This baby is NUTS!!!

Yesterday I was having a LOT of contractions during the day and even though I wasn't keeping track or timing them, I knew I was having more than I should in an hour period. So I did what I was supposed to do and drank a glass of water and laid on my side to get them to go away. Luckily it worked but since then Haven has been going sooooo crazy!! Her foot literally can stick out several inches from my stomach and she pushes with all of her strength! She must be in just the right position now to really stretch her little legs! I really want to get a video of it! Jason was getting soooo weirded out (even though he's done this before!) watching her foot way out there, moving back and forth! LOL, I LOVE it! She was doing it again today when I was laying down. It's crazy how good you can see her foot!! She is so much like her sister already I can't help but think they are going to be EXACTLY the same in every way...

27 weeks! THIRD TRIMESTER!!

Yep, we're there already!! THIRD TRIMESTER!!! Only 10 more weeks until we're full term!!!! Ahhh, she's going to be so fricken cute, I can't wait to see her!!!!!! ♥

At 27 weeks...
* I'm at 135 lbs (+ 15lbs total gain)
*Haven has an 85% chance of surviving being born now!! :)
*She is head down and ready to go! I can feel her entire legs sometimes across the top of my stomach! And it's so funny to see her shifting around and making me all lopsided!
*She gets the hiccups several times a day! :)
* I am at the "get up once a night to go to the bathroom and eat" phase again. Every night, without fail and then it takes me forever to get back to sleep! Unfortunately I know that this number will just increase as the weeks go by!
*I still have horrible sciatic pain! I'm considering trying a chiropractor or something. There are times I can hardly function. Lifting heavy things definitely makes it worse!
* I am still in CRAZY cleaning nesting mode!! I just want everything cleaned and organized so badly!! Definitely not good for my back pain...

Nesting...

Compulsive nesting + lifting heavy boxes + having a 20 month old = HORRIBLE sciatic pain!! I was in such pain yesterday that I told Jason to go find me a rascal b/c I could barely walk, lol! Luckily a lot of stretching and an awesome back rub last night have helped me tremendously this morning. I have also taped some "Namaste Yoga" episodes on Fit TV so I will do one this morning before it gets too hot...

On a good note though, all of my cupboards and closets look AMAZING, I was able to go through a TON of stuff and I got a decent start on my basement boxes!!

I will probably overdue it again today because I can't seem to stop myself- I just want it all done!

Happy Daddy Day!!

I am so fortunate to not only have a great husband, but a man who is an amazing Daddy as well!! My little girls are blessed beyond belief! Happy Father's Day Jason, your girls love you so much!!!


And happy father's day to all of the other great Daddys out there as well!!

26 weeks! and NO MORE DIAPERS!!!

So I saw some really cute belly pictures of a girl in her swimsuit and wondered why I never thought of that. Probably should have tanned up a bit first though, lol!

One day I was laying out and Jason said.... you'd better give her some more sun b/c I don't want her to have jaundice when she's born. I thought it was so funny that he even knew that term when Venily never had it, lol! (Not that putting her in the sun now can help with that, but I still thought it was cute!)


Ummm..... yeah, she's huge! LOL!! I get so nervous when I think that she still has 14 weeks left (and she still has the majority of her growing left to do)!

At 26 weeks....

*I'm at 133 lbs (+13 lbs total gain)
*Haven can open her eyes now!!!!
* She's about 1 2/3 lbs and 14 inches long!
*I'm in the LAST week of my 2nd trimester. Ahhh! That went TOO fast!


Venily woke up yesterday morning, came into our room, climbed up on the bed with me, pulled up my shirt and the first thing she asked me was "Baby sister out?". LOL! She's going to be in for a long 3 months if every day she wants to know if her baby sister can come out yet!!




AND WE ARE OFFICIALLY OUT OF DIAPERS NOW day AND night as of yesterday!!!! So no more changing diapers for 3 whole months!!!!! The last couple of days she has been waking up dry in the morning, so we made the switch. And she is still doing soooooo great! Never has any accidents, and always tells me when she needs to go! I am putting away all of Venily's size 3's that she has left for Haven! And her extra panties and pair of pants takes up less room in the diaper bag than the 5 or so diapers I used to carry!!!!

ABC's and Happy Birthday!

Here is Venily repeating her ABC's, lol. EVERY TIME she hears someone say "O" she instantly thinks of the "Poker Face" song where it goes "oh, oh, oh, oh"!



And here she is singing "Happy Birthday" to Jacki! She can actually do it a lot better and has been doing it all day, but put a camera on her and she acts goofy, haha!!



Note that her hair is now long enough for decent pigtails!! Makes me soooo happy!!!!

Dr's Appt- 25 weeks, 5 days

Yesterday was my dr's appt. Everything is still going perfectly, no problems anywhere! Haven's heartbeat was at 148/149bpm. And my glucose test results were good as well! I go for my next appointment in a month and then they are ALREADY 2 weeks apart after that!!! Things are moving along VERY well! And I am continuously checking things off my list that need to be done before Haven is here! After I finish going through all the boxes in my basement I am going to be moving on to trying to tackle my pictures/ albums/ and scrapbooks!

100 DAYS LEFT AND COUNTING!!!

Only 100 days left until Haven's due date!!! I remember how fast it goes!! I have a doctor's appointment later today and will update when I get back. I'll get my glucose test results back today as well.



Happy Birthday to my littlest BIL Matthew who turned 7 yesterday!!! 7 years ago yesterday Jason and I were in an evacuated girl scout camp all by ourselves when we got the call that Matt was born! And Happy Birthday to Jacki tomorrow!!!! Matt's birthday party was fun yesterday. Venily was feeling all better and had fun running around like crazy! She also wore her little panties and peed 2 times and pooped once while we were there! Then on the drive home she said she had to go so we pulled over to Burger King and she went there as well! HAHA! Any extended road trips are going to be interesting this summer!!!

Venily is 20 months!!

She had a 103 fever yesterday afternoon and this morning and was up a lot last night! :( It seems to be getting better today though, mostly in the 100/101 range with Ibuprofen every 6 hrs! I hope she's all better by tomorrow!

She is still doing great with potty training- WE ARE OFFICIALLY DIAPER-FREE NOW ALL DAY IN AND OUT OF THE HOUSE, including nap time (and only using one at night)! We will try not having one at night once she is feeling better, she's been waking up a lot at night and I don't want any accidents to set her back! She had no accidents again yesterday or today though!!!

We were out of the house for Yoga on Friday and she told me she had to go THREE times during the 1hr session (sometimes stopping in the middle of playing with her new friends to tell me) and she actually peed ALL THREE TIMES in the toilet there (lol, she had drank a whole thing of juice on the way there)!!!!! I also had her at Walmart today with no diaper on and she went in the toilet there as well! We bought some more new panties and some new plastic training covers to use at night when we are ready.

I am nervous!! Venily has definitely been my easy child! Her birth was easy, she was an easy baby, she learns new things easily, and now she is making potty training so easy for me... I hope I'm not in for a shock with Haven!!!

***************

At 20 months, Venily is....

*One of the most caring people I know! She is always concerned with how others are feeling. And if I am cleaning or something and am like "Man, my back hurts" (to my self) she will come RUNNING as fast as she can to give me a kiss and make me feel better!

*Talks in multiple word sentences. Jason and I are so amazed at how well she can talk! And the amount of things that she picks up on and remembers! (Definitely doesn't have her Daddy's memory- she must get it from her cousin Kate!)

*Can't wait for her new baby sister! We talk about her every day! Here is how our conversation usually goes, she's so funny!

Me: Who is in my tummy?
Venily: Baby sister!
Me: And what is your baby sister's name?
Venily: Hay!
Me: And when she's bigger how am I going to get her out?
Venily: (Very excitedly) PUUUUUSHHHH!! PUUUUSHHHHHH!
Me: Yep! And what is she going to do when she comes out?
Venily: Cry! (and she fake cries)
Me: Yep, she'll cry! And what are you going to do with her when we bring her home?
Venily: (hold her, feed her, kiss her, hug her, etc.)

*Working on counting to 10! If I help her she can usually get 1, 2, 3,...5... 8, 9. And she loves to say 3, 2, 1!! (b/c I am ALWAYS saying it to her!)

*Loves books, playing outside, playing with water out on our deck, ALL animals, other kids (especially older girls and little babies), going for walks, BIRTHDAY CAKE (we have been to so many birthday parties lately that's all I hear about!), singing songs (she can say the last word of each line of almost ANY song I have sung to her!), helping out around the house, and mimicking EVERYTHING Jason and I do (my morning routine takes twice as long b/c she has to brush her teeth with me and spit in the sink when I do, put lotion on, put her "makeup" on, etc., it's so cute! She even "shaved" with Daddy yesterday, lol)

*And her overall personality is just happy, goofy, and fun!!! She always has a ton of energy and is shy to new people but warms up fairly quickly!

*She hates to be tired though! And still needs me to lay with her (singing songs and making up stories) to go to sleep for her daily nap (after lunch for about 1.5-2 hrs) and at night (she usually goes to sleep around 9:00-9:30pm and wakes up around 7:00- 7:30am)

* She is also really into opposites right now. Clean/dirty, Hot/Warm/Cold, Big/Small, Upstairs/Downstairs, Wet/Dry, etc. and always wants to talk about what things are!

**************

I got my butt KICKED yesterday at yoga, oh my gosh!!!! I've been paying for it all day today and am still soooo sore! My thighs and back are just killing me, but in a good way!

Underwear for nap today and Poker Face!

I've given up NOT writing about potty training, I realized that if someone doesn't want to read about it, they don't have to! :)

Another PERFECT potty training day yesterday and today!! No accidents, no going in her diaper, even when we went to Burlington- and she woke up dry AGAIN today!!!! I am SHOCKED- this is crazy!!!!

Today I switched things up a bit. We are only using the big potty today. It's a new routine, so it's a little more work, but in the end I think it's better to just make the switch now- I think it will help with out-of-the-house training as well! So far, she is still doing great!!!! She knows how to turn the light on, move her stool over and climb on up there and go! I also got her some plastic training pants and put them over her underwear for her nap today and she woke up DRY again! I keep reading that it takes 8 months on average from the very start of potty training to get kids COMPLETELY out of diapers!! I don't think it will be even close to that long for us!


Yesterday I had music on while I was cleaning the house and "Poker Face" just started. I tell Venily, "oooooh, it's your song" and before any of the lyrics were even sung, she yells "POKER FACE!" and starts dancing. My 1 1/2 year old's favorite singer is Lady Gaga. LOL! She loves to sing the song too (we had to rewind and listen to it 7 times before I told her no more!) and here is a video of her singing... I just love this girl!



She is still in her pajamas and hasn't had her hair brushed yet, haha!

25 weeks!!! 15 more to go!!! And MORE PT Updates!

25 WEEKS!!!! YAY!!!!!

At 25 weeks...

*I weigh 132 lbs (+12 total gain)
*Babies have a 50% chance of surviving being born now! (Jason thinks that's horrible to even think about, but it makes me happy to know that my chances are that good and that we've come so far already! 13 women on my online board have already had their babies past 17 weeks and a few are fighting to make it... I pray for them daily!)
*I'm feeling GREAT!!!
*Sciatica pain is a LOT better than last week (thank you YOGA- I just wish it was more than once a week!)
*Haven actually has periods of rest now!!! Thank goodness, I thought that girl NEVER slept! But she is crazy when she's awake- takes after her big sister!
*Sometimes she kicks me so hard or pushes out so hard though that I actually get very startled! But I LOVE it!! :)

And....

Potty Training Day 8!
Sorry, can't help myself!!!! Venily didn't have a single accident yesterday or a single wet/dirty diaper!!!!!!!! She went on the potty all day and I am SOOOOO proud of her!!! She woke up from her nap dry! She went grocery shopping with me and came home DRY!!! Then WOKE UP DRY THIS MORNING and immediately pooped and peed in her potty!!!!! I am ECSTATIC!!!!! And I gave her 1/2 regular milk yesterday and she hasn't shown any side effects!! No more buying diapers and no more buying Lactaid?! That would be amazing...

Potty Training Day 7!

Okay, this will be my last day-to-day potty training update, as promised!! :)

Yesterday marked one week since we started potty training Venily!!! She did good in the morning and at night while we were home, though she did have her first real accident and peed in her panties! :( We were out of the house most of the day and she made me take her into the bathroom a million times and actually went once at Red Robin's and twice at Jacki and Jake's!!! So already she seems to get the whole concept. Hopefully as we keep practicing she will have me take her less and less and go more and more! :)

I have come to realize that there are 3 main components to this potty training thing: *1. Home Training *2. Out of the House Training and *3. Sleep Training. She has got #1 done pretty well and I can safely say that as long as she is in our house, she will NEVER again wear diapers unless it's for sleeping!!!! THIS MAKES ME SO HAPPY!!!!! #2 we will continue to work on all summer and hopefully have down by the time Haven comes. and #3 we will leave up to Venily!! As soon as she starts waking up with more dry diapers, I will give her a try with sleeping in panties. I am in no rush though and do not like to do more laundry than necessary!

It seems like going on the potty is actually helping her with her pooping a million times a day problem as well! She has only been pooping 2-3 times a day since we started and a lot more is coming out at once! She also hasn't had ANY diarrhea this last week even though she has been eating a lot of dairy foods so I think I'm going to try regular whole milk today... maybe... (if I'm feeling brave enough!)... I think I'll mix it half and half with her lactose-free milk and see how that goes!

Potty Training Day 6 & Roller Skating!

Day 6 yesterday and we are still doing great!! All morning/ early afternoon Venily went on her potty with no problems. She is becoming such a pro now! From 3pm until bedtime though, we were out of the house again and she wore a diaper. We went roller skating and she told me she had to go a HUNDRED times, so we kept going into the bathroom. Most of the time we would get in there and she would sit on the potty and nothing... BUT I am VERY happy to say that she did pee in the toilet once!!!!! Her first time out of the house!!!



AND VENILY ROLLER SKATED FOR THE FIRST TIME YESTERDAY AND DID GREAT!!!!! She can already roller skate better than I EVER could in all the attempts I have made over my entire life! Jason said he wanted to see if they had little skates for her and I thought he was out of his mind, but they did and she tried them on and was a natural! By the end she was pushing my hands away so she could skate all by herself like the other girls, haha, it broke my heart a bit!!

Potty Training Day 5

This morning went FANTASTIC!! Venily pooped on the potty once and peed 4 times- all without any help (because I know you love reading about it, haha, I'm just kidding.... I'm almost done with the detailed accounts, I promise... give me a full week though!). Then at noon we left for Lockport for the rest of the day. I kept a diaper on her and she hated it!! She HATED it being dirty! She kept telling me she had to go and making me take her into the bathroom, but wouldn't go on the big toilet as I held her up there. Oh well, we tried- I really wonder how it would have gone if she had had underwear on though! Hoping we can get back into the swing of it tomorrow!

I got the best complement I think I have ever had today! I was told that "I don't think I have ever met anyone who loves being a mother as much as you do!!". I'm still smiling about it! :) I really, truly and completely love being a mommy and I wouldn't trade it for ANYTHING in the world!!!!

Potty Training Day 4!

Another GREAT DAY!!! :)

Venily woke up crying and came into our bedroom at 1:30am this morning saying she had to go!! Of course she was half asleep, so even when I took her into the bathroom we didn't get any where. Her diaper was wet though, so I changed her and she went back asleep and then woke up again at 7:30 WITH A DRY DIAPER!!! YAY!! Then immediately said she had to poop this morning and went on the big toilet (I don't know why, but she prefers to poop on the real toilet- fine with me, less to clean!). Then she took it upon herself this morning to go sit on her potty when she had to go and went!! We then went to yoga and my mom's and I asked her a couple of times while we were out if she had to go and she said no. We got home and she was DRY again!!! Then took it upon herself to pee and poop in her potty while I was making lunch, just like it was no big deal! She just says "YAY!!! POOP!!!" and only asked for a cookie once today after she went- so pretty soon, no more bribing! She is DOING SO WELL!!!!

Woke up from her nap dry! Then pooped in her potty (with out me saying anything!)! We played outside and came back in later and the whole time... NO ACCIDENTS!!!! She knows when she has to go, runs to her potty sometimes saying "Hurry... hurry!" and then just goes!!

I am SHOCKED at how easy she is making this for me!! I was absolutely dreading it, I bought carpet cleaner and a carpet scrubber, was prepared to wash a million loads of laundry and was afraid she'd go all over our couches and stuff, etc. But she has only had 2 or 3 minor accidents this entire time and they all ended up making it to the potty anyways!!!! I am using 1-2 diapers a day instead of like 8-9, no changing diapers, my garbage doesn't make me GAG every time I open it.... I am LOVING it!! Of course the real test will be how she does out of the house with no diaper on, but I think she is going to do pretty well!

I may actually have a few months of NO diapers before we start this process all over again! :)

Yoga Class and Venily's 1 1/2 Year Old Pictures!

I am sooo happy with how well my yoga class went this morning!! It was awesome!! I can't believe this woman doesn't charge anything and you can bring your children, how awesome is that? And my sister and I didn't bring mats (I need to dig through boxes to find mine still) and had a bunch for us to use, even a little one for Venily!!! ♥ Venily did so good too! She was trying out some of the moves and my sister and I were cracking up! My back feels so much better now too- and even being pregnant, I was still able to keep up pretty well!

So... I got Venily's pictures taken last week! No where near as good as Jacki can do, but it was only $7.99 for a package and I got a free father's day collage as well, so I had them done. Here is a few of the poses...


I also got a few father's day ones done as well with Venily wearing Jason's clothes (I totally stole your idea Jacki! :))! She thought it was REALLY funny! She looks like a little boy, haha! I haven't shown these to Jason yet or even told him I was doing it, so he's going to crack up when he sees them!

(You can click to see them bigger, though they are a little blurry b/c they are just the online pics)

Potty Training Day 3!

We had a rough start this morning... Venily woke up and said she had to poop but then she REFUSED to sit on her potty. So I left her with no diaper on all morning and she danced around, refusing to go. If I sat her on it, she'd keep her legs crossed and she kept telling me that the seat hurt her butt. Great! She kept saying "POOP! POOP!" but then not wanting to go on her potty, it was driving me CRAZY!!! Eventually though (about 3 hours later) I put her on the big toilet and she pooped in there! But then she had to pee since she drank a TON of drinks all morning and then didn't want to pee on her potty. She had 2 pee accidents while in the bathroom that both started out on the floor and ended up with her finishing on her little potty! A little while later she then willingly peed on her potty, so that was good. (At least I know that she can hold it for a long time, lol!)

Then we were outside most of the day and I had her potty out there. She peed 2 more times and pooped 2 more times while outside!

I have to go!!!

That's better!!

Back inside she peed 3 more times and pooped 1 more time very willingly and 1 more time not so willingly and wanted to go on the big toilet again.

The only time I had a diaper on her ALL day was during her nap, during our walk (which stayed dry again) and now that she's sleeping for the night!!!!!! YAY!!!! I'm a little scared about Saturday, Venily and I are going to be in Lockport all day and the weather is calling for rain, so I don't know if I'll be able to have her diaper off of her at all.

It is a lot of work, but I am so THRILLED with how well she is doing!!!!!!!

My sciatic pain though is EXCRUCIATING!! I can barely walk without feeling like someone is sticking a taser to my lower back! I stretched some tonight which I think helped a little and I TRIED to find my heating pad, but I'm sure it's buried in a box somewhere! I had the same problem with Venily! Hoping my yoga class tomorrow helps!!!!

So call me crazy but....

I think I want Venily to be there when I give birth to Haven!!!!

I have been thinking about it more and more lately and would honestly LOVE for that to happen. Here are my reasons before you judge me, lol...

1. I had a very easy birth with Venily and was never in a tremendous amount of pain. I never screamed or yelled or cried or anything like that, so it's not like it's going to scar her for life to see her mommy in pain, b/c I don't see that happening... I calmly said "ow" twice through my entire birth experience with Venily. Once during the epidural and once when the doctor was stitching me up after I delivered her and he was getting towards the end.

2. I can pretty much expect a very fast birth and it might be hard to find someone to watch Venily last second. I was 8cm dilated when I got to the hospital with Venily and then had her less than 2 hours later. My dr said I will probably have a similar birth experience this time, but maybe even faster! We might not have a choice! :)

3. Jason's onboard with the idea! He is just worried that I will have her in the van on the way there and he will have to deliver her. Then Venily will probably have to assist! :) Haha. My dad was born in the car right outside the hospital, so it's a possibility!

4. I don't feel like I NEED Jason to give birth. I barely knew he was in the room with me when I had Venily, so it is okay for him to watch after her and not attend to me. I probably won't know the difference anyway!

5. Venily "gets" the whole giving birth thing probably better than most kids 5 times her age. If she sees a woman in a hospital bed on t.v. she starts asking "baby?". And when they are pushing she will yell "push! push!". HAHA! And even when the woman is screaming, it doesn't phase her. She knows where the baby comes out and then gets soooooo excited and says "BABY!!! BABY!!!" and usually "baby cry?". LOL, so she will be an awesome little birth coach.

6. I want Venily to experience the miracle of birth. It is not something I think every child could handle. But I think at her age and with her temperament and personality, I think she would have a lot of fun and be really excited to see the baby come out! And maybe it would even help her connect the fact that the baby she has been kissing and hugging and talking to in my stomach is the same baby that came out of me.


I'm not super obsessed with the idea or anything, I just think it would be nice. Of course there is a million things that could get in the way of it happening, I just like the idea and hope it all works out! I don't even know if my hospital allows it, but then again, Jason can talk his way into almost anything! ;)

Potty Training Day 2!!

Another AWESOME day!!!! I am AMAZED!!! She peed on the potty 6 times and pooped 3 times!!!! And ZERO major accidents again today!!! We only had one small accident where she went on the potty WITH her panties on and got them all wet, but she is still doing so good!

One of the times she pooped so much I actually CALLED Jason on his phone since he was in the basement and had him come see it, lol! He said "please don't tell me you're going to take a picture and put it on the internet!" HAHA! I told him, "no, that was just the first time she ever went!" :)

The only times she had a diaper on were during her nap (which she woke up wet), on our short trip to Target (she told me she had to go in the store and I told her to go in her diaper, yeah, I know, bad, but I didn't want to run all the way to the bathrooms- next time I will though!) and when we went for a walk (she stayed dry). We bought some new Elmo panties at Target and Venily is excited to have them washed so she can wear them (she loves Elmo even though she has never seen the show)! This potty training thing is turning out easier than I ever imagined! I just hope we keep it up!!!

I am having HORRIBLE sciatica pain though, I think from bending over so much to help her on the potty! This was worsened by by 2 1/2 mile walk today! I am in need of some serious stretching!!! I think my sister and I are going to try and find that yoga class in Burlington Friday morning!

24 weeks and Potty Training!!!

Here are my 24 week pics!!



At 24 weeks...

*I am at 131lbs (+11 lbs total gain- I always end up losing weight when I get sick)
*I'm pretty sure I have felt Haven hiccuping a couple of times this past week!

I found these statistics and find them extremely reassuring!

• At 23 weeks babies have a 17 per cent of survival.
• At 24 weeks, the figure rises to 39 per cent
• By 25 weeks the survival rates are 50 per cent

Not that I plan on having her any time soon, but it DOES make me feel better!





POTTY TRAINING!!!!

I started my first day of actually potty training Venily yesterday and it went AWESOME!!!! Sooooo much better than I imagined it was going to be- especially since we haven't had her on the potty for a long time! I brought her little potty chair out into the living room and left her with no pants or diaper on all day and put little panties on her for part of the day. I am happy to say that she peed in her potty 3 times and pooped once!!! AND ZERO ACCIDENTS!!!!!! I am so thrilled!! I have 112 days left until Haven is due and I think we can have her completely trained by then!! I did put a diaper on her for her nap and we were out of the house from about 3pm until bedtime, so I kept a diaper on her then too, but so far so good!!! I think that is probably how it is going to go for a while... I will leave her diaper off of her as long as we are home and put one on her when we go out.

Every time that Venily has gone in her potty she was SOOOO proud of herself!! I kept telling her what a big girl she is for going in the potty and for wearing big girl panties and she kept nodding her head and saying "KATE!". She is so happy to be a big girl just like Kate!!! Awww!

Fingers are crossed that we have as good of a day today!!!! So far she has pooped once and peed once and still no accidents!! I am loading her up on drinks right now!!! :)

More Pregnancy Comparisons...

I'm slacking a little here, lol! I did take comparison pictures for 19 weeks, but just never put them up, so here they are:


And here are my 23 week comparison pics! She is definitely catching up to Venily now!



And finally, here is my weight chart comparison so far. I seem to be following a similar trend...