BGC2 - she gets a longer nickname

BGC2 - Baby girl Cottle 2.  I think we may have settled on a first name that Steve and I agree on but her middle name is going to take some more work!  And some yelling it down the hall!  Rebecca Dawn was just too easy and this is taking us some work.  I know it doesn't have to be done right away but it would be nice to get something checked off the to-do before baby comes list.  I keep thinking things need to be done early for some reason.

Beca has settled into the fact that its a baby girl.  She still doesn't want to give up certain toys or have to share a lot of her things but at least she's calling her a girl and says "my baby sister".  She also laughed a lot last night and kept telling us that she was all of our baby - mommy's baby and daddy's baby and Beca's baby.   She was trying to get Steve to carry her up for a bath - he usually hangs her upside down over his back - but he had to tell her no because he had been working in the attic trying to install a lighted fan in our master bath (finally the box is out of the bathroom!).  Beca looks at me and says "Mommy can you carry me up?" "No, Beca, mommy is carrying your baby sister." And she says "Oh yeah, you are carrying my sister in your front backpack."  So funny!

BC2 is a...

So Beca was wrong - her sibling is a GIRL!!  Luckily, everything on the scan shows a very healthy and active little girl.  Her heart was very strong and everything measured right on 18 weeks.  She was punching to show everyone her skillful prowess that she has shown my bladder over the past few weeks!  Here's a scan of her sweet (and not unlike Beca) profile.

Steve is very excited "because I know what to do with little girls" and I am very excited to shop for coordinating girl clothes!!  Heehee!  Beca said "Awww mannny" which meant she was not happy about being wrong and then asked if we could name the baby "Tiana".  Ummm, no.  This little one's name will take us some time.  Rebecca's was too easy and we sort of blew our wad on the whole naming a girl thing.  I know we'll get plenty of suggestions until we settle on something.  And the Cottle household will remain in the pink princess fairy land forever!

BC2 - week 18 - but we don't know quite yet...

It's been a crazy time having waited and waited and waited for this appointment to come.  It meant not doing some blood work because we knew that would come back with screwy numbers (my body does not calculate for babies on the normal distribution curve and that makes doctors a little anxious - hello boys, it's just statistics!).  So, everything we've been hoping for has been really riding on this appointment.  Feeling the baby has been somewhat reassuring but actually seeing and letting Beca to see will be a whole different ball game.

So while we were waiting today, I had a series of frustrations - first, still dealing with a sinus infection and I can't hear real well.  Steve was talking in his early morning Barry White voice so I couldn't hear anything he said to me unless he was visually in front of me and I could see his mouth move.  Frustrating.  Then I had another run-in on decision making at work - an infuriating topic that started with me asking questions in November - when will I learn my lesson that questions just lead to frustration?  Oh wait, that's why I'm a Quality engineer - my job is to ask questions.  Dang rock and a hard place...  Then third, Chase is the worst mortgage company to deal with.  And even though Steve talked to them yesterday, they called today (after over a minute of the automated voice telling me to hold on that they were trying to connect) and had no record of  him calling.  And the woman calling could barely speak English so every question I asked her did not appear to be on her script and she would start all over again by saying her name and that she was calling on behalf of Chase.  ARRRGGGGGHHHHH!  I needed a good scream but was warned not to frighten the dog, which was good advice because that just makes her crazy.  Luckily, I've been offered Pei Wei and who doesn't love a fortune cookie on a day like today.

From Baby Center this week:

Head to rump, your baby is about 5 1/2 inches long (like the size of a bell pepper) and he weighs almost 7 ounces. He's busy flexing his arms and legs — movements that you'll start noticing more and more in the weeks ahead. His blood vessels are visible through his thin skin, and his ears are now in their final position, although they're still standing out from his head a bit. A protective covering of myelin is beginning to form around his nerves, a process that will continue for a year after he's born. If you're having a girl, her uterus and fallopian tubes are formed and in place. If you're having a boy, his genitals are noticeable now, but he may hide them from you during an ultrasound.

Anyway, our appointment is coming up shortly and there will be a post on what we find out.  Just hoping this one can "perform" like big sister always has for pictures (yeah, even for ultrasounds she performed).

BC2 - week 17

Nothing terribly exciting this week.  Baby's heart beat was 160 yesterday and there's plenty of punching going on, though everyone will have to take my word on that.  It's a little surprising sometimes but really nice to have happen.  I have a little body slammer some days - own personal mosh pit.  Still glad I can do pilates and still some of the series on my stomach.

There's a whole bunch of projects we're currently evaluating at our money pit.  First on record is to clean up Beca's playroom.  In order to do that, I proposed to Beca that we should pack up all her Little People sets and save them for the baby and move her dolls into her room.  The idea was well received until I began implementing the packing up of the Little People.  "Now my little brother will have way more toys than I do."  Extremely dramatic.  It didn't go on too long, thankfully, as she was getting dressed in leopard print pajamas and wanted to go scare Daddy.  She said she was a tiger. okey dokey.  Then she smelled brownies baking ("Ummm, I think I smell some yummy brownies baking") but they wouldn't be ready until after she should be in bed and that meant another meltdown until I promised some whipped cream on her Jello.  Yeah, bribery.  I'm all about some of that to stop the whining.  And then, she fell out of bed last night.  Which she hasn't done in forever.  And we just moved her bed up to the top level to give us some more storage room.  Whoops!  It was hard not to laugh until I got in her room and she couldn't really figure out what was going on since she sleeps like Steve.  She was fine this morning.

Just one more week until we get to see the baby!  Very excited to see some good ultrasound pictures!

BC2 - week 16

Wow - 16 weeks already.  It's going fast!  I'm most excited that the chiroprator appointments and pilates have been doing my body a lot of good - back feels better, shoulders feel better, and I just feel better in general.  Still some nausea but my biggest problem is my jaw.  I still can't get it in line just by pilates, PT, and chiro so it is now time to really hunt down a solution.  Hopefully the Dental staff at UNC will have an answer for me.  This will be my 4th splint in the past 10 years for my jaw.  So I'm a little apprehensive that it will work.  another few weeks to go.
The baby enjoys PT and pilates a lot - but is increasingly more uncomfortable on my stomach.  I can still do some exercises laying flat but then I get a good punch in the gut to remind me that I have an avacado-sized being in there.  Kind of fun to know this early that's exactly what that "flutter" is.
My favorite meal of the day is dessert - bananas, ice cream, sometimes choclate syrup, waffle cone pieces, whipped cream, chocolate chips and cherries.  And a dog who can even hear the clinking of the spoon outside in the back yard.
Beca is still convinced she will have a baby brother.  Less than 2 weeks until we know.  I'm starting to feel like we're behind on some things, even though I know we really aren't and the only schedule I'm holding to is my own.  In the grand scheme it won't matter if the hallway and foyer are painted or not.  But I would sure love to at least have my kitchen ceiling done.

week 15 - BC2

Week 15 - I have felt little flutters on occasion.  Usually when I'm sitting being still.  Beca says she can feel the baby moving but I know she can't and let her believe it anyway.  Some things are not worth discussing and trying to change her mind on.
Babycenter's notes about this week:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). She's busy moving amniotic fluid through her nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in her lungs begin to develop. Her legs are growing longer than her arms now, and she can move all of her joints and limbs. Although her eyelids are still fused shut, she can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, she's likely to move away from the beam. There's not much for your baby to taste at this point, but she is forming taste buds.

And while we possibly could see what the gender is (the above paragraph uses he/she on alternate weeks), our ultrasound to really see this isn't for another three weeks.  Then we'll know and I can get started on the nursery.  Beca is still insistent she's getting a baby brother.
So the whole end of first trimester you should feel better thing is not 100% for me.  I definitely have longer stretches of good but ugh, the bad feeling times are still pretty miserable.  The weather fronts are not helping.  The banana split with chocolate sauce, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, mini chocolate chips, and cherries on top does help a little.  Zoe thinks so too and will stalk me intently until the bowl is on the floor for her to lick.  crazy puppy.  she's being very protective of me too.  and she'll be 7 next week!

BC week 14 and funny Beca

I'm officially out of the first trimester.  So I'm going back to the chiropractor and pilates this week!  Yippeee!!!  And no more extra hormones.  I've been able to get up more mornings and not have such a long stint laying in bed munching before I can stand up.  Still some low times but not as bad and not as frequent.  I have even shed my sea bands on occasion.  Still pretty tired though.  I have felt some fluttering (not gas folks, I know the difference) so there's definitely moving going on - especially around 8pm and 3:30-4:30am.  My bladder seems to be the favored spot already.  14 weeks is the size of a lemon - or I guess length of.  though it begs the question, does a mostly round fruit that varies so much in size really have a "length"?  I have to remember that most pregnant women aren't engineers.  Next appointment is end of February and a higher level ultrasound scheduled for early March - doc was pretty certain I would need it.  Two miscarriages and a "guessed" due date mean that he is watching me a little more closely.  I'm excited we'll get to find out the gender and "see" the baby.  I'm just ready for the cold weather to be gone - the spring and summer wardrobe is a lot more fun for me!!  Doesn't feel like wearing tents and I don't get overheated so quickly.

Beca is really excited.  And still very much convinced it is a boy - part of the reason is now because Daddy needs a boy since he's the only one in the house with us 3 girls.  Zoe will always be her sister.  But the pronoun that Beca uses to talk about the baby is usually "she" until I ask her what the baby will be - answer is always "baby brother".

Beca story from my mom - after they met us for dinner at torero's (still one of Beca's favorite meals though she'd probably do better on the chicken soft taco with rice if she didn't eat half a basket of chips and salsa first), Beca went back to Oma and Pop-pop's for a little bit while Steve and I had to go buy a new universal remote - side note, it was well worth the cost (Steve assured me it was not the best of the best,nor the most expensive but an excellent value for its cost) and we also bought a new CD player for Beca's room because hers was making weird noises (go figure after 5 years).

"Last night, Beca spent an hour or so with us, and we were making pudding.  PopPop decided that he wanted to add coconut to his chocolate pudding and asked Beca if she wanted some. 'Yuck', she said, and his reply was - 'you haven't even tried it' and with that she told him that she had but she didn't like it (not sure if she really had or not, but she was NOT going to taste it). So, he said, 'I bet you don't even know where coconut comes from' - she said (as she was walking away), 'oh yes I do - it comes from Palm Trees'...  We had to laugh - smarter than we give her credit sometimes..."

She has indeed tried coconut - I believe she humored Oma on Easter with some that was on a bunny cake but it has been awhile too.  Beca also told Steve the story tonight at dinner in pretty much the same way, with a slight prompt from me!   The other funny tonight was instead of a "bumble" of ice cream on top of her cone, she wanted a "plump" of ice cream.  I love the words she uses for things.   Speaking of the IC, I believe it is time for me to hit up a sundae and go to bed!

end of January!

Oops - forgot to post yesterday!

Wow - I can't believe it is the last day in January already.  But I can believe that a winter storm meant more freezing rain and ice for us than actual snow.  At least it isn't too hard to walk on today.  Just worried about when it melts a little and then refreezes.  One of the only times that I don't like that our driveway doesn't get much sun in the winter.  The funniest part about this is that my belly is already big enough that I couldn't get my ski pants to even overlap.  I wore them anyway.  Beca and Zoe had the best time in the snow.  We couldn't really build anything though - it was more like playing with cold sugar that doesn't get sticky.  unless the snow was stuck to chunks of ice.  Beca had fun "falling" through the ice layer and then pulling up ice chunks and munching on them.  Zoe likes for someone to throw it at her (the snow portion, not the ice) and then she eats it.  Oh well.  She also peed on the deck several times when she couldn't find an appropriate spot to squat.  then she gets demanding that the area where she peed must contain something when she goes out later - lots of sniffing.  Really??  that was you, silly.

Beca hasn't been happy - she missed a sleepover at Oma and Pop-pop's house.  So there's been plenty of screeching at night.  Hopefully back to daycare at least part of the day tomorrow.  I think we'd all like her to see someone besides us.

Big exciting week 13 BC! (minus 1 day)

OK, so the appointment today wasn't real exciting.  Just my vitals (blood pressure really good and I lost 2 pounds in 4 weeks), fundus measurement (fine), and listening to the heart beat (160 bpm).  So that means the likelihood of miscarriage is down at virtually 0.  Yeah!  And it means I'm almost done with adding hormones!  Yeah!  Which means the yucky feeling all the time should go away soon.  Supposedly.  I hope so.  We did schedule another appointment for 4 weeks and there will also be an appointment for a high-level ultrasound to check the baby completely.  By the end of February, we might actually know what model of baby we are getting!  Beca's still convinced it is a baby brother (because you have a girl).  And now she believes she needs to have a party for the baby - before the baby comes.  She is definitely excited!

And the comparison for week 3 is about the size of a large shrimp!  Fingerprints are forming and some other stuff is going on but I can't get past the shrimp with the fingerprints.

Busy, fun weekend

It looks like we have busy weekend schedules coming up!  Starting with this weekend.  Hopefully I'll start feeling a lot better soon and be able to keep up more!  I had to take a nap both days.  Beca and I started Friday doing some shopping and dinner at Red Robin while Steve was playing poker.  He was home pretty early but all of his girls were exhausted, including Zoe, so we were all passed out asleep.  Saturday morning, Beca and Steve went to a fun birthday party - and Beca got to bowl for the first time.  At least not on the Wii but with a real ball and pins bowling.  She got a 66!
Saturday night we went to the Leahy house and played with the A-team!  It was so much fun to watch the twins and Aidan1  But even more fun to catch up with friends!  I ate too much so I stayed full for about 3 hours and then had to eat again anyway!  Steaks, twice baked potatoes, green beans, bread, fruit, pound cake and chocolate fruit dip!  Alec loved the pound cake and Addison wanted more and more fruit!  Beca and Aidan just wanted to play!  I'm starting to remember some of the craziness of having really little ones and the importance of their schedule.  We got home pretty late with a little girl who was exhausted but she still insisted she was hungry.  Then she slept until after 8 am and I think she only woke up then because she had a bad dream.
I had several pregnancy moments this morning.  I had to stop at the grocery store on the way to brunch but then I remembered something else I had forgotten at the house.  Then when we left the house a second time, I couldn't remember if I had left Zoe outside or not.  She wasn't - she was upstairs somewhere asleep and didn't pay attention to the fact that we had come back home.  Eventually we made it to brunch at Traci and Carl's.  It was fun but Beca insisted that she didn't like French Toast.  She was in a combative mood all morning about everything though.  Eventually the berries sufficed.  She did get to go ride on Traci's old go-cart with Carl.  Traci and I used to ride it up to the pool.  I don't think we'd both fit on that seat any more though!  I love their house.  They have lots of sweet pictures around the house - mostly wedding so it was fun to see her bridal portraits hanging up.  It also made me think about photography a bit more.  I love when I can take photos of people I know and love but I'm always so worried that it isn't going to turn out well.  I know it is just an occasional hobby and I'm good with that.
Then I slept for over 3 hours.  Beca did not have a nap so now we're headed up to read a chapter of Charlotte's Web and go to sleep!