And baby makes three FIVE!

So I know this is really late coming out. But here you go!

We're pregnant! Again! And if this baby comes on it's due date, We will have 3 under 3 for 2 days. And the crazy thing is, this baby was planned. I know. We must be nuts, haha. But we definitly felt that it was time.

So, as most of the women I know know, I am very in tune with my body. And as I joke, I know too much about fertility. I knew over a week before I could test that I was pregnant. And a few days after I knew, I had my first scare. I was spotting. I know most women would just say "oh my period's coming", but like I said - I'm very in tune with my body and knew I was pregnant already. I suspected that I had a progesterone deficiency, so I anxiously waited until I saw the proof the dr's would need:



(BTW, isn't that ClearBlue test cool? It actually tells you how far along you are! The tests aren't available in the US yet, but I found them on EBay. I'm a nerd.)

I called my Certified Nurse Midwife immediately and they sent me for bloodwork that day. The next morning I got the confirmation and they called in a prescription for synthetic progesterone for me that day.

About two weeks later I went in for my first appointment and got an ultrasound! We could barely see the baby, but it had a heartbeat!!



During the weeks before my appointment, Zarik and I had been talking and praying about the care provider and place of birth we wanted for this birth. Our insurance changed as of January (locked in as of October) which opened up different options to us. After much consideration we decided on going with a midwife and a homebirth. So when we came back from California after Christmas, we met with our new midwife. She had a bit of a hard time finding li'l bean's heartbeat (li'l bean is my nickname for this one) with the doppler so she did an ultrasound too!



So far this has been a decent pregnancy. I have had morning *ahem* all-day sickness since about 5 1/2 weeks along. However, it's been better than with Mika and Urijah. I haven't lost any weight this time. I've been able to eat more than cheese and crackers. And at 13 weeks (where I am now) I'm starting to get my appetite back even though my gag reflex is still sensitive. We'll be seeing the midwife every three weeks for our appointments and I'm getting chiropractic care weekly like with Mika and Urijah.

So there you are! As crazy as we may be, at least they'll all be out of the house early, haha!!

Big Ultrasound coming up in a week!!

So I had an appointment with my midwife last Thursday. The appointment was good. I'm still about -2 lbs for my weight gain (lol), but with all my morning sickness and GI issues, Sharon says that's fine. She was happy I've found some stuff that is really helping with it all and says just to keep it up! We talked a little about what they would do should I not go into labor on my own. (A concern of mine since I didn't w/ Mika - it was an emergency induction then c-section at 41 weeks due to NO amnionic fluid due to something wrong with the placenta) Since Sharon is a midwife, she does do things more naturally than most OB's. I am going to start Evening Primrose oil to help ripen my cervix at 38 weeks. She will give me "tips and tricks" later on for things I can do to help get things started if I want them. She will let me go to 42 weeks (with weekly biophysical profiles after 40) before we start the whole "what now" talks, but she says she's only had 2 women ever not go into labor on their own at that point. In talking to her I realized what an exception to the rule I was with Mika. I really liked everything she had to say as it really lined up with my desires and helped calm some of my fears.

When she felt my belly she said my uterus does feel a little high for 17 weeks, but she's pretty sure my dates are correct, so I'm fine with that. I guess I'm just sensitive to movement and Munchkin has a strong heart!

We heard Munchkin's heartbeat again. S/he was moving around a bunch, just like his/her older sis did, lol, but we finally got it in the 140's, so yeah! And the best part - We go for our Big Ultrasound (where we find out the gender) in 1 WEEK!!! Whoohoo!! I though she'd have us just wait 4 weeks from our appointment (the normal appoint schedule), but she'll do a full appointment afterwards, too! I'm so excited!!!

SO...........Any Guesses??!!

A quick blurb about "Munchkin" and me

I did see the midwife a couple of weeks ago. Although Li'l Munchkin was running running around we did hear his/her heartbeat nice and strong after a couple of minutes, but didn't get the actual heartrate. Li'l stinker! The midwife did say I have an anterior placenta (up front) which I think is weird because we heard Munchkin's heartbeat earlier than usual (8w) and I felt movement earlier that usual (11w) and usually both of those happen later with an anterior placenta.

This pregnancy has definately been hard on me. Of course it is exagerated some because of poor Mika being sick so much and not sleeping though the night anymore. I can finally keep stuff down, but am still working on the GI stuff, which means I still get stomach/lower abdominal cramping and have to run to the bathroom. It is getting better though, and I can eat meat again, so that's good. I'm just really tired now.

Dr. appointments galore! Mama and Munchkin update

After Mika's dr appointment, we went to see my Certified Nurse Midwife, Sharon. I was hoping she'd give me an ultrasound. But we got the second best thing - we got to hear the heartbeat on a doppler!! I was totally shocked! Munchkin is only 8weeks, 5days old and we were able to hear his/her heartbeat!! Normally you can't until between 10-14 weeks along. It was nice and strong, and such a beautiful sound! I was so excited I almost forgot the other things I wanted to ask Sharon, lol!! Our next appointment is in 4 weeks.

Then we went to the chiropractor and I got adjusted. Being up all night with poor li'l Mika this week has left me all out of wack! But I feel much better now. Unfortunately Zarik, who had to work, caught Mika's cold, so he's not feeling all that great.

Here are pics of Zarik and on a nice January hike with my mom


See the little baby head sticking out of the wrap?

Long Time,No Update

Mika had a dr appointment yesterday, mainly for a "weight check" since she had lost weight at her 6 month appointment. Her weight was awesome! 14lbs, .5oz!!! So she gained 2lbs, 4.5oz in a month on formula! Yeah! We can definitely see and feel a difference in her.

She has still been doing the gaspy thing, which, at the dr's request, I took a couple of videos of and brought in with us. The dr. told us that the chest x-rays we had taken were clear, so that is good news. She again quizzed me on how much she spits up, etc. The one thing I had noticed the last few weeks is sometimes she acts like she's spitting up, but swallows it back. So again, we are back to thinking this whole thing is caused by reflux. We are trying Mika on Previcid for 2 weeks, then going back in for a followup appointment. Basically, if the previcid cures the gaspy thing, we are pretty darn sure it's reflux and will go see a GI dr at that point to figure out how bad it is.

Otherwise, Mika is doing awesome!! She found her tongue this week, and is using it to make a LOT more sounds and combinations of sounds which is so cute! She is a really happy baby and now that she's slowing her growth spurt down she's back to sleeping about 9-10 hours a night, and we think she'll start weaning back further, so that'll be good!

As for me and our newest little one, we are doing great! Morning sickness found me last week, but I was expecting it. It's not that bad yet, but I'm not gonna jinx myself and think this is how it'll be the whole time! I go in for my next appointment the same day as Mika's followup, March 27, and I am hoping for an ultrasound so we can see a heartbeat! I am currently 7 weeks along (as of tomorrow!).

On a side note, it's snowing here. We already have about 8-10 inches and it's not slowing down! Zarik barely made it into work today, and we have no idea if we're going to get to go to the Hockey game we were planning on going to tonight. :( But yeah for snow!! I love it as long as I'm cozy inside! ;)

This picture was taken at a playdate at Focus on the Family. Mika's "playing" with her "friend" Ellie.

Well, now we know!

This weekend we figured out why my milk supply dropped so dramatically.

I'm Pregnant!!!!



We are totally in shock, and very excited. It is definatley a lot earlier than we had planned, but obviously, Someone Else had better plans! I found out by a home pregnancy test while in California this past weekend. I then called first thing Monday morning to make an appointment with Sharon Ryuak, my Certified Nurse Midwife (CNM). I had that appointment today (Wednesday).

Zarik was supposed to go with us to help with Mika, but SkyWest had different plans and called him into work, pthhhh! Mika and I got there, and I filled out all the new paperwork, than we went into the back. All the nurses and techs when goo-goo over Mika, and they were more than happy to play with her while I had the appointment. Sharon was shocked but thrilled to see us! She decided since the dates I gave her had me at 7 weeks, she would do a quick ultrasound to verify that. All she saw was a little sac, so she took me to the actual sonographer (ultrasound lady) who took me to a better machine (I'm gonna get 3D ultrasounds later on!!!) and did another ultrasound. That put me at 4weeks, 4days. Basically, since I'm still breastfeeding, and only 6 months postpartum, they think my cycles were still messed up. So my due date is November 1st!!!

Lots of fun!!