Baby Mitchell #2: Week 10

How Far Along: 10 weeks! (December 27^th)

How Big is Baby: the size of a prune (1.5 inches long)

Sleep: Still sleeping a lot, although it was harder this week with Christmas celebrations to maintain my 8:00pm bedtimes.   Also, it seems like I am waking up to go to the bathroom a lot earlier in the pregnancy this time.  I am up at least 3 – 4 times a night currently.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: still loving carbs.  I am hungrier than I remember being last time.  Also, when Wes went to Central Market- he brought home all of my favorite things.  I devoured a loaf of jalapeño cheddar bread in five days flat along with three pepper turkey.  I was also loving my special hot sauce and iced coffee (that I mixed with milk to minimize the caffeine)!    

Symptoms: still throwing up like a champ J.  Its been worse this week.  So ignore my earlier post, when I thought it was less.  I am also officially showing way earlier than last time.  I am finding it true with the second one that you pop a lot earlier :) that or I ate a lot more with Christmas and my birthday :(

Movement: Nope, not yet. 

Gender Prediction: still no clue.  Wes did make his prediction this week- he thinks this baby is a girl. 

What I am worrying about: I actually didn’t do very much worrying this week J yay for being distracted! 

What I am loving: that we were able to tell both of our families the good news over Christmas. Also, I am loving being pregnant. 

What I am looking forward too: a week at home with my baby and husband.  Added bonus- all of my sisters are in town at once!  This doesn’t happen very often! 

Best Moment of the week: Hands down- getting to tell our families that we are expecting a little one again!  Second best moment of the week- Emma’s first Christmas (post to come).  Third best moment of the week- getting to celebrate turning 29! I had a great birthday (also, a post to come).  

Baby Mitchell #2: Week 9

So excited that I have a blog to keep a pregnancy diary this time around :).  I wrote this post December 20th.  I will catch you up with Week 10 tomorrow then we will be on track!

How Far Along: 9 weeks! (December 20^th); forgot to grab a picture this week L.  

How Big is Baby: the size of a green olive (1 inch long)

Sleep: Yes, I am exhausted ALL OF THE TIME.  I pretty much go to bed anywhere between 7:30 and 8:30 pm which does mean I typically wake up before my 5:30am alarm (which is so annoying). 

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: My aversions are frozen pizza and the smell of regular coffee.  Wes loves it when I am pregnant because it gives him an excuse to drink central market coffee every day J I can tolerate the smells of almond joy coffee and maple pecan nut coffee.  I crave bread.  Any kind of carbs really.  Its heavy and it sits on my stomach better. 

Symptoms: the morning sickness is back.  Although I have thrown up less- I am more nauseous.  The problem this time is that when Emma wakes up in the middle of the night, it triggers the morning sickness at an earlier hour.  Several times, I have had to come get Wes to go get Emma because I need to throw up.  Gross.  Also, I am super emotional- all of those Christmas wish stories on the radio- get me every time.  Especially the stories with families that have babies that can’t afford diapers.  So sad.  And it makes me realized how blessed I really am.  Most mornings, I have tears in my eyes driving to work. 

Movement: Nope, not yet. 

Gender Prediction: not a clue, I have been a little less sick this time around- so maybe a boy?  Although, I keep referring to this baby as Emma’s sister.  Can’t wait to find out. 

What I am worrying about: my overactive (over stimulated) ovaries; the sono tech said she wasn’t going to comment on anything during the ultrasound and then out of nowhere, she asks “have you been taking fertility treatments?”.  Ummmm, no.  My first thought was “I have a 10 month old, why would I be taking fertility treatments”.  The doctor said it is nothing to worry about, and they should calm down soon.  I have impressed myself by not googling this- so far J.

What I am loving: feeling blessed to be pregnant again

What I am looking forward too: celebrating my birthday and Christmas with Emma for the first time!  I know she won’t understand it, but I hope I can at least see the wonder of the Christmas spirit in her eyes.  Also, looking forward to telling both of our families J. 

Best Moment of the week: getting to see baby Mitchell number 2 during the ultrasound and see the heartbeat strong at 174bpm.  We also realized that our ultrasound with Emma was at exactly the same time- 8weeks 1day.  

Unwrapped

Emma unwrapped a very special present on Christmas Eve (with Wes's family) and then again on Christmas morning (with my family).

Here is the front of the onesie (extra special because it was the one I made for Emma at her baby shower (i.e. when she was still in my belly!)).

And more importantly, here is the message on the back!

We were super excited to tell everyone that Emma is going to be a big sister!  Baby Mitchell #2 is due July 25th!  I could not feel more blessed or excited that I get to experience this miracle all over again!

Now here are the reactions- they are priceless :).

First off, Wes's family Christmas.  It is a bit chaotic because all of the kids open their presents at one time on the floor.  We had wrapped the present to Emma from mom and dad but we needed Emma's grandma to help her unwrap this.  Let's just say Emma opening presents is SLOW.  I am sure I will look back on the difference next year and be amazed.  But finally, here is the reaction when Wes revealed the onesie.

Aren't his mom and sister so cute!  There were gasps from all of the girls in the room!  Everyone had a great reaction :).  

We got home late and Wes re-wrapped the present so we would be ready to go the next morning.  My mom hands me the present since again it says to Emma, from mom and dad.  But I quickly tell them, we already know what's in the present- why doesn't Ally help her open it up.  Again, the process is SLOW- but Wes, is ready with the camera.  Here is Ally reading the onesie.

And their reaction, once they realize what it means :).

Again, everyone was so excited!! But the best reaction by far, had to be Emma's great grandpa who we affectionately refer to as Bobbob- its just too bad that we did not have the camera rolling.  He came over to grab the girls because they were going to go visit grandma.  We told him that Emma had a special Christmas present for everyone.  Wes held up the front of the onesie that read Emma, then he turned it to the backside and Bobbob read it out loud.  I am going to be a big SISTER.  Then, the look on his face was priceless.  You could see the wheels turning in his head when he figured out what it means!

We were so excited to finally share the news with everyone!  I am so happy we don't have to keep it between us anymore.  I am also so happy that I don't have to ask Wes every time we leave the house to see one of our families, "does this make me look pregnant".

What a blessed Christmas :).

Signature Expressions

I came home from work and found this series of photos on my photostream.  The first thought i had was that these snapshots represent Emma's signature expressions of the moment.  Here she is with her pursed lips and apple, a little unsure of why daddy is going to be snapping pictures of her.

This is definitely what she has been doing at the moment.  Mostly to mommy and daddy but pretty much to anyone, she will stick her hand out and point her chubby, little finger.  Out of all of the expressions, I would say this is his signature one of the moment.

Now, once we acknowledge her, she becomes a little embarrassed and shy.  Look closely and you can see that little belly popping out- too precious.
 

Now it is time for her to look at us between her legs- also one of my favorite things she does.  

Now she is a little concerned.  

A pursed lip smile.

And now a full on baby grin- not quite as wide as she regularly smiles, but still pretty good.  

Love this baby girl and all of her varied expressions.

Little Moments

We had a really good weekend this weekend, nothing big but filled with little moments of pure joy from Emma.

… Emma giggling up a storm when playing with my fuzzy socks

… Emma leaning in for wet, sloppy kisses without being prompted

… breakfast out with our favorite date and watching her inhale a breakfast taco

… unexpected surprise- getting to see Adge while she was briefly in town

… taking advantage of holiday drink happy hour at Starbucks + watching Emma eat applesauce + all the nice people who talked and waved to Emma while waiting for their drinks

… watching Emma walk the furthest she has ever walked

… snuggling a clean Starbucks

... napping on Saturday and Sunday :)

… watching Emma sneak up on Starbucks and “get him” (i.e. lay her head on him and watch him panic)

… hearing Emma say mama mama mama over and over and over again

… finishing our Christmas shopping!

… Emma sleeping through the night- I think we finally have the sleep thing figured out = one happy, less tired mama

… belting out Christmas tunes to Emma- I am committed to teaching her two a year; this year it is Frosty the Snowman (my favorite) and Little Drummer Boy (Wes’s favorite)

... being able to stay awake to watch the Survivor finale

Comprehension

It is amazing to me in the last month to realize just howmuch Emma understands and comprehends.  I wanted to take a moment to remember it. 

… if I say give mama kisses, she opens her mouth up wide andleans in for some of the sloppiest, but sweetest kisses

… if we say Emma do you want a bottle, she drops her papiand waves her arms in the air wildly

… Wes will point to and touch her nose and say this isEmma’s nose, then say “where’s my nose” and she reaches for his nose

… at night when it’s time for a diaper change, she will seeme pull a diaper out and she will run/crawl as fast as she can away and thenstart flipping in circles (as a side note, she brought Wes a diaper for thefirst time the other day when she had a pooper)

… if we say where’s the doggie, she will look around for themand get excited

… she says mama with a vengeance, and sometimes saysmom.  She does not always say it inreference to me, she will say it when she is excited, frustrated, hungry,ect. 

… she knows that her chair means its time to eat- and boy,does she like to eat

… if I am getting water out of the dispenser on therefrigerator, she

... she understands do you want to go bye bye

... she understands when we tell her "no", she gets the mad sad emma face and starts to tear up (especially if she is trying to eat the doggie food) 

Giving kisses is the thing that I am most proud that sheunderstands JShe will also give daddy/nonni/grandma, ect kisses (although I do think shereserves her best, most sloppiest kisses for me) 

Progress

I just wanted to take a moment to remember this momentous occasion....

Emma has slept through the night for TWO nights in a row.

I don't think this has happened in the 10 months since she has been born :)

And to reward you for reading this- here is a picture of our baby girl!

fitting, since she is in her p-jammers

Loving Lately

… a successful family trip to port aransas

… seeing the dolphins jump in front of a huge boat

… watching the boys + emma’s eyes light up on the ferry like mine still do

… the roles that Austin made for Thanksgiving

… Emma sleeping in her crib after the trip- how I do not like pack n plays (and neither does Emma)

… going to bed before 9pm for several days in a row

… sugary cereal

… taking Emma to her first Christmas parade

… watching Emma meet (and not freak out) when she saw Santa for the first time

… eating cake batter frozen yogurt after our fun outing

… riding scooter with my dad on Sunday morning (and not falling off)

… starbucks iced coffee + toffee nut syrup + a donut

… decorating our house for Christmas (I am loving where we put the Christmas trees this year)

… watching Emma play with all the ornaments (I didn’t know what a favor I was doing myself by buying plastic ornaments 2 years ago)

… giving Emma her first ornament

… coming home and having chicken parm cooked for me (yum yum)

… asian mint + pad kee mow for a work meeting

... baby giggles while taking a bath (she thought it was hilarious to knock the cup down)

… diet coke (how I have been loving the bubbles)

… work luncheon at Maggiano’s

… when Emma falls right back asleep after waking up in the middle of the night

Bald Spot Begone

Look who's bald spot is now gone!!

Sleeping on her tummy has helped out tremendously with this endeavor :)

9 Months In 9 Months Out: Emma's Birth Story Part 3

So this post is WAY overdue, like 9 months overdue.  But since I am using this blog as Emma’s baby book, I thought I still need to finish this sucker novel up.  So I apologize if you don’t want to hear about the gory details of Emma being born, but I do.  So I will talk about it J.

Ok, so we left off at 5pm.  I was dilated to a 5 (it had taken me since 7am to get there).  And the doctor had just been in the room and said “you have until 7pm to make some progress or else we will have to evaluate alternative evacuation methods”.  I did NOT want a C-section.  No part of me wanted that.  Emma could be my only baby- and I wanted to feel her being born. I knew though that being induced, it was a possibility.  Remember, they thought my baby would be around 9lbs. 

So Wes and I prayed.  We also pleaded with Emma.  I can still remember myself saying “dear Emma, please be ready to come out; I am your mommy and I am ready to meet you”.  We took videos.  We tried to distract ourselves.

My parents came around this time.  We talked to them- telling them about our night and our morning.  They got to see me all hooked up to these machines.  We thought it would be awhile and we told them they could go home and we would call them so they left.  It turns out they went to Burger King and then came right back to the hospital. 

Our nurse came back in at 5:45 and checked me.  I nervously held my breath.  She gave us the results- I was a 7!  A seven! In 45 minutes I had progressed from a 5 to a 7. 

Eeeekkk.  I was so excited.  We called my parents and that’s how we knew they were back in the hospital.  They came up to see me and the nurses started getting all of the stuff ready.  They set up a huge table with every kind of instrument on it.  It was a little intimidating.  Would it really take all of this equipment to get Emma out of my body? 

I kept progressing, and I decided to have one last Popsicle (orange).  Don't I look so happy to be in labor :).

The nurse checked me again and I believe I was a 9.  The popsicle was all of the sudden a bad idea.  I remember throwing it up.  Then I remember saying “well this is a fitting way to end my pregnancy”.  The nurse came back around 7:45 and I was a 10!  A 10! A 10!

I couldn’t believe it.  Emma was going to be here any minute (so I thought).  The nurse said it was time to start pushing so we told my parents it was time to go.  In retrospect, this was a very good thing.  To say I turned into another person during pushing is an understatement. 

Side note: I went to a birthing class.  They don’t tell you the facts.  I thought all of the hard work was getting to a ten, then presto, wham bam you had a baby with a little push.  Boy was I WRONG. In my spare time, I need to write a book to tell women how it really is.  Not the glorified "oh oh ahh ahh" breathing they teach you.  

I started pushing.  That's when we figured that my epidural had worn off.  This was some of the worst pain I have ever felt.  We made an emergency call to the anesthesiologist and he gave me a booster.  Thank goodness for this man.  I was pleading with my nurse to tell me how long this was going to last.  I told Wes that he wasn’t supporting my correctly.  He needed to push my back and not my neck.  I had a damp cloth on my head.  I was talking and ranting all kind of nonsense with my nurse and Wes.  Basically I was a bear. 

Then, it finally dawned on me.  I needed to give every one of these pushes my best effort.  No, I did not want to push until 10 pm.  But more importantly, I didn’t want her to get stuck and have to have a c-section.  So I really started pushing (all whilst still complaining).  This went on for an hour (at least). 

FINALLY FINALLY FINALLY- the nurse picked up the phone and called the doctor.  She said “Lauren is ready”.  What, I am finally ready to meet Emma!  Yay!.  The poor doctor was not ready.  He said ten minutes.  What???? 10 minutes of the worst pressure I have ever felt.  At least 10 minutes go by.  I remember asking the nurse, assuring her that it had been 10 minutes.  Wes was trying to hide the clock from me.  I told him that I could see what he was doing, he needed to move it.  I kept telling the nurse over and over that the doctor needed to get here.  She didn’t like me very much J. 

Then finally, the doctor finally arrived!!!

With two pushes, Emma was out!  I was finally able to meet my baby girl. 

Wes showed her to me and the first thing I remember saying is “she looks just like you”.  And to this day they are twins.  This was one of the best moments of my life.  I got to meet the alien that occupied my body for 9 months.  I got to meet my baby girl.  She was born at 9:09pm weighing 7lbs 0oz and measuring 19.5 inches long.  She was beautiful.

Watching her daddy hold her for the first time :).

I was head over heels in love with her immediately.  I think she felt the same way about me.  She latched right on and started breastfeeding.  After all of that excitement, my parents got to come in and meet their first grandbaby.  It was a great, wonderful, blessed day.

Emma- I am so glad I was able to birth you J You are the best!