16 weeks

How far along?: 16 weeks

How big is baby?: the size of a turnip: 5 inches and 5 ounces. I can feel where the baby is hanging out sometimes, so hopefully kicks soon!

Weight gain?: I might dig out our scale today but I'd be surprised if I've gained any. Still throwing up regularly, yuck. 

Stretch marks?: no, just very itchy boobs

Maternity clothes?: tops and dresses here and there

Sleep?: better, minus this horrible cough. But I'm not waking up at 3am to pee anymore. Normally falling asleep on the couch for a few hours, then sleeping in bed from 1-6 or so

Best moment last week?: we got to celebrate my dad's 60th birthday up in va; the trip was horrendous and none of us slept more than 5 hrs but he was really happy!

Food cravings?: brownies, fries, milk, spaghetti, ice cream ... You know, healthy stuff ;)

Symptoms?: the throwing up isn't really subsiding, which sucks, and my headache is still almost always around. I'm really really over it, this feeling like crap part. 

Exercise?: I might remove this question :)

Gender?: hoping we get to schedule our anatomy ultrasound at our regular appointment next week

Movement?: nothing definitive yet

Belly button?: no noticeable change since last time 

What I miss?: energy

Labor signs?: no

What I'm looking forward to?: feeling more like myself? If that ever happens. Checking up on baby on Monday. A possible date night tonight!

This was actually 15 weeks; I can't be on top of blogging AND taking photos on time!

Recipe: French Dip

I'm learning how to cook beef. 

I know, weird right? It wasn't a New Years resolution or anything. I honestly sort-of fell into it. Some women from our playgroup were going in on a grass-fed cow from a local farm and I figured, why not! So here we are, with nearly $400 worth of red meat in our deep freezer and I've never really ventured beyond ground beef. Luckily, the same women who went in on the cow have shared some delicious recipes, which I will now share with you. 

Disclaimer: I made beef stew last night. Coconut curry beef stew, to be exact. Sounds amazing, right? Wrong. I screwed it up, and tried to cook it too fast. So disappointing; I really needed a win tonight ... And I got it!

Ingredients

2-3lbs beef roast (I used a shoulder, no idea how many lbs but it was huge!)

2tbsp olive oil 

Salt & Pepper

2 1oz envelopes of onion soup mix

2c water

20oz beef broth

6-8 hoagie rolls

Provolone cheese

Directions

Make sure roast is fully thawed; season with salt & pepper 

Heat olive oil on medium high heat in a large skillet

Once pan is very hot, sear roast on all sides until it starts to brown (a minute or two on each side should be plenty)

Place roast in crockpot on low

Top with dry onion dip mix, water & broth

Cook covered on low for 8hrs (Meat will fall apart with a fork when done!)

Serve into rolls and top with cheese

Broil on high until cheese is melted and bubbling

Serve with a ramekin of the au jus from the crockpot (optional)

You can find the original recipe here: http://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/03/french-dip-sandwiches/

14 weeks: here we go again!

This is actually from last week but you get the idea. Belly = Huge!

I'm pretty sure I started these updates at 14 weeks for London so I'm going to try to keep up with them for this baby too. Try, being the key word. 

How far along?: 14 weeks

How big is baby?: the size of a naval orange

Weight gain?: more like weight loss: 3lbs

Stretch marks?: none

Maternity clothes?: wearing a few maternity tops because they're comfortable; my jeans are still huge! Looking to invest in some maternity leggings this time, any recommendations?

Sleep?: awful already. Need to invest in a body pillow I think! I'm using an eye mask and ear plugs but still waking up at least once, normally to pee around 3am, then again around 6 and can't get back to sleep 

Best moment last week?: my prenatal massage on Monday, a gift from my sister

Food cravings?: frozen waffles, cup o' soup

Symptoms?: so much vomiting and pretty bad headaches. Ended up in the ER last night due to dehydration, no fun!

Exercise?: does chasing a toddler count?

Gender?: we have our guesses but nothing confirmed until next month 

Movement?: I thought I felt something the other night but I'm having so many tummy issues that it's hard to say

Belly button?: it's becoming more shallow already. Second pregnancies are weird

What I miss?: sushi, sleep

Labor signs?: no

What I'm looking forward to?: not being sick, assuming that ever happens 

London Claire is 18 months old

Since she turned one, I've been posting a few favorite photos and highlights each month of London Claire's development and milestones on Facebook. As you all know, my blogging has been ... Ahem, subpar (read: non-existent) since I became a SAHM. Ironic, I know, since I should've had all this extra free time on my hands. But somewhere between the play dates, chores and errands, and the hobby-turned-small-business that is Toddler Trends, I've been busy. Let's be real though, those are all excuses, we're all busy. I stopped making time to blog. 

So, my New Years resolution (aside from growing a new tiny human) is to blog more. Even if it's once a month, I'm going to try. We'll see how it goes! Thank you to everyone who's supported me in all of my ventures, but especially encouraging me to blog more because it's so great to know people read this mess!

Back to the task at hand: London is 1.5. Unfortunately, I got a new phone over the holidays and don't have any of the photos I took in December, so the photos you see here are from after she had her half birthday. Cheating, I know. 

At 18 months, London is a great eater and growing well. Her pediatrician was thrilled with everything at her check-up, which is always great to hear as a mom. We are working on potty training very slowly, mostly because she's showing interest and I don't want to miss my window and end up with a kindergartener in diapers. Aside from illness or travel, she sleeps well (typically 7:30-7). We have slowly weaned down to only one nursing session (before bed) and it's gone well for both of us, all in all. 

If you ask her any time of day what she wants to eat, the answer is hot dog, though fruit seems to still be her favorite thing to eat. She rarely drinks milk but is a great water drinker. She loves the play kitchen she got as a Christmas gift from Aunt Sissy and is always "makin" something. 

She's starting to put together 2 and 3 word phrases "daddy home!" "Sit down, right there" etc and her vocabulary is well over 100 words. We're also learning colors and shapes, and singing the ABCs (which go a little something like "A B C B C, E-I-E-I-O" right now). She loves to read and watch Elmo's World and Curious George. 

Although I know she doesn't really understand that I'm having a baby, she loves to snuggle with my belly and give the baby kisses and zerberts. I hope we're able to give her a sense of involvement with the baby that will help curb some of the jealousy, but I'm open to suggestions!

And without further ado, some adorableness for your Thursday:

The waiting game

Moms: stop saying to other moms, whose children are younger than yours, or perhaps haven't hit the developmental milestones yours have, "just you wait...". 

Just STOP. 

If the words start to cross your mind, as another mom is talking (or maybe even complaining) about how busy it is to have a crawler or how her child has just started saying "mama" or perhaps has recently started some bad behaviors, reconsider using them. Stop for a second, and think about how fantastically overwhelming it is to be someone's mother. Remember how you felt when your child was in that place. Hell, remember how you felt this morning when your kid was running around sans diaper, spilling milk all over the carpet and climbing on the kitchen table to play with your sewing needles when you tried to clean it up. Did you, at that moment, need someone to tell you "just wait, it'll get worse!"? Of course not. Who needs that, ever, really? 

All we're ever looking for is for someone else who understands; who knows how stressful motherhood can be - at every phase - and can smile on the other side of it. Someone who says, "Oh yeah, I remember that. Those days were tough. But then he learned how to say 'I love you' and let me tell you - that is awesome!". 

If you want to tell another mom to "just wait", tell her about the awesome things coming her way. Help her look forward to her child's development instead of mourning her baby growing up. And for the love of God, stop the fear mongering. Let her enjoy what she's going through, or vent if she needs to, and she'll do the same for you. 

It never seems to be said enough that moms need to be spending more time supporting each other and less time judging. What we do is hard, awesome stuff. Being someone's mother is fantastic. Fantastically overwhelming, but especially fantastic.