I'm running way behind on my blog posts. I've got an Easter post and Naomi's 15 month post in the pipeline still, plus I should post something of a pregnancy update.
BUT, my friend, Katy, has an amazing blog that she keeps much more up to date. It just so happens that we had a pool play date today with her and her little man, Pearson. She got some cute pics of the little swimmers, so click on to her blog below to have a look:
Pool Time Play Date
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
YouTube Channel Test
I may delete this post if it doesn't work, but I want to try posting a video from my YouTube channel to my blog. Totally new at this, so we'll see...
Friday, April 6, 2012
Announcing - Baby #2
I meant to announce our good baby news on my blog and facebook after the standard 12 week waiting period, but got sick and busy, etc. So, finally in the 18-19 weeks, we are finally managing that. So, here is a quick glimpse of my pregnancy so far. I'm currently at 19 weeks (can't believe it's almost the halfway point) and I'm due on August 31st.
We found out we were pregnant in December, but weren't ready to share our news yet. When Naomi's birthday came around, we decided it was the ideal time to tell our family. We had several family members in from out of town and most of our family would be at Naomi's birthday party and we would be able to tell everyone at once. At this point, I was about 6 weeks along (my calcs at the time had me at 8 weeks, but I was adjusted at our initial sono). So, Naomi's first gift to open was from us and was a book, "I'm Going to be a Big Sister". I wish I had a picture but we were so all in the moment that no one took one. Reactions included, "Why would someone get her that?", "Did you buy her that?" and finally "Are you trying to tell us something?", to which we replied that yes we are having another baby. This resulted in a chorus of "Are you serious?" and "Really?" followed by joy and hugs. (And later, of course, the whole yes we were actually trying - it is me after all - the girl who wasn't sure she wanted one, now having two is a bit surprising even to me.)
We told our ABF at church next (around the 10 week mark) and continued gradually telling friends we saw, co-workers, Jazzercise peeps, etc.
First trimester summary: I was way more sick with this one than I was with Naomi, but no where near as sick as some women get. I got a prescription for Zofran - helped a lot. I didn't gain any weight - yay! - really worked hard on that one since I'm still carrying extra weight from having Naomi. My only noticeable craving was for Arby's roast beef sandwiches which was completely bizarre since we eat there once maybe every couple of years or so. I'm over it now, but I went more in one month than I have in the past decade.
Second trimester so far: The sick tapered off around week 14-16 with a few "going out with a bang" moments. At my last doctor's appointment, I had officially gained 1 lb. - not bad. I just started "popping out" quite a bit in the last couple weeks, so whatever extra weight I already had has begun migrating to my belly. :) I haven't had any real "cravings" lately, but do notice things tasting good to me that normally aren't really my thing - I remember this from last time too - Brian's babies love salsa and bbq sauce.
18 week sono: It's a GIRL. Her name will be Olivia. Everything looked good and normal (pic above). That's pretty much it. I don't have another appointment with the perinatologist, so we'll see if I go back to her this time around or if it'll just be the OB.
Will I have preeclampsia again? I get asked this question a lot, so I figure I'll answer it here in case anyone is wondering. The answer, in short, is "flip a coin". There is no way to know and no known way to prevent it since they don't really know what causes it (the blood pressure is merely one of the symptoms and the most easily measured, so simply controlling blood pressure isn't the answer). So far, so good. I monitor my blood pressure on a regular basis just to get an idea of my baseline - it eases my mind and it helps the doctor. Otherwise, they don't do anything special for this pregnancy until something goes haywire. So we just wait and hope and prepare. We've thought through the possibility of hospital bed rest and are planning to have the room completed by the end of June (quite the undertaking given the current state of things).
How long will I be able to teach Jazzercise? Again, we'll see. Still going strong and full out. No need to restrict to low impact yet as I "have a proven cervix" (sorry for the tmi). So, I'll go until I feel too un-comfortable, make adjustments to my schedule when the time comes, and stop if they tell me that I must. I taught 4 classes this week, even while dealing with a massive sinus/allergy attack. I just ordered a maternity support belt to help me as my belly expands over the next couple months. Keep on dancin' ya'll! :)
Baby Bump Pics: I'm sure I'll take some at some point and if I do, I'll post them.
More later!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
A Look Back at Naomi's First Year
I typed this up back after Naomi's first birthday in January and am just now posting it (just days before she hits 15 months and I need to do another post).
I can't believe a whole year has flown by in the blink of an eye.
If you've never read Naomi's birth story, you can read it here:
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/naomis-birthday.html
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/aftermath-mag-and-nicu.html
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/rest-of-our-stay-and-release-days.html
I still tear up reading it over a year later and I wonder if that will ever change.
We've watched our baby girl grow from a helpless lump of cuteness to a curious baby girl with an emerging independent streak. We've gone from sleepless nights to mostly good nights. We've childproofed and continue to do so as Naomi reveals her increasing knack for getting into things. We've read, played with toys, learned to eat, gone to Tiny Tots, gone to story time at the library, gone to the park, and enjoyed countless other firsts both small and big.
And, we've watched ourselves grow - as individuals, as a couple, and as parents. We've both become more patient. Brian has become an even harder worker as the sole provider for our family (such a blessing). He's an amazing Dad who does everything he can for her and gladly takes over as soon as he's home from work, so that I can have some me time (a HUGE deal for me - thank you, thank you, thank you). I've become less selfish (at least where Naomi's concerned; no one else has probably noticed a difference). I've become far more tolerant of mess (as evidenced by Naomi's birthday cupcake pics) which is huge for me. As a couple, we've had to work much harder this year. The first year of parenthood is very stressful and definitely a challenge to your marriage. We've had to be patient with each other in various areas, we've had to work hard not to take out frustration/lack of sleep on each other, and we've had to be very intentional about making time for us as a couple. Overall though, in Grinch terms, our hearts have grown ten sizes.
Here is a flash back to the past year in pictures:
I can't believe a whole year has flown by in the blink of an eye.
If you've never read Naomi's birth story, you can read it here:
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/naomis-birthday.html
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/aftermath-mag-and-nicu.html
http://culpgal.blogspot.com/2011/01/rest-of-our-stay-and-release-days.html
I still tear up reading it over a year later and I wonder if that will ever change.
We've watched our baby girl grow from a helpless lump of cuteness to a curious baby girl with an emerging independent streak. We've gone from sleepless nights to mostly good nights. We've childproofed and continue to do so as Naomi reveals her increasing knack for getting into things. We've read, played with toys, learned to eat, gone to Tiny Tots, gone to story time at the library, gone to the park, and enjoyed countless other firsts both small and big.
And, we've watched ourselves grow - as individuals, as a couple, and as parents. We've both become more patient. Brian has become an even harder worker as the sole provider for our family (such a blessing). He's an amazing Dad who does everything he can for her and gladly takes over as soon as he's home from work, so that I can have some me time (a HUGE deal for me - thank you, thank you, thank you). I've become less selfish (at least where Naomi's concerned; no one else has probably noticed a difference). I've become far more tolerant of mess (as evidenced by Naomi's birthday cupcake pics) which is huge for me. As a couple, we've had to work much harder this year. The first year of parenthood is very stressful and definitely a challenge to your marriage. We've had to be patient with each other in various areas, we've had to work hard not to take out frustration/lack of sleep on each other, and we've had to be very intentional about making time for us as a couple. Overall though, in Grinch terms, our hearts have grown ten sizes.
Here is a flash back to the past year in pictures:
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
My New Sewing Machine
I wrote this post many months ago, but have yet to post it, so here it is:
Back at the end of June, I pooled my birthday money and used it to buy a sewing machine. I figure that just learning to hem my own pants could save me a bunch. Plus, it would be nice to maybe sew a few things for Naomi and be able to do other alterations or fun projects.
After some research, asking for advice on Facebook, and a trip to the store to check out sewing machines. I decided on the Bernette 25 by Bernina - you can check it out here. Bernina is a top of the line brand that typically runs in the thousands of dollars for their machines, but their Bernette line is considerably more economical. I like to call them the "Baby Berninas" that are geared more at younger, entry-level sewers. It's a computerized machine with 155 stitches including, letters, numbers, and a memory feature. The controls have an iPod like feel.
On Monday, August 8th, I went to a class at the Garland Bernina Center (inside Hancock Fabrics) to learn how to use my machine and complete a small sewing project. It was very helpful for getting a little more comfortable with my new machine. Of course, this project didn't go perfectly, so I found myself repeatedly saying, "It's just a pencil case". :) Here are some pictures and commentary from class. I had to finish up my little project at home. It turned out fairly well.
Note: I have finished the pencil case, other than sewing on a couple of decorative buttons and it now holds some sewing notions. However, I have not managed to take a picture of it.
Back at the end of June, I pooled my birthday money and used it to buy a sewing machine. I figure that just learning to hem my own pants could save me a bunch. Plus, it would be nice to maybe sew a few things for Naomi and be able to do other alterations or fun projects.
After some research, asking for advice on Facebook, and a trip to the store to check out sewing machines. I decided on the Bernette 25 by Bernina - you can check it out here. Bernina is a top of the line brand that typically runs in the thousands of dollars for their machines, but their Bernette line is considerably more economical. I like to call them the "Baby Berninas" that are geared more at younger, entry-level sewers. It's a computerized machine with 155 stitches including, letters, numbers, and a memory feature. The controls have an iPod like feel.
On Monday, August 8th, I went to a class at the Garland Bernina Center (inside Hancock Fabrics) to learn how to use my machine and complete a small sewing project. It was very helpful for getting a little more comfortable with my new machine. Of course, this project didn't go perfectly, so I found myself repeatedly saying, "It's just a pencil case". :) Here are some pictures and commentary from class. I had to finish up my little project at home. It turned out fairly well.
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| My Bernette 25 - plugged in and ready to start |
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| My packet of materials |
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| Up and running - decorative flaps done |
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| Progress - body of the pencil case with zipper and ribbon with decorative stitch sewn on. |
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| Instructor Mitzy with another student |
Note: I have finished the pencil case, other than sewing on a couple of decorative buttons and it now holds some sewing notions. However, I have not managed to take a picture of it.
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