13...er, 12 Week Update

We went to the doctor yesterday for a 13 week checkup, and we found out we were actually 12 weeks, like the Doctor previously thought.  Everything else is going swimmingly, including a cyst that showed up at the last appointment, that has now disappeared. Baby's heartbeat is strong and it is looking like an alien in the ultrasound, just like it's supposed to.

I'm feeling okay. I have days where I'm still nauseous, but they are fewer. We just recently got back from vacation and I was really feeling good the whole time. I've been sick since coming home, though.

I've popped out already--wearing full-on maternity gear already (the pants are more comfortable, anyway). My nails are doing awesomely--super long already.

Some things are definitely different, though: my skin is a mess, whereas last time it was perfect ad beautiful. My hair is slow to catch up with the awesomeness, too.

8 Week Update

(Originally written on June 27, 2014)

So, I have had a few weeks to process the news of our pregnancy. How do I feel about it now?

Well, still shocked, actually. I'm not sure if I'll ever "get over" the news. It really was so completely unexpected. It took us 3.5 years to get pregnant with Avonlea--I never imagined we wouldn't have trouble again.  I am a little happier now--still not completely so, but not angry anymore, at least.

We had our 8-week appointment and ultrasound on Monday--steady little 140 bpm. Because of this, and the measurement (around 7mm), the doctor thinks I might be a week off of my calculations--which, wouldn't be surprising, since I had NO idea when I ovulated/had my period last. But, because the kid is still SO small, they aren't entirely sure (it's really easy to be off a millimeter doing an ultrasound). We'll wait another month, do another ultrasound, and get a better measurement.

So far, I've started to have nausea again (oh, yay), which only seems to be cured by constant eating of Mexican food.  I've also had shortness of breath (which I forgot to ask the doctor about...oops).

As it is, here we are at our appointment with....our little Biscuit!

Right now, we're looking at a February 1st due date, but I'll update that if it changes at all.

Time to Wean

So, I am ready to wean Avonlea.

That was the beginning of a blog post I started a few weeks ago, but wasn't really sure how to continue.

All 4 of Avonlea's front top teeth came in during the month of June, and she was REALLY hurting me when she nursed. Combined with the fact that she was still getting up 2 or more times a night, I was done.

I just wasn't sure of the best way to do it.

I posted a question on a Facebook group about how to help with the teeth hurting problem, and got a few suggestions that I tried. But, none of them really helped longer than one feeding. I tried latching and re-latching, but that only seemed to frustrate Avonlea and make her cry.  But, her night feedings were only making ME cry...in pain!

About a week ago, she was down to 4 feedings: 2 during the day (one before her nap, and one before going to bed), and 2 overnight.  She didn't need to nurse to sleep--I had tested that theory out a few times by nursing her an hour or so before her nap, and she went down to sleep okay.  Nursing was still incredibly painful, so I started the blog post to try to ask advice. I just didn't really know where to start to get rid of the final nursing sessions we were doing.

So, I decided, at least for the overnight feedings, to try a technique I had read about: start with 60 seconds on each side, and every night, take 5 seconds away.  And wouldn't you know, she started weaning herself off of the night feedings pretty quickly.  (I think spending an entire day at Disney with only a 30-minute nap helped that, too.) The past few nights, she has only gotten up once at night. Last night, we were down to 20 seconds on each side, and she didn't really eat anything either time.

I ended up posting a quick question on Facebook two nights ago, asking what people did when they weaned their little ones.

Well, wouldn't you know, she started weaning herself right after I asked the question. In the last 2 days, she has only nursed twice. Last night, she refused to nurse before going to bed--a first in her lifetime.  Of course, she screamed and cried for a while, but she wouldn't take nursing for comfort, which was definitely something new.

I did try some whole milk yesterday, which was comedy gold. The face she made was outrageously funny. Needless to say, she wasn't a fan. I'll try it a couple more times, but honestly, if she doesn't take to cow milk, I will be fine with that. (It's one of the few health things that makes sense to me. After all, what is cow milk originally used for? Growing baby COWS. As in, humongous bovine creatures!! If she doesn't drink it, that is fine by me.)

All of the nursing things would not be possible if she hadn't FINALLY learned how to eat food. I didn't feel comfortable trying to wean her before, because she couldn't seem to figure out how to eat any solids. She was so distrusting of me, and wouldn't put anything in her mouth that I was offering, and eating from a spoon was truly hit-and-miss. It ended up being that I had to paint her lips with whatever I was offering so that she would even try to taste it--and if she liked it after that taste, she would eat a TINY bit.  But, about a month ago, right around the time all her top teeth broke through the surface, she finally seemed to "get it".  It started with thin slices of deli turkey and mashed avocado, continued with nearly an entire bowl of pasta and tomato sauce, and hasn't stopped since. She will now at least try everything I offer her, and will eat nearly everything. This has made my confidence in weaning her that much stronger, because I know she can at least get enough calories to support herself without my breastmilk.

What I think is a little funny is that I'm not really emotional about not breastfeeding Avonlea anymore. It has been such a DRAMATIC UNDERTAKING for the two of us, I'm mostly just glad it is almost over. And the fact that she's weaning herself means that I don't need to feel guilty that I'm withholding the important life juice from her (thanks, kellymom, for that one). She's ready to move on, and God knows I have been ready for her to move on for months now.

I'm worried that I'm speaking a little too soon, but I'm just going to continue to not offer breastmilk, and hopefully it will continue to go well at night.

Pregnancy Dreams

(First written on July 1, 2014)

The weird dreams have started.

Last night, I was slated as Kristen Bell's understudy in a new musical about Julie Andrews' life. However, there was some controversy, because at one point in Julie's life, she was a Nazi officer who becomes Peter Pan. There were thoughts among the showrunners that the musical would offend people, and thus not become a hit, so it was decided to only have one performance. I showed up for that performance, and they decided they wanted me to perform instead of Kristen, even though I had never done any stage rehearsals, and I didn't really know the lines or songs at all (weird understudy).  Julie was in the audience, giving her critiques, as well as Barbra Streisand. She was unhappy to see me in the starring role, but decided to give me a chance. If, at any point, I was not good, she would send security out to arrest me.

The whole performance, I basically did by shadowing Kristen on stage. No one seemed to see her performance, though, they only saw mine. I was also performing opposite the other male lead, Michael Fassbender. He was displeased with me taking over Kristen's role at the beginning, but he slowly warmed up to me.

By the end of the musical, Michael and I had fallen in love, and my performance in the musical was overtaking Kristen's direction for me. This was highlighted when, without any wires, I was able to do the flying Peter Pan sequences with Michael by holding on to the curtains and flying through the air (this was the coolest part of my dream).  Barbra also presented me an award in the middle of the show.

We were about to perform the big climactic musical number (the one involving Julie discovering she was a Nazi, and shedding her uniform in a blaze of song glory), and Kristen had somehow convinced Julie that I was unfit for the role (when, in fact, she was jealous that I was getting Michael's approval and doing a good job), and she had lowered the hammer on me. Security was closing in while the musical was still going on, and Michael and I were running around, trying to avoid security, while also getting on stage to do the final number. I was looking for a pair of shoes to go out on stage, when I was confronted backstage by Kristen. She was wearing the costume I was looking for, looking smug, with security around her. I dashed around her to get to the stage...

...and I woke up.