23 Month Update - Mila

Hard to believe that we only have one more month left with a one year old!

We've been super busy this month with trips to both Kansas and Chicago within two weeks of each other.

First we went to Kansas to surprise my mom for her birthday and made the rounds to see two of Mila's great grandmas.

Then we came home for a week and then left for Chicago where Mila was a flower girl in a wedding of one of my closest friends!

She did great at the wedding and was the hit of the party at the reception afterwards, where we couldn't keep her off the dance floor!

While in Chicago we went to a Cubs baseball game, Mila included, and I can't figure out why we didn't take her sooner!  She LOVED baseball and was so excited every time someone hit the ball.  She would dance between batters and innings and went crazy every time a home run was hit.

Signature Moves: Anytime the phone rings Mila will run over, pick it up and put it to her ear and say "woah" (hello).  She also also started clenching her fists and shaking a little, which I can only think means she's mad. It usually only lasts for about 10 seconds though!  She loves to pretend that she is going "night night," only to then bounce up and shout "awake!"  Overall, she just loves being silly!

Current Words: Mila is now at the point where she is repeating pretty much everything we say (luckily nothing inappropriate yet!).  Whatever the last word of your sentence is is the word she will try to say so she no longer really answers questions, just mimics you!

She has started saying "thank you" on her own at appropriate times and "love you" when you say it to her, which is just as adorable as you can imagine.  

Favorite Activities: She has been much more into books, both reading and coloring, this month than months past.  

The two trips on the airplanes gave her quite some time to get used to the iPad and it's amazing how quickly she learned what to do and how to navigate through the different apps.  Anything outside keeps her entertained as well.  

To see all of this month's pictures, click here.

22 Weeks - Nellie

How far along? 22 weeks...the size of a spaghetti squash! Which I could not find at Trader Joe's; I'm not sure how this fruit sizing goes...pretty sure Nellie is not that big yet!
Total weight gain: 6.4 pounds
Maternity clothes? I've had to retire my non-maternity shirts so I've been living in dresses. I anticipate a switch to maternity clothes this week
Stretch marks? none
Sleep: I am actually sleeping good but then I wake up and feel like I haven't slept at all. Which is really annoying <------ same as last week :-/
Best moment this week:  paddleboarding with my love
Worst moment this week: my ankles are really starting to hurt, usually on the weekends when I am on my feet for long periods of time
Miss anything? laying around doing nothing
Movement: pretty consistent movement but not a lot at one time
Food cravings: none
Anything making you queasy or sick? nothing yet
Have you started to show yet: i feel like the bump has grown a ton this week!
Labor signs: no...thank goodness!
Belly button in or out? in but starting to look REALLY weird
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time? happy. unless i'm hungry. then HANGRY!
Looking forward to: Chiiiiiicago!

Dear Nellie,

I picked out the fabric for your bedding last weekend!  This will be what I base the decorations on for your (side of the) room.  I'm so excited to get this party started :)

Love,
Mommy

To check my stats from this week in my pregnancy with Mila, click here.

21 Weeks - Nellie

How far along? 21 weeks...the size of a carrot! (I feel like the carrot is smaller than the banana?)
Total weight gain: 6.6 pounds
Maternity clothes? Nothing new this week but I am quickly going through clothes in my closet that are being moved to the "not until after baby" pile
Stretch marks? none (which is good since my "regimen" has been significantly reduced from Mila to Nellie)
Sleep: I am actually sleeping good but then I wake up and feel like I haven't slept at all. Which is really annoying.
Best moment this week:  feeling Nellie kicking on the outside of my belly!
Worst moment this week: I'm starting to get tired by the end of the day...not looking forward to that getting worse
Miss anything? nothing really right now
Movement: last Sunday I was able to feel Nellie on the outside of my stomach! No one else has felt her yet (Robert was asleep when I grabbed his hand)
Food cravings: none really...except I really wanted a piece of chocolate last night and Robert was at work and Mila was sleeping so I couldn't go anywhere to get any. TORTURE!
Anything making you queasy or sick? nothing yet
Have you started to show yet: there's a definite bump now, like a round little soccer ball.
Gender prediction: it's a girl!
Labor signs: no...thank goodness!
Belly button in or out? in but starting to look weird
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time? I was kind of sad for no reason a couple of days this week. annoying.
Looking forward to: Chicago next weekend for Andrea's wedding! I am also DYING to go pick out Nellie's bedding.


Dear Nellie,

I was laying in bed last night and you were moving all over the place. I literally watched you kick from the left side to the right side, which I don't remember Mila doing.  You are also kicking SO low I thought you might dangle a foot out!

I think that is my new favorite time of the day; where I am just laying in bed, everything is quiet and it's just you and I (when daddy is at work). It's so special.  I think I was so excited with Mila that I didn't take the time to savor it, which I am making sure to do with you since things are so crazy now and I don't want to forget a thing.

Love,
Mommy

To check my stats from 21 weeks with Mila, click here.

20 Weeks - Nellie

How far along? 20 weeks...the size of a banana!  Halfway done!!!!  
Total weight gain: 5.4 pounds (according to my scale...doc says I've only gained 2!)
Maternity clothes? Just maternity shorts because I can't zip my regular ones
Stretch marks? none
Sleep: I haven't had a good night's sleep since I found out I was pregnant!
Best moment this week:  being in Kansas (currently) to surprise my mom for her birthday!
Worst moment this week: there really hasn't been a bad moment this week!
Miss anything? food tasting as good as it used to pre-pregnancy
Movement: just the quickening (movement that only I can feel); anxious for the kicks to get more prominent so Robert and Mila can feel it
Food cravings: just all my Kansas favs (but that's not pregnancy specific ;) )
Anything making you queasy or sick? nothing yet
Have you started to show yet: there's a little baby bump sticking out now. or at least Robert promises it looks like a baby bump and not a beer gut...
Gender prediction: it's a girl!
Labor signs: no...thank goodness!
Belly button in or out? in
Wedding rings on or off? on
Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy unless I am hungry, and then moody!
Looking forward to: spending more time with my family and welcoming all the help with Mila


Dear Nellie,

You have a name!  I had become VERY partial to something else but when daddy threw this one out there I couldn't resist. It perfectly fits our preference for "unique but not too weird" and we just love it.

We have decided that you and Mila will share a room so I am anxious to start working on that.  You will likely share most of the stuff that Mila used and has since discarded but I think it's important to have some things that are only yours as well.

I felt you moving for the first time last weekend and it was a wonderful feeling.  Right now it can only be felt on the inside so it's like a special secret that only you and I are sharing.

Love,
Mommy

To read the post from when I was 20 weeks along with Mila, click here.

Ultrasound Results & Gender Reveal - Baby #2

Dear Littlest Baby,

We found out today that you're a girl!!!! I was convinced that you were a boy and daddy was convinced you were a girl but we could not be any more excited!  I found myself thinking of all of the things you two little girls will do together and all of the fun that you will have.  One of my best friends said it best: "Mila is getting a built in bestie for life!"  I couldn't have said it better myself.  I have so many hopes, dreams and wishes already for both of you.  Our life just got so much more exciting.

Love you,
Mom

The ultrasound experience this time around was SO much better than last time. We went over to the imaging center at the hospital and the scan took about 45 minutes so we got to see the baby so much this time!  The entire scan was spent looking at all of the babies different organs, measuring them and taking pictures for the radiologist to examine; it was actually really cool to watch.  We saw the baby yawning a couple times and it was so amazing.  There were only sockets for the eyes, nose and mouth so it was really fascinating to look at.  She sucked on her hand a couple times, had her legs propped up on my belly and was kicking her legs and moving her arms all over the place, which I have yet to feel this time around.

Afterwards we had an appointment with Dr. Nguyen to go over the results.  All of the physical results (cleft lip, spine, brain, etc.) came back normal so that's GREAT news!! She said that I am measuring 19w2d (I am actually 18w6d so very close) and the baby is about 10oz, which is right on track.  I have (shockingly!) only gained two pounds this pregnancy, which she said is fine because the baby is taking what she needs and I am burning the rest.  Unfortunately I have anterior placenta, which means that the placenta is attached to the front of my stomach and not the back like it usually is (but there's nothing unhealthy about it). Therefore the feeling of kicks from the baby won't be very strong, which is kind of sad but hopefully I will still get to enjoy them, just a little bit later on.

At the end of the appointment they took  my blood to do the quad screen testing; they will call me in two weeks with those results.

Upcoming Appointments
8/28 at 11:45am
9/25 at 4pm
10/16 at 4pm

Click here for the results of Mila's ultrasound.

22 Month Update - Mila

Mila came down with a stomach bug this month and it wasn't fun for anyone.  I was worried about her after she vomited four days in a row so I took her to the doctor who, after seeing me for literally 3 minutes, told me there's not much you can do, you just have to let it cycle through.  Luckily she didn't have it very bad and it lasted just under  a week.

We celebrated the 4th of July and Mila had a BLAST at the parade; we will definitely be making this an annual tradition.

Signature Moves: One day this month we received a package in the mail for Mila and I couldn't figure out who it was from! We opened it and inside was a "Stuffie" from Uncle G(arret)!  We asked him about it and he said one night when he and Mila were watching TV a commercial came on for the Stuffie and Mila told him she wanted it so he went ahead and bought it for her and let her pick out the horse kind! So apparently one of her signature moves is conning people ;)

Playing super heroes with Roscoe:

We try to walk Roscoe every day and when we get home he is dog-tired (see what I did there?!); he will collapse on the floor and Mila will go sit next to him.  One day he went and laid down and she went and did the same thing. HILARIOUS!

Current Words: I can no longer keep track because there are so many!  Anytime she hears someone say something she tries to say it too.  She loves to say "ready!" and "let's go!" Here are some videos of her saying "yellow" and "oatmeal"....I love her little voice!

Favorite Activities: Mila has been spending a lot of time at the pool with Kerry and Kira and loves to be in/around the water.  This also carries over to the beach, where we have been spending a lot of our time.

Several times a day she walks around asking for "Key-a" (Kira) and apparently Kira does the same by asking if it's "Mina" (Mila) every time the front door opens.  They truely are the best of friends.

Today we're also celebrating the 4th birthday of this stud muffin!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ROSCOE!

For all of this month's pictures, click here.

14 Week Dr. Appt

Today was my 14 week doctor's appointment; everything went well and the appointment was really quick (and actually not with my doctor because she had to go deliver a baby!).  The nurse practitioner asked me a couple of questions and then listened to the heart beat, which was special because my mom is in town and able to come to this appointment with me.  She said the baby had a heartbeat of 150 beats a minute, which is good.  She said my next appointment will be an ultrasound and blood test, as well as the appointment with my doctor right after. So excited to find out the sex of this little bean!

Next appointments:
July 30th - 330pm - Ultrasound, 4pm - Dr Appt
September 4th - Dr Appt

Somehow this week (actually just tonight) my belly popped out hardcore so I thought it would be a good time for an update.

How far along? 14 weeks
Total weight gain: 1.6lbs
Maternity clothes: none! still fitting in all my normal clothes
Stretch marks: none
Sleep: I haven't been sleeping the best...I think it's about time to get my Snoogle out!
Best moment this week: hearing the baby's heartbeat today. And spending so much time with my sissy this week while she was visiting!
Worst moment this week: just a lot of bad medical news this week, thankfully none having to do directly with our immediate family, thank goodness
Miss anything: randomly, just today, blue cheese on a salad (which I usually hate blue cheese....what?!)
Movement: none yet :(
Food cravings: none that I know of but I am loving sweets lately, which is unusual for me
Anything making you queasy or sick?  not this time around!
Have you started to show yet?  As of this morning, no...as of tonight, yes! I feel like it's so tiny and then I eat and then KABAM!
Gender prediction?  A boy for me, a girl for Robert.  Tonight I did look up a Chinese Gender Predictor that I also did with Mila.  Last time it predicted Mila was a girl; this time it's predicting the baby is a boy.
Labor signs: none
Belly button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy most of the time but the littlest thing can set me off!
Looking forward to: Vegas this weekend with Robert and our ultrasound on 7/30

To check my stats from Week 16 last pregnancy, click here.