The SECRET is out

WE ARE: 

Yes that is right: We are "Prego"!

5 WEEKS (Can't wear this shirt anymore)

9 WEEKS pregnant! (Can't wear this shirt anymore)

12 WEEKS pregnant! (Already in maternity clothes....sigh of relief!)

 I am currently pregnant with #3 and due on December 6, 2013. If you feel so inclined to be done with reading this now then that is fine, but if you love to read about pregnancy stuff then be my guest and keep reading:

Pregnancy Symptoms Part I: LACTOSE INTOLERANT

During the first few weeks of my pregnancy my stomach hurt all the time--in the morning, at bedtime, when I woke up. Because it hurt I would eat, which seemed to temporarily ease the pain, but it would just come back. Since I do not vomit when I am pregnant I thought I was just having "morning sickness." I had some other unpleasant symptoms and experiences. After a late-night, desperate google search I came across a Baby Center article that gave a name to all of the symptoms I was experiencing: Lactose Intolerance. So I did a very simple experiment. The next day I did not drink milk or have any dairy at all. My stomach pain was gone! I also read that I needed to eat some dairy or my lactose intolerance could become worse. So I found a list that described which foods or liquids contained the most lactose down to the least. My body is fine with hard cheese (cheddar, parmesan, mozzarella, colby jack, but not american or velvet or processed), butter, yogurt, and foods that contain little amounts of dairy. Before I discovered this I was having a large glass of milk with my breakfast every morning and maybe one at lunch. I would sometimes have macaroni and cheese with my kids for lunch. And occasionally I would get a blizzard from Dairy Queen. 

Now I take a calcium supplement. Instead of milk I drink water or juices fortified with calcium. I do not like almond or coconut milk. They do not taste like milk at all. If I need a treat I get a cherry icee. 

Pregnancy Symptoms Part II: HUNGRY

The other symptom which is finally subsiding is hunger. In the beginning weeks I felt like I needed to eat every 2 hours. That might sound fun but it can be inconvenient when we are about to run errands and I find myself suddenly starving before it is time to go. One Sunday I remember clearly. Maybe because the ironic thing is that it was Fast Sunday, and my poor husband was fasting but I do not fast when I am pregnant. So on that Sunday I had "Breakfast 1" at 6:30 am (another very weird thing for me to eat so early), "Breakfast 2" at 8:30 am, lunch at 11, 2 packages of fruit snacks on the way to church at 12:45, and by the way, when I got to church I told my poor, hungry husband that I have been eating all day and "I feel like I could eat 2 sandwiches right now."

I can finally wait to eat breakfast until I have gotten ready, which was my old routine, and I can go about 3-4 hours in between meals.  

Symptoms Part III: TIRED

The tiredness started Week 4 while we were on vacation in Utah. I am not one to sleep in the car but I would fall asleep for 10 minutes while Cameron was driving. I would fall asleep on the couch at night in the middle of a conversation. These are not things that I normally do. During our first week back home after our Utah trip I had a very tired day. Even though I had had enough sleep the night before I felt the need for a nap by 1030 am. I was completely exhausted. I think the baby must have been growing a limb that day! I was ready for another nap around 3. Now as long as I get 1 nap a day I am fine. If I don't get a nap in I am pretty much a wreck by 10....just ask my poor husband. 

Symptoms Part VI: CRAVINGS

My first official craving was toast with butter and strawberry jam. I always had this with milk, and because I associate the 2 then I no longer have this kind of toast. I discovered, however, that my cravings were not limited to toast with jam. I have craved a lot of breakfast foods in this pregnancy: Eggo Waffles, Cinnamon Pop Tarts, Scrambled Eggs with Cheese on Toast, Biscuits, Peanut Butter Toast, Cinnamon Toast. Honestly I can't remember the last time that I even purchased these breakfast foods. But the breakfast cravings continue to to be in full swing. I have also craved ground beef. We have had Italian Meatloaf, Penne Pasta with Tomato Basil Sauce & Sausage & Ground Beef, Mini Italian Meatloaf, and this week we had yummy beef stroganoff from my friend and past roommate Amber at Dessert Now Dinner Later. I hope this means that when they test my iron I will not be iron deficient...the last thing I want is to take another pill every day!! 

Delivery Options

Owen was delivered naturally, Elliot was an emergency C-section. For this delivery my awesome doctor has told me that I can deliver VBAC or have another C-section (I already knew this about him. He told me last year at my checkup). I have a lot of questions for my doctor at my next appointment coming up in a few weeks, and he is always so good to really listen and to not make me feel rushed in those appointments. I am weighing out the pros and cons of both. I also know that just because I plan for a VBAC does not mean it will be successful. 

Feelings on this Pregnancy

Overall we are so excited about #3. When I was pregnant with Owen I was excited because he was my first (however I had no idea how to take care of an infant). With my second pregnancy I was worried about how in the world I would take care of 2 kids at the same time. Now I know that I can do it and survive. I know that 3 will be different than 2, but what makes this pregnancy different than the last is that I actually know I can do this. Sleep will be bad for the first who knows how many months? But I know I will be OK. 

The Kids

It is so fun to have a 4 year old and be pregnant. It is fun to have Elliot, too, but Owen totally gets what is going on and he is so excited. He talks about the baby daily. We talk about how big the baby is right now, or what clothes we will pass on to the baby, or what we would name the baby if it is a boy or girl. He proudly announced to his preschool class, swim teacher, and babysitter the exciting news. When we see a newborn baby (there is one at church right now) I tell him that that is how little the baby will be when it is born. 

Timing

The timing of this pregnancy and due date seems to be pretty great for us right now. Cameron is working on a new assignment and his hours are a lot better. Cameron also gets a good chunk of time off at Christmas and New Years (that doesn't come out of his vacation days) which will be helpful with the newborn. Unfortunately that means we will not be travelling for Christmas but we haven't been home for Christmas since 08 when Owen was born so I think it will be fine. Elliot and the next baby will be 2 1/2 years a part, which is what Owen and Elliot are. I know it will be hard for the first 6 months at least because Elliot will be potty training and transitioning to bed at some point but eventually things will even out and we will have ease...maybe in a year from now! Hah!

New family portraits

hide-and-go-seek

A favorite game lately with the kids. So fun to play with them.

Valentine's Day

This year Owen was asked to decorate a shoe box and bring it to preschool for his Valentine's party. We didn't have a shoe box, but we did have a graham cracker box! I wrapped it in reverse-Christmas wrapping paper. Then I printed out hearts for Owen to color, cut, and glue onto the box. We sent the treats in his box and I was shocked at how much candy he came home with. 

 A fun afternoon of examining all the treats and valentines! 

 We found some heart-shaped cookies on our doorstep! And, not pictured, but we also got "heart attacked" by the young women in our ward--there were hearts all over our front door.

Cameron made it home early (7 pm) for our Valentine's dinner. This year it was roasted chicken and vegetables and rolls. 

Owen's Jobs

Owen has become a good helper. His jobs are: 

cleaning up toys in the toyroom and bedroom (the toyroom is a big deal, so I help with this one)

unloading the silverware (every time)

vacuuming the kitchen floor with our hand vacuum

clearing the dishes from the table

put the goldfish away when we get a new "shipment" (when they run out)

wiping the table after dinner

help with laundry sorting

puts clothes away after they are laundered

takes Elliot's #2 diapers to the big garbage in the garage

I am sure there are some jobs I am not thinking of. This 4-year-old loves to do his jobs and asks me for jobs to do. We have a great system. For every job that he does he earns 1 sticker. When he gets 6 stickers, he gets a new game or toy. It works out so that he is getting about 1 new thing a week. There is no fancy chart to keep track of. I just use a scrap piece of paper that is hung on the fridge, and we use whatever stickers are on hand. It is easy for him and for me, and I get a little help from a very happy helper. 

"Christmas Eve" and "Christmas Day"

Since we are usually away for Christmas every year we wait until we get back home from our trip to "do Christmas." I love this tradition because it means that after December 25 we still look forward to one last little Christmas hurrah with just the 4 of us. On "Christmas Eve" we watched a video about the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The kids opened up their Christmas jammies. Then I wrapped a few more things and set everything out.


Aren't those jammies adorable? I love the stockings in the background.

The next morning the kids got up and we opened presents. I laid on the couch and took pictures of the event as I was miserable with the flu.

The Places We Go

Now that it is February and winter is on the tail end we have figured out a good winter routine. I don't mind the days that we are home all day but since my husband is basically never home during the week while the kids are awake it can make for some pretty long days. So here are some things we do to get out of the house. 

        McDonald's   

This is about a 1 1/2 hour activity if you include the drive there and back, eating lunch, playing, and if we are up to it, getting an ice cream cone at the end. 

The Mall

In December I finally worked up the courage to take both kids to the mall by myself. We walk around, look in a couple stores, play in the play place, and eat lunch. This is about a 2 1/2 hour activity including the 40 minute drive there and back. 

Preschool

Owen goes 3 days a week for 2 1/2 hours each time. Elliot usually naps during that time so I get some "me" time. Cameron, Elliot and I did get to attend the Christmas party. I didn't feel comfortable posting a picture of Owen with his classmates for privacy reasons so here is a pic of Owen and Elliot playing after the main party part was over and the parents and teachers were chatting while children played. 

Swimming Lessons

The lesson itself is only 30 minutes and he also does not have the same teacher anymore. This is sad because he did have the same teacher for about a year. Now the new teacher is trying to gage where he is at so as soon as we are through with the learning curve hopefully we can make some more progress. But do we ever miss our old one (pictured below)!

 Library

This is about a 1 hour activity. We go about once a week. It is so fun! 

(This pic is of Owen before Elliot was born)

Miscellaneous pics

Between the activities the boys are very good to run errands with me. We go visiting teaching, grocery shopping, and doctor visits. I think I will work up the courage to bring my kids to the church to practice the piano during the week. I guess I have learned to become independent.

 Waiting around

One day last week while Owen was at preschool Elliot and I did all the errands together. Apparently when it was just Owen I had no idea how easy it is to take care of only 1 child! But being with Elliot on this day reminded me of it! We went to the library, grocery store, car wash, and then we walked around Target for a little while. Elliot had a great time exploring on his own since I didn't make him sit in the cart. I always do make him but since we weren't buying anything and just killing time he got to run around and it was really fun. We played a little hide and seek in the men's clothing section, watched the TV screens, and basically burned energy. It was so fun spending quality time with just Elliot! I was tired when we finally got home! Good thing he took a nap after all of that! 

It is fun going to these places but I can't wait for spring and summer when we can play outside for hours, play in the sandbox and kiddie pool, go to parks, ride bikes, go to the zoo, go to the splash park. It will be a great summer. And by the way, I am loving the stage we are at right now. 4 years old is a great age, Owen is independent and can pretty much take care of himself, and 19 months is a great age because we only "have" to be home for 1 nap a day and that naptime is flexible between 12 and 3.