Day 1 of Advocare

I am embarrassed to say that after having my child I have gained quite a bit of weight. I wish I could say that it's baby weight, so I'd have an excuse, but unfortunately I came out of the hospital weighing less than I did before I got pregnant. I wish I had someone to blame it on, but it's no one's fault but my own. I have a problem, I like to eat. I like to eat when I'm bored. I like to eat when I'm upset. I even like to eat to celebrate. I eat when I'm not hungry, to the point of discomfort. I realize that I have a problem, but in the past I didn't quite care enough to do something about it...that is until now. I've reached the point where it's uncomfortable to sit, painful to do too much exercise, I'm incredibly tired all the time and I get winded very easy. When I had kids I wanted to be very active in their life, but for me that's difficult. 

But that's all about to change. Today I started my very first day of the Advocare 24 Challenge. I know several people that have had success on the program and my dad's doctor told him that he was on it, so I figured what could it hurt.

So now here we are. I wanted to document my journey so I could go back and reflect when I need a reminder of why I'm doing this. Keep a look out for updates and progress reports!!

Before Pictures

Beginning weight: 236.4

Total weight lost: 0

Upper chest: 44 1/2 in
Bust: 48 1/2 in
Right arm: 15 3/4 in
Left arm: 15 3/4 in
Waist: 51 3/4 in
Hips: 48 5/8 in
Right thigh: 24 in
Left thigh:  24 in

total inches lost: 0

12 Weeks

Tiffany I think I'm going to steal the way you do your pregnancy updates, I really like the way you do it. I hope you don't mind!! :)

I can't believe that I am already in the 12th week of this pregnancy. I remember with Connor each week felt like it was dragging and when I was six weeks I was ready to be done just because I wanted to have my baby already lol. I know I have been horrible with the promised updates, but I am determined to turn over a new blogging leaf!! Enjoy my update!!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 12 weeks

Size of baby: Baby #2 is about 2.1 inches long (the size of an average plum) and weighs .49 ounces

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 1 pound so far. With Connor I only gained 18 pounds total and with my weight I'm only suppse to gain 10-15 pounds so I plan on working really hard to be successful in this area again

Clothes: Still wearing my normal clothes. I didn't wear maternity till the 3rd trimester last time, so hopefully I can get away with normal clothes for a while again

Gender: Unknown at the moment but we definitely plan on finding out so I can let my A-type personality take over haha

Movement: I have not noticed any as of yet

Sleep: I normally don't sleep very well normally and that has carried over into pregnancy. I normally wake up 1-3 times a night

What I miss: I can't say I really miss anything at the moment

Cravings: I don't crave a lot of the same thing, but I do have major cravings. One week it was Cherry 7up, this week it's pickles

Symptoms: Lol I have an abundance of them right now. Tiredness, moodiness, nausea, cramps, heartburn, food aversions, frequent urination...I could probably go on

Moment this week: I have already taken the one hour GD test and I failed. My midwife gave me the option of taking the 3 hour test or testing my blood gluclose at home for two weeks and having her examine my levels. I chose the second option. I know I'm gonna fail the 3 hour test and I'd rather just skip that step and be proactive. I had gestational diabetes with Connor and failed my tests at 14 weeks last time. They think that because of the PCOS I have insulin intolerance, but I was not tested after I gave birth last time because I wasn't here with my regular doctor. I will definitely remember to ask to be tested this time around and hopefully get it under control so I can have an easier pregnancy next time (if there is a next time)

What I'm looking forward to: finding out the sex. My hubby was deployed when I had my big ultrasound with Connor so I'm very excited for him to experience the ultrasound when I'm further along.

Milestones: I had my first ultrasound last week and we got the see the heartbeat and we got to see our baby :) I will post pictures when i finally get around to scanning them onto the computer

Hey there

I just wanted to let you know that I am still here. Pregnancy is kicking my butt and I'm only seven weeks in. This week two of my classes ended so it was a very busy week, at least on the homework end. I need to start sitting down and blogging more, I'm really going to try for once or twice a week. There is a lot that will be happening in the next year and it would be nice to be able to look back and have a written account. Well I must go finish my homework before English, I will come back and write a better blog later :)

Huge News

So.....

J came back from his deployment on May 22nd and I happened to be ovulating. We had decided a few months back that we were going to try for baby number two, so I got off my birth control in April. All I can say is bing bang boom. Lol I guess what I've heard about it often being easier for women with PCOS to conceive the second time was true. I am definitely in shock that I got pregnant the first month and we're going to have another baby!!

It was very fun to tell J. Last time I just shoved the test in his face, but this time I decided to have a little fun with it. When he came through the door yesterday I had to tell him that his mom was putting his childhood dog down and then I told him if it made him feel better I had a present for him, but he had to guess what it was. I told him it was for both of us, but we wouldn't be getting it for a while. My husband is a bit of a perv so he started guess perverted things and then I told him we wouldn't get it for nine months. His face totally changed, you saw shock and then an instant smile. 

So my due date is February 16th and I am four weeks pregnant today. I don't have all the emotions I had last time. When I got pregnant with Connor I had already went through two miscarriages so I was scared for most of my pregnancy. I just don't feel the fear of losing the baby this time, I am at peace. Maybe it's because I don't have a lot of time to think about it, or maybe it's because I finally made it through a viable pregnancy and I know it's possible now. Whatever it is, I'm very excited to share my pregnancy journey with you ladies.

On another note, we have exciting news on the Navy front too. We just found out last week that my hubby made E-5. As a result of making E-5 within the twelve months to the end of his enlistment we no longer have to worry about PTS, he is automatically allowed to reenlist. We are very relieved that everything worked out and now we won't have to worry about what's going to happen until it's time to move to our next duty station.

Connor

Here are some newer pictures of Connor. :)

Hello

So I know it has been over a year since I have posted anything, I have been a very bad blogger. I missed writing, I enjoyed sharing my life. So I have decided to start again, hopefully I can be a better blogger. So let's get caught up to present day.

• In May 2011 I started yet another college. This time I am going for my A.S. in Accounting and for once I am doing fabulous in school. For those who don't know, I have been "attempting" college since I was 18. I am now on my 4th school and 5th major and I have nothing to show for my efforts so far. But soon that statement will change!! As I work towards my associate's I also earn technical certificates. I already have one and by the time May 2013 comes around I will have 3 technical certificates and two associate degrees. Go me!!
• My husband is currently in the middle of his third deployment. Thankfully he comes home soon and if he doesn't reenlist next year this will be our last full deployment. Connor and I went back to Texas for four months to be with family (I did school online for this deployment). We actually just got back to Florida a week ago and we're busy trying to the apartment back in order.
• I don't know how it works in the other branches of the military, but in the Navy when a sailor wants to reenlist they have to put in a PTS (for the life of me I cannot remember what that stands for). He has like eight chances to put in a PTS that gets approved before he is kicked out of the Navy. He has put in two so far. The first one was denied, the second one we're waiting to hear back about. So now we're facing the real possibility that he may not be in the Navy next year. My husband is one of those that wants to make a career out of the military, so I never considered the possibility that he would have to get out. Unfortunately the Navy is overmanned and his job is overmanned, so this is how life goes.
• We have decided to try for baby number two.
• Now let me get to Connor. My sweet sweet boy is almost two and as everyone says, he is "all boy". He loves to get into everything, loves to climb everything and he is so very destructive. I definitely have my hands full but I love every minute of it.

The Holidays

I know I have three more months to update about Connor, but they'll probably have to wait until Monday comes. I don't know how it works in other branches of the military, but in the Navy everyone gets leave around the holidays, first leave (around Christmas time) and second leave (around New Years). Well J had second leave so he's been home all week. Spending time with the hubby and the baby have made it kind of difficult to do much of anything. But once life gets back to normal I'll be able to finish all my updates while Connor's napping.

So how was everyone's holidays?

Ours was perfect. It was just J, Connor and me, which was absolutely wonderful. J had duty (once a week they have to stay on the ship overnight to do watches and stuff) on Christmas Eve, so Connor and I had to wait and open presents until he got home Christmas morning. he got home around 9:30 and after he got settled in we opened presents. Connor was real interested in grabbing the wrapping paper, so J would pull the present away once he had a hold of the paper, giving Connor the opportunity to help open his presents without even knowing it. We got through twenty minutes of present unwrapping before Connor got cranky and had to be laid down for a nap. We opened the rest of the presents (Connor got a TON) once we laid him down and then we played with the new "toys" we got. We had ribs, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and corn bread for dinner. I'm a once a year traditional holiday meal person and since we had the whole traditional shabang at Thanksgiving we wanted to do something different for Christmas dinner. It was a perfect, low key day. I do have a few pictures, so I'll post them up in a few days.

On New Years Eve, we were suppose to go to a friend's house, but when we were getting ready to leave Connor got SUPER cranky, so we decided to stay home instead. J and I stayed up till like one watching the season eight of Scrubs (love that show).

Well, that's all I have for now. I promise you'll have a lot to read next week.

Month Two

Connor's second month brought about some big changes for us. When he was about 1 1/2 months, my dad and stepmom drove us back to Florida so we could be home when J's ship pulled in. The drive is about nineteen hours (which we did in two days) and my little man did wonderfully.

Connor started smiling during his second month, and it wasn't just the "i have gas" smile. Oh and let me tell you, I'm very spoiled when it comes to my baby's sleep schedule. By the time he was two months old he would only wake up once or twice a night!!

The most exciting thing that happened during Connor's second month was his daddy coming home!! J's ship pulled in two days before Connor turned two months and J got to meet his son for the first time. I was so excited to reunite my little family.

Month One

So we spent Connor's first month in Texas living with my dad and my stepmom. We tried breastfeeding, but unfortunately I am one of those unlucky women who do not produce milk, so my baby is formula fed. When he was two weeks, my sister and I drove up to Oklahoma (it is a 4 1/2 hour drive) to visit my mom for her birthday. He did wonderful in the car, even back then! By the time he was a month old he weighed 8 pounds and 14 ounces!! We didn't really have any big milestones during his first month.

Here's some pictures of his first month!!

Connor's first bath

shielding out the light

Connor with Mommy and Grandma

my mom's cat was three times the size of Connor when he was two weeks old!!

a few days shy of a month old

a month old

his favorite activity...eating

Connor's Birth Day

Well, I don't know if you remember, but my due date for Connor was on July 27. My new doctor in Texas (who also delivered my niece...haha no this was not coincidental) started checking me at 35 weeks and at my 35 week appointment he told me that I was 1-2 cm dilated already. At 36 weeks I was 1 1/2 cm, at 37 I was 2 cm and at 39 weeks I was 3 cm. By 38 weeks I was begging to be induced because I was extremely uncomfortable because of the baby being so low, me being so big and it being so hot out. To my surprise the doctor agreed to the induction and it was scheduled for two days later!! I left my appointment in shock at the fact that in a few days I was going to finally meet my little man.

Since I was dilated and thinning I didn't have to go to the hospital the night before to get Cervadil. My stepmom and I went to the hospital at five in the morning on the 22nd. By the time they got all my admitting paperwork done, my IV started, blood drawn and pitocin started it was around seven in the morning. The nurse checked me after starting the pitocin (or right before I can't remember) and I was 4 1/2 cm (after only two days). The doctor came in and broke my water at 9 am and I was 6 cm. Probably about 15 minutes after getting my water broken I got an epidural because I didn't know how much longer it was gonna take and I didn't know how much worse the pain was gonna get and I'm a real big wuss when it comes to pain. Unfortunately, my epidural started to wear off pretty quickly and within half and a hour I could feel my contractions on the right side. My nurse came in and checked me at ten and I was fully dilated and ready to push. I pushed for an hour and a half (at the end I felt every contraction and the baby come out!!) and had to have an episiotomy. My precious baby boy was born at 11:30 AM. So all together my labor was only 4 1/2 hours long, which my doctor bragged about the rest of the day :) He weighed 6 lbs 11 oz and he was 19 1/4 inches long. We were in the hospital for about 36 hours because Connor's glucose levels had to be monitored because of my GD. Overall,

I had an amazing birth experience (except for the fact that J wasn't there and his mother was in the room even though I told her several times I didn't want her to be) and I really can't wait to experience it again in a few years.

Enjoy the pictures below!

Just minutes old

Getting cleaned off

Proud Momma

Welcome to the world Connor Aden



admiring the new baby

Connor had to have certain glucose levels. Since I was breastfeeding there were times I had to give him formula through a syringe to get his levels high enough

I'm BAAACK

Wow I can't believe how fast ten months can go by!! It feels like just yesterday that I posted Connor's ultrasound pictures and now my baby is five months old. There has been so much that have happened in the last ten months and I cannot wait to share everything with you ladies!! Hmm...where to start?? Well, sometime in March (or maybe April, I really can't remember) we found out that my stepmom's breast cancer had returned ( read here for the story of the first time she had it). I was devastated because she was suppose to be the person that came to Florida to be with me when the baby was born (J was deployed and he didn't get back until Connor was two months old) and there was a chance she wasn't going to be able to come. After finding out this news and much deliberation with my parents and my mother in law, I decided that when I went back to Texas for my baby sister's graduation I was just going to stay there and have the baby back home so I wasn't alone (which really would have sucked because I live forty five minutes away from the navy hospital). So one of my sisters flew to Florida to help me drive to Texas (by this time I'm just shy of 32 weeks and my dad didn't want me to try and make a NINETEEN hour drive by myself). On the day that I was suppose to pick her up from the airport my car started acting up and come to find out that there's a chance the engine will seize up if we try and drive it all the way to Texas, so we had to rent a car!! Being back in Texas was great though. I got to spend a lot of time with my niece (who is now two) and my family. It really sucked not having a car, but my baby sister drove me wherever I needed to go (including ALL of my doctor's appointments). We joked around that she was the stand in husband since J wasn't there. My parents drove me back home Labor Day weekend and a few weeks later J's ship came home!! A few days later we bought a new car (whoot whoot!!) and made the drive back to Texas to take his mom home, get our dogs and so everyone could see him. It has been awesome being our own little family. J deploys again in August or September, which is gonna suck, but he'll be here for Connor's birthday and he's seeing all of Connor's first holidays so I'm pretty excited about that.

Well ladies I have a lot more stuff to update about, so I'm gonna split all the new info up into several blogs. Stay tuned for Connor's birth day and months 1-5 (pictures included!!)

Other Ultrasound Pictures

Side view

Looks like an alien!! :)

Hand on face

We have baby!!!

He or She???

Can you guess the sex??

Miss Me???

Yes I'm still alive and yes even though I continually tell y'all that I'm going to be a better blogger I keep disappearing for long periods of time. I'm still here I promise ;) Are you ready for some updates, because I have some fun ones!!!

*They did end up diagnosing me with gestational diabetes. So far it's not too bad. I have to check my blood sugar four times a day and watch what I eat. My doctor did tell me that because I did develop it so early that later on I may have problems controlling it. Hopefully when we reach that point that doesn't become the truth because I REALLY don't want to go on insulin shots (I'm terrified of needles, I'd never be able to poke myself daily)

*This Monday I had my appointment and ultrasound with the genetic counselor. She told me that my chemical pregnancies were more than likely caused by the PCOS and not the MTHFR. She told me that I really don't need to worry about the MTHFR, which is a good weight off my shoulders. This also means that down the line I'll be more willing to try for another child. After finding out about the MTHFR I had flat out told J that I didn't want anymore children after this.

*Even though I was just shy of 17 weeks when they did my ultrasound on Monday they were still able to tell me the gender of the baby :) I bet y'all wanna know what it is don't you?? I'll post the ultrasound pictures next and see if you can guess ;)

*Sad news: J left on deployment again on Valentine's Day (yes, Valentine's Day...crappy huh?? Why they couldn't wait one more day I have no idea). He'll be gone for a good while, like seven or eight months. That's the normal deployment length in the Navy. I'm very sad because he's missing out and he won't be able to come home for the birth.

Well I think that about wraps it up. I'm not making any promises this time because I suck at keeping up with my blog right now, but we'll see what happens. I miss talking to you girls!!

Ultrasound Pictures

My ultrasound pictures at 10 weeks and 6 days

I'm alive I promise

Wow, bad blogger Meg...bad blogger!!

Okay ladies I'm sorry for not updating in a MONTH!! Being preggo makes me REALLY tired so I try to get all the sleep I can get while I still can. I'm so worn out that I made them cut my hours down at work so I can sleep more lol. So lets see...let's start with the preggo updates:

- at 6 weeks and 3 days I had some bright red spotting and cramping. Of course I'm extremely paranoid from losing two other pregnancies that I rushed right to the ER. They did a pelvic, drew blood and did an ultrasound and everything came back fine. I had a yeast infection and an overabundance of bacteria that is found in the down there already so they think that may have caused it. The ultrasound tech was really cool and let me sneak a peak of the baby and told me the ultrasound results even though he wasn't suppose to. Definitely put my mind to ease.

-I had my first appointment on January 4th and we got another ultrasound. I was 10 weeks and 6 days which meant that it actually looked like a baby more than a tadpole. As soon as the baby popped up on the screen I started crying because I was so scared that there was going to be a dead baby in there. We got to hear the heart beat and everything and the baby had a very strong heartbeat of 174. The midwife decided to do a bunch of blood work because of the chemical pregnancies and she did a one hour glucose because of the PCOS.

-Well the one hour came back and I failed it!! I was not at all surprised. Now I have to take the 3 hour one already and if I fail that one then she says I have gestational diabetes, even though it's pretty early on to develop it. She thinks it has to do with the insulin resistance that is associated with the PCOS and it will mean I end up on medication if I fail.

-Most of my blood work has come back normal, expect for one thing. I have a genetic mutation called MTHFR, which has probably been the cause of the CP. I added a link so y'all could read up on it because it's so complicated to explain. We have to go see a genetic counselor now, we're just waiting on the referral through Tricare.

It makes me sad to think of how hard it has been to get pregnant and stay pregnant. It seems to me that maybe all this is a sign. I have decided that if I am able to carry this child all the way that this is it. I honestly do not think I can continue to go through all the heartbreak. It's sad, but I'm willing to except the fact that maybe I'm not meant to have tons of children of my own.

The hubby has been out to sea over the past week and of course I get the news while he's gone. Now I'm waiting for him to call me to come pick him up so I can tell him what crappy luck we continue to have.

Okay, enough of a pity party.

On a better note...I am 12 weeks and 1 day pregnant today. I thank God for every day that I am able to carry this baby.

Oh and I have ultrasound pictures. I have to reload the printer software onto the computer and then I will be able to scan them in...look for pictures!!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving y'all, I hope you're having a good holiday so far. I am currently sitting here watching the Macy's Day Parade and making some chocolate chip cookies (which aren't turning out as well as they should...I keep forgetting about them) that I will be taking with me in a bit to my friend's house. We are going to a friend's house for Thanksgiving today. I am very excited, she's an awesome cook!! Tomorrow that same friend and I are going to shopping. I've never actually been shopping on Black Friday because I've always had to work. So I really want to go out just for the experience. Then on Saturday we are cleaning house, rearranging furniture AND putting up decorations. Yes, I am one of those people that go Christmas crazy the day after Thanksgiving. If given the chance I'd probably put up decorations at the beginning of November, lol.

Everything is going good on the baby front. I am still pregnant :) which is a miracle to me. I've been really tired, I have to go to the bathroom ALL the time, my boobs hurt SO bad, and I only get queasy every once in a while. Oh and did I mention the mood swings...well I sure do have those. I have been relishing every single symptom because in my mind it means the bean is snuggled in for a long time. I just hope everything continues to progress this nicely.

State of Shock

So I went to the clinic on base yesterday to get a pregnancy test done...

It was positive

I'm still in shock. Someone else has confirmed what I saw on the pee stick. I'm not crazy anymore. I really am pregnant. J said that he feels good about it this time and he thinks I'll be able to carry this baby.

At the clinic you have to take a class to give you info on what to expect to happen throughout the pregnancy and birth. My class is December 8th and then I'll get to make an appointment with one of the OBs at the clinic. I will definitely continue taking a test once a week for piece of mind till I get to see the baby.

Please keep your fingers crossed that this continues to work out :)

Round Three

Yep, we are pregnant again!! This is the third time, but the most beautiful line I've ever seen. I never got a dark line with the two chemical pregnancies. They were the barely there lines that I almost could have imaged. But this baby showed up immediately and I watched in amazement as the line just got darker and darker. The most amazing part...this is how dark the line was in the afternoon after only holding my pee for an hour and a half and drinking a can of soda in that time.

I am only four weeks and I'm very nervous. I'm so scared that this will just end in disappointment once again but at the same time I have a feeling...

I almost feel like it's time, this is finally going to be my baby. I'm going tomorrow to get a test done at the clinic and I think I'm going to call the RE's office and see if they will bring me in to do blood and test my progesterone to make sure that wasn't my problem before.

I promise to keep the updates coming and please keep all crossables crossed that this bean is snuggled in tight and it STICKS!!

RE Appointment

So much has happened within the last week, I have so much to tell you guys. So I decided to grow some balls and finally make my appointment for the RE last Tuesday. Turns out they had a new patient cancellation for the next day...talk about shocked I wasn't prepared to be sitting in the doctor's office that quickly. So I went and did that and I've ALREADY had two other appointments. This doctor's office does not play around. I had an HSG on Tuesday and an ultrasound and phsyical on Wednesday. My HSG was clear (yeay) and it was extremely uncomfortable, but nothing I couldn't handle. It was cool to watch everything fill up with the dye and it definitely brought a sense of relief as I watched that dye spread through my reproductive system. The ultrasound on Wednesday definitely confirmed the PCOS diagnosis. Both of my ovaries are polycystic. The NP also thinks that I have either a dermoid cyst or an endometrioma on my right ovary. My doctor came in and also caused pain to figure out where they needed to look during the laparoscopy. Yes, a laparoscopy. Based on my history he thinks that I also have endometriosis. So I should be having the surgery within the next one to two months. I'm very nervous about it because I do not react well the general anesthesia. I think after the surgery is when they are going to decide what course of action they need to take. So right now we just need to get J's SA done and I have to get my glucose tested (because of the PCOS) and I have to make an appointment with the general surgeon that will assist on my lap. Keep your fingers crossed that we are one step closer in our journey ladies!!