ivy and orchid

How fast this pregnancy is going and how impatient I'm becoming! This baby is lying low and I feel it in my pelvis quite often. Since my last appointment, I've noticed I have a faint linea negra. Part of me hopes it's a girl for all the people who claim it's a boy because I'm "all tummy." I still have no feelings one way or another, so maybe baby is going to be a Cabbage Patch Kid : ) So what are the latest happenings? Well, at my last appointment, my Blood Pressure was a low 92/40! I am close to anaemic and I have an extremely high blood platelet count which usually occurs it high altitudes. I've gained about 25 pounds which is actually lower than with Abigail. I've been eating a lot of red meat, bacon, spinach and dried fruits, not because I'm craving them, but to get my iron levels up. Kendra measured me and I was actually right at 29 weeks/cms, and she was feeling the position of the baby and said the head was by my pelvis. Then she said i...

I have made it to the last week of the second trimester. Reading the blog from my pregnancy with Abigail, I realize that this pregnancy is really not too different than the first. I have gained about 30 pounds instead of 25, my belly is really round and it is getting harder to reach my feet simply by bending over. Shawn can, and has been able to feel Baby B moving from the outside for some time now. This baby is most active around 9 am, 10 pm and later. I can feel this baby high in my ribs while I'm lying down or low in my pelvis. At my last appointment, this baby is still measuring 2 cm behind my weeks pregnant. It is going quickly, but now that I have started school, an entire semester seems like a long time to wait. I've been having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions since yesterday so I'm going to try to take it a little easier. I've found this great house cleaning schedule/list and my house feels so clean and it makes me love it here even more. Abigail seems excit...

Today was our third baby appointment and little baby is measuring about 2 cm (2 weeks) behind. The midwives don't say anything, but Abigail was always right on time, so I'm thinking Baby B will be born later than May 6th. This little one has been kicking up a storm and I feel pretty healthy. Shelie said I should watch out when it comes time to labor, because my pushing with Abigail was so short, this may happen also. That excites me! Concerning Miss Abigail, she has been a big cranky pants today. Two days ago, Shawn and I left her for about 10 hours and it has affected her terribly. She hasn't been sleeping, yesterday she was clingy yet sweet, but today she has been so mean. She wouldn't take a nap and she had crazy tantrums full of slamming her head and hitting herself and myself. Shawn accidentally bit her finger and she has been cuddly and sweet. Now she is sleeping three hours before her bedtime. I do not, in the least, agree with people when they say little ones ne...

Just a few more and I'm in the third trimester! I just wanted to comment on how amazing Abigail is! The first night we were going to work on getting her out of the bed, I asked her if she wanted to sleep in her "big girl bed." She continuously said yes. When it came time, we read books, sang lullabies, said prayers and she when to sleep. She does wake about 2 or 3 times in the night, and she comes back to bed around 4:30 on, but she does marvellously. I'm not sleeping much better yet because my ears are so open so I can listen to her, but we'll get there like we have with everything else. Right now, I really support the Attachment Parenting method. Abigail is developing very well in her own time. I just wish other people would allow her to take her time in becoming more independent. She is still so young, yet people feel she needs to stop nursing, get out of our bed, spend time without her parents in to "train" her to function in society. She is already ...

It is 8:30 at night and both Shawn and Abigail are asleep. Abigail completely skipped a nap today which is frustrating and tiring. Shawn and I planned on some quality time together once Abigail napped, but after 2 different hours of trying, I got more and more frustrated and tired. Shawn even took her out to sled and play in the snow, but she was too tired and cranky to enjoy it. Toddlers are confusing. So, I am tired, but enjoying my quiet time here. Two weeks ago, Shawn, Abigail and myself had another baby appointment at 22 weeks. I measured about 21 cm(?) which is surprising because my stomach feels so big, but I was measuring a week behind. The heartbeat was right around 140 bpm which is lower than Abigail. Right now, my mango likes to hang out on my right side or deep in my pelvis. Baby moves most when I'm sleeping, and very little while I'm awake. I'm often concerned that baby is alright mainly due to the two large cups of caffeinated tea I drink every day. It's h...

Happy New Year! It is officially 2012 and I am proud to say I am no longer nursing! After Christmas, we came home and decided we would cut off Abigail could turkey. The first night, she cried for over an hour then finally slept the entire night, not waking once. Today is the fourth day and she does not cry at night and will occasionally wake in the middle of the night, but she rarely asks for "milkies." I think she and I were finally ready and she has done so well! We started a new routine of bath time at 8:30, warm milk and books in our bed at 9:00 and this step has taken from a half hour to over an hour. She is so sweet and likes to wrap her arm around me while we sleep. She is such a great, big girl!

Christmas was just a couple days ago and we had a lovely time. Abigail became really clingy and she is still a bit needier than usual now that we're home. Tonight begins our first now of quitting "milkies" cold turkey. She will still be in bed with us, but hopefully! once she is weaned, she will sleep through the night which will enable us to put her on her big girl bed on the floor next to ours. When I stopped nursing her during the day, it was not too difficult and she stopped asking (on a regular basis) after a week. I am willing to have a very difficult week, maybe two, but that's it. Doesn't it take seven days to break a habit? I still believe that nursing is still beneficial and comforting, especially since Abigail does not have a pacifier or any other sort of "lovey" besides myself. I would even continue nursing if I was getting a good sleep at night and if we weren't having a baby soon. I am determined (although at times doubtful) that attach...