First Appointment

Well I had my first appointment at the OB clinic today. I filled out tons of paperwork (personal info, medical history, etc), got some informational papers and a booklet about how things will go throughout my pregnancy at the hospital here, got my baseline height and blood pressure, and did my initial blood tests and urinalysis. My due date is March 17, just as I had already calculated.

I will have my first appointment with my midwife August 30, at which time she will do a physical exam and use the doppler to hear Baby's heartbeat! That's the appointment I'm looking forward to, although I'm a little bummed that Richard is going to miss hearing the heartbeat for the first time. (He missed that with Ava too.) He'll be at a month long training out of state in preparation for this next deployment. I'm really hoping he will be here for the ultrasound appointment around 20 weeks!

I've been feeling a lot better. I feel mostly normal in the morning, start getting a little queasy in the afternoon, and often feel the worst at night. But I've found that if I keep eating... constantly... and never let my stomach get empty, it's much more tolerable.

Obviously, since you're reading this right now, this whole thing is not a big secret. However, we're not quite going facebook public yet, so thanks for keeping any pregnancy comments off my wall, hehe. I guess that's about it for now. I will definitely update again on the 30th if not before. And I have some video of Ava that I need to get on here. :)

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. :)

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. :)

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!!!

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!!!!!!!!