I don't want to jinx myself, but I may have finally turned the corner and put the nausea behind me. Atleast I have not felt too bad the last few days so I'm hoping it sticks around. I'm still completely exhausted at night but that could also have to do with the fact that work is really busy right now so my days are pretty packed.
For a comparison, here I am at 18 weeks with Grayson:
I am definitely much larger with this pregnancy, but I can't blame all of that on Beckett. I think the big contributing factor is never having lost all of the weight after I had Grayson. :) I did not see the point of working so hard to lose the weight if I was just going to put it back on again with another kid in the near future. Although right before getting pregnant I was meeting with a trainer to start working out. Maybe after Beckett comes I will push myself to get back down to my "college" weight.
We spent this past weekend at home hanging out and some of Sunday afternoon at our pool's soft opening. The water was alittle chilly so Gray spent most of the time sitting at a picnic table entertaining anyone that would stop by to visit with him (and eating whatever mommy and daddy had in their hands). The weather was really nice so we tried to spend some time outside playing with bubbles (Grayson and Aspen's favorite) and practicing kicking the soccer ball around. He starts Soccer Tots this Saturday so we wanted to be sure he had alittle practice before the first class!
This weekend Uncle Bobby is coming to visit with us so we can wrap up some of our final plans for Belize. It looks like rain is in the forecast so it may be another weekend hanging out at home. Everyone have a great Memorial Day Weekend!
A few more recent photos of Grayson.
That is our son sitting on a table at daycare. Mommy happened to log in and catch him right before the teacher told him to get down.
Grayson had school pictures taken in April. We never buy them but thought I would share the proofs.
Grammie bought Grayson a mower for Easter. It is actually a bubble mower but he plays with it inside, sans bubbles.
Cheese!
Daddy helping us to get moving so bubbles will come out.
As soon as the bubbles come out, Grayson has to check them out so he stops and bends down to look for them.
Another couple of weeks down, but not much to report. I go back and forth between feeling bad and good each day. I'm keeping food down more regularly, but I have moments where I get sick. I'm trying to watch what I eat because some foods do not settle well with me. So far I have not gained any weight so watching my diet is the least of my worries. Afternoons and evenings are typically when I feel the worst. I'm still taking medications to control the nausea but they do not always seem to help. I can only hope the worst will be over soon, but each week it just seems to drag on.
I had a doctor's appointment last Tuesday. It was just a normal check-up and all looked well. Initially he wasn't going to let me get a sono, but I sweet talked him again and asked if we could do one as a mother's day gift so I could possibly see the gender. He likes me so much and felt bad that I had been so sick that he caved and had the sonographer check me out.
She started looking around and I immediately saw something. Alittle "boy" something. She said it could be the umbilical cord but I knew it wasn't. Sure enough, she found what I saw and we confirmed we are having another BOY!
We are both pretty excited to welcome another boy into our home. I know Grayson will be such a great brother and good role model to his little brother. The two of them will be such great friends. Many of you may be thinking, "Do you have a name picked out yet?" And we do!
Beckett James Bybee
We decided on it awhile ago as it was one of the only boy names we liked and both agreed on. We also have a girl's name but I guess we will hold on to that one for now in the event we get daring and decide to attempt for a third. Although with my luck, I will pop out twin boys. :)
As for Grayson, he is officially 18 months old. I have been meaning to do a post for his 18 month milestones but have yet to take any 18 month old photos. Hopefully this weekend I will get around to taking some so you can all see how much he has grown and changed. He truly is becoming a little boy right before my eyes. But he is one of the sweetest, most caring, and polite boys I have ever known.
I had a good mother's day this Sunday. Given my new position, I didn't have to work so I was able to spend the whole day with Grayson. My parents were in town since they watched Grayson while Shane and I went to a wedding on Saturday night so we had them and my brother's family over for lunch on Sunday. All of the men prepared the meal so the ladies could have a "day off". It was a really good meal and time spent with family.
I only have a few photos to share and a couple of videos. I have not taken as many pictures lately as I should and realize there are things I need to document or fear missing out on them later. I will do my best to take more over the summer as Gray will be pretty busy with school, hanging out with Shane a couple of days a week and starting Soccer Tots in a couple of weeks! Gotta get him started early so he can be ready for select in a few years! ;)
We opened a new playground so Shane and Grayson came to be one of the first to try out the new equipment.
This kid loves a good slide...especially one that was recently waxed! Our marketing department is using this photo on one of their park posters coming out soon.
The evening of the playground opening we also had an event at our museum so I took Gray for alittle while and got a couple of photos with him in the bluebonnets.
I love looking down the hall to see Shane and Gray brushing his teeth. His little butt and legs are so cute!
Gray "brushing" his teeth
Playing soccer with daddy!
Starting to figure out our tricycle.
Playing with cars. Right after I took this photo, I told Shane he was starting to look like a little boy and not a baby anymore.
Someone is going to be a guitar player just like his daddy
and grandpa!
Daddy may have taught us some not so great tricks.
I feel like the pregnancy is going by really slow but I know it will start to go by fast after I get to the mid-way point which is merely 6 weeks away. This week I have started to feel better. I'm not 100% but I have noticed I am less nauseous and keeping food down. I am still taking medications but hoping I can stop taking them in the next week or two. With Gray I started to feel better about 15 weeks so I hope it will be the same with this one.
I really have not spent much time preparing for this baby. Obviously a majority of the preparations will come later, but aside from the constant sickness, I have not thought too much about the fact that we will be adding another human to our house. Although this weekend Shane and I did have the discussion about purchasing a stroller that holds two kids, as opposed to one. Not something I had thought about before but definitely something we need to think about.
We do plan to move Gray upstairs this summer into a "big boy" room. Shane is going to build him a bed that will be low to the ground and use one of the double mattresses we already have. I don't see a need to go out and buy him a new bed that he will most likely sleep in for just a year. With a bigger bed, it will give us a place to sleep with him on the nights he may be adjusting to his new room and when he is sick. I am not sure how much I will decorate his room, although I did find a quilt at Pottery Barn Kids I really like (see picture below). I don't really like "theme" rooms so I will most likely keep it simple like his nursery. I will just decorate using these colors and try to find ways to add some decor to his walls.
Easter
Grayson had a great second Easter. I was not sure if he was ready for all of the festivities that came with the holiday but he didn't seem to have an issue picking them up. On Friday morning his school had an Easter egg hunt. I had not planned on going, but after logging in to check on him about 15 minutes before the hunt, and seeing a bunch of parents there, I figured I might as well drive up there to help him out. He was super excited to see me when I got there. We walked out onto their playground and I pointed at an egg, told him to pick it up and put it in his bucket. He paused, then picked it up, slowly moved it over and dropped it in his bucket. As soon as it hit the bottom, he lit up and was off and running to the next egg. At this point, a monster had been created and he was off to the races. They had alot of eggs for the kids and Grayson had no problem filling up his bucket.
I'm ready to go, mom!
Already figuring this egg hunt thing out.
I see you little chicken egg...you're next!
Gray and his loot I call this look his "creepy look". He's been looking at us like this lately and it freaks me out!
Friday afternoon we drove down to my parents house for the weekend to relax for a couple of days. They are always so accommodating and make us feel comfortable and welcome. Mom had asked if I had any special meal requests, but I still wasn't sure what I could eat so I went with my favorites. The food never disappoints when we are there and we never go hungry.
We took a couple of rides on the golf cart, played with bubbles in the driveway, Gray rode his tricycle and got carted around in his wagon, took pictures in the bluebonnets and had a special visit from the Easter bunny after his nap on Saturday. We headed home Sunday morning so Shane could get some work done in the yard and I had some much needed work to be done around the house. It was nice to get away for a couple of days and watch Gray be spoiled. He was so well behaved while we were down there so it made for a more enjoyable trip. Each day he continues to amaze us but his manners and sweet temperament always warm our hearts.
He sort of figured it out. Going down hill helped.
Grammie pulled us around all day!
She would stop abruptly and he would laugh so hard.
Bubbles!
We could not tell who enjoyed the bubbles more, Gray or Aspen.
Riding the John Deere with Grandpa
Checking out his gifts from the Easter Bunny Ok, he may be a bit spoiled, but this kid deserves it!
Let the egg hunt begin!
Naturally you must dump out all of your loot ....
And then lie in it and roll around.
He will always be a boy
We have to take our annual photo in the bluebonnets
Someone will not fit in the basket anymore!
I'm not sure if we have anything exciting coming up. Work is busy for me the next couple of weeks with a few events and Shane is starting to wind down the school year and wrap up his PSAT classes for the spring. My next appointment is in two weeks. We might find out the gender that day but it could be the end of May before we really know. Yesterday we did make one exciting trip to get Grayson's passport for our vacation this summer to Belize! We began planning the trip before I was pregnant but was not going to let that keep us from going. Shane, Grayson and I are headed down there for a week with a couple of our friends. We are staying in a condo at a resort on this island called Ambergris Caye. The only mode of transportation on the island is golf cart so we will have our own to get around all week. I am really looking forward to seeing a new place and Grayson getting his first stamp in his passport (the first of many to come)!
It's been an interesting, and rough, couple of weeks. Like I mentioned in my announcement post, I have been fairly sick but things seemed to just get worse. I found myself incapable of keeping most food down and throwing up about 3-4 times a day. I spent the better part of last week in bed because it was the only place I seemed to find comfort.
Last Tuesday I went to the doctor and explained my troubles. He decided that I should probably do home health care and get an IV as well as this zofran pump that dispenses medication into my system for 24 hours a day. This was a better alternative than being admitted to the hospital. It had to get cleared through my insurance first which took a couple of days. On Saturday morning, a nurse came to the house to hook up my IV and also the zofran pack. I was ok with the IV, but my doctor did not warn me enough about the zofran pump. It is basically this small plastic catheter that goes into my stomach with a long tube that connects to a the pump which is the size of a large pager. The pump is then connected to a bag of medication (zofran) which is an anti nausea medication used for cancer patients and pregnant woman. I had a fashionable red fanny pack that the pump and extra tubing could be easily carried in. For the first few hours, it wasn't a big deal, but when I needed to be somewhat mobile (go to the bathroom, get something to eat, change rooms) it was alittle difficult to haul the IV pole in my left hand and the pack with my right hand. Did I mention it was attached for 24 hours? I had to attempt to sleep with this thing in bed next to me and remember to grab it each time I got up to go to the bathroom or fear ripping this port out of my stomach. Luckily the IV bag was only hooked up for 8 hours so I was able to sleep without that attached to my arm but the IV port was still in my arm for the next couple of days so I could keep getting IV fluids.
The port in my stomach became very painful. On Sunday morning, I had to remove the port from my stomach so the nurse could watch me insert another one on my own. I took it out and noticed this huge, red welt on my stomach that was extremely sore and tender. After dealing with all the pain, and now this painful red welt, I decided I could not put the port back in my stomach. I hated being so incapacitated. The IV was easy to get around with, but the pump really restricted me from doing too much. I was unable to pick up Gray or really interact with him and I couldn't sleep or sit in certain positions. Originally I was supposed to wear this thing for an entire week, but I just couldn't see myself going through that. The nurse came out to check on me and I told her my decision to discontinue the pump. She told me to go ahead and continue the IV for the day and see how I feel. At this point, I felt pretty good so I think getting hydrated with the IV and a good dose of the zofran gave me a good boost.
This morning I still feel really good and the home health care company called to discharge me. At this point, I will just continue to take my oral anti-nausea meds and see how I do. I have been able to keep all of my meals down since Saturday so I feel like I am making progress.
As for the baby causing all of this drama, he/she is doing great! I got a sonogram on Tuesday and he/she looked healthy! At the end of the day, that's all that really matters to me. Being sick and miserable is a small price to pay if it means we can have another happy, healthy child.
Baby Bybee #2 (12 weeks)
Hands in front of face
Shane has been a great husband and father lately. I really have to give him props for being the primary caretaker the last couple of weeks. I have been fairly incapable of taking care of Gray too much on my own so he typically has him in the evening hours while I lie on the couch and watch them play. Gray makes taking care of him super easy. He's such a great kid and really helpful. Any chance he can get to help you carry something, he takes it. We have even noticed lately how well he picks up after himself. He puts his toys away before he goes to bed, closes doors, and pushes in chairs at the table when he gets down. He's super sweet, too. He will randomly run up to you, give you a hug or kiss and then go back to what he was doing. He's picking up on so much that we love to test him and ask him questions to see what he's learned. It really is amazing to watch him develop. It's hard to believe he will be 18 months in 2 weeks!
Sad selfie
Caught this kid taking his dinosaurs for a ride
Playing with the loot from his Aunt Cra Cra's visit to New Orleans
My dad and his mini-me. Now we know where Gray gets his love of tv.
Showing us where his head is. He can point to all major body parts now.
Here is a video of Gray eating with a spoon. He is getting really good at controlling it and bring it to his mouth without losing too much food. Not an easy task to do with peas.
