Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Pregnancy Update

Well I am 6 weeks and 5 days along and have been sick for about a week now. Some days have been worse than others. I didn't keep down much of anything I ate on Saturday. Sunday was a little better. Yesterday I only threw up once, and today I actually feel about 80% normal. I'm afraid to do anything, though, because I don't want to mess it up! So far I haven't been nearly as bad as I was with Ava, so I am very grateful. I am extra glad that Ava is potty trained now because I don't have to deal with dirty diapers! And I am SO glad Richard is here for now because without him Ava would probably be eating mostly saltines and Cheerios like me, hehe. He handles all the food preparation for him and her. And I told him (like last pregnancy) that he CANNOT cook bacon in the house or I might die, so he has been making it outside on the griddle. :)

Here's what's happening right now:

Showing: not yet

Weight Gain: none yet (maybe a loss)

Symptoms: nausea, vomiting, slight headaches occassionally, tiredness, overall weak feeling (probably due to not being able to eat enough or keep down enough food for energy)

Food cravings: (these aren't really cravings but they're all I've been able to eat) Cheerios, Crispix, saltines, saltines with cheddar cheese and milk, peanut butter toast and milk, chicken noodle soup (just the broth), white rice, occassionally turkey lunch meat, ice cold water with lemon, smoothies, peppermint tea, occassionally grapefruit

Food aversions: bacon, the sight or even thought of raw chicken, really most meats (besides the occassional turkey lunch meat), pretty much anything that's not bland like my survival foods

More Potty Talk

Since my last potty post Ava has done awesome. We took Shane to the airport last week, which is about 2.5 hours each way, and she was accident free all day. I just have to plan ahead in a different way now; like where and how often I need stop for her. Oh, haha, she is a smart little booger too. We always respond quickly when she says she needs to go potty because when she needs to go, she needs to go. Well, she apparently knows this and tried using it on our airport trip. Example: We're cruising down the interstate with nowhere to stop and she's bored in her carseat. "Out! Down! Out! Down please!... Potty?" Haha, nice try, Ava. Anyway, she also did well in childcare on Sunday while we were at church. No accidents.

Another funny thing Ava has been doing lately... We have different kinds of consequences for different kinds of misbehavior. For example, if she is whining and crying for no reason or because she wants something she can't have we make her sit on the landing at the bottom of the stairs until she calms down and stops fussing. We say something like "You're not going to act like this. When you want to stop fussing and act like a big girl you may get up." If she gets up still crying we take her right back. On the other hand, if she blately ignores us when we tell her something that she definitely understands, then she gets her little booty popped. So, the funny thing she's been doing is asking if she's going to get a spankin'. Just a minute ago she was standing on the couch, which she's not allowed to do, and I told her to sit on her booty. She looked at me with raised eyebrows and said "Spankin?" (If I don't do what you said, am I going to get a spankin?) "Yes, Ava, if you don't listen to Mama you will get a spankin." And she sat down.

Basically, I am learning every day that babies and toddlers are way smarter and more capable than many people give them credit for. :)

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

First Appointment Coming Up

I called this morning and set up my 8 week appointment for Monday, August 9. All they really do at this hospital is give you a booklet and some other information at the first appointment (no seeing a doctor, no physical exam, no ultrasound, etc). So I won't really be too excited to be going in until my 12 week appointment at which time we should be able to hear a heartbeat. I found out the midwife from my first pregnancy is still working here, so I will definitely be trying to get her again!


As of yesterday morning I haven't been feeling totally great. I haven't thrown up (yet) but I felt nauseous a few times throughout the day yesterday and so far have just nibbled on some dry cereal this morning. (Actually, as I write this Richard and Ava are eating our usual big breakfast of eggs, sausage, and oatmeal but I can't even think about it today.) I haven't really felt anything else out of the ordinary yet.

Maybe Not Quite Done

So Ava has done amazingly well with potty training. She pretty much always tells us when she needs to go and we can take her anywhere we go with confidence..... Well she had a little set back at church on Sunday. I told the childcare ladies that she has been doing great and tells us when she needs to go but I didn't know if she would understand that she needs to tell them when we're not around. So she had an accident there. I guess what I need to help Ava understand now is that 1) there is going to be a potty pretty much anywhere we go and 2) anyone who is watching her can take her. I also need to be better about taking her in the night. I've been taking her when/if I happen to wake up needing to go, but I don't think that's consistent enough to help her get it. So anyway, she's still doing awesome but some new challenges have just popped up. :)

Saturday, July 17, 2010

Pretty Much Done!

Well our potty training is pretty much done! Ava had a few accidents the first couple days but now she is going all day (naps too) accident free! She wears tiny little panties every day now and tells us and/or runs into the bathroom when she needs to go. I have been putting her in a diaper at night, which is a little wet by morning, but I guess that's to be expected when she's in bed for 11ish hours at a time. I think I may start getting her up in the night to go. That should get her used to the idea of waking up on her own when she gets the feeling of needing to go. I'm so proud of her; what a big girl!!!

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Exciting News!

We are expecting Baby Ezell #2!!!! (2 lines = positive!)

After church today I went to the commissary. I am a few days late for my period and we have been hoping to get pregnant before this next deployment, so I decided to pick up a pregnancy test. It was positive! I am about 4 1/2 weeks along. I obviously haven't been to the doctor yet but my due date should be around March 17.

So far I am feeling pretty normal. Not too tired, not sick. (Hopefully I will not be super sick like I was with Ava!) I've been working out very regularly so I intend to continue my usual routine as long as possible with some modifications as I get further along in the pregnancy.

I haven't even called for a doctor's appointment yet, but I will probably have one around 8 weeks. I really hope my midwife from last time is still working at the hospital here!

More to come!!!!!!!!

Vacation & Milestones

We have had the best time in the last week! Richard had 10 days leave and we didn't want to make a major trip (like going to GA) but we wanted a little vacation, so we went to Kansas City for a few days. We did a lot of cool stuff but just chilled out and rested a decent bit too.
---Monday we took our time getting to Kansas City with a stop in Topeka (halfway to KC) and a good bit of time spent in Cabellas (a little outside KC). After we checked in to the hotel we went swimming for a while; just playing and hanging out. We drove around the city that night, trying to find our way around, and picked up pizza and wings to eat. ---Tuesday we went to the Kansas City Zoo, which was awesome. It wasn't too hot so we weren't miserable and most of the animals were active. We saw a "Keeper Chat" at the elephant exhibit where the keepers talked to us and showed us some of the training stuff they do. We also saw a sea lion show in which the trainer had the sea lion do jumps, tricks, barking, etc. Ava really liked watching that (and of course we did too). Anyway, we spent a good 3+ hours at the zoo and then went back to the hotel for Ava to take a nap and us to do a workout (DVD that we played on the laptop). Tuesday night we ate at a good BBQ place and then picked up McFlurries to eat by these cool fountains downtown. ---Wednesday we went to an art museum. You could literally spend days there if you really looked at everything and read all the descriptions and stories behind the pieces. Obviously, Ava does not have that kind of attention span yet, so we kind of sped through there "appreciating" what we could along the way. After the museum we went to the Crown Center area and had a snack by some other cool fountains and then took Ava through a Clifford (the Big Red Dog) exhibit in the mall area. She liked it for a while but there were a lot of kids there (most older/bigger than her) and she was a little overwhelmed. Mom, Kevin, and Shane met us in KC Wednesday night and watched Ava while Richard and I went to a nice romantic dinner at a revolving restaurant ("Skies") overlooking the city. We each had a delicious KC Strip Steak. ---Thursday we had breakfast and got packed up. While we were packing up Ava saw her little potty seat sitting by the door (ready to be put away). She picked it up and ran to the bathroom with it so we put her on the potty and she went! (She went a couple times on the trip but we had still been using diapers all the time.) Anyway, after we got packed up we went to the WWI museum in KC. Like the art museum, you could seriously spend days there if you really read and absorbed everything. So, we took in as much as we could and then went to Oceans of Fun (a waterpark). We all had so much fun there and Ava did great playing in the kids' area. Other parents and the lifeguards were all amazed at how brave and carefree she was playing in the water. She went up the stairs to go down all the little slides by herself and even if she went under the water she didn't cry or freak out. She was definitely the littlest one running around on her own like that. Such a big girl! Anyway, after Oceans of Fun we ate dinner and then made the trek back home. ---Friday was the start of Ava's hardcore potty training. I had her wearing panties or training pants (basically thick panties) all day and set her on the potty frequently. She had many successes and a few accidents. Mom and I did a DVD workout with my friend Kim (and Ava, of course) and Richard, Kevin, and Shane went to the gym to lift. I made Ava some "weights" out of some used up toilet paper rolls and she gets them out and starts dancing around, doing squats and stuff if I even just show her the case for one of my DVD workouts. It is so funny! I ask her what the DVD is and she says "kout" for workout. :) We went to the commissary in the afternoon and Ava had a successful pee in the potty there! Woohoo! (When we take her out I put a diaper over her panties so she can still feel the uncomfortable wetness but not make a mess everywhere else if she has an accident.)
---Yesterday we spent a few hours at the pool. Ava went on the little kiddie pool slide a thousand times and we took in the big pool a good bit too. She also peed in the potty there a couple times! She liked watching Shane jump off the diving board doing different tricks. Richard had her out in the big pool watching the people jump and she fell asleep on his shoulder out there. So we laid her in the shade on the side of the pool and let her catch a nap for about an hour+. We continued with the potty training, just taking her frequently and cheering her successes. Last night she ran up to me and said "potty" so I took her and she went. She really knew and did it on purpose! Overnight she woke up a couple times pretty upset (which is very rare for her) so I went in to soothe her. It worked for a minute the first time but didn't last long. So the next time I thought maybe she needed to go potty. I took her and she went right away. She went back to sleep pretty soundly for another couple hours and then the same thing happened again. I think maybe she is conflicted with the feeling of needing to go potty and wanting to stay asleep and getting upset.
---Anyway... this morning I put Ava on the potty first thing (dry diaper!) and she peed and pooped right away! She is really getting it!!!!!!