15 Week Bump Board

15 weeks today... Good Lord. Only 25 weeks to go!! I'm definitely getting more and more excited as the days pass. I have a bump for sure now but it's not that big... which was the same with Caleb.. I didn't really show with Caleb until right after Ray and I got married!! No really... right after. As in the next day I woke up and had a baby bump. LOL :) Still unsure as to what I'm having...but I am leaning towards girl, but it's honestly hard for me to tell. Only 5 more weeks until I'm at the halfway mark! YAY!

This week. Baby Liczbinski is the size of a navel orange

measuring 4.0 inches and weighing in at 2.5 ounces! The hair on baby's head is growing in and the hair follicles will make pigment if your baby has dark hair -- I have dark hair and so does Ray, Caleb was born with dark hair but he's now blonde much like I was when I was his age ;) Baby is even forming eyelashes and eyebrows!! Around Baby's body there's still that lanugo (peace fuzz like hair) to protect against constantly being exposed to the amniotic fluid. The little nuggets skin is thin and nearly translucent and if you were able to look inside my womb I'd be able to see small blood vessels forming underneath the skin. Baby L might even be sucking his/her thumb around this time & can even get the hiccups. Baby can also yawn, rub its eyes and even BLINK! Baby now also has the ability to grasp the umbilical cord. Baby can also hear sounds now :) Baby's legs also outmeasure its arms now!! Baby is growing rapidly :) 

Pregnancy Symptoms at 15 Weeks:

- nosebleeds, thanks to increased blood volume and sensitive nasal passages

- heartburn, gas and/or indigestion. More to blame on the hormones

- Frisky! Take advantage of the increased libido.

- Swollen gums, another pitfall of those pregnancy hormones. Make sure you're taking care of your teeth, and see your dentist for your regular checkups.

** As a woman's pregnant body continues to make more blood this month, it's especially important that you get enough iron in your diet to keep up with red blood production and to avoid becoming anemic. This increased blood production may still be causing your mucous membranes to swell giving you a stuffy nose or more frequent nosebleeds. ** 

What Mommy is Feeling:

I haven't suffered from heartburn as badly as I did with Caleb - not yet anyway - then again I don't remember when it started with him, I just remember it was ABSOLUTELY AWFUL. I have it on occasion but nothing like before, so we shall see. When I was pregnant with Caleb, I had Tums constantly and was always making jokes about drinking Maalox on the rocks, because it was the only thing that would help me. I haven't had any crazy nosebleeds, but I have been more congested and stuffy and when I blow my nose there is blood... which honestly never happens to me! I don't think I have ever had a real nosebleed before EXCEPT when I'm pregnant. As far as being "frisky" goes - I have been more inclined to want to do the deed - as compared to the first trimester when I just wanted to sleep. I have an burst of energy which has been amazing because I was literally so exhausted in the beginning... I have been able to start T25 up this week which has been wonderful! Working out makes me feel SO MUCH better and I overall have more energy throughout the day. Like I've previously said I am determined to have a fit pregnancy and remain as healthy as possible. I won't use being pregnant as an excuse to eat like garbage and let myself go. A baby is a reason, not an excuse!   I am being careful in my weight gain to make sure it remains in proper range. 

We also bought our FIRST baby item ... one that baby and Caleb can both share and get use out of... a sit and stand stroller. A friend of mine was getting rid of hers and had asked me if it's something that I wanted so I gladly obliged. 

(except ours is red and black)

I already know what carseat we are going to get, but it depends on gender on which color we will go with. My neighbor from my dads house also got in contact with me and will be selling us her gently used 3 in 1 crib (its white, gorgeous, & the crib we WANT!!) as well as her glider/ottoman combo! It makes me feel really happy to know that people think of me in things like this. And it really helps that I'm getting them at a discounted price! :) Saving money is always a good thing.

^ that is THE crib or one that is similar and I just love it. It looks so elegant and I absolutely adore the white crib look.

Another MUST HAVE for Baby L. 

I've been entering the daily contest at 4Moms Facebook page because they are doing 31 days of giveaways and I desperately want one. These Mamaroo's are apparently a God send for busy mama's and I definitely want to get one!! If I don't win one, then it'll definitely be in my purchase list.

Another Mommy MUST HAVE!! -->

A Tula Baby Carrier! My good friend and former Army Battle Buddy Amanda got me hooked on the idea of these. She can literally breastfeed in her Tula and I mean look at the adorable print. They can be pricey but are definitely WORTH THE MONEY YOU PAY FOR THEM! This is definitely something on my must have list. And they have some of the most ADORABLE prints ever! The Lil' Rascal print that is above is unavailable right now but its definitely adorable and obtainable through the many Tula Facebook Pages out there. One of my current favorites is the Tula Love page! There are tons of other Facebook pages out there to. I am still getting the hang of it! :) But it's a must have on my mommy list of must-haves! <3 

Another thing I'll probably need (and I'm praying I have sufficient breast milk production) is this:

You can find it at My Milkies! One of the problems I had with breastfeeding Caleb was I produced SO MUCH MILK. And it was coming in so much I couldn't pump it fast enough. And it's ultimately why I stopped breastfeeding.... because I was constantly engorged and couldn't go anywhere because I was leaking milk in insane amounts. I breastfed for a good 3 months but this idea the milk saver is excellent. It goes in the non-feeding bra and the excess milk gets saved. Because I am so adamant about successfully breastfeeding this pregnancy. I'm praying that I have good milk production again. Any tips on finding out how to figure this out and NOT right when the baby is born? So many decisions and so many little gadgets!! 

I'm also planning on getting one of these:

They are adorable, and I think it would be something great to have right next to the bed. I found one of these on Target.Com (and Pinterest) for something that goes onto the bed as a portable bassinet. I am a big fan of co-sleeping and I think it's super important. As much as I want Baby L to lay right in my arms I have read FAR too many horror stories of what has gone wrong and I know I couldn't live with myself if that ever happened. 

It's pretty inexpensive it's $53.99 at Target and it has surround sound (I don't even have surround sound in my living room, lol) It's called the Baby Delight Snuggle Nest Napper with Surround Sound  and it plays soothing sounds through the speakers to help them sleep - whether it be nap time or bedtime at night :) It's a nice idea, and it might be extremely beneficial for trips away. I know the nursery won't be used right away either...

....and speaking of nurseries... I found what we want to do! 

... well more like what I want to do and Ray will go along with it.

I am seriously in love with and obsessed with gray for a nursery color. There's something about it that is so classy and warm, and I think it's perfect. The crib in the picture is the actual crib (I think) that we are getting from my neighbor :)))) The darker gray stripes on the walls actually have a sparkle to them which if we have a boy I would just do a darker gray with no sparkles... still cute either way. And those rugs!?! OMG! A trip to Ikea is in my near future for sure. If it's a girl - pink accents and if it's a boy I would do teal accents. But that's basically the idea that I'm going with. Going to look for a newer light fixture for the bedroom. Whenever my dad comes up to do the wall in the bedroom I am going to have to have him run some outlets for us too because on that side of the room there is literally none. And I've also been wrestling with the idea of adding a nice fancy curtain across that area so we save money on costs of doing the actual wall and that way everything is still RIGHT there. And we don't need to run wires and separate electricity for that side. I am really hoping its a girl!! Just by looking at the room with the pink and everything its absolutely adorable. I am always going to Pinterest for inspiration and Project Nursery for ideas on what to do. I get daily emails from them in my inbox and they always have great design ideas!! 

I am really just getting impatient now in know if we are shopping pink or blue! I see so many things when we go out and I just to start buying little outfits and all of that!! I also want to buy my first few cloth diapers and I want to get started but don't want to just blindly buy them I want to get my first couple to be gender oriented! :) I've also heard great things about Honest diapers and I've been thinking of trying those out. I heard about them before but I follow this other awesome blogging mama (and you should too) named Crystal Lynn Bogenschutz and she posted some great information about the Honest diapers and their shipping and how they really helped her son with bad diaper rash. And that's obviously something super important for our babies not to deal with. 

This week I did something a little different with my chalkboard...

Doing the writing by hand was extremely tedious and time consuming. My board last week took a good 4 hours and it hurts my back to have to sit like that for extended periods of time PLUS the board doesn't photograph well with regular chalk, so now what I'm doing is going to Pic Monkey and editing my board that way. They have tons of text, boarder and editing options to make the chalkboard vibrant and adorable. It was much easier and took about a half hour as opposed to 3+ hours! You can change the colors and add symbols and little designs. So much easier!! :) It only costs about $4.99 a month for the "royale" features of the site which gives you little extras :) 

Only 13 More Days to go until we find out if Baby L is a boy or girl and we couldn't be more excited. Caleb keeps saying his little sister and that's honestly what I'm thinking I'm having too!! But we shall see. I hope everyone has a great rest of the day and week! <3 Thanks for reading.

XOXO, Jenna

Bump Board: 14 Weeks Pregnant!

So much to update on this week & I've even got some ultrasound pictures to share from my NT scan - which I will also update on throughout my blog. But I'm 14 weeks pregnant this week & baby is doing wonderfully. My due date has changed yet again to July 23, 2015 - it was originally the 26th, and then switched to the 25th, and now it is to the 23rd. The earlier date the better, because it's one day closer that I get to hold my little nugget in my arms. 

First things first, my nuchal translucency scan went wonderfully. I also got my first round of sequential screen blood work which came back normal & there was no cause for alarm. I'll go back for my 2nd round of blood work between February 6th to February 26th because it has to be done within a certain margin of time. The baby is getting so much bigger than the last time I saw him/her on ultrasound right before Christmas. 

It actually looks like a BABY! We could see the fingers, toes, hands and feet. And even the eyes. Baby wiggled around a lot BUT stayed upside down the entire time and refused to budge so we couldn't even get a peak at the potential gender... it's okay though. I'm just happy that baby is doing so well and is healthy!! Baby's heart rate was 163 BPM. It was amazing to be able to see how much has changed since my last visit. You can even see baby's brain and spine. The tech said that the NT scan looks completely normal. I did a lot of "googling" online and psyched myself out for what I was in for. I read a lot about patients going in and being told that they weren't good results and then they later went on to have a healthy baby, but it is still nerve-wracking to think I would need to worry my entire pregnancy more than I already had. Another great moment was that Ray and Caleb were able to see the baby for the first time as well!! And the office we went to they have a big tv on the wall where we can see the images from the ultrasound, which I've never experienced before, so it was really nice to be able to see the baby on a big screen rather than looking over at a small one.

Although we weren't told anything about gender -- any predictions?? A friend of mine said she thinks boy, but I'm still up in the air, I keep thinking girl. because it's completely different this time around than when I was pregnant with Caleb. By this time with Caleb I had already been suffering from substantial amounts of heartburn, but I'm not 100% sure of when it started exactly. 

I also had an appointment with my regular OB on Tuesday and baby's heart rate was 153 BPM. Which confuses me in terms of gender, because they always say above 160 is a girl and below is a boy. I guess I just need to be patient until my 3D ultrasound on the 11th, which is coming up quick. We also heard the baby's heartbeat for the very first time this week. And I would be lying if I said I didn't cry and get extremely emotional. I feel like I have finally made it. And I am nowhere near as worried as I was before this appointment. 

Bump shot from before my NT SCAN.

What's New This Week?

Baby L is the size of a Lemon and growing rapidly! :) Doesn't seem like much of a difference since the size of a peach last week but there is! 

This week, baby is probably sucking his thumb and wiggling his/her toes in there. Baby's kidneys are making urine, and his liver and spleen are doing their jobs, too. Baby is also growing something called lanugo, which is a thin, peach-fuzz-like hair all over their little body. It will help keep my little nugget warm in my belly. Baby is continuously moving and twisting and turning all their itty bitty joints in they body and continuously moving around inside my belly - but I don't feel anything just yet, but it's definitely something I'm more than ready to experience :) 

The lungs are continuing to develop and the little babe is practicing breathing with the amniotic fluid on a regular basis. Other exciting news? My little nugget can now frown, grimace, and squint and their little reflexes are becoming stronger and more frequent.

Whats New with Mommy this Week:

My energy was returning, and now I'm back to being kinda sleepy...nothing too bad or anything remotely like the 1st trimester, but I'm sure in time it'll change and my energy will slowly come back. Honestly I don't mind being that tired because then I can fall asleep no problem which was always an issue before I got pregnant. Another new symptom that I'm experiencing and hating... feeling dizzy and experiencing lightheadedness. Which is definitely not on my list of favorite things to deal with. It's usually the worst when I first wake up in the morning, so I've been keeping bottles of water and little snacks next to me for as soon as I wake up. Round ligament pain has also began as my uterus stretches to accommodate my growing belly and baby. I told my OB about my dizzy spells and he told me to just keep my fluid intake up and he said that its completely normal for this stage in the game because when you're pregnant you have 40% to 50% more blood in your body. My hormones are settling down a bit but I still cry pretty easily. Due to my dizzy spells I haven't been able to workout at all this week so I'm hoping after a relaxing weekend and a lot of fluid intake I'm hoping to be back at it on Monday morning. Most of my nausea has dissipated immensely - thank God. But I've been really lucky because I've never once suffered from morning sickness. I'm still always hungry too... which worries me about my weight gain which is another reason why I don't want to NOT work out. And I'm not depriving myself or anything like that for the sake of my own nerves. I am making sure to keep my nutritional intake up, and I'm really hoping to get back into the fitness swing of things on Monday. But I'm still hungry a lot. Especially before bed... 

Speaking of food... Cravings currently are gumballs (how weird, right?) and I will easily eat a bag of them in a sitting. Baby Carrots are my go-to late night snack, and I love kiwi's and peaches. Brown rice with sriacha sauce is also something I absolutely love. And I still eating bell peppers. Granny Smith Apples. Another odd meal I'm really loving? Taco bowls!! I add ground turkey, tomatoes, bell peppers, guacamole, sour cream, crushed up tortilla chips, lettuce and mild taco-sauce. It's one of my absolute favorite things at the moment. And it's delicious so I don't mind... 

...Nothing too out of the ordinary and most is healthy. :) As long as baby is happy, I'm happy.

All in all things are going really well. I feel good, and I've gained about 7 pounds so far. Baby is healthy and growing according to plan. I feel really blessed and grateful to be 14 weeks pregnant. I truly believe that my mom is looking over me and my little rainbow baby from heaven ensuring that we are going to continue to be okay...they say when you randomly find feathers that it's an angel... and I've found so many feathers especially since I got pregnant that I can't help but think it's my mom shining down and just letting me know she's got this, that it's all okay. 

Looking forward to our 3D ultrasound on the 11th and hoping that we can find out the gender, but if not I can be patient and wait until our 20 week scan... doesn't mean I want to though, LOL. Mainly because we are anxious to get some things for the baby and we are really looking forward to planning our nursery and everything that goes along with it. My good friend Emily is also helping me in planning my Baby Sprinkle-Shower :) and we can really start getting it together once we know gender... the sprinkle-shower will probably be sometime in May. Ahh, Spring! Can't wait for warmer weather, I've already decided I'm going to live in Maxi Dresses. Once we know gender we can start narrowing down our names as well.. but don't get excited!! We aren't announcing any baby name choices until Birth Day! 

Thanks for reading! <3 

XoXo, Jenna

Hello, Second Trimester! 13 Week Bump Board!

I MADE IT! FINALLY. 

The 2nd Trimester! 

This is such an emotional moment for me... to know that I've completed one whole trimester of pregnancy with my Rainbow Baby. Words can't describe how happy, blessed and incredible that I feel in this moment. 

and Baby L is the size of a PEACH, how sweet! 

Baby is forming:

- vocal cords AND teeth!

- & even though he/she is still teeny tiny, baby already has fingerprints! 

- Intestines are moving from the umbilical cord to their more permanent place, in their tummy :) 

- Baby's head is now about 1/3 the size of his/her body

(it used to be much bigger)! 

I've completed 1/3 of my whole pregnancy!!

SUCH A MILESTONE FOR ME after such a devastating loss in September 2013. 

I am actually elated to say the least... to know that I made this far and have a healthy baby with a strong heartbeat growing inside me.. Symptom wise I am regaining some energy and I've been able to workout a few days this past week which has reduced my bloating immensely! As you can compare from first bump photos until now. Plus I've been sticking to mainly water. I feel a little sleepy now and again but I've been able to stay away past 9:30 at night for once, haha. Some random bought of dizziness and nausea but I hear thats normal for this time in my pregnancy. 

The veins in my boobs are bright blue and like a road map...and speaking of boobs... mine are more like melons rather than the peace size of my little rainbow baby <3 I had to buy some new bras already which is only the beginning. My boobs got even bigger at the end of Caleb's pregnancy so lets see how this goes. I have been craving salt and vinegar chips, pineapples, kiwi's and asparagus. 

I go for my nuchal translucency screening on Monday and I'm excited to see my baby on the ultrasound :) and then I can share it with y'all. I am going to ask about gender but I'm not getting my hopes up for it. Because I do get my 3D ultrasound on the 11th of February. 

Nursery ideas are all about chevron patterns! Super excited to finally get started on that. 

It's super short this week but I'm so happy to have gotten to this point and I'm happy to be sharing it with all of you. 

Have a great weekend! 

Xoxo, Jenna 

My Birth Plan

Something I have been thinking about lately is my birth plan for Baby L come July. This isn't my first rodeo so I know what to expect in terms of how pregnancy goes and labor and all of that. But I really wanted to look further into all of my options and what I have plans to do.

This was the very first thing I thought about. Should I have a completely natural labor with no pain medication or should I have an epidural like I've had before. I have never experienced the joys (and pain) of having a completely natural labor and delivery experience. 

My experience with the epidural was this: amazing, lol. It completely took all the pain away that I was feeling except for the pressures associated with the baby descending into the pelvic area for birth. I was always afraid of needles -- and when I saw the needle used for the epidural it was no different. I was scared. It's a big needle to say the least and knowing it goes in between the vertebrae in my spine is kind of terrifying. I always have had luck with wonderful anesthesiologists, except once. I was 17 years old and delivering my first son (he lives with his father & for personal reasons I won't divulge that information) but I was 17 years old and a senior in high school. The doctors at Kennedy Hospital treated me like complete crap because of how young I was and the anesthesiologist didn't say much to me. Did what he had to do and left. And so I was numb but nobody told me about that glorious 15 minute drip option that comes along with the epidural. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll tell you. The epidural comes with a button that you're allowed to press every 15 minutes to release more pain medication. Had I known this I may have had a bit of a better birthing experience. Anyway, my epidural with Caleb was exceptional. I went in had my water broken and all that stuff and then got the epidural. I felt those beginning contractions and I wanted to die -- it's painful, no doubt. I had a great experience with that & I pressed that button every 15 minutes on the dot to make sure I felt nothing. What I didn't like was having to wait to get moved to the recovery room because after the epidural you need to have feeling back in your legs and use the bathroom (because you have a catheter in the entire time). 

Here are 10 reasons why you shouldn't get a epidural: 

(1) Epidurals restrict movement.

Because epidurals require IV fluids, bladder catheter, and full time electronic fetal monitoring, mothers are unable to be in control of the natural progression of labor. Deena Blumenfeld, a Registered Prenatal Yoga Instructor and Lamaze Certified Childbirth Educator in Pittsburgh, explains, “The epidural restricts mom to bed, and it restricts her movement. When mom’s movement is restricted it can cause a number of complications, including: fetal distress, low fetal heart rate, and inability for baby to rotate to the anterior position (optimal and normal for birth).” Ultimately, she says that the “use of the epidural can be a direct cause of c-section.”

(2) Epidurals increase the risk of fever. 

It is not uncommon for epidurals to increase the mother’s body temperature. A recent study pinpointed that over 19% of women who received an epidural experienced a fever of 100.4 or higher. Fevers, in turn, can increase both the mother’s and baby’s heart rate. Since fetal heart rate can be a sign of distress, doctors often react with the suggestion of a C-section. Even if a C-section is not the outcome, the heightened heart rate often leads to further investigations of the baby after birth (which can include blood and spinal fluid samples). This can lead to days of separation, observation, and possibly antibiotics – which inhibits mother-baby bonding and the establishment of a strong breastfeeding relationship. Kelly Whitehead, author of High-Risk Pregnancy: Why Me?, had this very experience. After a spiking fever, she had to leave her baby behind at the hospital for a few days after her discharge as a preventative measure. She commented, “It was extremely hard emotionally to leave my daughter behind. Breastfeeding her kicked off with a rough start since I was separated from her moments after birth. Though the hospital lent me a pump, I found that difficult, especially being a first time mom.”

(3) Epidurals may cause the mother’s blood pressure to drop. 

A sudden drop in blood pressure is one of the most common side effects – which is why blood pressure is taken every 5 minutes when the epidural is initialized and every 30 minutes thereafter. A drop in the mother’s blood pressure affects how much of her blood is pumped to the placenta and can lead to less oxygen being available to the baby.

(4) Epidurals have been known to cause headaches.

Many women with epidurals report having persistent and/or chronic headaches post-delivery. Blumenfield says that this happens when the epidural needle is inserted too far, “...it can release spinal fluid up to the brain, causing a spinal headache. These are severe and often debilitating, lasting for hours or days.”

(5) Epidurals can slow labor. 

Epidurals often slow the second stage (or pushing stage) of labor by interfering with the natural hormone of labor (called oxytocin), as well as reducing moms’ ability to push effectively. Since the mother is numb, she is unable to get in the most helpful positions to help guide the baby’s descent.

(6) Epidurals increase a woman’s risk of having a delivery with the aid of instruments.

The gold standard of medical reviews, a Cochrane Review, came out with this research in 2011. Epidural babies were more likely to be delivered with the “help” of  forceps, a vacuum, or other tools that increase pain and discomfort for both mom and baby (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2011, Issue 12. Art. No.: CD000331. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000331.pub3). The use of instruments also increases the likelihood of a woman having a more serious tear and/or receiving an episiotomy.

(7) Epidurals increase the risk of Cesaearan Section.

Nick Angelis, a nurse anesthetist and the author of How to Succeed in Anesthesia School, states this matter-of-factly, “statistically, the chance of getting a c-section increases with each medical intervention [including epidural].” He also points out that mothers seeking a natural childbirth experience would be wise to avoid labor augmentation drugs such as Pitocin since it is known to make contractions less manageable for the new mother.

(8) Epidurals = a slower recovery.

Elizabeth Chabner Thompson, MD, is a New York mom of four. A graduate of John Hopkins Medical School, she initially did an OB/GYN internship, but ended up changing specialties to focus on oncology. Two of her babies were delivered with an epidural, two without. She far preferred her non-medicated births, “A woman delivering without anesthesia recovers much faster than with anesthesia. I tore much less — I could feel everything so I was able to pay attention to my pushing.” She even went on to say that she, “was up and running behind the stroller within a week after delivering without anesthesia…it was much easier to care for my other children.” Though perhaps not all new mothers will be jogging at one week postpartum, there is certainly something to be said for being able to get up and around quickly.

(9) Epidurals sometimes interfere with the early stages of breastfeeding.

Studies have shown a link between epidurals and breastfeeding rates among new mothers. Whitehead explains that this is “due to neurobehavioral effects in the baby in regards to initial rooting and suckling behaviors.” Note that epidurals also interfere with the natural production of oxytocin (as stated above)…the hormone which causes the let-down effect in breastfeeding and promotes healthy bonding between mamas and their babies.

(10) Epidurals may cause other unpleasant and dangerous effects for babies and mothers.

Women have reported nausea, itching, backache, and incontinence. Little is known how the epidural effects the baby, but we do know that the drug does enter the baby’s bloodstream. It seems contradictory that many women take great precautions to avoid deli meat, coffee, wine, and tylenol throughout their pregnancies…and then proceed to take in a heavy anesthetic agent right before meeting their babies for the first time.

Obviously epidurals aren't for everyone just like natural childbirth is completely out of the picture for others. It's all about your own personal choice and what you want personally for you and your baby.

This time around I want to go natural. Completely 100% natural. I also want to go into labor on my own (if possible). Any time I've delivered I have had to be induced, and it's really just my body & baby. I want to experience my water breaking and having that whole feeling of "we need to get to the hospital". Of course the beauty of induction is the fact that you KNOW when it is happening. It gives you more time to plan what else needs to be done in terms of babysitters, housework, things like that. It makes it kind of easier, but I would love to have the experience of going into labor naturally and on my own. Although I doubt that will happen. My mom went natural with all 5 of us. My 3 other sisters and my brother - 100% natural. She was so strong my mom. 

And I really feel like I'm going to have a more emotional and connected experience with my baby if I go naturally. If I have to get induced then so be it, but besides that I do want to go completely natural. No pain meds, nothing. 

Just balls to the wall (figuratively of course) full blown labor. With nothing to ease the pain.

Hundreds of years ago when there wasn't an epidural that's how women did it. Call me crazy but I just want to experience it. I think it would be incredible. 

Something else I've been looking into is a doula. 

What is a Doula? 

Doula is Greek for "woman who serves". It's been proven that these incredible women can actually make birth easier and better for mom, dad and baby :) & who doesn't want that? They meet you with before you have the baby, are with you during birth and also visit with you at home afterwards. It's truly an amazing thing and must be incredible for them to help someone else.

Another reason I want a doula is to help Ray... Why? because I am going naturally this time. And chances are he's going to hate seeing me in that type of pain, so I want to make sure that dad isn't left out of the equation as well. People seem to forget that dad's are in on birth too. They might not be physically doing it, but they are definitely there along for the ride.

I also really want this whole labor and delivery documented. I would love to have pictures of me in labor... pictures of Ray and I together... pictures of the baby being born (nothing to Alien vs. Predator) but I would love to have those for memories and all of that. and those first moments with the baby. I have found a few different doula's that I plan on meeting with to see if they are good fits for me. My good friend Amanda told me about them and she really had me wanting to learn more. 

Something else? Delayed cord cutting or DCC. 

What this means is you wait to cut the umbilical cord. It's proven to give more blood to the baby and the baby has a lower risk of anemia. 

It's something I'm passionate about and excited about experiencing. At my next appointment on Tuesday I am going to explain my wants and needs to my doctor. 

Have a great day! :) 

XOXO, Jenna 

Pregnancy Workout

I'll be honest... I've really been slacking in the working out department. I haven't been eating like crap but I'm not working out lately either. I'm seriously committed to having a fit pregnancy because I know it's good for me and for my rainbow baby, plus it'll aid in a easier delivery and rebound back quicker. But I have been EXHAUSTED beyond belief. I seriously have no energy during the day or at night and that's saying a lot coming from someone who was a chronic insomniac and could barely sleep before - no really - I had to take sleep drugs and everything. It was pretty bad. 

I am really hoping to start T25 back up when my energy returns in the 2nd trimester — only 1 week away — and then I'll be able to start it back up and do some modified things. Until then though I think I want to try this workout that j found when I was doing one of my favorite things, browsing Pinterest. Lol. 

Obviously I don't have a treadmill so I can't do the walk on the incline but I can jog in place. I would love to get a treadmill but I don't even have the room for it. So this will have to work. I have Dumbbells and a yoga mat. And I'll have to substitute the seated rows for kneeling ones. 

Xoxo, Jenna 

12 Weeks Bump Board!

Hit the 12 week mark! One more week separates me from leaving the 1st trimester in the dust :) Although I can't complain too much because my first trimester was much easier than some other preggo mama's to be have gone through. 

This week Baby L is the size of a Plum... YUM! 

- Most of his/her critical systems are fully formed!

- He/She is about to enter the growth and maturation stage, in which her organs & tissues will grow and develop rapidly.

- Baby is now developing reflexes - if you poke his/her body, she'll likely move :) 

- Baby is opening and closing their fingers and curling their little toes, too! 

- Their brain is developing fast!! 

The average fetus at 12 weeks is about 2.1 inches long and .49 ounces. Now that Baby L's got pretty much all his/her parts, baby's main job is to KEEP ON GROWING! :) 

Big News!! I'm reaching the home stretch of the 1st trimester!!  Which hopefully means that my hormones will tone it down a bit -- so I stop crying at just about EVERYTHING that pulls at my heart strings in even the smallest of ways. Morning sickness & nausea will hopefully subside (although some mama's deal with this throughout their entire pregnancy!) and some energy will return in the 2nd trimester - at least I hope so! But this can be replaced with headaches and dizziness - ugh! Baby L is almost done developing their body's most important systems and parts, which means its mostly about getting bigger and more mature from here on out :) 

Appointments coming up: 

Nuchal Translucency screening on January 19th. We get to see our baby on ultrasound :) and I get quite the arsenal of blood work at this appointment as well.

The nuchal translucency screening test (also called the NT scan) can help your healthcare practitioner assess your developing baby's risk of having Down Syndrome and some other chromosomal abnormalities, as well as major congenital heart problems.

The NT scan must be done when you're between 11 and 14 weeks pregnant, because this is when the base of your baby's neck is still transparent. 

It's a bit nerve-wracking given everything we have been through to even get pregnant but I trust God and I know He's got this. 

We also scheduled our first 3D/4D ultrasound to hopefully find out if we will be shopping for a

That isn't until February 11th though and I will be almost 17 weeks along. We never had the opportunity to do this with Caleb so I am really looking forward to this! And we are hoping that Baby L cooperates with us and shows us the goods and we get some fantastic pictures of him or her that we can treasure forever! The place we are going also gives us a DVD of the entire experience which will be fun to show to our families and friends. This will also help us in choosing how to decorate and design Baby L's nursery! =) I'm currently into stripes: 

And if it were a boy I love the idea of teal and gray. We shall see! 

Symptoms This Week: 

I am honestly feeling pretty good...aside from being really tired a lot. And I seem to be feeling pretty nauseous from day to day again. Ginger Ale is definitely my BFF at this point. I have always been lucky enough to never have morning sickness though. Always more of an all day nausea and feeling like I'm going to toss my cookies type of girl - which is even worse in my opinion. Nothing is worse than feeling like you're going to barf for 5 hours straight -_-  My belly hasn't changed much either from last week and I might carry small - just like I did with Caleb until around 25 weeks when I popped. My boobs have also gotten HUGE. My bras are getting tight so I'll need to replace them soon with someone bigger. I stick to sports bras mainly anyway because they're comfortable and underwire sucks. My sense of smell is insanely sensitive. I can smell pretty much everything and anything and it's extremely potent which can cause some nausea for me. I sweat like crazy too.. .and I feel like I'm on fire when I sleep. Also... always feeling starving so I have started keeping snacks to my bed to help when I wake up feeling hungry. This is also disgusting but I don't even care... I have been farting and burping like crazy. And my farts? are enough to probably take down a T-Rex. It's pretty disgusting, haha. My husband says "pregnancy farts suck" and he's right. They are absolutely terrible. Constipation is up there too.. I have been having some serious issues going but they subside. I haven't had to take anything as of lately to help me go. I'm still dealing with the itchy thing on occasion but it's nowhere near as bad as it was before. My hormones have me getting upset or irritated a lot quicker than I was before as well. 

Other common 12 week symptoms: 

- That dark line on your belly starts to appear

Still hasn't made an appearance & from what I remember I never had much of one with my other kids either. So who knows? 

- More vaginal discharge to protect your, um, lady parts from infection.

The good the bad and the ugly - remember? I'm suffering from this. It's gross but whatever keeps away the risk of infection works for me. 

- A noticeably bigger belly!! 

Like I said my belly hasn't changed much from last week... and some days it looks bigger than others. I think it's a lot of bloat to be honest. 

- Headaches and dizziness may start to intensify around this time which could be caused by hormones, vision changes, drops in blood sugar, dehydration, or possible stress. 

I haven't had any of this yet ... although my eyes are getting worse. I can barely see without my glasses on, which is something that has gotten considerably worse since I had Caleb. I developed astigmatism when I was pregnant with Caleb and I need to rely on glasses. I wish I could wear contacts but they freak me out.

I am hoping for a return of energy in the 2nd trimester because I have been dragging my behind this entire 1st one. I haven't been able to find an ounce of energy to workout or do much of anything. So I'm hoping that some energy will return and I can get back into a regular workout routine -- I am going to do T25 again from the beginning and do the modified stuff - especially for everything that requires jumping around and bouncing. 

Food Cravings: fried pickles - even though when I had them the other night I felt super sick afterwards. Red peppers, baby carrots, &  French dressing. And still craving Subway. SmartFoods White Cheddar Popcorn is also the bees knees. I wouldn't mind some King Crab legs either smothered in butter. Haha.

Food No-No's: There hasn't been much really.. I guess the fried pickles could fit in here too.

For the most part I try to eat healthy and stay away from junk. But when you're pregnant you do have cravings that are pretty gross, lol. 

Anything I'm worried about: The fact that I don't have many symptoms. But I guess some women are just lucky. I definitely feel pregnant. But naturally I worry.

Boy or Girl: my symptoms, cravings, etc. lead me to believe I'm having a girl but I could definitely be wrong. Because I thought I was having a girl with Caleb and boy was I wrong! LOL. 

Looking forward to the ultrasound on the 19th but a little nervous about the testing. All in all I know everything is okay, but my nerves get the best of me a lot of times. All in all I feel good though and I'm really blessed God is letting me experience pregnancy again. 

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

XOXO, Jenna 

11 weeks & Bump Board!

My Very First Bump Board! :) 

I'm looking forward to doing more of these in the coming weeks. Although I'm sure it'll become more difficult as my belly gets bigger to not smudge some of my artwork ;) I got my chalkboard at AC Moore and it was $19.99 and I got 2 packs of chalk for .99 cents each. I found a lot of my ideas on Pinterest. If you're interested in where I got my sweater from? It's actually a SnookiLove sweater and you can find that www.snookishop.com :) 

Pregnancy This Week: 

Baby L is the size of a LIME already

and can OFFICIALLY be called a FETUS! 

A big jump from a prune just last week! Baby L is moving around in there but I can't feel him/her just yet. Although I'm looking forward to when I finally do get to feel those kicks and movements. Baby's skin is also see through at the moment but he/she is on their way to looking more and more like a little baby in there! Another big milestone this week for Baby L? Fingers and toes aren't webbed anymore. Tooth buds, hair follicles and nail beds are also forming. Only 203 days left to go until my little belly bean is here! =) 

11 Week Pregnancy Symptoms:

What this Mama is Feeling at 11 weeks:

I'm feeling pretty good for the most part and I feel like a lot of my symptoms have already decreased. I'm still pretty tired for the most part but I do find myself able to stay up later - not that I want stay up late. Most nights I feel like I'm asleep before my head even hits the pillow. 

But what stinks is that my lack of energy? Makes me have no real energy to workout :( Since the hubby got me Just Dance 2015  for Christmas this year I've been doing some of those with the kids & that has helped me work up a sweat & dancing is a great workout. So I'm not being completely lazy ;) I'm hoping that once the 2nd trimester hits I'll regain some energy and be able to do more. But as of right now? 

Some minor incidents with nausea but nothing too crazy. It's usually only when I eat something that Baby L doesn't like. And no throwing up =D which I'm sure other expecting mama's would love to experience.

I also almost always feel HUNGRY. Last night (and it wasn't the first time) I woke up basically STARVING at around 3:00 am. And I couldn't fall back asleep until I ate something. The timing is the same every single night. And if I don't wake up in the middle of the night starving? I wake up in the morning wanting to eat everything in site. 

Also this is kind of an odd symptom but I had this when I was pregnant with Gianna - I would itch INSANELY. And it would be to the point of making myself basically bleed & that started up about 2 weeks ago and hasn't decreased at all. When I was pregnant with Gianna I ended up having to go to my OB and actually get prescribed something because it wouldn't stop. 

I know it's an overshare but pregnancy isn't always the sunshine and rainbows. 

It's the good the bad and the ugly. 

One thing that's really tough for me though is how my prenatal vitamins make me feel. I can't take pills for the life of me - specifically the prenatal vitamins. I don't know why, but they are so gross. They are horse pills and they always smelled so bad. Since I've always had "regularity" issues I take gummy prenatal vitamins with extra calcium and fiber. But for some reason whenever I've been taking them I feel like I'm gagging and want to throw up. So that's definitely something that I'm not enjoying.

My hormones are also all over the place. I am either crying, laughing or just plain mad. I find myself becoming increasingly overwhelmed with things going on. Not my pregnancy or anything, but we also have a new puppy and it's been hard to train him. I find myself getting upset over things to the point of crying hysterically because it's a lot to do. Don't get me wrong, I know training a puppy is difficult and it takes time. But some things are just more annoying to me now that I'm pregnant. For instance, the dog not walking up steps. We have a deck and we bought the grass patches for him to use when I'm unable to take him down. We have two steps leading to the deck, and he refuses to walk up them, ever. I can put him in front and he won't do it, and I can put his paws up on a step and he still doesn't budge - which drives me crazy. Because while he's still a puppy he's getting bigger and heavier. He did finally start using the stairs to come in though. I would just crack the door and not give in to his whimpering to come in and he came down the steps. Which is a good thing because getting him to come in before was a pain as well, we would go to get him & he would run away and it's January, it's cold, I don't feel like being outside for 20 minutes. One thing I'm hoping that'll get better is also taking him for walks.... We have a nice little harness and leash for him that is basically useless. He will not walk anywhere. He literally just SITS THERE. And will not walk, and it's really frustrating. But I really think this all stems back to my hormones being crazy, because I'm usually not this bad with things. 

Along with my hormones, I am dealing the the terrible terroristic three's! They say "terrible twos", well compared to how Caleb is now that he is 3 years old, two years old was a walk in the park! Also hard to deal with being pregnant and having whacky insane hormones. Because I find myself crying from exhaustion or being overwhelmed. All things that I know will balance out in due time.

Commercials make me cry, random video clips, things I read - I turn into a total Sally sob story. 

Thankfully no leg cramps yet! But I'm sure I'll be getting them soon. I used to wake up with excruciating Charlie Horses in my legs and honestly would want to contemplate amputation. And no belly line yet either! In due time. I'm embracing everything that's coming my way though because this is something that I never expected to happen again.

Cravings:

I still always want red bell peppers with French dressing or Ranch dip - not salad dressing but the dip that you make with sour scream & the packet; Sandwiches from Subway - specifically the sweet onion chicken teriyaki; SmartFoods White Cheddar Popcorn; Orange juice - oh my gosh, I just love orange juice. I find myself having at least 2-3 glasses of it a day; Strawberry milkshakes; fresh salsa; red potatoes 

Either way I am trying to eat as healthy as possible. But I am definitely not depriving myself.

Food Aversions:

I used to love the occasional trip to McDonalds, now I can barely look at it without feeling queasy. Which whatever, it's bad for you anyway! London Broil - I used to make this as a dinner for my family and I at least once a week, now it doesn't make me sick but I can barely eat it. I can have a piece or two and then I'm kinda just "full".  Although Ray says that I'm not eating enough.

Biggest Change for me so far:

Waking up in the middle of the night starving. This usually never happens to me. So waking up last night at 3:00 am needing to eat was a definite change. I tried to even ignore it but it was impossible! Finally  got back to sleep around 4:30. But woke up at 8:00 hungry again! Baby L must be getting me ready for all those late night feedings. Like I said I wouldn't trade this in for the world though because we never thought this would happen for us again. 

Boy or Girl?!?

Obviously we aren't sure yet. But in the coming weeks we will be finding out if we will be shopping pink or shopping blue. We really want a healthy baby most importantly. But we are really praying and hoping for a girl. I've already seen so many adorable clothes that I just LOVE for baby girls - plus we know names we are interested in already. Caleb was our top pick for a boys name and that's what we have now. So I guess we will see. 

We do have plans on doing a gender reveal but we aren't sure on if we want to find out ahead of time and plan it that way or if we are going to do a special reveal and be surprised that way. We do want to document it though with pictures and a video.

This is the idea we love: 

(Balloons will obviously be pink or blue - but hoping for pink ones ;)  I just think this whole concept is adorable)

Currently I am unsure of what I'm having and have no real idea. The heart rate of the baby at my last US was 176 BPM. Which it was never that high with Caleb. His always stayed around 155-160. I have that whole "itchy gross" thing going on again and that's something I experienced with Gianna. I have taken 2 different Gender Predictor Tests and each one says something different. One is boy and one is girl. Only time will tell. :) Either way I am excited to find out and share it with everyone who reads my blog! :) 

Nursery Plans:

We live in an apartment at the moment but are lucky enough that our landlord lets us do a lot of work in here. We eventually have plans of moving but right now we are content with where we are (even though it drives me crazy insane). Gianna's bedroom coincidentally has 2 doors (it's weird and I don't know why) but we decided to split it up into 2 rooms. That way Gianna still has her own space and then Baby L will have their own space as well :) 

Last night I did a complete overhaul in Gianna's room. We went through all of her toys and drawers and moved everything around to be how it will be when the wall goes in. (Which we still aren't sure when we are going to be doing this wall). 

This is the end result:

She was a little skeptical about the idea at first and wanted to share a room with the baby and when I explained to her that she would have her own room still she perked up and got excited. Once we have the wall up we discussed painting her room however she wants because it'll be easier. 

So this is now our nursery space:

It's tiny but it's workable. Caleb and Gi used to share this room and we made it work with her bed and a crib and dressers and everything. Obviously the dresser is coming out and the basketball net and everything else. I definitely want a Glider so bad also. 

I'm interested in keeping a neutral color as the base with color accents based on Baby L's gender. I love the color gray for nursery walls. Not overbearing or too dark but I love the grey with pink accents or blue for a boy or teal. I also love stripes but it seems tedious. 

Those are the current ideas I LOVE. I also really wanna find a shag rug like the one in the picture. I am obsessed with it. 

11 weeks down and 203 days to go. <3 

SO excited to continue sharing it with you all! 

Stay happy and healthy! And I hope you all had a wonderful New Year! 

Remember what you deserve from people and don't ever feel guilty about removing toxic people from your life. No matter who they may be. :) 

Have a great rest of your weekend & be blessed! <3 

Xoxo, Jenna