Update

Well it's been a while.  Not for lack of stuff, but more out of sheer laziness.  I have not been nearly as good at updating or quite as cynical this pregnancy as I was last time.  I just went back through and was reading about when I was pregnant with Bruce.  Really I was trying to remember when everything started going south in the pregnancy.

Looks like I'm heading down the "pre-e" (preeclampsia) road again.  I went to the dr a couple weeks ago and my blood pressure was elevated, very elevated and I had trace protein in my urine.  Yay.  So I got to do the 24 hour urinalysis...only good thing was I got to do it from home this time instead of in the hospital.  So I stayed home from church a few weekends back since I couldn't get very far away from my bathroom.  Yay again.  Well those results came back normal, for real yay now! :-)

Well I went back last Thursday (right before Christmas) and my BP was still high, even higher now.  But I really do have bad white coat syndrome, plus I was stressing myself out about how I really needed it to be lower and of course that doesn't help.  Well luckily I had bought a BP monitor and have been taking it at home and it's been significantly lower at home so Dr. Askew was cool with letting me postpone bedrest/modified work schedule a while longer.  I am officially 30 weeks today, only 9 weeks left until scheduled c-section (March 2nd), but we may have her earlier just like Bruce.  Here's hoping she stays in long enough to avoid the NICU.

Oh and since I never updated after my last post about GD, I don't have it.  Passed the 3 hour with no problems.

I FAILED!

The one hour glucose test that is.  Boooooo!  Now I have to find a minimum of three hours of my life to dedicate to the next one.  I forgot to ask how much I failed by so I have a call in to the nurse to see if I failed by a lot or a little...not looking forward to the three hour.  I did have to do it multiple times with Bruce, so I know it goes, but I also know I DO NOT enjoy it!  Oh well, now I'm just praying I don't actually have GD...

We have a name!

Her name will now be:

Bethany Gray

We're excited about it.  We realized later that means they'll both have the same initials, just different orders.  (Gregory Bruce).  Elizabeth is my maternal grandmother's middle name and Gray is my paternal great-grandmother's maiden name.

I just wasn't sold on the Nora "Nibe" part.  I loved "Beth" and it's always been one of my favorite names, but Greg said we can't name her Beth because we know someone named Beth.  I reminded him of his flawed logic given the name of our son, but apparently that's different.

I'm heading to bed, it's been a long couple of weeks of getting Bruce to go to sleep.  We went from having the "put him in bed, sing a song, close the door and he sleeps 12 hours" child to the "screams in his bed, doesn't sleep more than a few hours, sometimes climbs out" child.  It has NOT been fun.  It all started with those stupid molars.  I think we're finally making headway, but bedtime is definitely far from an easy process.  It's been taking around an hour to hour and a half to get him to sleep and naps have been about 20-30 minutes.  He whines all the time that he's tired, but he just won't sleep.  We put up blackout curtains and a noise maker/night light in his room.  That helped last night so hopefully it will continue.  We were contemplating moving him to his big boy bed, but now we're just waiting.  I told Greg, worse comes to worse, I'm fine with buying another crib for baby #2, I need sleep! :-)

Any suggestions/ recommendations/ commiserating is welcome.

Freezer cooking class

Don't know how many of you like to "freezer cook", but its one of my favorite ways to "cook".  I tend to do MUCH better when I have a freezer full of meals or half meals.  There are far fewer McDonald's drive through runs when I can pop something out of the freezer and into the oven.

I ran across this website where she's offering a free freezer cooking class.  I don't know what to expect from it, but it intrigues me and its FREE! :-)

Just thought I'd pass it along to anyone else that may be interested.

www.FreshFromTheFreezer.com

Stay tuned

The baby name is likely changing! We're not 100% sure what its changing to...that's still being discussed! If this was a boy we knew exactly what the name would be, and since I was so sure it was a boy, we didn't spend as much time on the girl name. So, stay tuned!

Also, my dr. appt. went great on Friday.  I know I say it every time, but I seriously love my dr. so much!  I was talking about the nausea and how I freaked out Sunday thinking I'd left my meds in Abilene and how I was going to have to wait until Monday and she gave me her personal cell number and told me I can call her or text her if I have a problem, that she's happy to help!

Also, Greg got to feel baby girl yesterday.  Just wanted to document that because I couldn't remember when Greg could feel Bruce.  So at almost 20 weeks Greg was able to feel her wiggling around.  It also dawned on me the other day that I'm over half-way done!  Can't believe it, I know she'll be here in no time!  I also get to have another US on Friday.  When I went in at 18 weeks she wouldn't move into the right position to get all the pictures they needed.  Specifically she wouldn't move so the tech could measure her spine.  So I get to go have another US Friday to check it out, also this week I'm supposed to go in and do the gestational diabetes test.  Yay....

It's a...

GIRL!

I know I put it on FB, but I forget that not everyone looks on there.  Plus I wanted to capture it on the blog too.  We went last Friday and had the big ultrasound.  I was absolutely sure it was a boy.  I really have no reason why.  This pregnancy has been completely different, but I always just thought I was going to have all boys!  I also had a dream the night before about all my boys playing together and it was so vivid that I was just positive.  I totally didn't believe the tech at first.

It didn't really hit me for a few days that this one is a girl, but once I started shopping it became super real! :-)  I definitely already started the clothing collection and here's hoping my SIL wants to pass some of her hand me downs this way too since my niece dresses super cute!

Things are going well.  I'm still taking my nausea medicine most days, but I have been keeping significantly more food down lately.  Although, sorry to anyone who visited the "Staples" parking lot last Friday or the Chicken Express parking lot last Sunday...that was not pretty.  I have also officially gained a pound now so hopefully the dr will be happy when I go in Friday for an appt. 

Things are progressing right along and we're super excited about it all.  We have picked a name out and we're happy to share: Nora Elizabeth to go by Nora Beth.  Nora is just a name we like and Elizabeth is my grandmother's middle name.

Yay for movement!

Just because I want to remember when I felt the movement, I officially felt somersaults yesterday!  That would be at 15 weeks 5 days.

I've felt flutters for a while now, but I have been having a lot of muscle spasms in my uterus ever since my c-section so I was never completely sure if it was that or the baby.  That being said, I always thought that I could end up being on of those "I didn't know I was pregnant" ladies since I would never know if it was a baby moving!  But seriously...I don't know how people go nine months and don't know they're pregnant...but I will admit to watching that show all the time on Discovery Health! :-)

Dr. Appt. Update

Went to the dr this morning.  Had a nice long chat with Dr. Askew about both the pregnancy and her financial planning.  I teased her as I was leaving that I don't usually go to the dr. to give advice! :-)

Based on my last U/S I was measuring nine days ahead, she decided that was accurate and changed my due date.  She also changed my status to high risk due to my humongous babies!  She said she'll schedule my c-section at 39 weeks assuming everything keeps going well.  That puts me at around March 2nd.  If this baby gets super big that might change that date.  She said she'll probably schedule the c-section either March 2nd, 3rd, or 4th.  I told her I'm fine with any of those, but if we can somehow swing it so Misty and I are there at the same time, that would be pretty fun! (Misty being my friend here in SA who's only a few weeks behind me, but pregnant with TWINS!)

She mentioned that its time to start gaining weight.  So far, all I've done is lose weight.  I've NEVER been told to gain weight...how fun! :-)  If only I felt like eating more, the gaining would be easier.  I did tell her I'd been having really bad vertigo and she asked if I'd called the office to ask for medication.  I told her I honestly hadn't even thought about it!  I grew up with parents that would tell you "oh you'll be fine" when you could see organs hanging out...I just figured it would go away.  She prescribed me some medication to help with that and also told me to STOP all my other meds.  WOO HOO!!!  I'm so done with all of the other meds. 

Basically, it was a great visit and I'm having a great birthday so far!  Oh, and the best part...I get to have my anatomy scan three weeks from today!

We're okay...

Since I know most everyone that reads this has heard about ISD's troubles, I figured I'd share our spin on it and what this means for us.

We knew ISD was having financial problems due to a lack of work which can most definitively be attributed to the dragging economy.  ISD has done well to keep its head above water for a while now, but as of yesterday the operating budget far exceeded any predicted money coming in.  This meant major cuts and unfortunately the San Antonio office was one of the major cuts.  Many many people both here and in the Baton Rouge office are being impacted by this. 

I'll admit, when I first found out, I was SO overwhelmed.  Its a stressful thing to think that we're losing one of our sources of income.  Greg has put many many hours into that company and its unfortunate that this is the position ISD has been put in.  I know they did their best for a long time to prevent this.  We'll be okay, I have a great job and we'll survive.  We've been trying to live on less and have both cars paid off so we're in a better position today then if this had happened a year ago.  Greg's deciding where he wants to go from here, and that will likely be school.  He knows he wants a different industry, but needs additional schooling to make that happen.  He has an appointment today to figure out what that means for him.

We're thankful for what ISD provided to us the past 4 years and pray for the other families who are in far more stressful situations this morning.

Few more "Bruce-ism's"

Just because I don't want to forget...

Bruce loves to wear "eyes" aka sunglasses.  He's started popping them up on the top of his head.  So cute!

Today we were in the car and from the backseat we hear: "Hey guys, I want a drink"...umm, what?

Also, the other day when he drooled, he told me: "Mommy, I spilled my tongue..."

Dr. Appt.

Had a dr. appt today, everything went well. Got to hear the heart beat and she's happy with the way everything's going.  I get to wean off one of my medicines this week and start weaning off another one in a couple of weeks.  Yay!!  That's great news.

I do have to have an early screen done for Gestational Diabetes since one of the meds I'm on can cause GD.  Yay...I already had that test multiple times with Bruce since he was so big and never once failed, so hopefully no failing this time either!

Other than that, life is continuing on around here. Bruce starts back to pre-school in a week and a half.  He's excited, he's been asking about his friends from school.  I think he's ready to get back into that routine again...I'm ready for school to start because it means we're closer to fall...which means we're closer to cooler temperatures!

Bruce-ism's

I'm home from church this morning, Greg and Bruce went.  I just have not been feeling well and the idea of being sick at church didn't appeal to me.  It's bad enough at work!  So, since I have some alone time, I wanted to capture some of the Bruce-ism's that I don't want to forget! This is going to be a totally random list, no need to read if you're not family!

First, he loves the baby in my tummy.  He often asks to kiss it, but yesterday he asked for the baby to sit in his "yap".  Um, not really sure how to work that one out for you honey!

He also loves to push "butts" AKA buttons, but I laugh every time he says he wants to push the butt on the fashwight! (flashlight)

He LOVES Towie (Tori), my parent's dog...but he's apparently overheard my mom say a few things and the other day he flops down on the couch and says "That's enough Towie!"  He also likes to say "Uh, uh Towie!"

He refers to my parents other dog, Robin, as Wamin...so she now also goes by Noodle (AKA Wamin Noodle).

Francie is Ifrie, and Pops has been variations of Pots and Boss at various points.  He has now firmly grasped Pops and loves to ask when he's coming and also thinks pops is on every.single.airplane.  Any time there's an airplane, Bruce tells me that it's Pops' airplane!

He loves Auntie "K", AKA TK or sometimes Auntie Case, and for some reason is very obsessed with her car.  He always asks to ride in it!  He also asks about Case and Auntie L a lot, and lately has been telling me that he misses them!

Poor Kaya, takes a lot from the two year old terror.  She's so sweet though.  Bruce wants Kaya in his wap at all times.  He also frequently kisses her and hugs her.  She's a good sport.

He LOVES bicycles and motorcycles.  We bought him a little plastic one from Target and he loves it.  His favorite part is wearing a helmet!  He wears a helmet frequently...to lots of places...often paired with his fireman rain boots...yeah, I'm that mom at HEB.

Speaking of HEB, he loves to go.  He often asks to go to HEB.  He really just likes getting a sticker and a balloon...but when we drive by he almost always asks to go.  The other day Karen asked if he wanted to go swimming and he said he wanted to go to HEB...silly boy!

Karen also called me the other day because she was trying on a jacket at the store and asked Bruce what he thought and he said, "hmm, it's cute!"  Don't know where they learn all this!

I asked him the other day if he wanted to be a big brother, and his answer was, "Ummm, no, I want tacos."

I know these are all super random and not interesting to most anyone else, but I want to make sure I remember them!

Houston we have a heartbeat!

Yippee!  Thanks to those of you who sent notes and texts and calls.  I really appreciated it!  I wasn't trying to be cryptic, there were just some problems with my hormone levels that caused Dr. Askew to be concerned about the viability of the baby.  Today's ultrasound was really important to determine next steps and make sure the baby was still viable.

That being said, baby was great, measuring a little smaller than originally thought, but other than that just great!  Heart rate was 132, and my hormone levels seem to be responding to the medicines I'm taking.  I will continue taking a few different medicines through at least the 1st trimester and some to continue through 20 weeks.  And I should also note there was only ONE baby in there! :-)  I was a little worried since I seem to be showing a lot more this time than last and I was taking fertility medications...

Thanks again to everyone.  I know there are so many of you who have been praying for us as we got to this stage in our journey.

Prayer Request

If you happen to see this before 9:30 tomorrow (Friday), please say a prayer for me.  Going in for my first ultrasound and feeling anxious.  Some things have developed and we're going to get some things tested and figured out tomorrow...don't feel like sharing with the entire blog world, but as I said...please say a prayer for us.

Will try and update after the appointment tomorrow.

Can I just say...

that I love, love, LOVE Dr. Askew!  She's such a great doctor, if you're in San Antonio and need a new lady doctor, see her.  I had the pregnancy confirmed last week and went in this morning to have a check up and schedule my sono.  She was so funny, she came in and gave me a big hug and just sat down and talked to me, answered all my questions, and didn't make me feel silly for my neurosis! :-)

I go next Friday for the sono, definitely excited to do that.  I'm continuing to take Metformin at least through the first trimester and potentially through the first 20 weeks.  I talked with her about the mega gastrointestinal issues I've been having so we're lowering the dose of Metformin to hopefully combat that a little.  Overall this pregnancy has been a lot different then last time.  While I've had some pretty bad food aversions, the mega morning sickness of last time hasn't shown up yet.  I've also been tired this time, but not like last time when I couldn't even stay away past 7:00...that's been a welcome unexpected change!  I have no witty banter (or more often than not, "un"-witty banter) today, but I do have an awesome sewing project I'm working on that I'll hopefully show off soon!

Surprise!

If your ISD husband (since Greg's told the whole office) hasn't already called and told you...the big news is...I'm PREGNANT!  Yippee!  I'm barely pregnant...just about 5 1/2 weeks.  Last time around we waited until after the first ultrasound to really tell people, but this time my pants are already tight and I already have morning sickness so I don't think its going to be a secret much longer. Plus it was easier to wait last time around since I was further along when I figured out I was pregnant! :-)

Looks like all the medicine kicked in!  Would appreciate all of your prayers, I tend to be a bit of a nervous wreck during the first trimester.  I'm just so worried something will go wrong and we'll start this whole process over again!  I also didn't want to tell people because in my twisted little brain, if we tell people then we might jinx it.  Strange, I know.  Greg was the one that decided he wanted to tell his office, and since most of my readers are married to people Greg works with it was only a matter of time before all of you knew too!

Pants

Kids are cute, my kid is super cute.  I know, I'm biased.  Bruce has always been super cuddly, would much rather sit in your lap or give you hugs than do most anything else.  His new thing is to ask if he can sit in your "wap"...all the time.  If you don't respond or act like you don't understand he then clarifies..."Mommy, I was sit on your pants!"  I love when he asks to sit on my pants...cracks me up how literal they are!

He also knows that cuddling will get him out of trouble.  When he's being corrected and I get down on his level and talking to him face to face more often than not he'll lean over and kiss me while I'm trying to talk to him!  He also likes to ask if we can go get in his chair, the recliner, and sit.  He's so sweet, just want to have this documented when he's a teenager!

2nd draft...

I had a whole post written about how I'm tired of "trying"....trying to get pregnant that is.  After re-reading I decided its a little too close to my heart to just put out there for everyone on the internet to read.  If you are going through a similar battle and don't have friends around you to talk to, call me.  I like to talk about it...to people who "understand".  Even if you haven't gone through it all yourself, I encourage you to empathize with those around you who are.  Its a crazy roller coaster that I can't imagine many people enjoy being on.  I'm now on my highest dosage of Metformin.  Its not fun, but if it works, well then its worth it.  While that's not all that's going on in my life, it often feels like it has take over.

I'm not good at taking pictures, but lately there has been lots of zoo and Sea World time...Bruce loves visiting the "namils" and especially loves seeing "mychamu" AKA my Shamu "chumping...in the watttter".  I need to get him saying that on video, its super cute.  Karen (my youngest sister) is watching Bruce for the summer and I'm super excited about it.  He's heading to VBS tomorrow and I'm hoping to get him enrolled in swim lessons and have Karen take him.  Well, it's Sunday afternoon and Bruce is asleep and I can feel the couch calling my name! :-)

Bluebonnet Pictures...

A few pictures from Bruce's recent bluebonnet photo shoot!  Trust me, there were SO many more that I could have posted!  Jenny did an awesome job yet again!  If you're interested her website is: synergyphotographysa.com

Metformin...

I'm really writing this post for any of you who ever have to take this or the random person who happens upon this after an extensive google search! :-)

Metformin has been very interesting.  It has some pretty intense side effects.  Because it was developed to treat people with diabetes it targets insulin levels (PCOS also effects insulin levels).  Because of that, it has some pretty unpleasant GI (gastro-intestinal) side effects when eating excess carbohydrates/sugar. That has been interesting.  I am slowly building up my dosage, but the first night I took it I wondered what the heck I was getting myself into, the stomach cramps were almost unbearable!  Beyond the GI side effects have been the crazy hot flashes, mood swings, fatigue, and headaches.  I know, when I put it like that you're all wondering how you can get your hands on this little bottle of gold!  I'm told almost all of these should lessen as my body gets used to the medicine.  I'm also hoping to drop some of the pounds that I gained very rapidly due to various other factors including medication and PCOS (this darn PCOS thing!).

Other than that, life is quiet.  Bruce is living up to his two year old status which includes tantrums when leaving the park and super cute games and phrases.  He is definitely a sponge...there is nothing to be said in front of him that you don't want repeated.  He definitely used "crap" in its correct context the other day.  While funny, it was also a little bit of a wake up that he will likely repeat other things!  In case you didn't already see on FB, below are a few pictures of Bruce's party.

April 22nd!

Its April 22nd...that means a number of things.  Its my parent's 32nd anniversary, its Earth Day, and its Bruce's 2nd birthday!  Can't believe he's two!  Karen (my sister) and I made some super cute cupcakes for him to take to school today, but of course I forgot to take any pictures!

Also, today I went to the dr again to get some test results and see what my course of action is.  To give you all a little history, I have been on Clomid for three months now and no pregnancy, but at least I was ovulating which is something I had not been doing before.  The Clomid was prescribed by my previous doctor who said he couldn't do anything for me after he tried some hormone treatments and told me I just had to go to the fertility clinic.  I had an appt set up at the fertility clinic, but when they called to confirm it they informed me that my insurance wouldn't cover anything, not even an initial consultation so that would be $350 out of pocket every time we visited.  That day I felt SO overwhelmed!  I called a few friends to calm me down and started trying to figure out what out what my course of action was. 

I called my regular OB/GYN back and asked if there was anything he could do so he prescribed 3 months of Clomid.  After month two I was getting very overwhelmed again because I didn't know what we were going to do if I didn't get pregnant in those three months.  I happened to talk to a friend at church who started going to an OB/GYN that attends our church as well.  I made an appt with her and LOVED her.  She said to try the Clomid one more month and then if I wasn't pregnant, come back in. Well I wasn't pregnant so that's why I went in this morning.  Wow, that was a lot of information and not even all of it, trust me I really did leave out some stuff! :-)

Well, today marks the first day I'm starting Metformin.  Metformin is typically medication prescribed for people with diabetes, but is also used to treat PCOS pretty effectively.  It has some unpleasant side effects, but so did Clomid so goes life.  It can take up to three months to truly start working so we'll just wait and see what happens!  That was probably way more information than any of you wanted, but I figured I'd go ahead and get all that out there!  Feel free to ask questions, I really don't mind answering!

No guarantees...

I make no guarantees that I will continue to update my blog, but I will at least attempt...I kind of stopped because I got bored reading my own blog posts so I figured there was no point in boring y'all.  Life around here is pretty run of the mill and we are very content.  When I get content I tend to get bored...I called Greg yesterday saying we should move...he said no.  I called Greg yesterday and said we should buy a new car...he said no.  I called Greg yesterday and told him I was going to see a movie...that he agreed to! :-)  Don't get me wrong, I'm very thankful for all we have, but I'm just ready for a change.  I know part of this comes because I want to be in control of my change and the one change I want I can't seem to control.

I know I've mentioned before that I have PCOS (Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome).  We have been trying to get pregnant again and it has certainly been a struggle.  I don't really feel like sharing all the details on here, but I'm certainly open to discussing with anyone that has questions.  Basically I feel like since I can't control this aspect that maybe if I find something else to change I won't feel so restless!  See there I go again, being boring! :-)

Anyway, new in Bruce's life:

• He's almost 2...CRAZY!
• He loves Veggie Tales and asks for "Nonah" (Jonah), Wawee (Larry), and Bob every day on the MeeBee (TV)
• He likes to watch Glee with me because he likes to dance during all the songs.  I have a video I shot on my phone that is super cute.
• He likes to "tease" now.  He likes to call things by the wrong names and then giggle hysterically when you tell him he's wrong.  Silly silly boy.
• He is most content when he is the center of everyone's attention and he likes to do that by goofing off.
• He FINALLY says "Francie" (my mom) which sounds more like TeeHee.  He still calls my dad "Pots" (Pops).  He thinks every man over the age of 55 that's tall and wearing a hat is "Papa" and the other day at Target there was a women in her 50's who'd had a signifigant amount of work done wearing a short skirt and extremely low cut shirt and Bruce starts yelling out "MaMaw, MaMaw" (Grandma).  If you know my MIL at all...there is not a single thing in that whole description that is anything like her!!
• He must wear shoes at all times...and does not handle change well.  He did not enjoy when he outgrew his old shoes and kept asking to wear them!
• We were talking the other day about the things we will probably continue to say even when he grows up.  His favorite thing to say is "GUCK!" for anything he doesn't like or doesn't want to do. 

That's all I got.  I will attempt to update more, but I know better than to make any promises!