Oh My Madeline, Here We Go Around Again!

Surprise! We're expecting...again! And actually, this mama is already just about due with baby #2. If you remember back in November when I posted about picking this blog back up again, this was one of the main reasons why! I have actually had my first pregnancy #2 post sitting here in my drafts all written up and almost ready to post all this time. And then life and pregnancy #2 got a little...lets just say, crazy. But all along, I've been referring back to this page to refresh my mind and compare the two pregnancies. Now at the end, I'm kicking myself that I didn't keep up a weekly blog for this pregnancy all along. I don't want to regret not documenting it at all, so I figured while I sit here trying to relax and enjoy what will probably be my last week of this pregnancy, I'm just going to do it while it's still all pretty fresh in my pretty well rested mind. Granted, this will be a bit more of a condensed version; but nonetheless, here we go!

((This portion of the post was written back in December by a still newly pregnant me))

So fast forward one kid later and I'm getting a little closer to being one of those woman who magically just 'knew' she was pregnant. There was no instinctive 'gut' feeling this time around, but the signs were certainly there. Yet still, on Halloween afternoon 2017 as I stared at those two pink lines on a stick, I was in utter shock. And as much as I would like to say my other emotion in that moment was delight...it was more like terror. Even though it was Halloween, the test line forming faster and darker than the control line on my First Response was telling me this was no trick! I just wasn't sure yet if it was a treat either. Surprise! We're expecting...again!

Rewind a few days back to Thursday, October 26th. Mason and I were visiting my parents at their house when (what I thought) was Auntie Flow decided to show. Greg and I were on our second month of trying for baby #2. My period was expected that exact day, so when I saw a bit of blood, I sent Greg a "just so you know...we will try again next month" text. (Minus the bleeding...any of this sounding strangely similar to a 'finding out we're expecting' story from just about three years ago?)

And so, for the next few days life just carried on as usual; except that my period never did end up carrying on as usual. As the weekend went on I started realizing that it had never gotten heavy as it normally would have within the first few days of starting. By Monday, it was down to extremely minimal brown spotting. While I sat eating breakfast with Mason, the thought suddenly dawned on me..."Could that have been implantation bleeding?...Am I actually pregnant?" So I did as all "millennial" moms would do and took to the internet to research. Everything I read sounded just like what I experienced. So I resolved that the next day, if no true period showed up, I would take a test.

Tuesday morning (Halloween day) I woke up with tingly arms and in that moment, I KNEW that had to be it. This was a symptom I had during my pregnancy with Mason, albeit later on in the pregnancy, but it was an unmistakable feeling I didn't forget. If only I had a pregnancy test on hand. I did not, so I rushed us through our normal morning routine and headed to Target as soon as I possibly could. Sure enough when I got home and took the test it was an immediate positive. Although any signs of bleeding were completely gone at this point, knowing any blood came along with a positive pregnancy test is certainly an uneasy feeling. I called Greg who was still at work at the time and told him right away. Poor guy...he never gets an exciting reveal (but it's kind of fun anyways that we apparently find out we are expecting on major holidays!) Needless to say, he was absolutely thrilled! He had been wanting this for quite some time now. At this point all I could feel was concern. I called my doctor's office immediately after my call to Greg, and they quickly reassured me that as long as I saw no other signs of bleeding, it was most likely just an implantation bleed and they would see me in 10 days for my first prenatal appointment.

Fast forward again to today. I am officially 10 weeks, 3 days pregnant with baby #2! And welcome back to Breakfast at Emily's, where I will be chronicling my journey through pregnancy #2, motherhood and more! This time around, I actually CAN believe I am 2.5 months along already. In fact, I already feel like I've been pregnant forever. The first trimester has been a bit of a rough road this time around. But I am happy that the news is finally out to all of our family & close friends and the end of this first trimester is in sight.

((From this point, I had gone on to answering the same rundown of questions I used for each week of my pregnancy journey with Mason, but I only got about halfway through and never finished the post.))

Looking back now, I feel like I had skipped over a large part of the first trimester story, so I decided to end this post here and pick back up with an official first trimester recap post tomorrow. But I had to sort of laugh at this snippet as it reminded me that this baby has given us a run for our money from day one. Tune in tomorrow to hear about all the trimester one fun!

Testing, testing...Is this thing on?...

Well hello there! It has been a hot second since I've decided to post on this blog. About two years and two months to be exact. It's been a long time coming, but I'm happy to say...I'm back! So where have I been the past two years? Well, let me catch you up to speed really quick.

My last post was Mason's birth story. Wow! So much life has happened since then. For the most part, I have really just been soaking up everything that being a stay-at-home mom to our little guy has to offer. Mason has brought more joy to our lives than we could ever have imagined and I know all parents say this about their children...but we swear he is the most handsome, smartest and most awesome little boy there ever was. I can't wait to share more about him soon!

Life was pretty slow and simple for the first few months of Mason's life. Then after his first holidays with us, we decided to take steps towards moving into a bigger, more family-friendly home. Spring and summer became a whirlwind of finding a lot and deciding to build, putting our first home up for sale, and finally changing our minds when we ended up finding an existing home for sale that we loved. By Mason's 1st Birthday, we had sold our house and moved. We were so thankful and thrilled to celebrate his 1st birthday in our new home with all of our family and friends.

The next year after that was filled with lots of home improvements including repainting the entire first floor, new window treatments for the whole house, new lighting, decor and more. And plenty of time loving on Mason in between. He just turned two in September and we are all feeling super happy and finally settled in our family home.

This blog began as a place to keep record of my first pregnancy journey, but I always had hopes to evolve it into more; an overall lifestyle blog that touched on all of my interests and passions included in wife and motherhood. Then I just got so busy enjoying all those things that the blog fell to the wayside. But the desire has always remained and I do hope to follow through on building a platform here and bringing you along on our family's journey. I'm still working on the full vision of exactly what that looks like, but a few things you can expect are more posts from me and eventually a new title and face-lift for the blog. If you are receiving this in your subscription box because you were subscribed to me in the past; hello again! I hope you'll have me back and follow along! I think it's going to be quite the adventure...

Mason's Birth Story

Well, first off...let's pick back up where we left off.

I was supposed to be uploading my 39 week update on Wednesday, September 2. I had it all written up and ready to post. And I was excited to share what I was hoping would be my last bump picture of this pregnancy, as I was anticipating scheduling my induction day that afternoon at my 40 week appointment.

 

But my baby boy had other wonderful plans for me. As I woke up at 6:30 in the morning on Wednesday, September 2, to my surprise and delight, my water broke! I immediately decided I liked this little guy already. Nice and prompt. One day before his due date! I called for Greg in the other room, who was already up and going for the day. We squealed with excitement and immediately sprung into our action plan. I hopped in the shower while he tended to the pets and made sure they were set. Once I finished showering and got dressed, I packed up the last few items into our hospital bags and Greg loaded up the car while I made the bed and did a final once over of the house; because I couldn't just leave to have a baby until I was sure the house was clean & tidy ((rolls eyes at self)). By 7:15 we were pulling up to the hospital and headed into labor & delivery. Yup...I just waltzed right in. 

Coincidentally, my doctor was already there finishing up a c-section when we arrived. We no sooner got settled into our room, I slipped into my delivery gownie, and she was already there. She checked me, and again to my surprise, I was already at 3cm! I was actually shocked, considering I was still closed at my last appointment and I had felt absolutely no contractions or pain whatsoever. Even so, she decided it would be best to start me on pitocin (a labor inducing drug), since I wasn't contracting and we were on the clock. (They won't let you go more than 24 hours from the time your water breaks to the time of delivery to prevent infection.) She recommended that I opt for an epidural (because pitocin is known for making contractions much worse than natural labor), and told me she would be calling to check on my progress up until delivery. 

So they got me all hooked up to my IV and pitocin drip (and an internal baby monitor...one thing I was really hoping to avoid) and it was time to get down to business. I knew the contractions would be kicking in soon and the reality started setting in that this was it...the big day! I started feeling increasingly anxious, and decided it was time to make the call to have my mom come sit with us during labor. The plan had been that she would be 'on call' in case I decided I needed my mommy...and I did, because she calms me down. I knew it was so important that I relax and allow my body to do it's thing, and I knew my best chance of doing so was to have her there too.

Ready to take on these contractions & meet my little man 

 Greg ready to become a dad

It took until around 11am for me to start feeling as though I was in active labor. I could feel the contractions getting stronger as they continued to kick up the pitocin little by little. My nurse had already been asking if I wanted the epidural, but it was nothing I couldn't handle yet. I just breathed through the contractions, using the technique we learned in our childbirth prep class. At noon, my nurse checked me and said I was at 5cm. This was the golden number I wanted to hear before allowing myself to get an epidural. So since I reached it, I went ahead and gave her the green light to put in the order. I think I asked for it at just the right time, because by the time the anesthesiologist got there and got it working, I was just starting to really labor through contractions. He and the nurse complimented me saying how impressed they were with how centered I was and how well I was handling the contractions. But, I am so happy I decided to go ahead and get the epi. By 12:45, I was all hooked up and laughing as they asked me if I could feel the contraction I just had. Those things are truly unreal. 

The rest of the afternoon, Greg, my mom and I just relaxed and chatted as we waited for my labor to progress. My nurse checked me again around 3:00 and I was at a 7. She decided to go ahead and just turn off the pitocin as she hadn't increased it in a while, and my body was doing the work all on it's own! Around 4:30/5, I finally started getting uncomfortable and feeling a slight urge to push. They checked me again, and sure enough I was at a 10! They officially considered me 'complete'.

The nurse explained that we would then start a process that they call 'labor down'. Instead of starting to push right away, and wearing myself out...they would have me wait and only push when I felt I wanted to, needed to, or could no longer control my body from doing so. As this part of the day progressed, I got more and more uncomfortable pretty quickly, and it was time for my mom to leave until after delivery and our 'golden hour' with our newborn son. 

 Saying goodbye to my mommy before I became one myself

 Last picture as a twosome! Anxiously awaiting the arrival of our baby boy.
Ready to push and still smiling!

The last hour and a half up until Mason's delivery was the most uncomfortable and definitely the most unglamorous hour and a half I've ever had. I am happy to say that I never did lose my cool and become that lady you could hear screaming down the hall. I just breathed and pushed. (Okay, there may have been a moment where I yelled at Greg to stop telling me to "push! push! push! push!") My labor may have been a breeze, but delivery was no joke! When all was said and done, I ended up with a pretty serious episiotomy and having to agree to a vacuum extraction to help Mason out. But finally, at 7:43pm, Mason Gregory officially made his entrance into this world. 

09.02.15. 7:43pm. He is here!

Because of the vacuum extraction,  Mason had to be fully checked by a neonatologist before I was able to hold him or do any skin-to-skin. The entire day seemed to fly by until those moments, which seemed to take an eternity. I laid there getting stitched back up and could do nothing but stare in amazement and awe at my little man laying there in the warmer. I cried as he cried his first cries. Thankfully, Greg was the best advocate I could ask for and kept pushing for them to get him to me as soon as possible. I could not wait to hold my baby boy in my arms. Once I did, I knew my world would never be the same. Mason's birth was the most wonderful, incredible experience. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat.

 

The moment I've waited my whole life for 

 

 The new love of our lives. Our perfect baby boy

 

My family. My world. 

I am beyond blessed.

The next hours and days we spent in the hospital were the most precious and best days of my entire life. I am so happy we have these pictures to bring us back. I can't even look at them without tearing up (yep...I am that mom now.)

 

"How wonderful life is, now you're in the world."

Since Mason's birth, we have been soaking up every single moment together as a family of three. Our lives are forever changed for the better, and we are all doing wonderfully.

He Is Here!

If you haven't already assumed from my lack of posts, little baby Kazak has arrived!

Mason Gregory Kazak was born at 7:43pm on Wednesday, September 2, 2015. He weighed 7lbs & 10 oz and was 20 inches long. Born with a full head of beautiful, dark hair! He is absolutely perfect and we are so, so in love!!

I can't believe my baby is three weeks old already! Time is just flying by way too fast. I also can't believe this is the first moment I've gotten to sit down and write this quick post. (EDIT: The first moment I HAD. No sooner did I type that and my little guy woke up early from his nap.) Mom life with a newborn is no joke. It's hard work (especially for a nursing mama). But it is more amazing and rewarding than I can even begin to try to explain. 

I am so excited to continue blogging, to share everything about my greatest adventure yet...mommyhood! My head is already full of ideas for posts, which will be picking back up, as we are starting to find our rhythm and routine as a family of three. Stay tuned for Mason's birth story coming ASAP!

38 Weeks

How far along? Yup, I'm back. And still pregnant. Officially 39 weeks today, which means baby Mason has officially hit the new full term. (Now if only he would take the hint that it's time to come out now!)
Total weight gain/loss: up 24 pounds. I'm actually quite chuffed with myself for remaining right at (or just the tiniest bit under) the goal I had set for myself. I didn't want to gain any more than 25 pounds...and I pretty much ended up right on target. According to the charts, this should be all baby and pregnancy weight (aka I'm hoping most of it comes right off!)
Maternity Clothes? Yep. And I can't wait to be done wearing them at this point. The day I fit back into my regular jeans without a maternity band attached will be a day of celebration!
Stretch marks? Still no real changes. I'm feeling really thankful that I didn't end up with anything bad at all!
Sleep: Not getting much of it nowadays. Pregnancy insomnia has definitely set in. It's like nature's sick way of getting you ready for the sleepless nights ahead. I wake up to pee and then can't fall back asleep. Once I finally do, it's time to repeat the cycle again.
Best moment this week: Starting to receive many texts/messages daily from family & friends wondering how I am feeling and if anything is moving with baby. Seems like everyone else is getting as anxious to meet our little guy as we are! It's nice to know that our loved ones are thinking of us and wishing us well! Also, just enjoying these last few days and weeks with Greg as a twosome. We've really been a great team in making our final preparations for Mason, and it's been nice enjoying some last few little date nights here and there.
Miss Anything? Again, just not being pregnant at this point...and everything that goes along with that. 
Movement: Yep
Food cravings: Pumpkin everything!! (especially pumpkin coffee)
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Gender: It's a Boy! 
Labor Signs: This is a big fat NOPE! Wish I could be saying yes, but I don't seem to be making an progress in this department. Still no contractions. My doctor did a cervical exam at my last two appointments and there has been no change at all. Cervix is closed and I am not dilated whatsoever. In fact, baby still needs to drop quite a bit! She said it is time to start walking, squatting, doing exercises on the birthing ball etc to try and help it along. If I make it to my 40 week appointment next Wednesday, (which seems more than likely) we will start making plans for an induction.
Symptoms: Pregnancy insomnia, heartburn, pelvic pressure. It's getting pretty uncomfortable here folks.
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :)
Looking forward to: it being Fall and having Mason here with us. I guess the blessing in disguise is that the longer we wait, the more ready we feel approaching labor & delivery. I am beyond ready to have him here and cuddle and snuggle him all day long.

You will more than likely be hearing from me next Wednesday or Thursday for one final week of pregnancy updates! Until then, you can find me at home bouncing on my new 'birthing ball'. That reminds me...time to go meet with my mom for a long walk...

Third Trimester Survival Guide

Well, I have officially hit week 38 in the last trimester of my pregnancy. (The week I am hoping our little Mason will make his arrival!) I would say both Greg and I are super ready for it at this point! But while we can never be sure about these things, I figured I had better make my Third Trimester Guide post before I am officially no longer a preggo!

I just have to say, for the record, that what you hear is 100% true. The first 8 months of pregnancy fly by SO fast. And then you hit the 9th month...the last four weeks...which seem longer than an entire trimester combined. But as Aretha would say...'I will survive!'

Comfy, slip-on shoes: I saw these Havaiana flip flops (linked) while shopping at Motherhood Maternity one day, and remembered my old college roommate telling me these were the most comfortable flip flops ever. I figured if the maternity store was selling them, it must be true. It was! I've somehow luckily gotten through this pregnancy with very minimal swelling, (if any) but either way...my feet thank me when I'm wearing these shoes. And btw, bending over to put on or adjust shoes...forget it! A comfy pair of slip-ons is an absolute third trimester must! (Havaianas worked great for me during the summer, but for Fall/Winter...I would probably have gone for something of the Tom/Ugg variety.)

Comfortable nursing bra(s): My "girls" have gone through quite the growth spurt this last trimester (and my milk hasn't even come in yet...yikes). Typical for the last trimester. But since I am planning on breastfeeding, I saw no reason to waste money on buying regular bras that I would only be wearing for a couple of weeks. Time to spring for the nursing bras! The one I have linked is my new and most favorite bra EVER! Super comfortable, even with the underwire (which I need!) and the price is so on point! If you're on the hunt...check this one out!

Extra pairs of breathable underwear: This may be TMI, but nevertheless...it's the truth. Vaginal discharge (what they call Leukorrhea) happens during pregnancy and increases as pregnancy progresses. It's like the discharge you might experience at a certain time each month, only more of it...especially in the last trimester. Many pregnant women choose to wear a pantyliner throughout the day to deal with it. Here's my thing with that: it's important that you wear breathable underwear during pregnancy, as your risk for UTIs and yeast infections also increases (more TMI for ya!). And I wouldn't exactly consider wearing pantyliners all day every day a 'breathable solution.' Instead I opt to change my underwear once, sometimes twice, a day to combat it. So picking up some extra pairs was definitely necessary. That is, unless I wanted to be doing laundry all the time; which let's face it...'ain't nobody got time for that!'

Childbirth prep classes: If you are a first time mom like me, once you get close to the last trimester, your doctor will likely recommend that you look into the childbirth preparation and baby classes offered at your hospital. I've found that they pretty much all seem to offer the same classes; a 4-5 week childbirth preparation course, as well as a breastfeeding class, a baby basics class, and an infant safety and CPR class. Greg and I took them all! And I am really happy we did. They are all very affordable, and in my opinion, worth the time and money. Besides learning a lot and making us feel much more prepared for this whole childbirth thing, it also gave us a chance to get acquainted with the labor & delivery ward, and ended up being a nice bonding time for us as a couple.

Ina May's Guide to Childbirth: If you are only going to read one book during your pregnancy, this is the one I would recommend! If you have no interest in trying for a natural/medication free childbirth...you may take one look at this book and think, "No thank you!" But I think this book is great for any woman to read before having a baby. Nothing will make you feel more at peace, empowered and ready to embrace the experience. In fact...I even ended up throwing it into my hospital bag (just in case I need a little extra encouragement through the whole thing!)

Hospital bag: Once you get settled into your third trimester, it's time to start thinking about your hospital bag. And for this...I say the sooner the better. It takes longer than you might think to plan, prep and pack it! I started by researching what some of my favorite bloggers/YouTubers had packed and making a list of what I thought I would need. Once I had my list, I was able to slowly start accumulating what I needed, and setting things aside in my bag. Once I had checked everything off the list, I just washed and packed it all up. I had my hospital bag completely prepared by week 35 (which is what is recommended!) Need help deciding what to pack? Check out my post on What's In My Hospital Bag!

Thank you notes: If you will be having a baby shower, this one should be a no-brainer! But even if not, you should pick some up anyway. In the third trimester (as well as after baby is born) the gifts just start pouring in. A handwritten thank you is just proper etiquette. Proper etiquette also allows you so many weeks to get these notes sent out. My recommendation?...do it ASAP (before pregnancy brain allows it to slip your mind or baby makes an early arrival!). Shower notes seem particularly daunting? I split mine up by writing out 5 a day until they were all done. All other thank yous I have written out the day I received the gift.

Dreft: Speaking of all those gifts you will receive. Guess what! They ALL need to be washed (or sanitized) before their first use on baby. So picking up a bottle of Dreft (or baby safe laundry detergent of your choice) before your shower is a great idea. Maybe this is just because I am a cleaning freak, but I found it so exciting when I washed all of Mason's linens and clothing and his entire room smelled like that fresh baby scent!

A cleaning service: Never have I ever I wished for anything more! I never put much thought into hiring a cleaning service; mostly because like I said, I am a cleaning freak. I actually enjoy cleaning my house. But between preparing the house for Greg's diaper party and these past few weeks of doing one last deep cleaning before Mason arrives...I've realized this would have been a REALLY great thing to consider. Thankfully, with the help of my wonderful husband, I've officially tackled everything that needed to be done. But I honestly could not have done it without his help, and let me tell you...it was SO hard! I am honestly shocked I made it through without going into early labor. So if a cleaning service is something you can afford, even just for one month, I would highly recommend looking into it. I truly believe it would have been worth every penny. (And now I know for next time!) Can't afford or justify hiring this service? Someone was recently telling me about a baby shower she attended where all the aunts had pitched in together to get the mom-to-be a cleaning service for the last month of her pregnancy, as well as the first month that the baby was here. My automatic response: "That was absolutely genius!" Nothing wrong IMO with dropping a hint (to hubby, mom & dad, a close relative) here or there that this would be something you would very greatly appreciate.

Rest: this one has been a hard concept for me to grasp. But in your last trimester...it's time to start taking it easier. Listen to your body. When it tells you to stop and take a break...stop, put those feet up, and take a break! These last few weeks, I was in a bit of a panic, feeling like I was never going to get everything done that I needed done before the baby was here. And now here I sit, everything ready and thinking this baby may never come! What I'm trying to say is, everything will work out in time for baby (and if not, it doesn't even matter...you will make it work!) So make your progress as slowly as you need to and take time to rest in between. Your non-swollen feet will thank you!


VERY honorable mentions go to...
Snoogle Total Body Pillow, Tums, Burt's Bee's Belly Butter, Water, and WTE Support Group: 
Because these items have already made it on either my first or second trimester guides (maybe even both), I didn't want to be too repetitive and talk about them again. But these five items have still been absolute survival/must-have items for me throughout this trimester (and throughout my pregnancy in general!) So I just had to mention them one more time. If you would like more info on why, check out my First Trimester Survival Guide and my Second Trimester Must Haves.

And there it is...My Third Trimester Survival Guide all complete! I can't believe how quickly this entire pregnancy has gone...and how good it has been to me! Now it's just time to relax and wait for our little man to make his arrival. (Then postpartum and baby faves will be on the way! Yay!)

37 Weeks

How far along? 37+6. I can't believe I am 38 weeks tomorrow!
Total weight gain/loss: up 24 pounds this week. (Think I may have overindulged a little on sweets this past week...eep!)
Maternity Clothes? Yep
Stretch marks? No changes this week
Sleep: Eh. Some nights are better than others at this point.
Best moment this week: Finishing up our deep clean and having a sense of being completely ready for Mason to arrive at anytime.
Miss Anything? Not being pregnant. At this point...I am feeling ready for it to be over. 
Movement: Yes, and lots of hiccups too!
Food cravings: Sweets & seafood. Those two things have been pretty consistent throughout.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Gender: It's a Boy! 
Labor Signs: Felt some mild cramping on Sunday and woke up yesterday with the worst pelvic pressure EVER! I seriously thought my water might just burst. But both of those things subsided as fast as they happened. I haven't had any real contractions (at least I don't think so). But at least I'm having some signs of impending labor?
Symptoms: Pelvic pressure. And I always forget to mention the nasty bloody gums (some weeks seem to be worse than others.)
Belly Button in or out? In 
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy :)
Looking forward to: Delivery day! It's hard to explain, but I've never been so excited and at the same time so terrified for the same thing in my life! I'm anxious for what's about to happen, but I just can't wait to hold my baby in my arms.