Our first 2 Ultrasounds

Ultrasound #1
We had our first ultrasound March 11. I was nervous. I thought that with the second child I would be too busy tending to Grady and just living life that I wouldn’t have time to worry about baby #2. Well, I was wrong. I went into the ultrasound terrified that either there would be no baby or the baby would not have a heartbeat. My fears subsided when the ultrasound tech said there is one baby with a heart beat of 138 beats/minute (which per the old wives tales means girl).

Now a little background on how I managed to get an ultrasound at what I though was 7 weeks 1 day. With Grady, I really didn’t have any idea on my dates. I tested positive in November but but that was all I really knew. Since I did know I wasn’t 3 months along they sent me for an early dating ultrasound. With Grady it was at 10 weeks. This go around I was pretty sure of my dates and came back with a due date of October 27, but because of the dating ultrasound last time they decided to do the same this time around. I also have a different family doctor now and he gave me the requisition right away to book the ultrasound. Enter dilemma. At the time I wasn’t even 5 weeks pregnant. What are you really going to see at an ultrasound that early? Not much. So….. I booked it for 7 weeks 1 day. From doing a little internet research I learned that usually you can see a heartbeat at this time. This would give me, the crazy-obsessive worrier, some peace of mind that all was well. And it did.

Along with the peace of mind came annoyance. My new date is November 1st. Now I know this is only a few days difference, but in my mind it is a month. We changed from October to November. I liked the sound of October and how it brings fall to mind, thanksgiving, and halloween. November means cold and winter weather. I do realize how irrational this sounds but I was still annoyed. In my heart of hearts, I know that the baby will come when (s)he wants to…. And I still hope that it is in October! Ideally, 10-10-10 would be nice but I think that is a little optimistic! As long as it is not Halloween. Not sure why, but I don't want it to be Halloween. Now that I have written that, who wants to bet that Baby arives on October 31??

As for the ultrasound itself, it was pretty uneventful. At my revised date of 6 weeks and 3 days, the baby was 4.84 millimetres. Very small. She said if we would have come in even one day earlier she may not have been able to see it. Baby was that small. The baby looked like a blob that flickered. The flickering was the heart rate. Thankfully I was prepared for how little detail there would be after looking at pictures on the internet. What would we do without the internet? How did our parents survive? My mom tells me that ignorance is bliss.

As of right now, I do not have a gut feel as to what sex the baby is. I think my automatic instinct is always a little boy since I know boys and can picture myself as a mother of 2 boys. I have gotten so used to trucks, trains, planes, dirt, balls, throwing, etc etc that I am not sure I even know what to do with dolls and dresses. Although because I have such a great relationship with my Mom, I would love to have a daughter where hopefully we would share the same bond. I like to think it is win-win either way! We’ll see how our instincts change over the next 6 long long months!

Ultrasound #2
We had our second ultrasound on April 20, 2010. It was at EFW which specializes in pregnancy ultrasounds - and it was fantastic!! James was allowed to come back with me right away and they had TVs on a the wall so we got to watch the whole thing while the technician took all her measurments. I felt giddy after. I forgot how precious it is too sit there and just watch your baby. I think she said (s)he was 6cm from bum to head and had a little footprint measuring 9mm. How cute is that???

My favorite moment of the ultrasound was watching the baby swallow the water. You could actually see his/her little jaw moving. I forgot how much the baby looks like a baby at such a young age. It really makes it feel real. Especially when you get to take the evidence home....






At this ultrasound the heartrate was 153 bpm - which by old wives tales means boy. So we are back to 50/50! I told James it looked like a little girl and he assured me 'no it was a boy'. Only time will tell.....

One more time....

Next up was telling my brother and my Dad’s family. I called my brother first. Since my brother is not a phone person I knew I had to get straight to the point. We had a little small talk and then I told him wasn’t feeling well. He proceeded to tell me he was sick too. I'm guessing not the same kind of sick as me! I followed up with ‘but I am sick with morning sickness’. To which he quickly replied ‘oh that is why you are calling me’. Can I not call my brother just to see how he is? Apparently not.

Next up was my Dad’s family. I thought I had things under control, but it turned out that I did not. My plan was to send them the picture of Grady in his big brother shirt. What I did not do was upload the picture to send before I made the call. So while I am on the phone with them I had to rush into the computer room to send the email. In the meantime Grady is crying in the family room and I had to abort email and tend to him. He was so upset I had to hang up the phone and calm him down. All it took was a little ‘Waybuloo’ on TV and he was good to go. So back to the computer room to get the job done. I sent the email and called them back.

I was on speaker phone which was nice and I kept asking Kolby if the picture had arrived yet and of course it hadn’t. Now I am starting to worry that Grady will freak out again and I’ll have to hang up again before they even get the picture! Thankfully that did not happen. They opened the picture and figured it out quicker than the other grandparents.

Apparently I am a creature of routine. Sheila (my step mom) said she was suspicious already just judging by the timing of my call. It was just before 6pm on a Tuesday, which I agree is not my normal weekend call. When I started asking repeatedly about the picture she was pretty sure. And of course she was right!

I then made a quick call to Blaire who was at school waiting for her next class. I had to promptly get off the phone when Grady had a minor freak out. He crawled behind the couch and got stuck.

And with that being said and done... all the immediate family knew our news.

Good thing we got that basement developed for all the visitors we expect later this year!!!

13 Weeks

I had orginally planned to do a 12 week post... but time just got away from me. As usual. That and the picture James took at 12 weeks was hideous. James took it and he definelty needs some practice before the next picture needs to be taken.... So I had my sister retake the photo when she was here this weekend. Trust me... it is much better than the 12 week one!


When I look at the picture, it doesn't look like I have much of a belly. I feel like it compares to my 16 week photo on the right side bar from when I was pregnant with Grady. I feel much bigger than I look as my jeans are no longer comfy and I feel ready to break out the maternity clothes....

I went for my first appointment with the OB on Friday. It is the same one I saw when I was pregnant with Grady. Surprisingly, the nurse asked if I had been there before and recognized me from 2 years ago. We went through all the boring questions of the first visit and then I got to hear Baby's heart beat. What. A. Great. Sound. 150 bpm.



I was a little embarrassed as I was wearing my maternity jeans already. At 12 weeks. Seems crazy to me. But I pulled them out for several reasons.



1. My jeans are uncomfortable with the button done up. If I undue the botton the zipper tends to work its way down. I find this even more embarresing. I figure if you have maternity jeans laying around why wouldn't you wear them? They are like sweatpants. Enough said.



2. The Bella Band just isn't working for me this time around. I LOVED it the first go around. This time it isn't working so well as I spend most of my time sitting on the floor, then standing, than crawling, then standing, then sitting... are you gettting it. I don't sit still. The thing rolls up, I pull it down, it rolls up again etc. etc. It jsut isn't working.



3. I bought a pair of seven maternity jeans on ebay. I refused to pay full price for a pair of jeans I will wear for 6 months. In my case probably less because I think they are a size to small. They fit me great now, but in 4 months they just aren't going to cut it. So I figure I may as well start wearing them now and get my money's worth. I may have a hard time selling them as they are hemmed to my height, but I will still try.



The doctor actually reassured me that I do in fact have a bump already. That made me feel like I am not crazy for jumping into maternity wear.



But rest assured... this is the only maternity item I am wearing so far.

Telling More Family

We decided to wait to tell James’ family until after we got the official ‘Big Brother’ T-shirt’ in the mail since the whole taped shirt didn’t seem to do the trick right away with my mom. Well it didn’t really work instantly for James’ mom either. We arrived for Sunday dinner at Nana’s like usual. Grady was wearing a hoody. We hadn’t really decided when we would take the sweater off to do the big reveal. Nana made it very easy. With in 5 minutes of being in the door she started taking Grady’s sweater off. James and I stood by to watch her reaction. She took the sweater off and just continued talking to him. Then she stopped and read the shirt and said to him ‘Big Brother?? But you are not a big brother’. We waited to see if she would react after saying it out loud – still nothing. So I said ‘Not yet…’. Then she realized what the shirt was actually telling her!

She told us after that she thought it was a hand me down or something. I don’t think that is the kind of shirt you put on your kid without expecting questions! She also told us she had starting wandering how we would tell her this time around….. I guess printing it on a T-shirt was not one of the ways she came up with.

Not sure if I ever told this story on the blog before but I’ll tell it anyway….. Grady was the first grandchild on James’ side of the family and since no one knew we were trying it was a little unexpected. They knew we would have kids someday… but no one knew just when that day would be. So we showed up there one night for dinner and had wrapped up 2 of the willow tree ornaments to give them. One said Grandfather and the other Grandmother. James and I gave each of his parents one to unwrap. Marla anxiously ripped her open and looked at a woman holding a baby. She thanked us and asked why we didn’t wait to give them the gift at Christmas (it was mid November). We told her to read the bottom. In the meantime Peter was still picking away at his paper and hadn’t gotten to the ornamentJ. She flipped it over only to find the writing was so small and she needed her glasses. Well let me tell you when she flipped that ornament over with her glasses on there was a big smile on her face. By this point Peter had unwrapped his and was catching on! It still brings a smile to my face when I think of that day.

The day we found out we were going to parents.... AGAIN

I thought it would be fun to go back in time and share with you how we told our families about the new addition to our family. I didn't do this with Grady and now I wish I would have. I actually wrote this on Feb 2o, 2010 - the day we found out about baby #2.

It was very early on a Saturday morning that I decided to take a pregnancy test. I had decided earlier in the week that Saturday was the day so Friday night’s sleep was not the greatest to say the least. I was just so anxious to know! I did have a dilemma…. How was I supposed to take the test with Grady awake? I figured I would be pretty upset if it was negative so I wanted to get up extra early so if it was negative I could have a little quiet time and drink my coffee before Grady got up. Now at the time, Grady was getting up at 6am. So when I opened my eyes at 5:25am, I knew it was time.

I did the deed and went downstairs to check my email for the required 3 minutes. I had purposely left he test upside down so I could say my little prayer before I flipped it over. There staring back at me were 2 lines.

OMG. You can never fully prepare yourself for the emotions that run through you in the next 30 seconds. Even on the second child. Even when it was planned. I went from super excited, to stressed, and back to excited very quickly. It was now 5:33am. I wandered if it was inappropriate to just run in and tell James like I did the first time.

(As an aside, I took the test when I was pregnant with Grady at 7am. At the time that was very early for a Sunday, now it is a sleep in! I literally looked at the test, started shaking, and ran into our room to wake James up and make him confirm there were 2 lines. )

This time I decided to do something a little more original.

Once Grady woke up at approximately 5:55am we got out a white t-shirt and some green painters tape and stated working away.

I think the finished product looked pretty darn good.

We managed to wait until 7am before going upstairs to wake James up. I brought the video camera. I laid Grady in bed and just waited for James to notice the shirt. It took literally 3 minutes before James looked at Grady and said ‘What are you wearing?’ At this point Grady was lying on his stomach so James rolled him partly over so he could read the shirt. He looked up at me with a big smile on his face and said ‘Really?’

It didn’t take him long to catch on. Grandma Paulette on the other hand wasn’t so quick.

We had been skyping with her every few days for the past few weeks so we decided that this would be the best way to tell her so we could see her reaction. Last time I really wanted to tell her in person so I kept the secret from her for 3 weeks until she came to visit. A while back she informed me that when we got pregnant again she didn’t need to be told in person and wanted to know right away. So this time she got her wish.

We put the shirt back on Grady and sent him to the computer to see how long it would take her to catch on. She noticed the shirt right away. She read it out loud and then just kept talking to Grady like she didn’t just find out she was going to have another grandchild. What now?? I told her Grady learnt a new word today. Baby. Still no reaction from Grandma. Finally I asked Grady where the baby was and he pointed at my chest. Not exactly my belly but close enough. Finally my Mom caught on and was so excited. I wish we could have caught that one on video as it was hilarious!!! Apparently she thought his shirt was referring to the show 'Big Brother'. I like the show... but not enough to make a shirt for Grady with the title on it!

Next segment will be how we told James’ side of the family! Stay tuned…..

Did You Know?

Grady is almost 2.

Grady is a chatter box.

Grady doesn’t sit still.

Grady doesn’t share well (or so the daycare tells us!)

Grady goes to bed at night great.

Grady gets up way too early in the morning.

Grady loves to say ‘No’.

Grady loves to swing.

Grady gives the best hugs.

Grady hates fruit and vegetables.

Grady loves carbs and meat.

Grady still sleeps in a sleep sack.

Grady loves books.

Grady loves to play outside.

Grady hates hats.

Grady loves to swim.

What some of you may not know, is that Grady is going to be a

Baby #2 is due to arrive November 1, 2010!!

A Visit to the Dentist

Friday morning Grady had his first dentist appointment. It went pretty good. Don't get me wrong... he cried through the whole thing, but I really think it went better than expected. Well, better than his first hair cut anyhow.

A few months ago we noticed some discoloring on Grady's front bottom teeth. We hadn't been exactly diligent about brushing his teeth so I got a little concerned. That combined with my niece having to be put under to get her teeth filled convinced me to call the dentist. I looked up pediatric dentists to see if I could find one accepting patients in my area and I did. When I first told them Grady's age, they said the generally don't see kids until age 3. When I told her my concerns, she said it didn't sound serious but that they would see him. So the appointment was made and Friday was the day.

We arrived at the dentist office and this place was a kids dream. It had video games, 2 Thomas train sets, and multiple other toys to amuse your kids while they waited. We were called to the back where there was a TV area, a toy chest, and a train that circulated around just below the ceiling. We met with the dentist who talked directly to Grady when explaining that he was a dentist and wants to help make Grady's teeth clean. Then came the hard part. Grady sat on me and laid his head into the dentists lap so the doctor could have a look.

Dr. P assured us that the tartar that is on the bottom of the teeth is nothing serious and does not cause cavities. In fact, he said it has nothing to do with the amount we brush his teeth or what we feed him. What a relief! It is caused by the accumulation of fluid under the tongue. Or something like that. Whatever it is, it isn't something that I did and for that I am thankful!

What amazed me is that Dr. P preceded to scrape some of the tartar off Grady's teeth. Keep in mind Grady is crying and tears are pooled in the corner of his eyes. How the doctor was able to concentrate is beyond me! After a few minutes he said that was all he was going to do and that we could come back in 6 months.

We booked another appointment for October and off we went. I figure if we can get Grady going to the dentist from a young age there will be nothing for him to be scared of.

Despite the tears, it was a positive experience overall.

My version of Scrapbooking

I am not a scrapbooker. Nor will I ever be. So as a keepsake I am having my blog printed and bound yearly. After Grady was born, my mom did from the beginning of the blog to shortly after Grady was born. This book runs from July 08 to Dec 31, 2009. From here on out I will have a book per year.

I am so happy with how it turned out.

The site was super easy to use as it took me about 2 hours total time to make and edit it. You get to choose the cover and even do an inscription.

I used Blog to Print. It is really as easy as typing in your blog address and making a few simple choices. And voila - you have your 'scrapbook'.

If you have any desire in printing your blog, I highly reccomend this site!

Who knew...

Stacking jars of pears could be so much fun!!

Because I know at least one person will ask...... I made the collage in Picassa. This is where we upload and edit our pictures. It was my first one and took 30 seconds. So in cases where I can't decide which picture to post, I may opt to use these more often!

Happy Sunday Morning to all!

Happy Belated Easter!

Better late than never......

We had a great Easter that started at home with a scavenger hunt (pictures not yet dowloaded) and setting up the train set that Nana got Grady for Christmas. Yes, Christmas. Until we had the basement finished we had no where to put the train so we opted to wait a few months and set it up right. We (meaning James) are not quite done though. The table is up and the train track just needs to be set up on the table. Grady and I playing with all the trains and a mini track while we watched James work. That is until Grady decided he wanted to help Dad. It was all downhill from there!

After nap time we headed to Nana's for Easter supper. Yummy....

When we arrived Grady got to do a mini egg hunt around the living room looking for chocolate eggs. He wasn't very good at finding them, but very good at putting them in his basket and carrying them around. You gotta start somewhere!!



Grady also went through the basket the 'Melmo' Easter bunny left for him at Nana's.



He liked the water wings for Maui best.

This was our best attempt at a family picture. Grady and I color coordinated. I tried to get James to wear blue but he wanted to wear his baseball jersey for the season openner. Can't say I didn't try :)

Hope everyone had a great Easter!