I haven't updated in a while! We know gender!

So I've been super busy and haven't updated in awhile but we did an elective gender scan last week (16 weeks) and we now know gender!! Baby is a GIRL!!! I'm so happy to have one of each :) Baby girl clothes are so much more fun than boy clothes.

BFP part deux- Rainbow after the storm

Well I retested with a FRER and got a very clear BFP!!! I'm completely shocked. We only had sex 3-4 days before O and that was IT! I didn't have any symptoms and quit temping halfway through because I was convinced I was out. I really hope everyting will be alright this time around. I have an appointment tomorrow with my OB and I know he'll order a beta and they mentioned giving me an ultrasound which I really don't understand because it's so early. I haven't even "missed" my period yet (AF is due Friday) but I'm sure she won't be arriving. I'm only about 3W4D according to my LMP and my estimated due date is 4-25-14 (my birthday is the next day). This is the best present ever! Praying for good news tomorrow. I'm getting my rainbow after the storm possibly, and I'm elated!

Rainbow baby?

So yesterday morning (10 days past positive OPK and 8-9 DPO) I tested and thought I saw the faintest line but chalked it up to me having line eye. Line eye is what most hopeful TTC women get when they *so* want to get that BFP that eyes play tricks on you and you think you see something when in reality there's nothing there. So back to testing, I decided to test later in the afternoon and held my pee for 4 hours and tested with another cheapie and there was another faint line, which DH and several internet buddies confirmed. So I tested one more time and there was a for sure super light pink line. What does this mean? I tested AGAIN (yes I'm a POAS addict and proud of it lol) with a blue dye CVS brand that says to test 5 days before your period and it was negative (my period is due in 5 days as of today so I'm super early). So I'm assuming the wondofo cheapies are very sensitive! I'm calling it a BFP for now because I tested again this morning and there was a faint line there yet again! I'm calling my doctor first thing Monday morning to get a blood test and hopefully they will do another beta to check the numbers are rising properly. Well blogger friends, I think my dreams may come true and I may actually get my rainbow baby. Please pray this baby sticks and I can have a happy and healthy 9 months.

Cycle 3- Waiting to O

So I'm now on my third cycle trying for #2. Some things I'll be doing this cycle:

-OPKS (no positive yet)
-Temping/charting
-Preseed


I decided against SMEP for this cycle although our schedule is very similar. I'm cycle day 10 and waiting to ovulate. Waiting, waiting, and waiting some more, BOO! Happy Sunday!

Cycle 3.

Well, AF showed and I'm on to cycle 3 of TTC. Please let this be it! I'm charting/temping using opks and possibly preseed. Stay tuned!

We meet again; 2WW saga

       Welcome to the 2WW where you commence to pee on sticks and analyze HPT's way too early, obsess over if you could be pregnant or not, and potentially lose your mind from the uncertainty of it all!

Well, here I am and I'm actually feeling very positive about this cycle because our timing was great! We followed SMEP and BD every other day starting cycle day 7 and everyday starting cycle day 9 sometimes even twice a day! I usually will only DTD one day after the positive OPK but we're not stopping until 3 DPO! So far I'm not feeling anything (obviously) and I'm hoping for the best! I'm testing early at 8 DPO so stay tuned for some early pee stick pictures! Happy Friday!

Waiting some more

Today is cycle day 16 and I'm still waiting for ovulation confirmation from Fertility Friend. Yesterday I had a very dark OPK which was the closest looking to a positive (test line was way darker than the control) and fertile CM and my temp dipped lower this morning. I'm hoping tomorrow and the next three days I have a temp rise and FF will detect ovulation. I hate TTC sometimes, all the waiting drives me absolutely nuts! TTC after a loss (TTCAL) is even more difficult than I thought but I know when I'm holding a baby none of this will matter anymore. So there you have it folks, I'm still waiting to O, or for confirmation from FF because I don't trust my OPKs. I'm going to guess that yesterday was O day though just from the dull cramps and aches I was feeling. Happy 4th. of July everyone, I'm working on the holiday and making extra money!

"Hump" day!

I got my positive OPK yesterday!!



I'm so excited now I have to wait and see what my temps do, the OPK let's me know I will ovulate 12-48 hours after the positive so we shall see. I'm counting today as 1 DPO until my temps tell me otherwise. We DTD yesterday and the 5 days before that so our bases will be covered. We will continue to baby dance until my temps comfirmed I've ovulated. Whoo hoo for ovulation. Happy hump day everyone! LOL

Please cross your fingers this is what is happening inside my body:



Signing off xoxo

Why you don't test with FMU

I learned yesterday not to test with my first morning urine (FMU) with an OPK because the LH rise usually begins in the early morning while you are sleeping and it takes 4-6 hours for it to appear in your urine after that. For this reason, first morning urine may not give the best result. Testing mid-day is usually recommended. It is important to follow the instructions of your OPK for maximum results.
Here's my OPK Cycle day 10 with FMU


Here's my OPK from the same day taken a noon


You see how much darker it is?!?!

Today's OPK- Cycle day 11 (noon)


Getting darker!! Yayyyyy!!

It's a beautiful day in OPK land!

Happy Friday Bloggies!!

 I'm in such a wonderful mood this afternoon. Do you know why? Well today was my first day using OPK's according to the SMEP (Sperm meets egg plan) I have to start using OPK's CD 10. I POAS and to my suprise it looks like it's close to positive!! I'm positive I'll be ovulating sometime this week and that makes me so so excited! The plan is supposed to help boost our chances at conceiving after a loss so I thought I'd try it again since it's worked in the past. I also learned something new today and I would like to share the knowledge for anyone that doesn't know. You have to use your OPK's with afternoon urine and not FMU or the results won't be as accurate. I tested early this morning and got a barely-can-see-it line and then tested in the afternoon and got a much darker line! I will post pics of my opks in my next post. Stay tuned for my POAS pictures I will be testing all weekend. TGIF!!!!

Oopsie

I'm totally guilty. Guilty of forgeting to take my temp this morning during my morning routine. Then I got my schedule mixed up and came to work bright and early at 5:45am when I wasn't scheduled until 2pm. It wouldn't be a problem except for my job is so far from home (a 25 minute drive). So that's the type of day I'm having, one of those days! The next week is going to be a BD-fest because I'll be O'ing between CD 13-17 and I'm currently CD 9. Sperm meets egg plan is so exhausting and I've been super sick as well so my temps are wonky. I'm taking a break and eating whatever for this cycle, I figure If I'm pregnant I won't want to risk doing any damage down there by exercising! My preconception apt is around 12 DPO sp *hopefully* I will find out some good news! Signing off for now, Happy Thursday!

(Impatiently) Waiting to O

Cycle day 8 today and so far so good with temping! Here's what we're doing this cycle to increase our chances:

-SMEP (Sperm Meets Egg Plan)
-Temping/Charting
-Preseed
-Pineapple core during 2ww
-Prayer, lots of prayer!

 Please pray for us if your reading and your the praying type!! We started DTD after AF left town every other day and I start testing with my OPK's CD 10. The plan is to test twice a day when I get closer to ovulation and hopefully my temps will confirm O.

 I've been slacking (again) on eating but not doing so bad. I haven't gained that much weight but today I plan to start fresh again and stick to my two meals per day. My life is so consumed with TTC right now. I'm working on being more of a balanced person though :) Happy Hump day everyone!

TGIF.

I'm failing miserably at eating healthy and staying on plan. I have a severe sugar addiction that I can't seem to shake and I'm an emotional eater as well. Today was such an awful awful day, it started with my having to work 2-midnight on a friday which I was pretty bummed about and then everything at work seemed to irritate me and make me frustrated. I have so much stress right now also because of bills and other things so I wasn't in a good mood at all. I jope tomorrow is a better day, and it should be because we're going to a wedding. TGIF!!! Four day weekend here I COME! :D

Keep on keeping on...

I haven't gained any weight nd I've lost the weight that I gained while pregnant with nugget. I'm still unhappy with how I keep bouncing between the 150's, am I ever going to break my plateau and reach my goal of 145 lbs.?!?! Will I ever be able to stop binging on junk food and having DH get me snacks after 1am when I work until midnight? I'm struggling staying on plan and I feel better blogging about it. Admitting it is the first step when you have a problem right? So today I plan to stay within my caloric range and exercise after work. We're going to a wedding Saturday so I kind of feel like I shouldn't eat until then so I can look nice in my dress. That would be unhealthy though, right? I weighed myself yesterday and I'm 157 which scared the crap out of me because I'm knocking on 160's door. I'll update tomorrow with how I did with staying on plan. Happy Thursday!

My 21 month old

With all the TTC/miscarriage talk I forgot to brag about my little man! Jace just turned 21 months a couple days ago. He's getting so big so fast and I can't believe we get to plan his second birthday party soon. He's very affectionate and loves to give us kisses and hugs. He loves playing with other kids and running around outside at the park. Right now we're still struggling with speech but I'm sure he'll catch up by the time he's 2. He's such a sweet sweet boy and I'm blessed to have him!

The witch is here

I got AF this morning :(

I also got the phone call that our preconception appointment was made with the specialist next month. I'm so diappointed that I wasted so many HPT's and OPK's and I felt super down about last cycle because we dtd so much I just *knew* I would end up pregnant. Good news is we're going to a wedding Saturday and I'll be able to get my drink on! I'm going to try the SMEP again and see how it pans out for us, onwards to cycle #2!

Feeling sorry for myself...

Reading my last post I can't help but to feel sorry for myself, I feel bad this blog has turned into a debbie downer blog. Today is cycle day 28 and my longest cycle is usually 30 days so I'm expecting AF anytime now. I've been testing since 8 DPO and I've had no luck so far...this TTC gig is a lot harder than I remember (especially after a loss). This is our first official cycle TTC after I miscarried in April why would I expect to get my BFP that fast? It took us 6 cycles to conceive nugget and I hope it doesn't take that long this time around! We BD so much though so I felt confident that we we're successful but if I were pregnant I would have my BFP by now! I'm just feeling so sad I'm taking a break until AF arrives, it's super hard to come on here and read about pregnancy and newborns while I'm staring at BFN's and still grieving over my miscarriage. So goodbye for now. 

Waiting for AF

Today AF should be here or tomorrow. Tested this morning (BFN). It's safe to say I'm not pregnant.

Not pregnant, Not infertile.

I've been testing and testing...and testing some more with no luck. It's BFN (Big fat negative) town for me and I'm getting pretty depressed about it. I should have been 20 weeks along with nugget right about now and it hurts. I'm not pregnant, and I'm also not infertile so people say rude comments to me about it. Nobody understands how painful it is to go through a miscarriage unless they have gone through it themselves that's why I try my best to ignore the comments. Trying again helped me sort through my feelings about the loss at first but now I'm not sure if this is healthy for me. I'm very bummed out about the BFN's and even though I'm only 8-9 DPO I don't know if I have it in me to keep doing this month after month. I'm not sure if I'm strong enough to hold on to hope that we will have another baby. This is just so unfair. What did I do to deserve this. :(

The countdown continues...

Today is cycle day 22 out of a 28 day cycle and I'm 6-7 DPO! I plan to test tomorrow when I get my hpt's in the mail and I can't friggen wait! I more than likely won't be able to sleep because I've allowed myself to get excited about the possiblity of a BFP. I may or may not be getting a positive pregnancy test in the next couple of days. I've been testing with opks everyday to try and use them as hpts and they are staying the same color but has two lines. The opk I took yesterday wasn't positive and I know it's very early to get a BFP. Last cycle I didn't get my BFP until the day before AF was due. Testing in less than 24 hours but who's counting?!?!

One week wait

I never had a two week wait to test because I'm a POAS addict and I'm the most impatient person in the world. Today I'm 3 DPO (4 DPO according to my countdown to pregnancy) and I plan to test 6 days before my missed period with an FRER. Everyday is dragging and I wish I could test already! I ordered my HPT's online and I should have plenty to test with (20 IC's and 3 FRER) they should arrive by June 12th. and I will feel like a little girl on Christmas morning when they arrive. I'm starting to get excited about TTC and less depressed about the miscarriage even though each day is tough still. I think trying again has helped me emotionally and I'm glad we decided to try again. My EDD based off LMP would be 2-25 if we get our BFP. Testing in 4-5 days and updating with the results! :)

A girl can dream.

Well I'm very confused about this cycle because we decided to try right before I thought I was o'ing and I didn't get opks until 2 days later. My usual ovulation time is CD 13-15 and I tested CD 16 with my opk and it looked positive then tested in the a.m CD 17 and it was darker! My longest cycle was 29 days so I'm not quite sure when to expect AF. I think I will use CD 16 as ovulation day which puts me at 2 DPO!! I'm not the same though as before when I was TTC. I'm actually more nervous about getting a BFP because then I have to worry about having a 4th. miscarriage or having a placenta abruption later on *sigh* Timing wise we are looking good though, we've dtd everyday for the past week and a half and each time I layed down with my legs propped up, pillow underneath me. I've been less obsessive this go around but it's only my first cycle after the miscarriage trying. I found a great support group on FB of women who have been through miscarriages and it's been nice to have a group that understands what I'm going through. So now it's a waiting game to see if I'm pregnant or not. A girl can dream for a happy and healthy nine months after right?

Hope whispered "try one more time"

We had an incident a few days ago and weren't careful while dtd which put us at risk to get pregnant. That was the moment I realized we had to try again. That was the moment I realized that deep down I really want another baby. I'm very scared to have another miscarriage but I have hope that things will turn out better. I feel like apart of our family is missing and my heart is longing for another. So let's try this again! I'm right now CD 17 and I got my POSITIVE OPK today!!! We babydanced the past 4 days so my bases are covered. I also found a high risk specialist in the local hospital here that I got a referral from my OB to have a preconception visit. Unfortunally they are booked out until July so I have to wait for a call back to see when my appointment will be. I will be in pretty good hands and have two teams of docs looking over things. I'm planning on testing at 8 dpo which is my magic number (BFP with DS at 8 dpo) please if your reading and are the praying type, pray that I get a STICKY bfp. Signing off for now :)

More stats..and baby fever

Stats:
Starting weight: 215lbs. 9/2011
currrent weight: 151lbs.
goal weight: 150lbs.

I weighed myself this morning and to my suprise I'm down to 151 which is a 6 pound loss from my last post! I wanted to do a scale dance once I saw that number. I am so close to my goal that I made after giving birth and it's almost taken 2 years. I feel much more comfortable with my body and I love being able to shop and actually like the way I look in clothes. This journey has been very tough, but so worth it in the end. I'm proud to set a good example for my son by eating healthy and exercising.
 On a more baby relted note, I have baby fever! (OBVIOUSLY) I can't stop thinking about trying again even though the thought of another loss makes me very anxious and scared. We plan to wait until DH is finished with school and gets a better job (2 years) and I want to find a specialist and get some testing and answers as to why this keeps happening. In the mean time I have this raging baby fever that's like a beast I can't tame. I see babies everywhere (I call them baby candy LOL) and I just want to ohh and ahhh over every single one of them. I keep asking DH if he likes certain names and talking about "when we have more kids". I also can't bring myself to let go of Jace's baby clothes or pack and play because it will make me so sad! This is the hardest part of waiting to try, when the heart wants a baby but it's best for us financially and I have to get some answers first.

Size me up!

After my miscarriage I weighed in at 166 and now I'm 157ish (bouncing between 155-158). I've been trying to stay focused on losing but I keep making poor eating choices. Today I ate Dunkin Donuts again for breakfast because it's convienent and cheap. I got a bagel with butter and a small iced coffee with 1 cup of  sugar and whole milk. What a bad choice heh? So here I sit almost 60 pounds down 20 months after giving birth to my sweet boy and I still can't reach my goal of 150 pounds. Today I will try and count all my calories and work out. That's all I can do is stick to plan and not get discouraged! I'm more than likely going to set a goal of 140lbs. after I hit goal but I want to see how I feel and look 8 pounds lighter first. My work out regimine is cardio 4 days a week and weights/toning 2-3 days a week. Yesterday I did cardio for 30 minutes and weights/toning for 25 minutes.

Stats:
Starting weight: 215lbs. 9/2011
currrent weight: 157lbs.
goal weight: 150lbs.

height: 5'6"

size: 8 in womens
        small womens tops
        medium juniors tops
       11 in juniors

former sizes: 14 in womens
                     large womens tops
                    XL junior tops
                    15 in juniors

Keeping busy is easy

We are planning a vacation to DISNEY WORLD  for the end of August and I am very excited about this! This will be our first family vacation and it will be 3 years since we went on vacation. People keep telling me to wait until J is older because he won't remember but we will take lots of pics and he will be very engaged during the moment so thats all we care about. We're planning our vacation for our Anniversary week so it will be nice to celebrate in Florida. I'm also working on remodeling our apartment little by little and I plan on starting with the bathroom first. I want to paint and redecorate everything and I'm still working on keeping my home organized and clutter free which is a challenege with a toddler tornado running around.

   Last night I broke down and started crying about our loss. It hurts it really does, but I'm trying to be grateful for the beautiful 20 month old I have and for his good health. In terms of trying again or having other children I don't think it's in the cards for me right now. I need to find a specialist and I'm terrified of having another miscarriage, or premature birth. In the words of one of my fellow moms in my sons playgroup I will never say never but as of right now I will be looking into birth control for at least the next few years. That makes me sad :(

Whatever happened to Fit Momma and Nugget?

I had a miscarriage April 18, 2013 I thought I was 12 weeks but baby stopped growing sometime after our last ultrasound (8 weeks). We lost our little nugget and I needed a break from the sites I frequented when pregnant. I'm not ready to go into more details or talk about it but we're okay. I'm trying to eat healthy again and fit exercise into my crazy busy schedule.

We have a heartbeat!!

I went today for my follow up dating ultrasound and we saw the heartbeat and baby! The baby is measuring 6 weeks 1 day and I calculated 7 weeks based off LMP so I definitley ovulated late! I'm now due November 3rd. but that may change again. Our little nugget's heartrate was 111 and we are already in love with him/her.

Picky Preggo?

     Today I'm around 6w5d ...I've been so nauseous and it's been an all day thing that is pretty unbearable to deal with. I can barely eat most foods because of the smell or because it tastes different. I broke down and took some zofran today because I had to work ten hours today and I knew there was no way I would make it through my shift without vomiting over everyone tossing my cookies. My appetite stinks everything sounds gross to me, or if I get food I will look at it and smell it and it will make me sick! Someone at work said "You might be having a girl" *insert happy squeals from inside* and I thought to myself "maybe" becuase I didn't have nausea this bad with J and I only threw up once or twice for the entire pregnancy. Maybe I was lucky but I feel bad complaining about this. The only thing that makes me feel better is sleeping or eating small meals more frequently. I can't wait for the second trimester when this should get better for me, in the mean time I'm a walking dead women  I'll try and rest and tough it out for the next few weeks.
   The other thing that is bothering me is the fact that I can smell everything!! My cat litter box (which DH cleans) makes me want to vomit even if I walk too close I can smell it a mile away. I can't stand the smell of onions, my sons dirty diapers (talk about repulsive), pee (toilet must be flushed at all times), anything with a foul odor makes it worse and I gagged all morning trying to clean my house. I hate eating m&m's now which used to be my favorite candy!! My favorite food right now would be a bacon egg and cheese sandwhich, it's light and keeps me full. My ultrasound is Monday so I will be speaking with them regarding the nausea I know it only gets worse from here.

 

All day sickness

Warning: This post is about nausea








You know that thing people call morning sickness? Well apparently I'm so lucky I get all day sickness. For the entire day I have waves of really bad nausea and a strange taste in my mouth that makes me want to gag. I woke up in the middle of the night feeling so nauseous I thought I was going to vomit and I couldn't. I haven't actually vomited yet but I would really love to so I could get some relief! This is the reason you might see less posts from me, sorry this exhastion and nausea are kicking my arse I don't know if I can be supermom afterall.

First ultrasound update!

I had my ultrasound Monday at exactly 6 weeks and to my disappointment the tech said I was way too early and there was no heartbeat yet, just a sac. They never measured anything I was just told "it's too soon"  :(

So I'm scheduled for the following Monday (exactly 1 week) to have a follow up ultrasound appointment for dating. Now I'm a nervous wreck and this is going to be the longest week ever. My dates may be wrong because I didn't use opks or chart so I have no idea when I actually ovulated I just went by my last period to estimate my due date. So I'm 6w2d according to LMP but I may be closer to 6 weeks. The tech said you can't see the heartbeat until around 7 weeks so that made me feel a little better. If they don't see anything at my next appointment they will draw blood and check my beta levels but I'm praying it doesn't come down to that. Now I feel like a fool for shooting it to the mountain tops  telling a few people because of something bad possibly happening. Symptom-wise I feel very pregnant! Nausea, fatigue, increased thirst/appetite, hormonal are just a few of the wonderful things I'm dealing with haha. Today I noticed I get verrry painful gas pains and a little indegestion...how sexy! I'm sure DH will be all over me tonight!

Strollers really cost this much?

I started telling my boss about how people were ooing and ahhing over the new stroller we bought Jace. It's nothing special, just a Chicco Liteway it only set us back $139 and we loveeee it. It's super light and stylish too :)





He then proceeded to tell me that he has a Stokke stroller which set him back $1,000. (insert jaw dropping)



Yes, he's richer than I.

Then I saw that Aston Martin has a stroller made with Italian leather and blah blah blah




The price tag on it? $3,000! So I'll stick with my Chicco Liteway stroller, thankyouverymuch.

Why must people judge?

Today I told my mom the news via phone that I'm pregnant. She didn't take it well (as expected) and I'm ok with that. We may not speak for a few months now but I'm okay with that also. I made a decision 3 years ago when I got married that I was going to live my life for ME and do what makes ME happy. I understand her reasonings behind why she doesn't agree with my decisons. Her reasons are that she doesn't like my husband, she doesn't think we are stable enough for another child yet, and she doesn't like children so it's bad news to her anyway. College isn't for everyone, I went through 3 years of college before I just lost interest in it and looked for work. Ever since I was a little girl my dream was to be a mother and I always wanted children. Once I gave birth to my son I had a whole new perspective on life and I enjoy taking care of my son and being a wife. I hate getting judged because I don't have a degree, I hate getting judged because of my age, and I hate getting judged because we are lower income. We work hard for everything we have and we aren't on any assistance for anything. Why must we always get judged and looked down upon by elders?

Mommy Guilt?

Yesterday I got home from work and dived into my couch to take a much needed nap around 4pm. SIX hours later I woke up, shocked that I had slept that long. I didn't cook dinner, play with DS, or get any chores done around the house. I feel so bad for being so tired and slacking in the wife/mommy department I feel so bad :( I then proceeded to stay awake until 2am knowing I had to wake up at 4:30am for work. Pregnancy induced lethargy, gotta love it. My husband has been so wonderful and understanding about this but I just feel so bad for not being able to spend more time with DS.

  Another thing that has been bothering me is the fact that I haven't told any of my family about this pregnancy yet. I'm partially scared of their reaction and partially terrified of something bad happening and having to tell them about it. I'm pretty close with my mom and it feels akward for her not to know, but hubby thinks we should wait until we go to our first appointment at least. Today I'm feeling a little better but still pretty tired. Happy hump day bloggies! :)

Guess who else is Pregnant?

I'm 5w1d today and in less than one week we will get to see our little bean! DH has to work that day and I don't think he can get it off or leave early so I might be going solo with DS or I may beg my MIL to come with me so she can watch DS while I'm getting my ultrasound. It's still feeling somewhat surreal but each day that passes (as I get more hungry and nauseous at the same time) it begins to feel more real.
 In non-related pregnancy news my weekly to do list has been ignored since we got the BFP! I've been so freaking tired, I know I've said this a million times but it's like something I can't describe (lethargic maybe?) No matter how much sleep I get I feel exhausted. I guess that's totally normal for the beginning stages and my body is working hard growing our little bean so I know that's whats causing the fatigue. Today I'm going to work on a few items on my list our house looks like a tornado came through kudos to my son lol. Guess who is else pregs?

FERGIE!! I love her! Her husband is nice on the eyes also :D



anddd I got some maternity pants from Jessica Simpson's line! I had no idea that she had a maternity line I love Jessica Simpson! She has the cutest style that I wish I could wear heels while pregnant but I'm not brave enough.

This was on Valentine's Day look how cute she looks :)

First Trimester must haves!

                         


I just started getting a wave of promising symptoms! Here they are:

-nausea
-fatigue
-increased appetite
-dry mouth/increased thirst
-frequent urination
-random cravings (steak, ground beef)
-mood swings

I'm also feeling rather round :p I'm 4w3d today and it's really starting to sink in. We've told a few more people because I we couldn't keep our mouth shut. I've started going to bed wayyyy earlier than usual (around 9/10pm) and leaving DH and J to fend for themselves lol. All day long I've been so tired! No matter how long I nap, or how many hours of sleep I get at night I feel exhausted the entire day. I'm missing my cup of joe in the mornings! I've started getting the morning sickness (aka all day sickness) but it's really bad in the morning. When I wake up in the morning I feel like I went out drinking the night before haha and enjoyed the night too much. Here's a list of items that I need to survive the first tri:

1. Preggie Pops- you can find these at the pharmacy and they are a total life saver! Helped me out last time with light nausea.
   
   

2. Sea bands- these things are AWESOME! I started using these when I was vomiting 1-2 times per day and nauseous all day. These WORK! You can find them at the pharmacy also.



Amazon description:The anti-nausea band gently stimulates the nei-kuan acupoint located between your palm and wrist by placing a constant pressure on that point.

3. Gummy Prenatals, because my nausea has kicked in and I have a hard time swallowing pills :)


4. Belly band- They say you start showing faster with your second child and I already feel super bloated. I'm going to invest in a belly band so I can just unzip my pants and put the belly band over them to hold my pants up.


5. Lots of WATER and SALTINE CRACKERS- I've been so thirsty and nauseous but these items seem to help with the nausea.

To any of my preggo bloggies reading this, I hope you don't have morning sickness, it's no fun. My last resort will be to get a Zofran prescription if it gets bad, which is what I had to do with DS when I couldn't keep anything down. 11 more days until our ultrasound, WOO HOO! I wonder if we'll have twinsies?

Testing, Testing, 123!

I made my first OB appointment! It will be March 4th. at 1pm and I'm getting an ultrasound for dating purposes so I'm very excited! In order to reassure myself I'm going to test a few more times until then to make sure the lines are getting progressively darker. I TOLD A FEW PEOPLE!! We were planning on waiting to tell the world but I just couldn't keep my big mouth closed haha. I told my MIL because I knew she would be happy for us, and my boss walked in on my phone conversation with the doctor's office so she found out! I texted one of my good friends and told her because I was bursting with excitement. I'm not telling anyone else though until well after 12 weeks when the risk of miscarriage decreases. I'm starting to realize this pregnancy gig is going to be much harder with a toddler! When I was pregnant with my first child I would sleep, for HOURS and relax when I didn't feel well. Now it's not that easy, I'm very glad my husband has stepped up and washed laundry, vacuumed, helped with baby, etc. he's such a sweetheart! I'm only 4w2d and I feel so so sleepy, just plain exhausted. No matter how long I sleep I don't feel rested that's my only symptom really. I also have a bigger appetite and I've been having mood swings (similar to bad PMS lol). I'm just praying the morning sickness isn't bad this time around it usually hits me around 5/6 weeks. I'll be investing in some preggie pops and seabands when that time comes. Ah, the many joys of pregnancy haha :)
Here's my latest test:

BFP=Big Fat Positive

We did it! I tested positive today on a First Response test. My estimated due date will be October 26, 2013 we're over the moon! I'll update tomorrow with details.

Last week of 2WW...

I'm questioning my O date because I didn't use opks this cycle or temp so there is no way to know for sure when I ovulated. I do however know that my longest cycle has lasted 30 days so I'm expecting my period by Wednesday February 20th. at the latest. I'm holding out until Thursday morning to test. I've felt some random pulling and twinges today, and I'm still exhausted! I'm happy to have the next two days off work, I plan to catch up on some rest and get some chores done around the house. Signing off for now, toodles!

Much better day

                   

       Today is a much better day. I'm over the Valentine's Day disappointment. DH bought me a card and some flowers after he saw how my feelings were hurt but at that point the damage was already done. He mistakenly bought me the same exact card as last years (I save his cards that he buys me) and the only difference was last years card he wrote "I love you baby" and this year he didn't write anything. Ah well, maybe I need to stop expecting anything thoughtful  from him for special occasions because he just doesn't get it.
 I tested yesterday, BFN of course and I'm sure AF will rear her ugly head on Monday. I'm considering temping next cycle and might try some soy to help get a stronger O but we'll see. Today is supposed to get up to 50 degrees out so I may take DS for a walk outside or to the park because I've been slacking in the exercise department. Remember the exercise buddy I was supposed to have? Well it never happened. I never had the chance to make it to the gym because DH has been working more hours and we never have a sitter. So it looks like I will need to find other ways besides going to the gym to exercise. I'm sad my walk at home dvd is ruined because Jace decided to scratch all over it  play with it and now it won't work.
   My plans for this weekend are to get some exercise in, monthly chore list, and spending time with DH and Jace. My eating has been awful too (donuts, candy, soda, oh my!) and with summer approaching I really want to reach my goal by April 26th. which is totally attainable. Have you notice a shift in this blog more cursing and such? Oh, I forgot to add I'm one of those potty mouthed moms hope it doesn't bother anyone who reads this, and I LOVE those ECARDS they are fucking hilarious.

TGIF!! I can sleep in all weekend and lay around, enjoy my free time and do nothing SAID NO PARENT EVER. I don't understand how a person can be "tired" when they got more than 6 hours sleep. Seriously people?

How we met, Part III

      Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

                        

I thought today would be the perfect day to tell the final chapter so far of our love story. If you didn't get a chance to read How we met Part II and How we met Part I make sure you catch up to get the background information :)

   Our first year of marriage was tough. We had a ton of fights, some infidelity, and a miscarriage. We weren't by any means your typical newlyweds having gone through all of that but we somehow managed to work on things and now we are stronger than ever. In February of 2011 we were on month 2 of trying to conceive after our loss. We used preseed and OPKS that month and I tested at 8dpo and got a faint BFP, and then a for sure BFP the next day!! We had our ulstrasound around 6 weeks and that's when we got the heartbreaking news; we were carrying TWINS and one of them wasn't going to make it. Baby A's heartbeat was 170 and Baby B's heartbeat was only 90. I was told that it was very unlikely Baby B would make it and that I would most likely miscarry again. When it came time for my 12 week ultrasound I got the news that I had miscarried the other baby. I never bled or anything but I did have cramps. The doctor told us that everything was absorbed by Baby A and that we had a vanishing twin. We mourned the loss of our baby and prayed hard that Baby A would be okay. I switched doctors and found an amazing place to finish out the rest of my prenatal care. 
   At 32 weeks, I woke up in the middle of the night feeling like I had peed my pants and went to the bathroom. As I looked in the toilet, there was blood everywhere and I freaked out. We called my OB and she said to go to the Emergency room. Once I got there they ran some tests on me and gave me an ultrasound. I later found out I had a placenta abruption and the baby was in distress. We would have to have a scheduled c-section and hope to keep the baby baking until we reached full term. A few days later while being monitored his condition got worse and he wasn't thriving in the womb (2-3 weeks behind in growth, not getting proper nourishment from the Placenta) so they made the decision to give me an emergency c-section at 32 weeks 5 days. I gave birth our son Jace Martin September 17, 2011 and he weighed 3lb. 50z. 17in.
   Now we have been married for almost 3 years and Jace will be 2 in September, time flies! :*

note: This post was actually written yesterday, hence the good mood I was in when I wrote it.
  

Valentine's Day disappointment (Vent)

I'm just not feeling the spirit this year and I usually love Valentine's Day. DH couldn't even manage not to be rude to me this morning let alone wish me a Happy Valentine's Day. Even when I said to him that it's Valentine's Day and I told him he didn't even say anything, no Happy V day babe, no have a good day, nothing and I know he probably won't get me anything. I kind of feel really sad about this I could cry. He did this last year also it's just another day to him now :(

My mom offered to babysit so we could go to dinner and she said she was cooking a big dinner at home. She called me up yesterday to tell me that my stepdad suprised her with reservations and her exact words were "why would he do that if he knew I would have Jace" and "aww I thought it was so sweet of him, I wish I could go" then I told her that we would just stay home. She calls me and tells me that she can definitely watch Jace last night because she was upset with him for whatever reason and then calls me again this morning telling me how he bought her lingere and now she feels bad and definitly is going.

Were you able to keep up with all the back and forth? I hardly was. I think she just didn't want to watch him but whatever. I can't take him with us because he wants to explore and walk around and will throw a tantrum if we sit him in a high chair for too long. So all in all my Valentine's Day will suck. I'm just so hurt that my husband didn't do anything out of the ordinary to make me feel special, something as small as kissing me this morning and telling me to have a nice day was all I was looking for. Have a better day than me everyone. 

Excuse my french:

Bedtime battle

Remember the bedtime issue we were having? Well it's started again *sigh*

Jace didn't take a nap for the entire day on Monday (my day off) and then around the early evening he napped until 11pm, which at that point he WOULD NOT GO BACK TO SLEEP. When I say we tried everything to get him back to bed (bath, more food, warm milk, rocking him, turning TV off, reading a book, etc.) we tried EVERYTHING! He wouldn't go back to sleep and cried everytime we would lay him down in his crib. He would stand up, start bouncing up and down and giggling (in an evil mwhahahaha kind of way lol) and yelling dada and baba. Finally around 1am he simmered down and by 2am he was asleep. I went to bed a little after 2am and then woke up at 4am to get ready for work. Then when I got off work Jace was full of energy due to the long nap he took at daycare (I'm convinced that they let him sleep the entire time and ignore my wishes to limit nap time to one hour or less) and he was running around the house playing and once again when it was time for bed he wouldn't go to sleep. He didn't go to bed until after midnight again, I lost track of the time after that. I think we're losing this bedtime battle, and Jace knows it.

I wish it were this easy:

Looking Bleak..

So I've been off work for the past two days, hence my absense from the blog. I've tested three times with the same result each time being a BFN. I used a FRER and even morning urine and still negative, not even an evap line to obsess over. I know it's early but as I've stated  9 dpo is a turning point in my cycle when I start to lose hope. I did get a positive with Jace at 8 dpo, why not this time right?

I'm insane, but that's what TTC does after almost a year. It makes you insane lol. Here is my "bfp" at 8dpo with Jace 2/21/2011 (A real squinter huh?)



and then at 9 dpo:


Right now I'm 10dpo and I'm waiting until tomorrow (11dpo) to test again. I won't test until the afternoon time though and best believe my fingers and toes are crossed! That is all!

Pregnant Celebs

It feels like everyone around me is pregnant and I keep hearing news on FB and even on tabloids lol. I get a little jealous when I hear someone is pregnant but these are my favorite preggo celebs:

1. Kim Kardashian (am I the only person who isn't sick of her lol) I'm guessing a little boy is arriving for Kim and Kanye.

2. Kate Middleton (Isn't she adorable?!?!) There has been speculation Kate is carrying twins but I think a singleton little girl is on the way :)


3. Jessica Simpson (LOVE HER STYLE) Jessica has such good fashion sense and I love her little family! I'm going to guess a BOY for Jessica.


4. Shakira, she looks great here! I'm no sure what she's having but she looks good to be so far along I wish I could have taken a pic like this while pregnant but my stretch marks wouldn't allow it lol.


Cycle update: I'm 6 dpo and feeling PMS symptoms along with increased cm, 3 more days until I can test!!

ETA: I dug up one of my last belly pics I think this was 24 weeks, can't wait to be huge again lol :)

5 DPO and still sane, I swear!

 

                               

I lied. I can't wait until Valentine's day to test! Who was I kidding haha, I'm testing in 3 days at 8 dpo and even though my sane mind tells me that it's too early let's face the facts: I'm a POAS addict! The plan is still to wait until Valentine's Day to tell the hubby though. No symptoms to report yet, and I'm trying to keep busy and not think about things too much because I can get a bit obsessive. A winter storm is headed our way tonight and we are projected to get 1-2 feet of snow over the next 2 days. My plan is to work and continue to do our monthly checklist to stay busy. Of course being a mama my "free" time (what is that?) is limited so if your reading this please cross your fingers for me to get my BFP!

Fit Momma: How we met- Part II

Fit Momma: How we met- Part I:    In case you’re wondering how I met the hubby here is our love story filled with so much drama there will more than likely be a part III bar...

                                 Part II Engagement & I do 

Part II of this story begins with me leaving for college 2 hours away and us having a long distance relationship. It brought us closer together and we missed each other so much. Jose would come to visit me nearly every other weekend and I would go back home frequently to see him. The next semester Jose enrolled in my college and moved to the same town as me. We decided to get our first place together and we moved to a quaint apartment near our school. I'm not going to say we lived in bliss but we fought a lot and made up a lot during that time. We were coming into our adulthood and learning how to manage a household. We stayed there for about 5 months and we decided to move back to our home town together. I moved in with Jose's family until we found an apartment and that was when the trouble began.
   I didn't get along with my brother-in-law's girlfriend because he told her that he knew me and she went all psycho crazy biotch on me (as in steal my clothes and cut them up in a kind of way no kidding) and we got into an altercation over this! Finally after a 2 year engagement, breaking up and making up and going through all the in law drama we were married on August 20, 2010 at city hall. We decided against a big wedding due to all the family drama. We spent our honeymoon at a lake 45 minutes away and just relaxed and enjoyed each other's company. It felt good to be married and to know that I would get to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. We had our whole lives ahead of us, and this was just the beginning! We moved into our new place right after we got married and settled into marriage life rather quickly. Stay tuned for part 3 which will include when we started TTC and having our son.

How we met- Part I

   In case your wondering how I met the hubby here is our love story filled with so much drama there will more than likely be a part III bare with me we're been together almost 6 years and we've been through a lot but I'm glad we're in such a good place now <3

                                                          High School Sweethearts..

   It was the spring of 2006 and I had just moved to another town with my mom and stepdad (I was only 16 years old). I was an only child and pretty lonely but I made friends fast and frequented the local park to meet new people. There was a park around the corner in the nieghborhood that we moved into and the local teens would go to play basketball and socialize. I remember the day I met my husband Jose he was pretty shy and didn't come across agressive to me like the other guys around, which really attracted me to him. It's funny because I curse the day that this happened his brother actually pursued me and it never went any furthur than a hug but it came back to bite me in the ass down the road. Jose and I became friends, and although he let me know that he thought I was attractive and might be interested in me he respected me and never asked me out or anything. I was so young and still focusing on my studies so we lost touch for about a year even though we lived around the corner from each other and would run into each other on the way to school sometimes.
     Fast forward a year later and I meet a new friend named Tammy (name changed for privacy reasons) who worked with me and also knew Jose and his friends. She would talk about them and then it got me wondering how he was doing, it's funny because I had his house phone number memorized from when his brother had given it to me a year ago and I randomly called to say hi to Jose. He answered and was suprised to hear from me but he gave me his cell number and we started hanging out. We would talk for hours on the phone about everything and everyday I looked forward to seeing him in the morning so we could walk to school together. He asked me out August 21, 2007 and I said YES of course I was so excited and head over heels about him. Remember we were 17 and 18 at this time so it was appropriate for him to ask me to "go steady" with him oh lord I sound like my mother shoot me. We went to prom together and graduated high school. I was just so in love and the first year was AMAZING, we spent so much time together and got to know each other.
        August 21, 2008 was our one year anniversay and Jose popped the question over dinner and I said YES of course lol. I picked up my menu and he placed a black box underneath and I gasped and asked him what it was, I opened it and there was a beautiful engagement ring. I was heading off to college that fall and wondered would we make it work having a long distance relationship. Stay tuned for our love saga story part 2 coming soon! :)

Welcome to the two week wait- 2 DPO

This is totally me haha!! I get so crazy during my two week wait! I commence to blowing all my money on hpts, googling every "symptom", and yes, going on twoweekwait.com to compare my symptoms to others LOL. What would I do without the internet? 

   I'm assuming I ovulated sometime over the past 3 days due to the ewcm, increase in sex drive, and O pains but I'll use today as my official O date to be safe. I'm excited for this cycle because we had the perfect timing for sex (twice a day, day before, day of, and day after O) and I layed on my stomach for 3-5 minutes after to help our chances. I'll update everyday with my symptoms, so far today I don't feel anything besides nauseated which I always feel in the mornings if I don't eat enough.

    I'm a pretty early tester so I'm testing on Valentine's day which would be so special if I could get my BFP that day and share it with DH! I got pregnant this time of year three years ago with Jace, ovulated on Valentine's Day though and got my BFP that cycle. Come on VDAY BFP!!

6 weight loss tips for moms

                            

So after having my baby I found myself flabby, 35+ pounds overweight, and the weight just wasn't coming off with breastfeeding. Here are my top 10 exercises that helped me lose 60 pounds (35 pounds of "baby" weight and 25 vanity pounds) and get back in shape. They are all easy things you can do at home or with baby. Enjoy!

1. Walking
  I walked everywhere with my baby (weather permitting). This allowed both of us to get some fresh air and save gas money. You would be suprised the amount of calories you can burn while briskly walking and pushing you baby in the stroller.

2. Work out videos
    Can't make it to the gym? This one isn't as easy as just walking but if you can invest some money in a few exercise DVD's I recommend Leslie Sansone's walk at home series it's a great tape to get you started and get you used to working out. While baby is sleeping you can do a 45 minute tape which equals 4 miles, you burn a meal in 45 minutes!

3. Diet-
Weight loss is all about calories in vs. calories burned and if your in a defecit you will drop the pounds. If you are breastfeeding you can't cut your calories too far back but eating healthy foods and cutting out processed foods and soda will make all the difference.

4. Crunches!
  Crunches will get your stomach back to prepregnancy shape in no time! I also would do planks to flatten the belly. There are apps you can download with belly routines.

5. Breastfeeding
   If you are able to breastfeed I would highly reccomend it, there are so many benefits for baby and mama and it also helps you to lose that baby weight faster.

6. Chores
   Doing chores around the house like vacuuming, sweeping, scrubbing the bathtub all burn calories. Easy work out for mom and you get some cleaning done all in one.

I walked Jace to daycare today and my legs are so sore now! I love feeling sore because that means I did something right :D

Hello Ovulation!

    Cycle day 13 and I have EWCM, otherwise known as egg white cervical mucous (gross I know) along with an increased sex drive and twinges in my pelvic area so I'm pretty sure today or tomorrow is ovulation day!! We have been going at it like teenagers so our bases are covered and I'm excited our timing has been stellar this month. Jace is feeling much better and doesn't have a fever anymore so we put him back in daycare, and the hubs as been working a lot of overtime so we've been pretty busy.
 I can't believe it's February already where did the time go? I have a bunch of things I want to get done this month to prep for spring cleaning. I will keep our to do list on my blog here so I can stay motivated to actually do them lol.

February To do list:
-paint apartment
-deep clean and organize our bedroom
-get rid of all clothes that no longer fit
-donate some of Jace's baby clothes
-continue doing weekly chore checklist
    *sweep/mop floors
     *vacuuming
     *cleaning Jace's bedroom daily
     *cleaning toilet/tub
      *disinfect/sanitze countertops
      *laundry
      *weekly decluttering
I think that's all for now folks. I'll update at the end of the month on how it goes for us.

      

Seeing stuff like this on pinterest

Seeing these football brothers isn't helping the baby fever over here...just sayin'

That moment when..

you get a phone call that your child is sick and has to be picked up from school/daycare.
   
       It's one of the most annoying inconvenient aspects of working and having a child in daycare. If your child is sick you still have to pay for care, and if they have a fever your child can't come back to daycare for 24 hours! If for some reason your daycare has to close, you still pay them and your SOL for care that day. It's been such a nightmare trying to find back up care for these instances and it makes me want to be a SAHM even more.  
      
   Jace's daycare called me yesterday at work and let me know he had a fever of 102.6 and had to be picked up. I went and got him and took his temp, and yep sure enough he had a high fever. I gave him some Tylenol and took him to the pedi and of course by the time he got there his fever had subsided and the doctor said he looked fine (no ear infection thank god)!! He played like normal yesterday and went to bed at a normal time. This morning we wake up and he has a fever again, so no daycare for him we ended up dropping him with Grandma for the day. I'm assuming it's from the teething like the doctor said but I really hope his fever will stay down or else we're in trouble because we'll have to find back up childcare for tomorrow also. My plan for today is to let him rest and continue giving Tylenol every 4-5 hours until the evening when I may switch to Motrin because it tends to work better for fevers. Poor bubs can't catch a break he is always sick. I'll update tomorrow with how he's doing, nurse mommy should have him feeling much beter by then :) 

Give it a go? I think so!

I think we are going to give this month a try! We are supposed to be waiting to try and conceive but what the heart wants, the heart wants :) We go back and forth with it everyday but we really want a sibling for Jace by the time he turns 2. My estimated due date if we conceived this cycle would be October 28, 2013 which is the day after hubbys birthday. I think last month was the perfect break that we needed from the ttc madness (scheduled sex, opk obsessing, tww). I'm debating on if I want to use OPK's this month or not but I'm super stoked about trying again. I'm swaying for a girl also so we will be DTD a lot before O! 

Work out buddy!

    So I finally decided to accept my friend's offer to work out with her at the gym. She gets a free guest with her membership, so I figured why not? I really want to jump back on the exercise bandwagon and get toned by late spring. We're going to meet up this Sunday, which is perfect because that is the best day to start a new regimine.
   I came home yesterday and to my suprise my husband had cleaned up the house and it looked great! I was so happy to see that he's taking more initiative around the house! I got off work early yesterday and spent the afternoon watching OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) and rested for a little bit. Waking up at 4am and getting 4 hours sleep caught up with me and I was exhausted. Jace took a 3 hour nap yesterday from 5-8pm and I kept peeking in on him wondering if I should wake him or not. If he naps too long that will usually interupt his sleep pattern and he won't go to bed until 2am. Also, if I wake him and he's too tired he will be whiney and miserable, GAH! So, I decided to let him nap, and then I napped, and he actually went to bed at 11pm and slept until 10!! #Winning 

Operation:Declutter

I've been trying to find the time to deep clean and organize my house. We've lived there for a little over a month now and we still haven't unpacked some boxes and sorted through everything. It's hard keeping the house clean and organized with a toddler running around and a husband who is very filthy untidy. I'm going to set some goals for myself for the end of this week and just DO it! No more excuses...I want to have a clean organized home and actually be able to find things in my house lol. I've been finding some great organizational tips on pinterest and might actually try them.

My "to do" items for this week are:
-cleaning my bedroom
 -laundry
-vacuum (this is an everyday MUST with a toddler lol)
-sanitize everything (wipe down counters and toilet with bleach and pine sol)
-clean/organize Jace's room  (again, this is everyday)
-mop kitchen floor
- clean toilet
-reorganize my closet

       I haven't mentioned my diet or exercise because I've been eating everything in sight slacking in that department but as soon as the wench is over (AF) I will be back on plan with that also. Everyday is a day to start fresh and stay on plan. I CAN do this!