Pregnancy Update

So this pregnancy is proving to be a lot more for my body to handle than my previous pregnancies. I think the main reason is my body didn't have time to completely heal before getting pregnant again. I believe doctors recommend you wait at least one year after a c-section to get pregnant again. Well, my body only had a whopping four months to heal before going through it again. I have been on medication to help calm contractions/cramping for a couple of months now and it was helping. I had stopped taking it as everything was calm and the medicine caused me to have terrible headaches.

This past weekend I started having even worse contractions that were completely different than what I had been experiencing. It's strange, they induced contractions after my water broke with Carter and I know they hurt. They hurt bad enough that I had an epidural but I can't for the life of me remember exactly what they felt like. I think that is God's way of making sure you have more children. So, this past weekend I didn't know what to think. I knew that if I called my doctor he would tell me to go to the hospital and get checked out. That isn't so easy to do when you have a 3 year old and an 11 month old asleep at 10:30 at night. It probably wasn't the smartest decision but nonetheless I decided to just take my medicine and go to bed. They never got better but they never got worse. I think part of me wasn't that concerned just because after twenty something hours of labor with Carter I never dilated past 3 cm and my body just wouldn't go into active labor.

I called my doctor's nurse yesterday morning and she scheduled me to go in at 2:30 that afternoon. One of my friends let me drop Carter off at her house and he played with her three kids while I went to the doctor. So much easier to take one kiddo to the doctor than two! My mom met me at the doctor's office since John had meetings he couldn't get out of. He did an internal exam and everything seemed to be fine. I wasn't dilating and my cervix was still very high. He also did a Fetal fibronectin test which indicates if you are likely to go into labor within the next two weeks.

Dr. Jacoby called me this afternoon with the results. Normally his nurse calls me when it is good news so imagine my surprise when he called me himself. My heart sank when I heard him on the other end of the phone. But, luckily it was good news. The fFN test came back negative which means I am good for at least another two weeks. He had me keep my scheduled appointment for July 21st when I will be 31 weeks. Hopefully everything remains uneventful until then!

Another Practice Photo Shoot

Yesterday I loaded the boys into the car around 8:30 and we headed to a nearby park for me to practice taking some pictures. Carter was a great sport but quickly got over it! He was fascinated by a turtle that was about 50 feet away from us. Preston did great and since he isn't a fan of the grass, he didn't move from his little blanket I sat him on. It quickly, as in a matter of 5 minutes, got super hot and humid so we were only there for about 30 minutes but I'm glad I took them out there. The more practice I get the better I am learning my camera and the better I can get. Not to mention the cute pictures I'm getting of my boys!! I just hope they don't hate me for always taking their pictures!! I posted some of the pictures on my other blog. I hope you enjoy!

New Favorite Bible Verse

All of our boys have what we call silkies. They are the best things in the world. Both Carter and Preston are very attached to theirs. My nephew, Cayden, was the first in our family to have a silkie and I think he called them his binky. Anyways, you can get a little piece of fabric sewn on the side of it that says, "Under His wing God showers me with comfort. 2 Cor 1:15." I have made sure to get all of our silkies with this as I think it has a great meaning. I just ordered Baby #3's silkie with his name on it and so excited to have gotten in the mail the other day. On the package there is a sticker and it says:

Precious is God's unfailing love

Trust in the shadow of His wings

Psalms 36:7

This just spoke volumes to me this past week. We have been praying for Baby and his health and I need to always remember this verse! I hope all of my kids can feel the comfort of knowing God and trusting in him!

27 Week Doctor Appointment

I had my 27 week doctor appointment today and it went great! We had a sono done to check on the cyst that had developed on Baby's brain. It had completely resolved on it's own like Dr. Jacoby said it would. We couldn't be more happy and grateful. We had a lot of people praying for us and are very grateful for all of the thoughts and prayers. She went ahead and took measurements of the baby and he is measuring right on track. I am currently 27 weeks and 2 days and he measured 27 weeks 3 days. He is approximately 2 pounds and 6 ounces and in the 49th percentile. He is now transverse and laying on his back with his head and arms and legs up in my ribs. It is definitely making it uncomfortable for me! I had gained 7 more pounds. I couldn't believe I had gained that much in a matter of 4 weeks but the nurse said it should all even out as I have only gained 20 pounds all together and it's about average for being 27 weeks. I think we need to lay off the daily snow cones though! :) My blood pressure was 110/70 . I also had blood drawn for the glucose test. I should find out early next week what the results are. I hope I passed and don't have to go on a diabetic diet. I haven't had gestational diabetes with either Carter nor Preston so I will be a little shocked if it shows I do have it. I have been more tired lately so I am assuming my iron levels are low and need to start supplementing but should hear about that next week too. We talked about getting my tubes tied and we still haven't fully decided on if we want to do that. It will only take an extra five minutes in the operating room while I'm having my c-section but it is just so final. I know I don't want to have any more kids but totally eliminating the option makes me a little sad. There are days that I am 100% sure I want my tubes tied and then days that I'm only 75% sure. I know I shouldn't do it unless I am absolutely 100% sure so we have a couple of more months to talk about it. We also talked about when to schedule my c-section. He said I could pick any day the week of September 14th. I don't really care which day and I don't think I will make it that far anyways. Preston didn't make it to his scheduled date so I'm not too worried. My goal is to make it to September. If I make it to September then I will be happy. It is going to be one long hot summer though. It was supposed to get up to 100 degrees today. I'm not sure if it did but it is miserably hot!!

Here is a picture of his profile.

I asked her to confirm that he is still a boy and he is definitely all boy!! :)

How do you teach a 3 year old about disappointment?

I had to see, for the first time tonight, my three year be let down by a complete stranger. I responded to an add on Craigslist for a Little Tykes picnic table. It would have been perfect for the boys in the backyard. I was the first to respond and spoke to them on the phone. I told them we were on our way. The man asked that I call when I got close so that he was expecting us. I called him just 20 minutes later once we were closer and almost to his house. He informed me that he had just sold it to a lady that was at his house buying another item. He apologized and we hung up. I had already shown Carter a picture of the table and he was super excited! As we were turning around to go home, I told Carter that we weren't getting the table and were going home. He started to tear up and was so disappointed. How do you explain to a three year old that sometimes we run into not so nice people? In the midst of him crying he told me that he was sorry that we didn't get the table. My heart just broke. I explained to him that it wasn't his fault by any means and sometimes people just aren't very nice. I know this is the first of many times that he will be let down in his life but three years old just seems so young to start those "life" lessons.

New Playset

We decided a few months ago that we needed a playset or something in the backyard for our three boys to exhaust themselves on. Our house is just too small for the energy of three boys. A neighbor of one my "mom" friends had just sold their house and the new owners did not want their gigantic playset that was in the backyard. Their loss was definitely our gain!! John and his buddy Todd spent all day last Sunday disassembling it, moving it and reassembling it. It was a huge task that took them just over 11 hours to complete. I made sure they stay hydrated with a ton of cold water, Gatorade and made sure they ate lunch and dinner. They worked so hard and it paid off! We have an awesome playset in the backyard now.

You Just Never Know Who Needs a Smile

While Carter was at MDO today, Preston and I made a trip to Wal-Mart. It is so much easier to run errands when you only have one kiddo. That is one thing that I completely took for granted when I just had one. But anyways, as Preston and I were strolling through I almost ran into an older lady that was pushing her cart around the corner. I politely apologized and backed up. Well, Preston, being Preston, starts giving her the biggest smiles and reaches his hands out towards her. She smiled right back and talked to him for a minute. She leaned to me and thanked me. She said you have no idea how much I needed that smile today. It made me feel so good that my little man was able to make some one's day just a little better. In fact, it made my day a little better knowing that Preston, at 10 months old, was able to make an impact on someone. You never know what's going on in other people's world's and today just reminded me to smile as much as I can.

Photo Session

Please check out my other blog!! I am super excited to have had my first practice photo shoot with the best little person to photograph!!

Baking a Cake for Grandma's Birthday

Carter and I baked a cake for Grandma (John's mom) on Saturday. Her birthday was on Sunday the 14th but we celebrated with her on Saturday the 13th. Her favorite cake is carrott cake and Carter loved the idea of baking a cake for her. While we were at Wal-Mart getting all of the ingredients he told everyone he could about how it was his Grandma's birthday and he was going to bake her a cake. He had a lot of fun and even pulled up his stool to watch it bake. I learned from this experience that I am definitely not made to be a cake decorator! I had fun but can't ice a cake to save my life! It did turn out pretty tasty though. I hope Grandma enjoyed it!

26 Weeks

I have been bad at taking belly pics this pregnancy. I really like having them so I can remember how big I got and how fast. I had John take some pics this past weekend and Carter loves to participate as well! :) I'm already getting pretty big but know I will get a lot bigger before it's all over!

I Need a Magazine

Carter is definitely turning into a Mini-John! :) He announced he needed to go poop and so I told him to go to his bathroom as the light was already on and his stool and potty seat were in there. He came back and told me that he needed a magazine first and ran and picked one up. This is how I found him when I went to check on him.

Roses

A couple of weeks ago, John surprised me with roses! He said he saw them and thought about me so he bought them! I really couldn't have asked for a better husband!! I love you, honey!! They bloomed for two weeks which was an added bonus!!

Two New Teeth!!

I thought that Preston had been teething because of how much he was chewing on EVERYTHING! I just couldn't figure out which teeth and couldn't remember which ones were supposed to be the next to come in. After lunch today I noticed little spots next to both of his middle bottom teeth. I felt them and sure enough they have cut through. So, he now has 6 teeth!!! He is a great teether too...hardly ever fussy!

Fun with the blog!!

I have been trying to get creative with this blog and customize it a little more. I have had a ton of help with websites that provide free backgrounds but nonetheless I have made it more "me." I am pretty dang proud that I was brave and gave a shot at adding pictures to the header and it did take a little bit of time as I'm getting more familiar with photoshop but I'm very happy with the result. I asked John if he would help me learn more about HTML and he said no. lol I asked if I could take a class and again he said no. I guess I will have to depend on the Internet to teach me. What did we do before the Internet??? Anyways, I just had to share my excitement! :)

That's right... I make the best dinner in the Whole World!!

I got a late start on dinner tonight so I just popped in a Stouffers frozen Grandma's Rice & Chicken dish in the microwave. I save those for these kind of nights. I did, however, spend a little bit of time cutting up fresh veggies to put on a yummy salad. As we were eating Carter said, "Mommy, you make the best dinner in the whole wide world!" And as he was saying this he opened his arms up really wide. I just melted. It was such a crappy meal but in his eyes his Mommy makes the best dinner in whole wide world!!!

Pictures from Oregon

It has taken me so long to actually have a moment to sit down and go through all of our pictures from our trip to Oregon. Here are the best of the best! :)

Five Manning Men, Four Generations

Grandpa's and Carter's hands. It is so neat to see the difference!

The men working hard on Grandpa's computer.

Grandpa and Preston

Carter loved to go outside and sit on the porch.

The train ride was so much fun!! What a cool train!

Preston fell right asleep despite the cold and the train whistle.

Carter and Preston before the train left the station.

A REALLY big snail outside Grandpa's house.

Mount St. Helen's

Mount Hood

Preston is such a happy baby!

Preston not so happy at Tillamook Cheese Factory. I probably shouldn't post this for everyone to see but I just simply couldn't resist. He is hardly ever upset so I had to capture the moment! :)

The four of us after eating lunch at Mo's.

Good Kiss

Like all 3 year olds, Carter sometimes says the most random things. It always catches me off guard and makes me laugh. Last week while he was sick we let him sleep in our room on the floor. Well, he was still awake when John and I were going to sleep. John and I kissed and said goodnight to each other. As soon as we kissed Carter says, "Good kiss guys, good kiss!"

I Feel Like A Real Adult!!

John and I finally took the plunge and finally got ourselves brand new bedroom furniture. It is something that we have been wanting to do for a long time but it just never fit into our budget. It still didn't completely fit but it was definitely time. We were both so tired of having mix matched furniture and our kids had nicer furniture than we did. My cousin, Brittany, told me about Weirs Furniture Clearance. Weirs Furniture is known for its well built quality furniture and to find out they had pieces we could afford was very exciting. It only took one trip there and we picked out exactly what we wanted. We upgraded to a king size bed which is heavenly!!! We bought the bed, two night stands, 5 draw chest, and entertainment chest. We also got our new mattress from them. It is the first time either of us has had a truly good quality mattress. Our room finally looks like a REAL grown ups room. lol As soon as I get the bedding we want I will take pictures.

Rough Day

Carter has been sick all day and it has completely worn me out. Last night as John was walking towards our room at midnight, he said that Carter said "hi" to him on his way. I thought it was odd that Carter was lying there awake at midnight so I went in the check on him. I asked him if he was okay and his response was:

Carter: It's not right, Mommy.
Me: What's not right?
Carter: My pillow. I just can't get it right.

Very strange but I went with it. I noticed his cheeks were a little red so I felt him and he was burning up. I checked his temp and it was 102.1. I gave him Tylenol and he fell asleep in our room after about an hour. He woke up with a 102 temp this morning and took Tylenol and it went down to 100. Around 10:30 it was back up to 102 and so I made an appointment with Dr. Morchower. Then only 30 minutes later it spiked at 104.7. Talk about freaked out! I gave him some Motrin and at the doctor it was back down to around 100. We ate lunch at McD's real quick and came home and he fell asleep. Oh, when we got home his temp was back up to 103.9 so he had more Tylenol. All of the blood test and urine test said that it was a viral thing and we had to just let it runs its course.

John came home and we ate pizza. Carter wasn't feeling great but was feeling a little better. I finally found the stroller I had been looking for from someone on Craigslist and was going to pick it up tonight. John and both boys came with me. Carter just stayed in his jammies since he wasn't going to get out of the car. Well, I remembered on our way home that we were out of baby food. Target always has the best prices so I wanted to run in there real quick. Preston was starting to get fussy as it was his bedtime so we all decided to go in real quick. I laid a blanket down in the cart for Carter and he sat in there the whole way through Target with baby food surrounding him. We were finally done and in the check out lane. All of a sudden I see Carter start to gag. Then the whole contents of his stomach come up in the cart all over the baby food. Luckily, the blanket caught most of it but it really upset him. John quickly took him into the bathroom to get him cleaned up and I picked out the food that was clean. This happened to me a couple of months ago too at the same Target except I was by myself with both kids. I will say that it is so much easier to have an extra pair of hands there to help.

On our way home, the boy that was sluggish and barely talking all day would not stop talking. He told us he was hungry and wanted to eat pizza when we got home. After a bath and clean jammies, I took his temp again and what do you know... 98.5!!! I hope the worst of it is over with and pray that the rest of us stay well.

I know Carter had such a rough day and I hate to see one of my kids sick. It just breaks my heart when he feels bad. He is now asleep right next to my bed. I think we both sleep better when he is next to me! I'm not quite sure how that will all work out when there are three of them!

Now, I am exhausted and can't wait to crawl into bed and hopefully get a full nights rest!

Mixed Emotions *Warning - Hormonal Moment :)

Lately, I have been having very mixed emotions when it comes to baby #3. Don't get me wrong, I couldn't be more excited to welcome another little boy into our family. He is going to have 2 awesome big brothers and is going to fit right in.

My sadness I feel is more towards what this means for Preston. I had 2 1/2 whole years with Carter. I got to enjoy his growing and he got to enjoy me and John as well. I kinda feel like Preston is going to get the short end of the stick. I know he won't know any different but I know. I feel like part of me is rushing him to grow up a little because I just don't know if I can handle a 3 1/2 year old and two babies. I really want him to be walking by the time #3 is born which looks like he will be doing anyways on his own but I hate actually wanting it to happen that quickly. I feel like I'm going to miss out on spending more one on one time with him. This past year, we have had two days a week for 5 hours each of those two days it was just me and him. Being a stay at home mom has allowed me to really get to know him and I cherish every moment. I can't thank John enough for allowing me to have the privilege of staying home with our kids. I have been on both ends of the spectrum. I worked for 2 years of Carter's life and sent him to daycare every day. Granted he learned a ton and is a little social butterfly now because of it but I now see the benefit of really getting to know your child when you stay at home. I didn't know Carter as well as I know Preston. I never did know what his cries meant and I do with Preston. It makes me sad to think that I couldn't give that to Carter. But now, I'm going to be taking away a little from Preston. I have learned to balance my time with two boys. I will take Carter with me sometimes on the weekends to run errands. It is so much fun when it's just the two of us. And I have one on one time with Preston all the time. My fear is that with a newborn, how will that affect my attention on my other kids. Carter is such a big helper and understands a lot. Preston, on the other hand, won't be able to understand it at all. Carter is anticipating another baby coming into our family. He knows what that means and what that entails. Preston doesn't. How is he going to understand that Mommy won't be able to hold him all the time? Will he allow someone else to comfort him when I can't? I have never spent a night away from Preston. What will he think when I'm in the hospital for 4 days? He is such a momma's boy and I can't begin to imagine what his adjustment to a little brother is going to be like.

If you made it this far then I applaud you! :) lol I think I really needed to get all of my current feelings out there. I know it will all work out in the end and a lot of people have kids close in age. I think this next year is going to be a very tough one for everyone in our little family but I do look forward to all of the fun we are going to have!

Preston loves to eat!!

Preston is such a good eater! I have been very hesitant in giving him more table food. We went through such a bad experience with Carter. He had, and still does, the most sensitive gag reflex. If he started to choke on something the whole entire contents of his stomach would immediately come up. He simply cannot recover from choking without throwing up. Well, Preston has been a different story. He gobbles up every little thing I put in front of him. He will sometimes start to choke but recovers very quickly and he even sometimes fixes the problem by stuffing more food in there.

So far, to date, he has had:

• Cheerios
• Saltine Crackers
• Ritz Crackers
• Cubed Ham
• Gerber Puffs
• Goldfish
• Eggs

He also eats tons of baby food. The only thing we have found that he doesn't like are carrots. I have tried the pureed and the cooked and chopped carrots and he gags. So strange since those are some of Carter's favorites!

He is starting to refuse his bottles which worries me a little. I spoke to my pediatrician's nurse today and she told me to just keep offering it to him. He could be teething and the suction of the bottle could be irritating his gums. She said that as long as he is getting some liquid through out the day, whether it is through diluted juice in a sippy cup or from bottles then he should be fine. I told her that he is now up to 21 pounds, and she laughed and said he has plenty of storage in there and not to worry. I did try to put his formula in a sippy cup but he didn't like that idea. So, for now I will keep trying. Some days he will have only 3 oz of formula and other days it could be around 15. It is a little frustrating but we only have 2 more months and it will be safe to start weaning him from formula and switching over to milk.

Sweet Dreams

Tonight, as I was putting Preston to bed, Carter comes out of his room to give Preston hugs and kisses goodnight, again. Carter is such a good big brother! Well, tonight he said his usual, "Goodnight, Preston. I love you." Then he proceeded with, "Have sweet dreams about me!" I couldn't help but laugh. I always tell Carter to have sweet dreams but have never told him what to dream. It was just so cute and innocent.