A quick vent session....

I know a lot of pregnant women probably feel a lot worse than I do during pregnancy, but I deserve to whine a little too! I AM MISERABLE!!! I don't know what has happened this week, but I am SO uncomfortable. My back is in horrible pain all the time, and Allie is growing MUCH faster than my belly is accomodating her!!! I can't breathe....I swear the neighbors can probably hear me breathing, that's how loud I breathe all the time!!! It takes me several minutes to lie down or sit back up..... And don't even get me started on how hard it is to get up off the floor after Cam's diaper changes or cleaning up his toys!!

I KNOW I wasn't this uncomfortable during the last 2 months with Cam....maybe the last 2 weeks, but not the last 8 weeks!!! All I can say is THANK HEAVENS that starting December 19, Nate is DONE with school for 3 full weeks, and I will be DONE with babysitting!! We keep joking about how we should go celebrate that evening, it will be a happy day!! Nate has been a HUGE help, and I cannot say enough about how grateful for him I am! He has taken over a lot of the dishwashing (when he's home) and does most of the laundry. I physically can't carry the wet loads down the stairs to the dryers anymore, so he does that too. He vacuums and takes out the garbage....and he always tells me to go lie down. What a man!!! (now the real test is if he'll keep these things up AFTER she's born, haha!! Oh well, I'm gonna take what I get and love him for it!!)

Well, even as I sit here, pains are shooting down my back and sides.....hence my severe lack in blogging lately!! There is my vent session for you all to enjoy!! Can't wait to meet my sweet baby girl at the end of this!! I already love her more than anything, and she's worth it!!

PS....Yesterday Cameron kept setting goldfish crackers on my belly "for the baby". Cute!

33 Week Update

So I've been in a LOT of pain this week. My abdomen and back just hurt, and it was starting to make me nervous!! It didn't feel like typical ligament pain either. So I had a non-stress test done, and everything is fine, thank goodness! I really don't want a premature baby!! The pain has gone way down, so I'm grateful for that as well. My belly is measuring at 34, and I've gained 23 pounds so far. I think I gained 30 total with Cam, if I remember right. I have another appt in 2 weeks. Down home stretch!!

So I discovered last night that Cam can now climb out of a pack n play! NOT cool..... I woke up at midnight last night to find him standing next to me....SO weird! So he climbed in bed with me and slept the rest of the night! He did fine, but now I'm worried that we can't travel anywhere with him! (we're at my parents this weekend). Good thing we hardly EVER travel, haha!!

My Usual Babbling....

I finally remembered to buy baby hangers at Walmart last night. So I have been able to start getting the kids' closet organized. We found out that we are for SURE moving to a 3-bed in May. It still seems really far away (and it is), but we know what apartment we are getting, and it's our first choice as far as location in the complex. It's on the top floor, which will be a pain, but great at the same time. It has a WHITE backsplash instead of our nasty brown flowers, so that right there is worth it, haha! And I like knowing that we will for sure be here for the first 4 months of Allison so now I can plan better. I have been looking around for a changing table, but I think we're gonna just use the one that came with her pack n play for now, and then when we move, I'll put Cam's dresser in Allie's room to use as a changing table and open his room up for all of his toys and hopefully a train table!!! I think when we move, we will try to get Cam moved to a big bed (MAYBE...) and then Allie can start using the crib since she'll be old enough to start sleeping through the night and on a nap schedule. We technically don't need 3 bedrooms until then anyway, so we're happy to save our money and be crammed in here a little longer!! I'm sure you all care sooo much about all of this, haha!

So random question: Cam feels a tad warm to me, and the only thermometer I have is his bum one from when he was a baby. I've seen the ear ones in the store, but I'm not sure if they are worth buying? I know he's old enough for an ear one, but at the same time, I don't want to waste my money. What do you all use to take your toddler's temps with??

Another question: Any specific brand or kind of baby monitor you recommend? I never had one with Cam, but I am getting one for this baby so Cam and I can go play outside while she's napping. The problem is that SO many people live around here and have babies and monitors, so the frequencies get all jumbled easily.

Wow, I'll be 32 weeks tomorrow! I'm starting to get uncomfortable at night. Luckily Cam is sleeping all night again, so it's not as bad, but I'm still awake a lot. I've been having really painful BH contractions still, so I'm hoping everything is still going okay! I've been trying to rest as much as possible. Cameron and Abby have suddenly become best buddies and entertain each other SOO well when they are both awake. It's been such a relief because usually I was breaking up their fighting, and disciplining Cam for bullying her, and it was wearing me out! Now I just lie on the sofa while they play! Thanks kids!! :)

Bed & Night time update

I bought Allie this bed yesterday. I got a sweet deal off craigslist, of course!! It's in perfect condition, and ironically, it matches our infant carseat and stroller pattern!! (Not that it matters, but it's still weird!) I love how it has the bassinet and changing table attachments. Anyway, this should work for her for atleast the first 6 months, so we can move Cam into his big bed without feeling rushed. Speaking of Cam....the night time waking is seriously out of control. For the past several weeks, he's been waking up crying for binkies, a drink, his blanket, to get down and play, basically anything he can think of to get us in his room! We've had enough of it! So between 7 pm and 7 am, we do NOT go in his room, no matter what. I feel like he's 5 months again and we're doing the cry it out thing! But I'm just sick of it. He does NOT need milk at 2 am, and he needs to learn to stop throwing his blankie and binkies out of his bed. So 2 nights ago, Cam woke up at 2:30 and screamed for over an hour. It was awful, but we were strong! He fell asleep at 4 and slept until 7. Last night, Nate went to bed with ear plugs (haha!) and Cam only woke up maybe twice, and only whimpered for a few minutes. Progress! I'm sure it's going to take a full week or two for Cam to totally stop trying to get his way, but I am tired of him being in control of our nights!!! WE are the parents.....right?!? Yes we are!! :)

Missing you all....

Today Cam and I went up to Woods Cross to hang out with Merilee and her girls. Merilee is throwing me a baby shower in a few weeks, and I'm SO touched by how sweet she is to host it and put so much work into it! The invitations are CUTE! Still can't believe I'm really having a girl sometimes!
Anyway, but as I went to make my invite list, I realized how many of my dear friends and family don't live in Utah. It made me sad! I miss you all, and I really wish we could hang out MUCH more often than we get to!!

31 Weeks

Time is ticking away....!!!

So I think that whoever this Mr. Braxton-Hicks MAN was didn't know what he was talking about when he said "mild" contractions! To quote Rachel from friends: "No uterus? No opinion!!" I didn't start having BH contractions with Cam's pregnancy until I was about 36-37 weeks, and turns out I was dilating!! But THIS pregnancy has been completely different. I have had them the entire time, and they don't feel very good!! One minute I can push on my belly and it's all squishy, and the next it's like a rock! So weird (and painful!).

Other than that, I'm physically feeling about as good as I could hope to be feeling. Other than Cameron STILL waking us up several times a night (seriously, it's getting OLD), I'm sleeping well. I feel like I'm WAY tiny for only have 2 months left. If I tuck a pillow under me, I can still sleep on my stomach!!! And I still have a few non-maternity tops that fit me fine. She is still super active, so I don't worry that she's not growing, it's just weird how different your body can be with 2 pregnancies. I don't have any stretch marks yet either. BUT I know that she will more than double in size in the next 2 months, so I'm not expecting to stay this way!!!

Emotionally I have been sort of a wreck the past few weeks! I think part of it was coming from my being really nervous about teaching my Finance class, because I felt a HUGE weight lifted off my shoulders when that was done! BUT I can tell that the overall exhaustion of pregnancy and my nervousness about handling 2 kids is starting to take over!! Not good!! :) Poor Cameron gets the brunt of most of my moodiness, and I'm working on that daily! The past 2 days have been really great though, so I have hopes that it's just the normal pregnancy emotion swings and not me having SERIOUS issues, haha!

I'm still on a baking frenzy...I think I am single-handedly supporting the companies that supply butter, sugar, flour and chocolate chips!! Tonight I'm making pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. Come get some!!

Wanted: Activity Ideas for 2 yr old!!

Okay, so I thought we moms could share ideas for keeping our toddlers entertained indoors this Winter!!
Today is Wednesday, so it's No TV Day for us. Cam is SO sick of his toys, and if he gets bored, he just whines and hangs on me.
So here are some of my ideas:
1. Bubbles (unfortunately we are out today)
2. Water fun at the sink (still a huge hit)
3. Coloring (Cam is getting pretty good at staying in the lines, for a 2 yr old anyway!)
4. Baking (Cam loves to help with this)
5. Playing with stickers (amazing how long this will ocupy him as well, but be prepared for sticker to be stuck EVERYWHERE!!)

Anyway, I just wanted to hear any more ideas you guys might have. Happy Winter!!

The Final Result

Well, I'm not sure if I should say that Operation Binkie failed or not.... Last night I went to bed early and had been asleep for about 10 minutes when Cam woke up and was hysterical again. Nate and I had talked to some of our neighbors at church and asked if they had been hearing him. They said they had, and we felt soooo bad! They were nice about it, but nobody wants to hear someone else's kid screaming all night! Anyway, so we decided to just give him his binkie at night. Nate didn't want to lose sleep again last night cuz he has a HUGE test today he needed to get up early and study for, and I can just feel my body getting weaker and more sore since I'm not getting enough rest. We just decided that getting him totally off his binkie at night wasn't worth all the negatives that have been coming out of it!! So I went in and gave him his binkie. He was yelling "Get out, get down", he wanted to get out of his bed. So I handed him his binkie, he layed right down and closed his eyes, and we didn't hear from him for the rest of the night. Crazy!

This morning I went in and took his binkie for the day, he handed it to me with no problem. So overall, I feel like even though he still needs it at night, we've completely weaned him from having it during the day, which is actually sort of a big deal for him. We're only going to let him have it in his bed ONLY, and I don't feel like we've failed. I'm depending on Cameron to keep sleeping well after this baby comes so that I can get as much sleep as possible. I think once we've moved, the baby is old enough to sleep through the night, Cam is moved to a big bed and we don't have any other major changes coming up, then we can maybe try again.

Sorry to drag you all through this with us, thanks for reading! Hope the end result didn't disappoint.... Motherhood is a crazy learning process!!

30 Weeks!

Wow, there's a '3' in front of my weekly number now! CRAZY!! Less than 10 weeks now!!

The Binkie War rages on....he does GREAT during the day and goes down for naps and bed with no crying at all. He just can't STAY asleep. It's so sad to listen to him, so we'll see what happens. Nate is going to give him a blessing tonight, and I'm really hoping that after a few more nights, he'll just stop fighting it and sleep all night again. If NOT, then obviously we'll just wait until he's more ready to give them up. I can't lose sleep like this right before a baby is coming!!!!! He's not even 2 1/2 yet...it's not like he's 5 and still can't sleep without a binkie!! If he's not over this in another few nights, then I will wait and try again after Allie is born and we are all adjusted and moved into our new apartment and such. I can't handle being up with BOTH kids!!!

Shocked

Cameron went to bed WITHOUT A PEEP tonight!!!!!!!! Nate and I are completely shocked! He was really exhausted, which I think helped, but right at 7:00 he layed down for a jammies, climbed in his crib by himself and layed right down. He said "Binkies? Garbage." It's 8:30 and he's out like a light! WOW, I was seriously gearing myself up for an awful couple of days. I'm anticipating that he'll wake up during the night and cry for them, but I seriously think it's safe to say that the Binkie Battle is won!! YAY CAMERON!!

Cranky Days

Wow, we're in for some CRANKY days around here! He didn't nap well AT ALL, so he's insanely tired which sadly means he's overly cranky! He won't stop crying and he keeps throwing everything. POOR baby! I feel awful, but I know this is the best thing for all of us....and boy am I glad I'm gonna go through this BEFORE the baby comes!!!

Binkie Decision

Okay, I talked to Nate this morning, and we decided to try going cold turkey with Cam's binkies. I thought we should wait so he can have that comfort after Allie comes, but Nate pointed out that it would be easier NOW so he wouldn't associate no binkies with the baby (I love how Nate is so good to help with these sorts of parenting issues! Makes me not feel so alone!) So when he woke up, we told him he is a big boy and it's time to say bye-bye to his Binkies and throw them in the garbage. He threw them in the garbage (I was surprised) and said "Binkies all gone." I told him he can have his milk and blanket in his bed now. (Tristan, him being so attached to your blanket might help us with this!!). He's in a great mood, but we'll see how things go in a few hours when it gets closer to naptime and he wants his binkies back! We kept one in case of an emergency.....Abby cries a lot, I'm pregnant and exhausted....if it gets to be too much, I will have to wait, I can't bring more stress on myself right now!!!
WISH US LUCK!!!!

The Great Binkie Debate

Cameron is a Binkie Baby.....always has been.....

Up until now, I haven't really minded him being to attached to his pacifier. He has always been a great sleeper, and I attribute some of that to him having his binkie. But lately, his binkies have been becoming a major source of drama in our house!! For whatever reason, he HAS to have no less than 5 or so binkies when he sleeps. Lately, he has been throwing them out of his crib at night and screams until I get up and go digging around in and under his bed at 1 am for his binkies....NOT FUN! He knows how to unclip them from his clothes, so clips don't help anymore. I've tried just leaving him alone, but he seriously does NOT sleep without them....he will cry for the rest of the night.

Overall,I'm okay with him having binkies, I don't worry about his teeth or his talking.....I just hate how they are running our lives!!!!!!! I know he'll give them up eventually, I just wish I could think of a way to keep them in his bed with him!!

He also wants his binkies when he's lounging watching a movie. He wants ALL of them. Today I tried to just let him have ONE binkie and keep the rest in his bed. He seriously cried for TWO HOURS this morning because he wanted all of them, not just one. I told him he could have them in his bed, so he went into his room, climbed into his crib and was happy. Goofy kid!! Any suggestions?? Or is this a battle that isn't worth fighting???

Bun in the Oven

Normally I don't love to bake. I don't hate it, but I don't usually do it unless I have to. (I HATE cooking, but that's a different issue!). But for some odd reason, during my 3rd trimesters (apparently), I get this sudden urge to bake like crazy! When I was pregnant with Cam, I baked almost every day for the last several weeks. And now I'm doing the same thing! My obsessions right now are Snickerdoodle cake, peanut butter bars and right now there are sugar cookies in the oven. Weird, huh! But it's fun, and I know Nate isn't complaining!!!!! Cameron is having fun with it this time around too. He gets scared when I turn on my mixer, but he loves dumping stuff in the bowl and helping put cookie dough balls on the pans. So cute! (Except now I think he's sneaking dough while I'm not looking....)

I'm excited that the holidays are coming up so I can bake cookies for some of my Christmas gifts this year! I'm actually not very good at baking, but I'm getting better! Hopefully I'll enjoy it enough to keep it up after the baby comes and not stop like I did after I had Cam.

Send any yummy recipes my way!!
These are the cookies I just made and they are GOOD (Nate just walked in the door and ate like 6 of them without stopping!) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Sugar-Cookies/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

OB Appt

I had a pre-natal appointment today. I've gained another 6 pounds! Allie's heartbeat was good, and my belly is measuring perfectly. They did say my urine didn't look very good, which they said means I'm not drinking enough water and I'm overworking myself....hmm....does that mean I have permission to stop babysitting now??? I wish!! I just need to lie down more often, I guess! I don't feel like I overwork myself....my apartment is rarely clean, I'm always behind on laundry and dishes, and I'm usually home all day!!! I feel like I'm too lazy most of the time!! So who knows....

My next appt is in 3 weeks, time is ticking away sooo fast!

My sister sent me a few of her baby girl clothes that were still in tact after 3 daughters, and she sent me a gorgeous dress that I've decided to use for Allie's blessing dress. I'm so excited! I've been sort of looking around for something cute, but I'm so glad I waited because this dress is perfect! DeAnn's daughter Karen wore it for her blessing, so they can be matchy cousins! Thanks DeAnn!!

So random question: At what age did you take your kids to the dentist? Nate is renewing our health/dental insurance next week, and we aren't sure if we should put Cam on our dental plan or not. He'll be 3 next summer. I should probably just call our dentist and ask, but I thought I'd ask some of you mommies first!! Plus, if we add him, it's an extra $20/month that will come out of Nate's paycheck, so we want to make sure that it's worth it. I know $20 doesn't seem like much, but hey...that's $20 we could be buying diapers with, right?? :) We brush his teeth pretty regularly, and they look healthy.....so I dunno!! Thanks ladies!

29 Weeks

Sorry I've slowed down on this blog.....things are going really well. Nothing too new to report...Allison is still VERY active. I'm becoming more tired and nauseous lately, but overall I still feel pretty good. I have a doctors appt on Monday. I can't believe it's November already....heading down home stretch!!

Allie's little headbands came in the mail this week, and they are SO cute! I'm going to wait until she's born to get anything else like that though.....I think you have to see the baby's face and hair first!!

Cameron is becoming more and more of a 2 yr old every day! He freaks out and throws tantrums over the dumbest things now....things that didn't used to bother him! It's sort of frustrating! We have been trying SO hard to not cave-in to his tantrums and give him what he wants.... Oh the joys of toddlers!! He's a sweet kid though. My friend Mycah works at a candy store called Taffy Town. We went and saw her last week, and somehow Cameron got the impression that her name is Taffy! So whenever he sees her now, he runs up to her "Taffy!! Taffy!" I tried to explain that her name is Mycah, but he just looks at me like he's seriously confused. It's pretty cute!