Baby #3: 5 - 11 weeks

This is what 9 weeks looks like for a third pregnancy!! Whoa.

How far along.... 11 weeks!

How am I feeling.... I'm doing alright, but every day is different. I was pretty worried there for a couple weeks that I was going to have a repeat of Cora's pregnancy and end up very, very sick. But *knock on wood* I am hoping that's not the case. Just these past few days, I have been feeling a lot better and my appetite is improving, although I still don't want much. I stick to my safe foods: cereal, lots and lots of cereal! I don't want meat, but I like eggs. Cheese, fruit, salads, soup, and most carbs are good right now. I am pretty tired, but keeping up with my two munchkins okay. Otherwise, I'm feeling good!

How is baby doing.... We had an ultrasound around 9 weeks to date the pregnancy and everything looked good. The heart was beating and the baby was moving around a lot.

Milestones, etc.... I'm really looking forward to our NT scan in 10 days to see the baby again. We also announced this pregnancy to everyone, so it's no longer a secret. Did I mention we aren't going to find out the gender this time?! I think it will be so fun to hear it announced at the delivery and then be able to tell/show our parents and family at the hospital!

Surprise!

I can't even believe I am writing this post.... On February 3, 2016, we found out we are expecting another baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Number 3!!!! Ahhhhhhhhhh!

No infertility treatments, no medications, no injections, no stressing and worrying and anxiety, no doctors, no thousands of dollars. We just got pregnant on our own. Oh, how I hate to be one of those cliches. But then at the same time, we are SO happy! We always wanted three children. We talked about it and decided that it would have to happen on it's own. But we never, ever thought it would. Because why would it? After all we have been through and all the years. And then it did.

The shock still hasn't worn off. I was shaking for several days after taking the pregnancy test. I didn't even want to take it because I was CERTAIN I wasn't pregnant. Absolutely sure there was no way. I waited WAY longer than I ever have to even take the test because I thought it was stupid and not possible. Nick actually pushed me to finally test. You should have seen our faces when I got out of the shower and told Nick "ummm, this expired cheap test says I am pregnant!" I took the kids to school and then stopped at the store for two boxes of tests. And sure enough, they both were positive too.

My sister was completely shocked. My parents were shocked. My best friend was shocked. My Mom told me that she has never been so surprised as she was when we told her this news. It's just crazy!!!

My due date is October 1st, but I will have a repeat c-section so baby will be here end of September, unless I go into labor on my own sooner. We also decided to wait to find out the gender when he/she is born. It should be fun for Nick to walk out to the waiting room and tell our parents :)

Even after a whole month has passed, I am still in total shock. Today I am 10 weeks and feeling sick all day, every day. We had our first ultrasound and everything looked good, we saw the heart beating away and little arms and legs forming. We go back for the NT scan on March 24th.

Cute side story: Grayson knows there is another sibling on the way and he is SO excited! He always points out that the new baby will sit here, and he will play with and tickle the new baby, and the baby is definitely a girl, and he even kisses my belly goodbye at school. Melts my heart. The other day we were talking about the baby again and he asked "mama, what's the baby's name going to be?" I told him that we won't know until the baby is born because we won't know if the baby is a boy or a girl. He replied "we should call the baby Cashew. Or Peanut. Because the baby is so small." My sweet boy! Cashews are his favorite nut so it makes sense. And we told him the other day that we can call the baby Peanut for now since we won't have a name for a long time.

Cora - One Year!!!!

My sweet girl is ONE!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe it! And this post is super late. Embarassing. She turned one on January 23rd, more than a month ago. So much going on to start off 2016.

• We had a wonderful birthday party for our girl with all things rainbows and unicorns :) She had a great time and her adorable cake pops were a huge hit!

• At her One Year check-up on January 26th, she was 20 lbs 13 oz, 30.5 inches long, and her head was 45.5 cm. She is wearing 18 month clothes and just switched to size 4 diapers.

•  She is done with formula and is on cow's milk and using sippy cups very well. I still give her a bottle at bedtime. She is a good eater and has lots of favorites: black beans, string cheese, chicken, tuna, blueberries, tomatoes, broccoli, raisins and of course (just like her Mama) she loves some ice cream for dessert!

• She naps for an hour or two at home, and 45 minutes to an hour at school. Her nighttime sleep is great now! She goes to bed between 7 and 8pm and we get her up at 7:15am on weekdays.

• I think she is at 11 or 12 teeth now. Since my last update a couple more teeth have popped through, mostly molars. Ouch. I can definitely tell when it's hurting her as she eats a lot less and wants her cold teethers more often. And she's gets pretty fussy. Poor thing.

• Her and Grayson are so sweet. He always tells me "I want to do _________, and then I can play with Cora." He is always so thoughtful of her, offering to share bites of his food and offering her a toy if she is crying. He also wants her to chase him around and play with him any way she can. They give each other big hugs and he is still her favorite person ever. She squeals and laughs as soon as she sees him. My heart feels so full watching them together. 

• Her personality is really showing lately! She is so brave and determined. She loves to give hugs, kisses and high fives. She also waves, when she wants to ;) She is very independent now and wants to go where she wants and do what she wants. She has started reaching her hand up to hold ours when we walk around, down/up steps, etc. and G loves to walk around holding her hand - I about die from the cuteness!!! She also understands SO much of what we say, it blows me away! She knows to get her shoes when it's time to leave. She knows when I ask if she is hungry. She does a pretty good job at communicating what she wants. She says "mama", "dada" and "uh oh" right now. I am hoping she starts to pick up more words soon. I can tell she gets frustrated sometimes and is whining for things instead, but we will get there. Unfortunately the teachers in her class don't use sign language like Grayson's teacher did, so she isn't picking that up. It was so helpful for him so I will keep trying at home.