Our Cat Yasha

Tonight was a horribly sad and stressful night. I came home from work to learn that our 5 year old cat had died. :( Chad and I got Yasha and Aldea almost 5 years ago from a fiend when we moved into our first apartment together. Yasha was an orange cat that got to be rather large...not fat, just a big cat. He loved to cuddle (especially at night time-when he would lay right on my arm next to my face), and he loved to eat, eat, eat.
Well tonight, Chad got home from work and typically Yasha runs down to his food dish whenever we get home. Chad noticed he didn't do that, went upstairs and found him sleeping on the floor...but he wouldn't wake up. Chad said he looked peaceful and asleep so I hope that means he died without suffering, but I hate the unknown. We have NO IDEA what exactly happened. Our best guess is he either ate something and choked or ate something that he wasn't meant to eat. Chad also found a few throw-up piles in the basement, so that makes me feel like it had to
be something he ate...but still he was so young.
It was so hard for me to hear all this news when I got home. I cried hysterically and was in complete denial...he was my first real pet. I had a pet growing up but this one was one I picked out, named, took care of and paid for. Life just wont be the same without him. Our other cat Dea and our dog Stella even seem confused and sad. Stella just sits around and whines, Dea goes and sits by her and nicely puts her paw on her. In time it will get easier I know, but I also don't want it to. I don't want to accept it or forget him. I miss him and will continue to miss him, but Chad also keeps reminding me that stress isn't good for this baby and I need to try to not stress. I will try, but I do have a feeling it isn't going to be easy or tear free.

24 Weeks!

Baby is the size of an ear of corn this week! 

How far along? 24 weeks- I have hit the 6 month mark

Total weight gain/loss: After eating healthier and working out I am up 18 lbs
Maternity clothes? I literally live in maternity pants. Not tops though, I have a few but mostly have been wearing my maternity tank tops with my non maternity cardigans over them. I just can't button them closed. 

Stretch marks? Thank God I am still stretch mark free! 

Sleep: I back to loving my pregnancy pillow;) but I sleep horribly. I never sleep a full night, my insomnia is crazy, I can't get comfortable, and when I do sleep I have the most odd dreams. 

Best moment this week: Chad bought me the most amazing ice cream this week. I haven't had any desire for sweet things like chocolate or ice cream but I have craved salty things like chips. He found me Ben and Jerry's "late night snack" which is a vanilla bean ice cream with a salted caramel cream swirl and chocolate covered potato chips.It has the perfect salty kick after each bite! :)

Movement: He/She seems to be moving more and more every day. You can even see my belly move when he/she kicks now almost always. It is different thought than last time because my placenta is in front. When he/she rolls or pushes on it, it kind of actually hurts  in an odd way. 

Food cravings: SALTY CHIPS! Oooo a can of pringles sounds sooo good right now but I have been trying to be a bit healthier and turn my chip craving into eating veggie straws. Sometimes, if I don't think about it too hard, I hardly notice the difference. They still have the crunch and bit of salt. 


Belly Button in or out? It is about half in and half out at the moment.

Wedding rings on or off? Wedding ring is still fits with no problems, actually with the weather being so cold lately it is quite loose most of the time.

What I miss: I miss being able to play and wrestle with Ellery the way I used to. I am now always afraid she will jump on my belly or hurt the baby in some way. I feel like I am always telling her no when we play. 

What I am looking forward to: Chad and I are planning a 3 day get away to the cities for a "babymoon". It will be a nice him and I time (Ellery is going to grandmas house) before the baby comes. 

Weekly Wisdom: A student of mine had his dad die in an accident this week. It just proves how short life can be and how I need to stop stressing/worrying about the little things in life. Family is my biggest concern and priority. 

23 Weeks

23 weeks down, 17 or more to go! The baby is the size of a large mango. He/She is a dancer that is for sure...or maybe a soccer player... all I know is he/she moves and kicks all crazy, and it's starting to be hard kicks I'm feeling. I feel them mostly at night but definitely during the day time when I teach my guided reading groups (I think because I sit in a chair).
I have become my off balance and clumsy self lately. It's always a learning curve to remember I have this extra front weight throwing my normal balance off. Plus I am so worried constantly of tripping or falling on my belly that I think I end up not paying attention to what I am doing and in the end I become more clumsy.
This week Chad and I have been planning our "BABYMOON". On March 13, 14, and 15th we are go to drop Ellery (and Stella) off at my parents house so we can have a few days to ourselves before the newest Weiland arrives. We are going to stay at the new Blu hotel in Bloomington (the one connected to the Mall of America). We are going to do some shopping at the mall and Ikea, We also are trying to get tickets to a Wild came that weekend. It should be lots of fun. I can not wait! It really gives me something to look forward to. I am looking forward to the baby too but that is still so far away. This is a nice mid point from then and now.
Until we meet in May, keep on growing and kicking baby! xoxo

Little Sister or Little Brother?

Ellery and I went shopping today and found ourselves at Kohls. I feel bad I haven't really bought much, if anything for the new baby...because if the baby is a girl I have everything I need. But, if the baby is a boy I have nothing when it comes to clothes. Most of the other things, rock and play, bouncer, swing, crib sheets, etc are gender neutral. Well today I bought these :). This way I am prepared either way come May! Which one will we need?

22 Weeks

This pregnancy was flying by until I hit 20 weeks. I swear I was like "WHOA I'm already halfway there? Where did time go?" Now I feel like "oh my gosh its only been 2 weeks since then...?" I'm sure that's good though because we still have lots to do, especially get the baby's nursery ready. The walls are up but that is about the extent of things (hopefully in the next month we will make some big progress and eventually get paint on the wall and carpet on the floor). This week the baby is the size of a papaya. He/She is almost weighing in at a pound now! WOWZA! Today I had my dr appointment with Dr. Brandes. My blood pressure was great and low (as always). I am about 15-18 lbs (depending on the scale) up from pre-prengnancy. More than I want to be but dr is still not concerned. I swear I am not really eating much junk food or sweets. I don't think the salty things are helping much though with me retaining water. I can really see it this time around in my face. :( Baby is still moving here and there but I don't feel much ever above my jean waist band due to that placenta. I asked my dr today if it will always be like that or will the kicks eventually be strong enough to feel through the placenta? She said it will probably always feel different but as my uterus grows the placenta will move a bit too. I also asked my dr about my legs always being sooooo dang itchy. I can't stand it. I'm sure it is just dry skin but lotion isn't helping and they itch so bad. She also agreed its probably not pregnancy related and just to get a really moisturizing lotion and see if that helps!
Baby's heartbeat at today's appointment was hard to get. The placenta was blocking it first and then baby kept moving (I couldn't feel it but we could hear it on the doppler). The heartbeat was right around 150 bpm just like it has been for a while now. Nothing else too exciting, I go back again in a month!

10 Gender Predicting Wives Tales!

I know the only 100% way to tell if your baby is a boy or girl is to wait till birth. Yes the dr can give you a pretty good guess but if you have a husband that doesn't want to know and wants to have "fun" waiting for the big surprise you can always read way into the old gender predicting wives tales. Here are a few I have looked into/attempted. I found these 10 on this site: http://pregnancy.familyeducation.com/gender-predictor/old-wives-tales/70198.html

Old Wives Tale #1-If you are carrying high you are having a girl, if you are carrying low its a boy.
This pregnancy I am carrying lower than my last, but at what point in your pregnancy can you really call it high or low? Doesn't everyone start low since your uterus is low? If I had to say right now though I would say I am carrying LOW-meaning BOY

Old Wives Tale #2-If you are carrying in front (all belly) its a boy, if you are getting wider its a girl.
This one is very obvious to me. I am definitely getting wider... I feel more like a tire is around my belly vs just a bump. The odd thing is last pregnancy I was ALL BELLY and had a girl which is the opposite of this wives tales. But, going off of how I am filling out and getting wider it means GIRL

Old Wives Tale #3-If you are having a girl she will steal your beauty (hair falling out, acne, etc).
I have not been losing any of my hair this time! (Last time I would pull clumps out every morning) If anything my hair has been thicker than ever and my face hasn't broken out once since finding out I was pregnant. This means BOY

Old Wives Tale #4-If your baby's heart rate is higher than 140 you are having a girl, if it is lower than 140 it is a boy.
The baby's heart rate this time around has consistently been right at 150bpm. This means baby is a GIRL

Old Wives Tale #5-If you CRAVE sweets you are carrying a girl, but if salty things are catching your eyes you may be having a boy.
Give me SALTY anything: chips, extra salted corn on the cob, sea salt chocolate only! I take a spoonful of ice cream here and there but its never what I am craving. I want anything with a salty kick in it this pregnancy. Guess that means BOY

Old Wives Tale #6-The Chinese Gender Chart.
It's a GIRL

Old Wives Tale #7-Mayan Gender Prediction. You take your age at conception and the year your baby was conceived if both numbers are even or odd it means girl, if one of the numbers is even and the other is odd it means boy.
My age 27, the year 2013. Both are odd numbers meaning GIRL

Old Wives Tale #8-If your hubby is packing on the pounds with you it is a sign of you having a girl, if he is staying his fit self you may be welcoming a boy! 
Chad is in the best shape of his life and continues to work out at least 3 days a week (running 15+ miles a week). So according to this theory there is no way we are having a girl and we will for sure be having a BOY

Old Wives Tale #9-If you have morning sickness blues you are actually carrying a pretty in pink girl. If you have felt great you may be blessed with a bundle of joy in the form of a boy. 
I have felt yet again this pregnancy really good. I had a few moments of nausea but nothing to really complain about. (but with Ellery I had no morning sickness either and she is a girl.) But going off of the wives tale based on how good I have been feeling it's a BOY

Old Wives Tale #10-Pop your wedding ring off and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings back and forth it is a girl, if it spins in a circle it is a boy.
I keep reading about this one and everywhere I read about it, it is different. Some say if it spins it is a boy others say it is a girl. So I am going to go based on this specific site where it says back and forth means girl, circle means boy. Well I did it and instantly it started doing CIRCLES. This means BOY

Obviously this is all in just fun and really means nothing but according to the 10 wives tales the final score is :
6 signs of a Boy and 4 signs of a Girl. May can not come fast enough!

Baby Names

We officially have decided on names for this baby pending boy or girl. We have a first and middle name for both options that we both really like and agree on. However, we are not sharing our names this time around because we did mention one of our names to a few people and didn't always get the reaction we wanted. I of course cried but Chad reminded me these are names for our child not theirs. Other people don't have to love them the way we do. We like unique names, but not odd names. We like names that the child wont get made fun of as a child or as an adult. We also like old fashion names. That is how we came up with Ellery during our first pregnancy. So I continued to look and found "other" names, but these specific ones kept coming up into our discussions. So we are sticking with them. I am even having someone make me 2 onesies one with each of the names on them...that way we are stuck and ready to go come delivery day!
Bet you can't wait till May to hear our classic, unique and yet perfect names!  :)

21 Weeks!

Hello 21 weeks! The baby is the length of a banana. He/She has been moving around like crazy lately. However, because of my anterior placenta (placenta on the front-right behind my belly button) I can't feel any of them except for the ones that are low by my jeans. It always makes me wonder  how much he/she is flipping around because I can't fell anything higher than my jeans. Hopefully as his/her kicks get stronger I will start feeling them all over more. I mostly have been feeling the kicks right before bed and then when I wake up. Today though I actually felt some during the school day. :) It is always an amazing reassurance that all is okay in there and baby is growing each day.

At work people have been commenting that I have "popped" over winter break. I definitely can not hide the big round thing in front of me anymore so most days I just wear tighter shirts with a belt above my belly. That way hopefully I'm making it obvious I'm pregnant :) and not just eating too many sweets. I barely eat any sweets now anyways. I just want SALT! I can down a bag of potato chips in a day, I scream for corn on the cob and then load it with butter and salt, and I keep wanting salty ham for dinner! MMMM Salty goodness.

I have been trying lately to get working out, hoping that it will help for weight loss after the baby comes. Chad and I go to the gym every Mon, Wed, and Fri for 40minutes - 1 hour. I tried jogging a bit on the treadmill but that was an epic failure. First I ran for 2 minutes, realized the baby on my bladder wasn't working, had to stop and pee. Tried it again...ran for 3 minutes, belly started to hurt, stopped and decided to walk the remaining time (35 minutes). Then I usually do the sitting-elliptical for the remaining time or until I feel like I'm about to die. Oh well, a little bit is better than nothing. :)

Next Dr. appointment with Dr. Brandes is on next Tuesday (22 weeks).

You know you are pregnant when....

You know you are pregnant when you HYSTERICALLY cry because you want corn on the cob more than anything but its not "in season" at the moment. I wanted it so bad. That sweet taste of butter combined with the salt you put on it... MMMM and canned corn will just not do.
Well Chad got home from work and could tell I was upset. He asked what was wrong but I felt dumb telling him. Finally I just broke down and cried, and I mean I cried HYSTERICALLY! I told him I wanted corn on the cob but its too cold to go searching for it at the grocery stores and I know it will be a rare find because it's not the season for fresh corn on the cob. I told him I didn't even care if it cost an arm and a leg, I just wanted it so bad.

Well...County Market never fails me. Guess what he found... CORN ON THE COB (not frozen-but semi fresh)!! YAY!! I can not wait to eat it all up. He got me 8 ears, hope that's enough for the next couple days till he goes back to work. ;)

What will this baby look like?

Last night Chad and I were comparing Ellery's 20 week ultrasound profile picture with the picture we received for this baby.

They look nothing alike. It is so odd for me to look at and take in. This new baby has a different head shape (more oval-Ellery's was more round and HUGE). The new baby also has a little pointy button nose (where Ellery's was more round and flat) Maybe it was just because this baby was positioned differently (head up vs Ellery being head down), but it makes me that more curious of what this baby will look like when he/she arrives.

20 Week Ultrasound. It's a ....

Today we had our 20 week anatomy ultrasound. It's a BABY! The ultrasound went well. We saw the baby (way bigger than last time)! The baby is currently breached, meaning it is head up and feet down. The Dr. didn't seem concerned at all with this and said that because the baby currently is so small, it will move around a ton (and flip) throughout the next 20 weeks. I have till 36 weeks to get the baby head down.
The baby was very active during the ultrasound. It was moving its arms and legs and we could even see its mouth sucking and swallowing the amniotic fluid. The heart was beating at 150 bpm and we could clearly see all 4 chambers of the heart. The only thing we couldn't see...THE GENDER. Baby Weiland 2.0 had its legs crossed very tightly and we, nor the Dr. could see anything. (I took this as a sign from God that we weren't supposed to know-especially because it was Chad's  choice not to find out). We will just have to continue to wait until birth in 20 weeks or so.
Baby was measuring about 3 days behind (exactly at 20 weeks) and right now is measured to weigh about 12 ounces.
After the ultrasound Chad and I (Ellery was at daycare) went out for breakfast to celebrate the good news that Baby Weiland 2.0 looks happy and healthy in there.
I had to go back to work then, but Chad picked up Ellery and showed her the picture. All she keeps saying is "my baby sister". It will be interesting to see if she is right, or in for a big surprise with a brother come May.