A look at the belly

I'm not really a maternity photo type girl. And I'm not a put-a picture-of-my-belly-on-facebook for the world to see kind of girl at each week mark either. I'm not against the rest of you people doing it...there is something cute about all these baby bumps. It's just not my thing. Yet a week ago I decided we should take a few pictures where I wasn't hiding the bump so that baby #2 could one day see how she looked in my belly. This go around has been so different than carrying Cupcake. I was much wider and rounder all over and had gained double the weight with cupcake. I had on no wedding rings and my face was round and pink. We took these photos at 38 weeks...I had already had Cupcake by that point.

This time....I just feel different. I am all out front, no swelling, still minimal weight gain (thank you gestational diabetes for a few postives!), I'm still wearing my wedding rings, and it looks like we'll make it to almost 40 weeks. So, I contacted my old boss's daughter who is in college for and is an aspiring photographer to see if she'd take just a few pictures of us. She agreed and we spent last Saturday morning getting some belly shots. I think she did a great job! Check a couple of them out:


We have some others that were great too but I'm holding them back for a little project you'll have to see post-baby.

We are ready! Really number 2 could come at anytime but if not before we'll have her by the end of the week via induction. We've survived 28 doctor appointments over the last 6 weeks. We've all been flu vaccinated, dental checked, eye checked, and I've had my fair share of doctor appointments, blood draws, and so on. With the diabetes I've pricked myself approximately 200 times in the past 6 weeks. I've taken my blood pressure about the same. We've monitored everything closely and I have to say the health pay off has been worth the investment. That's another post in itself. The hubs and I have both had haircuts in the past week. I got my toes polished. The house is clean and ready for Halloween. The fridge is stocked, the pantry is stocked, the freezers are still an avalanche waiting for the first person to fling them open without warning of their fullness. We have done many home projects and craft projects that were on the "some day list." Our bags are packed for the hospital. I have little activities planned and some new books and toys tucked away for Cupcake for post-baby and post-extended family. We've had some really sweet family moments together.

At this point, I'm signing off blogging until we have a new little one to introduce....between now and then we'll be hunkered down and having as many more hugs, kisses, tickle wars, dance offs, tea parties, art projects, and so on that we can fit in before Cupcake becomes a big sister. Pray for us as we make the transition...it's the greatest gift you can offer.

With love for the last time,
The Crack Team 3

33 weeks - kiss kiss!

Wow! On the upside of all the pricking, testing, monitoring, and so forth that dictates my days is the treat of extra ultra-sounds. Nothing is more reassuring than getting to see our little girl on the screen thriving regardless of the medical labels we've been given.

What did thriving look like today?

- She practiced breathing for us and seeing her lungs go up and down was so beautiful!
- She grabbed her toes and pulled them to her cheeks. Cutie!!!
- She made kissing/fish lips. See:


I LOVE the dramatic hand to the forehead pose here:


I'm in love! And I'm not alone. Cupcake carried these pictures around as long as I would let her. Later I found them on the Hubs desk positioned so he could see them all day long. She looks so much like Cupcake to us and we're getting so so so excited to meet her. Any suggestions for what her blog name should be? Cupcake is taken :).

Crack Mom in numbers

I generally like to keep things light and fun around here. BUT the Crack Team also likes to keep things real. We are not a perfect family with 2.5 kids and a white picket fence. So in line with keeping it real and for my own memory one day when I'm not in the middle of this....here is my life in numbers these days:

2: The minimum number of Doctor offices I personally visit each week for pregnancy checks
3: Number of times a day I have to check my blood pressure with pregnancy induced hypertension
4: Number of times a day I have to prick myself because of recently diagnosed Gestational diabetes
5: Weeks left until Bambina 2 is induced
7: The most number of pounds the Dr. anticipates Bambina 2 will be
8: The total number of pounds I have gained according to my 32 week check up. If jealousy ensues, see again what 3 and 4 represent before getting too upset.
24: Number of hours in my urine test that I'm about 12 hours into currently
28: Number of Doctor offices one of us will be in within the last 6 weeks of pregnancy (for Dad and Cupcake they are preventative health or routine checks ie: dentist)
62: Lowest blood sugar read
70: Number of days to date that it has been over 100 degrees while I've been pregnant
115: Highest blood sugar read to date (with gestational diabetes I am allowed up to 140)
153: Highest Systolic number to date (top blood pressure number)
89: Highest Diastolic number to date (lower blood pressure number)
114: Lowest Systolic number to date
66: Lowest Diastolic number to date

Our bedside table looks like a medical stand with needles, machines, bio-hazard waste, and so forth. My cupcake thinks every time I leave her I'm going to a Doctor...sadly she's been right most of those times. The hubs has to help me sort through all the numbers and make sure I'm putting the right ones in the right places and not getting to discouraged along the way. The days are painstakingly hot, long, and medical. Yet somehow we're still plugging along, counting down the days, and nesting. Did I mention nesting? I've got some more fun nesting projects to post soon enough.

On the upside, I got to have a 31 week ultrasound with the Internal Fetal Medicine Specialist (diabetes Dr.). They double checked everything to make sure our bambina wasn't huge which is one of the diabetes risk factors. Surprisingly she wasn't huge and in fact wasn't even average. She was tiny...like Cupcake. Not even to 30% for size of a 31 week baby our little bambina was extremely active for the technician and put on quite the show.

I got this precious 4D:
I realize that some of you are reading this for the first time and can't believe it. I also realize that you, like everyone else that we've mentioned this too, you may be inclined to pick up the phone and call to check on us. Please be assured that we are ok! While it sounds like a lot what is worse is when I get several phone calls each day of people wanting to talk about what is already consuming much of my day and emotional energy. In the time that isn't juggling the various tests and checks we are spending time with our cupcake and trying NOT to think about it. So as kindly as I can say this, consider this your update and please don't put in a call to check on me. I'll feel more loved if you respect that, I promise. And, I'll have more fun, light-hearted blogs coming soon. A few hundred needles can't take all the fun out of the Crack Team.

Belly pictures

Some of you have been asking for belly pictures.
Here's 29 weeks:My sweet cupcake has been talking about the baby in her belly for weeks but this particular afternoon she decided to take matters into her own hands to make sure she is keeping up with Mommy. She LOVED taking these belly pictures....as do most first time Moms.

Then she tried to jump. After a few tries to "hold everything in" she declared it was too hard and the baby has since returned to her crib.

Guess it only takes a 2 year old to realize that excessive jumping at 29 weeks just isn't worth it!

Bambina 2

I'm a little behind on this but here are a few pictures from our 20 week ultra sound with Bambina #2:

Profile:

4D picture, arm under her chin. Sweet little face looks like cupcake did!


Since she's barely been mentioned here's a post dedicated to her. I thought I'd focus on the questions I'm most commonly asked:

1. What will you name Bambina #2?
We won't....until we see her. With Cupcake we had a few names that topped our list. Since she was early we had not narrowed the list down. When we saw her we realized our top favorites were not a "fit" for her. So we spent the next two days in the hospital admiring her and praying for the perfect name. We're very happy with our choice. After that, I was pretty sure I'd never name a baby again without seeing him/her first. So, you'll just have to wait.

2. Will her name have a "kuh" sound to start off?
I know that some of you know that I come from a family of "kuh" names and with the exception of my nephew Pac-man so far everyone has a "kuh" name too. But we're not set on it for this one. She may have a "kuh" name....she may not. Refer to #1

3. Will you have a 3rd to try for a boy?
First, never ask me when I pregnant. It's hard to imagine at this point. Second, we will pray about a 3rd child...and while I "think" I would want a boy, I KNOW the Lord knows what is best. So, really it will be about whether we want three children rather than trying for a boy....

4. Will you put Cupcake in Mother's Day out?
Whew! What a touchy parenting subject. Geez! I never thought I could get so many raised eyebrows. My answer is no. These are my opinions: Cupcake is still so young. While I am in the very physical, tiring, training, years of parenting and a "break" sounds nice some days, I also know I will spend the rest of my life remembering when I had sweet toddlers around my ankles who love me (and the hubs), choose me (and the hubs), and would rather be with me (and the hubs) than anyone else. These children have been gifted to me by the Lord and these early years are HIGHLY crucial in fertilizing the soil that I will plant seeds of faith in for the remainder of their upbringing. I am highly protective of ANYONE who will have time with my children in these early years because any gardener could tell you that good soil takes lots of work. While I'm not judging anyone who thinks they need a break or that socialization for their child can only be had in regular Mom's Day out programs, I might just start raising my eyebrows at you for good measure. Then you can see how it feels. Actually I won't....it just sounded good for a minute.

5. Will you cloth diaper #2?
Really? I'm always surprised when someone asks me this question. Of course we plan to. I guess I can't give an absolute yes because I try not to hold anything too tightly. But it would have to be some crazy unimaginable situation to dive into the world of disposables. I might gag just thinking about it.

6. Will you nurse #2 like you did Cupcake?
Hmmm...what does that mean? This one isn't Cupcake so doing it "like Cupcake" is unfair to #2. She may have her own preferences. I wonder if people mean will I nurse? I plan to. Similar to my cloth diaper response. Or do people mean will I nurse for as long as I did Cupcake? Again, #2 is different. I have no regrets with Cupcake. Nursing her was a lovely experience. We'll see how it goes with #2. If I had my way I will nurse and will do it for as long as she wants.

I think those are the top/most frequent questions I get asked. If you have a burning one....shoot. You may be inclined to raise your eyebrows at my response but you are free to ask. In the meantime #2 is a major kicker and we are busy getting all ready for her arrival. More on those fun projects soon enough!

Gender Ultrasound

We realize that some of you have not been in an ultrasound and we know that none of you were in ours. How unfair, right?

We were able to sneak a camera into ours, but you'll want to turn your volume up before hitting play:



** One note: please don't mention this on Facebook yet! We're wanting to give family, friends, and blog stalkers the first glance at our news. We'll post to FB when we're ready. **

Crack baby 2

Today was the big day. The poll is closed with a grand 9 of you voting. At least 2 of you are right...not to say that 5 others aren't too. But with the votes 2 girls and 7 boys I can tell you that at least 2 are right :).

We're finalizing how we'll do the big reveal and I promise blog followers will know before facebook followers. :) In the meantime for the really important update: the baby is healthy and has all the fingers, toes, and organs that it should. It's head is average size which is highly valuable to me who comes from a family with large heads...I don't want to push out a chart topper, you know. This one is a little more shy than cupcake was in the ultrasound. The baby likes to keep it's nose hidden behind two precious fists. BUT the most precious moment of all was when we flipped to 4-d and the baby still had the hands hiding the face. The technician had to poke around to try to get baby to move the hands and subsequently I laughed because I was getting tickled, baby then moved the hands, and clear as day gave us a smile. Everyone in the room said Ohhhh!!! It was adorable. Soooo perhaps instead of a cupcake we have a ham-cake?!

Gender soon, I promise :)

Talkin' Derby

I'm behind again. Ooops.

This time I can totally blame my brudder. I should have known better but I somehow turned the photo taking over to someone who hasn't updated their blog in 11 months. In fact....according to their blog, my niece doesn't even exist. Yipes! Back to the camera....why I thought I would have pictures within the week from such a bad blogger is beyond me. So, without the hat pictures I was hoping for....

We surprised my sissy-in-law a few weekends back for her 30th birthday and 5th annual Kentucky Derby party. They had amazing Derby food - Kentucky fried chicken, hot browns, Derby pie, mint juleps, and more. Their neighbors showed up and each time the doorbell rang I was sure the newest guest would not be outdone only for the bell to ring again. They were a fun bunch! Cupcake and I had our hats decorated and were ready for the big event. Only you won't see my hat here because of.....you've got it: Bad Bloggin' Brudder. Here's what I did get:

Cousins!!! in matching shirts compliments of Cupcake's Nana.


Girl time! Cupcake wanted a Derby Hat too. So I added some flowers to this one. She loves her Baby K.


But she eventually gave Papa his turn:



Who then gave Gigi her turn. Cupcake let Baby K try her hat, by next year it may even fit her:


But really, Cupcake likes holding the baby...lots. She also liked Gigi's derby hat even better than hers:



It was a super fun weekend and though our bets were not the winning ones we loved being with family for the big Kentucky Derby Party. My Kentucky Hubs was even impressed in the Texas version of Derby Day.

In other news I've added a poll (see top left of the blog under the main picture). We find out the gender next week. Notice I said "We." We haven't decided when or how you....meaning everyone else will find out. However, don't be counting on next week. We've got to do something fun and unique so that our newest bambino isn't struck down by 2nd child syndrome while still in the womb. :) Don't worry you'll know the gender eventually. For now....make your guess on the poll it closes next week! I'd also love for you to leave a comment telling me which way you voted.