We have a Name and 4-D Ultrsound Pictures

We recently had a 4-D ultrasound and she was lying face down with her face buried in my side during the first appointment but we did get a few good shots of how flexible she is. Her leg was extended all the way up to her head with her toes touching her forehead. We went back a week later and she still wasn't in the best position for 4D pictures but we did get some. She was also doing her crazy flexible moves again at the second appointment which also made it difficult to get great shots. I included a few below.

We have decided on a name for our future little girl and we are all agreed and settled on it...FINALLY! Her name will be Kate Reese. I love it! We were going to use Catherine and call her Cate for short but I really didn't want her to always have to sign things with her legal name and correct teachers on the first day of school and those kinds of things since we would always be calling her Cate. Catherine is also my husbands grandma's name and we loved the idea of honoring her because she is amazing but overall Cate won out. Then the problem was determining how to spell her name. With a C or a K. I liked it with a C because then it would be like my name but I was pretty much the only one so we ultimately went with Kate. Kate is also very special to me because I never really wanted children until my best friend, who is more like a sister to me than just a best friend, gave birth to her daughter back in 2001. The bond I formed with her was amazing and I couldn't imagine how much love I could possibly have for my own child if i felt so much for this child that wasn't even mine. I eventually changed my mind about having children and always knew I wanted to include some part of her name in my future daughters name. So, I am! She is now 9 and she thinks its the coolest thing ever that her Auntie is naming the baby after her. :)

It's a..........

Girl!!! I am so excited!

I'm 9 Weeks!

Apparently many people think it's funny how many tests I took to confirm this exciting news. Ha ha! I actually took a few more than the ones in the picture from the last post. And the first time I was pregnant I think I about drained our bank account due to the amount of tests I bought. I just couldn't quit. I'm not sure if it's an affinity for peeing on sticks or just complete denial that there is actually an extra line on each of the tests. Hence the digital test I bought this time. This was my first time trying one of these tests and it was quite exciting I must say watching the blinking little hourglass and then to see PREGNANT pop up. Something about the certainty of actually seeing the word I loved. I've felt pretty blah lately with the nausea-I refuse to call it morning sickness due to the fact I'm quite certain it had to be referred to as that by a man who has in fact never been pregnant and completely unaware that it occurs all day regardless of the time. However, I am not sick like I was last time (which was horrendous) so I am VERY grateful for that. At my first doctor appointment last Friday I got my cocktail of drugs that have made it much more bearable to deal with. I also got to have my first glimpse of our new little gummy bear as the tech referred to the baby as. And here is HER (fingers crossed) blog debut.
So, I will try my best to not completely bore you to death or offer TMI for the next 31 weeks but I'm not making any promises. Something about being pregnant just opens you up to thinking its appropriate to offer random private bodily functions and an unlimited amount of details to anyone that will listen. But I will try to contain myself.

Flashback of Being a New Mom

I took a trip to the OBGYN's office recently for my yearly checkup and to discuss preparations for our second pregnancy. Why is it that our yearly check up never gets easier? You start dreading it about a week before. Then you start thinking, should I call and cancel? Maybe I should just put it off for another week or so...but if you do that, you just have to dread it for another week. So I went! 

Like most OBGYN offices mine is quite large and filled with many women awaiting an ultrasound, a glucose test, or the standard pap smear. It's usually pretty quiet, with most women texting away or pretending to read a magazine.

As I sat there awaiting my name to be called to discuss preparations for my second pregnancy, I looked around at the mostly friendly faces and couldn't help but notice all of the pregnant women. It reminded me of my last visit to the OBGYN which was about 2 1/2  years ago for my post pregnancy follow up visit six weeks after I had my son. (I know, I know, it’s terrible I hadn’t been in for an annual in almost three years. I told you I dread going every time.) I remember stumbling into the waiting room with an oversized purse hanging off my shoulder, a diaper bag stuffed with every possible thing an infant could need over an hour's time, and a car seat carrier loaded with toys, a blanket, and oh yeah, a baby, I was undoubtedly the center of attention. I was hoping they were taking note of the vast difference 6 weeks can make. Here they were, sitting alone, holding on to their one, tiny purse, quietly texting their husbands about how they HAVE to have pizza for dinner tonight while they watch American Idol and sitting right across from them is me and J,  taking up three seats and half the floor space. I wanted to say to them, "See how crazy I look? See how tired I look? See these awesome sweatpants I'm sporting and this hot mess of a ponytail I have to wear because I didn't have time to wash my hair this morning? This will be you next month! I know you're sick of being pregnant, but enjoy every minute you have left to sit through a meal or television show uninterrupted! And if you think you are getting bad sleep now, just wait til your new little one joins you!"

Remembering that moment scared the hell out of me, here I was without my toddler, who I now trust to stay at home with his daddy without the fear of being dropped on his head without me present, and I was here to discuss starting all over again with another baby. We have just now started to regain some of our sanity from the past 2 1/2 years and we want to start all over. Are we crazy? I think it is scarier the second time around because now I know what to expect during  pregnancy, the delivery and the blur of the first few months that comes from total sleep deprivation.  And on top of all that, I will now have a toddler to look after. So the naps I desperately remember needing in the first three months last time can pretty much be counted out. And God forbid I am deathly ill again like last time because I have no idea how I would get through that while taking care of a toddler.
 
Shortly after having my son I remember thinking, WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL US HOW MUCH A BABY CHANGES EVERYTHING! Now to be fair, I did have almost everyone who had kids warn me that a baby changes everything, but they did not tell me specifics! They did not tell me that sometimes babies don't nap for three hours a day. They did not tell me that when a baby wakes up in the middle of the night, sometimes they are awake for two or three hours straight. They did not tell me that if I am lucky enough to shower, it will take me over two hours to get ready. They did not tell me that every time I get to sit down to finally eat a meal that this will be the exact time that the baby decides to wake up screaming or will need to be fed. I may not have to get up every few hours anymore but having a toddler comes with a whole other set of challenges to deal with. 

But even after my terrifying FLASHBACK episode I am still excited about starting the process of adding a new member to our little family. I hope through this blog I can help prepare a mommy-to-be or a new mom understand, HOW a baby changes everything. Because that old saying is just way too vague to mentally prepare anyone for this "adventure".  And to all the moms out there who already have more than one child maybe you can offer me some advice as I find my way through the ups and downs of this crazy, exciting, roller coaster ride of motherhood for the second time with a toddler in tow.