Mourning the loss

That's what Ella is doing right now. Mourning (not quietly either) the loss of her paci's. (The "paci fairy" replaced them with a Thomas train last night.)


She's actually doing better than I thought, just kind of whining and calling for "DADDY!!", but not screaming/crying like last night or her nap today. I feel for the kid....I really do, but she can't have the paci's forever. We were already pushing it letting her coast to almost 3 years old and paci-addicted. Cold turkey is a tough way to do it though. Ugh.

Mike and E did some yoga this weekend to relieve her tension. She loved it. Downward dog and cobra were her favorites.




Pretty basic weekend all around for the Parkers. Neighborhood bake sale/painful neighborhood run (Braxton-Hicks contractions were KILLING me most of the run. Gotta check with my doc at my next appt. whether or not this is cool.)/trip to Ikea to get E "big girl" furniture/cheat meal at Chilis. "The glamour-glamourous life" as Fergie would say. :)

More than halfway done!

21 weeks along now. So only 19 more to go....woo hoo!! Feeling a TON better since I got adjusted. Sheesh, a good chiropractor should be mandatory during pregnancy. What a help. I am not even sore today after running yesterday. What a change.

21 week pic. Belly is certainly starting to get "out to China" as MIke likes to say.


Big weekend around here. We're getting a visitor sometime tomorrow. The "paci fairy" is coming to collect all of Ella's pacifiers and replace them with a Thomas the Tank Engine toy. (That's what she asked for.) She's slightly addicted to her paci when she sleeps. However, she wakes up about 3 times a night because she can't find the thing....even though it is usually an inch from her nose. Mike's ready to sleep through the night (he gets up to replace lost pacis at night.) So, hopefully all goes well and she doesn't go crazy without the paci. I am nervous about it though...

Wish us luck!

Running Again

Been avoiding my good friend, Mr. Treadmill, for the past week since the last time he and I met, he somehow pummeled my sacrum and low back to the point of not quite tears, but lots of whining and complaining to Mike. Every time I went to the gym, I'd look at him longingly, but not ready to be in pain for the rest of the day (and the following one, too.)

However, today, I was up for it. I had my amazing adjustment from Dr. Annie Banks (who herself is pregnant with twins...so complaining to her about low back pain kind of makes me feel like the biggest wimp ever.) and Lauren was there running next to me. Win win situation. Plus, I want to see how running feels since MIke and I head to Turks and Caicos in two weeks and I LOVE running on the beach. (Side note -- does anyone know if running on the beach is better suited for trail running shoes or regular running shoe? Post to comments if you've got any advice! I am thinking the sand is going to be packed for the most part.)

Run went well. 40 minutes of slogging it out. 6.2-6.3 mph is still pretty comfortable, but still really slow. Mike's going to drop my pregnant butt fast on vacation.

More pics

I had to post yesterday from my iphone (fantasy baseball drafting Mike monopolized the computer), which is not too convenient, so I've got some more pictures and info from the ultrasound. (Probably only exciting for grandparents, so feel free to stop reading now.) :)

My OB has me to go the perinatologist for my ultrasounds and Mike and I love him. He's awesome. He told us yesterday that he would like to see me every 4 weeks for ultrasounds, which is fine by me. I am pretty skittish this pregnancy after what happened last time with Ella. (I had seizures from eclampsia a week post partum and they're checking into whether or not it was actually HELLP Syndrome instead of just eclampsia.) Both things are pretty scary, but HELLP scares the hell out of me, so I'd love someone to be on top of everything. Doc told me to start taking my blood pressure every day and chart it. Normally, I have really low BP (around or below 100 for the top #, systolic or diastolic, can't remember which one comes first.) so when mine spiked a bit after having E, they didn't really care too much since it was still relatively low. At least, this way, we have a pattern and history and feel like we have SOME control of what is going on...or illusion of control? Whatever helps me to sleep at night, right?

But, the doc did some test on the uterine arteries to see how the blood is flowing and apparently you can tell with about 40-60% accuracy (not great, but better than nothing.) if you are going to have problems with high blood pressure/pre-eclampsia, etc. Mine were great...no problems at all. Phew! It is just amazing how much you can tell this early on.


Heading to the ultrasound


Baby girl in tow




E is celebrating her little sister...she DID NOT want a brother....at all.


In non baby related news, I am SO excited. Our last MacBook totally died this weekend, so I am typing away on my new MacBook. Love it!

It's a.....

GIRL!!

We had our big, 20 week ultrasound today. Everything looks great and
healthy and growing right. (yay!!)

I totally thought boy...so much for mother's intuition!

Happy Easter

We did our egg hunt a few minutes ago. E loved it. Heading out in a
few to try and see if waffle house will be the first meal I keep down
today. Fingers crossed!

Sharing

Mike and I are forever working with E on this. Sometimes she's great, sometimes resistant....pretty typical almost 3 year old sharing skills. Well, it seems that she decided to share her stomach flu from this past weekend with me. Yipee. My second stomach flu during this pregnancy, as if I hadn't spent enough time throwing up already. :)

Not feeling great, but not incapacitated either. Trying to rest and take it easy today and fully recover for tomorrow when I am solo with E for the weekend. Mike, my dad, his dad, my brother in law and some more friends are continuing their annual tradition of heading to the closest first and second rounds of the NCAA bball tourney. Birmingham this year. They always have a blast.

20 weeks today. Halfway there! If I could fast forward to the end, I totally would. Just not a fan of this whole being pregnant thing. LOVE, love, love the result...but not the process.

"Let's Go Thrashers?"

Yes, that is what is coming out of Ella's monitor right now. "Let's Go Thrashers". She's nuts. But, apparently a big hockey fan who doesn't want to nap. Her pro hockey cheer was preceeded by, "Mommy -- where are you? I am here!". Thanks, E. No idea where you were. Appreciate the clarification. :)

Happy St. Patty's Day to everyone. We're all sporting the green. I love seeing people out wearing green today...not sure why, but it makes me smile. Makes me think they're a good sport.

19 weeks along this week....20 on Thursday and I am still throwing up. Not every day, but wow, I had no idea it would last this long. Oh well, E gave me a big hug with a kiss after and asked me if her hug/kiss made me feel "all better". Sure did.

Still been working out about 5-6 days a week, which is great and it feels really good. However, I took last week off from running. Ran the week before and my low back and hips HURT for 2 days after. I really want to run and love to run, but I have to wonder if it hurts then is it good for me? Who knows? I've got to get one of those band things that go around my belly and distribute the weight better and see if that helps. It seemed to dull the achiness last time around with Ella. I probably stopped running more than 1x a week with her about this time, too.

Wishing a speedy recovery to Jason Poon, the poor little dude fell and broke his arm last week. Can't wait to see your cast, buddy!

Ella Movie Star

Our little celebrity.

What the hail?

E and I are down in the basement now...crazy,crazy weather here.
Tornado after tornado today and yesterday. Seems like they are never
going to end!