We have our girl name!! (I think)

I feel HORRIBLE again!! The last few days has been pretty constant, severe nausea with some vomiting again yesterday. The nightly headaches have started back up again as well. But I know I can survive this for a few more weeks. With Venily I think I was feeling better at around 14 weeks and definitely better by 17 weeks.

I had a dream that I had the baby last night!! It was a very fast birth with no problems or anything (and I blanked a lot of it out like I always do in my dreams). Then we were so busy after that I didn't even think to ask what the sex was, lol. I tried to tell someone about the baby and I accidentally called the baby "Venily" and then I'm like "I mean... baby #2.... I mean.... WAIT!!! Jason, is the baby a girl or boy?". LOL! He told me a girl and I screamed and jumped all around, lol. So... there you have it! DEFINITELY a girl! :) (Though the fact that I went so long without even asking lets me know that it doesn't really matter and I will be happy either way!)

Jason and I have been talking more about names.... and as it stands right now we are probably going with Haven as our girl name!!!! YAY!!! We had it narrowed down between Haven and Raina and then Jason decided that he likes Haven better after all!!!! I'm very excited, I ABSOLUTELY love the name!! As for boy though.... hahaha!!! Ummm.... NO!! I've come up with quite a few more names that I'd consider and Jason doesn't like ANY and he doesn't like any that he previously liked AND he has no new suggestions to add even though he has been researching names, lol! I want to have names set before our big ultrasound so that I can stop referring to my unborn child as "Baby #2"!

We also have been talking about future children and it looks like this may be my last pregnancy after all! :( I'd like to get back to teaching once my children are in school and it will be really nice to live on 2 paychecks and/or help Jason through school as well. We are planning on starting the adoption process once Baby #2 is a little older so that will bring our total child count up to 3! :) In my heart I just know that I was meant to adopt a child.... I have felt this way ever since I was little and it would mean so much to me to bring a child from unfortunate circumstances into a loving home. There is a possibility that I MAY have an additional child biologically as well, but we will have to assess the situation when the time comes. So I will be cherishing this time being pregnant as if it were my last time b/c that very well may be the case!!

10 weeks- 25% DONE!!!

(I thought these would look more impressive than they actually do, lol. I feel a LOT bigger!) I weighed myself today and was at 119. (I am down 1 lb- at this point I was down 2 lbs w/ Venily so I'm not worried about it at all)

Things seem to be going fast now. I was reading that nausea usually peaks at 9 weeks. I am hoping this is the case! I am feeling better sometimes, but still feel awful at others, especially at night! I haven't thrown up in a while, just a bit of dry heaving now and then. I definitely feel a heaviness now in my uterus and can see a bump starting to come!! :) I am also experiencing a lot of pulling sensations and if I bend the wrong way, some pain. I guess round ligament pain is fairly common for second pregnancies, I don't remember it being this noticeable with Venily.

I absolutely HATE having my pants buttoned right now- not because I can't physically button them anymore (because I can) but because the pressure on my stomach makes me even more nauseous. My pants aren't too small yet that I can rubber-band them (it just falls out). I just bought a new belly band and started wearing it yesterday. I had ZERO luck finding any maternity pants that I would even consider wearing (they all looked like ridiculous clown pants on me) so...... maybe I will not be wearing them this pregnancy either! Even the smallest sizes are WAY too big on the butt and thighs and they are all way too short! I am disappointed... I looked in a million different stores too, but they are all the same!

I've been so proud of myself for being so laid-back this pregnancy, but am starting to get slight anxiety attacks at times regarding the health of the new baby. With Venily I was a nervous wreck through my entire 1st trimester and some of my 2nd and then I was constantly worried the baby was going to come too early. Now I am confident everything is going to go fine and am grateful for my nausea as a constant reminder of that, but when I think of my next doctor appointment, I get a little nervous. I just want to hear the heartbeat so badly and will feel SOOOO much better once I hear it! 20 more days!!

At 10 weeks my baby....
*Has completed all its most critical developments!!
*Is growing bones this week! Pretty scary! I still can't drink milk so I am trying to get calcium everywhere else I can!
*Is nearly an inch and a half long!!
*'s Brain is making 250,000 new neurons per minute this week!!
*Is making me very emotional!! It is getting harder and harder to watch anything on TLC without crying constantly, lol! And if I see that Pampers commercial where they sing Happy Birthday one more time... I'm going to lose it! :)

Oh, and also I still have full-blown baby-craziness!!! It's quite unhealthy, but I can't seem to tone it down!

Morning sickness info

I thought this was interesting!

Are some pregnant women more likely than others to feel nauseated?

You're more likely to have nausea or vomiting during your pregnancy if any of the following apply:

• You're pregnant with twins or higher multiples. This may be from the higher levels of hCG, estrogen, or other hormones in your system. You're also more likely to have a more severe case than average. On the other hand, it's not a definite thing — some women carrying twins have little or no nausea. (Ummm..... no thanks!)

• You had nausea and vomiting in a previous pregnancy. (Check!)

• You have a history of nausea or vomiting as a side effect of taking birth control pills. This is probably related to your body's response to estrogen. (Yep!)

• You have a history of motion sickness. (Yes again)

• You have a genetic predisposition to nausea during pregnancy. If your mother or sisters had severe morning sickness, there's a higher chance you will, too. (Yep, my mom did but only with her girls)

• You have a history of migraine headaches. (no)

• You're carrying a girl. One study found that women with severe nausea and vomiting were 50 percent more likely to be carrying a girl. (We shall see...)

Baby Cravings

When my baby is not repulsed by anything and everything... this is what "she" likes to eat:

*Medium cheddar cheese slices on whole grain Bistro crackers

*Nachos and cheese

*lemonade (though I'm trying to convince her that other sour fruit drinks like cranberry and white grape juice are a better alternative)

*vegetarian bacon sandwiches on whole grain wheat toast (I usually eat at least one a day on my good days- they are soooo good! Mmmm.... I want one right now!)

*caffeine free pepsi (well, the baby actually wants Pepsi, but we compromised! Venily always wanted things I wasn't supposed to have too!)

*fruit!!!! (Venily always wanted fruit too)

*baked potatoes!!

*granola bars



And the baby has ABSOLUTELY no tolerance for the following:

*Spaghetti sauce (which is not good b/c we like our spaghetti!)

*Salsa (Venily wouldn't let me eat salsa either!!)

*Cooked mixed vegetables (Venily also didn't like this)

*Milk (I hope "she" changes her mind about this b/c I love milk and usually drink a ton every day and do not like eating Tums for calcium b/c they are gross! Actually, I'm able to drink it but always feel sick afterward!)

*And the baby WILL let me eat ketchup but only as long as I do not smell it first! :)




*** OH, and my cousin had her baby!!! A GIRL!!! :) I'm excited for her!

This is so cool! (Push play)

Interested in pregnancy? Read about pregnancy symptoms
and find baby names.
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9 weeks- NO TAIL!!

At 9 weeks my baby is...
*A FETUS... no longer considered an embryo!!
*the size of a grape! About 1 in long!
*developing little girl or boy parts! :)
*starting to urinate! haha
*looking more and more like a little baby all the time and no longer has a tail!

I am feeling better. Not great by any means, but better. I am still nauseous constantly, but the level of nausea is down. I'm having quite a bit of dry heaving but I can walk around, clean a little, and eat small amounts of food at certain times which is a lot better than this last week.


And because I feel like I've been complaining a lot... here are all the things I CAN NOT wait for in this pregnancy! (I need something to get me through this "oh my gosh I'm so sick and about to die" phase!) :)

*Listening to my baby's heartbeat (March 17th can't come fast enough!)
*No more sickness & renewed energy
*Being active again w/out feeling so sick! I really like this "due at the end of summer/beginning of Autumn" thing b/c as soon as it starts turning to Spring and getting nice out I am starting to feel better! :)
*Finally being able to dye my hair again in the 2nd trimester (it's bad)
*Feeling those little flutters for the 1st time
*Looking pregnant
*Trying out maternity pants (yes, I think I may try them this time around)
*Seeing my baby on the ultrasound
*Finally finding out the sex!
*Big hard kicks, punches, and rolls all the time (MY FAVORITE!!)
*Buying more cute baby things!
*Having Venily feel the baby from the outside
*The "this is it" moment
*Holding my little baby for the first time... OH I CAN'T WAIT to hold a tiny newborn again!
*Seeing Venily hold her little brother or sister- she's going to be so excited!
*Seeing Jason hold his new baby, he's such a great Daddy!

....Okay I can do this.... just about 1 more month of sickness (but hopefully less).... and then lots of fun stuff to look forward to!

1st of many OB appointments!

I had my first appointment today. Boring as I thought it would be! I had to get a lot of tests done blood/urine/Pap etc. Fun, fun! My doctor was excited for us, which made me happy! :) He said that since I didn't have any problems with my first pregnancy he didn't think I'd have any this time around. Same with labor and delivery. Since I had such a quick labor with Venily I could expect the same with baby#2, but possibly a bit faster this time! LOL, Jason was NOT happy to hear that!! Ever since I told him I was pregnant he's been saying that the SECOND I even think I'm in labor he's going to rush me to the hospital. {Needless to say when the nurses were joking around with him after I had Venily saying that he was probably going to have to deliver my next baby, he did NOT think that was funny!} Oh well, Cathy is only a mile away from us, lol, so we could always just call her and hope that she's home! The doctor also said that I will probably start showing a lot earlier with this baby since everything has already been stretched out once. I actually look forward to that!

I could have lied and said that I didn't know my LMP date so I could get an early ultrasound, but couldn't bring myself to do it! Soooo.... it looks like I will be seeing my little one for the 1st time around the end of April/ beginning of May!! My next appointment is the 17th of March and we get to hear the hearbeat for the first time!! I will be almost 13 weeks at that time--- I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR IT!!

What am I supposed to do?

Uhhh!! So Jason has been out of the house the last couple of days and I don't know what I'm supposed to do!! He has taken over all of the poopy diapers b/c I ABSOLUTELY can't do it. Well, my daughter poops up to 7 times a day! Yep, that's right and has an average of about 4-5 a day! The doctor says that's fine as long as she is going every day... when I have to change her it is a HUGE ordeal! I turn the fans on in the house, light candles, get everything ready, wrap a blanket around my face and meditate my way through it.

Well yesterday that didn't work so well and I ended up having to stop 3 times to throw up in her wipe container. And TODAY, oh my gosh, it was horrible! I was prepared with the garbage can next to me, but before I even undid her clothes I was running to the bathroom to throw up! Lol, I shut the door so Venily wouldn't come in there with me b/c she smelled so bad. I'd get myself together go out there and immediately turn back around to throw up in the bathroom. Finally I just decided to change her in the bathroom so I could be close to the toilet! Venily's been sick and it turns out now has diahhrea... FANTASTIC... and it had soaked through her clothes! AHHHHH! I had to give her a bath right after I finished changing her! NOTE TO SELF: POTTY TRAIN BABY #2 BEFORE EVEN THINKING ABOUT BABY #3! :) (Though I'm sure I won't believe myself and want baby #3 right away as well!) Just wanted to share my lovely story! Anyone want to come live with me and be my full time nanny?!

In better news after the ordeal this morning I have felt SOOOO much better! I even took Venily shopping with me and was only a little nauseous the whole time. Now that we're back home I haven't been on the couch at all! I feel great! Yay, I hope this keeps up! (Oh and while shopping I bought my first little boy thing, lol! I have bought a few gender neutral things and a few girl things and decided I should be fair and buy something in case it's a boy. While I was pregnant with Venily I didn't buy ANYTHING until after 20 weeks, but this time around I don't feel like waiting!)

TOMORROW IS MY 1ST PRENATAL APPT, I'LL UPDATE AGAIN WHEN I GET BACK!! I'm excited even though I know it's pretty boring! I started out with a different doctor when I was pregnant my first time so I don't know exactly to expect from this doctor. I was thinking about trying to convince him to give me an early ultrasound... but I am sure I'll chicken out and won't even ask!

2 Years Ago Today....

We found out we were pregnant for the 1st time!!!!!!

Venily's story...
We had gotten married 7 months earlier and had been trying for a baby ever since that day. Month after month we kept getting negatives. I charted and tried OPK's and knew everything you could possibly know about getting pregnant, but somehow just couldn't do it. I was sure I'd never get pregnant!

February 13, 2007- We had just gotten back from our honeymoon cruise to the Caribbean Islands- one of the few times I actually stopped thinking about getting pregnant and just had fun. I was supposed to have started while we were there but it only lasted like an hour. And of course I had been late before so thought nothing of it really. Plus I know traveling, stress, and all that messes with your cycles.

February 14, 2007- I felt "different". And finally told Jason that I was late and that I thought I should try a pregnancy test. He ran to the store and I remember it PERFECTLY! We were in our duplex at the time. I was sitting on the couch watching t.v. He walks in the door way and says "Happy Valentine's Day" and throws me the test. I set it down next to me, say "thanks" and continue watching t.v. He stands there for a while staring at me and finally says "so aren't you going to take it?" I say "No, I need to do it in the morning."

February 15, 2007- After one of the LONGEST nights of my life I finally get up at like 6:00 in the morning and run to the bathroom while Jason is still sleeping. I take the test and set it somewhere I can't see (which had been my routine at the time) and wait the right amount of time before I look. I was so prepared to see the one line as usual. And was SHOCKED when there was a second, light pink line! I remember being happy, but the most overwhelming emotion was fear. I was thinking "OH MY GOD, WHAT DID I DO?!" Haha. Even though it was EXACTLY what I had been dreaming of for years, I was scared to death! I ran into the bedroom and woke Jason up and told him I was pregnant. He was still half asleep and was like "really?, well, I guess we have a lot of things we need to do now." LOL. And he was soooo serious it scared me. But by the end of the day he was calling people up saying "Guess what? I'm going to be a Dad!" and that made me feel so much better!

Now here we are again... much more prepared this time around as to what's to come, but it's still so exciting! 2 more days until my 1st prenatal appt! I have been dry heaving a lot lately! Sooooo fun, haha! I guess that's the good thing about not being able to eat anything... though dry heaving is not significantly better than throwing up!

Happy Valentine's Day!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!! I feel so lucky to be spending it with my awesome husband, fantastic little girl and our adorable little still-baking baby!!!! We went out and celebrated it last night because we knew everywhere was going to be really busy today. It was nice to get out of the house- which I haven't done much since being so sick, and I was only moderately nauseous while we were out- I was even able to actually eat something (though I quickly regretted it afterward) but it was nice!

Venily is 16 months!!

Oh my gosh, she is growing up so fast!! (Here she is at 16m... eating her snack and sporting her awesome tattoos {she LOVES tattoos}, and no, she hasn't gotten her hair brushed yet today, lol)

She is amazing, I could never say enough wonderful things about her!!

She is quite possibly the most polite 16 month old in the world. ALWAYS says "please" for everything and is working on "thank you." A normal conversation with her usually has about 10 "pleases" in it.... she can be VERY persuading!! She'll be like "Juice, please?... Mama, juice? PLEASE?! ...Mama, please? Juice Please!.... PLEASE!!" HAHA, I love it! It's so hard to say no to her!

Venily has finally hit the mark where I was when my brother was born! I couldn't even imagine watching her and a newborn at this stage. LOL... though I'm sure I'll be able to have an idea come September.... I can't wait though, she's going to be such a great little Mommy!

I am back to being sick, sick, sick ALL day and night! I can't eat anything and it makes me shake when I go too long w/out eating (I usually can't go 30 minutes w/out eating so my body really isnt used to this)... it sucks! And I can't sleep b/c I feel so sick! Come on 2nd trimester!!!!! :)

8 weeks, 1 day! YUCK!

Yep, it was a hard fight, but that is how long I have lasted not throwing up- unfortunately it wasn't any longer. I have been at about a 9/border line 10 scale of nausea all last night and this morning and finally couldn't hold it off any longer! Uhhhh! I am totally blaming you Kayla for jinxing me yesterday. The baby wanted to PROVE to you that she's a girl! :) Luckily all I have eaten today was lemonade and a vitamin, so there wasn't too much to come up! YUCK, YUCK, YUCK!!! I hate throwing up!!

Venily was so funny!! I was in the living room and she was up in the loft while I was throwing up in the garbage can. She was watching me, laughing and trying to mimic me. Then she kept trying to spit like me, lol. Later she went over to the garbage can and was doing the same thing. I'm glad SOMEONE thinks it's funny!!

8 weeks- more of the same

Me at 8 weeks and still 120lbs- nothing too exciting yet.


(I think I'll start taking them now every 2 weeks until like 34 weeks then I'll probably take them once a week until the end!)

Since my last post I've been feeling a lot better. Still horribly nauseous almost ALL DAY and NIGHT long but I only have moments now where I think I might die instead of laying on the couch for hours at a time absolutely sure that I am going to! :) I have been able to get out of the house and I've been able to clean, so that makes me feel a little better too! I just can't believe how HORRIBLE everything smells!! Uhh... I went grocery shopping yesterday and could literally smell the food as I walked down the aisles and I can smell the people when they pass me.... it makes me so sick! I don't remember being THIS sensitive to smell w/ Venily!

I am hungry constantly but can't eat. Everything repulses me! I have to eat everything absolutely plain and then I can usually only eat a couple bites before I have to stop! It's a horrible cycle b/c I get nauseous when I'm hungry so I can't eat and then I just get hungrier and more nauseous and on and on... whoever thought this whole pregnancy thing up didn't realize that there was such a major flaw in the system!!

New at 8 weeks:

My little one is ...
*the size of a raspberry!!
*getting fingers and toes and has elbows and knees!
*almost completely tail-less- YAY!
*moving around constantly (I so wish I get an early ultrasound w/ this baby b/c that ultrasound was my favorite w/ Venily! You could see her moving around so good and flipping and bouncing up and down when I laughed!!)

**Oh, and on a positive note, I still haven't thrown up yet (though I've come close)!! I am SOOOO not one of those people who feel terrible and "wish" they could just throw up and feel better. I'd rather be miserable than throwing up any day! :)


6 DAYS LEFT UNTIL MY 1st OB VISIT!!!!!

And here's some more pics of Venily and her baby!!

Am I going to die?

Seriously I remember asking Jason that all the time in my 1st trimester w/ Venily but haven't quite gotten to that point yet in this pregnancy... until last night!

I don't know if I am sick w/ a virus or something on top of being morning sick or if the baby has just went through a major growth spurt and is pumping out crazy amount of hormones or what! Maybe it's because we went on a 4.5 mile hike yesterday at Kettle Moraine or because I spent so much time in the car yesterday driving up to Whitewater and back to visit my sister... but for some reason I am MAJORLY sick. Like laying on the couch, not able to move at all or I'm going to throw up all over sick! Now THIS is what I remember with Venily!! I would rather give birth 5 times over than go through one day of this kind of sick! But of course I can't choose and I'd gladly get this sick to have a healthy baby as the outcome! I am just very much looking forward to the 2nd semester! Thank Goodness Jason is such an amazing husband and father or Venily would be severely neglected. I can't wait to get my energy back so I can properly play with her, fix her food, and change her diapers! Not to mention clean my house!!! However, I am pretty excited that this has just 100% confirmed my belief that I am having a girl! I would be sooooo shocked if I was told it was a boy! Seriously I am so convinced! Plus I talked to my mom and she said she only had morning sickness with her girls and none at all with the boys (she had 2 girls and 2 boys). Jason now likes the name Sierra for a girl but I knew a girl with that name at the day care and would not like to remember her every time I said her name so I say no!

So.... I'm only 7 1/2 weeks but my pants are already tight! Is that even possible? I know they say that you show a lot earlier with your 2nd, but this is still pretty darn early... I haven't gained any weight yet and I can't notice a huge difference when I look, but my pants are DEFINITELY tighter.

Venily is doing good. A bit clingier than usual I think thanks to teething and having a sick Mommy but she is doing good. She asks me ALL THE TIME to "see" the baby. And then she always says "ahhhh" and pets my stomach and says "nice" and gives it a million hugs and kisses. Then she says "bye, bye" and pulls my shirt back down. Then one second later she'll be like... "more baby?" and pulls my shirt back up and starts all over again! It is the cutest thing in the world! I am trying to teach her shapes right now. She knows stars and hearts (her favorite) really good so I want to get her to recognize more basic shapes. We are working with "circle" but every time I show her one she says "ball".

Note to future self for things that help nausea: lemonade (I have drank seriously a gallon today), suckers and hard candy, chocolate mints

10 more days until my 1st OB appointment!!!!!

1st OB Appt

Is scheduled for February 17th at 3:30pm!! I can't wait!!

7 weeks- a BLUEBERRY!!

7 weeks today! How exciting! Here are some interesting facts for 7 weeks:

*My baby is the size of a blueberry!! (click here for more fruit comparisons, I love it!)
*My uterus has already doubled in size from prepregnancy
*I have 10% more blood than I did before I was pregnant (by the end you have 40-45% more)
*My baby's hands and feet are emerging and she still has a tail which will disappear in a few weeks!

Fascinating!!!

And because I want to document this for future pregnancies NOT because I want to complain (because I am the last person in the world who should complain, I feel soooo blessed to be pregnant again) here are my "observations" about the start of my week 7:

*I am nauseous almost ALL the time (I get like a 2-3 hour break in the middle of the day)
*I have not thrown up yet! YAY!
*I am so exhausted by 1:00pm and need a nap!
*The smell of LITERALLY everything makes me nauseous! Boiling water, ketchup, the refrigerator, the car, I was drinking from a glass one day and could swear I could smell the soap from the glass and got so nauseous I had to dump my drink out and go lay down. What purpose could this possibly have?!
*I have to pee A LOT!
*Crazy drams EVERY night!! But a lot of them are fun!

Yay for 7 weeks!!

It's a....

GIRL, I've decided!! Yay!! Haha. I have a good track record of guessing correctly so I'm pretty psyched... now to wait like 10 weeks to find out for sure!! It may still change, but as of right now I say GIRL!!!

So guess away! But be forewarned, I'm almost always right! :)
And to be fair... I will give you the info from my previous birth! Venily was born 5 days before her due date at 4:28pm and was 7lbs, 8oz and 20inches long.