Month 8 Down--one more to go!

So, I didn't get around to doing more than one post last month.  Sorry!  We're on the downhill end of yet ANOTHER cold--this one being the worst I've had.  Coughing all through the night, and little sleep for the past 5 nights.  Not. Fun.

Anywho, I've taken my 8 month pic about a week late again.  This is the last Knox comparison pic I have--didn't think to take one at the end.  :(  Oh well, I was huge-antical.   Today is week 35, and we scheduled Cecily's birth date:  JULY 5th!  That's in four weeks from today and I got the doctor I requested to do the C-section (he's not even on call, but "made time" for me)!  Wish I could kick this cold to get a few more things made for her before she gets here.  Total weight gain for me is currently at 21!  Totally in the doctor recommended frame, and if I keep up what I did the past two weeks (2 lbs in 2 weeks--exact amount I'm supposed to gain here at the end!!!), I should only be at 25 total pounds!  That is HALF OF THE WEIGHT I gained with Knox.  Crazy, but I'll take it!  :)  Insane difference in each pregnancy!

So without further delay, I give you the gigantic pregnancy pics:

You can't really tell from the Knox pic, but my belly was REALLY low and football shaped.  With Ceci, I'm definitely more "out there" (as my parents would say :)  and round.

I do have nursery pics, and will post...sometime.  :)  Happy Monday!

7 Months!

I'm about a week later than my normal monthly pregnancy post, but better late than never.  I've been crazy busy with work, so hopefully now that I'm slowing a bit, I can post a few more things.  I'm also working on Cecily's room--crib skirt and duvet cover for the queen/full bed are done.  Just bed skirt, crib sheet, pillows, curtains and some artwork are left.  I'd love to make her a few outfits and some burp cloths--just hope I can get it all in these next NINE WEEKS!  Eeekk!

Anywho, here's my picture.  Warning:  the Knox pics are of some whale that invaded my body.  Oh and I had my hair cut over the weekend, which I love, but didn't really bother to fix this AM.

To date, my official weight gain with Cecily is only 11 lbs, though I think I've gained about 4 in the last week.  Not sure my exact weight gain with Knox, but it had to be somewhere around 35-40 lbs at this point.  Crazy.  Other current preggo facts:  she's SUPER LOW, as Knox was.  Constant pressure "down there", and head in my pelvic bone, like Knox as well.  Only one noticeable bout of Braxton Hicks, but almost constant round ligament pain.  Lower back hurts when I sit up-right for long periods of time, and I can feel my hips "loosening" for the labor I won't have to go through.

Saw sweet Cecily's face today.  The body attached to that face is already 4 lbs 4 oz, according to her measurements.  Thankful to the C-section, I won't have to worry about how big she might get.  It's just crazy since Knox was only 6 lb 7 oz, being 3 days late!

Anywho, hopefully it won't be almost 5 weeks until my next post!  Maybe I can get her room done before then to share pics!

6 Months!

I'm so behind blogging, but I took my 6 month belly pic and wanted to share really quick.  I have other things I need to get you all up to speed on (like Knox and his ear tubes along with the progress of Cecily's room), but I'll have to wait just a little longer for a time when I have just more of that--time.

Anywho, ignore the windblown, pulled back hair.  That's what happens when's it's GORGEOUS outside! :)  Hope you are enjoying these amazing days we have been having, and will be having for the next week or so!  I HEART SPRING!

And just so you can see that my belly is looking more like it did at 4 months with Knox, here's the last month's comparison.  Crazy what a 20 lb difference looks like.  :)  Just glad I've only gained 10 lbs and not the 20-30 that I did at this point with Knox!!!  I can also tell the difference in how different I'm carrying Cecily, than I did Knox.

You can definitely tell she's grown in the last month!  There's also another difference in the two pics.  Can you tell what it is?  If you guessed wall color, you're right!  Part of our preparation for hopefully selling the house in the next year!

21 Weeks!

Today I'm 21 weeks, and only 18 to go!  We had our last "official" ultrasound today, but will more than likely have a 3D ultrasound in two months or so.  We had one with Knox, so we'll have to have one for her!

Cecily is STILL a girl, and a healthy one so far.  She's measuring just under a pound at 13 ounces, which is just shy of typical weight.  Her heartbeat is 140--pretty consistent from a month ago at 146.  She has all hands, feet, kidneys, chambers of her heart and a cute little nose.  It's not quite as turned up as Knox's was at his 20 weeks, so I'm guessing she's going to look more like her Daddy.  :)  She's crazy active, at all times of the day.  I don't know if I'm able to feel her much more than Knox for the fact that she's that much more active, that this is my second pregnancy or that I've gained much less weight than I did with him.  I just hope it's not a foreboding of a hyper little girl!  She kicked or punched at both the ultrasound tech AND the doctor today--both asked if I felt the kick that they saw or heard during my checkup.

 

I labeled this one--it's just a double image, so only one side is labeled.  Her little hands are up by her face.

 

All is well with me--I've gained 4 pounds this past month, putting my total weight gain to 2 pounds (I actually lost 6 pounds last month, more than likely due to the nasty stomach bug that put me under my starting weight.)  That makes me beyond happy--at this point with Knox, I think I may have gained 15-20 pounds!  MOO!  I, sadly, gained 50 pounds with Knox, and I'm making a point to NOT let that happen again.  You'll be able to tell a huge (no pun intended) difference in my two pregnancies from the comparison pics starting in this month.

Anywho, Happy Monday AND HAPPY MARCH!  (February and I just don't get along so well!)

Just a little som-sommin'

Just a little update on what’s going on with us:

Knox is still SUCH a big boy!  He sleeps in his bed every night and every nap.  He’s only fallen out the one time and will stay in bed until Mommy or Daddy come to get him.  He’s even so big that as soon as he gets up he either hands us his paci (that he only gets when he’s sleeping) or he puts it on his bedside table all by himself.

Potty training continues to go quite well.  We got Thomas the Train big boy underwear, but we’re not quite ready to wear those just yet.  It is only just the second week of the process.

My belly is slowly getting larger, but headaches and back pain seem to visit me every day.  Again, a small price to pay for such a big blessing!  I’m being pampered tomorrow with a prenatal massage and facial, my 5 year anniversary gift from Hubs. I saw my friend Holly today, the one that has never been wrong with her guesses of babies’ gender from how women carry the baby.  She said that I confuse her!   I have lost the weight I gained over Christmas and New Years, so I’ve technically only gained a pound or two.  She said if carrying a girl, my face should look fuller even with no weight gain.  However, she said my belly does look more round than it did with Knox and she thought my ultrasound pics looked like a girl.  SO, no official guess from her yet.  (Sorry, Linds!)  I will probably see her again in about two weeks, so we’ll see if she decides then.  My heart burn is still quite annoying, and getting it more often.  Now it comes after I eat or drink most anything—tea & soda especially.  I’ve never eaten Tums before now, but as of this point I’ve almost put away an entire container.  And they’re surprisingly decent—Berry Fusion Smoothies.  It’s the little things in my world.

Daddy’s working hard as usual, but came home early today.  I think it was to enjoy the gorgeous day we’re having with Wild Man and myself.  So that’s about it for now.  Going to go enjoy some more sunshine before a yummy Mexican dinner!

P.S.  I just realized I passed my 100th blogging post anniversary!  Thanks for reading my random thoughts for that many crazy posts!  :)

New Year, New Blog

I decided to start a new blog more appropriate for our growing family.  It won't be just Knox Rogers' Neighborhood come July!  :)  Make sure you update your blog roll and bookmarks!

First off, I've been bad about taking pics of the belly this time around.  I had a total of 7 photos of the progression of pregnancy with Knox.  I hate I didn't take a starting photo of this pregnancy.  I'll share previously "private" photos of my gigantic self along with current photos throughout this round.  You can see by this side by side view, my belly popped a little earlier than last time.

We had our second ultrasound this morning.  Everything is measuring perfectly and the heart rate is 146, down from the 174 it was at week 9 (it's faster at first because so much is growing!)  I've only gained 4 lbs. and I contribute that to all the good food I ate in the past two weeks during the holidays, since my nausea has dwindled.  I had lots of blood drawn for all the screening they do.  Next ultrasound will be March 1 (next doc visit will be Feb 1), and we'll know for sure whether we have a boy or girl.  The doc also told me that they prefer to do a C-section after you've had one, to reduce risks--which I was going to request anyway.  He said that they typically do repeat C-sections about a week prior to the due date so current estimated date of arrival is July 5!!!  Almost a Independence Day baby--and only FOUR days after it's Daddy's birthday!  :)

I labeled this ultrasound just for you Ma Jack!  :)

Other current preggy tidbits that I didn't share last time:

•  I'm finally over the all day sickness, and thankfully, craving fruits and veggies.  I ate so many clementines the other day, I gave myself heartburn.  :)

•  I'm getting heartburn more frequently now than I did with Knox.

•  While at home for the holidays, I took an Intelligender test at 11 weeks.  It's one of those that supposedly tests hormones in your urine.  Mine read BOY, but website claims 80% accuracy and from threads I've read, it's more like 50%.  Also the earlier you test, the less accurate.

•  I think I may be having a boy--my belly is low and more "football" shaped like it was with Knox.

•  We're hung up on boy names.  We have three names we love for a girl, so of course the baby will be a boy.  :)

Speaking of names, why don't you help us out a bit.  We don't go for the run of the mill names, but we don't want some weirdo name like "Sparrow".  Our two boy names right now are Asa Burks Rogers and Slade Hutton Rogers.  Burks and Hutton are family names.  I'm not sold on either name.  I had John Chapman Rogers and to call him Chapman (family name on both sides), but my brother claims that John Chapman is the brother of Dog The Bounty Hunter.  Even if it's not, the name has lost it's luster.  I think brothers named Knox and Slade are just ready to go out and bust some heads.  :)

I'm IN LOVE with our girl names:  Cecily Elizabeth Rogers, Kingsley Melia Rogers (would have been Knox's name if he was a girl) and Alden Blanche Rogers.  All of the middle names are family names.  I honestly go back and forth between which name is my favorite.  Let me know which names are your favorite for boy or girl!

Either way, the baby is healthy and on track, so we're blessed beyond belief!

The Start of Baby #2's Journey

Just thought I'd share how the journey of baby blessing #2 has started.  I've been meaning to start a journal for this one, like I did for Knox, but I haven't gotten around to it just yet.

In January, Keith and I decided to start trying for baby #2 in June.  By then, if we got lucky right away, Knox would at least be 2.  It took 10-11 months to get pregnant with Knox, so if that was the case again Knox would still be 3.  At first, I was so preoccupied with Knox that, even though our attempts didn't result in anything, I wasn't too upset--plus we were still in our ideal range.  When we finally did get pregnant, I actually didn't expect it!

I first tested positive on November 2nd.  I barely saw a line and just stared, trying to decide if I was crazy or not.  So I went out to get a digital one--like I did with Knox, to make sure I wasn't mistaken.  To my luck, when I got out to the car, I had an extremely low tire.  I had to go have it filled with air while I ran errands (and got my test) while the line to have it patched dwindled.  I sat in "agony" waiting at the tire place!  I flew home and got a PREGNANT result just a few minutes later!  I about flipped!  I didn't want to call Keith at the office, so I whipped up a shirt for Knox to wear when Keith got home that read, "Big Bro Knox."  (see pic!)  I initially wanted to tell family in person when we were home for Thanksgiving so I didn't tell anyone ALL DAY, especially since Keith didn't know yet.  (I about died to tell someone!)  Once Keith did get home, Knox wouldn't sit still for Keith to see the shirt, so I had to hold Knox up so Keith could read.  Keith isn't a drama king, so I got a "you're pregnant?"  :)

By the next day, I couldn't keep it quite any longer.  I called my mom and Keith called his dad.  We told my dad and Keith's mom over Skype so Knox could show off his new shirt.  I sent my brother and Lindsey picture messages of Knox's shirt (on their 2 year dating anniversary, coincidentally!)  We slowly told extended family and close friends over the next few weeks (once my blood work came back with good results), until we had our first ultrasound last week, on Knox's second birthday!

As far as how I've felt, it's similar to how I felt with Knox.  I'm nauseated most every day, most all day, though it's been slightly better the past two days.  By that I mean I've only gotten sick once compared to about 4 times.  I'm not sick as often as I was with Knox.  When pregnant with him, I was sick EVERY time I ate ANYTHING.  I'm keeping more things down, but still haven't gained any weight!  That a plus to all this yucky sickness, in addition to the reason I'm sick, of course!  :)  Nothing helps the nausea--I've tried everything from eating crackers before getting out of bed, eating crystallized ginger, lemons, lemon ginger tea, small meals throughout the day, motion sickness bands, vitamin B6 AND two types of Zofran (regular and instant that dissolves--and being in a car only aggravates it.)  Think I might have to try a combo of the aforementioned for the drive home for the holidays.  The nasty cough I have now doesn't help things either.  I have a headache most every day from coughing so much.  And please don't think I'm just complaining--it actually gives me a small piece of mind that the pregnancy is progressing as it should.  I actually freak out a tiny bit when I'm not as sick.  :)

I'm also excited that my baby bump has already popped out.  I've always heard that after the first it makes it's appearance much sooner, but to have it actually happen is just plain awesome.  Besides, I love me some stretch pants and I stocked up at Target the other day.  I didn't have tons of long pants when preggo with Knox--it was unseasonably warm (or that's what I thought then).  I actually love fitted clothes when pregnant--it's the only time I can show off my belly and be proud!  Haha!  It's also great knowing that the pooch is all from the baby since I haven't gained any weight from all the sickness.  See--it's all good!