. It's also only $49... so we figured why not do it?! I did the blood draw before we went on vacation and a week or two later, I got a call from the nurse at my doctor's office. They called and told me that all the testing came back negative and also asked on the phone if I wanted to go ahead and know the sex. I said sure. When she said it was a boy, I told her that I had a feeling it might be a boy because my pregnancy had been completely the opposite of how it had been with Kinley. I assumed it was either a boy or a girl that was going to be the complete opposite of Kinley. Colt was home when I got the call, so I immediately went in the media room where he was and told him that we were having a boy. I think before he said anything, he said, "they just told you on the phone?" Colt says he would've been happy either way, with a boy or a girl. I think the first pregnancy, he probably secretly wanted a boy. He said after we had Kinley though and he saw how it was with her, he would have loved having either one the second time around. I agree. I am excited about adding a little boy to the mix, but would've been happy with a girl and a sister for Kinley too. We just want a happy, healthy baby. Although, we aren't willing to do anything permanent yet, this baby might end up completing our family. As far as names go for this baby boy, we haven't decided yet. We have a few front runners but nothing definite. We get to have an ultrasound next week and go see baby boy. I couldn't be more excited. I cannot wait to see him. I actually was telling Colt earlier today how I was ready and excited about it! We had a little scare with Kinley at our anatomy ultrasound when they saw a choroid plexus cyst so I'm hoping everything looks and measures great. I'm also hoping that we get a double confirmation that we are indeed having a boy. Even though the blood test that we did is 99% accurate and our doctor said that he has never seen it come back wrong, it would still be nice to get it confirmed.
When I did all of the old wives tales with Kinley, everything seemed to lean a little more towards boy. For fun, if we hadn't have found out early this time, here is what a few of them would've predicted for baby boy.
Chinese Gender Chart: GIRL
Mayan Gender Test: BOY
String Test: BOY My mom was right when she did this with Kinley! It was right again this time!
Cravings: BOY
I couldn't really eat anything because I was throwing up so much. However, I did lean towards salty instead of sweet. I still can't stomach peanut butter, honey, oatmeal and chocolate chips, which was my nightly go-to before getting pregnant.
Acne: BOY
My acne was awful with Kinley, specifically on my back. It left scars that took about a year to go away. This time it hasn't been bad until just recently. I just started having acne again on my shoulders and back. Maybe it's just something that happens to me during pregnancy, regardless of if I'm having a girl or boy!?!
Morning sickness: GIRL
This was a definite. More about this on my next post.
Baking soda test: I didn't do this time
Carrying low: BOY
I think... I wasn't sure last time either but I do think I'm carrying lower than with Kinley.
Heart Rate: BOY
It was around 140 at my 17 week appointment.
Side you sleep on: GIRL
I didn't write this one down with Kinley, but I sleep on my right side. I'm a stomach sleeper so I can already tell the rest of this pregnancy is going to be rough not being able to do that.
Here are our pictures of Kinley showing off the fact that she is having a BABY BROTHER! We sent these to our family and some close friends when we first found out. Then we shared on social media a few days later.
This was Kinley on the way home from the store with me when we went to get the balloons. She wanted them with her in the car.
I still don't see how people wait to find out what they are having. It makes it a little more real to me knowing. I can't wait to meet our BABY BOY, and I also can't wait to see Kinley as a BIG SISTER! Exciting and exhausting times ahead thats for sure!
Before I start recapping and catching up on 2017, I thought I would officially share our BIG NEWS on here! We found out on June 14th, 2 days after Kinley's 2nd birthday, that we are having another baby! I was here in Tyler on the day we found out, but Colt was still working in Temple. I just had a thought in my head that I should've probably already started my period. I already had an old test here at the house so I went ahead and took it. I took the test at 3pm that day. Colt had went into work at 2pm and didn't get off that night until 11pm. I had to keep the news between just me and Kinley ALL DAY! I might've been in a little state of shock. I also might've cried a bit! My initial thought was that I was already tired with just Kinley... remember she didn't sleep until 11 months. Could I really add a baby to the mix?! It didn't help that Kinley had a bad day that day and was pretty clingy and winey. She didn't eat that day, and it took me 2 hours to get her to take her nap! Maybe she knew what was going on and needed the extra attention?! I had literally just saw a lady at Target that morning with a toddler and a newborn. She was struggling to push her buggy and take care of both kids. I had Kinley with me, and I thought to myself "that poor lady." When I found out, it's not that I wasn't excited about having a baby. I definitely was. It's a blessing to be able to carry a baby! I know that, and I am very thankful to be adding another one to our family! It just took it a while to sink in this time around!
I knew we wanted another baby. We quit "preventing," and I quit taking birth control when Kinley turned 18 months old. Most people may not have been that shocked when they found out that they were pregnant 6 months later, but I definitely was! Since it took us a while and we had to have the help of a fertility speciailist to have Kinley, I assumed we would probably need help again. I just had the idea in my head that we would "try" for a year. Then we would have to see a specialist again to be able to get pregnant. That wasn't the case though and that is a good thing! Right before we moved, I had actually pulled all my medical records from Temple so I knew exactly what medications and dosage had worked for me to get pregnant so I had it all accessible when I met with a doctor her in Tyler down the road. I had never had regular periods on my own in the past, and I had been, so I guess that might should have been a sign for me that things were different.
As soon as Colt got off work and I was able to tell him, I did! I guess I could've told him in some sweet and cute way, but I couldn't wait until I saw him since we were in different towns. Of course, he didn't believe me at first. He said "are you serious?" Then he told me how excited he was and talked me off the little panic ledge that I was on! He kept saying how it would be ok. He also pointed out that it was best case scenario considering the time it takes to see a specialist, my age, etc. I told him to not tell this baby that I didn't want it because that wasn't the case! I also went on to tell Colt how I was an awful mother this time around already! Since I wasn't planning on really getting pregnant and had been busy with the move, I had quit taking prenatal vitamins. They say that the most important time to take them is before you conceive. Also, I was drinking about 2 cups of coffee a day! Last time since we were trying so hard, I was on my "A" game. I hadn't even been really tracking my period or writing it down so I wasn't positive when my due date would be. I had wrote it down earlier in the year so my best guess when I looked back was a due date of around January 30th or February 1st. I saw a doctor here in Tyler for the first time on July 10th. By measurement, he said that my due date was February 11th! Kinley will be 2 years and 8 months old by then. Maybe she'll be a little more self sufficient. At the rate we are going, I'm doubting we'll be potty trained quite yet though! I'm also hoping that she gets ok with Mommy holding a baby and wants to "help." Right now, she doesn't really like when Mommy holds other babies. I ordered her a book when we found out about being a big sister so I'm hoping by the time the baby gets here, she'll start to get it a little more. As of right now, she just knows enough to point to where baby's room is going to be.
These were our first pictures of the baby from our appointment on July 10th. I was 9 weeks and 1 day. We get more pictures on September 26th when we go for our anatomy ultrasound, and I can't wait to see how the baby is doing and also double confirm the sex.
This is finally my last post for the year of 2016. It's September 2017, and I finally get to start recapping this year! In my last post, I wrote that on the night of the Emergency Medicine Christmas party, we ended up watching Kinley have her own dance party instead. Here's four little videos of her dancing away!
December was a big month and the holidays took up a lot of our month. Here's a few pictures and videos from the rest of our month of December.
December 1st
Eating her big breakfast before heading to the gym
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In her workout clothes, ready to workout
December 5th
Passed out in our bed that morning and taking up the whole thing
December 6th
Sporting one of her many Christmas outfits
December 7th
Aunt Nicci got her this adorable outfit...we had to pose and try to get a few pictures in it.
December 8th
Taking a bath...it looks like she had knocked her head on something.
She was and still isn't afraid of the water at all.
Eating her breakfast... I text Colt that morning because not only did she eat ALL her food, she stole my bowl of eggs and licked it clean too! I wish she still ate this good every morning!
December 9th
Colt and I were supposed to go to the Emergency Medicine Christmas party this night, and Colt's mom was supposed to come watch Kinley. However, right before we were about to leave, we found out that she had her nights mixed up so we didn't end up getting to go. We watched Kinley have her own dance party that night instead. I'll post those videos in my next post because they are pretty cute!
December 10th
Here's a video of Kinley signing "more" for more pancakes. She loved pancakes!
Upset about being stuck in the box
Stealing presents from under the Christmas tree
December 14th
Proof of Kinley's sticker obsession
I'm pretty sure she was probably watching Elmo smiling this big.
December 15th
More bathtub fun
December 16th
Kinley helping me make Mitzi's Christmas present. We made her a little Casino Fund because she loves to go to the casino, and we never know what to buy for her.
December 18th
Playing peek-a-boo behind her blocks
December 18th
Bathtub fun... again. I have a cute video of her dancing to Jingle Bells in the bathtub too. It shows a little too much though so I won't post it on here.
Later that night showing off her iPad skills...
gaming with Daddy...
and playing on her Doodle Pro
December 19th
One of her favorite thing...feeding the dogs treats
December 20th
Drinking a smoothie
December 21st
She had to take my old play Tupperware cups that my mom gave her with us to the gym that morning.
A little photoshoot that afternoon while we took a wagon ride around the neighborhood and played outside in one of the Christmas outfits that Grandma got her.
Blowing kisses for the camera
December 22nd
Yep...pancakes, eggs and fruit...all gone by the time she was done I'm sure.
Grandma and Giggy also both got her Christmas pajamas. This is the pair that Giggy had bought her.
December 27th
One of our car rides for all of our Christmas celebrations... she made herself comfortable and was relaxing!
December 29th
Wore out after our final Christmas celebration at our house that morning
Testing out her car in our neighborhood
Gaming again with Daddy
December 30th
Blake and Victoria stopped by for a visit that day on their way to Austin, and we went and ate at Backyard Burgers.
Cooking in her new kitchen
Just a short little video that Colt took of her that night before bed of her making all sorts of noises
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December 31st
We spent some of our New Year's Eve riding around the neighborhood and playing outside. Colt worked a 10am-10pm in College Station moonlighting so he left early that morning and got home about midnight that night. Kinley and I were solo for our New Year's Eve celebration, and I'm pretty sure we were cuddled up in bed before midnight!
