Week 16 Round 2

I took a video of the screen.  I could watch that heart beating all day

At week 16 I've started getting a little more excited about our new baby.  I've started growing a little belly and have become more curious about what the baby will be like.  Steve and I have been tossing around names as well. 

We went into his office to see if we could figure out the sex on the ultrasound machine there.  We really didn't know what we were doing.  We did know when we saw that tiny little heart beating though.  We both fell in love and kept looking at our baby for about 15 more minutes.  We sort of kinda think we know but again, we're not sure we were even looking in the right spot.  We're going to try again at 18 weeks and then know for sure on my appointment on Feb. 18th.

This is what we think is the genital area

How sweet is that tiny foot pushing my belly?

In the meantime, I have been wanting King Cake.  Actually, I always want king cake in a bad way around Mardi Gras but I'm just blaming the amount I eat on pregnancy.  I even requested that Bop's make a king cake concrete.  They did and it was AWESOME.  I've also had three different Paul's Pastry king cakes at my house within the past 2 weeks.

Week 14 Round two

The month of December was very busy and very fun for all of us.  Fortunately, I never got too sick during my 1st trimester so I was able to enjoy our activities.  I did sleep a lot.  Complete exhaustion has been my main symptom, along with a few food aversions that are still happening, and a little nausea.
We started the Christmas season off by going to the Columbia Christmas Train.  I wasn't very impressed by the train or the event but Luke had a good time which was what was important. We went to several Christmas parties where the baby and I enjoyed lots of party food.  Cheesy dips and breads have been right up my alley lately.  I've indulged a good bit.

We celebrated Christmas with my family about two weeks early.  My mom already picked up an outfit for the new baby.  I assumed it would be a gender neutral item but no, it was a little boy outfit.  She already has her guesses about what this baby is going to be. (My guess is the same as hers but we'll see).
This year we spent Christmas in NJ with Steve's family.  We actually drove all the way up there.  Fortunately, I'm so tired these days, I can sleep anywhere so Luke and I spent most of the time sleeping while Steve listened to his books on tape.  Unfortunately, I did make us make more stops than needed for bathroom breaks.

We had such a great time doing pretty much nothing but hanging out for a week and a half.  We lounged in our pj's and watched Mickey Mouse everyday until almost lunch time.  The baby and I got a lot of much needed sleep and maybe more than needed NJ pizza.  Fortunately, we stayed active since we knew we were going to run a race on New Year's day. 

The baby and I ran our second (and maybe last until it's on the outside) race together.  I didn't think I would be able to run the entire thing but Steve, baby and I all ran 7.5 miles (we beat Steve) while Luke got some time with his Nana.  That was about all we did for the day though.

Week 10 Round 2

I haven't been as consistent with taking belly pictures this go round but there also hasn't been much change.  Of course with the first pregnancy I swore each day that my belly was growing a little more.  This time I realize it's very unlikely to see a true baby bump until at least the end of the first trimester.  It's just bloat which I'm feeling all the time.  I think it's a combination of the pregnancy hormones and the fact that all I really want to eat is processed carbs.  Just like last time, I have an aversion for coffee and most things healthy.  No more salads, fruits, or greek yogurt.  Give me french fries and bread.  Unlike last time, I also have an aversion to meat.  I wanted meat all the time (which is strange for me) when I was pregnant with Luke.  This time it's all about the breads.  Other pregnancy symptoms include a constant nauseated feeling, going to the bathroom every 5 minutes, and exhaustion.  I just want to sleep.

Even though I don't have any belly pictures, I did get to see the baby again at the 10wk apt. on Dr. Kot's portable ultrasound machine.  The tiny little heart was beating at 150 bpm.  It's amazing how developed someone so tiny already is.

We have been able to take the baby on a few adventures so far. We went to the Superdome to watch the Saints and 49ers play (unfortunately they lost in overtime).  Baby also ran his/her first race - the Hobble and Gobble 10k on Thanksgiving day.  We even won 1st place in my age group.  We enjoyed fueling up on lots of carbs on Thanksgiving and sharing the news with family we haven't told yet.

Just the 3 of us at the Saints game

Luke and I went to fulfill my Bops craving

Hobbling with friends before we gobbled.

Week 6 round 2

We got to see our second bundle of joy at 6 weeks. He or she looks just like Luke did at this age. There's a huge amount of relief and joy that goes along with the first appointment and ultrasound. We started sharing the news with a few more people which is good because the tiredness, irritability, and food aversions have set in this week. People know something's wrong with me if I'm not drinking my normal 8-10 cups of coffee everyday.

We already knew this baby was going to be as incredible as the rest of the Ryder family so I'm sure he/she is on the inside wearing their costume for Halloween too.  I'm not sure if it was the pregnancy or chasing a two year old through the neighborhood but all the superpowers in the world couldn't give me enough energy to keep up.

Sharing the News

I had thoughts of doing some sort of Pinterest inspired cute way of sharing the news of #2 (I promise we won't always call you #2.  I'll think of something better real soon). But, the excitement and urgency I felt to share with our family and the exhaustion that was already kicking in made me settle on putting Luke in a hand me down t-shirt that said Big Brother and sending picture to them.  It took a while for them to notice.  We face timed Steve's parents and I sent the picture to my mom.  I then had to call my mom and tell her to zoom in on the picture.  Then I had to tell her how to zoom in.  Then I just told her.  Despite the lack of creativity, and some people making it more complicated than it needed to be, the excitement from everyone was still just as good.  We told them on a night when we were carving pumpkins.  We even carved an extra one for our newest little pumpkin (see no more #2).

I wanted to tell everyone but we held off for a little while and only told our family and closest friends.  My 1st appointment wasn't for a few more weeks and we wanted to wait until after that to share with more people.  Fortunately, I have a lot of close friends :)

We went as the Incredibles for Halloween knowing we had the 4th incredible Ryder  in tow.

Catch up Time

It's been way too long since I've had a chance to play catch up on the blog.  I've contemplated doing several blogs about events but I think I'll just do a quick blurb for each month.  That's only if I remember.  Lack of sleep has definitely impacted me.

November -
Luke turned a whole month old.  Luke's Mom Mom and Pappa Picks came to visit and we were able to introduce the bottle to him which was such a huge help for me because I got to play catch up a bit on my sleep. We were so glad to have them come visit and meet Luke.  Mom Mom helped tremendously with Luke while Steve and his dad played demolition in our back yard.  The weather was beautiful and stayed that way for most of the month which was great because one of the only things that kept me sane was getting out of the house for daily walks with Luke. 
The end of the month we very lamely celebrated my 30th birthday by going out to dinner and a movie.  I had bigger plans but I was way too tired so I canceled.  I decided to revisit turning 30 later.  This was our first evening away from Luke which was a big deal.  I only called my mom once to check on him.  Thanksgiving was also celebrated and Luke got to meet a lot of my extended family for the first time.  This was also our first car ride over 2-3 miles with him.
November also meant immunizations which did not go as well. A few hours after his shots he just started crying non stop.  This was the 1st time Steve or I heard screams from him and it broke our hearts.  We were both tearing up because there was nothing we could really do.  Of course being mother of the year that I am, I didn't have any Tylenol on hand so I drove to the store just as fast as my little Sentra would take me to get some medicine for my baby.  He finally almed down about an hour after the medicine.  I am not looking forward to the next set of shots.  Our little Turkey grew so much this month.  He was 8lbs at his check-up and finally got out of his NB diapers and clothes in mid November.

December
Christmas time!  Luke and I spent many days at home listening to Christmas music and shopping online.  This flu season was pretty bad and even though I got my vaccine while pregnant, I didn't want to risk getting him out so we stayed in a good bit.  I did get stir crazy a few times and made some early morning trips to Target and the mall.
Steve and I said we weren't really going to do a lot for Christmas since he was too tiny to remember it but we ended up getting him a good bit of stuff and of course his grand parents did too.  Fortunately most of what he got was books which he'll be able to use for a long time.  Steve and I love reading to him and he seems to enjoy it too.
One of my gifts to Steve for Christmas was tickets to the Saints game.  Once again we were able to get my mom to babysit for the day which would now be our longest time away from Luke.  We had a blast in New Orleans with Janice and Brad.  What wasn't fun was finding a place to pump every few hours.  By the end of the day I was really missing him and was glad to get back. Luke did fine spending the day away from me which made me feel a little better that I would be sending him to daycare in a few short weeks.

Wow these months went by pretty fast and do seem to run together.  I'm going to stop at December for now. I loved spending time with Luke during these months and watching him grow and do new things almost daily.  One of my favorite times was waking up to have a cup of coffee with Steve before he went to work while Luke just cuddled on my chest.  This time did teach me that staying at home is not the route for me.  I dreaded leaving Luke but needed an outlet and a reason to put on something besides sweat pants. In an ideal world I would be able to bring him to work with me with a sitter to help out while I got things done.  

Baby Ryder #2 Week 4

 

After a busy, fun, exciting two years with Luke, we decided it was about time to expand our family.  I feel since I documented my pregnancy with him, it's only fair that I do it for #2.  I'm just getting a little later start. 

We found out we were expecting our family to grow shortly after Luke's 2nd birthday.  We made the decision to start trying a month or two before then.  One night we were watching our friends' son Frank who is 6mo. younger than Luke.  We had a lot of fun watching them play together.  After Frank went home, Steve and I were sitting on the couch and he looked at me and said, "I think I'm ready for #2."  I responded that I thought we already made that decision a while back.  He said I know but today made me really ready.  It was fun with two kids.  Exhausting but fun.

These are some pictures of our fun play date.

Let me back up to earlier that day.  I'm very aware of my body and when something is off or different.  Steve, Luke, and I went for a run that morning and I was barely hanging on trying to maintain a 9-10min. pace.  I know that I'm capable of a sub 7min pace and even on a day when I'm sub par, I can do 8.5min pace easily.  Something was off and I told Steve I must be getting sick.  Especially since I had not done much exercise the week before due to being out of town.  Throughout the day, I just didn't feel right.  I told Steve I've only felt this way when I had the flu or when I was pregnant.  He told me to wait another week before a test.  (I may have taken a lot of tests out of excitement and hope with Luke)

That night, I woke up around 2am to go to the bathroom and then again around 5:30.  Once again, I know that's not normal for me so with that second trip, I decided to grab the pregnancy test I had.  Within seconds, the little plus sign showed up.  It was faint but it was there.  I was so excited I jumped on Steve and laid it next to him.  Steve does not get excited about anything before 7am, not even a complete life changing event.  I think it took us both a little while for it to finally sink in but we are excited about our new addition and hopefully have a little better idea of what we're getting ourselves into this time.