26 weeks.

So I am horrible at these, but at least I am trying... 

Weight Gain: +15

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: Little Cassie is a mover.  Yesterday during our ultrasound she even had her foot in front of her face moving it all around.  Scott she will be in gymnastics immediately upon birth.       

Cravings: Cucumbers.  They are all I want.  And chocolate of course.  Oh & I saw a pumpkin pie at the commissary today and I really want it.  Thinking I will buy it Sunday :-)

Sleep:  Pretty horrible.  I am up at least 3 times a night to pee. 

Best moment this week: Scott came home Sunday!!!  And we got to see little Cassie during an ultrasound Wednesday.  Finding out I DO NOT have gestational diabetes. 

Gender: Girl. 

Labor signs: None. 

Maternity clothes: Yes. 

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.  Not being exhausted all the time.  

What I'm looking forward to: finishing her bed skirt & really starting to shop for her next month!  3 months away (96 days until due date)! 

My next appointment: 11/6 for a regular OB appointment.  

Maggie's updated room!

     So in an effort to make my concrete apartment feel like home, I have been doing some updates to Maggie's room.  I made a tutu bedskirt, tutu pom poms, and painted a canvas for her.  We also bought her a rug.

     Here are the updated pictures and links to the tutorials (no pictures of my own).

For a tutorial on the bedskirt, please see Free Stylin'.

I did not do 2 piece of tulle through each hole, but I think I put my hole's closer together.  I also did not add "bling".  I used 6 yards of tulle cut into 6 inch wide strips and 34 inches long (17 inches from top of box spring to floor).  I only put tulle on the two sides of the bed you can see, not all 4 sides.  

For a tutorial on the pom poms, please see Delicate Construction. 

This is just a trial and error kind thing.  I used 1-2 yards of each color, cut in about 6 inch strips that were 108 inches long.  I then used left overs from all colors and bedskirt to make the multi-colored pom pom.  I hung the pom poms from a cord organizer 3M command hook.  

I did paint this by myself.  I started with a layer of the base color (purple and blue).  To add the gradient/ombre effect, I would add a few drops of white to the base every few inches, being sure to blend into the last stripe.  I then let dry and stenciled the letters on and painted with white paint.  

The quote is between Piglet and Winnie the Pooh. 

We got the rug from the AAFES exchange for $38 (6 x 9 feet).  The duvet cover is from IKEA and I think it was between $15-20.  

I hope you like it. 

22 weeks.

     First things first.  HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful niece Charlet Michelle!!!  I can't wait to see her, even if she will be a toddler when I do!  Congratulations to my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Rebecca and Matt.  I wish I could be there to celebrate with you guys.  

Weight Gain: +9

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: I can see the baby move without even having to focus on my belly, that's how crazy the movement is already.       

Cravings: Chocolate and Pumpkin Spice Coffee

Sleep:  Pretty horrible.  I can barely keep my eyes open at 7pm, but at 10pm or so I am wide awake. 

Best moment this week: Finding out that the little baby is HEALTHY!!!  The baby does not have any genetic or chromosomal disorders!  We still have to wait until birth to find out about club foot, but we are praying that the baby does not actually have it and it was just the way the foot was laying during the ultrasound. 

Gender: Okay, so every instinct I had was WRONG!!!!  So were most wives tales! So was the whole heartbeat thing! And our first guess was wrong as well.  But Scott and I would like to announce that we are having another little baby GIRL!!!  Her name will most likely be Cassidy Jo (Cassie).  If we stick with Jo, she will be a 4th generation to have the middle name. 

Labor signs: None. 

Maternity clothes: Yes. 

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.  Not being exhausted all the time.  

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the fabric to start decorating her room.  

My next appointment: 10/17 for my second gestational diabetes test; 10/24 for a high risk appointment; 11/6 for my next regular OB appointment

     We are so exited that little girl is healthy and the longer I know that she is a girl the happier I become about it.  Scott is excited that he doesn't have to teach a boy how to pee standing up, lol.
     I have already picked out and ordered all of the fabric for little girls room.  I am excited to get it & the fabric for Maggie's room to start decorating.
     I have also decided that I want a more "natural" birth this time.  I am not ruling out an epidural, but may ask about a walking epidural or just IV medicine to take the edge off.  I am hoping that pursuing this option will allow for a faster, "easier" delivery.
     That is all for now though.

22 weeks 1 day

21 weeks

Weight Gain: +5

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: The kicks are getting ridiculous.  They are going to get VERY painful in the end because they already make me jump a little.       

Cravings: Chocolate and Chocolate Lucky Charms (DELICIOUS!!!)

Sleep:  Same as last week

Best moment this week: Seeing the baby again when I went to the hospital Friday night.  It was moving around like CRAZY! 

Gender: We still have a guess.  

Labor signs: None. 

Maternity clothes: Yes. 

What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach.  Not being exhausted all the time.  

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the results from the amnio. 

My next appointment: 9/25 for a regular appointment

Sorry for no pictures recently... I know I need to get on that.  Maybe next week.

20 weeks

Weight Gain: +5

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: The kicks are getting stronger.  I can feel them on the outside.      

Cravings: Chocolate.  

Sleep: I have hit the uncomfortable stage of pregnancy & can no longer sleep on my stomach or my back, so its been rough.  I toss & turn so much that I pull the sheets off the corner of the mattress.  And I have to sleep with an 3 king size pillows just to get comfortable.   

Best moment this week: Ummm, having Scott home with me as I dealt with the emotions & stress of going through the amniocentesis.

Gender: We still have a guess.  

Labor signs: None. I did think I was having contractions one night (Friday) and even went to the hospital.  Apparently, round ligament pains are worse during a second pregnancy and because of my scaring from my ovarian surgery I am going to have more pain this time. 

Maternity clothes: I am in mostly maternity clothes, but have a few regular shirts that I can still wear.  I am in the in between stage where my regular shirts are too small & most of my maternity shirts are too big. 

What I miss: The excitement of just having a baby.  

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the results from the amnio & my next appointment at 22 weeks.  

My next appointment: 9/25/2012

     I did get the amniocentesis on Tuesday, the day I switched over to 20 weeks.  It was a painful experience, but not as painful as I thought it would be.  I had to rest a lot and thank God that Scott was able to stay home with me Tuesday and after lunch on Wednesday.  This unit is so much better than Tanks in that aspect.  We are now just patiently awaiting the results from the amnio to find out if anything else is wrong and knowing 100% what the sex of the baby is. 

19 weeks.

    This little baby is the newest addition to our family.  I think the baby looks like it's sister, with the Miller nose I inherited from my dad.  You can see the hands and the cute little face, already looking a little chunky.  And while this little baby is perfect, it has a special foot (potentially).
     On Friday September 7th, I went for my anatomy scan to check the skull and spine for defects (I was born with a neural tube defect leaving my children more likely to be born with them).  So far the baby's skull and spine look perfect.  But upon inspection, the baby's left foot is turned in, leading the doctor (Maternal Fetal Medicine) to believe the baby has club foot.  It is singular, but still there.  Because of my history and the fact that club foot can be linked to genetic disorders like Downs Syndrome and Trisomy 18, the doctor suggested I get an amniocentesis.  We go in Tuesday morning for the amnio.  It will take up to 2 weeks for the results.  We are praying that these results come back negative and that the only thing wrong with our little angel is a club foot.
     Club foot is treatable and even famous athletes have been born with club foot (Mia Hamm).  It is also fairly common, happening in about 1 in every 1000 births.  We are optimistic and while it sounds a bit mean, we are praying for nothing to be wrong, but if something is wrong that it is "just" club foot.  We will start meeting with pediatricians and other doctors to plan for treatment, because treatment for club foot starts about 7-10 days after birth, if there are no other complications.
     But now on to my normal update...

Weight Gain: +3 

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: The kicks are getting stronger.  I can feel them on the outside.      

Cravings: Chocolate.  

Sleep: It can be good and it can be bad..   

Best moment this week: Seeing our little gummy bear squirm around on the ultrasound on Friday.  

Gender: We still have a guess.  

Labor signs: None. 

Maternity clothes: I am in mostly maternity clothes, but most of my shirts are still a little big to wear. 

What I miss: Right now, just sleep.  

What I'm looking forward to: Getting the results from the amnio. 

My next appointment: 9/11/12 for the amnio & 9/25 for a regular appointment

18 weeks

Weight Gain: +2 as of August 16

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: The kicks are getting stronger.  I can feel them on the outside.      

Cravings: Chocolate.  

Sleep: It can be good and it can be bad..   

Best moment this week: Ummm, just getting a doctors appointment. 

Gender: We still have a guess.  

Labor signs: None. 

Maternity clothes: I wear maternity bottoms or stretch pants all the time & ordered a few tops from shadeclothing.com that I am able to wear without looking like an idiot. 

What I miss: Right now, just sleep.  

What I'm looking forward to: Showing.  Getting to actually buy stuff specific to the gender

My next appointment: My next regular appointment is 9/25 at 22 weeks.

     So my ultrasound appointment was cancelled because the doctor left the island for some emergency.  My appointment has not been scheduled.  We do not know what we are having.  We do not know the results to my blood testing.  We do not know if baby is still growing correctly.  Nothing.  I now have to wait until Tuesday for the doctor to call JUST TO RESCHEDULE and then I will know when my anatomy scan will be.
     Other than that everything seems to be going well.  I can feel the baby move around all the time.  And I am following the diet semi-well.  We shall see how much I have gained next time I have an appointment.  Which will at least be 9/25.
   

17 weeks

18 weeks

     Not baby related... I did get a job as a bookkeeper for the thrift store on Kadena Air Force Base.  I start on 9/4, but I only work about 10 hours a month.  So while it is part time, it is a job.  

A tour of Okinawa. Food.

     So far our favorite part of Okinawa is by far the variety of food that we are able to eat.  From rice to curry to fondue style meat, it has all been delicious.  Here are a few of the places we have been so far, 6 weeks into our tour here.

     This was at a random ramen place in the area of American Village (which is full of restaurants and stores and even a really tall ferris wheel).  This is homemade ramen noodles that are served cold and you dip them into the soup.  This was a good meal, but definitely not my favorite (not sure if it was because I didn't care for it or because I was still all nauseous from the baby).  Scott had a different type of ramen and LOVED it. 

     These pictures are from a place called Shabu Shabu & BBQ, also located in American Village.  This is by far my favorite meal so far while on the island.  It is similar to fondue, as you cook your meat (pork, chicken, and beef) in a pot of boiling liquid.  We had a soy sauce broth.  It is also served with vegetables and sticky rice.  It was delicious.  Even Maggie devoured this meal.  

     This is from Taco Rice Cafe.  It was delicious & serves almost exactly what it sounds like.  The first picture is fried camembert cheese, which Scott thoroughly enjoyed.  The smiley faces in the second picture are fried potatoes with Maggie's kids size.  I had fried potatoes in my taco rice.  Scott had bacon.  We also really want to go back to this restaurant, because it was delicious, cheap, and filling.  

     These pictures are from our anniversary meal at Sam's by the Sea.  It has been a much recommended restaurant, but I actually was not THAT pleased with it.  Maybe it was just what I ordered.  The first picture is of a curry like soup.  It was delicious but a little on the spicy side.  I ate so little of it because of this, the waitresses wouldn't even take my bowl from me.  The next picture is the salad which was given after the soup.  It was delicious.  I had italian dressing & Scott had bleu cheese.  Both of us devoured the salads, mostly because of the house made dressings.  The third picture was Scott's meal.  King crab legs and filet mignon.  He devoured both.  The last picture is my meal, filet & tahitian lobster.  The lobster had a cream sauce and was baked.  It was very fishy & to me, uneatable.  The steak of course was delicious.  

     We have also been to Coco's Curry House.  The curry is delicious.  And addictive apparently because I want it ALL THE TIME.  The McDonalds here is less greasy but did not agree with my stomach, so I have only eaten it once.  We also went to a bakery up north on the island that was DELICIOUS!!!!  I just don't have any pictures of the food.  We had great cakes and a sourdough bacon wrap thing that was to die for.  Too bad I can't go back there for a while.  But I guess we know where we will be taking the new baby. 

15 weeks.

Weight Gain: No idea... I only weigh in at doctors appointments

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: I actually think I am feeling the baby every once in a while.    

Cravings: Chicken wings... I have wanted wings since we were on leave in June & I finally got some Saturday night. 

Sleep: Unless I take a phenegran, I don't sleep well at all.   

Best moment this week: Potentially finding out the gender of the little baby & knowing that at this stage everything is looking perfect & birth defect free. 

Gender: We still have a guess.  

Labor signs: None. 

Maternity clothes: I wear maternity bottoms or stretch pants all the time & ordered a few tops from shadeclothing.com that I am able to wear without looking like an idiot. 

What I miss: Right now, just sleep.  

What I'm looking forward to: Showing.  Getting to actually buy stuff specific to the gender.  My next high risk appointment. 

My next appointment: August 16 for a regular OB visit & blood work & August 28th for an ultrasound.

     No news this week.  Pretty boring stuff.  The low carb diet has been going okay.  But it still sucks not eating what I want when I want without knowing the carb count.  But I am making do.  

     We did buy a crib this week.  I went to Kadena to turn in a job application and went to the PX & while there looked around at the baby stuff.  While doing so I saw that cribs were 50% off & was able to get a pretty nice convertible crib for only $80.  I also added up how much we have spent on the baby so far & how much we have saved.  We have spent about $150 (including the crib, carseat, swing, bouncer, and bumbo).  We have saved $353!!!  I feel awesome about that!!!!

     Here are some pics for you this week. 

The crib.  It is chocolate brown.

15 weeks 0 days. 

15 weeks with Maggie.

    Until next week. 

14 weeks.

Weight Gain: +.5

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: I actually think I am feeling the baby every once in a while.    

Cravings: Well, after my glucose test on Friday all I wanted was a hamburger (I ate 2, don't judge I hadn't eaten in almost 17 hours).  And grapefruit/grapefruit juice.  And milk still.  And tomatoes. 

Sleep: Pretty good considering Scott & I are sharing a full size bed, except on the nights that I have heartburn & then I have to sleep sitting up on the couch.  

Best moment this week: Potentially finding out the gender of the little baby & knowing that at this stage everything is looking perfect & birth defect free. 

Gender: We have a guess.  In my heart, I am pretty sure it's a boy.  This pregnancy has just been so much different than Maggie.

Labor signs: None. 

Maternity clothes: I wear maternity bottoms or stretch pants all the time, but still in regular shirts. 

What I miss: I don't miss them yet, but I am sure I am about to start missing carbs & sweets.

What I'm looking forward to: Showing.  Getting to actually buy stuff specific to the gender.  My next high risk appointment. 

My next appointment: August 16 for a regular OB visit & blood work & August 28th for an ultrasound.

     Well a lot happened since I last updated.  I was able to get in to the high risk doctor on Monday & the appointment went really well.  The doctor is very nice & seems to know a lot about what is going on with my birth defect, asking more in-depth questions about it than I even know how to answer.  

     She did do an ultrasound to get some measurements and see how the baby's skull & spinal cord in developing & so far everything looks good with my very wiggly baby.  And he/she is still measuring right on track.  However... 

     She did check my results from the 3-hour glucose test I took last Friday & saw that while I do not have gestational diabetes, I am glucose intolerant.  She referred me to the dietitian and I am going to have to alter my diet (and therefore my families diet) to make sure I have safe sugar levels and hopefully do not develop gestational diabetes later on.  I will have to cut down on carbs and sugars, but it's only for 26 weeks right?  Yeah right, this is going to be hard.  I will have to have my glucose retested at about 28 weeks.  

     We did schedule my next appointment with the high risk doctor.  It will take place on August 28th (exactly 4 weeks from today).  She will do another ultrasound to recheck the skull and spine and brain.  Hopefully we will also be able to get a for sure answer on the sex of our baby.  As well, hopefully my blood work will be back to check from neural tube defects, Down syndrome, and Trisomy 18.  I pray these tests come back negative.  If they come back positive, the next step would probably be a amniocentesis, which I do not want to get.  

     But here are some pictures of the little baby at 13 weeks 1 day... 

13 weeks.

Weight Gain: -1 pound 

Stretch Marks: No new ones. 

Movement: I wish.  

Cravings: Chocolate & apparently milk, since Maggie & I have drank almost 2 gallons in 6 days.  We used to only drink a half a gallon every 14 days.  Oh and rice krispies. 

Sleep: Pretty good considering Scott & I are sharing a full size bed.  

Best moment this week: Finally seeing the little one in an ultrasound & knowing that everything is going good

Gender: I dunno

Labor signs: None. 

Maternity clothes: I wear maternity bottoms or stretch pants all the time, but still in regular shirts.  

What I miss: Sushi 

What I'm looking forward to: My next appointment.  Finally showing enough to look pregnant and not fat.  

     I had my first ob appointment today.  The appointment went well.  We got an ultrasound and the baby is measuring almost exactly 13 weeks 1 day, so my due date is January 29, 2013 (my grandparents 65th wedding anniversary if my grandmother was still alive).  The baby was moving around like crazy & actually made it hard for the doctor to get measurements.  We discussed my shingles (I was diagnosed Tuesday) and she told me they are not harmful to the baby, nor is the medicine.  We also discussed the plan of action for monitoring the baby for birth defects (since I was born with one), for gestational diabetes (since Maggie was a monster baby at 9 lbs 6 oz), and my hypothyroidism.  

     I am going to go through blood testing over the next three weeks (one draw tomorrow and one more at 16 weeks) to test for neural tube defects, Down syndrome, and Trisomy 18.  I will have results after the 16 weeks blood draw.  The doctor is also going to consult with the periontologist (sp?)(the high risk baby doctor) about potential screening and referral to the high risk doctor.  If the high risk doctor agrees I need to be seen, I will receive a phone call from her. 

     I have my next appointment at 16 weeks 2 days and will be able to hopefully set up my anatomy scan soon after that.  

12 weeks 3 days

13 weeks 1 day