Pregnancy Munchies

I wouldn't necessarily call them cravings, but I have developed a preference for several different foods already. It's so funny how pregnancy changes your food preferences... for example I normally LOVE mexican food and pizza (very healthy foods, huh?) During this pregnancy, not so much... the thought of those foods make my stomach turn. Another thing is Diet Coke. I used to drink WAAAAY too much Diet Coke, in fact I even drank it during my pregnancy with Noah (but I did try to limit it). This time around, I can't stand the thought of Diet Coke. Just typing that made me gag, seriously. In fact, it's probably been 2 months since I had a Diet Coke. Another thing that hasn't sounded appealing to me is desserts... I normally don't refrain from having a dessert every now and then after dinner however, I've not been in the mood lately to eat real sugary items. Now don't get me wrong, every once in a while, I will cave in to them (like Noah's birthday cake), but not as much as normal. When I was pregnant with Noah, I wanted pancakes every weekend... not this time! Ugh, sweets in the morning is the LAST thing I want.

However, one thing that I have loved during both pregnancies is orange juice! I never drink it when I'm not pregnant, but I can't get enough when I am. In fact, I've created a new drink of choice... I fill my glass up with Sprite and top it off with some Simply Orange with Pineapple... so yummy! Another thing that I've been loving lately is string cheese. It's weird to me that I love this so much because string cheese used to gross me out. I bought some for Noah for his calcium intake (since he only drinks Rice Milk). I started snacking on it and I LOVE IT! It's probably a good thing for me to snack on b/c I don't drink milk (lactose-intolerant). And lastly, I love SUSHI! Not anything raw, but Crunchy Shrimp Rolls and California Rolls... I can't get enough! Plus the ginger that they include helps with the nausea I've had and am still having at times. Its just so funny how pregnancies affect not only your body, but also your tastes and smells!

Noah's 3rd Birthday Party

On Saturday, we had Noah's 3rd Birthday Party at Forest Jumps. Unfortunately, we were predicted to have HORRIBLE weather... tornado watches, thunderstorms, hail, etc. However, since we had rented the place out, we didn't think we would be allowed to reschedule, so we went ahead with the party. Luckily, the bad weather held off for our area and only rained heavily on and off, however several of Noah's friends and cousins that were traveling from about an hour away weren't able to make it because of the weather.

Regardless, Noah still had a GREAT TIME! I'm not sure I've ever seen him so happy and having such a blast. Forest Jumps is a place that has all different kinds of inflatables... slides, obstacle courses, etc. As much as we missed our friends that couldn't attend, it turned out to work in Noah's favor (and the other kids that were there) because they had FREE reign of the place... they were able to slide and play as much as they wanted instead of having to wait their turn.

I'll be honest, it was probably one of the happiest days I've had in a loooong time. One of the little boys that is in Noah's Sunday School class, Jackson (whose mom is one of my best friends) was so sweet to Noah. As soon as Jackson got there he yelled "Happy Birthday Noah!" and the whole time he wanted Noah to play with him on the inflatables. Now keep in mind, Noah doesn't walk or talk so it meant so much to me that Jackson wanted to play with him! I know that 3 year olds could care less about each other's differances, disabilities, etc. and it wasn't like Jackson consciously included Noah to spare his feelings or anything. But it made a huge impression on me. For the first time I really felt like Noah didn't stand out as being different and that he fit in with the other kids. This coupled with my pregnancy hormones made for one ball of emotions on Saturday night. I was praying and just thanking God for such a great day and reflecting on everything and LOST it... but in a good, happy way! :) I'm just so grateful to God for surrounding us with such amazing family and friends...and for surrounding Noah with a group of kids that are so sweet to him regardless of what he can or can't do.

Potty Time!

Noah's THIRD birthday (sniffle, sniffle) is next Friday 4/30. Pretty much all of the other kids in his Sunday School class are either potty-trained or working on it. Since Noah isn't walking or talking yet, I really haven't stressed over getting him out of diapers. Having to purchase diapers and change him doesn't bother me and to be honest, there are so many others things that we are focusing on getting him to do, that being potty-trained is way down LOW on the list. Anyways, my mom teaches Noah's Sunday School class so we were talking about which kids where potty-trained, whose working on it, etc. Mom mentioned that I might just try putting him on a potty regularly and just see how it goes. He does understand alot of the things we say so why not?

So last night, I purchased a potty that plays music when he pee pees. This morning, he woke up with a dry diaper so I stripped him down and put him on the potty... and he went! I got him dressed, cleaned his potty and brought him into the den for breakfast and felt warmth... apparently he didn't empty his bladder, because he pee peed in his diaper less than 5 minutes after sitting on that toilet. Cracked me up...that stinker! I'm just going to try to create a routine of putting him on the potty when he wakes up, after he drinks/eats, before bathtime, before bed, etc. and maybe he'll catch on. Since he doesn't really communicate I know this will definitely be a slow process but I just want to get him accustom to going in the potty and then hopefully he'll get to where he does not like the feeling of a wet diaper. I talked with a friend who mentioned pull-ups that get cold when they are wet so I think I'll purchase some of those. So wish me luck! Also, send your potty-training tips my way! :)

Baby Drama

Warning: Sorry if this is too much information.

Last Tuesday morning (at 11 weeks preg. to the day) around 3am, I woke up to use the bathroom to discover I was having some bleeding. I immediately woke Jamie up and told him what was going on, which obviously upset the both of us. I finally dozed back off to sleep after tossing and turning with worry. Then around 6am I got up to go the bathroom and it was still going on. Jamie and I both just knew I was miscarrying and we were devastated. I called my mom crying so she called my aunt (who does ultrasounds for UAB in their Maternal/Fetal Medicine Dept.) In the meantime, I got in the shower so I would be dressed by the time my doctor's office opened. My aunt called me and told me not to get too upset just yet, that it could be other things and didn't necessarily mean miscarriage. I got in touch with my dr's office, however, my doctor was on vacation at the beach and the other doctor was in surgery all morning so they sent me to the ER. I kept asking the receptionist at the office, "please, can ya'll not just bring me in and check for a heartbeat??" Needless to say, I was not thrilled about going to the ER. We got there at 9am and they did blood work, did an exam, and finally two hours later, took me up to do an ultrasound. As I was laying on that table, I was praying the whole time... one of the ceiling tiles was painted with clouds all over it and I just stared into it. Finally I asked the u/s tech if she saw the baby and she answered "yes"... afraid of what she was going to say, I asked, "is there a heartbeat?" and she said yes again... Praise the Lord! I burst into tears! She had the other u/s tech take a look so I was afraid they were keeping something from me, so I kept asking if everything was okay. They told me it was and that the baby was even showing to be a few days ahead of its due date so it's development is right on track, however they were trying to find what could be causing the bleeding. They weren't able to find anything, so they sent me back down to the ER where the doctor finally released me at 1:30 and put me on bedrest for the remainder of the week. Since my mom doesn't work, she told me to bring Noah and come stay with her so she could take care of him. I had some bleeding on and off the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday evening. Friday was my regular monthly check up with Dr. Keith so when we got there, they brought us back for another u/s. Baby was still doing great and she found a spot right behind the placenta that was the source of the bleeding. Dr. Keith later told me what it was (can't remember) but that there's nothing he or I can do to make it go away and that hopefully it would absolve itself. But he did tell me that there was a chance that the bleeding could continue throughsout the rest of the pregnancy, but it's nothing serious and I didn't need to be on bedrest. He was so reassuring... he even told me that if at any point I got worried and wanted them to check on the baby, to call and they would bring me in for an u/s. Everything else looked great and they sent us on our way.

I felt fine this weekend and actually did a yardsale with my mom on Saturday morning. Sunday night, I was about to go to bed and felt my nose running. I rubbed it and it was blood! I had a small nosebleed but it stopped pretty quickly. Apparently this is common due to all the hormones. Then on Monday, my doctor's office calls to tell me that my blood work came back fine except that I'm anemic. Good grief! At least it explains how exhausted I've been. I've had less energy this time than I did with Noah so now I know why. I told Jamie today that with all the drama this baby has caused, it MUST be a girl! :) I guess we'll find out in about a month! One thing I learned is that no two pregnancies are the same. Noah's was easy, uncomplicated... very little nausea, no other issues. This one has kept us on our toes.

Easter Happenings

First off can I just say, what GORGEOUS weather we had?! It was so nice to finally have a week's worth of beautiful, warm spring days. Good Friday started off kind of crazy... I woke up feeling HORRIBLE (sinus congestion/pressure, headache, stopped up nose, blah blah blah)... basically, all the yucky stuff that accompanies this spring weather. Just the price we pay, I guess! Then, my mom calls to tell me that my grandmother had fallen and fractured her hip in 3 places and was headed for surgery. She was in Arkansas with my aunt visiting my cousin at Harding University. So she is currently in a hospital in Arkansas. My parents drove the 5 hours to visit her on Saturday and then drove home that night so they could be with us on Easter. Instead of eating our annual Easter lunch at my grandmothers (since she was laid up in the hospital), my family went to Doublehead to eat their Easter buffet... just to try something different. We had heard that they had a great buffet so we decided to give it a try. It wasn't my grandmother's cooking, but we enjoyed ourselves. Plus the scenery was so pretty! By the way, my grandmother is doing well and hopefully will be released from the hospital tomorrow, to be transferred to a rehab facility. We can't wait to get her home and visit her!