Partying Down!

We had quite the party weekend! Saturday was our good friends Shawn and Sarahs son Jack's 5th birthday party! I cannot believe he is 5 already! I remember getting a call that he was born a month before his due date and Shawn sneaking me in the NICU as his sister so I could see him! Now, he is all grown up and heading off to kindergarten in the fall! Seems unreal!

Our friends always throw the best birthday parties and this time was no different! They had a bounce house, trampoline, swing set, basketball shooting game, ping pong, and egg toss for the kids. Noah was a little too small for the bounce house, but he loved the trampoline, slide, and of course just running around the big yard exploring. Noah was very good at this party - it was set up very toddler friendly so he wasn't going to hurt anything he played with - that made my day easier for sure! We were one of the last ones to leave and Sarah told us to take an extra gift bag home because they had too many - well, Noah (just like his Daddy) can't get enough of that free stuff - so we ended up taking 5 (yes 5!) gift bags home! I was so embarrassed! He was throwing a fit for more after the 5! She assured me it was fine and I assured her he had toys at home and he wasn't mistreated :) I didn't get many pictures - but I was busy helping Noah explore ;)

Noah insisted we sit with him at the little table :)

Someone liked their chips!

Noah is addicted to dandelions!

Sunday we had an awesome church message about having a better family picture. Nathan and I had actually been talking about this so it was crazy that the lesson was about this - ok, not crazy - God knows. We were talking about how we joke around with eachother in a way that Noah may not understand and think it is ok to act towards someone you are with. So, we are working on that.

Autumn, Whitney, and I - me and Autumn are due the same day!

After church I went to my sister-in-law Whitney's baby shower. I am so excited for them and this will be Nathan's first blood nephew - so that is always fun to see how they favor family members and actions. This will also be my first non-blood nephew! They are naming him Paxton Gage - which I love! So different and unique! She had a great shower and got lots of good stuff!

18 Weeks & Ultrasound

I love Wednesdays because every Wednesday is another week I can mark off that my baby has grown! Don't get me wrong, I am thankful daily, I just get to up the weeks along when people ask every Wednesday. We are almost half-way there, which is crazy, but when you don't tell people until you are 13 weeks, it really flies by!

Here are the highlights this far in the pregnancy:

* I have gained 3 pounds! (I lost my pregnancy weight last week when I had the stomach bug, then was able to gain it all back plus some - that was hard work you know! ;)

* Still not in maternity clothes, even though none of my jeans comfortably fit me. I just unbutton them and put a belt on. I am not sure how much longer that will work, but I am not big enough for maternity yet. The in-between stage can be frustrating, but I think I can make it work.

* My current cravings are chocolate milk, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, peanut butter cinnamon toast, chocolate covered ice cream bars, sloppy joes, and breaded chicken sandwiches. Not the healthiest of cravings, but baby wants what it wants.

* I feel the baby move daily now and I have been trying to keep up with timing because it seems to be a lot at the same times of day.

* I had a strong girl feeling, until my ultrasound. Now I don't know what it is! It looked a lot like Noah to me so that swayed me towards boy more. I just knew Noah was a boy. I can't wait to see what God is blessing me with this time!

* Doctor said my placenta is low and could cause problems later, but they think it will move more as my uterus stretches. That is the possible cause for the bleeding. So, we will watch and hope for positive changes.

The envelope with the gender pictures in it! Into our safe it goes!

Sucking it's thumb like Momma used to :)

Baby Drama

Just when I thought this pregnancy couldn't get any more different than Noahs - it does. Wednesday morning I woke up and I was bleeding. This has never happened to me before, and honestly even if it had, I would have reacted the same way. I called my doctor and they told me to come in to make sure I didn't have an infection and to look at the baby to make sure it was ok. So, I ran and dropped Noah off and picked Nathan up and headed to the doctor. I could feel the baby moving, so I wasn't overly worried, but didn't know what all an infection entailed.

They ran tests and said it showed no infection which is good. The ultrasound showed a possible ovarian cyst rupture, but couldn't really confirm it. The baby looked good on the ultrasound. The doctor said it was hard to tell, we would look further into at my scheduled 18 week ultrasound the next week, but my cervix may be positioned so that regular delivery will be impossible or I may end up bleeding more causing an early delivery. He said at 17 weeks there is nothing to be done about it so we would just have to keep monitoring it and check further into it at my ultrasound. So, we felt better about things and headed home.

The next morning I woke up with a stomach bug - nothing too bad, but just enough to not feel good. I was still spotting blood also. I then realized I hadn't felt the baby move since we left the doctors office. So, I googled my symptoms (which is a bad habit and I don't recommend it to anyone pregnant - your mind races enough as it is) and the first 10 sites that pop up are 2nd trimester miscarriage. So, that had me scared. So, I called the doctor and went to the breakroom at work and laid on the couch and waited for my call back. The doctor said it sounded like a bug and unless I was running a fever not to worry about it. As far as the baby moving, at 17 weeks it is not uncommon to not feel the baby move daily so they were not too concerned about it. I was told to go home and rest and drink a coke to see if that would get the baby moving.

So, I went home and took my temperature (no fever) and laid on the couch with a sprite. I took a nap and ate lunch and felt better. I still hadn't felt the baby though. I had been feeling the baby daily for weeks, so the timing of no movement was bothering me. I told Nathan to bring me home a chocolate shake to see if that would help. Still nothing. So, I had a Dr. Pepper with dinner (I was holding off on the caffeine since I don't drink it during pregnancy), but it still didn't make the baby move. I felt fine otherwise so I just tried to put it out of my mind.

I woke up early Friday morning with stomach bug symptoms again, but didn't really feel bad. So, I took some immodium and got ready and took Noah to daycare. My sister-in-law Kesha called me and asked me how I was doing. I filled her in and she asked me if I had tried a heartbeat monitor. I told her I had just told Nathan last night that I wish I had one to see if I could hear anything. She said there was one in the baby stuff she had brought me the other day - which I hadn't even had a chance to go through yet. So, I went home to find it and see if it worked. Well, I couldn't hear anything on the monitor and I could barely hear my own heartbeat on it, as loud as I thought I should be able to, so it really didn't get me anywhere. I decided to call the doctor and tell them I still hadn't felt the baby move. They told me to come in for another ultrasound.

So, there we were, back at the doctor. I was really feeling like a crazy pregnant woman at that point. But, I decided that I would rather feel silly than worried. As we sat there I couldn't help but think about the last 3 days events and how things went from normal one day, to just crazy in no time. As soon as the doctor started the ultrasound the baby was moving all over the screen! He asked if I could feel that movement, I told him no. He said he thinks it is a position issue because the baby is now facing with it's head up towards my belly and feet towards my spine. So, the only thing I would feel is the babys head move and with so much fluid between my skin and the babys head, it would take a lot of movement. So, apparently the baby movement went into hiding at the worst possible time for me! The doctor also informed me that the cheaper heartbeat detectors (under $50) were not able to be used until 30 weeks, so to just put it away. I told him I had just happened to have one at the house and thought I would try it, so that was good to know. I asked him about my symptoms I googled and he said the baby looked good right now, but he isn't saying that miscarriage is not a possibility - which is always is, and I understand that.

Since then, I have felt the baby move daily and have felt fine. So, hopefully the drama is over for now. We go in Thursday for our 18 week ultrasound and check-up so hopefully it will be all good news and no more drama. So, please include us in your prayers and thoughts for the rest of the pregnancy!

Speaking of prayers, I have a question. I know that God has a plan for everyone, including unborn children. So, if this baby is not meant to be born, then it will not be and I will ask for strength and understanding for that. So, do I pray for everything to be good with my baby, when it is ultimately up to God? Or do I just pray for strength and understanding of everything that happens? I have always prayed for healthy pregnancies for myself and anyone else I know, but it that how it works? This may sound like a silly question, but I honestly do not know the answer. I pray for all kinds of things daily, but is that my wish for how things should go and God has his own way of how things are going to go? Anyway, I talked to Nathan about it and he was just as clueless as me. So, I ask for prayers - in however you pray :)

Easter 2012

This Easter weekend had it's highs and lows. Saturday Nathan played in a softball tournament and Noah and I had plans of 2 egg hunts. He did so well at the hunt last weekend I wasn't worried about it - stupid me. The hunts are always at nap time, so it is a gamble anyway. At the first hunt we went to, as soon as Noah got out of the car there were only 2 places he wanted to go - the middle of the road and out where the candy and eggs were to be hunted, neither of which were ok. So, once again, all he knew was that he was tired and momma kept telling him no - so meltdown here we come. Everyone, and I mean everyone, is staring at me and the devil child that took over my sweet boy. I finally just took him back to the car to sit until right at hunt time. 5 minutes until time my dad came to get us and that was still too long for Noah to have to wait apparently. The lady running the hunt came over and tried to give him candy and he would just thrown it down and scream and lay down. Seriously, it looked like he was the worst kid on the planet. The lady finally started the race early so Noah would stop, that really happened. I was beyond embarrassed. After the hunt was over, Noah was just fine running around and playing. He just hates being restricted. My dad decided to skip the next hunt - can you blame him?

You wouldn't even know he was possessed by the devil here!

He looks so big here!

This sums up my day!

We went over to the next hunt and they were having everyone meet inside a church before it started. That screamed bad idea for Noah's mood. So, I told my brother to let me know when it was almost time to start and I would take him over and meet him outside the church. His wife sent me a message that they were going over the rules, so I figured it was close to start time and we got out. After over 20 minutes, no one had come out of the church yet. During this time I had to keep Noah from running out and getting eggs and out of swimming in the fountain in front of the church. We circled the fountain 30 times or more, went and saw all the flowers, climbed the church stairs, anything I could think of. Finally everyone came out and what does my child do? Meltsdown and doesn't want to hunt eggs anymore. I finally got him to hunt them. But, these eggs were all empty! You were supposed to turn them back in and get a bag of goldfish when it was over. Noah did not understand why he had to give his "eggs" back that he was so excited about finally getting, so I just kept them. I am a bad person, I know - but after all those meltdowns, I would have gave them the money for the eggs to just get to leave before another meltdown occurred. From there, it was home for a much needed nap!

When Nathan got home that night he wanted to go eat Chinese food. I told him Noah hadn't been good all day, but if he wanted to try it, then we would since I would have help. Noah made it through about half way, then he thought all his food should go under the table. So, there I was picking up all his food off the ground. Not the way I wanted to end my day. I just took him to the car and let Nathan finish eating.  I went to bed at 9:30, right after I put Noah to bed. Then, at midnight I woke up and remembered I had to make a pie for brunch at my moms and it had to chill at least 4 hours! So, I got up and made a pie in the middle of the night. I swear it was the longest day ever.

The Easter Bunny came!

15 minutes later this is what it looked like!

Sunday went much smoother. Noah did great at church. We had a very inspirational Easter message. Then we went to my mom's for brunch. Noah was in a hyper mood, so in order to feed him and myself, I had to find Mickey Mouse on tv (I am forever grateful to Mickey) and feed him in the den. It wasn't ideal, but it worked for the situation. Noah got the cutest Easter basket with candy and the movie Bambi. We then had to head to my grandmas. My sister-in-law Kesha and I took Noah outside and pretty much never went back in, Noah loved just running around her yard and seeing the goats (which he thought were sheep) and horses (which he thinks are cows). They hid real eggs at my grandmas, which Noah loved to look for, but he was a little rough on throwing them in his bucket, so they were a little damaged when it was over with. We then headed home for a nap and relaxing time. Then Nathan's parents came out and brought Noah some marshmallows (his favorite treat right now) and some bubbles! All in all, it was way better than Saturday. But, if I don't hav a bad day, then I won't appreciate my good ones.  I survived and Noah survived and he was back to his sweet happy self today!

My future soccer star!

Hunting with Aunt Kesha - who is always so awesome to help a tired pregnant momma out!

A few cracked eggs - oopsie!

Hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

And we can't forget - Happy Easter from Baby Stillwell!

16 Weeks & Counting!

Yay! I am now 16 weeks pregnant! It is crazy how different this pregnancy seems from Noahs. It is still flying by just like his did, but the waves of nausea and tiredness are a lot more this time around. I am not extra sleepy (I am sleeping fine though, for now), but just tire easily chasing Noah or cleaning house, or anything else very active. Here are some stats this far in my pregnancy:

* Gained 2 pounds

* Not in maternity clothes just yet, but some things I have outgrown already, and some days my jeans get unbuttoned about mid-day :)

* The nausea is pretty much gone. There are times when I will just get a wave of nausea - but it goes away quickly.

* I am currently craving cheese, chips, pickles, ice cream, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and salads.

* I am currently despising most cooked meat - especially steak.

* I finally for sure felt the baby move today! I have been really wanting to feel this for so long. It is really weird to go from a big belly that you can feel move all the time, to a little belly and you have to really concentrate to feel movements. This helped make it more real for sure.

* The baby has a first name but no definite middle name - Nathan is not much help on that until about 2 weeks before the kid is born!

I have grown quite a bit in the last 2 weeks and compared to my belly pictures with Noah, I am as big at 16 weeks as I was at 20 weeks! Uh-oh!




Noah at 16 weeks



Baby Stillwell #2 at 16 Weeks



EGG!

Nathan went camping Friday night and canoeing Saturday morning, so Noah and I just hung out in the air conditioning and watched movies and ate junk food - that is what most pregnant women and almost 2 year olds want to do. I wanted to get Noah's picture taken with an Easter Bunny and the closest I knew of was an hour away and I really didn't want to go all that way for just that. I then heard of a nearby town having one so we decided to try it out.

Chillin' out with Momma :)

My little french fry thief!

Nathan got home just in time to join us and we took off. I was hoping the Easter Bunny would be available for pictures before the hunt, but we didn't see him anywhere when we pulled up. So, we waited in the nice air conditioning until about 5 minutes to egg hunt time. Noah was a hunting natural! He just took off! Of course he had to show me every egg he got before he put it in the bucket. He ended up with about a dozen eggs. I then found the Easter bunny and I was a little disappointed. He didn't have a bunny head on, just ears. I can only imagine what Noah was thinking when I sat him on his lap. I knew it would be like Santa all over again, but I really wanted the picture. It turned out pretty funny. Noah didn't hesitate to tell the bunny "bye-bye" and we were off. Once we got in the car he started saying "egg, egg, egg" over and over like he has known the word for years. The way he is picking up on things is amazing me! He literally learns a new word every other day!

Nathan hadn't ate yet so we headed to Rivertowne BBQ - we love that place! I was worried because it was 2 hours past Noah's naptime, but we decided to just risk it. I do not like to talk about Noah being bad or saying he was a bother - it just sounds bad to me. I prayed and cried and really struggled to get him and I would never want anyone to think I was complaining about him. So, when he is really good - I have to brag on him. He was perfect at Rivertowne! He sat in his highchair and ate and talked and was cracking us up. It made me feel so good! I am hoping him doing so well eating out lately is really him growing up and adapting and not just a fluke.

This may look like Noah's cheese face, but this is what he does to me now when I wink at him ;)

We then went home and Noah took his overdue nap and Nathan and I watched the movie "Moneyball" - which was very good by the way. Then when Noah got up we had to empty his Easter bucket and refill it over and over. I am pretty sure this is his favorite holiday so far! I can't wait to take him to a few more egg hunts next weekend!

All lathered up in sunscreen and ready to go!

Sunday we had an awesome church service, lunch, Noah napped, and then we went for another jeep ride. I was having a pregnancy crazing for corn dogs so we had to stop by and get one while we were out. It was such a nice way to end a great weekend!