Planned vs Unplanned

That's crazy how my poll turned out! Guess they should label birth control as "50% effective" huh! JK!
This baby was VERY planned. I wasn't remotely ready for a 2nd baby for the first 18 months of Cam's life, but in February, it hit me like a ton of bricks....just that feeling that it was time to add to our family. Nate said that he was feeling the same way. So we prayed and thought about it for a few weeks, and the decision was final. I got my IUD taken out in April, and 2 weeks later....BAM, here's baby!! :) We feel very blessed.
When people ask me if Cameron was planned, I'm not always sure whether to say yes or no. Here's the story: We got married in February, and by September, I was VERY ready for a baby. I was tired of working full-time, I didn't necessarily want to go back to school since Nate was in school, and I just felt like at 25, it was time to become a mom. So we started trying in September, and nothing happened. No big deal, we weren't in a hurry. But in October, we started seriously house-hunting. Nate and I talked and decided that the financial stress of buying a home AND having a baby at the same time would be a bit too much on our newlywed bank account! So we decided to get into a home and wait 6 months or a year for the baby. Well, turns out we should have had that conversation a little bit sooner cuz it was too late!! On the exact same day that the offer on our house was accepted, we got the positive pregnancy test!! Funny how things work sometimes! And obviously financially everything worked out, and we wouldn't trade in our little Cam dude for anything!!

A Small Glimpse.....

Today I got a small glimpse into the reality of having 2 kids. Usually with Abby we just stay home, so it's not bad, but today we ventured up to Bountiful to hang out with Merilee. Maybe I'm a wimp, but hauling 2 kids and all their stuff in and out of a car is HARD WORK!! Granted I'm also pregnant and it's like 100 degrees outside, but still, I'm just glad that it won't be my regular life for another 5 1/2 months!! All of you mothers who have more than one kid.....I'm impressed!! It's harder than I was expecting!!

"The" Ultrasound

I just scheduled my "official ultrasound" for September 2 at 5 pm!! We can't wait to find out what we're having. It's with the same tech who did the u/s with Cameron, he's really good. With Cam's, we recorded it all on dvd, so we have a cute little movie of Cam as a fetus. He was cute! You could see every finger and toe, and I was SO grateful that he was healthy. That's all I'm hoping for with this baby too....just a healthy, active baby. I don't care what the gender is.
I do have another ultrasound in about 2 weeks, but that's just a regular office visit one, so we won't know anything until September 2. Wow, time is flying too fast! I was hoping this pregnancy would go slowly so I could enjoy every last minute of having just one kid, but at this rate, this baby will be here before I know it!

One downside of pregnancy......

I have noticed quite a few differences between this pregnancy and Cam's, but I think that the biggest difference would have to be how AWFUL smells are to me. It's driving me CRAZY!!! I don't remember ever noticing smells as much as I do right now. I can smell our garbage all the time, that wretched hand sanitizer is still making me gag......and the latest offender......(this is SO sad)......Nate's cologne!!!!!!!!! That sad thing is that I LOVE his cologne. Usually when he puts it on, I want to attack his neck. But lately, the smell of his cologne has been making me gag. I can smell it across the room, and poor Nate has been wondering why he's not getting his usual hugs and kisses lately (Lesley, keep your mouth SHUT....!!!!!). I feel like the worst wife EVER right now.

It's a Party......Apparently!!!

Man, this is one active baby we have ourselves here! Cameron was extremely active in the womb also, so I have a feeling I'm in for another overly-energetic child!!! Baby moves all the time now, and Nate can feel it sometimes too. I'm so grateful though, because it makes me feel like Baby is healthy since he/she's so active!!
So it looks like most of you who answered my poll delivered before your due date. Cameron was due on July 16 and was born on July 9, so we were at 39 weeks 1 day with him. I was dilated to a 3 at my 38 week check, and on July 7, I started having majorly painful contractions. We all thought that was it. But after a few hours, everything stopped, and I felt GREAT. It was so weird. That got me dilated to a 4, and nearly 100% effaced. We all thought for sure I would go the next day, but all that Saturday, I felt SOOO good. We BBQed, hung out with family.....I basically begged to get induced, and so Sunday morning I went in (still feeling GREAT) and got put on Pitocin. I lasted about 20 minutes before I got an epidural. I don't consider myself wimpy either......I was seriously paralyzed with pain! I have had some painful experiences in my life, and I thought my level of pain tolerance was pretty good, but I wanted to relax and enjoy giving birth to Cam, so bring on the drugs!!!! It was a relaxing day, and I had Cameron later that night. Not to mention, Cameron weighed 8.5 pounds, so I hate to think about how much he would have weighed if he hadn't of been born for another week!!!!!
This baby's birthday will most likely be either January 10 or 11. I will probably be induced that weekend so that Nate can be there. He's so busy during the week, and with me delivering an hour away from where we live, I would be devastated if he missed it. Some of you may or may not think that "planning" like that is appropriate, but we have NO problems with it, as long as my doctor says my body and the baby is ready. We shall see.......!!!!!!

Some Energy.....Some Projects!!

Well, I have some good news. I'm now into my 15th week of pregnancy, and I'm starting to get some energy back! I am still pretty tired by the evening, but I atleast feel like I can get some things done during the day now.
Here are some of my projects I am trying to get working on:
1. Organize my clothes....pack up things that don't fit right now and replace them with my maternity clothes.
2. Organize Cam's clothes. His drawers are still full of his Winter clothes. Most of his Winter stuff is size 24 mo/2T, so I'm hoping he can still wear them this coming Winter too. I just need to clean out his clothes that are too small (for cousin Isaac!) and make room so each child will get three drawers in the dresser.
3. Organize our filing cabinet/desk. I have no idea how we have SO much paperwork around our house! I have our filing cabinet all organized into files for everything, but I'm really bad about keeping stuff filed. I get these HUGE piles of papers that need to be sorted. They drive me nuts, I wish our desk was bigger so I could have room to put some paper dividers or baskets.
4. Organize Cam's toys. I need to box up the toys he doesn't play with and save them for Baby.
5. Re-decorate kitchen/dining area. I want to find a cute rug, get a smaller table and get a little pantry cupboard.

I hate how cramped this apartment is. There is not a lot of storage space, so anytime I box up something, I have to haul it down to my parent's house in Salem. But in order to make room for another baby around here, some things are going to have to go! ALL of Cameron's baby stuff is in Salem (or Glenwood). Cameron's closet is full of our Christmas decorations/tree/ornaments, so I think that will all have to go too.

I'm anxious to find out what this baby is so that I can complete the kids' room. If it's a girl, we will do something like ladybugs on her half so that it doesn't clash with Cameron's red/blue sports theme. And if it's a boy, then I'll just continue that onto the other side of the room. I'm for SURE going to get Baby's name in these letters: http://www.letter-creations.com/. I LOVE Cameron's name in these!! This girl was fabulous to work with, I highly recommend her!

Halo Sleep Sacks

Have you heard of these? I had never seen/heard of one until Cameron was over a year old. And I wish I would have had a few for him! He LOVED sleeping all wrapped up, but he would NOT stay swaddled in a blanket. He would kick and kick until he was free, and then he'd get mad. It was so frustrating. I babysat a tiny 2 month old last fall, and she would sleep for hours wrapped up in hers. I'm definitely going to splurge on a few of these for this baby!!!

And while we're at it......

I was looking at baby clothes online for fun yesterday. I LOVE this outfit for a little boy. SO cute!!! I'm NOT one to spend lots of money on baby clothes, but I might have to splurge on these little sailboat pants and sweater.

And my absolutely FAVORITE color for little girls to wear is RED. Obviously pinks & purples are adorable, but there is just something about bright red girl clothes like this cute little outfit. In my opinion, some baby girl clothes are a tad too frilly and almost make the poor baby look ridiculous. Go to gymboree.com for some CUTE CUTE CUTE baby/kid clothes!!! Too bad I'll never be able to afford shopping there! $15 for a single onesie? No thanks!

My Nate

Can I just say how much I love my Nate? For some reason, I've had nausea all day today, and since it's Wednesday, he's just taken Cam for me....ALL afternoon! They went to the library, played with Cam's toys, and now they are outside playing soccer, swinging, slides, etc. Nate probably has a million other things he needs to be working on right now, but he's being the awesome stud that he is and is taking his afternoon to give me a break (Abby is sleeping) and to play with Cameron. Nate & Cam are really sweet together. They almost sort of have this bond or connection that I don't share with Cam. I LOVE IT!! With Nate being SO busy, I am so grateful that he takes the time to enjoy and get to know Cam. Cameron is growing up FAST, and I'm glad that Nate isn't just letting this time slip by without enjoying our baby boy. Nate & Cam have SUCH a great relationship, and that means the world to me. Nate doesn't have any brothers, so I think he is enjoying having a son. This is one of the reasons I would love another boy. I picture them all playing basketball in our driveway and going to father-son camp-outs. I want another boy soon so that Cameron can be close to his brother. Not that he wouldn't be close to his sister if it's a girl, but I just think the two boys would have a blast growing up together.

Ultrasound

Today I had another ultrasound. I measured right on track at 13 week 3 days, which puts me due on January 17. Baby was super cute, kicking lots, with a nice healthy heartbeat of 163 beats per minute. So everything looks good. Except I've actually lost weight, so I need to keep eating lots. I feel like I eat all the time though!!
I'll try to blog and download the u/s pic when I get home tonight.
Okay, sorry guys, this is the best I could scan these in. Baby is up at the top, it's head is on the right, and it's facing down. The spine is along the top of the photo. Some people have a hard time finding a baby in these pics, so good luck!

Sleeping Through the Night

Most of you know how obsessed with this book I am. "Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child" by Marc Weissbluth. BEST BOOK EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cameron was an awful sleeper when he was a newborn. His days and nights were messed up, and he never slept more than a few hours at a time. The first few weeks were okay, because I expected it, but when he was 3-4 months old, I was starting to get frustrated. Also, he was waking up about 10 times a night to nurse.....it was awful. So my pediatrician recommended this book. I read it cover to cover about 4 times in just 2 days!! Cameron was about 5 months old, so we decided to let him start crying it out. It was so hard. I would want to go in there SO bad, but Nate was awesome and helped me be strong. Lo and behold, about 4 days later, Cameron was sleeping 13 hours a night, no joke. So from when he was 5 months old until he was 15 months old, Cameron slept from 6 pm until 7 am, and napped at 9 and 1, on the nose. SO AWESOME!!!!!!!! It was like magic. And at 15 months, he started napping from noon until 2, which he still does. And he went to bed at 6 or 6:30 up until about a month ago. But now he goes down at 7, which is the latest I will allow him to stay up. I don't think kids this young need to go to bed ANY later than 7. And if he doesn't nap one day, he'll still go down at like 6:30 Everybody is always shocked at how well Cameron sleeps. But like Dr. Weissbluth's book says, kids need a schedule and to "learn how to sleep". I just don't give Cameron a choice. Bedtime is bedtime, naptime is naptime, and that's the way it is. You can't let kids make their own sleep schedule, otherwise they will be overly tired, cranky, and everyone will be miserable!!
I cannot wait to put this to the test again with my next baby. I'm SO much more relaxed now about this baby because I know that after 4-5 months of getting up all night, then I will be able to let Baby cry and all will be well! I have been babysitting a little 5-month old the past few days to help my friend out, and even just this morning, I layed her down on her own, she cried for maybe 20 minutes, and she's been asleep for an hour now! I'm just NOT a fan of rocking and cuddling your baby to sleep once they've hit this age. I know it's fun, but in the end, it comes back to bite you. I have a friend who STILL has to rock/nurse her 14-month old to sleep. And he STILL doesn't sleep through the night....because he doesn't know how to put himself to sleep!!!!! I don't know how she does it! I would go crazy! Not to mention, her child is REALLY cranky all the time! He's exhausted!!!
A LOT of parents think that letting your baby cry is mean. It is hard, but I promise your baby won't hate you! Like I said, Cameron only cried for a few days before he was sleeping all night, and it only took a few weeks for him to not cry AT ALL when we put him down. It was hard to ignore his crying during the night, but I remember waking up the first morning after he had slept all night and I rushed into his room, expecting him to be dead, and he was just happily lying there smiling away.
So to all of you moms who are struggling with your baby or kids' sleeping, READ THIS BOOK! It's broken down into age groups, so it will have helpful ideas for whatever age your child is.

Hello Second Trimester!!

I can't believe my first trimester is already behind me! I found out I was pregnant right at 5 weeks, so I thought the next 7 weeks would drag on and on.....but they flew pretty quickly!! I am feeling pretty good. The nausea has tapered off a tad.....some days are better than others right now. But the exhaustion is still pretty bad. I hope I get some energy back SOON!
I am way excited for my ultrasound on Monday. I remember I had one right at 12 weeks with Cam, and you could see arms, legs.....a whole little person!! I will try to scan the ultrasound pic to put on here. Nate can't go, he's pretty bummed, but we will make sure he's at the big ultrasound with the technician where we find out what we're having and make sure all the organs are forming properly. The technician who performs those only comes to my doctor's office on Tuesdays, so Nate had to miss it with Cameron. So we had the tech write down what we were having on a paper and put it in an envelope. I had to drive clear back up to Salt Lake with this envelope sitting on the seat next to me....pure torture! But I didn't want to find out before Nate. We will make sure he can be there this time!! We should find out at the end of August, hopefully before his Fall semester starts so he can come.

Sunday

Nicole Kidman just had a baby girl named SUNDAY.
WHY?????

Call Me Crazy......

For the past couple of days, I SWEAR I have been feeling this baby move like crazy! I'm only 12 weeks, and I know that's probably "too early" to feel anything, but I remember exactly what Cam felt like when he moved, and this baby is doing somersaults! I felt Cameron move at 14 weeks, and you could see my belly moving at 16 weeks. Craziness. I LOVE feeling the baby move, it makes me so happy!
Anyway, I'm freaking out over baby names. Our girl name is set in stone, but we're debating our boy name. It WAS set in stone, but I suddenly don't love it anymore. It was Chase, and we have a CRAZY Chase in our Primary who is seriously making me not like that name as much, is that bad? Nate really likes Oliver. So I dunno.....Give me some suggestions!!!!!!!

My Thoughts On Discipline

This is Cameron smack dab in the middle of a tantrum about 6 months ago. Hilarious!! (and a little bit sad.....)

Anyway, so here are my personal thoughts, ideas & opinions on discipline. I am a HUGE fan of the Supernanny. I think her ideas and methods are so wonderful. I have always watched her show and knew I wanted to use her methods when I had kids. So right when Cameron turned 18 months, we started using Time-Out. Nate and I sat down and decided what we wanted to deserve a Time-Out as punishment. Obviously this "list" will change as Cameron gets older, but as of today, these are the things that Cam gets Time-Out for:
1. Throwing food on the floor. (This was a HUGE problem a few months ago. So if even the tiniest morsel of food hit the floor, he was in Time-Out. It worked, and he only does it about once a week now, as opposed to after every meal!)
2. Throwing things (unless it's a ball). He tends to throw things when he gets tired.
3. Disobeying Mommy or Daddy if we ask him to do or stop doing something more than 3 times. He has been getting time-out A LOT for this lately! He hasn't been listening to us very well lately.

This is Cameron in Time-Out a few months ago. Now we have a little stool he has to sit on. When he was 18 months, he had to stay there for 1 minute. Then a few weeks ago we bumped it up to 1 1/2 minutes. And on his 2nd birthday, he will start sitting there for 2 minutes. He actually does a pretty good job of sitting there. He knows not to move until his timer beeps. If we don't keep an eye on him, he'll make a run for his room, but if he knows we're watching, then he'll sit still. Then he has to come and apologize. Hearing him say "Sorry Mommy or Sorry Daddy" is the cutest thing EVER!

I just think that consistency is KEY. You HAVE to stick to it. If sometimes they get in trouble and sometimes they don't, then they will be confused. And I feel VERY strongly that discipline is important. I think some parents feel mean or like they are "threatening a friendship" if they discipline their kids. I think it's the opposite! I think children who aren't discplined are MUCH worse off than those who are. Kids need rules and boundaries. Otherwise they will be COMPLETELY out of control.....just like all the crazy kids on Supernanny! And when I look at Cameron, I still see a happy, loving kid. He doesn't hate me or Nate because we put him in Time-Out or tell him "no". He still hugs and kisses us every day.

I also think that consistency between BOTH parents is another key. I think discipline is completely pointless if both parents aren't on the same page. Like I said, Nate and I sat down together and agreed on what constitutes a Time-Out and what doesn't. Kids need to be kids.....I don't think they should be disciplined for EVERY little thing. Most of the time, at Cam's age, anyway, simply redirecting their attention to another toy or activity will fix the problem. I do want to parent with love and not be mad at my child all the time!!!!

On to spanking.....I do NOT thing spanking is effective at all, but I have spanked Cameron. I've spanked him more than I planned on!!! It just gets hard when you get SO angry!!! But I don't want to be a mom who spanks, so I've been working on controlling my own actions. It's REALLY hard to not let your emotions take over. It's hard to stay calm!! Nate is worse than I am about controlling his anger (are you all surprised? I was!!). So we had a talk the other night about trying to parent with love more. I am going to work on using more effective methods than spanking, and Nate is going to work on using more effective methods than blowing up and yelling at Cam. There.....see, we're not perfect!! I'm just grateful that Nate is the kind of daddy who is willing to sit down with me and talk about these things. I'm sure a LOT of dads just tune out and let mom take care of everything. A lot of dads just want to be the "fun" parent. I think that's really unfair to leave the wife on her own like that!

Anyway, there are my thoughts on all of that. Keep your opinions coming!

Here We Go!!!

Okay, it's time to talk discipline! This will be fun! Don't be shy, I want to hear all of your opinions, ideas, what works, what doesn't.....NOBODY is perfect, and no ideas are right or wrong. I feel strongly about disciplining children, so I'll be posting soon...... Keep the recipes coming, too!

Quick, Easy, Healthy, Inexpensive Meal Ideas???

Since those of you who read this blog are moms with busy lives, busy kids & probably not rich, I am wondering what some of your favorite busy weeknight meals are. I'm always up for new ideas. Especially if they are inexpensive and easy! I am starting to enjoy cooking a little more than I used to, but since I don't have a dishwasher, I try not to cook meals that are too complicated because complicated usually results in lots of dishes!!
We eat a LOT of rice and pasta. My newest favorite snack is to make pasta and toss it with butter, garlic, s&p, & Parmesan cheese. SO unhealthy, but I don't care, it's so good! And I'm all about the crockpot. The problem is it usually makes too much food for just the 3 of us. I'm just getting tired of trying to come up with ideas, so I'll let you guys help me out! So anyway, let me know some of your favorite recipes.

Cameron's Birthday Party Plans

So this post isn't about the baby, but Cameron will always be my baby, so am going to write about him on this blog too.

So I am planning a little party for his birthday, which is in ONE WEEK!! I am keeping it VERY simple again, like I did last year. I don't want to plan this huge ordeal for a kid who doesn't even really know what a birthday is! Last year I made 2 cakes (from a box), we opened some gifts and just visited. This year will pretty much be the same. We're having some family and friends over. The kids can play out on the playground, and the adults can sit in the air-conditioned apartment. It's been really hot lately. I think this year I am going to make these:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peanut-Butter-Cup-Cupcakes/Detail.aspx

I can't wait! I think I will make them this weekend too, to test them out, of course!! :)

But I also want to do a chocolate cupcake too. I thought cupcakes would be fun this time. So does anyone have a good chocolate cupcake recipe? I've also thought about making them from a cake box, but maybe putting Oreos or something in the batter too! How YUM would that be!!

Next year for his 3rd birthday, I will finally take the time, energy & money to go all out for a themed party. I will probably do either a sports theme (this kid is OBSESSED with soccer and basketball. We just raised his hoop up to 4 feet and he swishes them like no tomorrow!!!) or maybe a Disney CARS theme, or maybe a Legoes theme. I found a cute idea to make a Legoes cake.

(Okay, WEIRD! I pulled this off the internet and it just "happens" to say Happy Birthday Cameron on it! It's a sign!! This cake looks so nice though, I HIGHLY doubt my attempt would turn out like this!!!)


I want my children to have fun birthday parties growing up like I did, but I'm definitely not going to start them until they are old enough to care!! We keep telling Cameron his birthday is coming up and that he will be TWO, but he doesn't care.

So now lets hear about all of your kids' fun birthday parties!!!!