Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Cycle Day - 3

Breckin escaped his crib today. I heard the banging over the monitor and instantly knew what had happened. I ran up to his room to find him standing next to his crib crying. I held him for a little while, then laid him down in his crib. He asked me to lay down ("night night") next to him, so I laid on the floor until he fell asleep. His crib is on the lowest setting, so maybe it's time for the toddler bed. I'm not sure ANY of us are ready for the transition.

I'm on cycle day 3. I'm no where near ovulation but I decided to start my daily testing with the OPKs today... why? Because I can. I bough a ton of cheap OPKs over the internet.

Monday, June 27, 2011

Great Weekend and Our First Trying to Conceive Cycle!

We had a great weekend. Lots of great food! Sushi-o was amazing as always. We didn't get a lot done around the house, but I guess that's ok.

On to more exciting news! I started our first trying to conceive cycle this morning. My cycles generally alternate between a 26 days and 30 days. Since I just had my 26 day cycle (which ended up actually being a 25 days) I am assuming that I am gearing up for a longer cycle. I will start OPKs around day 7 or 8 but I likely wont ovulate until day 15 or 16. I want to start early just in case I ovulate early... you never know.

Now comes the more difficult task of staying relax, and enjoying the process. I also need to keep for going crazy in the two week wait before I can test. I am sure I will be analyzing every little thing my body does during that time. The good news is that I am finding it much easier to eat healthy in the past few weeks. So that will help. We went grocery shopping Saturday at Whole Foods (my favorite store in the world!), so the fridge is full of really great options.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Breckin's Health

I got a call from the GI doctor today. Everything came back normal in the latest round of tests. There was no sign of malabsorption, or an intolerance of any kind. His PH was a little low but they would like me to keep him on the same diet he is on now... limited fruit, and two doses of probiotics a day. They believe now that he has "toddler diarrhea" (Toddler's diarrhea If your child has multiple loose bowel movements per day, perhaps containing undigested foods or mucus and foul-smelling stool, he may have what doctors call toddler's diarrhea. There's no discernible cause, except perhaps the addition of new foods or other change in diet. Your toddler will continue to gain weight and grow normally, soon outgrowing this condition.). He will likely have this condition until his is school aged but it isn't serious. This is a huge relief and I have felt an enormous weight lift.

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

We finally have a girl name!

After two years of debating we have finally settled on a girl name. The boy names have been picked for years.

If Breckin was a girl Lorelei would most likely have been his name. I love the name but hated that when I mentioned it as a possibility to anyone they brought up the Gilmore Girls. Also, all of the boy names we like begin with a B. We figure if all of the boys will have B names that we should just go ahead and give everyone B names.

I'm not going to say what the name is since Kevin and I decided we would keep baby #2's name a secret until he/she is born (we don't want to hear people's opinions of the name) but I will say that I love it and I am excited that we FINALLY found a name we both like!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Update 6/19

My baby fever has calmed down. Thank goodness! It gets really bad around ovulation and usually disappears soon after, but I was afraid that it wouldn't this time since we were so close to trying to conceive. I am able to focus on something other than planning for pregnancy and babies.

We have had several distractions the past two weeks. Some good, some not. We have been working with a GI doctor the last month. We have been trying to figure out why Breckin is still having issues with mucus in his stool and diarrhea. We have been trying to figure out what is causing these symptoms for a year and a half now. We have tried elimination diet after elimination diet, seeing an allergist, and now we are finally working with a GI doctor. This isn't a distraction that I want. I hate that my sweet little baby is having these issues.

It hasn't been all worry though. We have had good distractions the last few weeks as well. We bought Breckin a swing set and we are working on building it now. I am enjoying spending the summer with my little boy. We started our "homeschool preschool" a few weeks ago and he's learning so much, so fast. He is insanely smart. He amazes me everyday.

This weekend is our last waiting to conceive weekend. I am expecting this cycle to end Monday or Tuesday of next week. I am having all of my favorite foods this weekend... all the foods that I wont be able to eat come the end of this cycle. Friday we are having Chipotle. I wont have to stop eating Chipotle but I will have to limit it. Saturday Kevin and I are going out for a Sushi date. It will only be our second actual date since Breckin was born. I plan to eat a TON of sushi, since I will have to give it up completely. Finally, on Sunday we will be having a big steak dinner. My steak will be cooked medium rare because there is NO reason to eat a steak that is cooked above medium rare... but since meats should be cooked throughly when your pregnant I wont be having any steaks until this second baby is born.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Photos and OPKs

I got my negative OPK yesterday. The last egg we were avoiding is now gone and the wait is officially over. We are now just waiting for this cycle to end. I can't believe we made it! There were times I thought we would just give up waiting like we did with Breckin.

Kevin and I would like to do a photo series to document this up coming pregnancy. I have been looking around the internet for some inspiration but I haven't had any ideas come up yet. It will come to me. I have seen endless pictures of women standing to the side on a black or white backdrop or facing the camera with one hand on top of their belly and the other underneath. I want to do something original... or just different then what you see everyday. Whatever it is it needs to be able to document the whole pregnancy from start to finish. Any ideas?.... oh right, no one is reading this yet.

Monday, June 13, 2011

Pregnancy Amnesia

I was told by many women that once you have your baby you completely forget how difficult pregnancy is and how much labor hurts... even if you had an epidural. Right now I am suffering from some serious pregnancy amnesia. I have this very idyllic idea of this upcoming pregnancy. I KNOW it wont be that way. I know that I will spend the first 12 weeks worrying about miscarriage and the last 12 weeks being insanely uncomfortable but somehow that isn't dampening my enthusiasm. I know labor is going to be rough but I am very excited about that day... already. I feel like a crazy person right now.

I tested (OPK) again this afternoon to make sure I was no longer ovulating and I got another positive. I was hoping I was done ovulating. I am "holding out" again so I can test this afternoon.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Obsessive Day

I am having a bit of an obsessive day. I've been tired and lazy and have spent a good chunk of the day thinking about the journey that Kevin and I are about to start. I told myself I wasn't going to get like this!! I can't wish my summer away. I need enjoy all of these moments with my little boy. They by go too fast and I can't enjoy them with my head in the clouds. STOP ME!! I wish we could just start this month!! Maybe this obsessiveness is coming from the fact that I am currently ovulating. Maybe it will go away once I am done tomorrow.

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Positive OPK

I just my positive OPK for this cycle. That means I will ovulate in the next 48 hours and I will be half way through this cycle. We're getting there.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Preparing for Pregnancy

Before getting pregnant with Breckin I spent 2 months on a "fertility diet." A diet that helps regulate your cycles, and improves your overall health. Basically it's the way you should be eating anyways, limited sugar and carbs, lean proteins, more fruits and veggies, avoiding food that you can't eat while pregnant, etc. Before Breckin my cycles were all over the place. I started the diet and prenatal vitamins and within a month I had normal 28 day cycles. The idea is to improve your chances of having a healthy pregnancy. Whether it actually helps I don't know, but it makes me feel like I am actually doing something while I am waiting to conceive.

When preparing for my pregnancy with Breckin I had no trouble going on this diet. I easily gave up everything I had to. This time around it hasn't been so easy. I'm not sure what it is. I keep telling myself my body need to be healthy to increase my chances of a healthy pregnancy but I keep allowing myself to splurge and indulge in those things that I am going to have to give up in a few weeks. Things like sushi, SUGAR, red meat, carbs, etc. Maybe this time I have a better idea how long I am giving these things up. I felt it was important to eating this way through the year and a half that I breastfed as well. I often felt deprived. I was very aware that what I ate affected my breastmilk. I wanted to give him any chance possible to be healthy. 2 months of a fertility diet, 40 weeks of pregnancy, then 18 months of breastfeeding is a long time to stress about everything you put in your mouth and how it will affect your child. I'm a worrier though.

We have planned this pregnancy so carefully. We want the baby to be born at the end of the school year so I can go out for my maternity leave and not have to come back until the next school year. Because we have put such an emphasis on this due date timeline I have been terrified of having trouble getting pregnant or having a miscarriage. You would think I would be trying really hard to be healthy but instead I have been eating horribly and gaining weight. I need to put a note on my refrigerator saying "You are eating healthy so you can have a healthy pregnancy and baby."

Friday, June 3, 2011

Last "Waiting to Conceive" Cycle!

I finally started a new cycle yesterday. I am now on the second day of our last "waiting to conceive" cycle. I'm trying to not rush this cycle because in doing so I will be rushing through a good chunk of my summer break. So, I am going to do my best to relax and enjoy potentially my last month of having my body to myself for a very long time.