Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Things I'm Loving Right Now

1. I have finally started to feel the baby. I only really feel it once or twice a day, but finally I have started feeling something going on in there. Makes it a little more real.

2. Leggings! They're so comfy, they don't have buttons, and I can dress them up and still look like I'm not going to bed. Love, Love, Love Them Right Now!!!!

3. My ultrasound is in TWO days! I'm so excited I can't hardly stand it. And nervous too!

4. My boys. They always have my heart.

5. Sleep, I can't get enough. Most mornings I don't want to get out of bed, until Carson comes in saying, "Mama I'm thirsty!" "Mama get up!" "Maaammmaaaa!!" Then I finally roll over.

6. The couch. Who doesn't love the couch? Ahhh .. I'm so lazy this pregnancy!! :)

7. Chocolate. I want chocolate all the time. If I eat something else I have a piece of chocolate soon after. Lately, it's little Hershey kisses with almonds. Yum.

8. The thought of having a girl makes me smile. (Although, in the back of my head I wonder if I might just have a small football team instead?)

9. Country music. I was off that phase for a little while .. now I think I'm back on it.

10. Being lazy all day with my boys. Then again, sometimes we just love riding to Walmart and of course hitting up the McDonald's and the occasional Bojangles.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

You Are My Sunshine




You are the best part of my day, every day.
I smile because of your smile.
My heart melts when yours breaks.
Life without you just wouldn't make sense.
You are my everything.
I love you.

Mama

Friday, August 27, 2010

5 MORE MONTHS!!

I can't believe it! And I don't mean that as in that's anywhere close to being here. For some reason I thought January was closer than it is?! 5 more months seems like a long time! But of course, I KNOW time will fly by and January will be here before I know it .. I know I know! Ha .. that's what people say and want to tell me and all I'm thinking is how do I last that long? How did I do this twice before, and want to do this again? Kids - this is just how much your mother loves you, your daddy would never do this .. although, do know he loves you. I can't imagine him going 9 months let alone 27 months of this. After all I am creating a human being people!!! It's tough work and taking care of two little people as well. I need some kind of award. Thanks :)

Thursday, August 26, 2010

18 Weeks!!!!

I don't know why I'm so excited to be 18 weeks. Maybe because I'm that much closer to my ultrasound and being halfway to seeing this little guy or girl in January!! :)

Weighed 116 today and the baby's heart rate was around 147. Makes me think boy now!!

Now I'm so very anxiously awaiting next Thursday, our ultrasound. I'm so torn on whether we should find out or not!! I guess we'll just have to wait and see!

Here are some pics from today, my little man Carson helped me take. I love my babies .. all THREE of them! :)








I just love playing around with picnik!


Adding to the list of cost ...

4. 18 week Doctor Appointment: $90.00

Making our new Total: $1,793.24

Monday, August 23, 2010

Miserable

I can't breathe ..

I can't sleep ..

I'm tired ..

I'm hungry ..

I'm nauseated ..

ALWAYS.

When does this ever end? 22 weeks from now I guess.

Happier note: I have a doctor appointment Thursday morning, get to hear little baby's heartbeat. Then next week is the big ultrasound! :)

Friday, August 20, 2010

Baby Trace in the Making :)










Weird Pregnancy Symptoms

I'm having some crazy symptoms this time around. Along with all the usual symptoms of course.

Okay first, I'm sorry for saying this. But God help my husband because I am one unusually gassy woman! I honestly can say I don't fart .. well of course I DO .. but I'm not that nasty person that just farts all the time, out loud, and then laughs. Well, thank you baby .. because now I have GAS. I said I'm sorry! I'm sure that's the nastiest one, I promise?

Dizzy, dizzy, dizzy .. and then blackout! This one is annoying! I can't manage to go a morning without feeling dizzy and light headed, and occasionally blackout. Scary, but I know it's normal .. I went to the doctor numerous times when I was pregnant with Carson and Jackson and always got the same thing .. it's NORMAL. Great, fun.

My skin has become incredibly dry. Okay everyone who knows me much at all knows this is highly unusual for me, as my skin normally produces enough oil to supply to small countries.

My boobs are growing. Dear Lord, these small little B girls are finally growing. I have finally filled up my B-cup bras!

I'm having the oddest dreams. Most of the time (before pregnancy) I never remembered my dreams. Now I'm waking up every morning to remembering whatever craziness I dreamed about the night before. Nothing "dirty" at least not yet anyway. Just weird.

My nose gets stuffy. Some days I'll think, darnit I have a cold .. when really it's just one of those symptoms, because by the next day, I'm all clear.

I can't BREATHE!!! I feel like a walking 500 lb woman! I walk around the house and pick up stuff for a few minutes and feel like I've ran a marathon. My chest feels so different. I swear this baby has me feeling crammed inside. It's so much harder to breathe.

I have butt pain all the time. I can't sit for long without my butt going numb. It's weird, but I found some info on pregnancy and butt pain. Apparently it has something to do with round ligament pain, whatever that is.

Oh here is another semi-gross one. My trips to the bathroom are much different. Obviously more frequent but also different, and I won't go into details. Nobody wants to read about poop, or probably even think about it, sorry.

One more weird one for me, I'm craving other people. I am a huge homebody. I have always craved to be alone and enjoyed my me time. I've always done things with just me, Carson and Jackson, now lately I've been inviting other people to come along and actually getting out of the house to visit other people for a change. I've always thought I've had this anxiety for some reason where I couldn't leave my kids or my house long without getting all crazy, and lately I've been breaking free a little bit more .. and not wanting to be alone. Now I'm wondering, where all my old friends are. Apparently they all have other lives now. Sad.

Friday, August 6, 2010

Time For An Update!

Well this pregnancy is most definitely much different. Different like different baby, yes. Different like different gender, I have NO idea! And yes I want this baby to be a girl, so it may be wishful thinking that this pregnancy is so different. But here is whats going on..

I'm 15 weeks (as of Aug. 5)

Morning Sickness: Morning shouldn't even be the word. I swear I'm a mess from the time I wake up til the time I go to bed. I feel starving and crave food like crazy, but by the time I slave away in the kitchen standing over my food for so long, I feel nauseated at the site of it when I'm finally though cooking it! I can't even brush my teeth without feeling like I'm going to vomit. I seriously gag just brushing my teeth, it's awful. Luckily, I'm not actually puking, but I feel like I could all day long.

Fitting in my jeans: It's just not happening. Not anymore. I'm not huge by any means, I weighed 109 lbs at my last doctor appointment, but I can't button my pants anymore. Some of them I can, but the muffin top just isn't cute. So I'm struggling with clothes now, maternity clothes swallow me and look ridiculous .. although I plan on checking out the maternity store soon, and my clothes make me look like a chubby teenager. Not happening either.

Weight Gain: Since I've mentioned it already, I'll go ahead and go with it. I weighed 109 as of July 29th, which means I have finally gained weight. 4 lbs to be exact over the past 14 weeks.

Sleep: My sleep is all whack. I'm not kidding. It takes me forever to fall asleep. I toss and turn 5,000 times before I ever get comfortable, which I probably never do, I probably just give up and pass out, I'm not sure. But, then by the time I wake up at like 12pm the next day, I'm still so tired. And I'm not exaggerating.

Cravings: Oh my goodness FOOD. I crave cheeseburgers, deviled eggs, bacon, grilled cheese sandwiches, and Waffle House hash browns with extra cheese. And now I'm starving writing this. And I'm not lying when I say, I fall asleep thinking about food and literally have dreamed about food at night. I wake up thinking about food and then feel so nauseated I can hardly eat it, but eventually I do of course :)

Gender preference: I obviously want a girl. But, there are just some mean people in this world that think my husband and I are incapable of having a girl .. therefore (somewhat out of spite) and for the fact that Brandon doesn't want to know, we're still leaning towards not finding out. My big ultrasound (and probably only ultrasound .. other than the 6 week one) is on September 2nd. I'm debating on whether I should take one of those intelligender test just out of curiosity, but only tell if it says girl .. to those meanies obviously. The suspense is killing me.

My body: I hurt all the way from my lower back to my neck. I feel like this baby is spreading my body out or something. It's doing something I know that, because my body aches and it's so sore! I have no idea what's going on with that, but it will be something I ask my doctor about because I'm sure she can tell me some reason in some kind of doctor language I probably won't be able to understand. But whatever, I'll ask.

Peeing: Yeah I said it .. Peeing. I pee every 15 minutes when I'm home. I guess it's like having a UTI minus the pain, burning, and itching. That probably sounds weird. But, I probably pee more than that anyway. I take a sip of drink, I have to pee. I don't drink anything, I still have to pee. I drink a cup of drink or more at a restaurant, drive-thru whatever, and I'm dying to get to a bathroom. It's annoying. I wake up to pee 2-3 times during the night to pee before actually getting up, and yes I pee before going to bed. Like I said, it's annoying! Oh but baby on my bladder, or wherever you are in there, I do love you.

Breathing: Okay so it's hot. I mean HOT here in NC, as it probably is everywhere else I suppose in the US .. but pregnant and hot does not go good together. And getting hot does not help my nausea. I get dizzy, I have short blackout spells, and I can't breath. I feel like a fat person that gets short of breath just walking 10 feet. It's great. So basically, I wear the least amount of clothes I possibly can when I'm at home. Which usually consists of a t-shirt and underwear. I really should invest in some curtains and better door knobs, because around here people apparently don't care whether you want to be comfy in your underwear, or maybe even have sex .. because they don't knock .. EVER. And when I go out, I try to wear the least amount of clothes without looking like a pregnant teenager hoe bag that doesn't know her baby daddy.

I know that was a lot of complaining to take in, if you even got this far .. but luckily I have this baby to blame, so my husband doesn't even question me when I'm SCREAMING at the top of my lungs over something crazy, or just laying on the couch in my underwear at noon non-showered. Thank God he understands. Too bad I won't have a blame when I have a 4 year old, 2 year old and newborn. I guess they will be my excuse! :)

Not to forget, my 14 week baby doctor appointment went good. Baby's heart beat sounded good and was at 153. It drives me crazy trying to decide whether baby is a girl or boy by it's heart beat because Carson and Jackson's was usually in the 140's. They say girls are usually higher but is 153 really that high? Who knows! And really what do "they" know? I guess we will find out January 27th or sooner!

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Cost of Having a Baby Without Maternity Insurance

Basically, if you're self-employed and don't have maternity insurance before getting pregnant, you're not going to get maternity insurance, and so that leaves us paying out of pocket. I've done tons of researching on the whole self-pay with no maternity insurance and it turns out, since we're paying cash, apparently you get a cheaper discount on things rather than paying through insurance. It seems the prices are jacked up when you pay through insurance, and the doctors obviously like the cash now idea, and not having to worry with all the billing and insurance mess. So when I found out I was pregnant and I knew we couldn't get medicaid, we make too much this time around (I had it with both my previous pregnancies) I called my OB and let them know I was pregnant without maternity insurance and they scheduled me an appointment right away instead of the bs appointment where you go in and pee, just so they can prove you really are pregnant then send you back again 2 weeks later for your real first appointment. Anyway, they gave me a self-pay sheet with all the prices listed for everything. Everything we will be paying through them. Basically, everything but the hospital bill, which I need to get on that because I would like a hospital self-pay sheet too.

Luckily, we live in the south and baby delivery is supposed to be cheaper here than anywhere else. And I've read when you pay cash, likely at the hospital if you pay pretty quickly like, within 24 hours or before leaving, I've heard people getting their bills cut in half and even more! Plus everywhere I've searched overall it cost about $5,000 without insurance, and that's obviously the lowest .. meaning no complications, etc. Anyway, we've already paid our doctor the delivery bill (which is a little crazy being we're like 6 months from even having the baby. But, at least that's one more bill behind us.

So anyway, I wanted to keep up with all the costs for having a baby without insurance, because I want to believe so bad it's better than actually having insurance. As long as everything goes good. And by the way, I do still have my regular health insurance, just no maternity.

So here is what we've paid so far:

1. 1st Doctor Appointment (June 3, 2010): $210.00

2. 2nd Doctor Appointment: $90.00
Pregnancy Blood Tests: $138.00
Total pay for (July 1, 2010): $228.00

3. 3rd Doctor Appointment: $90.00
Cultures (Taken in June): $125.24
Pre-Paid Vaginal Delivery: $1,050.00
Total Pay for (July 29, 2010): $1,265.24

Total Pay So Far: $1,703.24