Just for Posterity's Sake

7 Quick Takes: Old Mom, New Tricks

Just because I'm pregnant again by no means makes me an expert at this growing-a-baby thing.  I was reading my go-to pregnancy book, and all sorts of things jumped out at me that I don't think (pregnancy brain?) I ever knew before.  Such as:

1) 

Don't drink green tea.

What???  I think I drank a lot of Trader Joe's Candy Cane green tea when pregnant before.  Tea is one of the drinks I pick up during gestation when coffee sometimes doesn't sound too appealing, and diet soda is out (stupid fake sweeteners).  Apparently green tea interferes with the absorption of folic acid, which we all know is super important for a growing baby.

2) 

By the time you miss your period, and discover that you're pregnant, 80% of the baby's organ development has ALREADY occurred!  

Whoa!  There I was, living life as usual, and my body was growing another human's organs before I even knew!  It's amazing!  And also, how can anyone be pro-choice?

3) 

Women who experience morning sickness have a lower percentage rate of having a miscarriage.  People always told me that sick mom = healthy baby, but I thought they were saying that to make me feel better as I was living with my head inside the porcelain throne.  You know, like how rain on your wedding day = good luck.  No.  Rain on your wedding day = crazy hair and a wet dress.

4) 

The more weight you gain in your first trimester, the more likely you are to have a bigger baby.  

This definitely holds true for me.  I gained the most weight at the beginning with Alexander (like this current bambino, I have to eat every few hours or I feel terrible) and he was my biggest baby at 8 lbs. 14 oz.  The times I couldn't keep food down and lost weight my first trimester, my babies were smaller.  

Now for some things I learned from other experienced mothers that I wish I knew earlier...

5) 

I am definitely going to try Hallie's trick of taking Liquid Calcium to ease the postpartum cramps, which seem to get worse and worse after each baby (amiright?).  SO glad I know about this in advance!

6) 

I had never heard of wearing a girdle during pregnancy, but I do remember being "in the family way" with the fifth baby and feeling a lot of muscle cramping and achiness in my lower abdomen.  It's like my muscles were just overused, in fact it kept me from running any longer than the 5th month.  Kendra suggests wearing a girdle to help with all that achiness, and I'm definitely going to try it this time around!

7) 

I don't know who told me this when I was pregnant for the 3rd or 4th time and sick as a dog (I'm going to stop talking about morning sickness, pinky swear no take backs) but the Sea Bands really do help me. I'm the type of person who gets car-sick, sea-sick, motion-sick, and morning sick, and they all feel pretty similar, so for me wearing the bands help.  Even if it's only in my head, I'll take whatever relief I can get.  Mama H does not agree with the magical powers of the bands, but she's so funny that we'll agree to disagree.  

Have a wonderful weekend everybody!  And if you have any other helpful hints or tricks to share...please do!!

Blueberries Galore: Fact and Fiction

Fact: Jessica chose blueberries to be next week's Mystery Ingredient, and I know she won't mind if I post early (right?).

Fact: Phil took the kids blueberry picking yesterday.

Fiction: My utero baby (that sounds gross) is the size of a watermelon this week.

Nope, I lied, it's the size of a...wait for it...BLUEBERRY!  I know some people hate that their growing baby is compared to food, but I love it.  And my kids are really interested too.  So far it's been a chickpea and a blueberry.  What food product will he/she become next?  And can we keep picking the Mystery Ingredient around the utero baby theme?  I'm looking at you Anne, Jessica and Tasha.

So all this talk about blueberries got me hungry and I had to bake something delicious.

First let's see how those blueberries got to my kitchen:

Cousin Caitlin came along too, and she never leaves Xander's side.

Peek-a-blueberry!

99% picked by Phil since the kids liked storing them in their mouths instead of the container.

I pulled out my recipe for Best Blueberry Muffins from America's Test Kitchen and went to work...

I made 16 instead of a dozen because sometimes when I fill the muffin tins too full, my oven bottom gets messy.

And nobody likes a messy bottom, amiright?

Fact: So delicious!

Fiction: I only ate one....

Good, Bad and Ugly: Baby Edition

The Good:

Thank you for your sweet and encouraging comments on our announcement yesterday.  

Thank you Dollar Store for your cheap but accurate tests!

We are just as excited as our kids (their reaction is here if you haven't seen it yet!)  I am always amazed at parents who think that by having another baby, they are depriving their current children of love and attention.  Our kids pray, plead, and hound us to have more, and are so excited to get one.  There is honestly nothing better we can give our children than the gift of a sibling!  

The Bad:

Morning sickness has started, and based on my past 5 pregnancies I know it's only going to get worse over the next few weeks.  Please excuse me if I'm grouchy and irrational.  I'm pretty useless in the 1st and 3rd trimesters, but I'm a gem in the 2nd.  Promise!

The Ugly:

I have swollen lymph nodes, a cold sore, acne, am exhausted and could I possibly be showing at 7 weeks????  Whoever says pregnancy is beautiful is blinder than a bat.  The baby is beautiful, and worth it all, but the pregnancy I could do without :)  

All that complaining out of the way, we are truly very excited for this new little member of our family, and we know we have been blessed by God more than we deserve.  We are so thankful!! 

What I Wore and What They Said

What I Wore to Mass on Saturday night.  

Dress: Loft

Cardigan: Old Navy

Veiny Hands: Gross

And after dinner, I took a funny video of my kids.  They are so LOUD!!

Knots-ish

Theme Thursday is Knots this week, and I found an old picture of Maggie around 14 months, when I could finally start putting her hair into little knots or pigtails.  

Although this picture makes it look like horns:

Which is fitting ;)

I pray that one day I can have a little girl again, because oh my goodness, seeing Maggie's toddler pictures is making my ovaries ache!