Being "Team Green"

I've read a few blog posts lately about being "team green" when pregnant. A lot of these women found out the sex of their first baby during their ultrasound and then went team green with the next baby. Some of these women had very different experiences with being team green than we did. During their entire pregnancy they dreamed of having both a girl and a boy - two babies. And when their baby was born - boy or girl - they mourned the loss of the baby they didn't have.

We've never found out the sex of the baby until birth. And if you know me, you're probably surprised because I'm a planner. A major planner. And control freak. But Tom really felt strongly about not finding out and I can't keep a secret from him to save my life, so I got on board when we were pregnant with Stasa.

The whole time I was pregnant with Stasa I had no feeling what-so-ever about what sex the baby was. I even had dreams about the baby where we had brought the baby home and still didn't know the sex because we never took its diaper off. We bought a lot of gender neutral clothing and items and packed only one going home outfit in our hospital bag - a Redskins onesie (which Stasa and Lexi wore home and new baby will, too). We did pick out two names - one for a girl and one for a boy, but didn't have anything personalized because it seemed wasteful to me and most of you know I'm kind of cheap and practical (and Tom is the king of cheap).

All I wanted was a healthy and happy baby and when our little girl was born we were overjoyed. We never had that feeling of loss since we had a girl and not a boy. I think most of that was due to how I thought of the baby while I was pregnant or maybe I'm just different. I'm fairly sure I would have felt the same way had the baby been a boy. We had the same experience when Lexi was born. And again - I had no feeling either way when I was pregnant with her and I'm feeling that same way again.

Each time I've been pregnant, and this is now my third time around, I've always thought of my baby as sexless. Is that weird? Maybe. When I was pregnant the first time I thought mostly about how this baby would change our lives and how excited I was to become a mama. Then with number two I was more concerned with how Stasa would react to having a sibling and sharing us with the baby. And now it's more about being excited that we're adding to our family and giving our girls another sibling.

Now the girls both only know what it's like to have a sister, so if you ask them they'll say they want a baby girl and insist that this baby is a girl (who, by the way should be named Ariel). But I guarantee they won't even have a second thought if it's a boy. I think they're more excited about having a real live baby to play with than having a sister or brother. (Which also reminds me that we'll have to make sure they're careful around the baby - I have visions of them trying to change the baby's diaper or picking the baby up like they do their dolls - eek!)

Maybe it is fun for those who find out the sex before the baby is born, but for us it's so much more intimate and emotional finding out after labor when that baby is born. It's kind of like seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. And I get that even if you find out the sex prior to the baby being born you still have a HUGE thing to look forward to - your baby being born - and that is big. HUGE. Monumental. We loved hearing "it's a...GIRL!" while watching her be born and having that all to ourselves.

Obviously this is a very personal thing for each expecting parent. We've loved waiting and have held off finding out the sex each time and will probably do the same should we have more babies. So no judgement from this mama - find out or don't - just enjoy the ride.

33 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 33 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Same as last week (well at least I think it is since I only check my weight at doctor's appointments)
Maternity clothes? Every day and some are even getting a bit tight

Stretch marks? None yet
Symptoms: Feeling good this week. Yay!

Sleep: Not terrible, but not great either.

Best moment this week: Hanging out with old friends
Have you told family and friends: Yep!

Miss anything? Not too much.
Movement: All.the.time.
Food cravings: No real cravings this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick: None.
Have you started to show yet: Yep
Baby is a: surprise!
Belly Button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and tired
Looking forward to: The Moms of Multiples sale tomorrow - yay for cheap clothes!

32 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 32 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 21 pounds as of yesterday
Maternity clothes? Every day and some are even getting a bit tight

Stretch marks? None yet
Symptoms: I'm pretty sure my baby is carrying a mace or knife or something and battering me from the inside.  

Sleep: Not terrible, but not great either.

Best moment this week: My birthday!
Have you told family and friends: Yep!

Miss anything? Not too much.
Movement: All.the.time.
Food cravings: No real cravings this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick: None.
Have you started to show yet: Yep
Baby is a: surprise!
Belly Button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and tired
Looking forward to: Jennifer coming to town tonight and Kelly's birthday party tomorrow night!

A DIY Maternity Shoot

We spent our day today documenting my baby belly. Well, not the whole day, although we started in the morning and didn't really finish until late afternoon, but that included multiple breaks for kid time, lunch time, nap time, and many wardrobe changes. Tom helped me out with most of the pictures and played photographer for me and then I made use of my remote while he took a break. He didn't realize how exhausting it can be shooting someone else. Here are my favorites.

31 Weeks Pregnant

How far along? 31 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: I haven't stepped on a scale since my last appointment, so probably still around 19 pounds.
Maternity clothes? Most every day, though when I'm home I'll sometimes wear my nursing tanks which don't cover my belly at all.

Stretch marks? None yet
Symptoms: ::knock on wood:: Nothing terrible this week, in fact my sciatic pain has disappeared. 

Sleep: Not the best, but that's to be expected with a sick kid.

Best moment this week: No sciatic pain!
Have you told family and friends: Yep!

Miss anything? Not too much.
Movement: TONS! It's honestly my favorite part of being pregnant - feeling the baby move and having it all to my self. So selfish.
Food cravings: No real cravings this week.

Anything making you queasy or sick: None.
Have you started to show yet: You betcha.
Baby is a: surprise!
Belly Button in or out? Still in

Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and tired
Looking forward to: The start of my birthday month!

The ick

I feel like I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. This week has been exhausting. Remember how we thought both kids had strep? Well Stasa's culture was the only one that came back positive and they did Lexi's twice and both times it was negative, but since her major symptoms were vomiting and a mild fever and Stasa had it, they diagnosed her with strep and sent us on our way with two prescriptions of Amoxicillin. Stasa responded immediately to the meds and bounced back like she always does. Lexi did not.

She spent all of Sunday alternating between vomiting and blowing out diaper after diaper. Then Tom reminded me that she had been having diarrhea the week before. So we quit worrying about food (food? ha! she hadn't eaten since that Saturday morning anyway) and focused on forcing fluids and monitoring her intake and output. Tuesday wasn't the best day. She ended up only drinking maybe 5 oz of fluid and had one 1/2 oz pee. After a call to the advice nurse we were sent to the ER. They ended up testing her and she was borderline dehydrated and had low sugar levels so she got an IV of glucose and then another of saline. They wanted a stool sample, but of course she didn't cooperate while there. They sent Tom home with a container to collect a sample and told him to bring it in the next morning.

Tom did as they said and got the sample, packed up the poop cup and Lexi, and drove back out to the hospital Wednesday morning. Then the hospital sent him on a wild goose chase, with the cup of poo and Lexi in tow, all over the place and every department gave him the run around. He was told that we weren't given the right type of container for a stool sample and that since the sample was from Wednesday and not Tuesday (the day she was in the ER), our insurance wouldn't cover the tests. Really? So he handed them the poop and told them to dispose of it and came home. I can't say I blame him. They took the poo cup and in turn gave him a bag of little mini containers to collect a new stool sample.

I came home mid-day Wednesday to relieve Tom and finish my work from home. Lexi was just going down for a nap and woke up after about an hour because she blew out of another diaper. She was inconsolable and finally calmed down while laying on me. I just propped her up on my chest and kept working and after awhile realized she hadn't moved or whined. I pulled my phone out and snapped a quick pic of her face and saw that she was passed out. Poor thing. I worked with her in my arms until Tom left to get Stasa. I kept holding her until my arms went numb and then transferred her to the couch.



Thursday morning I took her in for a follow-up at our pediatrician's office. Lexi dropped about 3 pounds and between the not eating and all of the vomiting and diarrhea I wasn't that surprised and neither were they. We saw one of the nurse practioners, who we love, and she was kind of ticked off that the urgent care put her on the antibiotic without a positive strep test and without doing any other tests. We got permission to throw out the Amox for Lexi since she didn't have any strep symptoms. After checking her over, she said Lexi looked great and it would probably take a couple of days for her appetite to come back. We still don't know what she had, but it was obviously some sort of virus and I'm just thankful that she's feeling better and is her normal self again. She woke up this morning with a full wet diaper, which she hasn't done in over a week. I never thought I would get so excited over what's in my child's diaper, but I did.

What's in my belly?!

Come join the fun and take a guess at what's in my belly. I'm due May 3rd and we have no idea what we're having (nor have we nailed down baby names).

Stasa's birth stats:
Born at 38 weeks, 6 days
Weight: 6lbs 14oz
Length: 20.5"

Lexi's birth stats:
Born at 38 weeks 5 days
Weight: 7lbs 14oz
Length: 20.75"

What's your guess?