1 month and 2 month update

Well as you can see I have been really bad about blogging.  Rayden is now 8 weeks old so I thought I would just do the 1 month and 2 month update now.  One very late and one a little early lol.  So we are still breast feeding.  In the beginning we did have some trouble with latching on the left side.  Actually he still does sometimes but now we don't struggle as much.  I was really having a hard time (emotionally) early on because all he wanted to do was nurse.  I couldn't even find time to eat or pee let alone some me time!  G was home for the first month but of course couldn't help with that part.  I tried really hard to get her to breast feed by taking the meds etc. before Rayden was born but it was always a big NO!  Anyways we had trouble getting the breast pump from my insurance and G just decided we would just buy one because I really needed to be able to pump ASAP for my own sanity.  We got it and I could finally have some me time and I felt much better!!

Along the way I have struggled with some depression and I am very certain that if G wouldn't have been home for the first month I would had some postpartum depression.  It was really great having the help.  I've had some really down times when I am sure Rayden hates me.  For example last week he was smiling for everyone but me and always seemed to cry near me and I just lost it on Saturday.  I bawled and was sure he hadn't bonded with me and just hated me.  Well Sunday and Monday he smiled for me so then I cried tears of joy.  Man these hormones really mess with ya!!   

Rayden is a big boy now.  Here is how his weight is going.

Born 7lb 11 ozs
5 days old 7lb 1 oz
2 weeks 8 lbs
5 weeks 11lbs
6 weeks 12lbs

He will be 2 months old in 2 days and is wearing 3 month clothes and some 3-6 month stuff.  He grew so fast and didn't get to wear all the clothes we were given.  Soon he will be too big for everything we got for presents and it will be time to go shopping. 

He went to the doctor at 6 weeks because he was sick =(  he still has a cold actually... been hanging on for 2 weeks now.  It just has him stuffed up and really only bothers him at night now.  He was tested for RSV and that was negative. 

G went back to work after 4 weeks and I went back after 6 weeks.  I was ready to be back to work.  I enjoy working.  I know G would rather be home with Rayden tho.  I wish I made enough to support us so she could but I work in social services so that's just not going to happen. 

I finally got Rayden's insurance figured out.  He wasn't able to be put on mine or G's insurance so I applied for CHIP.  Before he was born I researched it and was told after doing all the paperwork it would only take a few days to process.  So I did the paperwork right away and scanned and emailed it right to them figuring in few days he would have insurance.  Weeks passed and they kept telling me next week.  So frustrating and I was worried we wouldn't get accepted and he wouldn't have insurance.  Luckily we got accepted and he has insurance but we do have to pay full price for it.  That's ok its better then paying all his medical bills. 

Rayden is "talking" and playing with his toys some now.  It's so cute.  In the morning he's so happy and smiles and plays while we get ready for work.  My mom watches him while I am at work so that makes going to work easier. 

Question for other lesbian moms....what do you call each other??  We both call each other Mommy to and around Rayden but everyone keeps asking us what our different names will be??  I don't know.  G says wait till he decides but people then say he will go by what we call each other.  So I don't know what to do which is why I am asking you guys lol If it was up to me we would just wait and see but I am tired of the questions lol

Here are some of the professional pics we had done.  It was so hard to get these pictures.  I've heard you are suppose to do them in the first 10 days but our photographer couldn't do them that early.  He was 18 days old when they were done.  He was awake and very cranky.  I was very thankful that we did get a few good ones tho!! 

 

 

Birth Story

Friday Aug 23rd I told everyone I was sure baby boy was gonna be late.  There was no sign of labor anytime soon.  I picked up our nephew for the weekend and went home.  G was working a 14 hour shift and wouldn't be home till close to 4 am.  I fell asleep on the couch while our nephew played video games then we both went to bed.  At 3 am I woke up to what I thought was a contraction then went to pee and found a very small amount of blood.  I texted G but sure it was nothing.  Well I was very wrong.  The contractions kept coming every 5 mins.  I was sure they would slow down or stop because the midwife had told me "every first time mom comes to the hospital way to early.  Labor takes a long time.  Stay at home as long as you can."  So I took my time.  G got home and we both showered.  I spent a lot of time on the floor on my hands and knees rocking making sounds I've never even heard before.  Lol It made me feel better so I did what seemed right.  G called her sis to get our nephew and I called my mom.  Now my mom I guess was as sure as I was that baby boy wasn't coming any time soon because she didn't have a phone anywhere near her.  I called all her and my dads phones multiple times with no answer.  I was not happy and said some choice words I was glad she wasn't able to hear lol anyways she finally answered and hurried to our house.  I called my midwife who was actually on call that weekend and she said to come in as soon as we could.  But we live an hour away from the hospital so it was still gonna be awhile.  I was not worried because I was told over and over it takes a long time.  By the time we got into the car tho I was having contractions 2 mins apart.  G drove as fast as she could and got us there in 45 mins.

It was 6:45am now so we had to go in the ER entrance.  They took my info and called labor and delivery who was suppose to come down and get me.  I was having bad contractions then with only 30 seconds relief in the ER waiting room.  So now picture that....do you think I was quiet?  No definitely not!!!  They are telling me if I don't quiet down they will have to admit me to the ER.  Ummm yea not happening!  So after 20 mins they call up again and they tell me they say "oh yea we have to come get her".  I was not happy!  Finally a nurse comes and I get wheeled up.  As they wheel me by the nurses station one nurse says to take me straight to my room but the nurse pushing me doesn't listen and takes me to what I'm guessing is a triage room.  They tell me to change and pee in a cup.  Well not easy with contractions.  Finally was able to pee in that cup (more to come later about that) and G and I came out of the bathroom.  Then thank god that nurse finally listened and took me to my room.

I get back to my room and my midwife comes in to talk to me.  I am basically yelling for an epidural. I always planned to get one but of course my midwife didn't want me to.  She was ok with it till she checked me tho.  When she checked me I was 8 cms.  I was shocked.  She told me I could have baby boy out quicker then I could get an epidural.  I would have to have blood work and a IV before they would give me one.  I still wouldn't say I didn't want one but I knew I probably wasn't going to get one.  I didn't want to say those words because then I would have someone to blame if labor didn't go fast. Lol My midwife just continued to proceed like I had said I was ok without an epidural.  Which I was happy with I just didn't want to say and accept it.  She broke my water and in no time I was 10 cms and able to push.  She told me I was thru the worst before she broke it.  I didn't believe her at the time but she was right.  When I was pushing I was able to get longer periods of relief in between contractions and pushing wasn't that bad.  The only thing I had trouble with was telling when I should push.  I thought it would be like TV and they would watch the monitor and tell me when to push.  But they didn't and told me their monitors weren't like that.  So many times I was saying I didn't know when to push.  I was so hot so was basically naked the whole delivery lol you really don't care at that point who sees what.  My "best friend" during the delivery was a glove full of ice lol I just couldn't cool down and the ice felt so good.

I finally figured it out and baby boy came not too long after that.  I don't know how long I pushed or how many pushes but no more then an hour when I finally figure it out.  G was up on the bed with me and coached me thru.  Her, my mom, and my midwife kept telling me how well I was doing which helped a ton.  If any partners read this remember that!  We were so happy when he came.  And I was in total shock that I did it naturally!  Never in a million years did I think I would do it naturally.  He was born at 9:43 am ....labor was less then 7 hours....when I was pushing my goal was to deliver him by 9:45 so I succeeded!  He was 7lbs 11ozs 21 inches.  He was and is perfect!

After that I had a hard time delivering the placenta and was hemorrhaging pretty bad so then I got a shot of morphine.  But I told everyone in the room it didn't count because it was after delivery so I still did it naturally.  Lol. Took my midwife a long time to get the bleeding to stop and to get me stitched up.  I did tear.  So after she was part way thru my stitching she wanted the doc to come check me.  Well lets just say that was worse then the delivery!  She was not gentle and it felt like she was ripping me open not checking my stitches.  I was screaming in pain and they had numbed me before doing my stitches.  When the doc left my midwife apologized many times.  She didn't know that doc would treat me like that.

Baby boy (at this time he still wasn't named) started breast feeding right away on the right side.  We struggled the first day with the left but we finally got it.  After I wasn't drugged up anymore we decided to name him Rayden James.  

Sooooo getting back to peeing in the cup.  Well on our last day at the hospital I discover that the pee I was forced to give when I was 8 cms dilated sat on top of the TV stand and was never tested!  

We were in the hospital for more then 2 full days.  We actually would have gotten discharged Monday morning instead of Monday afternoon but we refused to let that doctor who hurt me do Rayden's circumcision on Sunday so we had to wait for that to be done Monday by a different doctor.  We were definitely ready to get home by then.  

Here is G, Rayden, and I (drugged up)

Here we are the day we left the hospital 

At home with his boxer brother Konner

He's Here

Our baby boy decided to come 4 days early.  He was born Aug 24th at 9:43am.  7lbs 11ozs 21 inches. His name is Rayden James.   G and I are so happy!  Here are a few pics!

Birth story coming soon! 

Birth Plan

Here is my Birth Plan.  I think it has everything I need/want in it. 

Amanda’s Birth Plan

*  Want my Wife, G, with me at all times

*  G’s Mom and my mom are welcome in room for labor and birth

          *  Other people as I feel comfortable are welcome during labor depending how I feel

*  Want to be up and moving as long as possible

*  Pain management

          *  Different positions
          *  Bathing or showering
          *  Massage
          *  Birthing ball
          *  Hot and cold packs
          *  Epidural when needed

*  Would like to go without IV as long as possible and be able to drink clear fluids instead

*  DO NOT want Pitocin to speed up labor.  Only want it if medically necessary.  Then still want to talk about it and be part of the decision before it’s given. 

*  Do not want episiotomy unless absolutely needed then I do not want to be told before it’s done. 

*  Want skin to skin contact as soon as possible with Baby Boy but not till after he is cleaned up.  Do not want him put on my bare skin right after birth. 

*  Want to breast feed as soon as Baby Boy wants to.

*  G wants to cut the cord

*  If C-Section is needed
          *  Want G present at all times.
          *  Baby to be given to G as soon as he’s dried and checked out

          *  To breastfeed as soon as Baby Boy is ready

*  All newborn procedures to take place in mine or my wife’s presence (except circumcision)

*  Would like Baby Boy to be with G or me as much as possible

*  Do not offer our baby these without discussing with us first
          *  Formula
          *  Sugar water
          *  Pacifier

*  We want him circumcised at the hospital

*  Since breast feeding would like Lactation consultant to come see us

*  Would like to stay at hospital as long as possible/necessary

Please let me know if you guys think I am missing anything!! 

38 Weeks

Well I am still behind but I am going to try to get all caught up with this post.  I am 38 weeks now and ready for deliver Baby Boy!!  I've got almost all of his things washed and ready.  His room is getting close to being done.  We still have to fix the trim paint, get stuff on the wall and buy a few things but there is still time.  He won't know if it isn't done when he comes home! lol His bag is packed and I have mine started....I know mine should be done but most of the stuff needs to go in last minute.  So when I am waiting for "contractions to be for 1 min every 5 mins for an hour and not able to walk or talk thru them" I will pack up the rest.  That is what my midwife told me I need to wait for before coming to the hospital.  I think that is easier said then done tho.  We have an hour drive and I am thinking by the time I get to that point I will not want to be in a car for an hour.  So we will see if I make it that far before leaving.  Anyone have any good suggestions for what to pack? 

I have the basics packed for me...
PJs
night gown
slipper socks
shampoo and conditioner
soap
granny panties
change for food/soda machines
breast pads
comfortable clothes

I will pack my hair stuff, toothbrush and those type of things right before. 

In Baby Boys bag I have....
few outfits for pics and coming home
receiving blankets
burp clothes
diapers
wipes
our marriage license so G can be on birth cert

So if I am missing anything you found handy please let me know!!

G has been working 2nd shift 7 days a week for about a month and since I work days I don't get to see her.  Only time we see each other is when we are sleeping.  That has made it hard to get things ready for Baby Boy which is a reason his room isn't done yet and we haven't bought everything.  She is wanting him to come soon so she can get some time off lol oh and because she just wants to meet him to.  We both do!! 

G was able to get some time a few weeks ago to take some bare belly pics.  These were taken at 36 and a half weeks in Baby Boys room

 

 

Haven't done this in awhile so why not?

 

How far along? 38 weeks 2 days

How big is baby? about 7lbs

Total weight gain: 36lbs

Maternity Clothes: wear maternity shirts and dresses but just bought bigger jeans and skirts

Have you started to show yet? Oh yea!! My belly is measuring a week ahead.

Sleep: Starting to get hard to sleep.  Get up to pee about 4 times a night.

Best moment this week: feeling all his movements.  He still moves a ton during the day.

Miss Anything? sleeping on my belly!

Movement: Lots and lots

Food Cravings: Chocolate!

Anything make you queasy or sick? no

Gender prediction: He is a boy

Name: All we know so far is his middle name will be James after my grandfather.

Symptoms: tired, back pain, sore feet, pregnancy induces carpal tunnel

Major purchases this week? pack and play

Looking forward to: seeing Baby Boy very soon!!


So the new thing I have been dealing with is the Pregnancy Induced Carpal Tunnel.  It's NOT fun at all.  My right hand is completely numb and both hands hurt very bad when I am sleeping.  Also I have lost strength in both hands.  Can't really hold or open anything.  The numbness during the day is better then pain I guess but it's so annoying.  Having that tingling feeling all the time drives me crazy.  Last night I burnt my hand cooking and didn't really even notice.  It didn't really hurt but I woke up with a blister.  I just do not have a lot of control of my hands now.  They tell me this will go away after delivery so I am really hoping so!!  I keep telling Baby Boy he needs to come ASAP! 

35 Week Ultrasound

Finally we got to see Baby Boy again.  Seems like it was years ago.  The appointment went well.  He is head down and has been for months actually.  Also my placenta is still out of the way so we are good to go for a vaginal delivery.  Which I feel good and bad about lol I know it's best for him to be born "naturally" but would be great to be able to just schedule when he's coming!!  We really can't wait for him to finally get here and are hoping he comes early.  Here are his pictures.  The 4d one actually didn't turn out too bad. 

4d pic of his face =)

Profile pic

His foot

They said everything during the Ultrasound looked good and that he weighs about 5lbs 10oz so that should put him around 8lbs on our due date.  That's bigger then I was thinking I wanted to push out but it could be worst!! lol The fluid is good as well.  So far I have gained about 32lbs.  I think my midwife told me she wanted me to gain 30-35 lbs so I think I might pass that but she hasn't said anything to me about it yet.  Gaining too much has never been a problem for me.  Actually before I got pregnant I couldn't gain weight even when I tried.  I was just telling G the other day that I am going to miss this appetite if it goes away.  Before pregnancy I didn't have a big appetite. 

We now start our weekly appointments.  Which is good because the end is near but more time I have to take off from work.  I don't get paid maternity leave so I have to use the time I have saved up and the more I use now the less I will have with Baby Boy.  With my midwife being an hour from our house and an hour and a half from work I have to take a full day off every time I have an appointment.   

We almost have everything ready for Baby Boy.  His room is pretty close to being done and all his clothes and blankets are washed.  I am working on getting a breast pump from my insurance company.  It hasn't been easy but when is working with an insurance company easy?  Now I need to call CHIP and see if we can get health insurance for Baby Boy too.  He can't go on mine and going on G's will cost a lot.  So I am hoping CHIP will work out but I need to call them!  We still have a few more things we need to buy as well that we didn't get at the baby shower.  But I am sure it will all come together in the end and if not we will make it work!!   

Wedding

At our Baby Shower I announced that we would be getting married the next day which was a surprise to most people there since only immediate family knew.  So yes we decided to get married.  It is best for Baby Boy and G.  Since we are delivering in NY State, G will be on the birth certificate right from the start.  Also if something were to happen to me G will be able to make decisions and be able to take Baby Boy home.  I really hope that doesn't happen tho!! 

We were married July 22nd at City Hall in NY.  It was very small and very short! It really was perfect tho.  Not much planning or stress.  Here are some pictures.  I was 34 weeks at the time.

 

 

 

I did my best with the pictures.  We were suppose to have a photographer but she backed out the night before so we didn't have time to get another.  So I had to steal pics from other people and edit them myself.  In the one pic that is our boxer Konner!

 

It was a great day and I can now call G my wife!  Still trying to get used to it.  Our marriage doesn't mean a whole lot in PA but we are hoping someday soon it will!  We both kept our last names and still will be hyphenating Baby Boy's last name.  

Baby Shower

So our baby shower was a little unusual because I planned it.  My mom and sister helped me but I enjoy planning parties and like to be in control. lol Our Theme for the babies room is Monkeys and Stars but the party theme was multicolor as well.  We had the shower Sunday July 21st. 

Our invitations had this on them

And we actually have decals of this for Baby Boy's room. 

We had lots of finger foods my mom, sister, and I made the day before like veggies and dip, chicken wing dip, BBQ smoked sausage, bread and spinach dip and fruit salad.  All my favorites.  Also instead of doing a fancy cake my mom made chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, boston cream, and white coconut cake.  They were delicious and much cheaper then the fancy ones that sometimes don't take good.  Here are the cakes

 

The cakes went over well but still had some left over for me to still eat after!!  Yumm!!

 

 Here you can see all the decorations I bought/made!!  I think it turned out nice.

 

Here is the gift table.  I had the sign made from etsy!  I love it and will be putting it in Baby Boy's room!  Oh and those star multicolor blankets under the presents my mom made for us.  They are beautiful.  I will have to get a better picture and post on a later blog because they are hard to see here. 



 

 The food went over well and actually only food we really had left was the stuff at the end of the table because people ran out of room on their plates lol

 

I love candy so for our guest favors I had a candy table with bags for everyone to take some candy home with them!  I was sure I would have a ton of candy left over but I didn't.  Just enough for me to snack on =)

 

My sister did a great job at the shower.  She did all the announcing and games.



 

We were excited about opening all of Baby Boy's presents.  We got a lot of great things.  We hadn't bought much waiting till after the shower so now its time to shop for the things we didn't get!!  We love to shop for Baby Boy!!

 

Then we forgot to get these pictures before we cleaned up but remembered to get a few after! lol Here is G and I and my Sister, Mom and I





 

 

 

 



 

 

 

I Passed!

So this is long overdue I know but I passed my 3 hour glucose test!!  It was sooo much easier to blog during fertility treatments.  Now it seems like I never have time to do it.  I am 35 weeks pregnant now and lots to update on so I will try to write a few times this week to catch back up.  I really hope I can do it!!

First around 30 weeks we had maternity pictures done.  We love them but haven't ordered any yet because again too busy!  I have been working as much as possible to keep my time off for midwife appointments and for when Baby Boy comes.  Actually I have been working more then 40 hours a week when I am able to so I can save up some comp time.  One week I worked all 7 days and 3 of those days I worked 16 hours. 

Past few weeks my back, feet, and ribs have been hurting.  I am feeling pretty big and getting tired again.  Sitting at my desk causes my feet to swell so by Friday they are huge.  My upper back has been hurting as well and I am assuming that's from the weight of my belly.  I am definitely ready for Baby Boy to be here.  We have an ultrasound and midwife appointment on Friday and I can't wait to see how big he is.  I am pretty sure he's been head down for about a month and a half so if my placenta is still outta the way I am guessing we will still be doing a vaginal birth.  We haven't seen him in a very long time so we are really looking forward to it.

I need to get to bed so I will leave you with some maternity pictures and I will TRY very hard to blog again this week to update more!! 

 

Glucose

Well I have a lot to update you on.  Sorry it's been so long.  First we went to Florida for vacation few weeks ago and first day there I got a UTI.  Called my midwife luckily she was on call since it was Sunday.  She called me in an antibiotic but by the time we picked it up I had a lot of pain in my right kidney.  I then started researching urgent care clinics because the midwife said if it became a kidney infection I'd have to go somewhere.  There was one my insurance covered and was open on Sundays, so off we went.  What a great start to vacation.  There was no one there so we didn't have to wait thank god because I was in a lot of pain.  The doctor said there was no other antibiotic he could give me because I was pregnant and allergic to penicillin and sulfa.  He did give me some UTI pain medicine that helped.  We didn't get to do a lot on vacation tho but our resort had the beach and pools right there so we enjoyed those.  The few places we went I was sore by the time we were done.

I am feeling better now so I'm hoping it doesn't come back.  I never had a UTI before and it was worse then I imagined.  I think delivering this baby boy will be the same way ....worse then I think.

Had my one hour glucose test and appt with my midwife on Friday.  I had a feeling I wouldn't pass and I didn't.  So I am sitting at the hospital right now doing my 3 hour test.  Had my blood drawn 4 times already one more to go.  I really hope I pass this one.

I am 27 weeks now but measuring 29 weeks.  Everything else at my appt went fine.  I go back in 4 weeks then she wants to start appts every two weeks.  I am not looking forward to that.  I have to drive over an hour to the midwife and it's a 15 min appt.  I have to take a whole day off of work just for that.

We think we have baby boy's name down to 4.  It will be Keagan, Rayden, Greyson, or Geordan.  His middle name is James.  That was easy to decide.  Wish the first name was that easy.  If you have opinions I'd love to hear them!

I will let you know my glucose test results.  Really hoping I don't have gestational diabetes.

Here is a pic of me from two days ago.  27 weeks

To Marry or not to Marry?

We went to one of the hospitals that our OB office delivers at last Saturday.  This is the hospital we planned on delivering at from the start BUT the OB office is trying to change our minds.  They are attached to a hospital so they would much rather us delivering there.  Why are we not even considering there you might ask??.....well that is because it's a Catholic hospital.  I do not think that is the best place for a same sex couple to deliver at.  The OBs office claims they won't treat us differently there but I have my doubts.  While I am labor I definitely do not want to find out.  So I decided to visit the one we want to deliver at so at my next appt with my midwife (which is tomorrow) I can just say we visited it and love it and that is where we want to deliver.  If she pushes the issue anymore I will point out how stressful it will be for me to deliver at a Catholic hospital and I think she will back down then.  Guess I will find out tomorrow.

We love the hospital and the nurses that we met.  They treated us like any other couple and they also have a NICU.  Which makes me feel better.  I hope we don't need it but if we do it's there.  I asked about the birth certificate and they showed us the paperwork that says "other" parent instead of father.  (We are delivering in NY even tho we live in PA with the hope we will get treated better and that we would have more rights)  We left there soooo happy thinking that G would be able to be on the birth cert from the start.  Since it was a weekend they told me to call back during the week to double check with the nurse who takes care of the birth certs tho.  I called today and got the bad news.  The only way we can both be on the birth cert is if we are married. 

So now that brings me to the title of this blog.....to Marry or not to Marry??  We have talked about getting married but since I have been married and divorced before I have been avoiding the topic as much as possible.  I say things like "maybe when it's legal in PA"  Now this makes me rethink things some.  If we got married in NY it wouldn't mean anything in PA but to some people that doesn't matter.  I have lesbian friends that are married and live in states it's not legal in.  I do not feel the need to get married....Marriage actually scares me.  But I do want Gs name on the birth cert so she is included in the birth as much as any father would be (even if they weren't genetically the father).  What do you guys think???  I know many of my lesbian mom friends on here are married so I would like your opinion.  I have to talk this over with G tonight but I am trying to get all my feelings straight about it before I do. 

20 Weeks....

I am actually 21 weeks now but I wanted to give the half way update I am just a little late!! Sorry!! So far we have only bought the travel system, bassinet, and of course clothes!! We think we have picked out the crib that we want but haven't even gotten a chance to work on the baby room yet. We do have the theme for his room. Its going to be stars and monkeys. We just finished remodeling our room so baby room is next!! My mom already has a swing, crib and clothes for her house so she seems to be way ahead of me! lol I think she might be a little excited!

I have started some baby registries online and think we are having the baby shower July 21st but I need to make that official yet. I have some ideas for the shower....yes I am planning it! I am a control freak lol but my mom is going to help me pay for it and she will do the cooking. I will have to do a post with baby shower ideas and see what you guys think!! Our maternity pics our scheduled for June 23rd. Really hoping that is a good time to do them...I didn't want to do them too early or too late!!

Pregnancy seems to be starting to take a toll on me. I have a hard time getting up from couch and body parts go numb very quickly. My back and feet hurt already. I fear what the summer will be like!!


And since I never did one of these I feel its about time....

How far along? 21 weeks 2 days

How big is baby? length of carrot

Total weight gain: 18lbs

Maternity Clothes: Still haven't bought any, but had to go up 6 sizes in pants!

Have you started to show yet? our yea....see pic below lol

Sleep: can't get enough sleep

Best moment this week: continuing to feel him kick and see him move around

Miss Anything? for some reason I am missing wine and cigs (i never drank much and had quit smoking)

Movement: Lots and lots...esp when laying down. He kicks Gs hand every night.

Food Cravings: fudge pops and blue raspberry icees

Anything make you queasy or sick? no not really

Gender prediction: He is a boy

Name: All we know so far is his middle name will be James after my grandfather.

Symptoms: tired, back pain, sore feet

Major purchases this week? just bought some clothes

Looking forward to: seeing more movements in my belly!

Answering these questions made me think about a few other things I hadn't mentioned in detail. One I have been dreaming a lot. Pretty much can remember my dreams every morning. And one dream I have often in smoking or drinking and trying to hide it and someone catching me lol

Also every night G puts her hand on my belly and he kicks her. He seems to like it more when she puts her wrist on my belly. We are thinking this is because he can hear her pulse.

I found a baby book we are going to order. That was a lot harder then I thought...we went to buy one at ToysRus the other day thinking nothing of it till we looked inside and everything said "Daddy". So I looked online and didn't find much. What I did find was very expensive and ugly. But I finally found this one and it seems like everything we are looking for. I haven't seen it in person yet, but when I do I will give you my final opinion. Here is the website if you are interested in finding a baby book for two mommies! http://ourworldourfamily.com/

 Here is my 20 week picture with our boxer Konner =)

18 weeks

Well we had our 18 week ultrasound on Friday March 29th and he is definitely a BOY!  There is no doubt.  Also no more placenta previa....my placenta moved.  This I am happy about because there could be lots of complications if it hadn't moved but now we don't get another ultrasound till 34 weeks. =(  I was enjoying all the ultrasounds!!  The rest of the Ultrasound went well.  We didn't get any special scans or genetic testing done earlier so we don't know anything for sure but ultrasound tech said all his measurements were good and she didn't see anything that would be a red flag.  So that is good!!

We were sent back out to the waiting room after our ultrasound to wait for the midwife then I got called to the window.  SOur midwife was delivering a baby and they wanted us to come back next week.  Well I asked if we could just come back later that day at first she said no but then changed her mind.  You see we live out in the middle of no where in PA but close to NY.  So we drive over an hour to NY to this OBGYN clinic for a few reasons.  1. because we would have to drive that far no matter what hospital we wanted to deliver at.  2. because NY is more accepting of same sex relationships and 3. midwives are hard to find around here and I want to deliver as naturally as possible.  Which for me as of right now is no induction or pitocin.  I am thinking I will want an epidural tho!  So I explained since it was Friday of a holiday weekend that I wouldn't be able to put in for the time off for next week and we are over an hour away plus my work is over an hour and a half away and she said she could fit us in at 3pm.  It was already after 11 so we went to lunch and baby shopping. 

I have been able to feel him kick since about 17 weeks and G felt him for the first time April 1st (18 weeks).  He kicks her hand every night when we lay down to go to bed.  I am almost 20 weeks now and he kicks me and moves around all the time.  Some days more then others. 

His name hasn't been decided yet.  I have an app on my ipad (Baby Names) that is helping me some.  I really love the app and I have all our favorite names saved but I think he won't have a name for awhile.  It's a big decision!

Now I am trying to figure out when/where/how to do our baby shower and I just booked our maternity pics.  For the baby shower we are thinking July 21st and I am still trying to find a place to have it that won't cost too much.  I am hoping that is not too late to have it (I am due Aug 28th).  It is what works best for everyone and I didn't want to do it around the 4th because people always have plans.  Plus my sister says I need to be big for my shower or it won't be fun! lol I think she is talking more for her entertainment then mine!  Maternity pics are scheduled for June 23rd.  The photographer said we should do them around 7 months and now that I think of it that is probably best because who wants to be huge and uncomfortable in their pics??  I wanna like them!! lol So I told G she needs to find cute tiny sneakers for the pics....that's her job!!  I am going to start searching the web for pic ideas if you have any let me know!!

Now here is what you are probably waiting for.....

18 week ultrasound

17 week belly pic

Another 17 week belly pic

And he is definitely a BOY!!!

15 weeks

Here is our baby BOY! The ultrasound tech wouldn't say for sure since it was so early but she thought boy. When she was looking I was thinking boy as well before she told us. There was not three lines like you see for a girl and she showed us what looked like a penis. So we are pretty sure boy! Which makes us so happy because we wanted a boy!

So I still have placenta previa but its marginal now instead of complete so it's moving some. I am not surprised I'm still spotting because he was kicking his placenta during the whole ultrasound.  Lol We go back to check to see if the placenta has moved more and make sure he's still a boy on March 29.